Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6746267
-
Patent Number
6,746,267
-
Date Filed
Wednesday, November 13, 200221 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, June 8, 200420 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Casella; Anthony J.
- Hespos; Gerald E.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 439 247
- 439 374
- 439 252
- 439 578
- 439 188
- 439 825
- 439 675
- 439 268
- 439 350
- 439 356
- 439 375
- 439 552
- 439 558
- 439 588
- 439 602
- 439 619
- 439 6992
- 439 823
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A housing (30) has a terminal accommodation part (32) for accommodating a terminal (20) and a circular arc wall (34) constituting an insertion opening (36) into which a socket (10) can be inserted. Slits (41) are formed on an upper end of the circular arc wall (34) to form elastic pieces (42). A protrusion (44) projects inwardly on each elastic piece (42) and is disposed to cover an upper portion of each contact piece (25) of the terminal (20). A guide surface (46) inclines inward on each protrusion (44). The lower end of the socket (10) slides on the guide surface (46) so that the socket (10) becomes almost coaxial with the insertion opening (36).
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 15
shows an example of a connector for use in a harness for connecting an antenna to a receiver mounted on a vehicle body. The connector has a housing
2
that accommodates a terminal
1
connected to a coaxial electric wire W. The housing
2
has an insertion opening
4
that permits insertion of a socket
3
into the housing
2
from above and hence permits electrical connection of the socket
3
to the terminal
1
. The terminal
1
is L-shaped and has an inner electric conductor
5
and an outer electric conductor
6
insulated therefrom. A right-hand part of each of the inner electric conductor
5
and the outer electric conductor
6
is connected to a core wire of the coaxial electric wire W and to a shielding layer, whereas a left-hand part thereof is disposed inside the insertion opening
4
and conductive to the socket
3
. The left-hand part of the inner electric conductor
5
is erect in the shape of a column, whereas the left-hand part of the outer electric conductor
6
has a plurality of cantilevered contact pieces
7
surrounding the columnar portion of the inner electric conductor
5
. The socket
3
can be fitted in the left-hand part of the outer electric conductor
6
.
An example of the connector of this kind is described in SE, 503721, C2.
The insertion opening
4
of the above-described connector is open upward. Thus, the contact piece
7
of the terminal
1
is exposed to the upper outside. This construction may cause the socket
3
to strike against the leading end of the contact piece
7
while inserting the socket
3
into the insertion opening
4
, if for some reason the socket
3
is dislocated radially from a predetermined position at which the socket
3
matches the insertion opening
4
.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described situation. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to prevent deformation of a contact piece.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed a connector with a housing that has an insertion opening into which a socket can be inserted. A terminal is accommodated in the housing by disposing the terminal in the insertion opening. The terminal has a plurality of contact pieces that are disposed annularly. The socket pieces receive the socket inserted into the insertion opening, and are capable of contacting a peripheral surface of the socket. Protruded portions are formed on an inner peripheral surface of the insertion opening. The protruded portions radially overlap the respective contact pieces and are disposed at a side forward from the contact pieces in an insertion direction of the socket. A guide surface is formed on an outer edge of the protruded portion for guiding the socket to a predetermined position at which the socket matches the insertion opening.
It is preferable that the contact pieces lock to the protruded portions when the terminal is accommodated in the housing at a predetermined depth. Thus, the terminal is held unremovably.
It is also preferable that radially elastically deformable elastic pieces are formed on an end of the insertion opening. The protruded portions are formed on inner surfaces of the respective elastic pieces.
The socket is inserted into the insertion opening, with the terminal accommodated in the housing. Thus, the socket is received in the annular space surrounded with the contact pieces, and the contact pieces contact the peripheral surface of the socket. The socket may be inserted into the insertion opening with the axis of the socket dislocated from the predetermined position. In this situation, the socket slides on the guide surface of the protruded portion before the socket interferes with the contact piece. Thus, the socket is placed automatically at a predetermined position. Accordingly it is possible to prevent the socket from striking against the contact piece, with the socket being uncoaxial with the insertion opening and deforming the contact piece.
