JP2000077131A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve assembling workability of electric cables to a cover. SOLUTION: When each cable 4 is pierced through each cable piercing hole 20, retaining pieces 22 abut on an outer circumference of the cable 4 with them displaced to the piercing direction of the cable 4 and bent to enlarge a diameter of the cable piercing hole 20. When a pulling force to the opposite direction of the displacement direction of the retaining pieces 22 is applied to this cable 4, the retaining pieces 22 are returned to the pulling direction and displaced such that their inner circumferential edges bite into the outer circumference of the cable 4. When this biting reaches a limit, the returning action of the retaining pieces 22 and the movement of the cable 4 to the pulling direction stop. Thereby, application of the pulling force to an engaging part of a terminal metal fitting and a lance is prevented. Because assembling work of the cable 4 to a cover 2 is easily completed by only piercing the cable 4 through the cable piercing hole 20, the assembling workability is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a connector in which a terminal fitting is inserted into a housing to prevent the terminal fitting from being pulled out and a wire connected to the terminal fitting is extended to the rear of the housing,
Means may be taken to prevent the tensile force from directly affecting the engagement between the terminal fitting and the lance when a tensile force is applied to the electric wire. There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-55574.

In this connector, as shown in FIG. 6, a pair of upper and lower covers b and c are provided at a rear portion of a housing a and ribs are provided on inner surfaces of both covers b and c by shifting the positions in the extending direction of the electric wire d. e and f are formed so as to sandwich the electric wire d between the covers b and c. The electric wire d is routed in a wavy manner by the ribs e and f inside the covers b and c. In such a structure, when a tensile force acts on the electric wire d and the electric wire d tries to expand in the covers b and c, the distal ends of the ribs e and f bit into the electric wire d, so that the displacement of the electric wire d in the tensile direction is reduced. As a result, the engaging portion between the terminal fitting and the lance (not shown) in the housing a is not subjected to a tensile force.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional connector, the electric wire d is sandwiched between the pair of covers b and c and the electric wire d is elastically bent by the ribs e and f and assembled. If d is large or the number is large, the elastic restoring force of the electric wire d increases, and the cover b,
It becomes difficult to combine c. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to improve workability when assembling an electric wire and a cover.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a housing, a terminal fitting inserted into the housing and prevented from being removed by a lance, and an electric wire connected to the terminal fitting and extending from the housing. A cover having an electric wire through hole for penetrating the electric wire and being attached so as to cover the electric wire extending surface of the housing, wherein the electric wire through hole is provided with the electric wire in a non-penetrating state. Along with being formed so as to have a smaller diameter than the outer diameter, at the hole edge of the electric wire through hole, by forming a radial slit, a flexible holding piece is formed between the slits, and the electric wire is formed. In a state penetrated by the electric wire through hole, the holding piece is expanded and bent while being displaced to the wire extending surface side, and the inner peripheral edge of the holding piece is brought into contact with the outer periphery of the electric wire.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the cover is provided with an elastic pressing piece which can be pressed in a direction in which the electric wire is bent. When no tensile force is applied to the wire, the wire is held in a curved shape, and when a tensile force is applied to the wire, the wire is elastically bent to allow the wire to extend and displace.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the electric wire is penetrated into the electric wire through hole, the holding piece is displaced toward the wire extending surface side and bends and expands in diameter, so that the inner peripheral edge of the holding piece is the electric wire. Is in contact with the outer periphery of At this time, the wires are slightly curved inside the cover so that the wires can be displaced in the axial direction with respect to the wire through holes. When a tensile force is applied to the electric wire in the direction in which the electric wire extends from the wire extending surface, the holding piece is displaced in a direction away from the wire extending surface and returns in the radially reduced direction to bend. Become like When the bite reaches the limit, the return bending of the holding piece and the movement of the electric wire in the pulling direction are stopped, thereby preventing the pulling force from acting on the engaging portion between the terminal fitting and the lance. Also, assembling the cover and the wire is a simple operation of passing the wire through the wire through hole,
Good workability.

[0008] When a tensile force is applied to the electric wire, the electric wire slightly moves in the pulling direction in the electric wire through hole until the effect of restricting the electric wire by the holding piece is exerted. Therefore, if the electric wire is linear in the cover, the pulling force acts directly on the engaging portion between the terminal fitting and the lance. However, in the present invention,
When no tensile force is applied to the wires, the wires are held in a curved state inside the cover. It is possible to reliably prevent the tensile force from being applied to the terminal fittings only by the elongation deformation.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows an exploded state of the connector according to the present embodiment. This connector includes a housing 1 and a cover 2 mounted on the housing 1.
Both the housing 1 and the cover 2 are molded products of synthetic resin. The cover 2 is of a split type including a first cover 2a and a second cover 2b.

