Patent Grant
11710933
This application is a national phase of PCT application No. PCT/JP2019/050101, filed on 20 Dec. 2019, which claims priority from Japanese patent application No. 2018-247605, filed on 28 Dec. 2018, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
A technique disclosed by this specification relates to a terminal module and a connector.
A high-frequency connector to be connected to an end of a shielded cable in which the outer periphery of a coated wire having a core covered by an insulating inner sheath is covered by a braided wire and an insulating outer sheath is, for example, known from Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2011-253724 (Patent Document 1 below). This high-frequency connector includes an inner conductor terminal to be connected to the core exposed by stripping the shielded cable, an insulating dielectric for accommodating the inner conductor terminal in a cavity provided inside, an outer conductor terminal for covering the dielectric from outside and a connector housing for accommodating the outer conductor terminal. In the shielded cable, the braided wire exposed by stripping the insulating outer sheath is electrically connected to the inner peripheral surface of the outer conductor terminal and the core of the coated wire pulled out straight forward from the braided wire and the insulating outer sheath is introduced into the inner conductor terminal and electrically connected to the inner conductor terminal.
Patent Document 1: JP 2011-253724 A
In the connector of this type, depending on the structure of the outer conductor terminal, an axis center of the coated wire pulled out from the inner conductor terminal and that of the coated wire pulled out from the braided wire and the insulating outer sheath cannot be coaxially arranged and may be misaligned. If the axis center of the coated wire pulled out from the inner conductor terminal and that of the coated wire pulled out from the braided wire and the insulating outer sheath are misaligned, the coated wire pulled from the dielectric accommodating the inner conductor terminal may be drastically bent. If the coated wire is drastically bent, there is a concern that communication quality is reduced due to the reflection of a signal. Further, since the coated wire needs to be assembled with the inner conductor terminal and the outer conductor terminal while being drastically bent, assembling workability is deteriorated.
A technique for suppressing the deterioration of assembling workability and suppressing a reduction in communication quality is disclosed in this specification.
The technique disclosed by this specification is directed to a terminal module with a shielded cable including at least one coated wire, a conductive shield portion for covering an outer periphery of the coated wire and a sheath portion for covering an outer periphery of the shield portion, an inner conductor to be connected to the coated wire, an insulating terminal accommodating member for accommodating an end part of the coated wire together with the inner conductor, and an outer conductor to be fixed while being electrically connected to the shield portion as the terminal accommodating member is accommodated into the outer conductor, wherein an axis center of a shield-side pull-out portion for pulling out the coated wire in the shield portion is radially shifted with respect to an axis center of an inner conductor-side pull-out portion for pulling out the coated wire in the inner conductor, and a wire insertion path is formed in a part of a wall portion of the terminal accommodating member on a side toward which the axis center of the shield-side pull-out portion is shifted and a linking portion of the coated wire located between the inner conductor-side pull-out portion and the shield-side pull-out portion is insertable into the wire insertion path.
Further, the technique disclosed by this specification is directed to a connector with the above terminal module and a housing for accommodating the terminal module.
If, for example, the wire insertion path is not formed in the terminal accommodating member, the linking portion of the coated wire pulled out from the inner conductor-side pull-out portion is disposed along an inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating member and is drastically bent toward the shield-side pull-out portion after being pulled out from the terminal accommodating member. A signal is easily reflected due to drastic bending and the coated wire may be damaged due to a bending stress in the linking portion of the coated wire.
However, according to the cable with terminal configured as described above, the linking portion of the coated wire can be moderately inclined without being drastically bent by inserting the linking portion into the wire insertion path of the terminal accommodating member. In this way, a bending stress on the linking portion of the coated wire can be suppressed and a reduction in communication quality caused by the reflection of a signal due to the bending of the coated wire can be suppressed. Further, since the linking portion of the coated wire can be routed while being moderately inclined, the deterioration of assembling workability can be suppressed as compared to the case where the coated wire is assembled with the inner conductor and the outer conductor while being drastically bent.
The terminal module disclosed by this specification may be configured as follows.
A covering member for covering an outer periphery of the linking portion may be mounted on the linking portion of the coated wire, and the linking portion covered by the covering member may be insertable into the wire insertion path.
According to this configuration, the linking portion is made difficult to bend by mounting the covering member on the linking portion.
According to this configuration, since the linking portion covered by the covering member is insertable into the wire insertion path, a bending stress on the linking portion can be suppressed and a reduction in communication quality caused by the reflection of a signal due to the bending of the coated wire can be suppressed by inserting the linking portion into the wire insertion path.
