JPH0628180B2 - Connector housing terminal locking structure - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a terminal locking structure for a connector housing that prevents a terminal inserted in the connector housing from coming off.

"Prior Art" There are many publicly known examples of a terminal locking structure for preventing a terminal inserted in a connector housing from coming off. As one of them, as shown in FIG.
The cantilever-shaped elastic locking arm 3A extending from the rear to the front and having the locking projection 4A at the free end is provided in the terminal accommodating chamber 5 of the housing 1), and the inserted terminal 7 is locked. A primary locking mechanism that locks the insertion projection of the terminal 7 by engaging the portion 6A with the locking projection 4A, and further extends from the front to the rear inside the separate cap member 2 and A cantilever-shaped elastic locking arm 3 having a locking projection 4B at its free end
B is provided, and the cap member 2 is fitted on the outer periphery of the terminal accommodating chamber 5 in which the terminal 7 is primarily locked by the primary locking mechanism.
A double member with a cap member having a secondary locking mechanism for secondarily locking the insertion posture of the terminal 7 by engaging the locking projection 4B of the elastic locking arm 3B and the locking portion 6B of the terminal 7. A structure with a stop structure is often used.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the terminal locking structure having the double locking structure with the cap member described above, as shown in FIG. 3 (B), the insertion amount of the terminal 7 is insufficient and the elastic locking arm 3A When the terminal 7 is in the half-inserted state where the primary locking of the terminal 7 is not possible, the cap member 2 is fitted as it is, and the insertion failure of the terminal 7 without the primary and secondary locking by the elastic locking arm 3A3B occurs, and As shown in FIG. 3 (C), due to an error in the procedure of inserting the terminal 7 and the cap member 2, when the cap member 2 is inserted first and the terminal 7 is inserted later, the elastic locking arms 3A3B are locked at the same time. As a result, the insertion resistance of the terminal 7 may become excessively large, resulting in a defective insertion of the terminal 7. There is a defect that causes an electrical failure such as a missing terminal due to a defective locking of the terminal 7. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages of the conventional structure of the terminal locking structure with the cap member.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention for solving the above technical problems has a primary locking mechanism of a terminal provided in a terminal accommodating chamber and a cantilever-shaped elastic locking arm, and the terminal is inserted and mounted. In the terminal locking structure of the connector housing having the secondary locking mechanism of the terminal, which is a separate cap member fitted to the outer periphery of the terminal accommodating chamber, the free end portion of the elastic locking arm of the cap member is Following the locking step portion that engages with the locking portion, a guide portion that extends toward the fixed end of the elastic locking arm is provided, and at the end of the guide portion,
A detection part is formed which is substantially orthogonal to the insertion direction of the cap member and forms a barrier step facing the front end part of the terminal in the terminal accommodating chamber, and the detection part interferes with the front end part of the terminal in the normal insertion state. The elastic locking arm is elastically bent to avoid the interference, and the terminal is retracted by interfering with the front end portion of the terminal in the half-inserted state.

[Operation] The terminal locking structure of the connector housing of the present invention having the above-described configuration has the elastic locking arm of the cap member when the terminal is half inserted in which the insertion amount of the terminal is insufficient and the primary locking mechanism does not engage. The detection part interferes with the front end part of the terminal, and the terminal that does not have a locking force is pushed out very easily from the connector housing, accurately detects the half-insertion abnormality of the terminal, and after the pre-fitted terminal of the cap member. At the time of insertion, it is possible to prevent the terminal from being inserted due to the interference between the terminal and the detection portion, and to prevent the locking failure due to the half-insertion of the terminal.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Figs. First, referring to FIG. 1, the housing 1
A cantilever elastic locking arm 3A having a locking projection 4A at its free end is provided in the terminal accommodating chamber 5, and the locking part 6A and the locking projection of the terminal 7 inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 5 are provided. 4A is engaged to lock the insertion posture of the terminal 7, and a cantilever elastic locking arm 3B extending from the front to the rear is provided on the inner side 9 of the peripheral wall of the separate cap member 2. , The locking step on the free end 8'side of the locking projection 4B formed on the free end 8'of the elastic locking arm 3B by fitting the outer circumference of the terminal receiving chamber 5 into which the terminal 7 has been inserted and primary locked. In the terminal locking structure of the housing 1, which comprises a secondary locking mechanism of the terminal 7 for preventing the terminal 7 from retracting by engaging the part 10 with the concave locking part 6B provided on the upper side of the terminal 7, The locking projection 4B of the cap member 2 is provided with a detection unit 12 described below.

That is, the engagement protrusion 4B of the elastic engagement arm 3B of the cap member 2 engages with the terminal 7 that is primarily engaged in the terminal accommodation chamber 5 when the cap member 2 is fitted to the outer periphery of the terminal accommodation chamber 5. A locking step portion 10 that is fitted and locked to the stopper portion 6B to prevent the terminal 7 from retracting is provided near the free end 8 ', and is elastically locked from the apex (lower end in the figure) 10' of the locking step portion 10. A guide portion 11 extending in the direction of the fixed end 8 ″ of the arm 3B is continuously provided, and at the end of the guide portion 11, the guide portion 11 is substantially orthogonal to the insertion direction of the cap member 2, and the terminal 7
Is formed with a barrier step detector 12 that faces the front end portion of the.

