JP4341465B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector provided with a retainer.

Conventionally, as a male connector, a terminal accommodating portion having a cavity capable of accommodating a male terminal fitting, a hood portion formed slightly larger than the terminal accommodating portion and projecting forward of the terminal accommodating portion, and a pair of side pieces And a retainer that is mounted so as to straddle the outer surface of the terminal accommodating portion (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The terminal accommodating portion is provided with a retainer mounting hole that opens in three directions on the bottom surface and both side surfaces. The retainer is inserted into the retainer mounting hole from the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating portion, and enters the cavity while expanding each side piece so as to lock the male terminal fitting in a retaining state.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-287992

  By the way, if the terminal accommodating portion is further reduced in size with a decrease in the number of terminal poles, if an external force that induces a twisting action is applied to the terminal accommodating portion, the terminal accommodating portion is Due to the weakening in strength due to the formation of the retainer mounting hole that opens to the top, a situation where the retainer mounting hole is formed may break.

  This invention is completed based on the above situations, Comprising: It aims at avoiding that a terminal accommodating part breaks.

As means for achieving the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a terminal accommodating portion having a cavity capable of accommodating a terminal fitting, and a terminal accommodating portion which is connected to the front of the terminal accommodating portion and is more than the terminal accommodating portion. and around large cylindrical shape formed hood portion, a retainer mount hole communicating with the cavity with an opening across the three sides of one surface and both sides sandwiching it among the outer wall surface of the terminal accommodating portion, the base portion And a pair of side pieces projecting from both ends of the base portion, and the pair of side pieces elastically sandwiches both side surfaces of the terminal accommodating portion from the opening of the retainer mounting hole on one surface of the terminal accommodating portion. plugged in, the a retainer for retaining the terminal fitting accommodated in the cavity by being a locked state of normal while expanding each side piece, wherein the rear end surface of the hood portion terminal accommodating portion While being integrally connected to the both sides, it is arranged to face the respective side pieces while interposing the deformation space above to permit the expanding operation of each side piece between both side surfaces of the terminal accommodating portion It is characterized by having a configuration including a reinforcing portion.

  The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, the outer wall surface of the reinforcing portion and the outer wall surface of the hood portion are connected in a flush manner.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a mating housing that can accommodate mating terminal fittings can be fitted into the hood portion, and the retainer is the retainer. It is characterized in that it can be mounted in both the mounting hole and the mating retainer mounting hole provided in the mating housing.

<Invention of Claim 1>
The terminal receiving part is reinforced by reinforcing parts that are integrally connected to both side surfaces of the terminal receiving part and the rear end edge of the hood part. it can. In addition, since the reinforcing portion is disposed to face each side piece while interposing a bending space allowing the side piece to expand, each side piece is protected from the outside and its smooth spreading operation is performed. Is guaranteed.

<Invention of Claim 2>
Since the outer wall surface of the reinforcement part and the outer wall surface of the hood part are connected in a flush manner, there is no step, so that external force does not concentrate on the connection part between the reinforcement part and the hood part, and the terminal is accommodated. The situation where the part breaks can be surely avoided.

<Invention of Claim 3>
Since the retainers attached to both male and female connectors are shared, there is no need to make separate retainers for male connectors and female connectors, and the number of parts can be reduced. In addition, the complexity of management is eliminated. Here, when the retainer is shared, if the counterpart housing is downsized, the terminal housing portion needs to be downsized accordingly, and there is a possibility that the terminal housing portion may break along with the downsizing. In the present invention, since the situation in which the terminal accommodating portion is broken by the reinforcing portion is avoided in the present invention, there is no problem in sharing the retainer even if the counterpart housing is downsized.

<Embodiment>
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector according to the present embodiment is a male connector that can be fitted to the female housing 90, and is for locking the male housing 10 that can accommodate the male terminal fitting 30 and the male terminal fitting 30. And a retainer 50. In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the fitting surface side of both the male and female housings 10 and 90 is the front.

