WO2025079527A1 - Connector device - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a connector device in which a plurality of sheet-like substrates are extracted from a connector housing.　The connector device is a connector in which a plurality of sheet-like substrates (50) are extracted from a connector housing (10). The connector device is provided with: a connector housing (10); a plurality of terminal fittings (40) attached to the connector housing (10); and a plurality of sheet-like substrates (50) on which the plurality of terminal fittings (40) are mounted. The connector housing (10) has a plurality of inner housings (20) that hold the plurality of terminal fittings (40), and an outer housing (11) that accommodates the plurality of inner housings (20) in a stacked state.

Description

Connector device

This disclosure relates to a connector device.

Patent Document 1 discloses a connector in which a plug connector is mounted on a cable made of FPC or FFC. The plug connector is configured with multiple terminals attached to one plug housing. Each terminal has a main body with a contact piece and a mounting piece extending from the main body. The main body is accommodated within the plug housing, and the mounting piece protrudes outside the plug housing and is mounted on the cable.

JP 2019-192612 A

The above connector is configured with one plug connector mounted on one cable, so it cannot meet the need to route multiple cables out of one plug connector.

The connector device disclosed herein was completed based on the above circumstances, and aims to provide a connector device that allows multiple sheet-like substrates to extend from a single connector housing.

The connector device of the present disclosure comprises:
A connector housing;
A plurality of terminal fittings attached to the connector housing;
a plurality of sheet-like substrates on which a plurality of the terminal fittings are mounted,
The connector housing includes:
a plurality of inner housings each holding a plurality of the terminal fittings;
The compressor has a single outer housing that houses the multiple inner housings in a stacked state.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a connector device in which multiple sheet-like substrates extend from a single connector housing.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector device according to a first embodiment, as viewed obliquely from above and from the front. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connector device as viewed obliquely from above and behind. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the connector device disassembled into a board module and a retainer, as viewed obliquely from above and rear. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the lower board module as viewed obliquely from above and from the front. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the lower board module as viewed obliquely from above and behind. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the retainer as viewed obliquely from above and from the front. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the retainer as viewed obliquely from above and rearward. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the inner housing as viewed obliquely from above and rearward. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the terminal fitting as viewed obliquely from above and behind. FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the connector device is cut at the terminal receiving chamber. FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view showing the connector device cut at the fitting protrusion of the retainer and the fitting hole of the sheet-like substrate. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line YY in FIG.

[Description of the embodiments of the present disclosure]
First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. Any combination of the following embodiments without causing any contradiction is also included in the embodiment for carrying out the present invention.
The connector device of the present disclosure comprises:
(1) A connector device including a connector housing, a plurality of terminal fittings attached to the connector housing, and a plurality of sheet-like substrates on which the plurality of terminal fittings are mounted, the connector housing having a plurality of inner housings that hold the plurality of terminal fittings, and an outer housing that houses the plurality of inner housings in a stacked state. According to the configuration of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a connector device in which a plurality of sheet-like substrates are led out from a single connector housing.

(2) It is preferable that a retainer is provided that is fixedly attached within the outer housing, and that the sheet-like substrate and the retainer are formed with fitting portions that fit together with a clearance therebetween, and that the retainer is capable of relative displacement with respect to the terminal fittings. With this configuration, when a tensile force acts on the sheet-like substrate, the sheet-like substrate and the terminal fittings are displaced together relative to the retainer by the amount of the clearance, and the sheet-like substrate is prevented from being removed from the outer housing by the engagement between the fitting portions. Because the sheet-like substrate and the terminal fittings move together, it is possible to avoid loads acting on the mounting portions of the sheet-like substrate and the terminal fittings.

(3) In (2), it is preferable that the fitting portion of the sheet-like substrate is a fitting hole penetrating the sheet-like substrate, and the fitting portion of the retainer is a fitting protrusion that is fitted into the fitting hole. With this configuration, the fitting hole of the sheet-like substrate can be formed simply by punching the sheet-like substrate, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

(4) In (3), the terminal fitting has a terminal body portion accommodated in the inner housing and a board connection portion extending from the terminal body portion and mounted on the sheet-like board, and it is preferable that the fitting protrusion is wall-shaped and arranged to separate adjacent board connection portions. With this configuration, short circuits between the board connection portions can be prevented by the wall-shaped fitting protrusion.

