JP5272934B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional connector. This has a connector housing made of synthetic resin and a terminal fitting made of conductive metal. The terminal fitting has a cylindrical main body, and a stabilizer is bent and formed on the main body. On the other hand, the connector housing has a cavity extending in the front-rear direction, a guide groove extending along the cavity, and a deflectable lance protruding from the inner wall of the cavity. A terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity from the rear, and a lance is elastically locked to the stabilizer of the normally inserted terminal fitting, whereby the terminal fitting is pulled out into the cavity and held in a restricted state.

JP 2003-68385 A

By the way, in the above-described conventional configuration, when a strong pulling force is applied to the terminal fitting in the rearward direction, the lance is bent and deformed in the unlocking direction, and the terminal fitting may accidentally come out of the cavity. .
The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to prevent inadvertent withdrawal of a terminal fitting.

As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that a terminal fitting having a cylindrical main body portion and a stabilizer projecting outward from the main body portion and the terminal fitting are respectively inserted. The stabilizer of the terminal fitting that has a cavity to be inserted, has a guide groove that extends along the cavity and into which the stabilizer is inserted, and that is protruded from the inner wall of the cavity and is normally inserted into the cavity. A connector housing having a lance that elastically locks the stabilizer, wherein the stabilizer is formed in a pair with the main body, and the lance is associated with each of the pair of stabilizers. A plurality of cavities in the width direction across the partition wall of the connector housing. Arranged in a row, and formed with a space notched at the end of the partition wall, and the lance is configured to enter both cavities adjacent to each other in the width direction while straddling the space. It has a feature that it has a locking surface on both sides and each locking surface can lock the stabilizer on one side of the adjacent terminal fitting inserted into the adjacent cavity .

<Invention of Claim 1>
Since the lances are formed at the positions where the stabilizers that make a pair are locked, one terminal fitting is locked by the two lances, and the holding force to the terminal fitting is enhanced. Further, even if one of the two lances bends and deforms in the unlocking direction, the other lance can maintain the locked state with the terminal fitting. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a connector that prevents the terminal fitting from being accidentally pulled out.
In addition, the lance is configured to enter the two adjacent cavities in the width direction while straddling the space, and the lance is shared between the terminal fittings inserted into the two adjacent cavities, thus simplifying the lance configuration. It is possible to improve the space saving.

It is the principal part expanded sectional view seen from the front of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing seen from the side of a connector. It is a perspective view of a connector. It is an expansion perspective view of a lance.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector according to the first embodiment includes a connector housing 10, a retainer 60, and a terminal fitting 80. The connector housing 10 can be fitted into a mating connector housing (not shown), and the terminal fitting 80 is electrically connected to a mating terminal (not shown) attached to the mating connector housing along with the fitting. In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the fitting surface side of the connector housing 10 is the front.

  The terminal fitting 80 is integrally formed by bending a conductive metal plate or the like, and as shown in FIG. 2, a rectangular tube-shaped main body portion 81 and a barrel portion 82 coupled to the rear of the main body portion 81, 83, and has an elongated shape in the front-rear direction as a whole. The barrel portions 82 and 83 are an open barrel-shaped wire barrel 82 that is caulked to the core wire 92 that is located at the front and exposed at the end portion of the covered electric wire 90, and the insulation at the end portion of the covered electric wire 90 that is located behind. It consists of an insulation barrel 83 having an open barrel shape that is caulked to the covering 91. A tab of a mating terminal fitting is inserted into the main body 81 from the front and connected.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of stabilizers 84 that are elongated in the front-rear direction are bent and formed on both sides in the width direction of the bottom wall of the main body 81. Each of the stabilizers 84 includes a first piece 85 that extends downward from the lower end of the side wall of the main body 81 and a second piece 86 that is folded back from the lower end of the first piece 86 and extends upward. The pieces 85 and 86 are in close contact with each other. The two stabilizers 84 have the same shape and are symmetrical with respect to the center of the main body 81 in the width direction. The rear ends of both the stabilizers 84 are arranged to stand substantially vertically, and this is a locked surface 87 that is locked by a lance 21 described later.