The contact piece and the protruded portion are locked to each other. Therefore, it is possible to hold the terminal firmly in the housing.
The elastic piece deforms outward elastically as the terminal presses the protruded portion. Thus a terminal accommodation operation is permitted. The elastic piece returns to its original state when the terminal passes the protruded portion. Accordingly, it is easy to perform the operation of accommodating the terminal in the housing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a perspective view showing a housing according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2
is a plan view showing the housing.
FIG. 3
is a plan view showing a terminal.
FIG. 4
is a plan view showing a state in which the housing has accommodated the terminal.
FIG. 5
is a vertical sectional view showing a state before the housing accommodates the terminal.
FIG. 6
is a vertical sectional view showing a state in which the housing is accommodating the terminal.
FIG. 7
is a vertical sectional view showing the state in which the housing has accommodated the terminal.
FIG. 8
is a horizontal sectional view showing the state before the housing accommodates the terminal.
FIG. 9
is a horizontal sectional view showing the state in which the housing is accommodating the terminal.
FIG. 10
is a horizontal sectional view showing the state in which the housing has accommodated the terminal.
FIG. 11
is a horizontal sectional view showing a state before a socket is inserted into an insertion opening.
FIG. 12
is a horizontal sectional view showing a state in which the socket is being inserted into the insertion opening.
FIG. 13
is a horizontal sectional view showing a state in which the socket has been inserted into the insertion opening in a predetermined depth.
FIG. 14
is a horizontal sectional view showing a state in which the socket uncoaxial with the insertion opening is in contact with a guide surface of a protruded portion.
FIG. 15
is a sectional view for describing a conventional art.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
FIGS. 1 through 14
. The invention relates to a connector for use in a harness for connecting an antenna and a receiver both mounted on a vehicle body. The connector has a housing
30
into which a socket
10
projecting from a wall surface of a device can be inserted. The connector also has a terminal
20
accommodated in the housing
30
and configured be connected to the socket
10
.
FIGS. 2 and 7
are set as the reference in the description of right-hand and left-hand directions. Drawings other than
FIGS. 2 through 4
are set as the reference in the description of a vertical direction.
As shown in
FIG. 11
, the socket
10
is approximately cylindrical and has a contact part (not shown) that receives and contacts the inner electric conductor
21
of the terminal
20
. The socket
10
also has a contact part
11
that is exposed to the outside and is capable of contacting the outer electric conductor
22
of the terminal
20
. The contact part for the inner electric conductor and the contact part
11
for the outer electric conductor
22
are insulated from each other. The contact part
11
for the outer electric conductor
22
defines the peripheral surface of the socket
10
. The leading end portion of the socket
10
is stepped outward from the base part thereof and thus has a larger diameter than the base part.
As shown in
FIG. 5
, the terminal
20
is approximately L-shaped in a side view. A left-hand part of the terminal
20
, extending vertically in
FIG. 5
, can be connected to the socket
10
. A coaxial electric wire W is connected to a right-hand part of the terminal
20
extending horizontally in FIG.
5
. The coaxial electric wire W has a core wire W
1
, an inner coating W
2
disposed on the periphery of the core wire W
1
, a shielding layer W
3
that covers the inner coating W
2
and an outer coating W
4
that covers the shielding layer W
3
. As shown in
FIGS. 3 and 5
, the terminal
20
has the inner electric conductor
21
connected to the core wire W
1
of the coaxial electric wire W and has the outer electric conductor
22
connected to the shielding layer W
3
. The terminal
20
also has an insulator
23
interposed between the inner electric conductor
21
and the outer electric conductor
22
. A columnar socket-side contact portion
24
projects up from the left-hand portion of the inner electric conductor
21
and is capable of electrically conductively contacting the contact part of the socket
10
. An unshown core wire side coaxial electric wire is formed at the right-hand portion of the inner electric conductor
21
. The left-hand portion of the outer electric conductor
22
is almost circular in a plan view. Four contact pieces
25
are erected from the periphery of the left-hand portion of the electric conductor, and are capable of electrically conductively contacting the contact part
11
, for the outer electric conductor, of the socket
10
. The right-hand portion of the outer electric conductor
22
has a pair of caulking pieces
26
for crimped connection to the shielding layer W
3
that has been turned back to the outside of the outer coating W
4
of the coaxial electric wire W.