  First, the female housing 90 as a counterpart will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 12, the female housing 90 is formed in a substantially block shape as a whole by a synthetic resin material, and the female side housing 90 is formed in the inside thereof. A terminal fitting (not shown) can be accommodated. A lock projection (not shown) is provided on the upper surface of the female housing 90 for locking when the male housing 10 is properly fitted. The female housing 90 is provided with retainer mounting holes (hereinafter referred to as mating retainer mounting holes 91) that open in three directions, the bottom surface and both side surfaces. A retainer mounting surface (hereinafter referred to as a mating retainer mounting surface 92) that can be covered with a pair of side pieces 53 provided in the retainer 50 is provided around the hole portion of the mating retainer mounting hole 91 on both sides of the female housing 90. Called).

Next, the male terminal fitting 30 will be described. Male terminal fitting 30 is formed of a conductive metal plate is subjected to after bending like punched into a predetermined shape, as shown in FIG. 8, elongated in the longitudinal direction as a whole, an elongated tab in front of the terminal body 31 38 Is provided protruding. The tab 38 protrudes from the inside of the hood portion 11 provided in the male housing 10. In addition, a wire barrel 39 that is caulked to the core portion of the terminal of the electric wire W is connected to the rear of the terminal body 31, and an insulation barrel that is caulked to the covered portion of the electric wire W is further provided behind the wire barrel 39 . 37 is continuously provided. A locking projection 32 is provided on the upper surface of the terminal main body 31, and a lance 12 described later can be locked to the rear surface of the locking projection 32. Further, a retaining protrusion 55 (described later) of the retainer 50 can be locked to the rear end jaw portion 33 of the terminal body 31.

Next, the male housing 10 will be described. The male housing 10 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material, and includes a terminal accommodating portion 13, a hood portion 11 provided in front of the terminal accommodating portion 13, a rear side of the hood portion 11, and a side of the terminal accommodating portion 13. It consists of the reinforcement part 14 constructed between both sides. The hood portion 11 is formed in a rectangular tube shape that is slightly larger than the terminal accommodating portion 13, and the front side is open so that the female housing 90 can be fitted therein. A lock hole 15 is provided through the upper surface of the hood portion 11 so that the lock projection of the female housing 90 can be engaged when the male and female housings 10, 90 are properly fitted. At this time, the tab 38 of the male terminal fitting 30 protruding into the hood portion 11 and the female terminal fitting in the female housing 90 are in a properly connected state.

  An entrance space Q that allows insertion of the attachment body 88 shown in FIG. An elastic lock piece 17 is provided on the wall portion 16 located below the entry space Q in the hood portion 11 so as to extend rearward, and the elastic lock piece 17 has an extension end toward the entry space Q side. A locking projection 17A that protrudes toward the outside is provided. The male housing 10 is assembled to the attachment body 88 from the front, and the lock projection 17A is fixed to the attachment body 88 by elastically engaging the attachment hole 89 provided in the attachment body 88. It has become so.

Two cavities 18 penetrating in the front-rear direction are provided side by side in the terminal accommodating portion 13 (see FIG. 3). A lance 12 that can be bent in the vertical direction is provided on the inner wall of each cavity 18, and can be elastically locked to the locking protrusion 32 of the male terminal fitting 30. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the terminal accommodating portion 13 is provided with a retainer mounting hole 19 that opens to three sides of the upper surface and both side surfaces and communicates with the cavity 18. Retainer mounting surfaces 20 that can be covered by the respective side pieces 53 of the retainer 50 are provided on the peripheral portions of the retainer mounting holes 19 on both side surfaces of the terminal accommodating portion 13. The retainer mounting surface 20 and the retainer mounting hole 19 have substantially the same form as the mating retainer mounting surface 92 and the mating retainer mounting hole 91 provided in the female housing 90, and the retainer 50 is mounted on the mating retainer. It can be mounted on the surface 92 and can also be inserted into the mating retainer mounting hole 91.
Further, dovetail grooves 20A are formed in the front and rear end surfaces that are continuous with the retainer mounting surface 20, and tapered notch edges 50A formed in the dovetail grooves 20A on both front and rear edges of each side piece 53 of the retainer 50. Is engaged, so that excessive bending of the retainer 50 is regulated.

