Patent ID: 12224522

DETAILED DESCRIPTION TO EXECUTE THE INVENTION

Description of Embodiments of Present Disclosure

First, embodiments of the present disclosure are listed and described.

(1) The connector of the present disclosure is provided with a housing for accommodating a terminal, a back retainer mounted in a rear end part of the housing, a wire connected to the terminal being pulled out from the rear end part of the housing, a wire insertion hole provided in the back retainer, and a wire holding piece projecting in a pull-out direction of the wire from a peripheral edge part of the wire insertion hole, the wire pulled out from the wire insertion hole being tied and fixed to the wire holding piece by a tying tool.

According to the connector of the present disclosure, the wire holding piece is provided which projects from the peripheral edge part of the wire insertion hole of the back retainer, and the wire pulled from the wire insertion hole is tied and fixed to the wire holding piece by the tying tool. In this way, an external force applied from the wire toward the terminal due to a displacement such as wire tension caused by the swing of the wire or a temperature change is absorbed by the wire holding piece and reliably dispersed to the housing via the back retainer. As a result, it can be reliably suppressed or prevented that the external force is transmitted from the wire to the terminal in the connector and it is possible to prevent problems such as plating wear, an increase of a contact resistance and, further, the generation of a spark caused by contact separation when a contact point portion of the terminal with a mating terminal moves due to a displacement such as a wire swing.

Particularly, since it is sufficient to tie and fix the wire to the wire holding piece projecting from the peripheral edge part of the wire insertion hole using the tying tool, the transmission of an external force from the wire to the terminal can be reliably prevented or suppressed by a simple structure.

Note that any of arbitrary tying tools such as a zip tie and a binding tape can be adopted as long as the tying tool can tie and fix the wire to the wire holding piece. Further, the number of the wire holding piece(s) may be one or more.

(2) Preferably, a pair of the wire holding pieces are provided to project at two positions facing each other in a radial direction of the wire insertion hole, and the wire is sandwiched and tied and fixed between the pair of wire holding pieces from both sides in the radial direction. This is because the wire can be sandwiched between the pair of wire holding pieces projecting at the two positions facing each other in the radial direction of the wire and the transmission of a displacement of the wire toward the terminal can be more reliably suppressed or prevented by more reliably absorbing the displacement such as a wire swing.

(3) In (2) described above, preferably, the pair of wire holding pieces are deflectable and deformable outward in the radial direction, wire pressing portions are respectively provided to project on inner peripheral surfaces of the pair of wire holding pieces, and a radial separation distance between projecting tip parts of the wire pressing portions is set smaller than an outer diameter of the wire. Since the pair of wire holding pieces are deflectable and deformable outward in the radial direction, an operation of inserting and arranging the wire between the pair of wire holding pieces can be easily performed. Further, the radial separation distance between the projecting tip parts of the wire pressing portions projecting on the inner peripheral surfaces of the pair of wire holding pieces is set smaller than the outer diameter of the wire. In this way, the wire can be reliably temporarily held between the wire pressing portions before tying, and an operation of tying the wire to the wire holding pieces by the tying tool can be easily performed. Further, in a tied state, the wire pressing portions can be pressed to bite into the wire from both sides in the radial direction, and the holding of the wire by the wire holding pieces can be more stably realized.

(4) In (3) described above, the wire pressing portion preferably has a hemispherical shape. This is because an engaging margin of the wire pressing portion with an insulation coating of the wire can be stably ensured against an external force of any direction transmitted from the wire.

(5) Preferably, the connector includes an outer peripheral wall separated on an outer peripheral side of the wire holding piece and projecting in the pull-out direction of the wire and a cover wall projecting from a projecting end side of the outer peripheral wall toward the wire holding piece, and an accommodation region for the tying tool is formed by a clearance between the wire holding piece and the outer peripheral wall and the escape of the tying tool from the accommodation region is obstructed by the contact of the tying tool with the cover wall. This is because the accommodation region for the tying tool can be secured with good space efficiency by a simple structure of providing the outer peripheral wall projecting and separated on the outer peripheral side of the wire holding piece. Moreover, this is because the escape of the tying tool from the accommodation region can be stably obstructed by a simple structure of providing the cover wall projecting toward the wire holding piece on the projecting end side of the outer peripheral wall.

