JPH0697622B2 - Movable connector - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a movable connector, and more specifically to a movable connector for connecting and disconnecting an electric circuit of a device that moves relatively.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As an electric circuit connection between devices that can be moved relative to each other, for example, a portable car radio is connected to an electric circuit of a vehicle body, or a movable part such as a copying machine or a vending machine is connected. It is necessary to make an electrical connection with the fixed part.

Furthermore, with the industrialization of various industrial equipment into robots, that is, the development of mechatronics and robot systems, it has become common to electrically couple relatively moving equipment.

As a movable connector to answer these requests,
When connecting the equipment on the moving side to the equipment on the fixed side, the dimensional tolerances that are unavoidable in the manufacture of both connectors have a great influence on the mutual contact of the connectors, resulting in electrical connection between the equipment. Not a lot of trouble.

[Object of the Invention] In consideration of the above-described problems in electrical connection between devices of this type in the related art described above, the main object of the present invention is to determine the dimensional tolerance of the electrical connection portion of the device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a movable connector capable of accurately connecting the two regardless of each other.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a movable connector which can be easily attached and detached in the electrical connection of relatively moving devices and which can surely maintain the connected state.

[Description of Embodiments] Preferred embodiments of the movable connector of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the movable connector according to the present invention has a frame member 10 made of synthetic resin fixed to a side wall of a fixed side device, a fixed side connector 12 incorporated in the frame member 10, and a board of the movable side device. Movable connector to install 14
And consists of.

The frame member 10 is provided with a flange portion 20 that comes into contact with a side wall (not shown) of the stationary device, and the flange portion 20 is formed with a mounting hole 22 for fixing to the device. A pair of upper and lower arm portions 24 projecting from both ends of one surface of the flange portion 20 are cantilevered integrally with the flange portion 20 and extend. Due to the material of the arm 24, it can move slightly about its longitudinal axis. That is, it has “springiness”. A protrusion 26 is formed at the tip of the arm 24 so as to project vertically.

The flange portion 24 is also provided with a pair of guide plates 28 of the fixed side connector 12 extending from both ends thereof. This guide board
A guide groove 30 is formed on the inner surface of 28 in the longitudinal direction.

Next, the fixed-side connector 12 is a component to be inserted into a space of the frame member 10, and is shown as a socket connector in the embodiment shown in the drawings. The L-shaped arm member 42 is integrally formed with the main body 40 so that the socket main body 40
A protrusion 44 is formed on the upper surface of the.

For convenience of inserting the socket body 40 into the frame member 10, the outer surface of the arm member 42 is provided with a protrusion 46 that fits into the guide groove 30 of the guide plate 28 of the frame member 10. Also arm member
The end portion of 42 is formed into a locking portion 48 protruding in the vertical direction, and when the socket body 12 is inserted into the frame member 10, the arm member 42
The protruding engaging portion 48 hits the front end of the protruding portion 26 of the arm portion 24 of the frame member 10 and stops. (See FIG. 2) The movable connector 14 includes a flange portion 50 to be mounted on a substrate (not shown) of a movable device, and a casing 54 surrounding an end portion of a conductor for electrical contact, for example, a pin contact 52. It has an integrated structure consisting of and. A mounting hole 56 for fixing to the device is formed in the flange portion 50.

The casing 54 cooperates by accommodating the socket body 40 of the fixed-side connector 12 inserted in the frame member 10 in the casing 54 by the movement of the movable-side device. Therefore, an escape groove 58 for the protrusion 44 on the upper surface of the socket body 40 is formed on the upper wall of the casing portion 54, and a plate member 60 is extended above the flange portion 50 on the upper portion thereof. At the free end of 60, a locking projection 62 is formed which engages with the projection 44 on the upper surface of the socket body 40 to maintain the movable side connector 14 in its insertion position.

2 to 4 explain the order of the operation of fitting the respective parts of the movable connector of the present invention described in detail above.

