This application claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2017-241924 filed on Dec. 18, 2017, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a connector structure.
An electronic component of a switch or the like that is mounted on a vehicle is connected electrically to a battery, a control device and the like at a vehicle side using a connector (for example, refer to WO2017/032638).
As illustrated in
The terminal part 510 of the connector 500 and the housing 550 are usually formed integrally, but a separate formation of the terminal part 510 and the housing 550 has been proposed for cutting down on manufacturing costs. In the example in
In a case where the terminal part 510 of the connector 500 and the housing 550 are separately formed, since the terminal part 510 of the connector 500 and the housing 550 are positioned through the electronic substrate 700 and the case body 110 connected thereto respectively, each positional accuracy possibly gets lower as compared to a case of being integrally formed. When the positional accuracy of the terminal part 510 and the housing 550 is reduced, at the time of inserting the connector at the vehicle side from the tip end of the housing 550 to be connected to the terminal part 510 of the connector 500, there is a possibility that required positional accuracy cannot be achieved.
For enhancing the positional accuracy of the terminal part 510 and the housing 550, it is considered to cause the case body 110, which has been positioned with respect to the electronic substrate 700, to be positioned directly with respect to the terminal part 510. However, in that case, there is a possibility that the positional accuracy of the case body 110 and the electronic substrate 700 is reduced to reduce positional accuracy of the electronic component of the switch or the like.
Accordingly, the present invention is made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector structure that prevents positional accuracy of a housing and a terminal part for a connector attached to a switch and positional accuracy of an electronic component from being reduced while reducing manufacturing costs of the switch.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a connector structure in a case in which a connector is attached comprises:
the case including:
a case body for accommodating an electronic substrate therein; and
a cover for closing an opening of the case body, wherein
the connector includes:
a terminal part for supporting a plurality of terminals; and
a housing including a tubular part for surrounding tip end sides of the plurality of terminals,
the terminal part and the housing are separately disposed,
the terminal part is fixed on the electronic substrate,
the housing is formed to be integral with the cover, and
the terminal part and the housing are respectively provided with positioning parts for positioning the terminal part and the housing with each other.
According to the aspect of the present invention, the terminal part and the housing for the connector are separately disposed, and the housing is not formed to be integral with the case body configuring a function of the electronic component, but is formed to be integral with the cover that covers the opening of the case body for protection from an outside environment. Further, the terminal part and the housing are respectively provided with the positioning parts for the positioning with each other. As a result, separately forming the terminal part and the housing enables a reduction in costs. Since it is possible to directly position the terminal part and the housing, a reduction in positional accuracy of the terminal part and the housing can be prevented to easily secure the positional accuracy required for connection to the connector at the vehicle side. Further, since the case body is not formed to be integral with the housing, the case body can be directly positioned with respect to the electronic substrate, making it possible to prevent the reduction in the positional accuracy of the electronic component, too.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are designated by like reference numbers and in which:
Hereinafter, an explanation will be made of a connector structure in a case in which a connector is attached according to an embodiment in the present invention. The case configures an electronic component, and the electronic component is not limited to a specific component, and an explanation of the embodiment will be made using an example of a switch that is installed in a vehicle.
As illustrated in
The case 1 is provided with a boxy case body 11 a lower end of which is opened, and a plate-shaped cover 15 that closes a lower end opening 11a of the case body 11. It should be noted that, for descriptive purposes, an upper side is defined as an upper direction and a lower side is defined as a lower direction in
The case body 11 and the cover 15 each are formed by molding or the like. The case body 11 accommodates the electronic substrate 7 therein and is fixed on an unillustrated vehicle body (fixed member). Although unillustrated, the electronic substrate 7 is provided thereon with various components configuring the electronic component, such as switching elements, LEDs and the like. A projection 12 that is a positioning part with respect to the electronic substrate 7 is formed on an inner upper surface 11c of the case body 11 (refer to
A holding part 13 of the knob 3 is disposed on an outer upper surface 11b of the case body 11. The knob 3 is a tubular member an upper end of which is closed and a lower end of which is opened, and a pressing part 31 is disposed on its lower end. The pressing part 31 is formed in a position corresponding to the switching element installed on the electronic substrate 7.
The knob 3 is held in the holding part 13 of the case body 11. By pressing down an upper end surface 3a of the knob 3, the knob 3 slides toward the inside of the case body 11 to cause the pressing part 31 in the lower end of the knob 3 to press the switching element, thus switching an on/off operation of the switch. The switching element is provided with a resilient member of a rubber sheet or the like, and when the upper end surface 3a of the knob 3 is released, the knob 3 is urged by the resilient member to be returned back to an initial position.
The connector 5 is provided with a terminal part 51 for supporting a plurality of pin-shaped terminals 9 and a housing 55 for accommodating the terminal part 51 therein. The terminal part 51 and the housing 55 are separately formed, and the housing 55 is formed to be integral with the cover 15 by molding or the like.