(5) In (4), it is preferable that the inner housing is formed with a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers that accommodate a plurality of the terminal body portions in parallel, the board connection portion is led out rearward from the rear surface of the inner housing, the rear surface of the inner housing is formed with a recess by recessing the rear end surface of a partition portion that separates adjacent terminal accommodating chambers, and the front end portion of the mating protrusion is fitted into the recess. With this configuration, it is possible to ensure a long creepage distance between the terminal body portions in adjacent terminal accommodating chambers.

(6) In (1) to (5), the inner housing has a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers formed in parallel, the outer surface of the inner housing has a plurality of groove-shaped terminal insertion openings for inserting the terminal fittings into the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers, the pair of inner housings are attached to the retainer with the outer surfaces facing each other, and the retainer preferably has a wall-shaped closing portion that closes the terminal insertion openings. With this configuration, the wall-shaped closing portion can prevent short circuits between the terminal fittings accommodated in one inner housing and the terminal fittings accommodated in the other inner housing.

(7) In (6), the terminal accommodating chamber and the terminal insertion opening are elongated in the front-rear direction, the terminal body of the terminal fitting is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber through the terminal insertion opening, the inner housing is formed with a retaining portion that covers the front end of the terminal accommodating chamber from the outer surface side, the front end of the terminal body is engaged with the retaining portion to restrict relative displacement of the terminal body toward the terminal insertion opening, and the wall-shaped closing portion is preferably formed with a movement restricting portion that faces the rear end of the terminal body from behind. With this configuration, the retaining portion and the movement restricting portion allow the terminal body to be securely accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber.

In (8) and (7), it is preferable that the terminal body has a press-in protrusion formed thereon that presses against the inner wall of the terminal accommodating chamber. With this configuration, when the terminal body is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber, the press-in protrusion presses against the inner wall of the terminal accommodating chamber, thereby temporarily holding the terminal body in the terminal accommodating chamber.

[Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure]
[Example 1]
A connector device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 13. The present invention is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. In this first embodiment, the F direction in Figures 1 to 13 is defined as the front with respect to the front-rear direction. The H direction in Figures 1 to 11 is defined as the up direction with respect to the up-down direction. The R direction in Figures 1 to 9, 12, and 13 is defined as the right direction with respect to the left-right direction. The front-rear direction and the depth direction are used synonymously. The up-down direction and the height direction are used synonymously. The left-right direction and the width direction are used synonymously.

The connector device is functionally configured with one connector housing 10, multiple terminal fittings 40 attached to the connector housing 10, and two sheet-like substrates 50 that are symmetrical from top to bottom. The two sheet-like substrates 50 are members that have circuits (not shown) connected to the multiple terminal fittings 40, and are led out rearward from the single connector housing 10.

Structurally, the connector device is configured to include one outer housing 11 and one inner module 16. The inner module 16 is configured to include a pair of circuit board modules 17 that are symmetrical from top to bottom, and one retainer 60. One circuit board module 17 is configured to include one inner housing 20, a number of terminal fittings 40, and one sheet-like circuit board 50. The outer housing 11, the pair of upper and lower inner housings 20, and the retainer 60 form the connector housing 10.

The outer housing 11 is a single part made of synthetic resin and has a rectangular shape with an open rear surface. An accommodation space 12 is formed inside the outer housing 11 for accommodating a pair of board modules 17 and a retainer 60. Retaining holes 13 are formed on both the left and right inner sides of the accommodation space 12 for holding the retainer 60 in a non-removable state. A plurality of insertion holes 14 are formed on the front surface of the outer housing 11, which communicate with the accommodation space 12. In a front view of the outer housing 11 from the front, the plurality of insertion holes 14 are divided into two levels, upper and lower, and are arranged side by side on each level. A plurality of fitting grooves 15 extending in the front-rear direction are formed on both the upper and lower surfaces of the accommodation space 12. The plurality of fitting grooves 15 are arranged at intervals in the left-right direction.

The inner housing 20 is a single part made of synthetic resin. The shape of the inner housing 20 located on the lower side will be described below. The inner housing 20 is a flat rectangular parallelepiped whose height in the up-down direction is smaller than its depth in the front-to-rear direction and its width in the left-to-right direction. The inner housing 20 has a bottom wall portion 21, a front wall portion 22, a pair of symmetrical side wall portions 23, multiple partition portions 24, and a rear wall portion 25.

