JP2003257542A - Explosion-proof connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an explosion-proof connector of high safety, low cost and simple structure which can avoid ignition of inflammable gas despite are discharges on the contact faces of the elastic and conductive connector part, with a pressure contact rubber connector making electric connection. <P>SOLUTION: The explosion-proof connector has an outer periphery face of a pressure contacting elastic conductive connector part making an electric connection between electrodes covered with an insulating rubber-like elastic side periphery part and its top and bottom ends of the elastic conductive connector part more recessed than the top and bottom ends of the insulating elastic side periphery part. It also has the elastic side periphery part made of an insulating rubber-like elastic body sealing especially on the top and bottom ends of the elastic conductive connector part, has a conductive material contained in the elastic conductive connector part oriented for high conductivity, and has an elastic conductive connector part of high conductivity with a conductive material every dispersed at the elastic conductive connector part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an explosion-proof structure of a connector used for electrical connection of electrodes, substrates, circuits, etc. of electronic equipment, electric equipment, etc.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Electrodes, substrates, circuits, etc. are also provided inside electronic equipment for detecting and detecting flammable gas, and these are electrically connected by connectors such as metal conductors and coil springs. The interior of these electronic devices is in a flammable gas atmosphere, and there is a risk that the flammable gas may ignite and explode due to discharge inside the electronic devices, so various explosion-proof structures are adopted.

As the explosion-proof structure of electronic equipment, a pressure-proof explosion-proof type in which the electronic equipment is not destroyed even if the flammable gas inside the electronic equipment explodes, the current is regulated to a small value, and the flammable gas does not ignite even when discharged. Intrinsically safe explosion-proof type and internal pressure explosion-proof type that keeps the inside high pressure by filling the equipment with inert gas such as nitrogen gas to block the invasion of external flammable gas are known. .

[0004]

However, the gas sensor, the gas meter terminal, and the like have problems in any explosion-proof structure. Since the explosion-proof type requires high strength because of its structure, it becomes a large-sized device and it is difficult to make it compact. The intrinsically safe explosion-proof type has insufficient safety because if a socket, a plug, a casing, or the like is charged with static electricity, there is a risk of electric discharge that causes ignition when these approaches.

The internal pressure explosion-proof type is required to keep the pressure of the inert gas inside the electronic equipment high. However, since it can be miniaturized, it has been widely used as an explosion-proof structure of electronic devices for detecting and detecting flammable gas such as conventional gas sensors and gas meter terminals. However, due to the thermal expansion and contraction of electronic equipment, the sealing performance of the equipment is impaired, flammable gas may flow inside, and internal discharge may ignite the flammable gas. There wasn't.

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, in which the outer periphery of the contact surface between an electrode, a substrate, a circuit and the like and an elastic conductive connector portion is covered with an insulating rubber-like elastic body, By sealing the contact surface of the elastic conductive connector section, even if a discharge occurs on the contact surface of the elastic conductive connector section, an attempt is made to avoid the ignition of flammable gas. The present invention provides an explosion-proof connector.

That is, the insulating rubber-like elastic side peripheral portion covers the outer peripheral surface of the pressure contact type elastic conductive connector portion for electrically connecting the electrodes, and the upper and lower ends of the elastic conductive connector portion are elastic. It is an explosion-proof connector that is recessed from the upper and lower ends of the side periphery. According to the present invention, the elastic side peripheral portion made of an insulating rubber-like elastic body seals the contact surfaces of the elastic conductive connector portion, particularly the upper and lower ends, so that even if discharge occurs on the contact surface of the elastic conductive connector portion, it is combustible This is an explosion-proof connector that can avoid the ignition of volatile gas.

Further, the electrically conductive material contained in the elastic electrically conductive connector portion is an explosion proof connector oriented so as to exhibit a high electric conductivity. According to the present invention, by orienting a conductive material in the elastic conductive connector portion, it is possible to form an elastic conductive connector portion having a high conductivity in which the conductive material is uniformly dispersed, and further it is possible to prevent the concentration of electric current, and Discharge is less likely to occur on the contact surface.