  The connector housing 10 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 3, the connector housing 10 has a block shape as a whole, and a lock arm 11 extending in a cantilever shape from the front end to the rear is formed on the upper surface. When the connector housing 10 is properly fitted to the mating connector housing, the lock arm 11 elastically locks the mating connector housing, whereby both connector housings are held in the disengagement restricted state.

  A cavity 12 extending in the front-rear direction is formed in the connector housing 10. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of cavities 12 are arranged in the width direction across the partition wall 13, and terminal fittings 80 are inserted into the cavities 12 from the rear. In addition, guide grooves 14 are formed in the connector housing 10 so as to extend in communication with the cavities 12 along both widthwise sides of the cavities 12 (see FIG. 4). In the process of inserting the terminal fitting 80 into the cavity 12, a pair of stabilizers 84 are fitted into both guide grooves 14, thereby guiding the insertion operation of the terminal fitting 80 into the cavity 12 and the terminal fitting 80. Erroneous insertion into the cavity 12 is prevented.

As shown in FIG. 3, lock projections 15 that are locked to the retainer 60 are formed on both side surfaces of the connector housing 10 at a position that is one step lower than the surroundings. Further, a mounting hole 16 into which the retainer 60 is inserted is formed on the lower surface of the connector housing 10 so as to communicate with all the cavities 12 (see FIG. 2).
The retainer 60 is also made of synthetic resin, and includes a connecting plate 61 and a pair of side plates 62 rising from both sides in the width direction. A locking claw 63 is formed at the front end of each side plate 62 so as to protrude inward. In addition, a plurality of retaining portions 64 that can lock the terminal fitting 80 are formed in the connecting plate 61 side by side at positions corresponding to the cavities 12. The retainer 60 has a temporary locking position that allows the terminal fitting 80 to be inserted into and removed from the cavity 12, and a main locking position where the locking portion 64 faces the rear end of the main body 81 of the terminal fitting 80 that is normally inserted. And is held at both positions by the locking action of the lock claw 63 and the lock projection 15.

Now, as shown in FIG. 4, a flexible lance 21 that locks the terminal fitting 80 is formed on the inner wall of the cavity 12 in the connector housing 10. The lance 21 is configured to protrude in a cantilevered manner from the base end serving as a fulcrum of the bending operation toward the front.
Here, in the partition wall 13 that partitions between the cavities 12 that are adjacent to each other in the width direction in the connector housing 10, a space 18 is cut out in front of the base end of the lance 21. A lance main body 22 that forms a part of the partition wall 13 while being defined by the space 18 is formed at the center in the width direction of the lance 21. The upper surface of the lance body 22 is a flat surface that extends straight in the front-rear direction in the natural state.

On the other hand, a pair of locking portions 23 are formed on both sides of the lance 21 in the width direction so as to enter the cavity 12 on both sides of the lance body 22. The rear surfaces of both locking portions 23 are tapered guide slopes 24 that are inclined so as to gradually protrude into the cavity 12 from the groove surface of the guide groove 14 facing each other across the partition wall 13. . The lower end of the guide slope 24 is disposed below the upper surface of the lance body 22, and the upper end of the guide slope 24 is disposed above the upper surface of the lance body 22.
The front surfaces of both locking portions 23 are locking surfaces 25 that face the locked surface 87 of the stabilizer 84 when the terminal fitting 80 is locked, and are arranged in pairs on both sides of the front surface of the lance body 22. Has been. The locking surfaces 25 of both locking portions 23 are flush with the front surface of the lance main body 22 and are one step higher than the front surface of the lance main body 22.