The contact pieces
25
are cantilevered and intermittently annularly disposed on the periphery of the left-hand part of the circular outer electric conductor
22
. The socket
10
can be received in the space annularly surrounded with the contact pieces
25
. Each of the contact pieces
25
has the shape of a circular arc in a plan view so that the shape of the contact pieces
25
conforms to the peripheral surface of the socket
10
. The circumferential interval between the right-hand two contact pieces
25
is larger than that between the left-hand two contact pieces
25
in
FIG. 3. A
portion of each contact piece
25
a little lower than the leading end (free end) thereof is recessed inward to form a contact portion
27
that contacts the socket
10
. An elastically deformable elastic ring
28
is mounted on the peripheral side of the contact portion
27
of each contact piece
25
and is fixed thereto by welding or the like. Thus each contact piece
25
is supported so that it does not to the outside. In this manner, an operation of each contact piece
25
, which flexes radially inward and outward, is interlocked with an elastically deformable operation of the elastic ring
28
.
The housing
30
is made of synthetic resin. As shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, the housing
30
has a rectangular and approximately cylindrical body
31
that opens vertically. A terminal accommodation part
32
capable of accommodating the terminal
20
inserted therein from above is formed in the body
31
. The terminal accommodation part
32
has a bottom wall
33
partly connected to the body
31
and a wall part projecting up from the bottom wall
33
. The wall part has a circular arc wall
34
(approximately C-shaped) and a pair of straight walls
35
connected to both ends of the circular arc wall
34
and extending in the longitudinal direction of the body
31
. The circular arc wall
34
accommodates vertically the socket-side contact portion
24
, the contact piece
25
, the elastic ring
28
of the terminal
20
. The straight wall
35
accommodates horizontally extending portions (caulking piece
26
and the like) of the terminal
20
. As shown in
FIG. 7
, the circular arc wall
34
projects upward beyond the body
31
. The socket
10
can be inserted from above into an insertion opening
36
surrounded with the circular arc wall
34
. A circular arc-shaped concavity
37
is formed on the body
31
for facilitating pull-out of the coaxial electric wire W inserted between both straight walls
35
.
Three guide parts
38
extend from the lower end of the inner peripheral surface of the circular arc wall
34
and function to guide the terminal
20
into the housing
30
. Each guide part
38
is formed in the range of about ⅔ of the entire height of the circular arc wall
34
. The guide part
38
has an upper portion projecting from the inner peripheral surface of the circular arc wall
34
and a stepped lower portion projecting inward from the upper portion. A tapered surface is formed on the stepped portion of the guide part
38
and is capable of radially guiding the left-hand part of the terminal
20
into the housing
30
from above and to a predetermined position at which the terminal
20
is almost coaxial with the insertion opening
36
. The guide parts
38
are disposed at intervals a little smaller than 90 degrees. More specifically, two of the guide parts
38
are disposed in confrontation with each other at the lower and upper sides of the inner peripheral surface of the circular arc wall
34
in FIG.