More specifically, the guide portion 11 includes the cap member 2 and the terminal accommodating chamber 5
It is a guide portion for fitting and pushing on the outer periphery of the terminal to fit the locking step portion 10 into the locking portion 6B of the terminal 7, and the sliding movement direction of the cap member 2 so that the upper portion of the terminal 7 can be easily slid and moved. Is formed substantially parallel to. Then, the locking step portion 10 and the detection portion 12 are substantially parallel to each other, and the detection portion 12 is
When the cap member 2 slides and is fitted by fitting, the terminal 7
The cap member 2 so as to form a barrier against the front end portion of the
Has a stepped surface that is substantially orthogonal to the fitting and sliding direction.

The terminal locking structure shown in FIG. 1 above is shown in FIG. 2 (A), in which the terminal 7 is inserted into the normal position of the terminal housing chamber 5, and the terminal 7 is primarily locked by the elastic locking arm 3A. Room 5
When the cap member 2 is fitted to the terminal 2, the detecting portion 12 of the elastic locking arm 3B of the cap member 2 interferes with the tip portion of the terminal 7 at the time of fitting and sliding, but the terminal 7 has a primary locking force. At the same time, the cantilever elastic locking arm 3B is in a state where it can be flexibly displaced by an external force received at the free end 8 ', and "the primary locking force of the terminal 7> the elastic locking arm 3".
Since the relationship of “elastic displacement force of B” is established, the elastic locking arm 3B easily elastically bends upward, the cap member 2 slides, and the locking step portion of the elastic locking arm 3B at the final fitting position. 10 and the engaging portion 6B are engaged with each other to properly and secondarily engage the terminal 7.

When the terminal 7 is in a half-inserted state in which the insertion amount of the terminal 7 is insufficient, the terminal 7 has no primary locking force, as shown in FIG.
Since the detecting portion 12 interferes with the front end portion of the terminal 7, the terminal 7 is pushed back by the cap member 2 very easily and retreats from the rear end of the housing 1 as shown by the dotted line in the figure.
It is possible to accurately detect a defective half-inserted terminal.

Furthermore, when the cap member 2 is inserted in the state where the terminal 7 is not inserted, the tip portion of the terminal 7 interferes with the detection part 12 of the cap member 2 which is inserted first, as shown in FIG. When the resistance is abnormally increased and the elastic locking arm 3B of the cap member 2 previously fitted in the normal position is about to elastically bend, the free end 8'part of the elastic locking arm 3B is changed to the position shown in FIG. The peripheral wall opening 13 of the terminal accommodating chamber 5 shown in (B)
Corner 14 (opening for accommodating elastic locking arm 3B)
Since the upward displacement is restrained and the elastic displaceability is lost, the terminal 7 is prevented from being inserted, the improper insertion of the cap member 2 is accurately detected, and the insertion of the cap member 2 is caused. It is possible to prevent a defective half-insertion of the terminal 7 to be turned on.

In the configuration of the present invention, the detection unit 12 is not limited to the shape of the embodiment, and for example, the detection unit 12
When the tip portion of the terminal 7 interferes with the elastic locking arm 3
In order to facilitate the elastic displacement of B to the outside due to the interference force, the detecting portion 12 is relaxed from the right angle relationship with the sliding movement direction of the cap member 2 to form an acute angle relationship such as 85 °, or the guide portion 11
There is a case where the joining portion with and is changed to a small curved surface, and the point is that the detecting portion 12 serves as a barrier to the front end portion of the terminal 7 and may have a shape that achieves the above-described action. Also, the guide portion 11 may be, for example, a curved surface or the like that can exhibit the above-described guiding action, and the primary locking mechanism in the terminal accommodating chamber 5 may be replaced with a known lance structure or the like.

"Effects of the Invention" As described above, the terminal locking structure of the connector housing of the present invention has the effect of preventing the terminal insertion failure due to the half insertion of the terminal and improving the quality assurance of the connector.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1: A terminal locking structure of one embodiment of the present invention, (A) is an overall front view, (B) is a perspective view of a main part, and FIGS. 2 (A) (B) (C): first FIG. 3 is a front view showing a working state of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 (A) and 3 (B).
(C): Front view showing a conventional terminal locking structure Main symbols, 1: connector housing, 2: cap member, 3A3B: elastic locking arm, 4A4B: locking projection,
5: terminal accommodating chamber, 6A6B: locking portion, 7: terminal, 8 ':
Free end, 8 ″: fixed end, 9: inner side of peripheral wall, 10: locking step, 11: guide, 12: detector

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Shozo Hamakita 2-10-27 Wakamatsu Higashi, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A separate cap having a primary locking mechanism of a terminal provided in the terminal accommodating chamber and a cantilever elastic locking arm, which is fitted to the outer periphery of the terminal accommodating chamber into which the terminal is inserted. A terminal locking structure of a connector housing including a secondary locking mechanism of a terminal that is made of a member and that secondary locks the terminal that is primarily locked in the terminal receiving chamber by the primary locking mechanism by the elastic locking arm. In the free end portion of the elastic locking arm of the cap member, a guide portion extending toward the fixed end of the elastic locking arm is provided, following the locking step portion that engages with the locking portion of the terminal. At the end of the guide portion, a detection portion is formed which is substantially orthogonal to the insertion direction of the cap member and forms a barrier step facing the front end portion of the terminal in the terminal accommodating chamber. By interfering with the front end part, the elastic locking arm By sex flexures are together to avoid the interference, interfere with the front end portion of the insufficiently inserted terminal, terminal locking structure of the connector housing, wherein the structure to retract the pin.