Note that the outer peripheral wall may have any shape as long as the accommodation region for the tying tool can be formed in the clearance between the outer peripheral wall and the wire holding piece. For example, the outer peripheral wall may be shaped in the form of a projecting piece like the wire holding piece, shaped to arcuately project over a predetermined circumferential distance of the wire insertion hole or shaped to annularly extend over the entire circumference of the wire insertion hole. Similarly, the cover wall can also have any shape as long as the escape of the tying tool from the accommodation region can be obstructed.

(6) In any one of (2) to (4) described above, preferably, the connector includes a pair of outer peripheral walls in the form of projecting pieces respectively separated on outer peripheral sides of a pair of the wire holding pieces and projecting in the pull-out direction of the wire and an annular cover wall projecting from projecting end sides of the pair of outer peripheral walls toward the wire holding pieces and coupling the projecting end sides of the pair of outer peripheral walls to each other, and a pair of accommodation regions for the tying tool are formed by a pair of clearances between the pair of wire holding pieces and the pair of outer peripheral walls and the escape of the tying tool from the accommodation regions is obstructed by the contact of the tying tool with the cover wall. This is because the pair of accommodation regions can be provided on the outer peripheral sides of the pair of wire holding pieces, i.e. on both sides in the radial direction of the wire, and the tying tool can be more stably accommodated and held. Moreover, since the projecting end sides of the pair of outer peripheral walls in the form of projecting pieces are coupled to each other by the annular cover wall, the strength of the outer peripheral walls in the form of projecting pieces can also be stably ensured. Therefore, the tying tool accommodation regions provided with a function of preventing the escape of the tying tool while reducing material cost and weight can be advantageously constructed.

Details of Embodiment of Present Disclosure

A specific example of a connector of the present disclosure is described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to these illustrations and is intended to be represented by claims and include all changes in the scope of claims and in the meaning and scope of equivalents.

Embodiment

An embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference toFIGS.1to4. As shown inFIG.1, a connector10in this embodiment includes a housing16for accommodating terminals12and spring members14, wires18connected to the terminals12and extending out from a rear end part of the housing16, and back retainers20for holding the wires18by being mounted into the rear end part of the housing16. Note that, for a plurality of identical members, only some members may be denoted by a reference sign and the other members may not be denoted by the reference sign. As is clear fromFIGS.1and2, two wires18with the terminals12are accommodated and held in the housing16in the connector10of this embodiment. Since the two wires18with the terminals12, and the back retainers20and later-described seal members60to be mounted on the wires18are identically structured, one wire18with the terminal12is described in detail below.

<Housing16>

As shown inFIGS.1and2, the terminal12is accommodated into the housing16of the connector10together with the spring member14and used as the connector10. The housing16is made of synthetic resin and has a rectangular tube shape extending in a longitudinal direction and open in the front-rear direction. Mating terminal insertion holes22, into which mating terminals21are inserted, are formed at two vertically spaced apart positions on a front side of the housing16, and terminal insertion holes24, into which the terminals12are inserted, are formed at two vertically spaced apart positions on a rear side of the housing16. The mating terminal insertion holes22and the terminal insertion holes24formed at the above two positions respectively communicate with cavities26having a rectangular cross-sectional shape, spaced apart in the vertical direction and extending in the longitudinal direction. A spring member accommodating portion28in the form of a recess is formed in a wall part on a front end side of the cavity26, and engaging holes30are respectively formed in upper and lower walls on a rear side of the spring member accommodating portion28.

