Patent Application
20240154341
The present invention relates to a connector device used for an internal wiring connection of an electric machine tool that causes vibration.
Electric machine tools that cause vibration, such as a concrete vibrator, achieve vibration resistance mostly by providing minimum wiring connections or by adopting a complicated structure, so as not to produce defects such as a contact failure or a breakage of internal wirings due to vibration. It has thus been unable to provide ease of maintenance when defects occur, for instance.
To improve maintainability, an invention of a concrete vibrator was proposed that uses a connector device for removably coupling internal wirings, which is described in Japanese publication of examined utility model number: JPY2 H03-048864.
The connector device described in the publication JPY2 H03-048864 has a structure for coupling a plurality of power receiving cords coming out at the rear of an electric motor stator mounted in a cylindrical housing to a power supply cord connected to an external power supply. In the structure, a male connector is configured such that a pin-shaped male terminal is connected at a tip of a power receiving cord, and the power receiving cord is secured and fitted to a cord guide made of an elastic material, thereby the male terminal is disposed in a predefined position. In the structure, a female connector is configured such that a pin-shaped female terminal is connected at a tip of a power supply cord, and the power supply cord is secured and fitted to a terminal stopper, thereby the female terminal is disposed in a predefined position in a cord cap made of an elastic material. The male connector and the female connector are then used to removably couple the male terminal and the female terminal.
In this connector device, when the male terminal of the male connector and the female terminal of the female connector are to be coupled, the male terminal of the male connector secured to the motor and the female terminal disposed in the cord cap are tightly fitted together to couple the male connector and the female connector, and then a hose joint is screwed in a cylindrical housing of the motor. The cord cap of the female connector, which is made of the elastic material, is thus pressed and elastically deformed in a circumferential direction and brought into close contact with an inner peripheral surface of the hose joint. This prevents the cord cap of the female connector from vibrating inside the hose joint.
The connector device, however, has a structure in which the male terminal and the female terminal are connected in a hollow portion inside the cord cap of the female connector. Connection portions themselves between the male and female terminals are thus vulnerable to the effects of vibration. Contact failures or short circuits may thus occur due to an inadvertent contact between connection portions. In particular, the cord cap of the female terminal is made of an elastic material, and thus the cord cap may be elastically deformed inward (into the hollow portion) too, due to a pressing force applied when the male and female connectors are connected. As a result, there is a high risk that two or more connection portions between the male and female terminals are urged toward the center, and brought into contact with one another.
When the male connector and the female connector are to be coupled, the cord cap made of an elastic material is elastically deformed in a circumferential direction due to a pressing force applied in a connection axis direction, and thus the cord cap is brought into tight contact with the inner peripheral surface of the hose joint. When the hose joint is to be mounted to or removed from the cylindrical housing by screwing it, there is a possibility that the cord cap is also rotated together with the hose joint, due to the friction between a hose joint inner peripheral surface and a cord cap outer peripheral surface. The connection portion can thus be damaged due to a load in a rotational direction applied to the connection portion between the male and female terminals.
Another issue may be that this connection structure is complicated and thus time and efforts are consumed to disassemble and reassemble components, resulting in poor maintainability.
An object of the present invention is to provide a connector device for an electric machine tool, which is excellent in vibration resistance and safety, and which can be easily disassembled and reassembled.
A connector device for an electric machine tool according to the present invention is a connector device for removably connecting an internal wiring of the electric machine tool, comprising: a male connector comprising a plurality of male contact pieces, and a male contact piece retention portion for retaining the plurality of male contact pieces; and a female connector comprising a plurality of female contact pieces, and a female contact piece retention portion for retaining the plurality of female contact pieces. The male contact piece retention portion has a plurality of convex portions arranged concentrically. The plurality of male contact pieces are concentrically mounted on an outer peripheral wall of the convex portion, and a tip end thereof being inclined toward the center of the convex portion. The female contact piece retention portion has a plurality of concave portions arranged concentrically. The plurality of female contact pieces are concentrically mounted on an inner peripheral wall of the concave portion, and a base end thereof being inclined toward the center of the concave portion. With this configuration, the convex portion, to which the male contact piece is mounted, and the concave portion, to which the female contact piece is mounted, are brought into contact and tightly fitted with one another.