  The front region 13A sandwiching the opening of the retainer mounting hole 19 on the upper wall of the terminal accommodating portion 13 is formed to be thicker and raised than the rear region 13B. A surface facing the retainer mounting hole 19 in the front region 13A of the terminal accommodating portion 13 is a jig guide surface 13E that forms an upward gradient toward the front, and is fitted into the retainer mounting hole 19 along the jig guide surface 13E. A jig (not shown) for removing the retainer 50 is guided. Further, the base portion of the lance 12 is connected to the rear end portion of the front region 13A, and is provided to extend forward therefrom.

  A first temporary locking portion 21 protrudes immediately before the opening edge of the retainer mounting hole 19 on the retainer mounting surface 20, and the opening of the retainer mounting hole 19 on the retainer mounting surface 20 is paired with the first temporary locking portion 21. A second temporary locking portion 22 is provided to project immediately after the edge. Further, a main locking portion 23 projects from the retainer mounting surface 20 immediately below the opening edge of the retainer mounting hole 19. The retainer 50 is retained at the temporary locking position by locking its latch receiving portion 51 (described later) to each of the first and second temporary locking portions 21 and 22. The male terminal fitting 30 is allowed to be inserted into and removed from the cavity 18 at the position, and inserted further deeply from there, and the latch receiving portion 51 is latched to the main latch portion 23 so as to be held at the final latch position. In addition, the male terminal fitting 30 is locked in the fully locked position in a state where it is prevented from coming off. In addition, the regular latching state in this invention means the state in which the retainer 50 was kept in this latching position.

The first temporary locking portion 21 is formed to be slightly larger than the second temporary locking portion 22 in both the front and rear dimensions and the vertical dimension. Specifically, the first temporary locking portion 21 is formed to extend vertically along the front edge of the opening edge of the retainer mounting hole 19, and the upper edge of the second temporary locking portion 22 is the first temporary locking portion 22. The locking portion 21 is substantially at the same height as the vertical center, and the lower edge of the second temporary locking portion 22 is substantially the same height as the lower edge of the first temporary locking portion 21. It is in. Further, the front-rear dimension of the first temporary locking part 21 is approximately twice the front-rear dimension of the second temporary locking part 22. And the lower surface of the 1st and 2nd temporary latching | locking parts 21 and 22 is comprised as a flat surface formed in the substantially horizontal, and it controls the removal of the retainer 50 in this latching position.
The front end position of the main locking portion 23 is set to substantially the same position as the front end position of the first temporary locking portion 21, and from there to the rear, it is substantially along the lower edge of the opening edge of the retainer mounting hole 19. The extension is formed long in the front-rear direction until the extension end reaches the vicinity of the rear edge of the retainer mounting hole 19. Thereby, the locking allowance with the locking receiving part 51 is increased, and the locking of the retainer 50 at the final locking position is ensured.

  The reinforcing portion 14 is disposed to face the retainer mounting hole 19 and the retainer mounting surface 20 on both side surfaces of the terminal housing portion 13 with a predetermined interval, and the rear end surface of the hood portion 11 and both sides of the terminal housing portion 13. The surface is integrally connected to a portion excluding the retainer mounting surface 20. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the reinforcing portion 14 includes a bottom wall 14 </ b> A that extends laterally from the lower ends of both side surfaces of the terminal accommodating portion 13, a pair of side walls 14 </ b> B that rises upward from the extending end of the bottom wall 14 </ b> A, It is comprised from a pair of ceiling wall 14E which connects the upper wall of the back area | region 13B of the accommodating part 13, and the standing end of each side wall 14B which opposes it.

  The outer side surface of each side wall 14B and both outer side wall surfaces of the hood portion 11 are substantially flush with each other and are arranged in a substantially straight line along the front-rear direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the spreading operation of each side piece 53 of the retainer 50 is allowed between the inner side surface of each side wall 14 </ b> B and each side piece 53 of the retainer 50 attached to the retainer mounting surface 20. A bending space S is formed.

