Connector with built-in circuit element

Abstract

A connector for a vehicular AC generator includes a resin connector case having an element-accommodating chamber in which a leaded circuit element having a pair of leads at opposite ends is received. The leads are bent at right angles and soldered at respective tip end portions to element connecting terminals of wiring metal pieces embedded in the connector case. The element-accommodating chamber is filled with an elastic sealing resin. The right-angled leads take up or absorb the difference in thermal expansion between the connector case and the circuit element including the leads. The elastic sealing resin prevents a crack from occurring at an interface boundary between the circuit element and the leads and offers an improved environmental resistance.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a connector for vehicular AC generators according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the connector shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the connector shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional taken along line A-A of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of a conventional connector for vehicular AC generator;

FIG. 8 is a rear elevational view of the connector shown in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the connector shown in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

One preferred structural embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail in conjunction with a connector for vehicular AC generator shown in FIGS. 1 to 6. As shown in these figures, the connector generally comprises a connector case 1 as a resin molded article, a plurality of wiring metal pieces 2-5 fixed or embedded in the connector case 1 by inert molding or resin molding, and a leaded circuit element 6. The connector case 1 includes a body portion 12 of rectangular block-like configuration having an element-accommodating chamber of horizontally elongated U shape, and a tubular connector portion 13 projecting from the body portion 12 in an upward direction shown in FIG. 1. The leaded circuit element 6 includes an elongated element body 60 and a pair of leads 61 and 62 projecting from opposite longitudinal ends of the element body 60. The leaded element 6 in the illustrated embodiment is constituted by a passive circuit element such as a resistive element, varistors or the like.

The element-accommodating chamber 11 has an element receiving portion 11a extending parallel along a flat first wall 12a of the body portion 12, a first lead receiving portion 11b extending parallel along a second wall 12b extending from one end of the first wall 12a in a direction perpendicular to the first wall 12a, and a second lead receiving portion 11c extending parallel along a third wall 12c extending from the other end of the first wall 12a in a direction perpendicular to the first wall 12a. The element body 60 of the leaded circuit element 6 is received in the element receiving portion 11a, the first lead 61 of the leaded circuit element 6 is received in the first element receiving portion 11b, and the second lead 62 of the leaded circuit element 6 is received in the second element receiving portion 11c.

As shown in FIG. 1, the leads 61 and 62 are bent or curved upward at a right angle so as to form bent portions 61a and 62a having a predetermined curvature (in the illustrated embodiment, the radius of curvature of the bent portions is 2.5 mm). Stated more specifically, the lead 61 extends from one end of the element body 60 in a common longitudinal direction (leftward in FIG. 1) of the element body 60 and the element receiving portion 11a, then bends or curves upward at a right angle toward the connector portion 13 so as to form a bent portion 61a, further extends from the bent portion 61a in an upward direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the element receiving portion 11a, and finally terminates in a tip end portion 61a. Similarly, the lead 62 extends from the other end of the element body 60 in a common longitudinal direction (rightward in FIG. 1) of the element body 60 and the element receiving portion 11a, then bends or curves curved upward at a right angle toward the connector portion 13 so as to form a bent portion 62a, further extends from the bent portion 62a in an upward direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the element receiving portion 11a, and finally terminates in a tip end portion 62b.

The wiring metal piece 2 has two external connecting terminals 21 and 22 projecting outward from an outer surface of the body portion 12 of the connector case 1 in two mutually perpendicular directions. The wiring metal piece 3 has a connector terminal 31 projecting into the tubular connector portion 13 as an external connecting terminal, and an element connecting terminal 32 projecting into the element-accommodating chamber 11. The wiring metal piece 4 has an external connecting terminal 41 projecting outward from the outer surface of the body portion 12 of the connector case 1 in a direction parallel to the external connecting terminal 22, and a connector terminal (not shown) projecting into the tubular connector portion 13 as an external connecting terminal. The wiring metal piece 5 has an external connecting terminal 51 projecting outward from the outer surface of the body portion 12 of the connector case 1 in a direction diametrically opposite to the projecting direction of the external connecting terminal 21, and an element connecting terminal 52 projecting into the element-accommodating chamber 11. The external connecting terminals 22, 41 project from a lower side surface of the body portion 12 of the connector case 1 in a direction opposite to the projecting direction of the connector portion 13. The element connecting terminal 32 of the wiring metal piece 3 has a tip end portion (joint end portion) soldered to the tip end portion 61b of the lead 61. Similarly, the element connecting terminal 52 of the wiring metal piece 5 has a tip end portion point end portion) soldered to the tip end portion 62b of the lead 62. The element connecting terminal 32 of the wiring metal piece 3 and the element connecting terminal 52 of the wiring metal piece 5 project from the body portion 12 of the connector case 1 in a lateral leftward direction as shown in FIG. 1.

The connector case 1 has a plurality of lead support walls 14 to 17 each for supporting thereon one of the leads 61 and 62. The lead supporting wall 14 is disposed in the first lead receiving portion 11b of the element accommodating chamber 11 and extends in a direction transversely across the first read receiving portion 11b at a position located between the tip end portion 61a of the lead 61 and the bent portion 61a of the lead 61. The lead support wall 15 is disposed in the element receiving portion 11a of the element-accommodating chamber 11 and extends in a direction transversely across the element receiving portion 11a at a position between a base portion (proximal end portion not designated) of the lead 61 and the bent portion 61a of the lead 61. Similarly, the lead support wall 16 is disposed in the element receiving portion 11a of the element-accommodating chamber 11 and extends in a direction transversely across the element receiving portion 11a at a position between a base portion (proximal end portion not designated) of the lead 62 and the bent portion 62a of the lead 62. The lead supporting wall 17 is disposed in the second lead receiving portion 11c of the element accommodating chamber 11 and extends in a direction transversely across the second read receiving portion 11c at a position located between the tip end portion 62a of the lead 62 and the bent portion 62a of the lead 62.