The plurality of convex portions are configured such that a plurality of concentric convex portions are formed in the male contact piece retention portion. For instance, annular convex portions may be disposed concentrically about one cylindrical convex portion. Alternatively, concentric cylindrical convex portions, each having a different diameter, may be provided to form a step like structure.
The plurality of concave portions are configured such that a plurality of concentric concave portions, which can be fitted with the plurality of convex portions, are formed in the female contact piece retention portion. For instance, annular concave portions may be disposed concentrically about one circular concave portion. Alternatively, concentrically arranged circular concave portions, each having a different diameter, may be provided to form a step like structure.
The expression of “the convex portion, to which the male contact piece is mounted, and the concave portion, to which the female contact piece is mounted, are brought into contact and tightly fitted with one another” means that the convex portion of the male contact piece retention portion, to which the male contact piece is mounted, and the concave portion of the female contact piece retention portion, to which the female contact piece is mounted, are fitted with one another.
The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the convex portion of the male contact piece retention portion has a convex stepped structure, and the concave portion of the female contact piece retention portion has a concave stepped structure.
The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that, a contact length along a connection axis of a connection between the male and female contact pieces in a connection portion between the convex portion, to which the male contact piece is mounted, and the concave portion, to which the female contact piece is mounted, is determined such that a contact length along the connection axis of the connection between the male and female contact pieces that are disposed in an inner portion is longer than a contact length along the connection axis of a connection between the male and female contact pieces that are disposed in an outer portion.
The invention according to claim 4 is a connector device for an electric machine tool, wherein either one of a male connector or a female connector is mounted to a first casing and the other one is mounted to a second casing, and then the male connector and the female connector are coupled by connecting the first casing and the second casing. The present invention is characterized in that the male connector or the female connector mounted to at least one of the first casing or the second casing is movable along the connection axis in the casing to which it is mounted, and an elastic member is disposed at the rear of the movable male connector or the female connector so that the male connector and the female connector are coupled, with the elastic member being urged when the first casing and the second casing are connected. A rubber, a spring, or the like may be used for the elastic member. In the present invention, the expression of “movable along the connection axis” means that it can be moved in a direction the male connector and the female connector are being connected, and the expression of “rear of the male connector or the female connector” means a side opposite to the side (a side to which respective contact piece is being mounted) the connector is connected with the other connector.
The invention according to claim 5 is a connector device for an electric machine tool, wherein either one of a male connector or a female connector is mounted to a first casing and the other one is mounted to a second casing, and then the male connector and the female connector are coupled by connecting the first casing and the second casing. The present invention is characterized in that the male connector or the female connector mounted to the first casing and the female connector or the male connector mounted to the second casing are both movable along the connection axis in the casing to which it is mounted, and an elastic member is disposed at each of the rear of the movable male connector and the female connector so that the male connector and the female connector are coupled, with the elastic member being urged when the first casing and the second casing are connected.
The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 4 or 5, a rotation prevention mechanism is provided that prevents the male connector and/or the female connector mounted to be movable along the connection axis from rotating in the casing. The rotation prevention mechanism may be configured such that, for instance, but not limited to, by forming a ridge or a groove that extends along the connection axis on an outer peripheral surface of a male connector and/or a female connector which is movable along the connection axis, and then forming a groove or a ridge, which can be fitted to said ridge or groove, in a first casing to which the male connector or the female connector is mounted and/or to a second casing to which the female connector or the male connector is mounted. Alternatively, the rotation prevention mechanism may be configured by forming a protrusion or a hole axially extending at the rear of a male connector and/or a female connector which are movable along the connection axis, and then forming a hole or a protrusion, which can be fitted in said protrusion or hole, in a first casing to which the male connector or the female connector is mounted and/or to a second casing to which the female connector or the male connector is mounted. Alternatively, the rotation prevention mechanism may be configured such that a male connector or a female connector movable along the connection axis has a cross section being non-perfect circle, and an inner cavity of a first casing, to which the male connector or the female connector is mounted, and/or an inner cavity of a second casing, to which the female connector or the male connector is mounted, has a shape into which the male connector and/or the female connector having the non-perfect circle cross sectional shape can be slidably fitted. In short, it is only required that the rotation prevention mechanism is configured to prevent a circumferential rotation of the connectors, without blocking the motion along the connection axis of the male connector or female connector mounted movably along the connection axis in the first casing and/or the female connector or male connector mounted movably along the connection axis in the second casing.
The invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that either one of the male connector or the female connector is secured to a first casing, while the other one is slidably fitted and inserted into a second casing, and a spacer made of an elastic member is disposed in the rear of the female connector or the male connector fitted and inserted into the second casing, so that the male connector and the female connector are brought into connection, with the spacer being urged, by connecting the first casing and the second casing.
The invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 7, a rotation prevention mechanism is provided that prevents the female connector or the male connector slidably fitted and inserted into the second casing from rotating in the second casing. The rotation prevention mechanism may be configured, for instance, by forming a ridge or a groove that extends along the axis on an outer peripheral surface of a female connector or a male connector slidably fitted and inserted into a second casing, and then forming a groove or a ridge, which can be fitted into said ridge or groove, in the second casing. Alternatively, the female connector or the male connector slidably fitted and inserted into the second casing may be a non-perfect circle in cross section, and an inner cavity of the second casing, into which the female connector or the male connector is to be fitted, may have a shape into which the male connector and/or female connector having the non-perfect circle cross sectional shape can be slidably fitted.
According to the present invention, a male connector comprises: a plurality of male contact pieces, and a male contact piece retention portion that retains the plurality of male contact pieces. The male contact piece retention portion has a plurality of convex portions arranged concentrically. The plurality of male contact pieces are concentrically mounted on an outer peripheral wall of the convex portion, and disposed with a tip end thereof being inclined toward the center of the convex portion. The female connector comprises: a plurality of female contact pieces, and a female contact piece retention portion that retains the plurality of female contact pieces. The female contact piece retention portion has a plurality of concave portions arranged concentrically. The plurality of female contact pieces are concentrically mounted on an inner peripheral wall of the concave portion, with a base end thereof being inclined toward the center of the concave portion such that the convex portion, to which the male contact piece is mounted, and the concave portion, to which the female contact piece is mounted, are brought into tight contact when the male connector and the female connector are connected. As a result, when the male contact piece and the female contact piece are connected, the male contact piece is retained by the male contact piece retention portion, and the female contact piece is retained by the female contact piece retention portion. Therefore, gaps may not readily form in a circumferential direction of the connection portion between the male contact piece and the female contact piece. This can reliably avoid contact failures in a connection portion between the male and female contact pieces due to the vibration. This configuration can also surely avoid short circuits which might be caused by a connection portion between the male and female contact pieces being inadvertently contacting another connection portion.
Since the male contact piece and the female contact piece are both arranged concentrically, load is less likely to be applied to the connection portion between the male and female contact pieces even when the contact pieces are rotated for connection and disconnection. Therefore, contact failures and damage due to the rotation of the contact pieces can be avoided. When the male connector and the female connector are to be connected or disconnected, a user may simply insert one of the male connector and the female connector to the other or pull one from the other linearly along the connection axis. Alternatively, the user may connect or disconnect them by rotating one or both of the male and female connectors. Since the tip end of the male contact piece is inclined toward the center of the convex portion and the base end of the female contact piece is inclined toward the center of the concave portion, the male and female contact pieces can be smoothly connected to and separated from one another, and the male contact piece and the female contact piece, which are being urged together along the connection axis, can be reliably brought into surface contact.
According to the invention of claim 2, the convex portion of the male contact piece retention portion has a concave stepped structure, and the concave portion of the female contact piece retention portion has a concave stepped structure. Therefore, the strength in the connection portion between the male contact piece and the female contact piece is increased, and the vibration resistance can be further improved. In other words, the convex portion, to which the male contact piece is mounted, and the concave portion, to which the female contact piece is mounted, are coupled with their stepped portions being tightly fitted together. Therefore, a connection portion between one male contact piece and one female contact piece is axially offset with respect to another connection portion between another male contact piece and another female contact piece, in the connection axis direction. This enhances strength against a force applied in a direction to fold the connection portions. Since each of the connection portions between the male contact piece and the female contact piece is axially offset with respect to other connection portions, it is possible to keep a distance between the connection portions, without increasing the outer diameter of the connectors. This is advantageous to minimize the diameter of the connectors. It is also possible to obtain a larger electrical contact surface area because the convex portion, to which the male contact piece is mounted, and the concave portion, to which the female contact piece is mounted, are coupled together, with their stepped portions being tightly fitted together.