2
. The remaining guide part
38
is disposed at the left-hand side of the inner peripheral surface of the circular arc wall
34
in
FIG. 2. A
terminal-holding projection
39
is formed on the left-hand guide part
38
in
FIG. 2
, and is capable of unremovably holding the terminal
20
when the terminal
20
is accommodated at a predetermined depth. A terminal-holding projected portion
40
, similar to the terminal-holding projection
39
, is formed on the inner peripheral surface of each straight wall
35
for unremovably holding the terminal
20
.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, four slits
41
having a predetermined depth are formed on the upper end of the circular arc wall
34
to form five cantilevered elastic pieces
42
. More specifically, except the elastic piece
42
disposed at the upper right-hand side in
FIG. 2
, the circumferential lengths of the remaining four elastic pieces
42
are almost equal to each other. Each elastic piece
42
is elastically deformable along the radial direction of the circular arc wall
34
.
A receiving portion
43
projects out from the peripheral surface of each elastic piece
42
(see
FIG. 13
) and is capable of receiving a wall surface of a device when the socket
10
fits on the receiving portion
43
. A protrusion
44
projects radially in from the upper end of the inner peripheral surface of each elastic piece
42
. As shown in
FIG. 4
, except the elastic piece
42
at the upper right-hand in
FIG. 2
, the positions of the protrusions
44
formed on the four elastic pieces
42
correspond respectively to the contact pieces
25
of the terminal
20
accommodated in the insertion opening
36
. Thus each protrusion
44
covers an upper portion (front side in socket insertion direction) of the corresponding contact piece
25
. The projected length of the protruded portion
44
is set to cover about ⅓ of the peripheral region of the contact piece
25
in its radial direction. As shown in
FIGS. 7 and 10
, the height of the protrusion
44
is set so that a lower surface
45
of the protrusion
44
is proximate to the upper end of the contact piece
25
. The lower surface
45
of the protrusion
44
is locked to the contact piece
25
, thus preventing the terminal
20
from being removed upward from the housing
30
. The lower surface
45
of the protrusion
44
is an end surface perpendicular to the accommodation direction of the terminal
20
.
As shown in
FIG. 5
, a guide surface
46
is formed on the upper edge of each protrusion
44
and declines inward in the radial direction of the circular arc wall
34
. The guide surface
46
has an inclined surface
46
a
having a comparatively gentle inclination formed at its outer side and an inclined surface
46
b
having a comparatively steep inclination formed at its inner side. The gentle inclined surface
46
a
is formed continuously with the upper edge of the elastic piece
42
. In inserting the terminal
20
and the socket
10
into the insertion opening
36
, the terminal
20
and the socket
10
slide on the guide surface
46
. Thus, the terminal
20
and the socket
10
can be guided in their radial directions so that the left-hand part of the terminal
20
and the socket
10
are placed at the predetermined position at which they are almost coaxial with the insertion opening
36
. The outer diameter of the elastic ring
28
equals the maximum outer diameter of the terminal
20
and is larger than the inner diameter formed with the inner peripheral surface of the protruded portions
44
. Thus, the elastic ring
28
presses the protruded portion
44
outward as the terminal
20
is accommodated in the housing
30
. As a result, the elastic piece
42
is flexed outward. A cutting opening
47
is formed on the bottom wall
33
of the terminal accommodation part
32
for a die for molding a material into the protrusion
44
, the terminal-holding projection
39
, and the terminal-holding projected portion
40
in molding a resinous material into the housing
30
.
Initially, as shown in
FIGS. 5 and 8
, the terminal
20
connected to the coaxial electric wire W is inserted into the terminal accommodation part
32
from a position above the housing
30
. If the left-hand part of the terminal
20
is inserted into the insertion opening
36
with the axis of the left-hand part of the terminal
20
radially dislocated from the axis of the insertion opening
36
, the lower end of the terminal
20
slides on the guide surface
46
of each protrusion
44
. Thus, the terminal
20
is moved to a position at which the left-hand part of the terminal
20
is coaxial with the insertion opening
36
and penetrates into the insertion opening
36
.
