AU2003204256B2 - Terminal-mounting jig - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION NAME OF APPLICANT(S):: Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd.

ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: DAVIES COLLISON CAVE Patent Attorneys 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

INVENTION TITLE: Terminal-mounting jig The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a jig for mounting a terminal connected to a socket on a housing.

Description of the Related Art A connector to be used for a harness for connecting an antenna and a receiver mounted on a vehicle to each other is described below with reference to Fig. 11 as an example of the connector of this kind. In the connector, the housing 2 accommodates the terminal 1 connected to the terminal of the coaxial electric wire W. A socket connection part 4 that can be connected to the approximately cylindrical socket 3 is provided at the front end of the terminal 1. An insertion opening 5 surrounding the socket connection part 4 is formed at an upper portion of the housing 2. The socket connection part 4 has an erect columnar central pin 6, a plurality of contact pieces 7 erect approximately annularly on the periphery of the central pin 6, and an elastic ring 8 mounted on the periphery of the front end of each contact piece 7. When the socket 3 is inserted into the socket connection part 4 inside the insertion opening 5, the central pin 6 is fitted into the socket 3, and the elastic force of the elastic ring 8 allows each contact piece 7 to contact the peripheral surface of the socket 3 at an appropriate pressure.

An example of the connector of this kind is described in P OPER\KL2008\200O3204256 I s spa do-m/161208 Q-2- Ct -n SE503721C2.

00 However, in mounting the terminal 1 on the housing 2, a jig is used to press the terminal 1 into the housing 2 from \O above. If the open part of the insertion opening 5 is In Cl 5 small, the elastic ring 8 is caught by the edge of the open part of the insertion opening 5 and separates upward from the periphery of the contact pieces 7. As a result, the Sterminal 1 is incapable of contacting the socket 3 stably.

Thus there is a possibility that the quality of a product, namely, the connector is damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a jig for mounting a terminal on a housing along a direction in which said socket is inserted into a socket connection part of said terminal, said socket connection part having a plurality of contact pieces disposed approximately annularly on a periphery of a columnar central pin of said socket connection part; and an elastic ring, disposed on a periphery of said contact pieces, for pressing said contact pieces against a periphery of said socket, and said jig having a pressing part inserted into said socket connection part and pressing said terminal along said socket insertion direction;, and a ring hold-down part, formed on a periphery of said pressing part, for preventing said elastic ring from being displaced in a direction opposite to said socket insertion direction.

Preferably, a deformation detection hole is formed on a front end surface of the pressing part so that the deformation detection hole receives the central pin therein if the central pin has a normal posture but does not receive

I

P:QPERKL%208\200320426 Is[ spa docx 1/]6120 00 -3ct 'n the central pin therein and thereby prevent the pressing 00 part from being inserted into the socket connection part if the central pin does not have the normal posture.

NO According to embodiments of the present invention, the In 5 terminal is installed on the housing by pressing the terminal along the socket insertion direction, with the pressing part inserted into the socket connection part. If the elastic ring is caught by the protruded portion of the housing in this operation, the ring hold-down part may prevent the elastic ring from being displaced. Therefore it may be possible to prevent the elastic ring from being removed from the periphery of the contact piece.

Accordingly, it may be possible to eliminate a defective connection between the terminal and the socket and secure the quality of the product.

According to embodiments of the present invention, if the central pin is oblique with respect to its normal posture, the central pin may not be received by the deformation detection hole but may interfere with the front end surface of the pressing part and the insertion thereof into the socket connection part may be prevented, even though an operation of inserting it into the socket connection part is performed. Thereby it may be possible to detect and eliminate the defective terminal and secure the quality of the product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a state before a terminal is accommodated in a housing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the terminal.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a housing.

P:OPER\KL2008fO20324256 I pa. dn-1111200 00 -4- -s Fig. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which the

OO

0_ terminal is accommodated in the housing.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a terminal- O mounting jig.

c 5 Fig. 6 is a plan view showing the terminal-mounting jig O viewed from a front side thereof.

n Fig. 7A is a vertical sectional view showing a state in which the jig is inserted into a portion of the terminal at a normal level.

Fig. 7B is a vertical sectional view showing a state in which the jig has contacted a central pin tilted obliquely.

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view showing a state halfway through an operation of accommodating the terminal in the housing.

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view showing the state in which the terminal has been accommodated in the housing.

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view showing a state in which a socket has been connected to the terminal.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view for explaining a conventional art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figs. 1 through 10. In the embodiment, description will be made on a terminal-mounting jig J to be used to mount a connector for a harness to be used to connect an antenna and a receiver both mounted on a vehicle body to each other.