The bottom wall portion 21 is a portion that has a thickness direction in the up-down direction and has a rectangular shape in a plan view of the inner housing 20 viewed from above. The front wall portion 22 is a portion that rises upward from the front end edge of the bottom wall portion 21. The pair of left and right side wall portions 23 are portions that rise upward from both left and right side edges of the bottom wall portion 21. The front ends of the side wall portions 23 are connected to both left and right ends of the front wall portion 22. The multiple partition portions 24 are portions that rise upward from the bottom wall portion 21 and are arranged in parallel with a gap between the pair of side wall portions 23 on the left and right. The front ends of the partition portions 24 are connected to the front wall portion 22. The rear wall portion 25 is a portion that rises upward from the rear end edge of the bottom wall portion 21. The rear wall portion 25 is connected to the rear ends of the side wall portions 23 and the rear ends of the partition portions 24.

The space defined by the front wall 22, the side wall 23, the partition 24, and the rear wall 25 functions as a terminal accommodating chamber 26 for accommodating the terminal body 41 of the terminal fitting 40 described later. The space defined by the front wall 22, the two partitions 24 adjacent to each other on the left and right, and the rear wall 25 also functions as a terminal accommodating chamber 26. Most of the area of each terminal accommodating chamber 26, except for the front end, opens as a terminal insertion port 27 on the upper surface of the inner housing 20. A retaining portion 28 is formed on the front end of the upper surface of the inner housing 20, covering the front end of the terminal accommodating chamber 26 from above. The retaining portions 28 located at both left and right ends are connected to the front wall 22, the side wall 23, and the partition 24. The retaining portions 28 located at other than both left and right ends are connected to the front wall 22 and the partition 24. The width dimension in the left-right direction of each terminal accommodating chamber 26 is not constant. The width of the narrow space 26N in the front end region of the terminal accommodating chamber 26 is set smaller than the width of the wide space 26W in the rear end region of the terminal accommodating chamber 26.

The front wall portion 22 has a plurality of connection holes 29 formed in a line on the left and right. In a front view, each connection hole 29 is disposed at the same position as each insertion hole 14 of the outer housing 11, that is, at a position communicating with the insertion hole 14 in the front-rear direction. The plurality of connection holes 29 communicate individually with the front ends of the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 26. A locking protrusion 30 is formed on the outer surface of the side wall portion 23. The rear wall portion 25 has a plurality of lead-out grooves 31 formed therein. The plurality of lead-out grooves 31 communicate individually with the rear ends of the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 26. The width dimension of the lead-out grooves 31 is smaller than the width dimension of the terminal accommodating chambers 26. The lead-out grooves 31 are elongated in the vertical direction, open to the upper surface of the inner housing 20, and communicate with the opening area of the upper surface of the terminal accommodating chambers 26. The rear surface 20R of the inner housing 20 (rear wall portion 25) has a plurality of recesses 32 formed therein. The recesses 32 are disposed at the same position as the partition portion 24 in the left-right direction. In a rear view of the inner housing 20, the multiple outlet grooves 31 and multiple recesses 32 are arranged alternately in the left-right direction.

The terminal fitting 40 is a single part formed by bending a metal plate. The terminal fitting 40 has a terminal body 41 and a board connection portion 44 extending rearward from the terminal body 41. The terminal body 41 is shaped like a square tube with both front and rear end faces open. Press-fit protrusions 42 are formed by cutting out a portion of the terminal body 41 on both the left and right outer surfaces of the terminal body 41. The press-fit protrusions 42 are portions that protrude from both the left and right outer surfaces of the terminal body 41. An elastic contact piece 43 is provided inside the terminal body 41. The elastic contact piece 43 is a portion that elastically contacts the tab of a mating terminal (not shown) when the tab is inserted into the terminal body 41.

The board connection portion 44 is in the form of a plate bent into a crank shape in a side view of the terminal fitting 40. In a plan view, the width dimension of the board connection portion 44 is smaller than the width dimension of the terminal body portion 41. The board connection portion 44 has an extension portion 45, a leg portion 46, and a mounting portion 47. The extension portion 45 extends flush rearward from the rear end of the lower plate portion that constitutes the terminal body portion 41. The leg portion 46 extends downward from the rear end of the extension portion 45. The mounting portion 47 is a portion that extends rearward in a cantilever shape from the lower end of the leg portion 46. The mounting portion 47 is mounted on the mounting surface 51 of the sheet-like substrate 50 by reflow welding.