In the process of inserting the terminal
20
into the insertion opening
36
, each protrusion
44
is pressed outward by the terminal
20
. Thus, each elastic piece
42
is deformed elastically outwardly. As shown in
FIGS. 6 and 9
, the elastic piece
42
is flexed the largest amount when the elastic ring
28
presses the protrusion
44
. At this time, the left-hand part of the terminal
20
slides on the guide part
38
. Accordingly, the terminal
20
is guided to the predetermined position at which the terminal
20
is almost coaxial with the insertion opening
36
. When the terminal
20
is inserted into the terminal accommodation part
32
to a predetermined depth, the terminal-holding projection
39
and the terminal-holding projected portions
40
lock the terminal
20
thereto, and the leading end of each contact piece
25
locks the lower surface
45
of each protrusion
44
, as shown in
FIGS. 7 and 10
. As a result, the terminal
20
is held unremovably in the housing
30
. At this time, as shown in
FIG. 4
, the terminal
20
is almost coaxial with the insertion opening
36
due to the guiding by the guide part
38
, and the leading end (free end) of the contact piece
25
is covered with and protected by the protrusion
44
disposed above the contact piece
25
.
Thereafter, as shown in
FIG. 11
, the socket
10
is inserted into the insertion opening
36
from a position above the insertion opening
36
. When the socket
10
is almost coaxial with the insertion opening
36
, the socket
10
penetrates into the space surrounded by the contact pieces
25
and by the protrusions
44
. As shown in
FIG. 12
, the contact portion
27
contacts the large-diameter portion of the contact part
11
of the socket
10
. Therefore, each contact piece
25
flexes outward and the elastic ring
28
deforms elastically so that the diameter of the elastic ring
28
increases. The contact part for the inner electric conductor
21
and the socket-side contact portion
24
of the inner electric conductor
21
contact each other and become electrically conductive to each other when the socket
10
is inserted into the insertion opening
36
to the predetermined depth, as shown in
FIG. 13
, and each contact piece
25
returns to its original state. Consequently, the contact portion
27
of the contact piece
25
and the contact part
11
for the outer electric conductor contact each other and become electrically conductive to each other.
On the other hand, the socket
10
may be radially uncoaxial with the insertion opening
36
at a stage before inserting the socket
10
into the insertion opening
36
. In this situation, the lower end of the socket
10
contacts the guide surface
46
of the protrusion
44
, as shown in FIG.
14
. The socket
10
then slides on the gentle inclined surface
46
a
and the steep inclined surface
46
b
as the insertion operation is continued, and the socket
10
is gradually shifted radially inward. When the socket
10
passes the termination (lower end) of the steep inclined surface
46
b
, the socket
10
is at the predetermined position at which the socket
10
is almost coaxial with the insertion opening
36
. Therefore the socket
10
contacts the contact portion
27
without directly striking against the leading end of each contact piece
25
.
As described above, the protrusion
44
is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the insertion opening
36
in such a way that the protrusion
44
is upward from the contact piece
25
, and the guide surface
46
is formed on the outer edge of the protrusion
44
. Thus, the guide surface
46
of the protrusion
44
guides the socket
10
to the predetermined position at which the socket
10
matches the insertion opening
36
at a stage before the socket
10
interferes with the contact piece
25
. Therefore it is possible to prevent the socket
10
from striking against the leading end of the contact piece
25
and deforming the contact piece
25
.
When the terminal
20
is inserted into the terminal accommodation part
32
to a predetermined depth, the contact piece
25
is locked to the lower surface
45
of the protrusion
44
. Therefore the terminal
20
is held unremovably in the housing
30
.
Further the elastic piece
42
is formed on the edge of the insertion opening
36
, and the protrusion
44
is formed on the elastic piece
42
. Thus in accommodating the terminal
20
in the housing
30
, the terminal
20
presses the protrusion
44
and the elastic piece
42
elastically deforms outward. When the terminal
20
passes the protrusion
44
, the elastic piece
42
returns resiliently to its original state. That is, in accommodating the terminal
20
in the housing
30
, the elastic piece
42
at the side of the housing
30
is deformed. Thus it is easy to accommodate the terminal
20
in the housing
30
without deforming the terminal
20
.
