JP3268941B2 - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrical connector,
In particular, the present invention relates to an electrical connector having a contact locking member formed separately from a housing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As means for locking a conductive contact connected to an end of an electric wire in an insulating housing, a connector using an elastic arm extending from an inner wall of a housing chamber in the housing for housing the contact is widely used. Have been. This is because there is an advantage that the possibility that the contacts before being inserted into the housing are entangled with each other is extremely small as compared with the case where the elastic locking pieces are provided on the contacts themselves.

[0003]

However, forming an elastic arm integrally with the housing in the housing chamber of the housing has a problem that the structure of a mold for molding the housing is complicated. In particular, when the elastic arm is formed apart from the fitting surface, the mold pin forming the elastic arm becomes elongated, so that the complexity of the mold becomes remarkable in order to maintain its strength.

Further, when an external force acts on the contact engaged with the elastic arm in the accommodating chamber in the pulling-out direction (direction of arrow A), the fixed end of the elastic arm is offset from the line on which the external force acts. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 8, the vicinity of the free end of the elastic arm 2 that locks with the contact 1 rotates clockwise (in the direction of arrow B), and the elastic portion 2 is sheared by the locking portion 3 of the contact 1. There is a problem that there is a possibility of buckling (dashed line) or buckling (two-dot chain line). This problem is noticeable in a small connector in which the elastic arm does not have sufficient strength because the contact pitch is small.

When the contacts are locked only by a locking member (for example, see Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 5-15348) separate from the housing, the mold for molding the housing can be simplified. However, the pitch between the contacts cannot be reduced simply by providing the elastic arm on the locking member separate from the housing, that is, it is difficult to achieve the miniaturization of the contacts.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that can be downsized without complicating a molding die structure.

[0007]

The electrical connector of the present invention SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION may comprise a plurality of contacts, a housing having an accommodating chamber for accommodating a respective said contacts, and a resilient arm which retained the previous SL contacts, the Elastic arm on the side, front
Forming a projection engageable with a wall forming the storage chamber;
In the electric connector in which the displacement of the elastic arm toward the accommodation chamber is prevented , the elastic arm is formed separately from the housing.
Extending from the base of the formed locking member, the protrusion of the elastic arm
Wherein the locking member is disposed within a recess in the housing.
When it is located very close to the wall,
The base of material forms the recess of the housing
It is characterized by being ultrasonically welded to the inner surface and fixed to the housing .

[0008]

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the electric connector of the present invention. The electrical connector 10 includes a plug (male) connector 20 and a cap (female) connector 70. The plug connector 20 includes a plug housing 22, a lance member (locking member) 24, a seal member 26, and a receptacle (female) contact 28. Plug housing 22
Is formed of an insulating synthetic resin, and is formed with a plurality (eight in this embodiment) of openings 32 into which the mating tab contacts 76 enter one end fitting surface 30. The side surface 34 is provided with a locking portion 36 which engages with the latch arm 82 of the cap connector 70 to lock the connectors 20 and 70 to each other. A concave portion 40 (see FIG. 2) for accommodating the lance member 24 and the seal member 26 is formed on a surface 38 opposite to the fitting surface 30, and a plurality of accommodating chambers 42 for the receptacle contact 28.
2 (see FIG. 2) communicates with the recess 40 and the opening 32 of the fitting surface 30. The lance member 24 has a plurality of holes 44 aligned with the accommodation chamber 42.
Is formed, an elastic arm 48 extending forward from one end surface of the base 46 corresponding to the hole 44, and a triangular cross section projecting from each of the four corners of the base 46 in substantially the same direction as the elastic arm 48. And a projection 52. On both sides of the elastic arm 48, ridges (projections) 50 are formed along the elastic arm 48. The protrusion 52 is ultrasonically welded to the bottom surface 58 of the concave portion 40 of the housing 22 as described later. The seal member 26 housed in the recess 40 is formed of a known rubber such as silicone rubber, and has eight holes 60 aligned with the contact housing chamber 42, a plurality of annular protrusions 62 formed along the peripheral wall, and A plurality of annular protrusions formed on the inner wall of the hole 60
64 (see FIG. 2).