The sheet-like substrate 50 is a circuit board known as an FPC (flexible printed circuits), in which a circuit (not shown) is printed on the surface of a flexible sheet-like base material. Below, the sheet-like substrate 50 arranged on the lower side will be described. The rigidity of the front end of the sheet-like substrate 50 is increased compared to other parts by a reinforcing plate (not shown). The area of the front end upper surface of the sheet-like substrate 50 where the rigidity is increased functions as the mounting surface 51. A number of lands 52 are arranged on the mounting surface 51, to which the mounting parts 47 of the terminal fittings 40 are welded during reflow welding.

The front end of the sheet-like substrate 50 has a plurality of fitting holes 53 that penetrate the sheet-like substrate 50 and the reinforcing plate in the up-down direction. The fitting holes 53 are located rearward in the front-rear direction from the arrangement area of the inner housing 20 and the terminal fittings 40. The fitting holes 53 are shaped like elongated slits in the front-rear direction. The fitting holes 53 are located at the same position as the partition wall portion 24 in the left-right direction.

The retainer 60 is a single part made of synthetic resin that is symmetrical from top to bottom. The retainer 60 has a wall-shaped blocking portion 61, multiple movement restricting portions 62, multiple fitting protrusions 63, and a pair of left and right support wall portions 64. The wall-shaped blocking portion 61 is a portion whose thickness direction faces the up-down direction, and the shape of the wall-shaped blocking portion 61 in a plan view is rectangular.

The multiple movement restricting portions 62 are portions that protrude from both the upper and lower surfaces of the wall-shaped blocking portion 61. The multiple movement restricting portions 62 are arranged at intervals in the left-right direction in the center in the front-to-rear direction. The multiple mating protrusions 63 are wall-shaped portions that protrude from both the upper and lower surfaces of the wall-shaped blocking portion 61 and extend in the front-to-rear direction in an elongated manner. The multiple mating protrusions 63 are arranged in parallel at intervals on the left and right, with their thickness direction facing the left-to-right direction. The front end of the mating protrusions 63 is located slightly rearward of the rear end of the movement restricting portion 62, and the rear end of the mating protrusions 63 is located at the rear end of the retainer 60 (wall-shaped blocking portion 61).

The support wall portions 64 are portions that extend in the vertical direction from both the left and right side edges of the wall-shaped blocking portion 61. The front end of the support wall portion 64 is located rearward of the front end of the retainer 60 (wall-shaped blocking portion 61) and forward of the front end of the fitting protrusion 63. The rear end of the support wall portion 64 is located at the rear end of the retainer 60 (wall-shaped blocking portion 61). A pair of upper and lower locking holes 65 are formed in the front end of each support wall portion 64. The locking holes 65 penetrate the support wall portion 64 in the left-right direction. A retaining protrusion 66 is formed in the rear end of each support wall portion 64. The retaining protrusion 66 is a portion that protrudes from a region of the outer surface of the support wall portion 64 that is at the same height as the wall-shaped blocking portion 61.

Next, the procedure for assembling the connector device will be described. First, the terminal fittings 40 are attached to each terminal accommodating chamber 26 of the inner housing 20. When attaching, the terminal insertion opening 27 is directed upward, and the terminal body 41 is inserted from the terminal insertion opening 27 into the terminal accommodating chamber 26. At this time, in order to prevent the front end of the terminal body 41 from interfering with the removal prevention portion 28, the front end of the terminal body 41 is positioned rearward of the front end of the terminal accommodating chamber 26. The front end of the terminal body 41 is positioned slightly rearward of the rear end of the removal prevention portion 28 (the front end of the terminal insertion opening 27), and the rear end of the terminal body 41 is positioned slightly forward of the rear ends of the terminal accommodating chamber 26 and the terminal insertion opening 27 (the front surface of the rear wall portion 25). Since the press-in projection 42 is accommodated in the front end of the wide space 26W, the sliding resistance between the press-in projection 42 and the inner wall of the wide space 26W is small.