<Terminal12>

As shown inFIG.1, the terminal12is a connection terminal in the form of a flat plate. A metal material such as copper, copper alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy or stainless steel can be appropriately used as a material of the terminal12. A surface processing such as silver plating, tin plating or aluminum plating may be applied to the terminal12according to the type of the constituent metal thereof and a use environment. The terminal12can be, for example, formed by press punching a metal plate excellent in conductivity. The terminal12includes a mating terminal connecting portion32to be electrically connected to the mating terminal21(seeFIG.2) on a tip side (left side inFIG.1) and a core crimping portion34to be connected to the wire18on a base end side (right side inFIG.2). The core crimping portion34includes a bottom wall36in the form of a rectangular flat plate and a pair of crimping pieces38,38in the form of rectangular flat plates projecting from both widthwise side edge parts of the bottom wall36. A core40of the wire18is conductively connected to this core crimping portion34. The wire18is structured such that the core40formed by bundling a plurality of wires made of copper, aluminum or another metal, which is a conductor, is covered with an insulation coating42having an electrically insulating property and made of ethylene resin, styrene resin or the like. After the core40exposed by stripping the insulation coating42in an end of the wire18is placed on the bottom wall36of the core crimping portion34, the core crimping portion34is crimped using a known crimping technique. In this way, the core crimping portion34including the bottom wall36and the pair of crimping pieces38,38is plastically deformed and crimped to embrace the outer peripheral surface of the core40, and the core40of the wire18is conductively connected to the terminal12.

<Contact Point Portion44>

As shown inFIGS.1and2, the terminal12includes a contact point portion44formed into a curved surface bulging toward the mating terminal21on a surface facing the mating terminal21. The contact point portion44has a gently curved surface, which is nearly a flat surface. In this embodiment, the contact point portion44is in the form of a strip expanding over the entire length in a width direction in a longitudinal part.

<Spring Member14>

The spring member14is formed using various pressable or punchable metal materials such as strip plates of spring steel, stainless steel, brass, phosphor bronze and beryllium copper. A surface processing such as silver plating, tin plating or aluminum plating may be applied to the spring member14according to the type of the constituent metal thereof and a use environment. As shown inFIG.2, the spring member14is such that pressing pieces46a,46bare respectively overlapped to vertically sandwich the mating terminal connecting portion32and the mating terminal21from both sides in an overlapping direction (vertical direction inFIGS.1and2) with the mating terminal21overlapped on the mating terminal connecting portion32of the terminal12. Widthwise right end parts (back end parts inFIGS.1and2) of the pressing pieces46a,46bare coupled by a coupling portion48in the form of a rectangular flat plate. The pressing piece46aof the spring member14configured to come into contact with the mating terminal21includes a spherical shell shaped pressing point50bulging toward the mating terminal21.

<Spring Member Retainer52>

As shown inFIG.2, the terminal12includes an engaging hole54between the mating terminal connecting portion32and the core crimping portion34. The engaging hole54is formed to penetrate through the terminal12in a plate thickness direction. The spring member retainer52is, for example, made of synthetic resin excellent in heat resistance and rigidity, and includes an upper spring member retainer divided body56and a lower spring member retainer divided body58. The upper and lower spring member retainer divided bodies56,58are assembled with and fixed to each other by an unillustrated engaging mechanism. The upper spring member retainer divided body56is provided with an engaging protrusion56ahaving a rectangular cross-sectional shape and projecting downward and an engaging projection56bhaving a triangular cross-sectional shape and projecting upward. The lower spring member retainer divided body58is provided with an engaging protrusion58ahaving a rectangular cross-sectional shape and projecting upward and an engaging projection58bhaving a triangular cross-sectional shape and projecting downward. As shown inFIG.2, the engaging protrusion56aof the upper spring member retainer divided body56is engaged with a front side of the engaging hole54of the terminal12and the engaging protrusion58aof the lower spring member retainer divided body58is engaged with a rear side of the engaging hole54of the terminal12. In such a state, the upper and lower spring member retainer divided bodies56,58are assembled with each other and fixed to the terminal12.

