JP3888185B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connector provided with a lance.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a connector described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-222321 is known as a connector including a lance that can be locked to a terminal fitting and an insertion groove through which a stabilizer provided on the terminal fitting can be inserted. As shown in FIG. 11, when the terminal fitting 2 is inserted into the cavity 3 of the connector housing 1, the stabilizer 4 is inserted into the insertion groove 5 provided on the lower surface side edge of the cavity 3. The insertion operation is guided, and the cantilever lance 6 protruding from the lower surface of the cavity 3 is once bent and deformed by the terminal fitting 2. When the terminal fitting 2 is inserted to the normal depth, the stabilizer 4 is arranged on the side of the lance 6 and the lance 6 is returned and locked to the terminal fitting 2 to prevent the terminal fitting 2 from coming off. Is planned.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the connector, the lance 6 and the insertion groove 5 overlap each other in the front-rear direction, and the insertion groove 5 has a form in which a side edge of the lance 6 is cut away. For this reason, the width dimension of the lance 6 is reduced by the insertion groove 5, and the ratio of the width dimension of the lance 6 to the width dimension of the cavity 3 is reduced. Therefore, when there is a request to reduce the size of the connector, the width dimension of the cavity 3 when the width dimension of the lance 6 is set to a minimum size that can provide the required strength is increased by the insertion groove 5. For this reason, there is a limit to miniaturizing the connector.
The present invention has been completed based on the above situation, and an object thereof is to reduce the size of a connector.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is directed to a connector housing in which a terminal metal fitting can be inserted from the rear, and a terminal metal fitting provided and inserted on the inner side surface of the cavity. The connector housing has a lance that can be elastically locked and an insertion groove that is provided on the inner surface of the cavity provided with the lance and through which a stabilizer protruding from the terminal fitting can be inserted. A retainer mounting hole is opened on the rear side of the lance, and a retainer having a locking projection projecting into the retainer mounting hole is provided with a temporary locking position for allowing insertion and removal of the terminal metal and the terminal metal. It is possible to move between the locking projection and the main locking position, and the retainer is provided with an insertion recess adjacent to the locking projection, The insertion recess is aligned with the insertion groove when the retainer is in the temporary locking position so that the stabilizer can be inserted, while the lance and the insertion groove are separated from each other in the front-rear direction. And the width dimension of the lance is characterized by being set slightly larger than the dimension obtained by subtracting the width dimension of the insertion groove from the width dimension of the cavity. .
[0005]
The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1, the lance is formed in a double-supported form in which both ends are supported.
[0006]
[Action and effect of the invention]
<Invention of Claim 1>
When the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity, the stabilizer is inserted into the insertion groove to guide the insertion operation, and the lance is bent and deformed by the terminal fitting. When the terminal fitting is inserted to the normal depth, the lance is restored and locked against the terminal fitting to prevent the terminal fitting from coming off.
Since the lance and the insertion groove are arranged apart from each other in the front-rear direction and overlapped in the width direction, the lance is not cut out by the insertion groove as in the prior art, and the width of the lance with respect to the cavity width dimension. A large ratio of dimensions can be secured. Accordingly, the width dimension of the cavity when the width dimension of the lance is set to a minimum size that can provide the required strength can be made as small as possible, thereby miniaturizing the connector.
[0007]
<Invention of Claim 2>
Since the lance has a double-sided shape, for example, compared to a cantilevered type, the strength can be kept high even if the thickness is reduced. Therefore, the connector can be further reduced in size without impairing the strength of the lance.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector shown in this embodiment includes a connector housing 20 (hereinafter simply referred to as the housing 20), a terminal fitting 10 accommodated therein, and a retainer 40 that prevents the terminal fitting 10 from coming off. In the following, the insertion direction of the terminal fitting 10 with respect to the housing 20 is referred to as the front, and the description in the vertical direction is based on each drawing excluding FIGS. 3 and 6.