A housing hole 5 for the terminal fitting 3 is provided in the housing 1.
Two terminal fittings 3 (see FIG. 2) are fixed through the insertion holes 6 opened in the rear surface of the housing 1 so as to be fixed in the respective accommodation holes 5. It has become so. A terminal fitting 3 is provided at the inner bottom of each accommodation hole 5.
When the terminal fitting 3 is inserted, the terminal fitting 3 is elastically deformed by interference with the lower surface of the distal end portion to allow the terminal fitting 3 to enter. A lance 7 is provided for engaging the terminal 10 to prevent the terminal fitting 3 from coming off.

The rear end of the housing 1 has a reduced diameter step 11 for mounting the first cover 2a and the second cover 2b.
Are formed, and a fitting groove 12 is provided on the peripheral surface thereof. The first cover 2a and the second cover 2b are attached to the reduced-diameter stepped portion 11 of the housing 1 so as to be substantially tightly integrated with each other, and to extend the wire 4 extending from the insertion port 6 at the rear end of the housing 1. The outlet surface 14 is covered in a substantially sealed shape. A ridge 15 which is fitted approximately tightly into the fitting groove 12 of the reduced diameter step 11 on the inner peripheral surface of the first cover 2a and the inner peripheral surface of the second cover 2b which are fitted externally to the reduced diameter step 11 of the housing 1; 16 are provided around.

On both side surfaces of the first cover 2a, lock projections 17 are formed near the abutting portion with the second cover 2b, and on both side surfaces of the second cover 2b, A lock piece 18 corresponding to the lock projection 17 of the cover 2a is formed. The lock projection 17 has a tapered surface 17a, and the lock piece 18 has a lock hole 18a through which the lock projection 17 can be fitted. Each ridge 1 of the first cover 2a and the second cover 2b
5 and 16 are externally fitted to the reduced diameter step 11 of the housing 1,
When the first cover 2a and the second cover 2b are pressed against each other, the lock piece 18 is elastically deformed by the engagement between the leading edge of the lock piece 18 of the second cover 2b and the tapered surface 17a of the lock projection 17 of the first cover 2a. When the first cover 2a and the second cover 2b abut against each other, the lock projections 17 are fitted into the lock holes 18a by the elastic restoration of the lock pieces 18. As a result, the first cover 2a and the second cover 2b are locked irremovably from each other, and the housing 1
Is fixed to the reduced-diameter step portion 11 so that it cannot be removed.

An electric wire through hole 20 for inserting the electric wire 4 extending from the housing 1 is provided in the rear end face of the first cover 2a.
Is formed at a position corresponding to the rear of each insertion port 6 of the housing 1. Slits 21 are formed radially at equal angular intervals of 45 degrees at the hole edge of the electric wire through hole 20, and a total of eight holding pieces 22 are partitioned by the slits 21.
Are formed. As is clear from FIG. 5, the edge of the electric wire through hole 20 is thin, so that each holding piece 22 is easily bent in the axial direction of the electric wire through hole 20. The inner diameter of the electric wire through hole 20 in the free state is set slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the electric wire 4 as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, an elastic pressing piece 23 is formed on the inner bottom surface of the second cover 2b. The elastic pressing piece 23 is formed by connecting a protruding bending portion 23a to a free end of a leg portion having a width extending over the two electric wires 4, and the bending portion 23a
In the free state, as shown in FIG. 2, the height of the wire 4 is set to be high enough to bend a portion of the wire 4 extending from the housing 1 and reaching the wire through hole 20. Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. When the connector is connected to the electric wire 4, in the disassembled state of the connector shown in FIG. 1, first, the electric wire 4 to which the terminal fitting 3 is not connected is outside the electric wire through hole 20 of the first cover 2 a (FIG. At the right). When the electric wire 4 is inserted, the holding pieces 22 of the electric wire through hole 20 are displaced obliquely to the front side (the electric wire extending surface 14 side = the left side in FIG. 2) in the insertion direction of the electric wire 4 to cause radial expansion and bending. Thus, the insertion of the electric wire 4 is permitted. Thereafter, the terminal fittings 3 are crimped to the ends of the electric wires 4 respectively. Then, these terminal fittings 3 are inserted and fixed in the respective accommodation holes 5 of the housing 1. The operation of fixing the inserted terminal fittings 3 in a retaining state has been described above, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

Next, the first cover 2a and the second cover 2
b is attached to the housing 1 as described above. When the first cover 2a and the second cover 2b are attached, each wire 4 is pressed in the radial direction by the curved portion 23a of the elastic pressing piece 23 of the second cover 2b. The external electric wire 4 is pulled into the inside 20, and the electric wire 4 is brought into a curved state as shown in FIG. Here, since each holding piece 22 of the electric wire through hole 20 of the first cover 2a has fallen forward in the insertion direction of the electric wire 4 as described above, the electric wire 4
The resistance at the time of pulling in is small. Therefore, this electric wire 4
During the retraction, the elastic pressing piece 23 of the second cover 2b hardly bends and remains substantially free.