  Next, the retainer 50 will be described. As described above, the retainer 50 is formed to be attachable to both the retainer mounting hole 19 of the male housing 10 and the counterpart retainer mounting hole 91 of the female housing 90. Specifically, the retainer 50 is formed of a synthetic resin material in a plate shape, and as shown in FIG. 3, the retainer 50 includes a base 52 and a pair of side pieces 53 protruding substantially at right angles from both ends of the base 52. It is formed in a gate shape. The base 52 is formed in a size corresponding to the opening of the retainer mounting hole 19 on the upper surface of the terminal accommodating portion 13, and is configured to be able to close the opening of the retainer mounting hole 19. A partition wall 54 that partitions the cavities 18 is provided along the front-rear direction at a substantially central portion in the width direction on the lower surface of the base portion 52. Further, a retaining protrusion 55 is provided on the lower surface of the base 52 corresponding to each cavity 18, and the rear end jaw portion 33 of the male terminal fitting 30 is engaged with the retaining protrusion 55. This prevents the male terminal fitting 30 from coming out. As shown in FIG. 1, jig insertion holes 56 are provided in the thickness range of the base 52 so as to open on the front surface and the upper surface, and the jig insertion is performed while being guided by the jig guide surface 13 </ b> E of the terminal accommodating portion 13. The retainer 50 can be unlocked at the main locking position by a jig inserted into the hole 56.

  Each side piece 53 can be bent and deformed inward and outward with the portion connected to the base portion 52 as a base end, and while holding the retainer mounting surface 20 with elastic force and performing an expanding operation, It slides up and down between positions. At the front end portion of each side piece 53, a latch receiving portion 51 that can be engaged with the first and second temporary latch portions 21 and 22 and the main latch portion 23 is provided. The latch receiving portion 51 protrudes in a claw shape from the front end of each side piece 53 to the inside, and is formed with a length that covers almost the entire length of the front and rear of each side piece 53.

  Next, the effect of this embodiment is demonstrated. In order to attach the retainer 50 to the male housing 10, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the retainer 50 is first brought close to the terminal accommodating portion 13 from above and each side piece 53 is clamped to the retainer mounting surface 20. Subsequently, the retainer 50 is moved downward so as to push in the base 52. Then, each side piece 53 slides into contact with the first and second temporary locking portions 21 and 22 while elastically expanding to the side of the bending space, gets over the temporary locking position after overcoming this, and each side piece 53. Is restored and the latch receiving portion 51 enters between the first and second temporary latch portions 21 and 22 and the main latch portion 23 and is retained there (FIGS. 5, 8, and 10). reference). At this time, the retainer 50 can be inserted in a stable posture by engaging the first and second temporary locking portions 21 and 22 with the front and rear edges of the locking receiving portion 51 of each side piece 53. . At this time, the retaining protrusion 55 of the retainer 50 is disposed at a standby position outside the cavity 18 that does not prevent the insertion of the male terminal fitting 30.

  Next, the male terminal fitting 30 is inserted into the cavity 18 from the rear. In the process of insertion, the locking projection 32 of the terminal body 31 abuts the lance 12 and the lance 12 is elastically bent and deformed upward. When reaching the proper insertion position, the lance 12 is elastically restored and the locking projection The rear side of the portion 32 enters the rear side, and the male terminal fitting 30 is primarily locked in a state of being prevented from coming off.

  When the retainer 50 is inserted deeply into the retainer mounting hole 19 further from this state, each side piece 53 is slidably contacted with the main locking portion while elastically expanding to the flexing space side, overcoming this, As soon as the stop position is reached, each side piece 53 is restored and the lock receiving portion 51 is locked to the main lock portion 23 (see FIGS. 6, 9, and 11). During this time, the retaining protrusion 55 of the retainer 50 enters the rear end jaw portion 33 of the terminal body 31 from the standby position, and the male terminal fitting 30 is double-locked. In the main locking position, the locking receiving portion 51 is hooked over the entire length of the front and rear length of the main locking portion 23, and as a result, the retainer 50 is securely held in the main locking position. It is like that. When the male terminal fitting 30 is in the half-inserted state, even if the retainer 50 is to be pushed in, the retaining projection 55 abuts against the upper surface of the terminal body 31 and restricts further progress. The state can be easily detected.