When accommodating the terminal body 41 in the terminal accommodating chamber 26, the extension 45 of the board connection portion 44 is fitted into the lead-out groove 31. After accommodating the terminal body 41 in the terminal accommodating chamber 26, the terminal fitting 40 is slid forward. When the front end of the terminal body 41 abuts the front wall 22 and the terminal body 41 reaches the correct position in the terminal accommodating chamber 26, the press-in protrusions 42 press against the left and right inner wall portions 23 of the narrow space 26N, and the front end of the terminal body 41 slips under the retaining portion 28. The press-in protrusions 42 bite into the inner wall portion of the narrow space 26N, restricting the terminal fitting 40 from being displaced backward relative to the inner housing 20. The front end of the terminal body 41 slips under the retaining portion 28, restricting the terminal body 41 from being removed upward from the terminal accommodating chamber 26. The rear end of the terminal body 41 is located forward and spaced from the front surface of the rear wall 25. As a result, the multiple terminal fittings 40 are held in a state where relative displacement in the front-rear direction with respect to the inner housing 20 is restricted.

After all of the terminal fittings 40 are attached to the inner housing 20, the board connection portion 44 of each terminal fitting 40 is mounted on the mounting surface 51 of the sheet-like substrate 50. Specifically, the inner housing 20 is placed on the mounting surface 51, and the mounting portion 47 of the board connection portion 44 is placed on the land 52. This is then housed in a reflow furnace (not shown), and the mounting portion 47 is welded to the sheet-like substrate 50. Once the terminal fittings 40 are welded and fixed to the sheet-like substrate 50, the assembly of the substrate module 17 is complete.

After this, a pair of board modules 17 are assembled to one retainer 60 in a vertically symmetrical orientation. During assembly, a pair of inner housings 20 are arranged to sandwich the wall-shaped blocking portion 61 by approaching it from above and below the area of the wall-shaped blocking portion 61 forward of the mating protrusion 63. When the board modules 17 are assembled to the retainer 60, the terminal insertion opening 27 of the inner housing 20 is blocked by the wall-shaped blocking portion 61.

When the retainer 60 and the board module 17 are assembled, the multiple movement restricting portions 62 are fitted into the space between the rear end of the terminal body 41 and the front face of the rear wall portion 25. The movement restricting portions 62 restrict the rearward movement of the terminal body 41. When the retainer 60 and the board module 17 are assembled, the front end of the mating protrusion 63 is accommodated in the recess 32 of the inner housing 20, so that the partition portion 24 and the mating protrusion 63 that separate adjacent terminal accommodating chambers 26 are connected in the front-to-rear direction, and the partition portion 24 and the mating protrusion 63 form a single partition wall that extends long in the front-to-rear direction. The formation of the partition wall increases the creepage distance between the two terminal body portions 41 accommodated in adjacent terminal accommodating chambers 26.

The inner housing 20 is held in an assembled state relative to the retainer 60 by the engagement of the locking projection 30 with the locking hole 65. The dimension of the locking projection 30 in the front-to-rear direction is slightly smaller than the dimension of the locking hole 65 in the front-to-rear direction, so there is a clearance between the front end of the locking projection 30 and the front end of the locking hole 65, or between the rear end of the locking projection 30 and the rear end of the locking hole 65, which allows for relative displacement of the retainer 60 and the inner housing 20 in the front-to-rear direction.

When the board module 17 is assembled to the retainer 60, the mating protrusion 63 is mated with the mating hole 53 of the sheet-like board 50. Since the dimension of the mating protrusion 63 in the front-to-rear direction is slightly smaller than the dimension of the mating hole 53 in the front-to-rear direction, there is clearance between the front end of the mating protrusion 63 and the front end of the mating hole 53, and between the rear end of the mating protrusion 63 and the rear end of the mating hole 53, which allows relative displacement in the front-to-rear direction between the retainer 60 and the sheet-like board 50. Therefore, the retainer 60 and the board module 17 (the inner housing 20, the terminal fittings 40, and the sheet-like board 50) can be relatively displaced in the front-to-rear direction.

The inner module 16 assembled as described above is attached to the outer housing 11 from the rear. During assembly, the inner housing 20 and the retainer 60 are housed in the accommodation space 12. The retaining projections 66 of the retainer 60 fit into the retaining holes 13 of the accommodation space 12, thereby holding the inner module 16 in an assembled state relative to the outer housing 11. The mating projections 63 fit into the mating grooves 15, thereby positioning the retainer 60 in the left-right direction relative to the outer housing 11. This completes the assembly of the connector device.