The connection of the connector to the electric wire 4 is performed as described above. When a pulling force acts on the electric wire 4 in a direction of pulling out from the connector (a direction of separating from the electric wire extending surface 14) after the connection, FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the holding pieces 22 returns in the pulling direction and is displaced so that its inner peripheral edge bites into the outer periphery (resin coating) of the electric wire 4. When the bite reaches the limit, the return operation of each holding piece 22 and the movement of the electric wire 4 in the pulling direction are stopped, and the elastic pressing piece 23 of the second cover 2b is moved with the movement of the electric wire 4 at this time. By elastically deforming as shown in FIG.
The wire 4 is allowed to move in the pulling direction, and
Since the bent portion remains in the electric wire 4 even after the movement of the wire 4 has stopped, an excessive force acts on the engaging portion between the locking hole 10 of the terminal fitting 3 and the locking portion 8 of the lance 7. Is prevented.

In this embodiment, the cover 2 and the electric wire 4
Since the simple operation of passing the electric wire 4 through the electric wire through hole 20 is sufficient, the workability is good. When a tensile force acts on the wire 4, the wire 4 slightly moves in the wire through hole 20 in the pulling direction until the displacement restricting effect of the holding piece 22 is exerted. Therefore, if the electric wire 4 is linear in the cover 2, the tensile force acts directly on the engaging portion between the terminal fitting 3 and the lance 7. However, according to the present invention, when no tensile force acts on the electric wire 4, the electric wire 4
Is held in a curved state, even if the wire 4 moves in the pulling direction until the holding effect of the holding piece 22 is exerted, the wire 4 only expands and deforms, and the pulling force is reduced. Is reliably prevented.

[Other Embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the above embodiment, the number of the holding pieces of the electric wire through hole is eight, but according to the present invention, it may be seven or less or nine or more. (2) In the above embodiment, the holding piece is provided in a uniform angular range over the entire circumference, but the direction of the tensile force acting on the electric wire is oblique to the axial direction, and the direction is grasped in advance. In this case, the holding piece may be provided only at the position where the tensile force is strongly received, or the strength of the holding piece that receives the tensile force may be increased.

(3) In the above embodiment, the elastic pressing piece for bending the electric wire is provided inside the cover, but according to the present invention, the electric wire is passed through the electric wire through hole without the elastic pressing piece. At this time, the electric wire may be slightly pushed into the inside of the cover in advance. (4) Although the wire cover is made of resin in the above embodiment,
According to the invention, it may be made of metal. (5) In the above embodiment, the electric wire cover is constituted by two parts, but according to the present invention, it may be a single part. (6) In the above embodiment, the electric wire is passed through the electric wire through hole from the outside of the cover, but the holding piece is displaced in advance in a direction opposite to the tensile force acting on the electric wire by using a jig to expand the diameter. In this state, the electric wire may be passed through the electric wire through hole from the inside of the cover. (7) In the above-described embodiment, the terminal fitting is passed through the wire through hole before the terminal fitting is crimped to the wire. However, when the external dimensions of the terminal fitting are not large with respect to the outer diameter of the wire, the radial direction of the holding piece is used. By increasing the size of the holding piece and increasing the amount of bending of the holding piece, the wire may be passed from the outside of the cover together with the terminal fitting after the terminal fitting is crimped to the wire.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connector according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a normal state of the connector according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a state in which a tensile force acts on the electric wire of the connector according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view around a wire through hole of the connector according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the connector according to the first embodiment,
A section view

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a conventional connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Housing 2 ... Cover 3 ... Terminal metal fitting 4 ... Wire 7 ... Lance 14 ... Wire extension surface 20 ... Wire through hole 21 ... Slit 22 ... Holding piece 23 ... Elastic pressing piece

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A housing, a terminal fitting inserted into the housing and prevented from being removed by a lance, an electric wire connected to the terminal fitting and extending from the housing, and an electric wire penetrating hole for penetrating the electric wire. And a cover attached so as to cover the wire extension surface of the housing, wherein the wire through hole is formed so as to have a smaller diameter than the outer diameter of the wire in a state where the wire is not penetrated. In addition, at the hole edge of the electric wire through-hole, a holding piece that can be bent between the slits is formed by forming a radial slit, and in a state where the electric wire is penetrated through the electric wire through-hole, The connector, wherein the holding piece is expanded and bent while being displaced to the wire extending surface side, and an inner peripheral edge of the holding piece is brought into contact with an outer periphery of the electric wire. 2. An elastic pressing piece which can be pressed in a direction to bend the electric wire is provided in the cover, and the elastic pressing piece is used to apply the electric wire when no tensile force acts on the electric wire. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is held in a curved shape, and elastically bends when a tensile force acts on the electric wire, thereby permitting the electric wire to extend and displace.