Further, the conductive material is an explosion-proof connector which is a conductive material exhibiting magnetism. In the present invention, the use of a magnetically conductive material facilitates the formation of the orientation of the conductive material using a magnetic field. According to the present invention, since the explosion-proof connector is assembled in a compressed state at the time of electrical connection between the electrode and the board, the elasticity of the explosion-proof connector provides good adhesion between the electrode, the board, etc. and the conductive portion of the connector. It is also possible to reduce the contact failure that causes sparks.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The explosion-proof connector of the present invention is described below.
It will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. A typical example of the explosion-proof connector of the present invention is shown in FIG. A rubber connector of a pressure contact type for making electrical connection between electrodes, in which an outer peripheral surface of a columnar elastic conductive connector portion 2 made of a rubber-like elastic body containing a conductive material is connected to an insulating rubber-like elastic side peripheral portion 3 And the upper and lower ends of the elastic conductive connector portion are recessed from the upper and lower ends of the elastic side peripheral portion.

The explosion-proof connector 1 of the present invention is assembled as shown in FIG. 3, and is an elastic conductive connector portion 2 for establishing electrical conduction between the electrode 8 of the substrate 7 and the electrode terminal 10 of the gas detector 9 which face each other. And an elastic side peripheral portion 3 having a sealing property integrated with the outer peripheral surface thereof. In the explosion-proof connector 1 of the present invention, the elastic side peripheral portion made of an insulating rubber-like elastic body is
By sealing the upper and lower concave contact surfaces of the elastic conductive connector portion 2, the explosion-proof connector can avoid ignition of flammable gas even if electric discharge occurs on the contact surface of the elastic conductive connector portion. The elastic side circumference blocks sparks and prevents ignition of leaked gas.

The explosion-proof connector of the present invention has a shape having a plurality of elastic conductive connector portions 2 in one explosion-proof connector 3 as shown in FIG. As shown, the upper and lower ends of the elastic side peripheral portion 3 may be curved.

In the explosion-proof connector of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 7, the conductive material contained in the elastic conductive connector portion is preferably oriented. The magnetic particles 13, the fine metal wires 14, and the carbon fibers 15 are oriented to form a conduction path. The conductive material forming the conductive path of the explosion-proof connector of the present invention may be particles of carbon, metal, etc., fibers, thin wires, etc., but is preferably a magnetic conductor. The magnetic conductor includes all conductors that exhibit magnetism, and may be magnetic metal particles, a magnetic metal composite, or carbon fiber.

Examples of the insulating rubber-like elastic body used for the elastic conductive connector portion of the explosion-proof connector of the present invention or the insulative elastic side peripheral portion having hermeticity include silicone rubber, natural rubber, isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, and 1 , 2-polybutadiene, styrene-butadiene rubber, chloroprene rubber, nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber, chlorosulfonated polyethylene, acrylic rubber,
Epichlorohydrin rubber, fluororubber, urethane rubber,
Examples thereof include styrene-based thermoplastic elastomers, olefin-based thermoplastic elastomers, ester-based thermoplastic elastomers, vinyl chloride-based thermoplastic elastomers, amide-based thermoplastic elastomers, urethane-based thermoplastic elastomers, and ion-crosslinked-based thermoplastic elastomers.

Of these, silicone rubber, butyl rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber, fluororubber, urethane rubber and the like, which have good electric insulation and weather resistance, are preferable. Further, butyl rubber, fluororubber, and urethane rubber are preferable because they are less likely to permeate gas. In particular, when the elastic conductive connector portion is formed by magnetically orienting a conductive material exhibiting magnetism, it is preferable to use silicone rubber, urethane rubber, polyisobutyl rubber or the like which is a liquid rubber material. Further, the elastic conductive connector portion and the insulative elastic side peripheral portion having hermeticity may have different compositions depending on the kind of the rubber-like elastic body used.

