The present application claims priority to and incorporates by reference the entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-103591 filed in Japan on May 25, 2017.
The present invention relates to a connector device.
Conventionally, a connector device including a first connector and a second connector that can be fit to and separated from each other has been known. In the connector device, by fitting the first connector and the second connector to each other, it is possible to form an energization circuit associated with electrical connection therebetween. On the other hand, in this connector device, by separating the first connector and the second connector in a fit state from each other, it is possible to release the electrical connection therebetween and to break the energization circuit. This kind of connector device is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2014-86349.
Incidentally, in a conventional connector device, it is necessary to separate a first connector and a second connector from each other in order to break an energization circuit. Thus, depending on a usage environment, it is necessary in this connector device to keep the first connector and the second connector separated from each other in consideration of various requirements, which are related to durability and safety, such as waterproofing, dust-proofing, and protection of an exposed conductive portion.
Thus, the present invention is to provide a connector device in which it is possible to connect and break an energization circuit without being conscious of durability and safety.
In order to achieve the above mentioned object, a connector device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a first connector that includes a first conductive member, and a first housing body including a first housing chamber in which the first conductive member is housed, and a first opening and a second opening that are arranged in a connector insertion/removal direction and that communicate with the first housing chamber; a second connector that includes a second conductive member inserted into the first housing chamber from the first opening and physically and electrically connected to the first conductive member, a holding member that holds the second conductive member, and a second housing body including a second housing chamber in which the holding member is housed; and a cover that includes a cover main body that blocks the second opening, and a protruded body that is protruded from the cover main body and is arranged in the first housing chamber when the cover main body blocks the second opening, wherein the second housing chamber has a first housed position of the holding member of when an energization circuit formed by the first conductive member and the second conductive member is in an energized state, and a second housed position of the holding member of when the energization circuit is in a broken state, the cover can be attached to the second opening in a first attachment state in which the second opening is blocked by the cover main body and the protruded body is arranged in the first housing chamber, or a second attachment state which is an attachment state different from the first attachment state and in which the second opening is blocked by the cover main body and the protruded body is arranged in the first housing chamber, and the holding member includes a non-contact portion that does not come into contact with the protruded body regardless of own housed position in the second housing chamber in a case where the cover is in the first attachment state, and a pushed portion pushed by the protruded body until the own housed position in the second housing chamber becomes the second housed position in a case where the own housed position in the second housing chamber is the first housed position and the cover is attached in the second attachment state to the second opening.
According to another aspect of the present invention, in the connector device, it is possible to configure that the holding member includes a connector fit portion that is inserted, along with the second conductive member, into the first housing chamber from the first opening, and the connector fit portion includes the non-contact portion and the pushed portion.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, in the connector device, it is possible to configure that the non-contact portion is a housing portion in which the protruded body is housed when the cover is in the first attachment state, or an insertion portion into which the protruded body is inserted when the cover is in the first attachment state.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, in the connector device, it is possible to configure that a combination of the first conductive member and the second conductive member is provided for each phase of an electric circuit.
The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical and industrial significance of this invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description of presently preferred embodiments of the invention, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.
In the following, an embodiment of a connector device according to the present invention will be described in detail on the basis of the drawings. Note that this invention is not limited to this embodiment.
One of embodiments of a connector device according to the present invention will be described on the basis of
A reference sign 1 in
The first connector 10 includes a first conductive member 20 and a first housing body 30 (
The first conductive member 20 includes an electric connection portion 21 that is physically and electrically connected to a counterpart conductive member (second conductive member 120 described later) (
In the electric connection portion 21, a through hole 21a with an axis being in a direction orthogonal to own plain surface is formed (
The first housing body 30 is formed of an insulating material such as a synthetic resin. This first housing body 30 includes a first housing chamber 30a in which the first conductive member 20 is housed (
The first housing body 30 in this example includes a cylindrically-formed main body 31 with the connector insertion/removal direction as a cylinder axis direction (
The second connector 110 includes a second conductive member 120, a holding member 130, and a second housing body 140 (
The second conductive member 120 includes an electric connection portion 121 that is physically and electrically connected to a counterpart conductive member (first conductive member 20) (
In the electric connection portion 121, a through hole 121a with an axis being in a direction orthogonal to own plain surface is formed (
In the second conductive member 120, the electric connection portion 121 is inserted from the first opening 30b into the first housing chamber 30a and is physically and electrically connected to the first conductive member 20 in the first housing chamber 30a. In this example, when the electric connection portion 121 is inserted into the first housing chamber 30a, the electric connection portions 21 and 121 are overlapped with each other in such a manner that the through holes 21a and 121a are overlapped with each other in the connector insertion/removal direction. The first conductive member 20 and the second conductive member 120 are electrically connected to each other by a contact between the electric connection portions 21 and 121. In this example, in order to keep the electrical connection state, male screw members B respectively inserted into the through holes 21a and 121a are screwed to female screw members N and the electric connection portions 21 and 121 are screwed and fixed (
The holding member 130 is formed of an insulating material such as a synthetic resin, and holds the second conductive member 120. This holding member 130 includes one or a plurality of components. In this holding member 130, the second conductive member 120 is held in a state in which the electric connection portion 121 is exposed at an end on a side in the connector insertion direction. Also, in this holding member 130, the second conductive member 120 is held in a state in which a connection part between the electric wire connection portion 122 and the electric wire WH is housed inside. The electric wire WH is pulled out in the connector removal direction from this holding member 130.