The connector has a terminal 20 which can be connected to a socket 10 (see Fig. 9) projected from a wall surface of an apparatus and a housing 30 capable of accommodating the terminal The socket 10 is approximately cylindrical and has a contact part (not shown), for an inner electric conductor, which receives an inner electric conductor 21 of the terminal 20 at a central portion thereof and is capable of contacting the inner electric conductor 21; and a contact part 11, for an outer electric conductor, which is exposed to the outside and capable of contacting an outer electric conductor 22 of the terminal 20. The contact part for the inner electric conductor 21 and the contact part 11 for the outer electric conductor 22 are integral with each other by insulating them from each other. The contact part 11 for the outer electric conductor constitutes the peripheral surface of the socket 10. In the socket 10, its front part is stepped outward from the base part thereof and thus has a larger diameter than the base part.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the terminal 20 has the inner electric conductor 21 to be connected to a core wire W1 of a coaxial wire W, the outer electric conductor 22 to be connected to a shielding layer W3 covering an inner coating W2 disposed on the periphery of the core wire W1, and an insulator 23 interposed between the inner electric conductor 21 and the outer electric conductor 22. The terminal 20 is entirely long and narrow. The coaxial electric wire W is connected to the rear of the terminal 20. The terminal 20 has at its front portion a socket connection part 24 into which the socket 10 can be inserted from above.

The socket connection part has an erect columnar central pin 26 formed at an end of the inner electric conductor 21, four contact pieces 27 formed at an end of the outer electric conductor 22 in such a way as to be disposed approximately annularly on the periphery of the central pin 26, and an elastic ring 28 mounted on the periphery of the four contact pieces 27. The contact pieces 27 stand almost vertically from the periphery of the end of the circular outer electric conductor 22 like a cantilever and are intermittently arranged. Thus the contact pieces 27 form an annulus and capable of receiving the socket 10 in the annular space. Each of the contact pieces 27 is circular arc-shaped in a plan view in conformity to the circular peripheral surface of the socket 10. A portion of each contact piece 27 a little lower than the upper end (free end) thereof draws a curve, thus projecting radially inward to form a contact portion 27A that contacts the socket 10. An elastically deformable elastic ring 28 is mounted on the peripheral side of the contact portion 27Aof each of the contact pieces 27 and fixed to the contact pieces 27 by welding or the like, thereby supporting the contact pieces 27 so that the contact pieces 27 do not tilt radially outward.

In this manner, an operation of each contact piece 27 which flexes radially inward and outward is interlocked with an elastically deformable operation of the elastic ring 28. A portion of the insulator 23 having a predetermined thickness is disposed on a bottom portion 29 of the socket connection part 24.

The housing 30 is made of a synthetic resin. As shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, the housing 30 has an approximately square pillar-shaped outer frame part 31 long and narrow longitudinally and open vertically. A terminal accommodation part 32 capable of accommodating the terminal 20 inserted thereinto from above is formed inside the outer frame part 31. The terminal accommodation part 32 is so shaped as to surround the terminal 20 in the direction from its side and bottom. That is, the terminal accommodation part 32 has the shape conforming to that of the terminal 20. At the front portion of the terminal accommodation part 32, there is provided a circular arc-shaped wall (almost C-shaped) 34 surrounding the socket connection part 24 to thereby form an insertion opening into which the socket 10 can be inserted from above. On the inner surface of the terminal accommodation part 32, there is formed a plurality of terminal-holding projections 36 for unremovably holding the terminal 20 by locking the terminal 20 thereto.

Four slits 37 having a predetermined depth are formed on the upper end of the circular arc wall 34 to form five cantilevered elastic pieces 38 radially elastically deformable. A protruded portion 39 is projected radially inward from the upper end of each elastic piece 38. Except the elastic piece 38 at the upper right-hand side in Fig. 4, the positions of the protruded portions 39 formed on the four elastic pieces 38 correspond to those of the contact pieces 27 of the terminal 20 respectively accommodated in the insertion opening 35. Thereby each protruded portion 39 partly covers the upper portion (front side in socket insertion direction) of the corresponding contact piece 27. As shown in Fig. 9, the protruded portion 39 is so disposed that the lower surface thereof is proximate to the upper end of the contact piece 27. The protruded portion 39 is locked to the contact piece 27, thus preventing the terminal 20 from being removed upward from the housing A guide surface 41 declining inward in the radial direction of the circular arc wall 34 is formed on each elastic piece 38 and the upper (outer) edge of each protruded portion 39. In inserting the terminal 20 and the socket 10 into the insertion opening the terminal 20 and the socket 10 slide on the guide surface 41.