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described with reference to the drawings, but the following modes are included in the technical scope of the present invention. The present invention can be embodied by making various modifications if they do not depart from the gist of the present invention.
In the above-described embodiment, the protrusion covers and protects the upper portion of the contact piece. However, the protrusion may be formed at a position circumferentially shifted from the position of the contact piece. In this case, the protrusion is placed at an upper position with respect to the position of the contact piece. Thus it is possible to place the socket at the predetermined position before the socket interferes with the contact piece.
In the above-described embodiment, the leading end of the contact piece is locked to the lower surface of the protrusion. However the leading end of the contact piece does not necessarily have to be locked to the lower surface of the protrusion. This construction also is included in the gist of the present invention.
In the above-described embodiment, the terminal is L-shaped. However, the present invention is applicable to a terminal having other configurations, provided that it has the contact piece.
In the above-described embodiment, the socket and the terminal are inserted into the housing in the same direction. However, the socket and the terminal may be inserted into the housing in opposite directions.
Claims
- 1. A connector comprising:a housing having an insertion opening with an opening end into which a socket can be inserted; and a terminal accommodated in said housing by disposing said terminal in said insertion opening, wherein said terminal has a plurality of contact pieces that are annularly disposed receiving said socket inserted into said insertion opening, the contact pieces being capable of contacting a peripheral surface of said socket, and a plurality of protrusions formed on an inner peripheral surface of said insertion opening, said protrusions projecting radially inwardly from portions of said contact pieces closest to the opening end of the insertion opening such that said contact pieces are locked in said insertion opening of said housing by said protrusions; and a guide surface for guiding said socket to a predetermined position at which said socket matches said insertion opening is formed on an outer edge of said protrusion, whereby said terminal is inserted into the housing in an insertion direction corresponding to an insertion direction of the socket and is unremovably held by the protrusions after the insertion to a predetermined depth.
- 2. The connector of claim 1, wherein each said protrusion has a lower surface engaging one of said contact pieces for holding the terminal in the housing.
- 3. The connector of claim 2, wherein each said lower surface is aligned substantially perpendicular to the respective elastic piece.
- 4. The connector of claim 3, wherein each said guide surface includes a gently inclined portion at a radially outer position and a steeply inclined portion radially inwardly from the gently inclined portion.
- 5. The connector of claim 1, wherein each said protrusion projects inwardly a sufficient distance to cover approximately ⅓ of a top portion of the respective contact piece.
- 6. A connector, comprising:a terminal having an axially extending inner conductor and substantially cylindrical outer conductor substantially concentric around the inner conductor, said outer conductor defining a selected outside diameter and a selected height, said outer conductor being defined by plurality of circumferentially spaced contact pieces; and a housing having a bottom wall and a circular arc wall extending up from the bottom wall to a top end defining an insertion opening, said circular arc wall defining an inside diameter at least equal to the outside diameter of the outer conductor and being defined by a plurality of circumferentially spaced elastic pieces, each said elastic piece having an inwardly projecting protrusion spaced from the bottom wall by a distance at least equal to the height of the outer conductor, said protrusions defining an inside diameter less than the outside diameter of the outer conductor, each said protrusion having an inwardly and downwardly sloped guide surface, said outer conductor being engaged in said circular arc wall and held by the protrusions.
- 7. The connector of claim 6, wherein each said protrusion has a lower surface engaging one of said contact pieces for holding the terminal in the housing.
- 8. The connector of claim 7, wherein each said lower surface is aligned substantially perpendicular to the respective elastic piece.
- 9. The connector of claim 8, wherein each said guide surface includes a gently inclined portion at a radially outer position and a steeply inclined portion radially inwardly from the gently inclined portion.
- 10. The connector of claim 6, wherein each said protrusion projects inwardly a sufficient distance to cover approximately ⅓ of a top portion of the respective contact piece.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2001-37763 |
Dec 2001 |
JP |
|
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