Patent Publication Number: US-9887479-B2

Title: Connector

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a connector. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Conventionally, some of connectors for connecting a wire to a device, such as a motor or an inverter mounted in an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, have been structured such that an end part of the wire is held by a housing, the housing is fixed to a case of the device and a wire-side terminal fixed to an end of the wire is connected to a device-side terminal in the case. As an example of a connecting structure of the wire-side terminal and the device-side terminal, the wire-side terminal is placed on the device-side terminal and both terminals are fixed by bolting (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-272132). 
     In the configuration described above, it is necessary to ensure a space for arranging a bolt and a space for performing a bolt tightening operation. Thus, the connector tends to be large. Further, since the number of components increases and a production process is complicated, cost tends to increase. 
     The present invention was completed based on the above situation and aims to provide a connector capable of miniaturization and reducing production cost. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention is directed to a connector to be mounted on a device case with a case wall and a device-side terminal provided inside, the connector including a connector housing having an opening surface and including a spring accommodating portion open on the opening surface, a fixing plate to be fixed to the connector housing and mounted on the case wall, and at least one spring to be arranged inside the spring accommodating portion. The at least one spring includes at least one support to be supported on the connector housing and a resilient deformation portion convexly curved toward the opening surface and having a convex tip serving as a contact to be brought into contact with the device-side terminal. The resilient deformation portion includes a slit extending from a side connected to the support toward an opposite side across the contact. 
     According to the above configuration, the spring has a spring property and resiliently contacts the device-side terminal while being deflected in a direction toward the support from the contact by the device-side terminal as a mating member being pressed against the contact. Thus, if the device-side terminal is arranged at such a position that the spring is pressed thereagainst with the connector mounted on the device case, the spring can be connected to the device-side terminal by the spring property thereof. Particularly, by providing the spring with the slit, it is possible to reduce the rigidity of the resilient deformation portion and give a sufficient spring property to the spring to ensure connection to the device-side terminal. 
     The above-described connector eliminates the need for a bolt for connecting a terminal of the connector and the device-side terminal and also a bolt tightening operation. Further, a space for arranging the bolt and a space for performing the bolt tightening operation are also unnecessary. In this way, the connector can be miniaturized and a cost reduction due to a reduction in the number of components and a reduction in the number of operation steps is possible. 
     The following mode is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention. 
     The connector may include a fixing member for fixing the fixing plate while pressing the fixing plate toward the case wall. Accordingly, the spring is pressed toward the device-side terminal as the fixing plate is pressed toward the case wall and fixed by the fixing member. That is, since a direction in which the fixing plate is pressed against the device case by the bolt and a direction in which the spring is pressed toward the device-side terminal are the same when the connector is mounted, the spring and the device-side terminal can be brought resiliently into contact and connected by an operation of mounting the connector on the device case. In this way, a production process can be simplified further and cost can be reduced. 
     According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a connector capable of miniaturization and reducing production cost. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a connector of an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of the connector of the embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of the connector of the embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a section along A-A of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 4 . A connector of this embodiment is a shield connector  10  mounted in a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle and to be mounted on a device case  70  for accommodating a device such as an inverter. 
     [Device Case  70 ] 
     A device case  70  is a metal box having an electromagnetic shielding function and includes a case wall  71  partitioning an internal space accommodating the device and an external space as shown in  FIG. 4 . The case wall  71  includes a mounting hole  72 . The mounting hole  72  is a through hole penetrating from a wall surface of the case wall  71  facing the inside of the case and a wall surface facing the outside of the case. A plurality of device-side terminals  73  connected to the device are arranged in the device case  70 . Each device-side terminal  73  is arranged at a position retracted more inwardly of the device case  70  than an arrangement position of the mounting hole  72 . 
     [Terminal-Provided Wire  80 ] 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , a terminal-provided wire  80  includes a wire  81  and a wire-side terminal  82 . Although not shown in detail, the wire  81  has a general configuration including a core and an insulation coating covering the outer periphery of the core. The wire-side terminal  82  is connected to an end of the wire  81 . The wire-side terminal  82  is made of metal and one end part thereof is crimped to the core exposed from an end of the insulation coating. 
     [Shield Connector  10 ] 
     The shield connector  10  is to be mounted on the device case  70 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the shield connector  10  includes a connector housing  20  (hereinafter, abbreviated as a “housing  20 ”), a seal  40 , a fixing plate  50  and a plurality of springs  60 . The housing  20  holds the springs  60  and the terminal-provided wires  80 . The seal  40  is mounted in the housing  20  to seal between the housing  20  and the case wall  71 . The fixing plate  50  is fixed to the housing  20  and mounted on the device case  70  by bolts B (corresponding to a fixing member). The spring  60  is connected to the terminal-provided wire  80  and is to be connected electrically conductively to the device-side terminal  73  with the shield connector  10  mounted on the device case  70 . 