The terminal part 51 is a rectangular terminal platform, and the plurality of pin-shaped terminals 9 arranged along the axis line Y are supported by penetration of them through side surfaces 51a, 51a, which are opposed to each other, of the terminal part 51. Projections 52, 52 are formed on an upper surface 51c of the terminal part 51 in the vicinity of both ends thereof in the axis line Y direction. The projection 52 is a positioning part with respect to the electronic substrate 7. A through hole 53a and a groove 53b are respectively formed in the vicinities of the projections 52, 52. The through hole 53a penetrates from the upper surface 51c over a lower surface 51d of the terminal part 51. The groove 53b is formed on a side surface 51b connecting the side surfaces 51a, 51a, and extends along the axis line X from the upper surface 51c to the lower surface 51d. The through hole 53a and the groove 53b are positioning parts with the housing 55.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
A flange 20 is disposed to extend horizontally with respect to the flat surface part 16 over an entire circumference of the outer edge of the flat surface part 16 of the cover 15. As illustrated in
The housing 55 is provided with a support part 56 that supports the terminal part 51 and a tubular part 58 that surrounds a tip end side of the horizontal part 91 of the pin-shaped terminal 9.
The support part 56 is a recessed part formed on the flat surface part 16 of the cover 15, and the lower surface 51d of the terminal part 51 is placed and supported on the support part 56 (refer to
As illustrated in
A base end 58a-side, which is in contact with the outer edge of the flat surface part 16, of the tubular part 58 and a tip end 58b-side, which opposes the base end 58a, of the tubular part 58 are opened. A notch 59 is formed in the base end 58a-side of the outer upper surface 58c of the tubular part 58. At the time of assembling the terminal part 51 on the housing 55, the tip end of the horizontal part 91 of the pin-shaped terminal 9 supported by the terminal part 51 is caused to be accommodated in the inside of the tubular part 58 through the notch 59 of the tubular part 58.
As illustrated in
As described before, the case body 11 is formed in a boxy shape, but a section of the side surface, which faces the tubular part 58, of the housing 55 extends outward along the tubular part 58 to form an extension part 14 covering the outer periphery of the tubular part 58. The extension part 14 covers part of the exterior upper surface 58c and the exterior side surfaces 58e, 58e of the tubular part 58, and is formed in a reverse-C letter shape as viewed in section.
A dimension of the outer periphery of the tubular part 59 of the connector 5 is made smaller than a dimension of an inner periphery of the extension part 14. Therefore the extension part 14 covers the tubular part 58 through a gap D2. As illustrated in
An explanation will be made of the assembling and the operation of the switch having the above-mentioned configuration.
As described before, the cover 15 and the housing 55 for the connector 5 are formed to be integral by molding or the like, and then, the terminal part 51 of the connector 5, the electronic substrate 7 and the case body 11 are assembled thereto. It should be noted that the knob 3 is held by the holding part 13 of the case body 11, but the details thereof are omitted.
As illustrated in
As illustrated by the round surroundings in
Next, the electronic substrate 7 and the terminal part 51 that are fixed are assembled to the cover 15 and the housing 55 that are formed to be integral.
As illustrated in
Subsequently the case body 11 will be assembled to the cover 15. The projection 12 disposed on the inner upper surface 11c of the case body 11 is inserted in a hole 73 of the electronic substrate 7 to be positioned, and the convex part 22 formed on the inner upper surface 14a of the extension part 14 is fitted in the notch 59 formed in the outer upper surface 58c of the tubular part 58. Thereby the flat surface part 16 of the cover 15 is assembled to cover the lower end opening 11a of the case body 11. The extension part 14 of the case body 11 covers the tubular part 58 of the housing 55 formed to be integral with the cover 15.
That is, in the embodiment the cover 15 and the case body 11 are not assembled to be directly positioned. The cover 15 and the case body 11 are assembled to be indirectly positioned in the form where the housing 55 of the connector 5 formed to be integral with the cover 15 and the terminal part 51 are positioned and the electronic substrate 7 in advance fixed in the terminal part 51 is positioned in the case body 11. Therefore in a case where the cover 15 and the case body 11 are assembled without a gap, when the peripheral wall 17 of the cover 15 and the inner side surface 11d of the case body 11 have variations in dimension, there is a possibility that they interfere with each other to block the assembling thereof. Therefore the dimension of the peripheral wall 17 of the cover 15 is made smaller than the dimension of the inner side surface 11d of the case body 11 to cause the peripheral wall 17 of the cover 15 to face the inner side surface 11d of the case body 11 through the gap D1. Further, the flange 20 is disposed to extend outward from the outer edge of the cover 15, and by covering the gap D1 between the peripheral wall 17 and the inner side surface 11d of the case body 11 with the flange 20, dusts can be prevented from entering the gap D1.
The inner periphery of the extension 14 of the case body 11 faces the outer periphery of the tubular part 58 with the gap D2, but as illustrated in
When the female connector at the vehicle side is inserted from the tip end 58b of the tubular part 58 of the housing 55 in the connector 5 to be connected to the pin-shaped terminal 9 of the terminal part 51, a prying force is applied on the housing 55. When the prying force is input on the terminal part 51 connected to the housing 55 by the positioning to be applied on sections (sections surrounded by circles in
It should be noted that, although not illustrated, a snap fit or the like may be disposed to the cover 15 and the case body 11 to fix the cover 15 to the case body 11.