[0009]
As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal fitting 10 is formed into a predetermined shape by pressing a metal plate, and includes a main body portion 11 that can be conductively connected to the mating male terminal in order from the front side, and an electric wire (not shown). ) And a barrel portion 13 capable of caulking and holding an electric wire. As shown in FIG. 4, the main body portion 11 is formed in a box shape that opens to the front and rear, and is protruded from the projecting ends of a pair of side walls 11 b that rise from both side edges of the base wall 11 a that extends forward and backward. The projection pieces 11c and 11d are bent and overlapped vertically. As shown in FIG. 5, the outer protruding piece 11c of both the protruding pieces 11c, 11d is formed with a relief portion 14 for releasing the lance 28 by cutting out the central portion over a predetermined length. The front surface of the relief portion 14 is a locked portion 15 to which the lance 28 can be locked. The stabilizer 16 is formed by partially projecting the rear part of the inner protruding piece 11d downward. At the lower end of the rear end of the main body portion 11, a jaw portion 17 is provided that can lock the locking protrusion 43 of the retainer 40. The rear surfaces of the jaw portion 17 and the stabilizer 16 are flush with each other.
[0010]
The housing 20 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 1, the whole is formed in a substantially block shape, and a cavity 21 into which the terminal fitting 10 can be inserted from the rear is vertically arranged in two stages in the width direction. Eight rooms are provided side by side. The cavities 21 adjacent in the vertical direction are partitioned by a partition wall 22. The partition wall 22 forms the lower wall of the upper cavity 21 and the upper wall of the lower cavity 21. The partition wall 22 and the bottom wall 23 which is the outer wall of the housing 20 forming the lower wall of the lower cavity 21 are elastically attached to the terminal fitting 10 inserted into each cavity 21 as will be described in detail later. A lockable lance 28 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, an insertion groove 24 into which the stabilizer 16 of the terminal fitting 10 can be inserted is provided on the lower surface side edge of each cavity 21 so as to open rearward. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the front wall 25 of the cavity 21 is provided with a through hole 26 that opens each cavity 21 forward and allows the mating male terminal to be inserted from the front. .
[0011]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a retainer mounting hole 27 to which the retainer 40 can be mounted from below is provided on the lower surface of the housing 20. The retainer mounting hole 27 is arranged at a substantially central position in the front-rear direction of the housing 20 and is formed to communicate with all the cavities 21 so as to divide the partition wall 22 and the bottom wall 23 back and forth. As shown in FIG. 1, the retainer 40 includes a lattice-shaped main body 41 having partition walls 42 at positions corresponding to the side walls of the cavities 21 of the housing 20. At the intermediate position, a locking projection 43 that can be locked to the jaw portion 17 of the terminal fitting 10 is provided so as to protrude upward. An insertion recess 44 that allows the stabilizer 16 to be inserted by communicating with the insertion groove 24 of the housing 20 is provided on the right side of each locking protrusion 43 in FIG. The retainer 40 with respect to the housing 20 has a temporary engagement that allows the insertion of the terminal fitting 10 into the cavity 21 by allowing the insertion recess 44 to align with the insertion groove 24 and retracting the locking projection 43 from the cavity 21. It can be held by predetermined holding means at two positions: a stop position (FIG. 5) and a main locking position (FIG. 9) where the locking projection 43 enters the cavity 21 and is locked to the jaw portion 17. And moved up and down between two positions.