The terminal accommodating member may include a first member having a first wall portion, the inner conductor and an end part of the coated wire being placed on the first wall portion, and a second member having a second wall portion for covering the inner conductor and the end part of the coated wire from a side opposite to the first wall portion of the first member, and the wire insertion path may be formed by setting either one of the first and second wall portions to be shorter in an extending direction of the coated wire than the other.
For example, if either one of the first wall portion of the first member and the second wall portion of the second member is cut to form a wire insertion path, the rigidity of the wall portion formed with the wire insertion path is reduced. Thus, there is a concern that the member formed with the wire insertion path is damaged due to contact with another member when the first and second members are assembled with the inner conductor and the coated wire.
However, according to this configuration, since the wire insertion path is formed by setting either one of the first wall portion of the first member and the second wall portion of the second member to be shorter than the other, the wire insertion path can be formed while a reduction in the rigidity of the first and second members is suppressed.
According to the technique disclosed by this specification, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of assembling workability and suppress a reduction in communication quality.
One embodiment of the technique disclosed in this specification is described with reference to
A connector 10 for communication to be installed in a vehicle such an electric vehicle or hybrid vehicle and disposed in a wired communication path, for example, between an in-vehicle electrical component (car navigation system, ETC, monitor or the like) in the vehicle and an external device (camera or the like) or between in-vehicle electrical components is illustrated in this embodiment.
As shown in
The shielded cable 11 includes a plurality of coated wires 12, a shield portion 15 constituted by a braided wire for collectively covering the outer peripheries of the plurality of coated wires 12, and a sheath portion 16 constituted by an insulation coating for covering the outer periphery of the shield portion 15. In the shielded cable 11 of this embodiment, two coated wires 12 are collectively covered by the shield portion 15.
Each coated wire 12 is formed such that a conductive core 13 is covered by an insulating insulation coating 14. The two coated wires 12 are twisted in a state covered by the shield portion 15, and the sheath portion 16 is stripped in a front end part of the shielded cable 11 to expose the untwisted two coated wires 12 and the shield portion 15.
The shield portion 15 is formed by braiding a plurality of conductive metal thin wires into a tube. The shield portion 15 exposed from an end of the sheath portion 16 is folded on an end part of the sheath portion 16 to cover the outer periphery of the end part of the sheath portion 16, and this folded part of the shield portion 15 serves as a folded portion 15A. As shown in
A front end part of each coated wire 12 pulled out forward from the folded portion 15A has the insulation coating 14 further stripped to expose the core 13, and the inner conductor 20 is electrically connected to the exposed core 13.
The inner conductor 20 is formed by working a conductive metal plate material by a press or the like. The inner conductor 20 includes a connecting tube portion 22 in the form of a rectangular tube into which an unillustrated pin-like male terminal is inserted for connection, and a wire connecting portion 24 to be crimped and connected to ends of the core 13 and the insulation coating 14 is formed behind and continuously with the connecting tube portion 22. Further, a part crimped to the insulation coating 14 in a rear end part of the wire connecting portion 24 serves as an inner conductor-side pull-out portion 25 from which the coated wire 12 is pulled out rearward.
A part of the coated wire 12 disposed between the inner conductor-side pull-out portion 25 and the shield-side pull-out portion 19 serves as a linking portion 17, and an adjusting member 80 for adjusting an impedance in the linking portion 17 is mounted on the linking portion 17.
The adjusting member 80 is formed by working a conductive metal plate material by a press or the like. The adjusting member 80 includes two adjusting bodies 82 to be respectively mounted on the outer peripheries of the linking portions 17 in the coated wires 12 and a coupling portion 85 coupling the two adjusting bodies 82.
Each adjusting body 82 is formed into a substantially hollow cylindrical shape for covering the outer peripheral surface of the linking portion 17 in a circumferential direction. The adjusting body 82 is mounted in a substantially central part of the linking portion 17 in a front-rear direction, and a length in the front-rear direction of the adjusting body 82 is somewhat shorter than that of the linking portion 17.
The coupling portion 85 is curved to bulge upward and couples the two adjusting bodies 82 in a lateral direction. Further, as shown in
The terminal accommodating member 30 is made of synthetic resin and, as shown in
Cavities 32 extending in the front-rear direction are formed side by side in the lateral direction on a side of the terminal accommodating member 30 forward of a central part in the front-rear direction. As shown in
A rear part of the terminal accommodating member 30 serves as a large accommodating portion 33 for accommodating the linking portions 17 pulled out rearward from the inner conductor-side pull-out portions 25 of the two inner conductors 20 together with the adjusting member 80.