     (Housing  20 ) 
     The housing  20  is made of synthetic resin and includes a receptacle  21  in which the springs  60  are to be arranged, a plate holding portion  26  for holding the fixing plate  50 , wire holding portions  26  for holding each of the terminal-provided wires  80 , and first spring holding portions  30  and second spring holding portions  32  for holding the spring s  60 . 
     The receptacle  21  is a tubular part open on both ends and, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , has a long and narrow rectangular cross-section with rounded corners and includes two long walls  22 A,  22 B arranged substantially parallel to each other and two short walls  23  respectively connecting end edges of the two long walls  22 A,  22 B. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the receptacle  21  is oriented such that a tube axis direction is perpendicular to the case wall  71 . One opening surface of the receptacle  21  is a facing surface  24  facing the case wall  71  and arranged in parallel to the case wall  71 . An internal space of the receptacle  21  serves as a spring accommodating portion  25  for accommodating the springs  60 . 
     The plate holding portion  26  is a rib-like part projecting out from the outer peripheral surface of the receptacle  21 . The plate holding portion  26  is arranged over the entire outer peripheral surface of the receptacle  21 , as shown in  FIG. 1 , and is located on an end part on the side of the facing surface  24  of the receptacle  21 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . The plate holding portion  26  includes a plate holding groove  27 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the plate holding groove  27  is recessed inwardly with the outer peripheral surface of the plate holding portion  26  as a reference (toward a tube center), and is arranged over the entire periphery of the plate holding portion  26 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , each of the wire holding portions  28  is a cylindrical part extending out perpendicularly from the long wall  22 A. The wire holding portions  28  are arranged side by side along a circumferential direction of the receptacle  21  on one  22 A of the two long walls  22 A,  22 B as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  and are located at a side of the facing surface  24  opposite to the plate holding portion  26 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . An end part of each wire  81  and the wire-side terminal  82  are arranged inside each wire holding portion  28 . 
     Each of the first spring holding portions  30  and the second spring holding portions  32  is a rib-like part projecting into the spring accommodating portion  25  (toward the tube center) of the inner peripheral surface of the receptacle  21  as shown in  FIG. 4 . The first spring holding portions  30  are arranged side by side along the circumferential direction of the receptacle  21  on the one long wall  22 A of the receptacle  21 , and the second spring holding portions  32  are arranged side by side along the circumferential direction of the receptacle  21  on the other long wall  22 B. Each pair of one first spring holding portion  30  and one second spring holding portion  32  are arranged to face each other as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , each first spring holding portion  30  includes a spring holding hole  31 . The spring holding hole  31  penetrates from an inner side surface of the first spring holding portion  30  (surface parallel to the inner peripheral surface of the receptacle  21 ) to the outer peripheral surface of the receptacle  21  and communicates with an internal space of the wire holding portion  28 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , each second spring holding portion  32  includes a spring holding hole  33 . The spring holding hole  33  is a groove recessed outwardly (toward the outer peripheral surface of the receptacle  21 ) with an inner side surface of the second spring holding portion  32  (surface parallel to the inner peripheral surface of the receptacle  21 ) as a reference. 
     The receptacle  21  includes a mounting groove  29  for mounting the seal  40 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the mounting hole  29  is recessed toward the other end surface of the receptacle  21  with the facing surface  24  as a reference, and is arranged over the entire periphery of the facing surface  24 . 
     (Seal  40 ) 
     The seal  40  is a member formed of an elastic material such as rubber and is a long and narrow rectangular ring with rounded corners as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The seal  40  is arranged in the mounting groove  29 . A thickness of the seal  40  is larger than a depth of the mounting groove  29  as shown in  FIG. 4 , and the seal  40  is arranged such that a part thereof slightly protrudes toward the case wall  71  from the mounting groove  29 . The seal  40  functions to seal between the housing  20  and the case wall  71  by being sandwiched between the housing  20  and the case wall  71  when the shield connector  10  is mounted on the device case  70 . 