Thereby the socket connection part 24 of the terminal 20 and the socket 10 can be guided to the predetermined position at which they are almost coaxial with the insertion opening 35. The outer diameter of the elastic ring 28, namely, the maximum outer diameter of the terminal 20 is set larger than the inner diameter of a circle formed by the inner peripheral surfaces of the protruded portions 39. Thus in accommodating the terminal 20 in the housing 30, the elastic ring 28 presses the protruded portion 39 outward. Thereby the elastic piece 38 deforms outward elastically.

As shown in Figs. 1, 5, and 6, the terminal-mounting jig J has a columnar base part 50 and a projected cylindrical pressing part 51 coaxial with the base part 50 and having a smaller outer diameter than the base part 50. The outer diameter of the pressing part 51 is set slightly larger than the inner diameter of a circle formed by the contact portions 27A of the contact piece 27 of the socket connection part 24. When the pressing part 51 is pressed into the socket connection part 24 from above, the contact piece 27 elastically deforms slightly outward. Thus the pressing part 51 is inserted into the socket connection part 24.

A circular deformation detection hole 52 coaxial with the pressing part 51 is formed into a front end surface 51A of the pressing part 51. The inner diameter of the deformation detection hole 52 is set slightly larger than the outer diameter of the central pin 26. Thus when the pressing part 51 is inserted into the socket connection part 24 from above, as shown in Fig. 7A, the central pin 26 is received into the deformation detection hole 52. Thus the pressing part 51 can be inserted into the socket connection part 24 at a normal level at which the front end surface 51A thereof strikes against a bottom 29 of the socket connection part 24. There is a possibility that the central pin 26 strikes against a foreign matter after production of the terminal 20 and as a result deforms.

If the extent of the deformation of the central pin 26 is within an allowable range, the central pin 26 is received into the deformation detection hole 52, as described above. Thereby the pressing part 51 can be inserted into the socket connection part 24 at the normal level. On the other hand, if the extent of the deformation of the central pin 26 is out of the allowable range, as shown in Fig. 7B, the front end of the tilted central pin 26 is not received into the deformation detection hole 52, but strikes against the front end surface 51A of the pressing part 51. Thus the insertion of the pressing part 51 into the socket connection part 24 is prevented.

Four ring hold-down parts 53 are projected from the peripheral surface of the pressing part 51, with the ring hold-down parts 53 disposed at the side of the base part 50. The ring hold-down parts 53 are formed on the peripheral surface of the pressing part 51 in such a way that each of them is located at a position intermediate between the adjacent contact pieces 27 in inserting the pressing part 51 into the socket connection part 24. As shown in Fig. 7A, the front end of each ring hold-down part 53 contacts the upper surface of the elastic ring 28, when the front end surface 51A of the pressing part 51 contacts the bottom portion 29 of the socket connection part 24. The pressing part 51 is inserted into the socket connection part 24 by disposing each ring hold-down part 53 at a middle position of the corresponding protruded portion 39.

Thereby almost all of the pressing part 51 can be inserted into the insertion opening The operation of the embodiment having the above-described construction will be described below.

In mounting the terminal 20 connected to the coaxial wire W on the housing 30, as shown with an arrow of Fig. 1, the pressing part 51 of the terminal-mounting jig J is inserted into the socket connection part 24 of the terminal 20 from above. As a result, the contact portion 27A is pressed. Thereby the contact piece 27 elastically deforms slightly outward, and thus the elastic ring 28 deforms elastically, thus increasing its diameter. If the central pin 26 has the normal posture, if the central pin 26 stands almost vertically at the central position of the socket connection part 24, the central pin 26 is received into the deformation detection hole 52. Thus the pressing part 51 can be inserted into the normal level at which the front end surface 51A contacts the bottom 29 of the socket connection part 24 (see Fig.

7A). On the other hand, if the central pin 26 is oblique with respect to the normal posture for some reason, the front end of the central pin 26 contacts the front end surface 51A of the pressing part 51 and thus the pressing part 51 cannot be inserted into the normal level (see Fig. 7B). Therefore it is possible to detect the deformation of the central pin 26. As described above, when the pressing part 51 is inserted into the normal level, the ring hold-down part 53 contacts the upper surface of the elastic ring 28, with the ring hold-down part 53 located at the position intermediate between the adjacent contact pieces 27. The contact piece 27 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the pressing part 51 by the elastic force of the elastic ring 28. Thereby the terminal 20 is held by the terminal-mounting jig J.