Further, as shown in
As shown in
The pair of locking pieces 36 are formed to extend upward from a rear end part of the bottom wall 35D, and each locking piece 36 includes a substantially rectangular locking hole 36A penetrating in the lateral direction.
As shown in
The ceiling wall 40U is in the form of a substantially rectangular flat plate long in the front-rear direction, and dimensioned to cover the inner conductors 20 and the end parts of the coated wires 12 from a side opposite to the bottom wall 35D of the lower member 35. A separation wall 45 extending downward from the ceiling wall 40U is formed in a substantially central part in the lateral direction of the ceiling wall 40U. The separation wall 45 is disposed to be proximate to and vertically face the bottom wall 35D of the lower member 35 and two cavities 32 for accommodating the inner conductors 20 are configured in the terminal accommodating member 30 when the upper member 40 and the lower member 35 are assembled.
The front wall 42 is in the form of a plate extending downward from the front end edge of the ceiling wall 40U and provided with insertion openings 42A into which the male terminals are inserted.
The pair of side walls 44 respectively extend downward from the ceiling wall 40U and are connected to both lateral side edges of the front wall 42.
A fitting recess 44 into which the locking piece 36 of the lower member 35 is fit when the upper member 40 and the lower member 35 are assembled is formed in a substantially central part in the front-rear direction of each side wall 44. The fitting recess 44A is cut in the vertical direction from a lower end part of the side wall 44 to the ceiling wall 40U, and a locking projection 46 projecting outward is formed on a side edge of the ceiling wall 40U facing the fitting recess 44A.
The locking projections 46 are fit into the locking holes 36A of the locking pieces 36 to hold the upper member 40 and the lower member 35 in an assembled state as shown in
As shown in
The first outer conductor 51 is formed by working a conductive metal plate material by a press or the like. As shown in
As shown in
The shield connecting portion 53 includes a linking piece 54 obliquely extending to a lower-rear side from the rear end edge of a lower side of the tubular portion 52 and a tongue piece 55 extending straight rearward from the rear end edge of the linking piece 54.
The tongue piece 55 is in the form of a substantially rectangular plate. When the terminal accommodating member 30 is accommodated into the tubular portion 52, the tongue piece 55 is arranged below the folded portion 15A in the shielded cable 11 as shown in
The second outer conductor 60 is formed by working a conductive metal plate material by a press or the like. As shown in
The ceiling plate 61 is dimensioned to cover a region from a rear part of the tubular portion 52 to the folded portion 15A from above, and a lance hole 61A penetrating in the vertical direction is provided in the front part of the ceiling plate 61.
The pair of fixing barrels 62 are provided on both lateral side edge edges in the front part of the ceiling plate 61, and so crimped to the rear part of the tubular portion 52 as to wind around the tubular portion 52 from both lateral sides.
The pair of connection barrels 63 are so provided on the both lateral side edges in the rear part of the ceiling plate 61 as to be connected behind the pair of fixing barrels 62.
One of the pair of connection barrels 63 includes a side plate 64 to be arranged along one lateral side part of the folded portion 15A and a fixing piece 65 provided on the upper end of the shield portion 64, and the other includes a shield portion 64 to be arranged along the other lateral side part in the folded portion 15A and two fixing pieces 65 provided on the upper end of the shield portion 64.
As shown in
Further, if the respective fixing pieces 65 are crimped and fixed to the folded portion 15A and the tongue piece 55, the folded portion 15A is pulled toward the tongue piece 55 arranged therebelow and the tongue piece 55 extends along the lower outer peripheral surface of the folded portion 15A and an axis center β of the shield-side pull-out portion 19 is shifted radially downward with respect to axis centers α of the inner conductor-side pull-out portions 25 in the inner conductors 20 as shown in
Further, a tip part of each fixing piece 65 is folded inward to form a hook portion 66.
The hook portion 66 is hooked to either one of both lateral side edges of the tongue piece 55 to fix the fixing piece 65 so that the fixing piece 65 is not detached from the shield portion 15 when each fixing piece 65 is crimped. In this way, the outer conductor 50 composed of the first outer conductor 51 and the second outer conductor 60 is electrically connected and fixed to the shield portion 15 of the shielded cable 11.