As the conductive material of the present invention, one having a low electric resistance is used for the purpose of use as a conductive connector for electrical connection. The contact resistance is preferably 1 Ω or less, for example,
A conductive medium such as particles, fibers, or fine wires made of carbon or metal is used. Specifically, gold, which has a low electrical resistance,
Powders or fine wires made of metals such as silver, platinum, aluminum, nickel, copper, iron, palladium, cobalt, chrome, etc. or alloys such as stainless steel, these metals, resins, ceramics, etc. to prevent corrosion and contact resistance For the purpose of reduction, powder or fine wire whose surface is coated with gold, silver, platinum or the like can be used.

Further, as a magnetic conductor used when the elastic conductive connector portion is formed by magnetic field orientation of a conductive material exhibiting magnetism, preferably nickel, cobalt, iron or an alloy containing a large amount thereof, or good conductivity. It is also possible to use a metal or carbon plated with a magnetic conductor, or conversely, a conductive material exhibiting magnetism, which is surface-treated with metal or carbon having good conductivity.

As the method of manufacturing the explosion-proof connector of the present invention, all known connector manufacturing methods can be used.
Specifically, a metal thin wire is embedded in a rubber-like elastic body, a conductive material is highly filled in the rubber-like elastic body, and an elastic conductive connector portion obtained by magnetic field orientation of a conductive material exhibiting ferromagnetism is used as a mold. After insertion, insert molding is performed to form an insulative elastic side peripheral portion having hermeticity on the peripheral wall surface. Alternatively, an explosion-proof connector can be obtained by orienting a conductive material exhibiting ferromagnetism in a magnetic field and molding the elastic conductive connector portion and the insulative elastic side portion having sealing property at once. In particular, by orienting a conductive material that exhibits ferromagnetism in a magnetic field, the elastic conductive connector part and the insulating elastic side peripheral part that has hermeticity can be easily molded with high precision because there are few steps required. It is desirable because the explosion-proof connector can be obtained.

When the elastic conductive connector portion is formed by magnetic field orientation of a magnetically conductive material, the magnetically conductive material is mixed with a liquid uncured rubber-like elastic material, and the shape of the conductive connector according to the purpose, For example, after casting into a molding die prepared to be formed into a shape such as a columnar shape or a prismatic shape, magnetic force is applied to the desired portion to orient the conductive material showing magnetism in the magnetic field to identify the conduction path. By curing the rubber-like elastic body, the elastic conductive connector portion and the elastic side peripheral portion can be integrally molded in one molding step. When the elastic conductive connector part is penetrated by a plurality of conductive wires or formed by magnetic field orientation of a conductive material exhibiting magnetism, the elastic conductive connector part and the circuit etc. are different from the metal wire and the coil spring due to its nature. Since the contact points are dispersed at multiple points, it is possible to reduce the risk of spark generation.

The specific form of the explosion-proof connector of the present invention is as follows.
It suffices that the electrodes facing each other from the top and bottom or from the left and right can be connected to reduce the risk of ignition and explosion due to the generation of sparks, and the shape and layout can be selected from convenient configurations in terms of design.

[0021]

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 (1) is a perspective view of an explosion-proof connector of the present embodiment, and (2) is a vertical sectional view taken along line AA '. An example of implementation is shown in FIG. To 100 g of liquid uncured silicone rubber, 20 g of nickel particles having an average particle size of 50 μm whose surface is coated with silver are stirred and defoamed, and the nickel particles coated with silver are mixed into the liquid silicone rubber. As shown in FIG. 2, the formed material 6 is poured into a mold (lower mold) 4 in which an iron core 14 which is a ferromagnetic material is embedded in a portion where an elastic conductive connector portion is formed in aluminum which is a non-magnetic material. Then, after closing the upper and lower molds using the other mold (upper mold) 5, a magnetic field is applied to cause the nickel particles whose surfaces are coated with silver plating to be magnetically oriented to form a conductive path and to form a silicone. The rubber was cured to obtain an explosion-proof connector 1 including an elastic conductive connector portion 2 and an insulating side peripheral portion 3 having a sealing property.