  Here, if an external force that induces a twisting operation is applied to the terminal accommodating portion 13, there is a concern that the terminal accommodating portion 13 breaks from the position where the retainer mounting hole 19 is formed. Since the terminal accommodating portion 13 is reinforced by the reinforcing portion 14 provided between the hood portion 11 and the terminal accommodating portion 13, it is possible to avoid a situation where the terminal accommodating portion 13 breaks against such a twisting operation. Further, since the reinforcing portion 14 is disposed to face each side piece 53 while interposing a bending space S that allows the expanding operation of each side piece 53, each side piece 53 is protected from external foreign matter. The smooth expansion operation is guaranteed.

Furthermore, since the outer side surface of each side wall 14B of the reinforcing portion 14 and the outer wall surfaces on both sides of the hood portion 11 are connected to be flush with each other, there is no step, so that the continuous portion between the reinforcing portion 14 and the hood portion 11 is provided. Thus, it is possible to reliably avoid the situation in which the external force is not concentrated on the terminal housing portion 13 and the terminal accommodating portion 13 is broken.
Furthermore, since the retainer 50 is shared with the female housing 90, there is no need to make the retainer 50 separately for the male connector and the female connector, and the number of parts can be reduced. Can be eliminated.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
(1) In the above embodiment, the retainer mounting holes are opened on the upper surface and both side surfaces of the terminal housing portion. However, in the present invention, the retainer mounting holes may be opened on the bottom surface and both side surfaces of the terminal housing portion. Good.
(2) In the above embodiment, the reinforcing portion is configured by the side wall, the bottom wall, and the ceiling wall. However, in the present invention, the reinforcing portion is formed by only one of the side wall, the bottom wall, and the ceiling wall. It may be configured. In short, the reinforcement part should just be constructed between the food | hood part and the terminal accommodating part.
(3) In this invention, the temporary latching structure and this latching structure with respect to a retainer are not limited to the said embodiment, A well-known temporary latching structure and this latching structure are employable. In some cases, the temporary locking structure may be omitted.

The top view of the connector concerning one embodiment of the present invention. Top view before installing the retainer Disassembled rear view of retainer and male housing Exploded side view of main part of retainer and male housing broken away Side view with the main part broken when the retainer is in the temporary locking position Side view with the main part broken when the retainer is in the final locking position Exploded side sectional view of retainer and male housing Side sectional view when the retainer is in the temporary locking position Side sectional view when the retainer is in the fully locked position Longitudinal section when the retainer is in the temporary locking position Longitudinal section when the retainer is in the fully locked position Exploded side view of retainer and female housing

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Male side housing 11 ... Hood | hood part 13 ... Terminal accommodating part 14 ... Reinforcement part 18 ... Cavity 19 ... Retainer mounting hole 50 ... Retainer 52 ... Base 53 ... Side piece S ... Deflection space

Claims (3)

A terminal accommodating portion having a cavity capable of accommodating a terminal fitting;
A hood portion formed in a cylindrical shape that is connected to the front of the terminal accommodating portion and is slightly larger than the terminal accommodating portion;
A retainer mount hole communicating with the cavity with an opening across the three sides of one surface and both sides sandwiching it among the outer wall surface of the terminal accommodating portion,
An opening of the retainer mounting hole on one surface of the terminal housing portion, having a base portion and a pair of side pieces projecting from both ends of the base portion, the pair of side pieces elastically sandwiching both side surfaces of the terminal housing portion; A retainer that prevents the terminal fitting housed in the cavity from coming off by being inserted from the side piece and in a normal locking state while expanding each side piece;
A flexure space that is integrally connected to the rear end surface of the hood portion and both side surfaces of the terminal housing portion and allows the side piece to expand is interposed between both side surfaces of the terminal housing portion. And a reinforcing portion disposed to face each of the side pieces.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein an outer wall surface of the reinforcing portion and an outer wall surface of the hood portion are continuous with each other. The hood portion can be fitted with a mating housing that can accommodate mating terminal fittings,
The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the retainer can be mounted in either the retainer mounting hole or a mating retainer mounting hole provided in the mating housing.

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