CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national phase of PCT application No. PCT/JP2019/019849, filed on 20 May 2019, which claims priority from Japanese patent application No. 2018-101268, filed on 28 May 2018, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

A technique disclosed by this specification relates to a connector.

BACKGROUND

A connector assembly described in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2017-134969 (Patent Document 1 below) is, for example, known as an example of a conventional connector. This connector includes a housing having a working cylindrical portion formed into an elliptical shape somewhat elongated in a front-rear direction and a terminal partially embedded in the housing by insert molding. The terminal includes a projecting portion projecting forward from an inner wall of the working cylindrical portion, a coupling portion extending downward from the front end of the projecting portion and a connecting portion extending forward from a lower end part of the coupling portion. The connecting portion is formed with an insertion hole penetrating in a vertical direction, and a bolt is inserted into this insertion hole.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENT

Patent Document

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Problems to be Solved

If the bolt is inserted into the insertion hole of the connecting portion of the terminal and fastened to a mating side, a stress is generated in an interface between the projecting portion of the terminal and the inner wall of the working cylindrical portion and a load is applied to the inner wall of the working cylindrical portion. Particularly, if the terminal of the connector is a large current terminal, a plate thickness of the terminal is larger than general terminals. Thus, the stress applied to the interface between the projecting portion of the terminal and the inner wall of the working cylindrical portion further increases.

Means to Solve the Problem

A connector disclosed in this specification is provided with a housing made of resin, the housing including an opening open in a first direction, and a terminal made of conductive metal, the terminal being partially embedded in the housing, wherein the terminal includes a base end portion projecting from a first inner wall in the opening of the housing in a second direction toward a second inner wall facing the first inner wall, a connecting portion provided to extend in the second direction, the connecting portion being connected to a mating device, and a coupling portion coupling an end part of the base end portion in the second direction and an end part of the connecting portion in a direction opposite to the second direction, the base end portion and the connecting portion are disposed on different axes when viewed in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction, and an entire length of the base end portion is equal to or longer than a length in the first direction between the base end portion and the connecting portion.

Further, a connector disclosed in this specification is provided with a housing including an opening open in a first direction, and a terminal arranged in the housing, the terminal penetrating through an inner wall of the housing, wherein the terminal includes a base end portion having a part projecting from the inner wall in a second direction, the second direction being a penetrating direction of the terminal, a connecting portion provided to extend in the second direction, the connecting portion being separated from the base end portion by a predetermined distance in the first direction, the connecting portion being connected to a mating device, and a coupling portion electrically connecting the base end portion and the connecting portion, and a length in the second direction of the part of the base end portion projecting from the inner wall is equal to or longer than a length in the first direction of the coupling portion.

The connecting portion is slightly displaced in a fastening direction when being fastened and connected to the mating device, for example, by a bolt. The base end portion is also displaced in the fastening direction via the coupling portion, whereby a stress is applied to an interface between the base end portion and the inner wall of the housing. At this time, since the entire length of the base end portion is equal to or longer than the length in the first direction between the base end portion and the connecting portion, a displacement amount of the base end portion on the inner wall side of the housing is smaller than that of the connecting portion as compared to the case where the entire length of the base end portion is shorter than the length in the first direction between the base end portion and the connecting portion. In this way, the stress applied to the interface between the base end portion and the inner wall of the housing is reduced. Further, since the base end portion is more easily deflected and the stress applied to the connecting portion is dispersed in the entire base end portion due to the longer entire length of the base end portion, the stress applied to the interface between the base end portion and the inner wall of the housing is reduced.

Further, since the base end portion and the connecting portion are disposed on different axes when viewed in the third direction and coupled by the coupling portion, the terminal has a crank shape as a whole. In this way, a stress applied to the connecting portion is dispersed to each of the base end portion and the coupling portion. Thus, the stress applied to the interface between the base end portion and the inner wall of the housing is reduced. By forming the terminal into a crank shape in this way, the stress applied to the interface between the base end portion and the inner wall of the housing can be reduced in a limited space in the opening of the housing.

Further, the base end portion and the connecting portion may be disposed on different axes when viewed in the first direction.

Since the base end portion and the connecting portion are disposed on different axes when viewed in the first direction, a length of the coupling portion is longer as compared to a configuration in which the base end portion and the connecting portion are disposed on the same axis when viewed in the first direction. In this way, the displacement amount of the base end portion on the inner wall side of the housing becomes smaller than that of the connecting portion and the stress applied to the interface between the base end portion and the inner wall of the housing is reduced.

Further, the connecting portion may be plate-like, and a connection hole to be connected to the mating device may be provided to be open in a plate surface of the connecting portion.

By providing the connection hole in the connecting portion, the terminal can be fastened to the mating device by a bolt.

Further, the connection hole of the connecting portion may be provided at a position closer to the second inner wall than to the first inner wall.

Since the connection hole is provided at the position closer to the second inner wall than to the first inner wall, the position of the connection hole is more separated from the interface between the base end portion and the inner wall of the housing in a plan view and a path on the terminal from the connection hole to the interface between the base end portion and the inner wall of the housing becomes longer accordingly as compared to a configuration in which the connection hole is provided at a position near the first inner wall. In this way, the displacement amount of the base end portion on the inner wall side of the housing becomes smaller than that of the connecting portion and the stress applied to the interface between the base end portion and the inner wall of the housing is reduced.

Effect of the Invention

According to the connector disclosed in this specification, it is possible to reduce a stress applied to the interface between the inner wall of the housing and the base end portion of the terminal.