According to the invention of claim 3, the length along the connection axis of a connection surface between the male and female contact pieces is determined such that the length along the connection axis between the male and female contact pieces that are disposed in the inner portion is longer than the length along the connection axis of the connection between the male and female contact pieces that are disposed in the outer portion. This configuration reduces differences between: the area of the contact surface between the male and female contact pieces that are disposed in the outer portion; and the area of the contact surface between the male and female contact piece disposed in the inner portion, which can reduce differences in contact resistance.
According to the invention of claim 4, a connector device for an electric machine tool is provided, wherein either one of a male connector or a female connector is mounted to a first casing and the other one is mounted to a second casing, and then the male connector and the female connector are coupled by connecting the first casing and the second casing. The male connector or the female connector mounted to either one of the first casing or the second casing is movable along the connection axis in the casing to which it is mounted, and an elastic member is disposed at the rear of the movable male connector or the female connector. With this configuration, the male connector and the female connector are coupled, with the elastic member being urged when the first casing and the second casing are connected. The male connector or the female connector having the elastic member at the rear thereof may thus be normally urged along the connection axis (a direction toward the other connector). Accordingly, even when vibration occurs, the connection state between the male connector and the female connector is not loosened, and the connection state is normally maintained.
According to the invention of claim 5, a connector device for an electric machine tool is provided, wherein either one of a male connector or a female connector is mounted to a first casing and the other one is mounted to a second casing, and then the male connector and the female connector are coupled by connecting the first casing and the second casing. The male connector or the female connector mounted to the first casing and the male connector or the female connector mounted to the second casing are both movable along the connection axis in each of the casing to which it is mounted, and an elastic member is disposed at each of the rear of the movable male connector and the female connector so that the male connector and the female connector are coupled, with the elastic member being urged when the first casing and the second casing are connected. The male connector and the female connector are thus normally urged along the connection axis (a direction toward the other connector) from the rear due to the respective elastic member. Accordingly, even when vibration occurs, the connection state between the male connector and the female connector is not loosened, and the connection state is normally maintained. Particularly in the present invention, the male connector and the female connector are both urged together along the connection axis (a direction toward the other connector), and thus the connection state between the male connector and the female connector can be further enhanced.
According to the invention of claim 6, a rotation prevention mechanism is provided that prevents the male connector or the female connector movable along the connection axis in the first casing and/or the female connector or the male connector movable along the connection axis in the second casing from rotating in the casing. The male connector and/or the female connector mounted movably along the connection axis thus will not rotate in the casing. It is thus possible to avoid a twisting of an internal wiring connected to the connector in the casing, in which the male connector and/or the female connector is mounted movably along the connection axis. It is also possible to prevent the connector in the casing from being rotated in conjunction with vibration during the operation.
According to the invention of claim 7, either one of the male connector or the female connector is secured to a first casing, while the other one is slidably fitted and inserted into a second casing, and a spacer made of an elastic member is disposed in the rear of the female connector or the male connector fitted and inserted into the second casing, so that the male connector and the female connector are coupled while the spacer being urged by connecting the first casing and the second casing. The female connector or the male connector fitted and inserted into the second casing is thus normally urged due to the elastic force of the spacer along the connection axis when the first casing and the second casing are connected, which maintains the connecting state between the male connector and the female connector even when vibration occurs.
According to the invention of claim 8, a rotation prevention mechanism is provided that prevents the female connector or the male connector slidably fitted and inserted into the second casing from rotating in the second casing. There is thus no possibility that the female connector or the male connector slidably fitted and inserted into the second casing rotates in the second casing. It is thus possible to avoid a twisting of an internal wiring connected to the female connector or the male connector in the second casing. It is also possible to prevent the female connector or the male connector in the second casing from being rotated in conjunction with vibration during the operation.