Next, the operation of the connector of this embodiment will be described.
The retainer 60 is retained at the temporary locking position, and the terminal fitting 80 is inserted into the cavity 12 of the connector housing 10 from the rear in that state. In the insertion process, both stabilizers 84 slide on the guide grooves 14 located on both sides of the cavity 12 in the width direction, and in the final stage of insertion, both stabilizers 84 slide on the guide slope 24 of the lance 21 adjacent in the width direction. Then, both lances 21 are bent downward and deformed. When the terminal fitting 80 is properly inserted into the cavity 12, both lances 21 are elastically restored almost simultaneously, and the locking surfaces 25 of both lances 21 are arranged to be locked from behind on the locked surface 87 of the stabilizer 84. Accordingly, the terminal fitting 80 is temporarily prevented from coming into the cavity 12 by the two lances 21.

  When all the terminal fittings 80 have been inserted, the retainer 60 is subsequently pushed into the final locking position. When the retainer 60 reaches the main locking position, the retaining portion 64 of the retainer 60 is disposed on the main body 81 of the terminal fitting 80 from behind so that the terminal fitting 80 is secondary to the cavity 12 by the retainer 60. Will be retained.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since one terminal fitting 80 is locked by the two lances 21 even before the retainer 60 reaches the final locking position, The holding force is increased, and the terminal fitting 80 is prevented from inadvertently coming out of the cavity 12. In this case, even if any one of the two lances 21 is accidentally bent and deformed in the unlocking direction, the remaining lance 21 can maintain the locked state with the terminal fitting 80. Therefore, the holding reliability of the lance 21 is improved.
Further, since the lance 21 is locked to the stabilizer 84, a large locking allowance between the terminal fitting 80 and the lance 21 can be secured, and the retaining portion 64 of the retainer 60 can be provided at the rear end of the main body 81 without any trouble. It can be locked.

  Furthermore, the lance 21 is configured to enter the two cavities 12 adjacent in the width direction while straddling the space 18, and the lance 21 is shared by the terminal fittings 80 inserted into the two adjacent cavities 12. The form of the lance 21 can be simplified and the space-saving property can be improved as compared with the case where the two lances 21 are individually formed for each terminal fitting 80.

<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.
(1) The lance has a pair of elastic pieces that are bifurcated, and a locking portion that protrudes into both cavities adjacent to each other with a partition wall at the tip of both elastic pieces. Also good. If it carries out like this, both elastic pieces can bend and deform | transform independently from each other in the insertion process in the cavity of a terminal metal fitting.
(2) The terminal fitting may be a male terminal fitting having a cylindrical main body and a tab protruding forward from the front end of the main body.
(3) The stabilizer may be formed by knocking outward on the wall surface of the main body.
(4) The stabilizer may have a configuration in which a space is held between the first and second pieces.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector housing 12 ... Cavity 13 ... Bulkhead 14 ... Guide groove 18 ... Space part 21 ... Lance 25 ... Locking surface 80 ... Terminal metal fitting 81 ... Main-body part 84 ... Stabilizer

Claims (1)

A terminal fitting having a cylindrical main body and a stabilizer protruding outward from the main body,
Each of the terminal fittings has a cavity into which the terminal fitting is inserted, a guide groove that extends along the cavity and into which the stabilizer is inserted, and is protruded from the inner wall of the cavity to be properly inserted into the cavity. A connector housing having a lance for elastically locking the stabilizer of the terminal fitting;
The stabilizer is formed in a pair with the main body portion,
The lance is formed at a position for locking each of the stabilizers forming the pair ,
The plurality of cavities are arranged in parallel in the width direction across the partition wall in the connector housing, and are formed by notching a space portion at an end portion of the partition wall, and the lance spans the space portion and extends the width. It is configured to enter into both cavities adjacent to each other in the direction, and has locking surfaces on both sides in the width direction, and each locking surface has the stabilizer on one side of the adjacent terminal fitting inserted into the adjacent cavity. A connector that can be locked .

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