This holding member 130 includes a connector fit portion 131 inserted, along with the second conductive member 120, from the first opening 30b into the first housing chamber 30a (
Moreover, this holding member 130 includes a housing portion 132 housed in a second housing chamber 140a (described later) of the second housing body 140 (
The second housing body 140 includes the second housing chamber 140a that houses the holding member 130 (
The second housing body 140 in this example includes two sealing members attached to each other (first sealing member 141 and second sealing member 142) (
The first sealing member 141 includes a cylindrically-formed main body 141a with the connector insertion/removal direction as a cylinder axis direction (
The main body 141a has a first opening 141a1 on a side in the connector insertion direction, and a second opening 141a2 on a side in the connector removal direction (
The first sealing member 141 is formed of a conductive material such as metal. For example, this first sealing member 141 is formed by press working such as cutting or bending with a metallic plate as a base material.
Here, the first sealing member 141 includes an annular flange portion 141b around a rim on a side of the first opening 141a1 in the main body 141a (
Also, this first sealing member 141 is used to fix the second housing body 140 to the first housing body 30. The first sealing member 141 includes a fixing portion 141c used for the fixation (
The second sealing member 142 covers an outer peripheral surface of the main body 141a of the first sealing member 141, and covers the electric wire WH pulled out from the second opening 141a2. The second sealing member 142 in this example is provided as a braid in which a conductive strand is woven cylindrically in a net-like manner. This second sealing member 142 is attached, with an annular conductive connecting member 143, to the outer peripheral surface of the main body 141a of the first sealing member 141 (
The cover 210 blocks the second opening 30c after the electric connection portions 21 and 121 of the first conductive member 20 and the second conductive member 120 are screwed. This cover 210 includes a cover main body 211 that blocks the second opening 30c (
In the main body 31 of the first housing body 30 in this example, a cylindrical portion 31a to which the cover main body 211 is fit is formed (
The cover main body 211 in this example includes a fixing member 211b for fixation to the first housing body 30 with the second opening 30c being in a blocked state (
Here, in the cover main body 211, centers of the through holes 211b1 are arranged at equal intervals when seen in a longitudinal direction from a central axis of the fitting member 211a (that is, center of oval forming outer shape of fitting member 211a). Thus, even when the cover main body 211 is rotated for 180 degrees around the central axis of the fitting member 211a, it is possible to insert the fitting member 211a into the internal space 31a1 of the cylindrical portion 31a and to screw the fixing member 211b to each of the boss portions 33.
The cover 210 further includes a protruded body 212 that is protruded from the cover main body 211 and is arranged in the first housing chamber 30a when this cover main body 211 blocks the second opening 30c (
The connector device 1 described here as an example forms an electric circuit, in which an energization circuit for each phase is provided, by connection of the first connector 10 and the second connector 110. Here, a three-phase AC circuit is formed as an electric circuit. In the connector device 1, a combination of the first conductive member 20 and the second conductive member 120 is provided for each phase of the electric circuit.
Incidentally, this connector device 1 can keep an energization circuit, which is formed by the first conductive member 20 and the second conductive member 120, in an energized state and also can keep the energization circuit in a broken state. The energized state is a state in which the electric connection portions 21 and 121 of the first conductive member 20 and the second conductive member 120 are overlapped with each other, and is a state in which the electric connection portions 21 and 121 can be screwed. The broken state is a state in which the electric connection portions 21 and 121 are not in contact with each other. The broken state is necessary, for example, for a case where an electric device that is electrically connected to a power side via this connector device 1 is checked up. In this connector device 1, the second housing chamber 140a, the cover 210, and the holding member 130 are configured in a manner described in the following in such a manner that the energized state and the broken state are arbitrarily selected and kept.