Connection portions between the male and female contact pieces are positioned offset axially. Specifically, a position of the connection portion between the convex stepped portion 12a, to which the male contact piece 11a is mounted, and the concave stepped portion 22a, to which the female contact piece 21a is mounted; a position of the connection portion between the convex stepped portion 12b, to which the male contact piece 11b is mounted, and the concave stepped portion 22b, to which the female contact piece 21b is mounted; as well as a position of the connection portion between the convex stepped portion 12c, to which the male contact piece 11c is mounted, and the concave stepped portion 22c, to which the female contact piece 21c is mounted, are displaced with respect to one another along the connection axis. This means that the contact portions between male and female contact pieces, which are potentially weak portions of the entire device, are distributed along the connection axis. This configuration can facilitate increased overall strength of the connection portions of the male connector 1 and the female connector 2, further enhancing vibration resistance.
The male contact pieces 11a, 11b, 11c are arranged concentrically, with a tip end thereof being slightly inclined toward the center of the convex stepped portions 12a, 12b, 12c. The female contact pieces 21a, 21b, 21c are arranged concentrically, with a base end thereof being slightly inclined toward the center of the concave stepped portions 22a, 22b, 22c (whose inclination angle is the same as the inclination angle of the male contact piece). Therefore, urging the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 together along the connection axis can surely bring the respective male contact pieces 11a, 11b, 11c and the female contact pieces 21a, 21b, 21c into a surface contact with one another.
Coupling and decoupling the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 may be performed by inserting one into the other, and by pulling them linearly in the connection direction. But it may be also possible to smoothly couple and decouple them by rotating one or both of the connectors.
The height (axial length) of the annular portions of the male contact pieces 11a, 11b, 11c is gradually increased (higher) from the outer male contact piece 11a, which is the lowest, to the inner male contact piece 11c, which is the highest. Similarly, the height (axial length) of the annular portion of the female contact pieces 21a, 21b, 21c is gradually increased from the outer female contact piece 21a to the inner female contact piece 21c. The length of contact between each male contact piece and each female contact pieces along the connection axis may thus be set as follows: a contact length Lb of an inner contact between the male contact piece 11b and the female contact piece 21b is longer than a contact length La of the outermost contact between the male contact piece 11a and the female contact piece 21a; and a contact length Lc of a further inner contact between the male contact piece 11c and the female contact piece 21c is longer than the contact length Lb of the contact between the male contact piece 11b and the female contact piece 21b. When concentrically arranged plurality of male and female contact pieces are to be coupled together, if the contact lengths between the male and female contact pieces along the connection axis are the same, a contact surface area between the male and female contact pieces that are disposed in an inner portion becomes smaller than a contact area between the male and female contact pieces that are disposed in an outer portion, resulting in a difference in contact resistance. In contrast, by setting the contact length along the connection axis of the contact between the male and female contact pieces that are disposed in the inner portion is made longer than the contact length of the contact between the male and female contact pieces that are disposed in the outer portion as described above, the difference in contact area between the male and female contact pieces that are disposed in the inner portion and the male and female contact pieces that are disposed in the outer portion can be reduced, and thus the difference in contact resistance can be reduced.
The male contact pieces 11a, 11b, 11c are arranged concentrically, with a tip end thereof being slightly inclined toward the center of the convex stepped portions 12a, 12c. The female contact pieces 21a, 21c are arranged concentrically, with a base end thereof being slightly inclined toward the center of the concave stepped portions 22a, 22c (whose inclination angle is the same as the inclination angle of the male contact piece). The male contact pieces 11a, 11b, 11c and the female contact pieces 21a, 21b, 21c can thus be surely brought into surface contact with one another, by urging the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 together along the connection axis. Coupling and decoupling the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 may be performed by linearly inserting one into the other, and linearly pulling them in the connection direction. However, it is also possible to smoothly couple and decouple them by rotating one or both connectors.
In the description of the third embodiment, a vibrator casing 3 of a concrete vibrator is used as an example of a first casing, to which the male connector 1 or the female connector 2 is mounted. A hose joint 4 is used as an example of a second casing, to which the female connector 2 is mounted when the male connector 1 is mounted to the first casing. Note that, the male connector 1 is mounted to the second casing when the female connector 2 is mounted to the first casing.