Thereafter with the terminal-mounting jig J inserted into the socket connection part 24, the terminal 20 is held at an upper position of the terminal accommodation part 32 of the housing Then the terminal-mounting jig J is moved downward. If the socket connection part 24 of the terminal 20 is inserted into the insertion opening 35, with the socket connection part 24 uncoaxial with the insertion opening 35, the lower end of the terminal 20 slides on the guide surface 41 of each protruded portion 39. Thereby the terminal 20 is moved to the position at which the socket connection part 24 of the terminal 20 is coaxial with the insertion opening 35 and penetrates into the insertion opening In the process of inserting the terminal 20 into the insertion opening 35, each protruded portion 39 is pressed radially outward by the terminal 20. Thereby each elastic piece 38 deforms elastically radially outwardly. The inward edge of the protruded portion 39 moves upward in sliding contact with the surface of the contact piece 27 and contacts the elastic ring 28 (see Fig. 8).

At this time, the protruded portion 39 applies an upward force to the elastic ring 28. However, the ring hold-down part 53 contacts the upper surface of the elastic ring 28, thereby preventing the elastic ring 28 from being displaced upward. Therefore the elastic ring 28 can be prevented from being removed from the periphery of the contact piece 27.

When the terminal 20 is inserted further into the terminal accommodation part 32, the protruded portion 39 moves above the elastic ring 28, with the protruded portion 39 in contact with the elastic ring 28. Thereby the elastic piece 38 elastically returns to its original state. When the terminal 20 is inserted into the terminal accommodation part 32 at a predetermined level, as shown in Fig. 4, the terminal-holding projections 36 lock the terminal 20 thereto, and each protruded portion 39 locks the corresponding contact piece 27 thereto, with the inward edge of the protruded portion 39 disposed above the contact piece 27. Thereby the terminal 20 is held unremovably from the housing 30. By moving the terminal-mounting jig J upward from the socket connection part 24 to remove the terminal-mounting jig j therefrom, the mounting of the terminal 20 on the housing 30 is completed.

Thereafter as shown with an arrow of Fig. 9, the socket is inserted into the insertion opening 35 from above. If the socket is uncoaxial with the insertion opening 35, the socket 10 slides on the guide surface 41. Thereby the socket 10 is placed at the predetermined position where the socket 10 is almost coaxial with the insertion opening 35. When the socket 10 is inserted into the annular space formed by the contact pieces 27, the contact portion 27A of the contact piece 27 contacts the large-diameter portion of the contact part 11, for the outer electric conductor 22, of the socket 10. Thereby each contact piece-27 elastically deforms outward and hence the elastic ring 28 deforms elastically, thus increasing its diameter. When the socket 10 is inserted into the insertion opening 35 in the predetermined depth, as shown in Fig.

10, the contact part for the inner electric conductor 21 and the central pin 26 erect from the inner electric conductor 21 contact each other electrically conductively, and each contact piece 27 returns to its original state elastically. Consequently, the contact portion 27A and the contact part 11 for the outer electric conductor 22 contact each other electrically conductively.

As described above, according to the embodiment, the terminal is installed on the housing 30 by pressing the terminal 20 along the socket insertion direction, with the pressing part 51 inserted into the socket connection part 24. If the elastic ring 28 is caught by the protruded portion 39 of the housing 30 in this operation, the ring hold-down part 53 prevents the elastic ring 28 from being displaced. Therefore it is possible to prevent the elastic ring 28 from being removed from the periphery of the contact piece 27.

Accordingly it is possible to eliminate a defective connection between the terminal 20 and the socket 10 and secure the quality of the product.

If the central pin 26 is oblique with respect to its normal posture, the central pin 26 is not received by the deformation detection hole 52 but interferes with the front end surface of the pressing part 51 and the insertion thereof into the socket connection part 24 is prevented, even though an operation of inserting it into the socket connection part 24 is performed.

Thereby it is possible to detect and eliminate the defective terminal 20 and secure the quality of the product.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described with reference to the drawings, but the following embodiments are included in the technical scope of the present invention. The present invention can be embodied by making various modifications if they do not depart from the gist of the present invention.

Four ring hold-down parts are provided in the abovedescribed embodiment. However, the number and the position of the ring hold-down parts can be selectively determined as desired.

In the above-described embodiment, the elastic ring is prevented from being caught by the protruded portion of the housing and removed from the periphery of the contact piece. However, the elastic ring can be prevented from being removed from the periphery of the contact piece 27 for other reasons. For example, the jig of the present invention is applicable to the case where the terminal is mounted on a housing not having the protruded portion.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations. such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that that prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia.

Claims (2)

1. 2. A jig according to claim 1, wherein a deformation detection hole is formed on a front end surface of said pressing part so that said deformation detection hole receives said central pin therein if said central pin has a normal posture but does not receive said central pin therein and thereby prevent said pressing part from being inserted into said socket connection part if said central pin does not have said normal posture. PMPERML\200S%2003204256 I st sa dxoc1/] 61200
2. 17- 3. A jig substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.