[0012]
Now, as shown in FIG. 5, the lance 28 is provided on the lower surface side of each cavity 21, and the front portion of the partition wall 22 and the bottom wall 23 with respect to the retainer mounting hole 27 is cut out in a predetermined shape. It is formed with. The lance 28 is roughly provided with a both-side-supported arm portion 29 supported at both front and rear ends, and a locking portion that can be locked to the locked portion 15 of the terminal fitting 10 on the upper surface of the arm portion 29. 30.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 6, the arm portion 29 extends along the front-rear direction, the rear end side is connected to a position immediately before the insertion groove 24 in the partition wall 22 (bottom wall 23), and the front end side is connected to the front wall 25. High strength is obtained by being formed in the shape of a both-end supported beam. In other words, the arm portion 29 and the insertion groove 24 of the lance 28 are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction. The arm portion 29 has a width dimension slightly smaller than the width dimension of the cavity 21. More specifically, as clearly shown in FIG. 6, the arm portion 29 is disposed so as to overlap the insertion groove 24 in the width direction, and the width dimension of the arm portion 29 is determined from the width dimension of the cavity 21. The dimension is set slightly larger than the dimension obtained by subtracting the width dimension of the insertion groove 24. The arm portion 29 can be elastically deformed with the connecting portions at the front and rear ends as bending fulcrums, and is retracted into a bending allowable space 31 formed below. As shown in FIG. 7, the arm portion 29 has a substantially arcuate shape with a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction being the lowest end, and the displacement locus of each part accompanying the bending deformation is substantially linear along the up-down direction. It has become a thing.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 5, the locking portion 30 is formed so as to protrude from the upper surface of the arm portion 29 into the cavity 21, and its height dimension is locked over almost the entire height of the locked portion 15 of the terminal fitting 10. It is set to a size. As shown in FIG. 6, the locking portion 30 is disposed at the center position in the width direction of the arm portion 29 and has a length dimension from the rear end position of the arm portion 29 to the substantially center position in the front-rear direction. Has been. The front surface of the locking portion 30 can be locked to the locked portion 15 of the terminal fitting 10 and is an end face that is perpendicular to the insertion direction of the terminal fitting 10. The rear surface of the locking portion 30 is a tapered surface that can be guided so as to bend and deform the arm portion 29 by being pressed by the terminal fitting 10 inserted into the cavity 21. When the arm portion 29 is bent and deformed by the pressing of the terminal fitting 10, the upper end of the locking portion 30 is displaced to the same height as the lower surface of the cavity 21 as shown in FIG. A substantially central portion in the direction is retracted into the bending allowance space 31 by the height dimension of the locking portion 30. The size of the allowable bending space 31 is set to be slightly larger than the height dimension of the locking portion 30, so that the arm portion 29 of the upper lance 28 does not enter the lower cavity 21. The 28 arm portions 29 do not protrude downward from the lower surface of the housing 20.
[0015]
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an operation recess 32 that opens forward from the front surface position of the locking portion 30 is provided at the center position in the width direction of the arm portion 29. The operation recess 32 is formed at two levels in the front and rear, and a rear region 32 a from the front surface position of the locking portion 30 to the front surface position of the cavity 21 (the rear surface position of the front wall 25) is the arm portion 29. It is formed in a groove shape having a depth of about 1/3 of the thickness dimension, and the front region 32b is formed so as to divide the arm portion 29 into two forks. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, both side portions in the width direction sandwiching the operation recess 32 in the front end portion of the arm portion 29 are respectively connected to the front wall 25. As shown in FIG. 10, a release jig 50 can be inserted into the operation recess 32 from outside the front, and the lance 28 is forced by pressing the bottom surface of the rear region 32a of the operation recess 32 downward. Can be flexibly deformed. A tapered guide surface 33 for guiding the insertion of the release jig 50 is formed in a step portion (a front end portion in the center in the width direction of the arm portion 29) located between the regions 32a and 32b before and after the operation recess 32. Has been. The operation recess 32 is arranged at a position directly below the through hole 26 of the front wall 25, and the opening area thereof is smaller than that of the through hole 26.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 6, the locking portion 30 and the operation recess 32 are provided at the center position in the width direction of the arm portion 29 as described above, whereas the upper surfaces of both sides in the width direction of the arm portion 29 are the cavities. The terminal fitting 10 inserted into the cavity 21 can be supported.