The vibrator casing 3 as the first casing is configured using a cylindrical member made of steel. An eccentric weight 5 and a motor 6 are mounted in the vibrator casing 3. The eccentric weight 5 serves as a vibration generator of the concrete vibrator. The motor 6 is used to rotate the eccentric weight 5. The male connector 1 is secured to the base end of the vibrator casing 3. Respective leads 13a, 13b, 13c connected to the male contact pieces 11a, 11b, 11c are connected to a stator of the motor 6. An internal thread 31 is formed on an inner surface at the base end of the vibrator casing 3, to which the male connector 1 has been secured, for a screw connection to a connection portion of the hose joint 4.
The hose joint 4 as the second casing is configured using a cylindrical member made of steel, having the same diameter as that of the vibrator casing 3. An external thread 41 is formed on one end of the hose joint 4 to provide a screw connection to the base end of the vibrator casing 3. A hose connection portion 42 is provided on the other end of the hose joint 4. The hose connection portion 42 is connected and fitted into an inner cavity of a hose 7. The hose joint 4 has an inner cavity 43 having a diameter that accommodates the female connector 2 slidably fitted and inserted into the inner cavity 43. The inner cavity 43 has a diameter gradually reduced in a portion nearer the hose connection portion 42. The inner cavity 43 has a groove 431 along the axis. The groove 431 can be fitted into a ridge 24 formed on an outer peripheral surface of the female connector 2. The female connector 2 may be fitted and inserted into the inner cavity 43 of the hose joint 4 through a rubber spacer 8, and slidable in the axial direction. The spacer 8 may have a shape that can be fitted with a portion of the inner cavity 43 nearer to the hose connection portion. Respective leads 23a, 23b, 23c connected to the female contact pieces 21a, 21b, 21c are drawn to the hose 7 through inside the spacer 8. The female connector 2 is mounted to the hose joint 4 such that it is slidable only in the axial direction of the hose joint 4, in which the ridge 24 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the female connector 2 is fitted with the groove 431 formed in the inner cavity 43 of the hose joint 4, and fitted and inserted into the inner cavity 43. Therefore, there is no risk that the female connector 2 rotates in the inner cavity 43 of the hose joint 4. As described above, in this embodiment, the rotation prevention mechanism is configured by the ridge 24 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the female connector 2, and by the groove 431 formed in the inner cavity 43 of the hose joint 4. Alternatively, the rotation prevention mechanism may have a configuration (not shown), in which the female contact piece retention portion 22 of the female connector 2 has a substantially prism-like shape having a substantially rectangular outer peripheral shape in cross section, and the inner cavity 43 of the hose joint 4 has a shape into which the female contact piece retention portion 22 having the substantially rectangular shape in cross section can be slidably fitted. The ridges 24 and the groove 431 are not required in this example.
Therefore, when the vibrator casing 3 and the hose joint 4 are screwed together, the male connector 1 secured to the vibrator casing 3 urges the female connector 2 in the axial direction. The female connector 2 urged by the male connector 1 slides rearward and then urges the spacer 8. The spacer 8 urged by the female connector 2 is blocked by a portion of the inner cavity 43 at which the diameter is reduced, and thus the female connector 2 is pushed back toward the male connector 1 due to the elastic force of the spacer 8. The male connector 1 and the female connector 2 may thus retain a connection while being normally urged one another, further enhancing vibration resistance in the connection portion. Other advantages of the connection between the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 are similar to those obtained with the connector device of the first embodiment.
In this modification example, the steel spring 81 is disposed in the rear of the female connector 2 in the inner cavity 43 of the hose joint 4. Therefore, when the vibrator casing 3 and the hose joint 4 are screwed together, the male connector 1 secured to the vibrator casing 3 urges the female connector 2 in the axial direction. The female connector 2 urged by the male connector 1 then slides rearward and urges the spring 81. Since the spring 81 urged by the female connector 2 is supported by the support plate 9, the female connector 2 is pushed back toward the male connector 1 due to the elastic force of the spring 81. In this way, the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 are coupled, while being normally urged together. Vibration resistance in the connection portion can thus be improved similarly to the third embodiment. Since the steel spring 81 is superior to the rubber spacer 8 in terms of durability, the durability can be improved when the steel spring 81 is used as the “elastic member disposed in the rear of a male connector or a female connector that is movable along the connection axis inside the casing”, as compared with a case where the rubber spacer 8 is used. Other advantages are similar to those of the third embodiment.