     (Fixing Plate  50 ) 
     The fixing plate  50  is made of metal and is rectangular as a whole, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . A metal, such as aluminum, aluminum alloy, copper, copper alloy, iron or stainless steel, can be selected appropriately as the metal plate material constituting the fixing plate  50  according to need. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 , the fixing plate  50  includes a main plate  51 , a receptacle mounting hole  52 , four bolt insertion holes  53  and a reinforcing wall  54 . The main plate  51  is a rectangular metal plate as a whole and has two long sides and two short sides respectively coupling the two long sides. The receptacle mounting hole  52  is a through hole with a substantially elliptical hole edge penetrating from one plate surface to the other plate surface of the main plate  51 . The four bolt insertion holes  53  receive the bolts B for fixing the shield connector  10  to the device case  70 , and arranged around the receptacle mounting hole  52  on four corners of the main plate  51 . Each bolt insertion hole  53  is a through hole penetrating from the one plate surface to the other plate surface of the main plate  51 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the fixing plate  50  has a part around the receptacle mounting hole  52  arranged in the plate holding groove  27  and is fixed to the housing  20  with an outer peripheral edge part exposed. The fixing plate  50  is arranged perpendicularly to the tube axis direction in the receptacle  21  (parallel to the facing surface  24  and the case wall  71 ). 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 , the reinforcing wall  54  stands up at an angle to the main plate  51  from one of the two long sides of the fixing plate  50 . The reinforcing wall  54  is arranged over the entire length of the long side. The reinforcing wall  54  ensures that the main plate  51  does not deflect and hence ensures close contact between the seal  40  and the case wall  71  when the shield connector  10  is mounted on the device case  70 . 
     (Spring Member  60 ) 
     The spring  60  is a plate spring made of metal and having both ends supported on the housing  20 . The spring  60  includes a resilient deformation portion  61  and first and second supports  63 ,  64 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 , the resilient deformation portion  61  is a plate-like part curved in a substantially U shape. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the two supports  63 ,  64  are plate-like parts respectively extending out (in directions away from each other) from both ends of the resilient deformation portion  61 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 , the resilient deformation portion  61  is arranged such that a surface facing the facing surface  24  is convex, i.e. a surface facing the device case  70  is convex. A contact  62  is a convex tip part. The contact  60  and its proximate part project outwardly of the receptacle  21 , while parts proximate to the supports  63 ,  64  are located inside the receptacle  21 . The contact  62  is to be held in contact with the device-side terminal  73  when the shield connector  10  is mounted on the device case  70 . 
     The first support  63  is fixed inside the spring holding groove  33 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . The second support  64  is arranged to penetrate through the spring holding hole  31 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . A tip part of the second support  64  projects into the wire holding portion  28  and is connected to the wire-side terminal  82 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the resilient deformation portion  61  includes a plurality of slits  65 . Each slit  65  extends in a direction from the first support  63  to the second support  64  and is arranged across the contact  62 . One of both end parts of each slit  65  is located at a position slightly closer to the contact  62  than a boundary position between the resilient deformation portion  61  and the first support  63 , and the other end part is located at a position slightly closer to the contact  62  than a boundary position between the resilient deformation portion  61  and the second support  64 . The slits  65  are parallel to each other and are arranged at a fixed interval. The contact  62  of the resilient deformation portion  61  is divided into a plurality of sections by these slits  65 . 
     Each resilient deformation portion  61  can be deflected to be squeezed in directions toward the supports  63 ,  64  from the contact  62 , i.e. in directions intersecting a plate surface of the fixing plate  50 . 
     [Mounting of Shield Connector  10  on Device Case  70 ] 
     Next, the procedure of mounting the shield connector  10  on the device case  70  is described. First, the shield connector  10  is mounted on the case wall  71  in such a posture that the fixing plate  50  is parallel to the case wall  71  and the facing surface  24  is facing toward the case wall  71 . At this time, the seal  40  is overlapped with a peripheral edge part of the mounting hole  72  on an outer wall surface of the case wall  71 . The contact portion  62  and its peripheral edge part of the spring  60  are inserted into the device case  70  through the mounting hole  72  and held in contact with the device-side terminal  73  (see  FIG. 4 ). 
     In this state, the fixing plate  50  is fixed to the device case  70  using the bolts B inserted through the bolt insertion holes  53 . The bolt B has a general shape including a shaft with an external thread formed on the outer peripheral surface and a head arranged on one end of the shaft and having a larger outer diameter than the shaft, and is screwed into a nut or a screw hole arranged in the device case  70  although not shown in detail. The bolts B are inserted into the bolt insertion holes  53  (see  FIG. 1 ) from a surface of the fixing plate  50  opposite to the case wall  71  (surface opposite to the side where the facing surface  24  is arranged), and tightened in a direction perpendicular to the fixing plate  50  and the case wall  71 . According to this tightening, the fixing plate  50  is pressed toward the case wall  71  by the heads of the bolts B. Associated with this, the contact portion  62  of each resilient deformation portion  61  is pressed against each device-side terminal  73  and each resilient deformation portion  61  resiliently comes into contact with the device-side terminal  73  while being deflected in directions toward the supports  63 ,  64  from the contact  62  (see  FIG. 4 ). In this way, each spring  60  and each device-side terminal  73  are connected electrically. 