The connector device of this embodiment 1 comprises one connector housing 10, a plurality of terminal fittings 40 attached to the connector housing 10, and two sheet-like substrates 50 on which the plurality of terminal fittings 40 are mounted. The connector housing 10 comprises a pair of inner housings 20 that hold the plurality of terminal fittings 40, and one outer housing 11. The pair of inner housings 20 are housed in a stacked state in the outer housing 11. The connector device of this embodiment 1 is configured such that two (multiple) sheet-like substrates 50 are led out from one connector housing 10.

The connector device includes a retainer 60 fixedly mounted within the outer housing 11. A mating hole 53 is formed in the sheet-like substrate 50, and a mating protrusion 63 is formed in the retainer 60. The mating hole 53 and the mating protrusion 63 are mated with each other with a clearance in the front-rear direction. The retainer 60 can be displaced relative to the terminal fittings 40 in the front-rear direction. With this configuration, when a rearward tensile force acts on the sheet-like substrate 50, the substrate module 17 (the sheet-like substrate 50, the terminal fittings 40, and the inner housing 20) are integrally displaced relative to the retainer 60 by the amount of the clearance. When displaced relative to the amount of the clearance, the mating protrusion 63 engages with the mating hole 53, thereby holding the substrate module 17 (the sheet-like substrate 50) in a state in which it is prevented from coming off the outer housing 11 and the retainer 60. When the board module 17 is displaced relative to the retainer 60, the sheet-like board 50 and the terminal fittings 40 move together, preventing load from being applied to the soldered portions between the sheet-like board 50 and the terminal fittings 40.

The fitting hole 53 is a hole that penetrates the sheet-like substrate 50. The fitting protrusion 63 is fitted into the fitting hole 53. The fitting hole 53 in the sheet-like substrate 50 can be formed simply by punching the sheet-like substrate 50, thereby reducing manufacturing costs. The terminal fitting 40 has a terminal body 41 housed in the inner housing 20, and a board connection portion 44 that extends rearward from the terminal body 41 and is mounted on the sheet-like substrate 50. The fitting protrusion 63 is wall-shaped and is arranged to separate adjacent board connection portions 44. With this configuration, the wall-shaped fitting protrusion 63 can prevent short circuits between the board connection portions 44.

The inner housing 20 is formed with a number of terminal accommodating chambers 26 that accommodate a number of terminal body portions 41 in parallel. The board connection portion 44 extends rearward from the rear surface 20R of the inner housing 20. The rear surface 20R of the inner housing 20 is formed with a recess 32 formed by recessing the rear end surface of the partition portion 24 that separates adjacent terminal accommodating chambers 26. The front end of the mating protrusion 63 is fitted into the recess 32. This configuration ensures a long creepage distance between the terminal body portions 41 in adjacent terminal accommodating chambers 26.

The inner housing 20 has a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 26 formed in parallel. A plurality of groove-shaped terminal insertion openings 27 for inserting terminal fittings 40 into the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 26 are formed on the outer surface of the inner housing 20. The pair of upper and lower inner housings 20 are attached to a retainer 60 with their outer surfaces facing each other. The retainer 60 has a wall-shaped closing portion 61 that closes the terminal insertion openings 27. With this configuration, the wall-shaped closing portion 61 can prevent a short circuit between the terminal fittings 40 accommodated in one inner housing 20 and the terminal fittings 40 accommodated in the other inner housing 20.

The terminal accommodating chamber 26 and the terminal insertion opening 27 are elongated in the front-rear direction. The terminal body 41 of the terminal fitting 40 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 26 through the terminal insertion opening 27. The inner housing 20 is formed with a retaining portion 28 that covers the front end of the terminal accommodating chamber 26 from the outer surface side. The terminal body 41 is restricted from relative displacement toward the terminal insertion opening 27 by engaging the front end of the terminal body 41 with the retaining portion 28. The wall-shaped blocking portion 61 is formed with a movement restricting portion 62 that faces the rear end of the terminal body 41 from behind. With this configuration, the retaining portion 28 and the movement restricting portion 62 ensure that the terminal body 41 is securely accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 26.