<Back Retainer20>

The back retainer20and the seal member60are mounted on the end of the wire18. That is, the back retainer20and the seal member60are mounted into the rear end part of the housing16from which the wire18connected to the terminal12is pulled out. As shown inFIGS.3and4, the back retainer20has a substantially rectangular flat plate shape and is formed with a circular wire insertion hole62penetrating in a plate thickness direction in a central part. Side walls66in the form of rectangular flat plates and projecting forward (leftward inFIG.4) over the entire lengths are provided on both end edge parts in the width direction (lateral direction inFIG.3) of a front surface64of the back retainer20. Rectangular engaging holes68penetrating in the plate thickness direction while having such a length from both widthwise end edge parts of the front surface64of the back retainer20as not to reach projecting end parts of the side walls66are formed in vertically central parts of the side walls66. Peripheral edge parts facing each other in a radial direction (vertical direction inFIGS.3and4) of the wire insertion hole62in a rear surface70of the back retainer20are provided with wire holding pieces72having an arcuate cross-sectional shape and projecting from the peripheral edge parts in a pull-out direction (rightward inFIG.4) of the wire18. That is, a pair of the wire holding pieces72,72are provided to project from the peripheral edge parts at two positions facing each other in the radial direction of the wire insertion hole62.

Further, the pair of wire holding pieces72,72are cantilevered from the peripheral edge parts of the wire insertion hole62while having an arcuate cross-section shape, and deflectable and deformable radially outwardly of the wire insertion hole62. Furthermore, a wire pressing portion74is provided to project radially inwardly of the wire holding piece72in a central part of the inner peripheral surface of each of the pair of wire holding pieces72,72. Here, a curvature of the inner peripheral surface of the wire holding piece72is substantially equal to that of the outer peripheral surface of the wire18, so that the wire18can be stably held by the pair of wire holding pieces72,72as described later. Moreover, the wire pressing portion74has a hemispherical shape. Thus, even if an external force is transmitted from the wire18in any direction, engagement margins of the wire pressing portions74with the insulation coating42of the wire18, i.e. sinking amounts of the wire pressing portions74into the insulation coating42can be substantially equal, and a fixed sinking amount can be stably ensured. In addition, as shown inFIG.2, a radial separation distance r between projecting tip parts of the wire pressing portions74of the pair of wire holding pieces72,72when the wire is not inserted yet is set smaller than an outer diameter R of the wire18.

Further, outer peripheral walls76,76in the form of projecting pieces projecting from the rear surface70in the pull-out direction (rightward inFIG.4) of the wire18are provided in widthwise central parts of end edge parts in the vertical direction of the back retainer20. An annular cover wall78is arranged on the projecting ends of the pair of outer peripheral walls76,76, and the pair of outer peripheral walls76,76are coupled to each other via the cover wall78. The cover wall78is disposed concentrically with the wire insertion hole62, so that the wire18pulled out from the wire insertion hole62is pulled out through a center hole of the cover wall78. Here, the pair of outer peripheral walls76,76are separated on outer peripheral sides of the pair of wire holding pieces72,72. The cover wall78projects and expands radially inward from the pair of outer peripheral walls76,76and, as shown inFIG.2, an inner peripheral side of the cover wall78is separated axially outward (rightward inFIG.2) from projecting parts of the pair of wire holding pieces72,72and overlap these projecting parts in axial projection. In this way, clearances are formed between the pair of wire holding pieces72,72and the pair of outer peripheral walls76,76, and a pair of accommodation regions80,80for accommodating a strip-like portion84of a zip tie82constituting a tying tool to be described later are formed by this pair of clearances. Further, the strip-like portion84of the zip tie82comes into contact with the cover wall78, thereby obstructing the escape of the zip tie82from the pair of accommodation regions80,80.

<Zip Tie82>

As shown inFIG.3, the zip tie82includes the strip-like portion84in the form of an elongated flat plate having a rectangular cross-section, and a block-like head portion86is formed on one longitudinal end part of this strip-like portion84. The zip tie82is integrally molded from a synthetic resin material and the strip-like portion84is curvable and deformable. Further, many unillustrated locking projections are formed side by side in the longitudinal direction on the strip-like portion84, and the strip-like portion84can be unreleasably locked to an unillustrated locking piece projecting in an insertion hole88of the head portion86by curving the strip-like portion84into a ring and inserting a tip part of the strip-like portion84into the insertion hole88.