The lead support walls 14 and 15 are in contact with a back side of the lead 61 and extend perpendicularly to the lead 61. Similarly, the lead support walls 16 and 17 are in contact with a back side of the lead 62 and extend perpendicularly to the lead 62. Each of the lead support walls 14-17 has on its front surface an arcuate recess in which a portion of the lead 61, 62 is received and held therein via a frictional forced acting between the back side of the lead 61, 62 and the recessed front surface of each respective lead support wall 14-17. FIG. 6 shows one such arcuate recess 14a formed in the lead support wall 14. Though not shown, other lead support walls 15, 16, 17 have the same arcuate recesses.

As shown in FIG. 3, the element-accommodating chamber 11 is filled with an elastic sealing resin 7. The element-accommodating chamber 11 has a front-side opening 11d and a rear-side opening 11e, which are sealingly closed by a front lid 11f and a rear lid 11g, respectively. The element-accommodating chamber 11 is enlarged on its rear side in an upward direction toward the connector portion 13 so as to receive therein a capacitor 8. Thus, the leaded circuit element 6 is received in a front-side portion of the element-accommodating chamber 11, and the capacitor 8 is received in an enlarged rear-side portion of the element-accommodating chamber 11. The capacitor 8 is not shown in FIG. 2 for clarity.

As shown in FIG. 4, the element connecting terminal 52 of the wiring metal piece 5 has the joint end portion (tip end portion) 52a soldered to the tip end portion 62b of the lead 62, and a contact exposure portion 52b located closer to a base of the element connecting terminal 52 than the joint end portion 52a.

The contact exposure portion 52b of the element connecting terminal 52 is in close contact with a wall portion 1V of the connector case 1, which is located on the front side of the element connecting terminal 52, as shown in FIG. 5. The wall portion 1V of the connector case 1 is formed as a result of formation of a cutout recess 1X of an inverted U-shape in cross-section of a wall part 1W extending along an inner surface of the connector case 1. The wall portion 1V corresponds in position to the contact exposure portion 52b of the element connecting terminal 52 and projects to some extent from the bottom of the inverted U-shaped cutout recess 1X toward the rear side of the connector case 1. In other words, the contact exposure portion 52b of the element connecting terminal 52 has a four-sided or rectangular cross-sectional shape and is in contact with the wall portion 1V of the connector case 1 only at its one flat surface facing toward the front side of the connector case 1. Remaining three flat surfaces of the contact exposure portion 52b are separated from the connector case 1 by virtue of the presence of the inverted U-shaped cutout recess 1X. With this arrangement, it is possible to improve the elastic deformation of the element connecting terminal 52 in other directions than the direction facing toward the wall portion 1V of the connector case 1.

Using five samples, the conventional connector with a built-in circuit element shown in FIGS. 7-9 and the inventive connector with a built-in circuit element shown in FIGS. 1-6 were subjected to a heat cycle test effected in a temperature range −30° C to 150° C. The results show that breaking of lead occurred at 500 cycles on average for the conventional connector samples and no breaking of lead was found for the inventive connector samples even after 2,000 cycles.

Obviously, various minor changes and modifications are possible in the light of the above teaching. It is to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

Claims

1. A connector for a vehicular AC generator, comprising: a resin connector case having a sealed element-accommodating chamber for receiving therein a circuit element;a leaded circuit element received in, the element-accommodating chamber and having a pair of leads protruding from opposite longitudinal ends thereof, each of the leads has a bent portion, which is bent at an angle of 45 degrees or greater within the element-accommodating chamber;a plurality of wiring metal pieces embedded in the resin connector case, each of the wiring metal pieces having an external connecting terminal projecting from an outer wall of the connector case for external connection, and an element connecting terminal projecting into the element-accommodating chamber and soldered to a tip end portion of each of the leads of the leaded circuit element; andan elastic sealing resin filled in the element-accommodating chamber.

2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector case further has a lead support wall disposed between the tip end portion and the bent portion of each of the pair of leads and supporting thereon a portion of each respective lead, the lead support wall extending perpendicularly to each respective lead and having a recess in which the lead is received.

3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the leads of the leaded circuit element are bent parallel to each other at right angles in the same direction.

4. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector case has a rectangular block-like configuration having a flat first wall, a flat second wall extending perpendicularly from one end of the first wall, and a flat third wall extending perpendicularly from the other end of the first wall and parallel to the second wall, and wherein the element-accommodating chamber includes an element receiving portion extending substantially parallel to and along the first wall of the connector case and receiving therein a body portion of the leaded circuit element in substantially parallel spaced relation to the first wall, a first lead receiving portion extending substantially parallel to and along the second wall of the connector case and receiving therein one of the pair of the leads in substantially parallel spaced relation to the second wall, and a second lead receiving portion extending substantially parallel to and along the third wall of the connector case and receiving therein the other lead in substantially parallel spaced relation to the third wall.

5. The connector according to claim 4, wherein the connector case further has a pair of lead support walls extending perpendicularly to each other and supporting each of the leads at portions located on opposite sides of the bent portion of each respective lead.

6. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the element connecting terminal has a joint end portion completely separated from the connector case and soldered to the tip end portion of each lead, a base portion opposite to the joint end portion and fully embedded in the connector case, and a contact exposure portion disposed between the joint end portion and the base portion, the contact exposure portion being in close contact with an inner wall surface of the connector case only at a surface thereof which is hidden when viewed from an open side of the element-accommodating chamber.