The terminal body 41 is formed with a press-in protrusion 42 that presses against the inner wall of the terminal accommodating chamber 26. When the terminal body 41 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 26, the press-in protrusion 42 presses against the inner wall of the terminal accommodating chamber 26, thereby temporarily holding the terminal body 41 in the terminal accommodating chamber 26.

[Other embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but is indicated by the claims. The present invention includes the equivalent meaning of the claims and all modifications within the scope of the claims, including the following embodiments.
The number of sheet-like substrates may be three or more.
The number of the inner housings may be three or more.
The fitting portion of the sheet-like substrate may be in a form other than a fitting hole.
The fitting portion of the retainer may be in a form other than a fitting protrusion.
The fitting projection is not limited to a wall shape, but may be cylindrical or the like.
The fitting protrusions may not separate adjacent board connecting portions.
The front end of the fitting projection and the rear end of the partition may be spaced apart from each other.
The wall portion (wall-shaped closing portion) closing the terminal insertion opening may be formed on the outer housing instead of on the retainer.
The inner housing may have no retaining portion.
The terminal body may have no press-fit projection.

10...connector housing 11...outer housing 12...accommodating space 13...retaining hole 14...insertion hole 15...fitting groove 16...inner module 17...board module 20...inner housing 20R...rear surface 21 of inner housing...bottom wall portion 22...front wall portion 23...side wall portion 24...partition wall portion 25...rear wall portion 26...terminal accommodating chamber 26N...narrow space 26W...wide space 27...terminal insertion port 28 ...anti-pullout portion 29...connection hole 30...locking projection 31...lead-out groove 32...recess 40...terminal metal fitting 41...terminal main body 42...press-fit projection 43...elastic contact piece 44...board connection portion 45...extension 46...leg 47...mounting portion 50...sheet-like board 51...mounting surface 52...land 53...fitting hole 60...retainer 61...wall-shaped blocking portion 62...movement restricting portion 63...fitting projection 64...support wall 65...locking hole 66...holding projection

Claims (8)

A connector housing;
A plurality of terminal fittings attached to the connector housing;
a plurality of sheet-like substrates on which a plurality of the terminal fittings are mounted,
The connector housing includes:
a plurality of inner housings each holding a plurality of the terminal fittings;
a single outer housing that houses the plurality of inner housings in a stacked state. a retainer fixedly mounted within the outer housing;
The sheet-like substrate and the retainer are formed with fitting portions that fit together with a clearance therebetween,
2. The connector device according to claim 1, wherein the retainer is capable of moving relative to the terminal fitting. the fitting portion of the sheet-like substrate is a fitting hole penetrating the sheet-like substrate,
3. The connector device according to claim 2, wherein the fitting portion of the retainer is a fitting protrusion that is fitted into the fitting hole. The terminal fitting has a terminal body portion accommodated in the inner housing and a board connection portion extending from the terminal body portion and mounted on the sheet-like board,
4. The connector device according to claim 3, wherein the fitting protrusion is wall-shaped and disposed so as to separate adjacent board connecting portions. The inner housing is formed with a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers for accommodating the plurality of terminal main bodies in parallel,
The board connection portion is extended rearward from a rear surface of the inner housing,
a partition wall portion that partitions adjacent terminal accommodating chambers is provided on the rear surface of the inner housing, the partition wall portion having a recess formed therein,
5. The connector device according to claim 4, wherein a front end of said fitting projection is fitted into said recess. The inner housing has a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers formed in parallel,
A plurality of groove-shaped terminal insertion openings for inserting the terminal fittings into the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers are formed on an outer surface of the inner housing,
The pair of inner housings are attached to the retainer with the outer surfaces facing each other,
6. The connector device according to claim 1, wherein the retainer has a wall-shaped closing portion that closes the terminal insertion opening. The terminal accommodating chamber and the terminal insertion opening are elongated in the front-rear direction,
A terminal body portion of the terminal fitting is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber through the terminal insertion opening,
The inner housing is formed with a retaining portion that covers a front end portion of the terminal accommodating chamber from the outer surface side,
a front end portion of the terminal body is engaged with the retaining portion to restrict relative displacement of the terminal body toward the terminal insertion opening;
The connector device according to claim 6, wherein the wall-like closing portion is formed with a movement restricting portion that faces the rear end portion of the terminal body from behind. The connector device according to claim 7, wherein the terminal body has a press-fit protrusion formed thereon that presses against the inner wall of the terminal receiving chamber.

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