[0017]
The present embodiment has the above-described structure, and the operation thereof will be described subsequently. As shown in FIG. 5, when the terminal fitting 10 is inserted into each cavity 21 from the rear in a state where the retainer 40 is attached to the housing 20 in the temporary locking position, the stabilizer 16 is inserted into the insertion groove 24 or the insertion recess 44. The insertion operation is smoothly guided by the sliding contact. When the terminal fitting 10 is inserted to a predetermined depth, the lower front end portion of the main body 11 is engaged with the rear surface of the locking portion 30 of the lance 28, and as shown in FIG. While being guided by the taper 30, the arm portion 29 is bent and deformed downward and retracted into the bending allowance space 31. At this time, the lance 28 is deformed into a substantially arcuate shape with the connecting portions at both front and rear ends as fulcrums, and the amount of displacement at the substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of the lance 28 that is displaced the most is approximately the same as the height of the locking portion 30. It is said. The displacement trajectory of each part of the lance 28 in this bending process is substantially linear along the vertical direction.
[0018]
Then, when the terminal fitting 10 is inserted to the normal depth, as shown in FIG. 8, the arm portion 29 is elastically restored while the locking portion 30 enters the escape portion 14 of the main body portion 11, and the locking portion 30. Is locked to the locked portion 15. Thereby, the primary locking of the terminal metal fitting 10 is achieved. At this time, the main body 11 of the terminal fitting 10 is firmly supported by the lower wall of the cavity 21 and the both sides in the width direction of the arm 29 of the lance 28 over substantially the entire length.
[0019]
When all the terminal fittings 10 are inserted into the cavity 21, the retainer 40 is pushed from the temporary locking position to the final locking position. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the secondary locking of the terminal fitting 10 is completed by the locking protrusion 43 of the retainer 40 being locked to the jaw portion 17 of the main body 11. Accordingly, the terminal fitting 10 is held from the housing 20 in a state of being prevented from coming off. In addition, when inserting the terminal fitting 10 into the cavity 21, for example, when the terminal fitting 10 is to be inserted in an upside down orientation from the normal posture, the stabilizer 16 hits the peripheral portion of the cavity 21. The insertion operation is restricted, and it is detected that the insertion posture of the terminal fitting 10 is incorrect (see FIG. 5).
[0020]
On the other hand, the terminal fitting 10 may be removed from the housing 20 for maintenance or other reasons. In that case, the retainer 40 is returned to the temporary locking position, and the release jig 50 is inserted into the operation recess 32 provided in the lance 28 from the front of the housing 20. The release jig 50 is smoothly inserted between the terminal fitting 10 and the lance 28 by being in sliding contact with the guide surface 33 of the release recess. When the release jig 50 reaches a predetermined depth depth position in the rear region 32a of the operation recess 32, the tip of the release jig 50 is inclined downward to press the lance 28 downward as shown in FIG. As a result, the arm portion 29 is forcibly bent and deformed, and the terminal fitting 10 is pulled out from the cavity 21 while releasing the locking state between the locking portion 30 and the locked portion 15.
[0021]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the lance 28 and the insertion groove 24 are arranged so as to be separated from each other in the front-rear direction and so as to overlap each other in the width direction. A large ratio of the width dimension of the lance 28 to the width dimension of the cavity 21 can be ensured without being cut out. Therefore, the width dimension of the cavity 21 when the width dimension of the lance 28 is set to a minimum size that can obtain the required strength can be made as small as possible, thereby miniaturizing the connector.
[0022]
Furthermore, since the lance 28 is in a double-supported shape in which both front and rear end portions are supported, the strength can be kept high even if the thickness is reduced compared to the conventional cantilevered shape. It is possible to reduce the size of the connector without damaging it. Moreover, since the lance 5 shown in the prior art is cantilevered as shown in FIG. 11, the displacement trajectory of each part accompanying the bending deformation is arc-shaped. It is necessary to secure a large bending allowance space 4 by an amount that allows the release operation protrusion 8 that protrudes to the side to escape. However, if the lance 28 is supported in a double-end manner as in this embodiment, the bending allowance space 31 is relatively small. This can contribute to the miniaturization of the connector.