The housing 70 is made of synthetic resin and includes a module accommodating portion 72 for accommodating a terminal module 68 formed by mounting the inner conductors 20, the terminal accommodating member 30 and the outer conductor 50 on the end of the shielded cable 11 as shown in
The module accommodating portion 72 is in the form of a rectangular tube hollow in the front-rear direction, and a locking lance 73 lockable to an edge part of the lance hole 61A in the outer conductor 50 of the terminal module 68 is provided in the module accommodating portion 72. The locking lance 73 is fit into the lance hole 61A and the terminal module 68 is held in the housing 70 by the locking of the locking lance 73 and the edge part of the lance hole 61A as shown in
A wire insertion path 34 into which the linking portions 17 of the coated wires 12 are insertable is formed in the lower wall 31D (wall portion 31 on a lower side toward which the axis center β of the shield-side pull-out portion 19 is shifted with respect to the axis centers α of the inner conductor-side pull-out portions 25) of the wall portion 31 constituting the terminal accommodating member 30 as shown in
As shown in
In other words, the bottom wall 35D of the lower member 35 is formed to be shorter in the front-rear direction than the ceiling wall 40U of the upper member 40. If the lower member 35 and the upper member 40 are assembled, the wire insertion path 34 is formed by the rear end edge part 35D1 in the bottom wall 35D of the lower member 35 and the lower end edge parts 44B in the side walls 44 on the both lateral sides of the upper member 40.
Further, a width L1 in the lateral direction of the wire insertion path 34 is set to be larger than a width L2 in the lateral direction of the adjusting member 80, so that the linking portions 17 having the adjusting member 80 mounted thereon can be inserted into the wire insertion path 34.
Accordingly, as shown in
This embodiment is configured as described above. Next, an example of an assembling procedure of the connector 10 for communication is briefly described and, then, functions and effects of the connector 10 are described.
First, the sheath portion 16 of the shielded cable 11 is stripped to expose the ends of the two coated wires 12 and the shield portion 15, and the shield portion 15 is folded on the outer surface of the sheath portion 16 to form the shield portion 15A. Further, the insulation coatings 14 of the front end parts of the two coated wires 12 are stripped to expose the cores 13 and, as shown in
Subsequently, the adjusting member 80 is mounted on the linking portions 17 of the two coated wires 12 of the shielded cable 11. In a disassembled state before being mounted on the linking portions 17, upper parts constituting the adjusting bodies 82 are open upward as shown in
Subsequently, as shown in
Here, if the lower member 35 is assembled with the upper member 40, the wire insertion path 34 is formed by the rear end edge part 35D1 in the bottom wall 35D of the lower member 35 and the lower end edge parts 44B in the side walls 44 on the both lateral sides of the upper member 40 since the bottom wall 35D of the lower member 35 is formed to be shorter in the front-rear direction than the ceiling wall 40U of the upper member 40. In this way, as shown in
Subsequently, as shown in
The second outer conductor 60 is assembled by mounting the ceiling plate 61 of the second outer conductor 60 on the first outer conductor 51 from above such that the tongue piece 55 of the first outer conductor 51 is on a lower side and crimping the fixing barrels 62 to wind around the tubular portion 52. Further, the respective fixing pieces 65 of the connection barrels 63 are crimped to wind around the tongue piece 55 and the shield portion 15.
If the respective fixing pieces 65 are crimped, the folded portion 15A is pulled toward the tongue piece 55 disposed on the lower side and, as shown in
Then, the linking portions 17 of the coated wires 12 extending from the inner conductor-side pull-out portions 25 toward the shield-side pull-out portion 19 are inserted obliquely downward in a wire inserting portion while being moderately inclined.
Further, if the respective fixing pieces 65 are crimped, the hook portions 66 of the fixing pieces 65 are hooked to the side edges of the tongue piece 55 as shown in
Finally, the terminal module 68 is inserted into the mold accommodating portion 72 of the housing 70 from behind. If the terminal module 68 reaches the proper accommodation position, the locking lance 73 is fit into the lance hole 61A of the outer conductor 50 and the terminal module 68 is retained and held in the housing 70 as shown in
Next, functions and effects of the connector 10 for communication are described.
If the axis centers α of the inner conductor-side pull-out portions 25 of the inner conductors 20 and the axis center β of the shield-side pull-out portion 19 cannot be coaxially set and are radially misaligned as in this embodiment, there is a concern that the linking portions 17 of the coated wires 12 routed between the inner conductor-side pull-out portions 25 and the shield-side pull-out portion 19 are drastically bent and signals in the coated wires 12 are easily reflected due to the drastically bent linking portions 17. Further, the coated wires 12 may be damaged by bending stresses generated in the linking portions 17.
