Electrical connectors – Having resilient housing for sealing with coupled connector – Housing comprising resilient latching means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-14
2001-01-30
Nguyen, Khiem (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Having resilient housing for sealing with coupled connector
Housing comprising resilient latching means
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179639
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to an electrical connector.
2. Description of Related Art
A solar panel for use in a solar-energy power generation system is constructed of a plurality of modules connected one with another in series. A specific connector is used for an electric connection of the modules.
A known connector of this kind and its defects will now be described. As shown in
FIG. 7
, a single pole connector of this kind is constructed of a plug-side connector member C
1
having a cylindrical housing
1
accommodating a plug terminal
2
which is a male terminal, and a socket-side connector member C
2
having a cylindrical housing
3
accommodating a socket terminal
4
which is a female terminal.
A female fitting part
5
is provided at the front side of the housing
1
of the connector member C
1
, and a hollow sleeve-shaped male fitting part
6
is provided at the front side of the housing
3
of the connector member C
2
. As shown in
FIG. 8
, the plug terminal
2
and the socket terminal
4
are electrically connected with each other by fitting the male fitting part
6
into the female fitting part
5
. Reference symbols W
1
and W
2
denote electric wires connected to the terminals and extending from the connector members C
1
and C
2
, respectively.
An outer peripheral surface
6
a
of the male fitting part
6
is tapered towards its front end to facilitate insertion into the female fitting part
5
.
In this known connector, the entire housing
1
of the plug-side connector member C
1
including the female fitting part
5
and the entire housing
3
of the socket-side connector member C
2
including the male fitting part
6
are formed of the same plastic material, such as PVC. PVC is comparatively hard and has a low degree of elasticity. Thus, the fitting parts
5
and
6
are hard, and have mechanical properties such that they are difficult to elastically deform.
Thus, it is difficult to obtain a mechanical effect such that the fitting resistance of the fitting parts
5
and
6
is low when they are being fitted together, while their removal or disconnection resistance is high after they are fitted together. That is to say, when a construction in which the male fitting part
6
is tight in the female fitting part
5
is adopted in consideration of stability of the connection it is hard to disconnect the male fitting part
6
from the female fitting part
5
and hard to fit the male fitting part
6
into the female fitting part
5
. That is, the operability in connecting the connector members C
1
and C
2
is poor. When a construction in which the male fitting part
6
fits loosely in the female fitting part
5
is adopted in consideration of operability, it is easy to fit the parts together but also easy to disconnect them. That is, the plug terminal
2
and the socket terminal
4
are not stably connected with each other.
In this known connector, to prevent the fitting parts
5
and
6
from being disconnected, a locking rib
7
is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the male fitting part
6
and a locking groove
8
is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the female fitting part
5
. The rib
7
and the groove
8
are engaged when the male fitting part
6
is fitted into the female fitting part
5
.
The connector alternatively has a plurality of the locking ribs
7
and a plurality of the locking grooves
8
formed axially continuously in the shape of wave in section on the fitting parts
5
and
6
.
The rib
7
and the groove
8
allow the male fitting part
6
to be loosely fitted into the female fitting part
5
, but the locking rib
7
gives rise to a large fitting resistance. Thus, the fitting operation in this construction is not substantially different from the operation of press fitting the male fitting part
6
into the female fitting part
5
in a construction having neither locking rib
7
nor locking groove
8
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention avoids or reduces the above-described problems. Therefore, this invention provides an electrical connector in which a male fitting part can be fitted easily into a female fitting part while they are prevented from being easily disconnected from each other. This allows a connection operation to be performed with high efficiency, and allows the terminals to be connected stably with each other.
According to the invention there is provided an electrical connector including a first connector member having a first housing and a first terminal accommodated in the first housing, and a second connector member having a second housing and a second terminal accommodated in the second housing.
The first housing has a female fitting part having an interior fitting surface and an open front end and the second housing has a male fitting part having an exterior fitting surface and a front end. The male fitting part is adapted to fit into the female fitting part, with the exterior fitting surface of the male fitting part contacting the interior fitting surface of the female fitting part when the first and second connector members are brought together into a connected state of the connector in which the first terminal and the second terminal are engaged to effect electrical connection.
The male fitting part has on its exterior fitting surface a first locking element and the female fitting part has on its interior fitting surface a second locking element. The first and second locking elements are adapted to engage when the connector is in the connected state so as to restrain the male and female fitting parts from disconnection.
The female fitting part has a front portion which includes the open front end and the second locking element and is formed of elastic material so as to be resiliently expansible. The male fitting part is made of material of lower elasticity than the front portion of the female fitting part, whereby the male fitting part is less deformed than the female fitting part when they are fitted together.
The female fitting part has a second portion located rearwardly with respect to the front portion and providing part of the interior surface of the female fitting part. The second portion has a lower elasticity than the front portion.
In one exemplary construction of the invention, when the male fitting part fits into the female fitting part, the front portion of the female fitting part expands elastically, thus relieving the fitting resistance of the locking elements and allowing easy receipt of the male fitting part. Accordingly, the construction allows the fitting resistance to be small.
After the male fitting part is fully received, the female fitting part returns to its original shape, or near to its original shape, due to its elasticity. Thus, the fitting state can be reliably maintained by the locking operation of the locking elements. The disconnection force required can be greater than the connection force, due to the shape of the locking elements.
Owing to the action of the construction, it is possible to satisfy the apparently opposite demands of ease of fitting the male fitting part into the female fitting part and difficulty in disconnecting them from each other.
The first locking element may be a locking projection on the exterior surface of the male fitting part and the second locking element may be a locking recess in the interior surface of the female fitting part, and the female fitting part may have at its front end a contact surface located so as to be engaged by the locking projection when the male fitting part is inserted into the female fitting part so as to provide resistance to the insertion.
In this case, in the fitting operation:
(1) The locking projection portion collides with the front end of the female fitting part. As a result, an initial fitting resistance is generated.
(2) When the locking projection portion is forced forward against the initial resistance, the front portion of the female fitting part expands outward elastically, with a small resistance being applied thereto.
(3) When the locking projection portion is l
Higashikozono Makoto
Kuwahara Masanori
Hyeon Hae Moon
Nguyen Khiem
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd.
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