The second housing chamber 140a is formed in such a manner as to have a housed position P1 of the holding member 130 of when the energization circuit is in the energized state (hereinafter, referred to as “first housed position”) (
More specifically, the first housed position P1 is a housed position of the housing portion 132 in the second housing chamber 140a in the energized state, that is, a housed position of the housing portion 132 in the second housing chamber 140a of when the electric connection portions 21 and 121 can be screwed. In the second housing chamber 140a, a space 141a3 is provided on a side in the connector removal direction of the housing portion 132 at the first housed position P1 (
The cover 210 is formed in a manner attachable, in at least two different attachment states, to the second opening 30c of the first housing body 30. As described above, this cover 210 can be rotated for 180 degrees around the central axis of the fitting member 211a and attached to the first housing body 30. Here, one attachment state is referred to as a first attachment state, and the other attachment state is referred to as a second attachment state. In the cover 210, it is possible to block the second opening 30c with the cover main body 211 and to arrange the protruded body 212 in the first housing chamber 30a in both of the first attachment state and the second attachment state. However, in the cover 210, an arrangement of the protruded body 212 in the first housing chamber 30a varies between the first attachment state and the second attachment state.
In the holding member 130, a non-contact portion 133 that does not come into contact with the protruded body 212 regardless of own housed position in the second housing chamber 140a in a case where the cover 210 is in the first attachment state is provided (
Also, in this holding member 130, a pushed portion 134 that is pushed by the protruded body 212 until own housed position in the second housing chamber 140a becomes the second housed position P2 in a case where the own housed position in the second housing chamber 140a is the first housed position P1 and the cover 210 is attached to the second opening 30c in the second attachment state is provided (
In this example, the non-contact portion 133 and the pushed portion 134 are provided in the connector fit portion 131.
As described, in the connector device 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to keep an energization circuit, which is formed by the first conductive member 20 and the second conductive member 120, in an energized state and to keep the energization circuit in a broken state. Also, in this connector device 1, the cover 210 is attached in the first attachment state to the second opening 30c when the energization circuit is in the energized state. Thus, it is possible to control intrusion of liquid (such as water) or dust from the second opening 30c. In addition, in this connector device 1, a connection part between the first conductive member 20 and the second conductive member 120 can be hidden from the outside in such a manner as not to be touched by the other components or a human. Moreover, in this connector device 1, the cover 210 is attached in the second attachment state to the second opening 30c when the energization circuit is in the broken state. Thus, in this case, it is also possible to control intrusion of liquid (such as water) or dust from the second opening 30c. Also, in this connector device 1, when the energization circuit is in the broken state, the connection part between the first conductive member 20 and the second conductive member 120 can be also hidden from the outside in such a manner as not to be touched by the other components or a human. As described above, in the connector device 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to improve durability and safety when the energization circuit is in both of the energized state and the broken state. Also, in this connector device 1, without being conscious of durability or safety thereof, it is possible to connect or break the energization circuit only by a simple structure of changing an attachment state of the cover 210.
In a connector device according to the present embodiment, it is possible to keep an energization circuit, which is formed by a first conductive member and a second conductive member, in an energized state and to keep the energization circuit in a broken state. Also, in this connector device, a cover is attached in a first attachment state to a second opening when the energization circuit is in the energized state. Thus, it is possible to control intrusion of liquid (such as water) or dust from the second opening. In addition, in this connector device, a connection part between the first conductive member and the second conductive member can be hidden from the outside in such a manner as not to be touched by the other components or a human. Moreover, in this connector device, a cover is attached in a second attachment state to the second opening when the energization circuit is in the broken state. Thus, it is also possible in this case to control intrusion of liquid (such as water) or dust from the second opening. Also, in this connector device, when the energization circuit is in the broken state, the connection part between the first conductive member and the second conductive member can be also hidden from the outside in such a manner as not to be touched by the other components or a human. As described above, when the energization circuit is in both of the energized state and the broken state, it is possible to improve durability and safety in the connector device according to the present invention. Also, in this connector device, without being conscious of durability and safety thereof, it is possible to connect and break the energization circuit only by a simple structure of changing an attachment state of a cover.
Although the invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments for a complete and clear disclosure, the appended claims are not to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying all modifications and alternative constructions that may occur to one skilled in the art that fairly fall within the basic teaching herein set forth.
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