Patent Application
20240396254
This application is based on and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-084690, filed on May 23, 2023, with the Japan Patent Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a connector.
A connector disclosed in JP 2019-071272 A includes a coding housing and a plug body coupled to the coding housing. A compatible connector is fitted to the coding housing from the front. The coding housing and the plug body each include a guide rail that extends in an up-down direction. The coding housing moves along the two guide rails from above, and is press-fitted and attached to the plug body. The plug body is an outer conductor that surrounds an inner conductor portion via a contact body. Connectors including such an outer conductor are also disclosed in JP 2023-021590 A and JP 3233846 U.
In JP 2019-071272 A, for example, if the guide rail of the coding housing and the guide rail of the plug body are press-fitted to each other in close contact, work for attaching the coding housing to the plug body may not be favorably performed. On the other hand, if a gap is formed between the guide rails, the coding housing may rattle with respect to the plug body. For this reason, with the configuration of JP 2019-071272 A, the positional relationship of the guide rails needs to be strictly set, and thus there is a problem in that the attachment work is significantly difficult.
In view of this, the present disclosure aims to provide a connector according to which an outer conductor and a housing can be easily attached to each other.
A connector according to the present disclosure is a connector including an electrically conductive inner conductor, an electrically conductive outer conductor surrounding the inner conductor via an electrically insulating inductor between the inner conductor and the outer conductor, and an electrically insulating housing configured to be coupled to the outer conductor, and the outer conductor includes a hooking portion at a front end portion thereof, the housing includes a hooked portion at a rear end portion thereof, a rear surface of the hooking portion opposes a front surface of the hooked portion, and a first surface out of the rear surface of the hooking portion and the front surface of the hooked portion includes a rib-shaped contact portion configured to come into contact with a second surface out of the rear surface of the hooking portion and the front surface of the hooked portion.
According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a connector according to which an outer conductor and a housing can be easily attached to each other.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here.
First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described.
(1) A connector according to the present disclosure includes an electrically conductive inner conductor, an electrically conductive outer conductor surrounding the inner conductor via an electrically insulating inductor between the inner conductor and the outer conductor, and an electrically insulating housing configured to be coupled to the outer conductor, and the outer conductor includes a hooking portion at a front end portion thereof, the housing includes a hooked portion at a rear end portion thereof, a rear surface of the hooking portion opposes a front surface of the hooked portion, and a first surface out of the rear surface of the hooking portion and the front surface of the hooked portion includes a rib-shaped contact portion configured to come into contact with a second surface out of the rear surface of the hooking portion and the front surface of the hooked portion.
Due to the rear surface of the hooking portion and the front surface of the hooked portion opposing each other, and the rib-shaped contact portion of either the hooking portion or the hooked portion coming into contact with the other one, the outer conductor and the housing can be attached to each other while avoiding the formation of a gap between the rear surface of the hooking portion and the front surface of the hooked portion.
(2) In the connector described in the above-described (1), it is preferable that the first surface is the rear surface of the hooking portion, and the second surface is the front surface of the hooked portion.
The outer conductor having the hooking portion is electrically conductive and formed by a metal rigid body, for example. The housing having the hooked portion is electrically insulating and formed by a molded body made of a synthetic resin, for example. When the contact portion of the metal hooking portion comes into contact with the front surface of the synthetic resin hooked portion, the hooked portion can be elastically deformed, or the contact portion can bite into the front surface of the hooked portion. Accordingly, with the configuration of the above-described (2), the amount that the contact portion protrudes from the rear surface of the hooking portion can be adjusted, making it possible to attach the outer conductor and the housing to each other with an appropriate holding force.
(3) In the connector described in the above-described (2), it is preferable that the outer conductor includes a first surface facing a first direction intersecting a front-rear direction, the housing includes a second surface facing a second direction that is opposite to the first direction, the hooking portion protrudes in the first direction beyond the first surface, the hooked portion protrudes in the second direction beyond the second surface, and the contact portion extends in the first direction beyond the first surface in the rear surface of the hooking portion.
In the configuration of the above-described (3), the outer conductor can be moved in the first direction and attached to the housing. The hooking portion protrudes from the first surface and need not be elongated like the guide rails in JP 2019-071272 A, and the slide structure of the hooking portion may be reduced in size or eliminated. In the configuration of the above-described (3), when the outer conductor and the housing are attached to each other, the case where contact resistance between the outer conductor and the housing becomes excessively large can be easily avoided.