     [Summary] 
     As described above, according to this embodiment, the shield connector  10  includes the housing  20  with the spring accommodating portion  25  open on the facing surface  24 , the fixing plate  50  to be fixed to the housing  20  and mounted on the case wall  71  and the springs  60  arranged inside the spring accommodating portion  25 . Each spring  60  includes the first and second supports  63 ,  64  to be supported on the housing  20  and the resilient deformation portion  61  convexly curved toward the facing surface  24  and having a convex tip part serving as the contact  52  to be brought into contact with the device-side terminal  73 , and the resilient deformation portion  61  includes the slits  65  extending from a side connected to the one of the first and second supports  63 ,  64  toward an opposite side across the contact  62 . 
     According to the above configuration, the spring  60  has a spring property and resiliently contacts the device-side terminal  73  while being deflected in the directions toward the first and second supports  63 ,  64  from the contact  62  by having the contact  62  pressed by the device-side terminal  73 . Thus, if the device-side terminal  73  is arranged at such a position that the spring  60  is pressed thereagainst with the shield connector  10  mounted on the device case  70 , the spring  60  can be connected to the device-side terminal  73  by the spring property thereof. Particularly, the slits  65  make it possible to reduce the rigidity of the resilient deformation portion  61  and give a sufficient spring property to the spring  60  to ensure connection to the device-side terminal  73 . 
     This eliminates the need for a bolt for connecting the wire-side terminal  82  and the device-side terminal  73  and also a bolt tightening operation. Further, a space for arranging the bolt and a space for performing the bolt tightening operation are also unnecessary. In this way, the shield connector  10  can be miniaturized and a cost reduction due to a reduction in the number of components and a reduction in the number of operation steps is possible. 
     Further, there are also the following effects brought about by the resilient deformation portion  61  including the slits  65  besides the ensuring of the spring property as described above. 
     Even if the shield connector  10  is mounted obliquely, each part of the contact  62  divided by the slits  65  is deflected independently. Thus, the resilient deformation portion  61  can be held in contact with the device-side terminal  73  at plural contact points and the connection reliability of the resilient deformation portion  61  and the device-side terminal  73  can be enhanced. Further, even if external matter enters between the contact  62  and the device-side terminal  73 , it escapes into the interior of the slit  65 . Thus, a connection error between the spring  60  and the device-side terminal  73  can be avoided. 
     Further, the shield connector  10  includes the bolts B and the fixing plate  50  is fixed while being pressed toward the case wall  71  by these bolts B. 
     According to the above configuration, the springs  60  are pressed toward and come into contact with the device-side terminals  73  as the fixing plate  50  is pressed toward and fixed to the case wall  71  by the bolts B. That is, since a direction in which the fixing plate  50  is pressed against the device case  70  by the bolts B and a direction in which the springs  60  are pressed toward the device-side terminals  73  are the same when the shield connector  10  is mounted, the springs  60  and the device-side terminals  73  can be brought resiliently into contact and connected by an operation of mounting the shield connector  10  on the device case  70 . In this way, the production process can be further simplified and cost can be reduced. 
     The invention is not limited to the above described and illustrated embodiment. For example, the following embodiments also are included in the scope of the invention. 
     The spring  60  has the first support  63  arranged at one end of the resilient deformation portion  61  and the second support  64  arranged at the other end and is supported on the housing  20  on both ends in the above embodiment. However, the support may be arranged at either one of the ends of the resilient deformation portion  61  and the spring  60  may be supported on the housing only on one end part. 
     Although the resilient deformation portion  61  includes the slits  65  in the above embodiment, the resilient deformation portion may include one slit. 
     LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS 
     
         
           10  . . . shield connector (connector) 
           20  . . . connector housing 
           24  . . . facing surface (opening surface) 
           25  . . . spring accommodating portion 
           50  . . . fixing plate 
           60  . . . spring member 
           61  . . . resilient deformation portion 
           62  . . . contact portion (tip part) 
           63  . . . first supporting portion 
           64  . . . second supporting portion 
           65  . . . slit 
         B . . . bolt (fixing member) 
           70  . . . device case 
           71  . . . case wall 
           73  . . . device-side terminal