As shown in FIG. 2, before the fixed side connector 12 and the movable side connector 14 are coupled, the fixed side connector 12 is assembled in the frame member 10. In order to assemble the frame member 10, the guide plate 28 of the frame member 10 is slightly expanded outward so that the protrusion 46 of the L-shaped arm member 42 of the socket body 40 is inserted into the guide groove 30 on the inner surface of the guide plate 28. It can be easily inserted and the socket body 40 can be pushed into the frame member 10. At the pushed-in position, the protrusions 26 formed at the ends of the upper and lower arm portions 24 of the frame member 10 and the inner ends of the protruding locking portions 48 of the L-shaped arm member of the fixed-side connector 12 come into contact with each other. , Maintain the position shown in FIG.

In the above state (FIG. 2), the movable side connector 14 is moved toward the fixed side connector 12. Then, first, the movable side connector 14 is completely fitted to the fixed side connector 12, and the locking projection 62 of the plate member 60 is engaged with the locking projection 44, which is the state shown in FIG. When an inward force is further applied to the movable side connector 14, the protruding locking portion 48 of the L-shaped arm member 42 of the fixed side connector 12 is applied.
By this, the arm portion 24 of the frame member 10 accommodating the fixed-side connector 12 is pushed outward and spread, and the fixed-side connector 12
4, the projecting locking portion 48 moves beyond the projecting portion 26 of the arm portion 24 of the frame member 10 into the frame member 10, and the projecting locking portion 48 engages with the projecting portion 26, as shown in FIG. Can be fitted exactly to the position.

The movable connector of the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, and in particular, is a fixed-side connector inserted and held in the frame member 10.
When the movable side connector 14 is inserted into the fixed side connector 12, the fixed side connector 12 and the movable side connector 14 can be reliably coupled.

In order to do so, the arm portion 24 having the spring property of the frame member 10
The shape of the protruding portion 26 and the shape of the protruding locking portion 48 formed at the end of the L-shaped arm portion 42 of the fixed-side connector 12 that cooperates with the protruding portion 26 are as described below. It is desirable to configure.

As shown in FIG. 5, the protruding portion 26 of the arm portion 24 of the frame member 10
Extends inward at a desired height H at an angle α from the end of the inner wall A that extends in a straight line of the arm portion 24, and reaches an end wall B parallel to the inner wall A. The end wall B has a desired width W and is inclined at an angle β from the outer end thereof to form the peripheral edge of the protrusion 26.

On the other hand, the protruding locking portion 48 at the end portion of the L-shaped arm member 42 of the fixed-side connector 12 is desired outward at an angle γ from the end portion of the outer wall M extending in a straight line of the arm member 42. To the end wall C parallel to the outer wall M of the arm member 42 with a radius of γ, and the front end wall D of the arm member 42 is inclined at an angle δ from the outer end having the desired length. Reach the protruding locking part
Limited to 48 contours.

The protruding height H and the width W of the end wall B that limit the contour of the protruding portion 26 of the arm portion 24 of the frame member 10 described above, and the protruding portion at the time of insertion
The relationship between the surface inclined at the angle β of 26 and the round radius γ of the end portion of the end wall C of the protruding locking portion 48 of the fixed side connector 12 that first encounters the movable side connector 14 to the fixed side connector 12 is shown. It is chosen to resist considerably the normal force F applied for insertion, and the angles α and δ provide resistance to the force normally pulling the movable connector 14 out of the fixed connector 12. It is desirable to make a selection so that there is no such a case.

[Operation and Effect] Since the movable connector of the present invention has the configuration as described above, when the movable connector 14 is inserted into the fixed connector 12 inserted in the frame member 10, the movable connector 14 Since the shapes of the projection 26 and the protruding locking portion 48 of the movable side connector 14 are selected and configured to considerably resist the force of inserting the movable side connector 14, the movable side connector 14 is Extra force will be added to the insertion force. Therefore, a force applied to the movable connector 14 acts on the fixed connector 12 with the movable connector 14 attached to the frame member 10 to abut the projecting portion 26 of the frame member 10 and projecting locking portion of the fixed connector 12. As described above, the reference numeral 48 indicates the protrusion 26 of the frame member 10.
The inward portion of the L-shaped arm member 42 of the fixed-side connector 12 which is fitted in the guide groove 30 of the guide plate 28 of the frame member 10 along the guide groove 30. Move deep.
Therefore, the movable-side connector can be completely coupled to the fixed-side connector 12, and the conductor of the fixed-side connector 12 and the conductor of the movable-side connector 14, for example, the pin contact 52 can be accurately brought into contact with each other. Dimensional tolerances do not matter at all.