(4) In the connector described in the above-described (3), it is preferable that a cross-section of the contact portion taken perpendicular to the first direction has a curved surface shape.
With the configuration of the above-described (4), the contact portion does not have a sharp edge that comes into contact with the front surface of the hooked portion, and thus it is possible to avoid unnecessary damage to the front surface of the hooked portions and the formation of shavings and the like.
(5) In the connector described in the above-described (3) or (4), it is preferable that the housing includes a protrusion protruding rearward from a rear surface of the rear end portion, the outer conductor includes a recess configured to receive the protrusion, in a front surface of the front end portion, and the protrusion includes a guide surface inclined toward the hooked portion, at least at an edge portion facing the first direction of a leading end outer peripheral portion.
With the configuration of the above-described (5), when the outer conductor and the housing are attached to each other, the opening edge portion and the like of the recess can be moved in the first direction along the guide surface of the protrusion, and thus the hooking portion can be smoothly moved to a position where the hooking portion can be hooked to the hooked portion.
(6) In the connector described in the above-described (5), it is preferable that the leading end outer peripheral portion of the protrusion includes a chamfered portion at a portion adjacent to the guide surface, and a slope length of the guide surface is longer than a slope length of the chamfered portion.
With the configuration of the above-described (6), since the guide surface is not merely a chamfered portion, the slope length of the guide surface can be set sufficiently longer than the slope length of the chamfered portion.
Specific examples of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these illustrative examples but is indicated by the scope of the claims, and all modifications that fall within the meaning and range of equivalency to the scope of the claims are intended to be encompassed therein.
As shown in
The inner conductors 11 are each formed by an electrically conductive metal plate member, and have a shape of an L-shaped pin in side view, as shown in
The inductors 13 are each formed by an electrically insulating synthetic resin member, and have a shape of an L-shaped block in side view. The connector 10 includes a pair of long inductors 13A that correspond to the long inner conductors 11A, and a pair of short inductors 13B that correspond to the short inner conductors 11B. The inductors 13 each house the corresponding inner conductor 11. A front-end portion of each inner conductor 11 protrudes forward from the inductor 13, and is electrically connected to a partner inner conductor (not shown). As shown in
The outer conductor 12, the closing member 15, and the tubular members 16 are formed by electrically conductive metal members. Of these, the outer conductor 12 and the closing member 15 are die-cast parts, and formed as thick rigid bodies which are not elastically deformable. The tubular members 16 are pressed parts and formed as elastically deformable plate members.
As shown in
The closing member 15 is attached to the outer conductor 12 and the housing 14 from below. As shown in
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The hooking portions 35 each have a rectangular plate shape (wall shape) in front view, in which a front surface is continuous and flush with a front surface of the tubular portion 27 (see
The housing 14 is made of a synthetic resin, and as shown in
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In the present disclosure, a back surface 44 of the attachment recess 43 forms a rear surface of a rear end portion of the housing 14. The insertion holes 42 are open at an upper portion, a lower portion, a left portion, and a right portion of the back surface 44 of the attachment recess 43.
The housing 14 includes a protrusion 45 protruding rearward from a center portion of the back surface 44 (rear surface of the rear end portion) of the attachment recess 43. The protrusion 45 is disposed between the insertion holes 42 in rear view of the housing 14. As shown in
Four ribs 46 respectively protrude from an upper position, a lower position, a left position, and a right position in the peripheral surface of the protrusion 45 at 90-degree intervals in the peripheral direction. As shown in
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First, a process for attaching the outer conductor 12 to the housing 14 will be described based on
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In the state where the inclined surface 34 of the recess 31 comes into contact with the guide surface 49 of the protrusion 45 and the hooking portions 35 enter the punched holes 55, contact portions 36 of the hooking portions 35 are disposed so as to be capable of respectively coming into contact with the front surfaces of the hooked portions 57 along the up-down direction. Immediately before the attachment of the outer conductor 12 to the housing 14 is completed, the inclined surfaces 34 of the recess 31 are separated from the outer guide surfaces 52 of the guide surfaces 49 of the protrusion 45, and as shown in
In this manner, the outer conductor 12 and the housing 14 are held such that separation in the front-rear direction is restricted.