Accordingly, the present inventors diligently studied to solve the above problem and, as a result, found out the configuration of this embodiment. That is, in the connector 10 for communication of this embodiment, the terminal module 68 includes the shielded cable 11 having at least one coated wire 12, the conductive shield portion 15 for covering the outer peripheries of the coated wires 12 and the sheath portion 16 for covering the outer periphery of the shield portion 15, the inner conductors 20 to be connected to the coated wires 12, the insulating terminal accommodating member 30 for accommodating the inner conductors 20 and the end parts of the coated wires 12, and the outer conductor 50 to be fixed while being electrically connected to the shield portion 15 as the terminal accommodating member 30 is accommodated into the outer conductor 15, the axis center β of the shield-side pull-out portion 19 for pulling out the coated wires 12 in the shield portion 15 is radially shifted with respect to the axis centers α of the inner conductor-side pull-out portions 25 for pulling out the coated wires 12 in the inner conductors 20, and the wire insertion path 34 into which the linking portions 17 of the coated wires 12 between the inner conductor-side pull-out portions 25 and the shield-side pull-out portion 19 are insertable is formed in the wall portion (lower wall 31D) 31 on the lower side of the wall portion 31 of the terminal accommodating member 30 toward which the axis center β of the shield-side pull-out portion 19 is shifted.
That is, as shown in
Further, the adjusting member (covering member) 80 for covering the outer peripheries of the linking portions 17 is mounted on the linking portions 17 of the coated wires 12, and the wire insertion path 34 is dimensioned to have such a width L1 that the linking portions 17 covered by the adjusting member 80 are insertable into the wire insertion path 34.
In this embodiment, the linking portions 17 cannot be bent by mounting the adjusting member 80 on the linking portions 17. Since the wire insertion path 34 of this embodiment is formed such that the linking portions 17 covered by the adjusting member 80 are insertable thereinto, the linking portions 17 can be inserted into the wire insertion path 34, bending stresses on the linking portions 17 can be suppressed and a reduction in communication quality caused by the reflection of signals due to the bending of the coated wires 12 can be suppressed.
Further, as shown in
For example, if either one of a bottom wall of a lower member and a ceiling wall of an upper member is cut to form a wire insertion path, the rigidity of the wall portion formed with the wire insertion path is reduced and the member formed with the wire insertion path may be broken, such as due to contact with another member when the lower member and the upper member are assembled with respect to an inner conductor and a coated wire.
However, according to this embodiment, since the wire insertion path 34 is formed by setting either one of the bottom wall 35D and the ceiling wall 40U to be shorter in the front-rear direction than the other, the wire insertion path 34 can be formed while a reduction in the rigidity of the lower member 35 and the upper member 40 is prevented.
The technique disclosed in this specification is not limited to the above described and illustrated embodiment and includes, for example, the following various modes.
(1) In the above embodiment, the adjusting member 80 is mounted on the linking portions 17. However, without limitation to this, no adjusting member may be mounted on linking portion(s) if impedance adjustment is not necessary.
(2) In the above embodiment, the wire insertion path 34 is formed by making the bottom wall 35D of the lower member 35 shorter in the front-rear direction than the ceiling wall 40U of the upper member 40. However, without limitation to this, the rigidity of a lower member and an upper member may be enhanced and a bottom wall of the lower member may be cut to form a wire insertion path.
(3) In the above embodiment, the inner conductors 20 constituted by female terminals are accommodated into the terminal accommodating member 30 composed of the lower member 35 and the upper member 40. However, without limitation to this, as shown in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-247605 | Dec 2018 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2019/050101 | 12/20/2019 | WO |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2020/137886 | 7/2/2020 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5180316 | Miller et al. | Jan 1993 | A |
| 5911599 | Masuda | Jun 1999 | A |
| 6203377 | Grek | Mar 2001 | B1 |
| 6257931 | Sakurai | Jul 2001 | B1 |
| 6702611 | Miyazaki | Mar 2004 | B1 |
| 6830480 | Yoshioka | Dec 2004 | B2 |
| 7377811 | Anderson | May 2008 | B2 |
| 20190319406 | Maesoba et al. | Oct 2019 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 3336970 | Jun 2018 | EP |
| 2011-253724 | Dec 2011 | JP |
| Entry |
|---|
| International Search Report dated Mar. 10, 2020 for WO 2020/137886 A1 (4 pages). |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20220052494 A1 | Feb 2022 | US |