[0022]

Example 2 To 100 g of liquid uncured urethane rubber, 20 g of nickel particles having an average particle size of 50 μm, the surface of which is coated with silver, were added to the liquid urethane rubber to stir and defoam, and the liquid urethane rubber was coated with silver. As shown in FIG. 2, the material 6 in which the nickel particles are mixed is used to mold a metal core (lower mold) in which an iron core 14 which is a ferromagnetic material is embedded in a portion where an elastic conductive connector portion is formed in aluminum which is a non-magnetic material. ) Inject into 4,
After closing the upper and lower molds using the other mold (upper mold) 5, a magnetic field is applied to orient the nickel particles whose surfaces are coated with silver plating to form a conductive path and cure the urethane rubber. Thus, the explosion-proof connector 1 including the elastic conductive connector portion 2 and the insulating side peripheral portion 3 having sealing property was obtained.

An example of mounting the explosion-proof connector 1 is shown in FIG. The explosion-proof connector 1 is compressed by the terminal 10 of the gas detector 9 and the circuit 8 provided on the substrate 7, so that the elastic conductive connector portion 2 is compressed and conduction is established between the terminal 10 and the circuit 8. . By adopting such a connection method, as shown in FIG. 4, even if a spark 11 is generated due to poor contact between the terminal 10 and the circuit 8, the insulating elastic side peripheral portion 3 having sealing property is flammable. Since the inflammable gas 12 is shut off, it is possible to avoid the risk of the flammable gas 12 igniting.

[0024]

According to the present invention, the outer periphery of the contact surface between the electrode, the substrate, the circuit, etc. and the elastic conductive connector portion is covered with an insulating rubber-like elastic body, and the contact surface of the elastic conductive connector portion is recessed and hermetically sealed. Thus, even if a discharge is generated on the contact surface of the elastic conductive connector portion, the ignition of the flammable gas is avoided, and the explosion-proof connector is highly safe, inexpensive, and easy in structure.

According to the present invention, by orienting the conductive material in the elastic conductive connector portion, it is possible to form the elastic conductive connector portion having higher conductivity than the elastic conductive connector portion in which the conductive material is uniformly dispersed, and further, the electric current Concentration can also be prevented, and discharge is less likely to occur on the contact surface of the elastic conductive connector portion. The present invention is
By using a conductive material exhibiting magnetism as the conductive material, it becomes easy to form the orientation of the conductive material using a magnetic field.

According to the present invention, since the explosion-proof connector is assembled in a compressed state at the time of electrical connection between the electrode and the board, the elasticity of the explosion-proof connector causes the adhesion between the electrode, the board and the like and the conductive portion of the connector. It is good and it is possible to reduce the contact failure that causes sparks.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view (1) and AA ′ of an explosion-proof connector of the present invention.
Longitudinal section (2)

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a method for manufacturing an explosion-proof connector of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of an implementation example of the explosion-proof connector of the present invention.

[Figure 4] Conceptual diagram when a spark occurs during mounting

FIG. 5 is a second embodiment of the explosion-proof connector of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of another explosion-proof connector of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of an elastic conductive connector portion of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Explosion-proof connector 2 Elastic conductive connector 3 Elastic side circumference 4 Lower mold 5 Upper mold 6 Conductive material 7 foundation 8 circuits 9 Gas detector 10 terminals 11 sparks 12 Combustible gas 13 magnetic particles 14 thin metal wires 15 carbon fiber 16 iron core

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An insulating rubber-like elastic side peripheral portion covers an outer peripheral surface of a pressure contact type elastic conductive connector portion for electrically connecting electrodes, and elastic upper and lower ends of the elastic conductive connector portion are elastic. Explosion-proof connector characterized by being recessed from the upper and lower ends of the side periphery. 2. The explosion-proof connector according to claim 1, wherein the conductive material contained in the elastic conductive connector portion is oriented so as to exhibit high conductivity. 3. The explosion-proof connector according to claim 1, wherein the conductive material is a magnetic conductive material.