Next, the tubular members 16 are passed through the through holes 28 and the insertion holes 42 to be held by the outer conductor 12 and the housing 14 (see
Next, the closing member 15 is attached to the outer conductor 12 and the housing 14 from below (see
As shown in
As described above, according to the first embodiment, the outer conductor 12 includes the hooking portions 35 at the front end portion, the housing 14 includes the hooked portions 57 at the rear end portion, the rear surfaces of the hooking portions 35 oppose the front surfaces of the hooked portions 57, and the rib-shaped contact portions 36 that can come into contact with the front surfaces of the hooked portions 57 are formed on the rear surfaces of the hooking portions 35. Therefore, since the rear surfaces of the hooking portions 35 oppose the front surfaces of the hooked portions 57 and the rib-shaped contact portions 36 come into contact with the front surfaces of the hooked portions 57, the outer conductor 12 and the housing 14 can be attached to each other while avoiding the formation of a gap between the rear surfaces of the hooking portions 35 and the front surfaces of the hooked portions 57. As a result, it is possible to provide the connector 10 according to which the outer conductor 12 and the housing 14 can be easily attached to each other.
Since the outer conductor 12 is a metal rigid body (die-cast part) and the housing 14 is a molded body made of a synthetic resin, when the metal contact portions 36 come into contact with the front surfaces of the synthetic resin hooked portions 57, the hooked portions 57 can be elastically deformed, or the contact portions 36 can bite into the front surfaces of the hooked portions 57. Accordingly, the amount by which the contact portions 36 protrude from the rear surfaces of the hooking portions 35 can be adjusted, and the outer conductor 12 and the housing 14 can be attached to each other with an appropriate holding force.
Further, in the first embodiment, the outer conductor 12 includes the first surface 37 facing the first direction (upward) that intersects the front-rear direction, and the housing 14 includes the second surface 56 facing the second direction (downward) that is opposite to the first direction. The hooking portions 35 protrude from the first surface 37 in the first direction, the hooked portions 57 protrude from the second surface 56 in the second direction, and the contact portions 36 extend in the first direction from the first surface 37 at the rear surfaces of the hooking portions 35. Accordingly, when the outer conductor 12 is moved in the first direction to be attached to the housing 14, contact resistance between the outer conductor 12 and the housing 14 can be prevented from being excessively large.
Further, since cross-sections of the contact portions 36 taken perpendicular to the up-down direction have a curved surface shape, the contact portions 36 do not have sharp edges that come into contact with the front surfaces of the hooked portions 57, and thus it is possible to avoid unnecessary damage to the front surfaces of the hooked portions 57 and the formation of shavings and the like.
Further, the housing 14 includes a protrusion 45 protruding rearward from a back surface 44 (rear surface at the rear end portion of the housing 14) of the attachment recess 43, the outer conductor 12 includes the recess 31 that receives the protrusion 45 at the front surface of the front-end portion, and the protrusion 45 includes the guide surfaces 49 inclined toward the hooked portions 57 at edge portions facing the first direction of the leading end outer peripheral portions. For this reason, when the outer conductor 12 and the housing 14 are attached to each other, the inclined surfaces 34 of the recess 31 can be moved in the first direction along the guide surfaces 49 of the protrusion 45, and the hooking portions 35 can be smoothly moved to positions where the hooking portions 35 can be hooked to the hooked portions 57.
Further, in the first embodiment, the leading end outer peripheral portion of the protrusion 45 includes the chamfered portions 48 at portions adjacent to the guide surfaces 49, and the slope length of the guide surfaces 49 is longer than the slope length of the chamfered portions 48. In other words, since the guide surfaces 49 are not merely chamfered portions, the slope length of the guide surfaces 49 can be sufficiently set longer than the slope length of the chamfered portions 48.
The first embodiment disclosed herein is exemplary in all respects, and should be construed as being not limitative.
In the first embodiment, the contact portions 36 are formed on the rear surfaces of the hooking portions 35. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the contact portions may be formed on the front surfaces of the hooked portions.
In the first embodiment, the outer conductor 12, the closing member 15, and the tubular members 16 are configured to be separable from each other. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the outer conductor and the tubular members may be integrally formed so as to be nondetachable, and the outer conductor and the closing member may also be integrally formed so as to be nondetachable. For example, when the outer conductor and the tubular members are integrally formed so as to be nondetachable, it is preferable that a configuration such as a cutout for avoiding interference with the housing and the tubular member is provided to the housing.
In the first embodiment, the two hooking portions 35 are provided on the outer conductor 12, and the two hooked portions 57 are provided on the housing 14. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the one or three or more hooking portions may also be provided on the outer conductor, and the one or three or more hooked portion may also be provided on the housing.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-084690 | May 2023 | JP | national |