<Seal Member60>

The seal member60is made of rubber and, as shown inFIGS.2and3, mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the wire18on the side of the terminal12adjacent to the back retainer20on the end of the wire18.

Assembling Method of Embodiment

An assembling method of this embodiment is briefly described below. At first, the back retainer20and the seal member60are fit in this order on the insulation coating42on the end part of the wire18in advance. Then, the terminal12is prepared and the core crimping portion34of this terminal12is crimped to the core40of the wire18for conductive connection. Subsequently, the spring member retainer52composed of the upper and lower spring member retainer divided bodies56,58is mounted into the engaging hole54of the terminal12and the spring member14is arranged on the mating terminal connecting portion32of the terminal12. The two wires18configured in this way are respectively inserted into predetermined terminal insertion holes24of the housing16of the connector10with the mating terminal connecting portions32in the lead, and pushed to the backs. In this way, the spring members14arranged on the mating terminal connecting portions32of the terminals12are stably accommodated in the predetermined spring member accommodating portions28in the housing16as shown inFIG.2. That is, tip parts of the mating terminal connecting portions32of the terminals12are engaged with fitting holes90provided on the tip side of the housing16and the engaging projections56b,58bof the spring member retainers52are fit into the engaging holes30provided on rear sides of the spring member accommodating portions28of the housing16. Thereafter, the seal member60and the back retainer20are moved toward the housing16and the back retainer20is fit into the housing16. In this way, as shown inFIG.2, the pair of wire holding pieces72,72are deflected and deformed radially outwardly of the wire insertion hole62and the radial separation distance r between the projecting tip parts of the wire pressing portions74in the pair of wire holding pieces72,72becomes equal to the outer diameter R. As a result, the wire18is held pressed by resilient restoring forces of the wire pressing portions74. Further, as shown inFIG.1, the engaging holes68provided in the side walls66of the back retainer20are respectively engaged with engaging projections92provided at facing positions of side walls on the rear side of the housing16. Finally, as shown inFIGS.1and2, the wire18pulled out from the wire insertion hole62of the back retainer20is tied and fixed to the pair of wire holding pieces72,72using the zip tie82serving as a tying tool, whereby the connector10of this embodiment is completed. That is, after the strip-like portion84of the zip tie82is wound on the outer peripheral surfaces of the pair of wire holding pieces72,72and the tip part of the strip-like portion84is inserted into the insertion hole88and tightened as shown inFIG.3, an extra tip part of the strip-like portion84extending out from the insertion hole88is cut. As a result, as shown inFIG.2, the strip-like portion84is accommodated in the pair of accommodation regions80,80, and the wire18is sandwiched and tied and fixed between the pair of wire holding pieces72,72from both sides in the radial direction of the wire insertion hole62of the back retainer20. As shown inFIGS.1and2, in this embodiment, two wires18with the terminals12are similarly mounted into the housing16by the aforementioned assembling method.

According to the connector10of the present disclosure configured as just described, the wire18pulled out from the wire insertion hole62of the back retainer20is tied and fixed to the pair of wire holding pieces72,72using the zip tie82. In this way, even if an external force is applied from the wire18toward the terminal12due to a displacement such as tension of the wire caused by the swing of the wire18or a temperature change, the external force is absorbed by the wire holding pieces72and reliably dispersed from the wire holding pieces72to the housing16via the back retainer20. As a result, it is reliably suppressed or prevented that the external force is directly transmitted to the terminal12in the connector10without being dispersed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent problems such as an increase of a contact resistance caused by plating wear and the generation of a spark caused by contact separation when the contact point portion44of the terminal12with the mating terminal21swings due to the external force.

Further, since the wire18is fixed to the pair of wire holding pieces72,72of the back retainer20using the zip tie82, the transmission of an external force from the wire18to the terminal12can be reliably prevented or suppressed by a simple structure. Further, since the wire18can be sandwiched between the pair of wire holding pieces72,72projecting at two positions facing each other in the radial direction of the wire insertion hole62in this embodiment, the transmission of an external force toward the terminal12can be more reliably suppressed or prevented by more reliably absorbing the external force caused by a displacement such as the swing of the wire18.