The cap connector 70 includes a cap housing 72, a lance member 24, a seal member 26, a seal ring 74, and a tab (male) contact 76. The cap housing 72 is formed of an insulating synthetic resin, and has a fitting recess 78 (FIG. 7) for receiving the fitting surface 30 of the plug housing 22 at one end.
Reference). A latch arm 82 engageable with the locking portion 36 is provided on the upper wall 80 forming the fitting concave portion 78. In the vicinity of the latch ram 82, a step surface 88 formed one step inside the walls 80, 84, 86 from the upper wall 80 to the side walls 84, 86 facing each other, and a fitting recess 78 is formed at the center of the step surface 88. And an opening 90 that communicates therewith. The seal ring 74 is inserted into the fitting recess 78 through the opening 90. The step surface 88 and the opening 90 are covered by a cover member 92,
The cover member 92 is fixed to the housing 72 by ultrasonic welding as described later. At the other end of the cap housing 72, a recess 94 for receiving the lance member 24 and the seal member 26 is formed, and a plurality of storage chambers 96 (see FIG. 7) for the tab contacts 76 are formed in the recess 90 and the fitting recess 78. Communicate. Since the lance member 24 and the seal member 26 can be shared with those of the plug connector 20, the cost of the mold can be reduced.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state where the lance member is temporarily inserted into the plug housing. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the lance member is fixed to the plug housing. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the elastic arm of the lance member.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. The procedure for assembling the plug connector 20 is as follows. First, Figure 2
In, the lance member 24 is inserted into the concave portion 40 until the projection 52 comes into contact with the bottom surface 58 of the concave portion 40 of the plug housing 22. Next, when ultrasonic vibration is applied by bringing a tool horn (not shown) into contact with the other end surface 54 of the base 46 of the lance member 24, as shown in FIG.
24 is fixed to the plug housing 22. Locking by ultrasonic vibration can reduce the volume required for locking (fixing) as compared with locking by a latch arm or the like, and is therefore suitable for downsizing the connector. Subsequently, after inserting the seal member 26 into the concave portion 40, the contact 28 (see FIG. 1) connected to the electric wire W is inserted into the housing chamber 42 of the plug housing 22 through the hole 60. The elastic arm 48 of the lance member 24 as shown in FIG.
On both sides, ridges (protrusions) 50, 50 (only one is shown) are formed. As shown in FIGS.
It is located below the wall 66 forming the storage chamber 42. For this reason,
The elastic arm 48 does not prevent the downward displacement of the elastic arm 48 when the contact 28 enters the accommodation chamber 42.
When external force is applied to the contact 28 in the direction of retreat after being locked to the contact 28, the elastic arm is formed by the contact of the ridge 50 and the wall 66.
The clockwise rotation of 48 (FIG. 3), ie, the corresponding accommodation chamber 42
Prevent displacement to the side. Therefore, buckling or the like of the elastic arm 48 is prevented, and the locking force of the contact 28 is significantly enhanced.

The gap 68 between the opposing walls 66, 66 is an elastic arm.
It is for placing 48. The space dedicated to the elastic arm 48 can be reduced by the elastic arm 48 being disposed so as to penetrate the wall 66 between the accommodation chambers 42 and 42 adjacent in the vertical direction,
The pitch of the accommodation chambers 42, 42, that is, the pitch of the contacts 28, 28 (see FIG. 1) can be significantly reduced. A groove 69 communicating with the opening 32 is formed in front of the gap 68, and a tool (not shown) is externally inserted along the groove 69, and the elastic arm 48 is displaced downward to erroneously receive the groove. The contact 28 housed in the chamber 42 can be removed.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a state before the cover member is fixed to the cap housing. FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a state where the cap housing cover member and the lance member are fixed. The procedure for assembling the cap connector is as follows. First, the seal ring 74 is inserted into the fitting concave portion 78 from the opening 90. Next, the inner edge 98a of the protrusion 98 formed along the entire periphery of the back surface of the cover member 92 is connected to the step surface 88.
The cover member 92 covers the step surface 88 and the opening 90 by making contact with the inclined surface 88a. Subsequently, when a tool horn (not shown) is brought into contact with the outer surface of the cover member 92 and ultrasonic vibration is applied, the inner edge 98a of the projection 98 is melted and the cover member 92 is fixed to the cap housing 72. . Melted inner edge 98
The material of a flows into the concave portion 88b which is continuous with the inclined surface 88a, and does not flow out into the outer surface of the housing 72 or into the opening 90. Since the seal ring 74 is prevented from falling off by the step 79 of the fitting concave portion 78 and the cover member 92, it does not fall off the cap housing 72. Further, since the seal ring 74 is inserted from the side of the housing 72, the insertion is easy, and it is possible to visually check whether or not the insertion is completed. Next, after inserting the lance member 24 into the concave portion 94 on the other end side, the lance member is
Then, the seal member 26 and the tab contact 76 connected to the electric wire W are attached. Since the assembly of each member is easy, it is easy to respond to automatic assembly.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and changes can be made as needed. For example, in the case of a non-waterproof connector, the seal member 26 and the seal ring 74
May be excluded. When it is desired to lock the contacts doubly, a double locking member may be inserted from the side of the housing, for example.

[0016]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the structure of the molding die is complicated by the engagement of the projection of the elastic arm of the locking member separate from the housing and the wall forming the housing chamber. Therefore, a sufficient contact locking force can be obtained even when the connector is downsized.

[0017]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing one embodiment of an electric connector of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state in which a locking member is temporarily inserted into a plug housing.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a state in which a locking member is fixed to a plug housing.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an elastic arm of a locking member.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a state before a cover member is fixed to a cap housing.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a state in which a cover member and a locking member are fixed to a cap housing.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a problem of the conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 22, 72 Housing 24 Lance member (locking member) 28, 76 Contact 42, 96 Storage room 48 Elastic arm 50 Ridge (protrusion) 66 Wall

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] And 1. A plurality of contacts, comprising a housing having a housing chamber for housing a respective said contacts, and a resilient arm which retained the previous SL contacts the side of the elastic arm
On the surface, a projection is formed which can be engaged with a wall forming the storage chamber.
In the electrical connector, wherein the elastic arm is prevented from being displaced toward the accommodation chamber , the elastic arm may be formed separately from the housing.
The protrusion of the elastic arm extends from the base of the stop member, and the locking member is
Very close to the wall when placed in the recess of the
Wherein the base of the locking member is located in the recess of the housing
Is ultrasonically welded to the inner surface forming the
Electrical connector, characterized in that it is a constant.