As described above, the connector structure according to the embodiment is the connector structure in the case 1 in which the connector 5 is attached, wherein,
the case 1 includes:
the case body 11 for accommodating the electronic substrate 7 therein; and
the cover 15 for closing the lower end opening 11a (opening) of the case body 11,
the connector 5 includes:
the terminal part 51 for supporting the plurality of terminals 9 (terminals); and
the housing 55 including the tubular part 58 for surrounding tip end sides of the plurality of terminals 9,
the terminal part 51 and the housing 55 are separately disposed,
the terminal part 51 is fixed on the electronic substrate 7,
the housing 55 is formed to be integral with the cover 15, and
the terminal part 51 and the housing 55 are respectively provided with the through hole 53a and the groove 53b, and the projections 57, 57 (positioning parts) for positioning the terminal part 51 and the housing 55 with each other.
According to the conventional connector structure (refer to
For enhancing the positional accuracy of the terminal part 510 and the housing 550, it is considered to cause the case body 110, which has been positioned with respect to the electronic substrate 700, to be positioned directly with respect to the terminal part 510. However, in that case, there is a possibility that the positional accuracy of the case body 110 and the electronic substrate 700 is reduced to reduce positional accuracy of the electronic component of the switch or the like.
In the connector structure according to the embodiment illustrated in
It should be noted that in the embodiment, the example of using the through hole 53a and the terminal part 51 and the groove 53b, and the projections 57, 57 as the positioning parts of the terminal part 51 and the housing 55 is explained, but the positioning part is only required to be capable of positioning the respective members with respect to each other, and the configuration and the disposed position can be changed as needed. Also as to the positioning part of the other member, the configuration and the disposed position are not limited to specific ones.
(2) The case body 11 is fixed on the vehicle body (fixed member) and is provided with the extension part 14 for covering at least part of the outer periphery of the tubular part 58 of the housing 55, and the inner upper surface 11c and the inner side surface 11d (inner periphery), which face the outer periphery of the housing 55 through the gap D2, of the extension part 14 are provided with the ribs 21 (projections) in contact with the outer periphery of the tubular part 58 of the housing 55.
When the female connector at the vehicle side is inserted from the tip end of the tubular part 58 of the housing 55 of the connector 5 to be connected to the pin-shaped terminal 9 of the terminal part 51, the prying force is applied on the housing 55, but the tubular part 58 of the housing 55 comes in contact with the ribs 21 to act as the gap fillings. Thereby the prying force applied to the housing 55 tends to be easily scattered to the case body 11 fixed on the vehicle body through the ribs 21. Thereby it is possible to reduce the prying force that is input to the terminal part 51 to be applied to the section of the terminal part 51 and the electronic substrate 7 fixed by soldering, making it possible to prevent the reduction in quality of the connector 5. In addition, when some of the ribs 21 do not come in contact with the outer periphery of the extension part 14 due to the dimension tolerance, the height of each of the ribs 21 can be adjusted by the metallic molding.
It should be noted that in the embodiment, the example of disposing the ribs 21 on the inner periphery of the extension part 14 is explained as an example of the projection, but the projection is not limited to this example. The projection is only required to project from somewhere of the inner periphery of the extension part 14 or the outer periphery of the tubular part 58 to cause the inner periphery of the extension part 14 to come in contact with the outer periphery of the tubular part 58. For example, a projection in a semispherical shape may be disposed as the projection. In addition, the projection is not disposed on the inner peripheral side of the extension part 14, but may be disposed on the outer peripheral side of the tubular part 58.
(3) The cover 15 is provided with the flat surface part 16 that covers the lower end opening 11a of the case body 11, the peripheral wall 17 that extends to the case body 11-side from the outer edge of the flat surface part 16 and faces the inner side surface 11d (inner periphery) of the case body 11 with the gap D1, and the flange 20 that is disposed over the entire circumference of the outer edge of the flat surface part 16 and extends in the horizontal direction with respect to the flat surface part 16 to cover the gap D1 between the inner side surface 11d of the case body 11 and the peripheral wall 17 of the cover 15.
In the embodiment the cover 15 and the case body 11 are not directly positioned. Therefore in a case where the cover 15 and the case body 11 are to be assembled without a gap, when the peripheral wall 17 disposed to rise in the upward direction from the outer edge of the cover 15 and the inner side surface 11d of the case body 11 have variations in dimension, there is a possibility that the cover 15 and the case body 11 interfere with each other to block the assembling thereof. Therefore the gap D1 is provided between the peripheral wall 17 of the cover 15 and the inner side surface 11d of the case body 11 to prevent the interference between the cover 15 and the case body 11. Further, the flange 20 is disposed to extend outward from the outer edge of the cover 15, and by covering the gap D1 between the peripheral wall 17 and inner side surface 11d of the case body 11 with the flange 20, dusts can be prevented from entering the gap D1.
While only the selected embodiment has been chosen to illustrate the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Furthermore, the foregoing description of the embodiment according to the present invention is provided for illustration only, and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2017-241924 | Dec 2017 | JP | national |