In the fourth embodiment, a cylindrical concave portion 15 is formed on a surface in the rear of the male connector 1, which is mounted to the vibrator casing 3 (a side opposite to the side to be connected to the female connector 2). A steel spring (compression coil spring) 81 is fitted and inserted into the concave portion 15. A securing shaft 91 is inserted into a hole in a supporting member 9 of the vibrator casing 3 and into an inner cavity of the spring 81 fitted and inserted into the concave portion 15 of the male connector 1. A tip of the securing shaft 9 is screwed into the male connector 1, thereby the male connector 1 is mounted to the vibrator casing 3. As illustrated in
A protrusion 92 is formed on a front surface (a surface to which the male connector 1 is mounted) of the supporting member 9. A protrusion insertion hole 16, into which the protrusion 92 can be inserted, is formed on a rear surface of the male connector 1. When the male connector 1 is mounted to the supporting member 9 with the protrusion 92 being inserted into the protrusion insertion hole 16, the male connector 1 will not rotate in the circumferential direction. The length of the protrusion 92 is determined to be longer than the length of the gap S. With this configuration, the protrusion 92 will not be disengaged from the protrusion insertion hole 16 even when the male connector 1 is moved to the maximum in the direction of connection with the female connector 2 due to the elastic force of the spring 81 (when the flange 911 of the securing shaft 91 abuts against the supporting member 9). This can surely avoid the rotation of the male flange 1 in the circumferential direction. In this embodiment, the protrusion 92 is provided on the supporting member 9, and the protrusion insertion hole 16 is provided on the male connector 1. However, the protrusion 92 may be provided on the male connector 1 and the protrusion insertion hole 16 may be provided on the supporting member 9, instead.
The female connector 2 is secured in the inner cavity 43 of the hose joint 4 (second casing). The female connector 2 thus will not move in a connection axis direction, and will not rotate in the circumferential direction as well. A reference symbol P in the drawing refers to a spacer made of resin.
In the fourth embodiment, the elastic member (spring or rubber spacer) is disposed in the rear of the male connector 1 in the vibrator casing 3 (first casing). Therefore, when the vibrator casing 3 and the hose joint 4 are screwed together, the female connector 2 secured to the hose joint 4 urges the male connector 1 in the axial direction. The male connector 1 urged by the female connector 2 then moves rearward and urges the elastic member (spring or rubber spacer). The male connector 1, however, is pushed back due to the elastic force of the elastic member (spring or rubber spacer). As a result, the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 are coupled while being urged together, and thus similar advantages to those of the third embodiment can be obtained.
In the fifth embodiment, the spring 81 is illustrated as an elastic member that urges the male connector 1 along the connection axis from the rear, and the rubber spacer 8 is illustrated as an elastic member that urges the female connector 2 along the connection axis from the rear. Alternatively, a cylindrical rubber spacer may be used as an elastic member disposed in the rear of the male connector 1, or a spring may be used as an elastic member disposed in the rear of the female connector 2, instead.
In the fifth embodiment, the male connector 1 mounted to the vibrator casing 3 (first casing) and the female connector 2 mounted to the hose joint 4 (second casing) are urged together along the connection axis (the direction to the other connector) by respective elastic members (spring 81, spacer 8) disposed at the rear thereof. This configuration allows for more robust connection state between the male connector 1 and the female connector 2.
In the description of the third to fifth embodiments, the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 according to the first embodiment are used. It goes without saying that the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 according to the second embodiment may also be used, in place of the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 according to the first embodiment. When the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 according to the second embodiment are used in the third to fifth embodiments, the advantage of the vibration resistance in the connection portion that can be further improved by the effects of the spacer 8 or the spring 81 will be similar to the advantage of the third to fifth embodiments. However, other advantages of the connection portion between the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 will be similar to those obtained with the connector device according to the second embodiment.
In the description of the third to fifth embodiments, the vibrator casing 3 of the concrete vibrator is used as an example of the first casing, and the hose joint 4 is used as an example of the second casing. The first casing and the second casing, however, are not limited to these examples. Various types of casings, which can be used as a casing for a connector device used for an internal wiring connection of an electric machine tool, can be used for the first casing and the second casing. For instance,
The present invention relates to a connector device for use in an internal wiring connection of various electric machine tools that cause vibration, and has industrial applicability.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-145238 | Sep 2021 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2022/032084 | 8/25/2022 | WO |