Moreover, the radial separation distance r between the projecting tip parts of the wire pressing portions74in the pair of wire holding pieces72,72when the wire is not inserted yet is set smaller than the outer diameter R of the wire18. In this way, even before the wire18is tied and fixed using the zip tie82, the wire18can be temporarily held by the pair of wire holding pieces72,72. Thus, an operation of tying the wire18by the zip tie82can be easily performed. Further, since the wire pressing portions74can reliably press and bite into the wire18from both radial sides during tying, the holding of the wire18by the pair of wire holding pieces72,72can be more stably realized.

Further, the accommodation regions80for the zip tie82can be secured with good space efficiency by a simple structure of providing the pair of outer peripheral walls76,76separated on the outer peripheral sides of the pair of wire holding pieces72,72. Furthermore, the escape of the zip tie82from the accommodation regions80can be stably obstructed by a simple structure of providing the cover wall78between the projecting ends of the pair of outer peripheral walls76,76.

Other Embodiments

The technique described in this specification is not limited to the above described and illustrated embodiment. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the technique described in this specification.

(1) Although the pair of wire holding pieces72,72are provided to project from the peripheral edge parts at two positions facing each other in the radial direction of the wire insertion hole62in the above embodiment, there is no limitation to this. One, three or more wire holding pieces72may be provided according to a routing structure of the wire18and the like and the projecting positions are also not limited to facing positions.

(2) The tying tool only has to be able to tie and fix the wire18to the wire holding pieces72, and an arbitrary tying tool such as a binding tape can be adopted besides the zip tie82illustrated in the above embodiment.

(3) Although the radial separation distance r between the projecting tip parts of the wire pressing portions74in the pair of wire holding pieces72,72when the wire is not inserted yet is set smaller than the outer diameter R of the wire18in the above embodiment, there is no limitation to this. Even if the radial separation distance r is equal to or larger than the outer diameter R of the wire18, there is an effect of reliably suppressing or preventing the transmission of an external force to the terminal12in the connector11as in the above embodiment if the wire holding pieces72can be tied and fixed to the wire18.

(4) Although the wire pressing portion74has a hemispherical shape in the above embodiment, there is no limitation to this and an arbitrary shape can be adopted. For example, a wire pressing portion having an arcuate cross-sectional shape and extending in a projecting direction of the wire holding piece72may be adopted.

(5) Although the outer peripheral walls76are in the form of a pair of projecting pieces in the above embodiment, there is no limitation to this and the outer peripheral walls76may have any shape as long as the accommodation regions80for the zip tie82can be formed in the clearances between the outer peripheral walls76and the wire holding pieces72. For example, the outer peripheral wall76may be shaped to project while having an arcuate cross-sectional shape over a predetermined circumferential distance of the wire insertion hole62or may be shaped to annularly project around the entire circumference of the wire insertion hole62. Similarly, the shape of the cover wall78is also not limited to an annular shape coupling the projecting end sides of the pair of outer peripheral walls76,76to each other and any shape capable of obstructing the escape of the zip tie82from the accommodation regions80is included in the scope of the present disclosure.

(6) Although the individual back retainers20are respectively mounted on the two wires18pulled out from the housing16in the above embodiment, the back retainers20to be mounted on the respective wires18may be integrated with each other if a plurality of the wires18are pulled out from the housing16.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

10connector12terminal14spring member16housing18wire20back retainer21mating terminal22mating terminal insertion hole24terminal insertion hole26cavity28spring member accommodating portion30engaging hole32mating terminal connecting portion34core crimping portion36bottom wall38crimping piece40core42insulation coating44contact point portion46a,46bpressing piece48coupling portion50pressing point52spring member retainer54engaging hole56upper spring member retainer divided body56aengaging protrusion56bengaging projection58lower spring member retainer divided body58aengaging protrusion58bengaging projection60seal member62wire insertion hole64front surface66side wall68engaging hole70rear surface72wire holding piece74wire pressing portion76outer peripheral wall78cover wall80accommodation region82zip tie (tying tool)84strip-like portion86head portion88insertion hole90fitting hole92engaging projection