Further, according to the present invention, the casing 54 of the movable side connector 14 is provided with the plate member 60 on the upper portion thereof, and the locking projection 62 provided on the lower surface thereof has the socket body 40 of the fixed side connector 12. It is configured to engage with the protrusion 44 provided on the upper surface of the. Therefore, when the movable side connector 14 is inserted into the fixed side connector 12, the movable side connector 14 is fixed to the fixed side connector 12 at the insertion position, and even if both are subject to vibration, the conventional both Unlike the structure that only inserts, the bond can be maintained accurately.

Further, when detaching the movable connector 14 from the fixed side connector 12, it suffices to simply pull out the movable side connector 14, and the detaching operation is also easy.

That is, when the movable side connector 14 is pulled out, first, the movable side connector 14 and the fixed side connector 12 integrally move in the fitted state and move outward, and the L-shaped arm member 42 of the fixed side connector 12 is projected and locked. The portion 48 rides over the protruding portion 26 of the arm portion 24 of the frame member 10. Therefore, the protruding portion 46 of the L-shaped arm member 42 abuts against the end of the guide groove 30 of the guide plate 28 of the frame member 10, and further outward movement of the fixed-side connector 12 is restricted. When the movable side connector 14 is further pulled out, the engagement protrusion 62 of the plate member 60 of the movable side connector 14 and the protrusion portion 44 of the fixed side connector 12 are disengaged, and the movable side connector 14 is separated from the fixed side connector 12. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the movable connector of the present invention, FIGS. 2 to 4 are side sectional views for explaining the assembling order of the movable connector of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a projection of a frame member. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the shapes of the protrusion and the locking portion of the fixed side connector. The main reference numerals in the drawings are as follows. 10 …… Frame member 12 …… Fixed side connector 14 …… Movable side connector 24 …… Arm part 26 …… Projection part 28 …… Guide plate 30 …… Guide groove 40 …… Socket body 42 …… L-shaped arm member 44 …… (40) Projection on the upper surface 46 …… Projection that fits with (30) 48 …… Projection locking section 52 …… Conductor (pin contact) 54 …… Casing 60 …… Plate member 62 …… Stop projection

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A frame member fixed to a first device, a fixed side connector slidably inserted into the frame member, and a movable side connector fixed to a second device. A movable part is provided with protrusions that engage with the movable connector, and both protrusions are configured to give some resistance to a force for inserting the movable connector into the fixed connector. Type connector. 2. A frame member for fixing to a first device, a fixed-side connector incorporated in the frame member, and a movable-side connector to be mounted to a second device, and a flange portion for mounting the frame member to the device. It is composed of a pair of upper and lower elastic arms extending from both ends of the flange portion and guide plates extending from both ends of the flange portion, and an inward projection is provided at a free end of the arm portion. A guide groove is provided on an inner side surface of the guide plate, the fixed-side connector includes a main body for accommodating a first plurality of electrical connection conductors, and arm members attached to both sides of the main body. The arm member is provided with a protruding portion that fits in the guide groove, and the free end of the arm member is provided with a locking portion that protrudes upward and downward. The flange part to be attached to equipment and the A casing for accommodating a plurality of second conductors for electrically connecting with the conductor of the above, the shape of the protrusion of the arm portion of the frame member and the outside of the arm member of the fixed-side connector. A movable connector having a shape of a locking portion projecting toward one side so as to give resistance to a force for inserting the movable side connector into the fixed side connector. 3. The movable connector according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion is provided on the upper surface of the main body of the fixed-side connector, and a locking protrusion that engages with the protrusion is provided on the movable-side connector.