[0023]
In addition, since the lance 28 also serves as the partition wall 22 that partitions the vertically adjacent cavities 21 or the bottom wall 23 that is the outer wall of the housing 20, it can contribute to further miniaturization of the connector. In addition, since the lance 28 has a double-sided shape, the terminal fitting 10 inserted into the cavity 21 can be firmly supported as compared with a cantilevered type. In addition, in the case where the conventional cantilever lance 28 also serves as the outer wall or the partition wall 22, the terminal fitting 10 is exposed as much as the free end side of the lance 28 is separated, The double-sided lance 28 can reduce the exposed region of the terminal fitting 10 and is advantageous in terms of protection.
[0024]
Furthermore, since the operation recess 32 is provided by recessing the lance 28, it is possible to contribute to the miniaturization of the connector as compared with the case where the operation part is provided in a form protruding from the lance 28, for example.
[0025]
<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-described embodiment, the lance is shown in which both the front and rear ends are supported. For example, the lance extends in the width direction, and the both ends in the width direction are supported, so that the lance is doubly supported. Are also included in the present invention.
[0026]
(2) In the above-described embodiment, the lance and the insertion groove are disposed on the lower surface side of the cavity. However, the present invention includes, for example, those disposed on the upper surface side and the side surface side of the cavity.
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the lance is used as a partition wall between cavities adjacent to each other and a bottom wall that is an outer wall of the housing. However, a partition wall or an outer wall may be provided separately from the lance. Often, such are also included in the present invention.
(4) In the above-described embodiment, the operation recess is provided by recessing the lance. However, the operation portion may be provided so as to protrude from the outer surface of the lance. included.
[0027]
(5) In the above-described embodiment, the connector having the upper and lower two-stage cavities has been described. However, the present invention includes a connector having three or more upper and lower cavities and a single cavity.
(6) In the above-described embodiment, the female connector having the pressure-contact type terminal fitting has been shown. However, the terminal fitting may be of a type in which the core of the electric wire is crimped, and the male connector is also of the present type. The invention can be applied.
(7) In each of the above-described embodiments, the lance has a double-sided lance. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to a cantilevered lance as shown in the conventional example.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is a front view of a housing and a retainer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the housing. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the housing. FIG. 4 is a front view of a terminal fitting. Side sectional view of the housing and terminal fitting assembled at the locking position [Fig. 6] Flat sectional view of the housing [Fig. 7] Side sectional view showing a state in the middle of inserting the terminal fitting [Fig. FIG. 9 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the retainer is moved to the full locking position. FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the lance is bent by a release jig. FIG. 11 is a sectional side view of a conventional example.
10 ... Terminal metal fitting 16 ... Stabilizer 20 ... Housing (connector housing)
21 ... Cavity 24 ... Insertion groove 28 ... Lance

Claims (2)

The connector housing has a cavity into which the terminal fitting can be inserted from the rear, a lance provided on the inner surface of the cavity and capable of being elastically locked to the inserted terminal fitting, and an inner surface of the cavity provided with the lance. Provided with an insertion groove through which a stabilizer protruding from the terminal fitting can be inserted,
A retainer mounting hole is opened on the lower surface of the connector housing on the rear side of the lance, and a retainer having a locking projection projecting into the retainer mounting hole allows temporary insertion and removal of the terminal fitting. It is possible to move between the locking position and the main locking position where the locking projection is locked to the terminal fitting,
Further, the retainer is provided with an insertion recess adjacent to the locking projection, and the insertion recess is aligned with the insertion groove when the retainer is in the temporary locking position to allow the stabilizer to be inserted. While it is supposed to be
The lance and the insertion groove are arranged so as to be separated from each other in the front-rear direction and overlap in the width direction, and the width dimension of the lance is obtained by subtracting the width dimension of the insertion groove from the width dimension of the cavity. A connector that is slightly larger .   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the lance is formed in a doubly supported shape in which both ends are supported.

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