JP2000223198A - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely lock a connection terminal irrespective of the small size of a connector. SOLUTION: A lock member 2 has a wedge-like gap 13 between two, upper and lower lock arms 11 formed into a substantially V shape and held by means of a link part. A pin insertion hole for putting a pin part 53 of a housing 1 therethrough and an annular recessed part positioned on the gap 13 side of the pin insertion hole are formed in the link part. A front holder 6 has a wedge part capable of entering the gap 13 of the lock member 2 with a wedge action and a terminal support part 32 for supporting front parts of connection terminals 5. The housing 1 has a gap between upper and lower front accommodating parts for accommodating the lock member 2, the front accommodating parts communicate with the gap via an opening, and the pin part 53 capable of being fitted into the pin insertion hole in the lock member 2 is installed in the gap so as to project from a rear surface of a partition 51 in the axial direction. After the lock member 2 is inserted into the gap, the pin part 53 projecting from the pin insertion hole is melted by a welder, and the lock member 2 is welded to the housing 1 by the melted part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric connector which can be used, for example, for a wire harness of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional electric connector of this type, a plurality of connection terminals, each having an electric wire or a flat cable connected to a rear portion thereof, are housed in a housing, and are locked by a locking arm formed integrally with the housing. The locking force of the locking arm is improved by the front holder engaged with the part or the rear holder engaged with the rear part of the housing.

[0003]

However, if the housing is small due to the mold release during molding, the locking arm must be small, and the locking force of the locking arm is reduced. There's a problem.

In order to release the locked state between the connection terminal and the locking arm, the locking arm must be moved. In this case, the locking arm is small and it is difficult to identify it. There is a problem that it is not easy to remove the terminal.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that can increase the locking force of a connection terminal even if it is small.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector which can easily release a locked state with respect to a connection terminal.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided an electric connector according to the present invention, in which a connection terminal having a wire connected to a rear portion is housed in a housing from the rear portion, and is engaged with a front portion of the housing. An electrical connector for locking the connection terminal by a locking arm of a locking member and improving a locking force of the locking arm on the connection terminal by a front holder engaged with a front portion of the housing, The locking member is formed separately from the housing and fixed to a predetermined position in the housing.

Further, in the electric connector according to the present invention, the connection terminal having the electric wire connected to the rear portion is accommodated in the housing from the rear portion, and the connection terminal is engaged by the engagement arm of the engagement member engaged with the front portion of the housing. And a front holder engaged with a front portion of the housing to improve a locking force of the locking arm with respect to the connection terminal, wherein the locking member is separate from the housing. It is characterized in that it is formed and colored differently and is fixed at a predetermined position in the housing.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiment. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment, in which a housing 1, a locking member 2 fitted and welded to a front portion of the housing 1, an electric wire 3 of a wire harness, and a sealing member 4 fitted to the electric wire 3 are shown. Are connected to the rear part and are housed in the housing 1, and the front holder 6 is pushed into the front part of the housing 1 from the front of the locking member 2. The housing 1, the locking member 2, and the front holder 6 are formed of an electrically insulating synthetic resin material, and the connection terminals 5 are processed from a conductive metal plate.

As shown in the front view of FIG.
Is formed in a substantially V-shape in a vertically symmetric manner, and a plurality of locking arms 11 for locking the connection terminal 5 are formed in two stages via a connecting portion 12 so that the upper and lower locking arms 11 A wedge-shaped gap 13 is provided between them. A guide surface 14 is formed on the connecting portion 12, and a locking projection 15 is provided on an outer surface of each locking arm 11. A locking projection 16 for locking the front holder 6 is formed on the inner side surface of the locking arm 11 located on the outside in the horizontal direction,
A pin insertion hole 17 for inserting a pin portion of the housing 1 to be described later is formed in the connection portion 12 so as to be located between the upper and lower locking arms 11, and the pin insertion hole 17 on the gap 13 side of the connection portion 12. Is formed with an annular concave portion 18.

The connection terminal 5 has a rectangular tubular terminal body 21 connected to a connection terminal on the other side, a protruding stabilizer 22 for stabilizing the posture, and a core wire crimping portion 23 for crimping the core wire 3 a of the electric wire 3. And a coating crimping portion 24 for crimping the coating 3b of the electric wire 3.
Is formed with a locking hole 25 with which a locking projection described later is engaged. In addition, the end portion 4a of the seal member 4 is
Is crimped.

The front holder 6 has a wedge portion 31 capable of entering the gap 13 of the locking member 2 with a wedge action, a terminal support portion 32 for supporting a front portion of the connection terminal 5, and a housing 1 described later. 33 that forms an opening in cooperation with the end wall of
And a locking portion 34 that engages with the locking projection 16 of the locking member 2.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the housing 1, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 2, wherein the housing 1 is colored in a different color from the locking member 2 and has a front end face 41 and a rear end face 42; An arm 43 is provided. The locking arm 43 is provided with a locking projection 43a for locking to a locking portion on the other side, and a pressed member pressed to unlock the locking projection 43a and the locking portion. A portion 43b is formed. The housing 1 is provided with, for example, a plurality of terminal receiving holes 44 for receiving the connection terminals 5, and the front end face 41 side of the terminal receiving holes 44 has the terminal body 21, the stabilizer 22, and the core wire crimping portion 23 of the connection terminals 5. The terminal crimping portion 24 is provided with a front housing portion 44a, and the rear end surface 42 side of the terminal housing hole 44 is provided with the covering crimping portion 24 of the connection terminal 5 by the sealing member 4.
And a rear housing portion 44b for housing the same.

The front accommodating portion 44a has a width that does not move the terminal body 21 of the connection terminal 5 in the left-right direction. The front accommodating portion 44a has a guide groove 45 for guiding the stabilizer 22 of the connection terminal 5, A locking projection 46 that engages with the locking hole 25 is provided. An end wall 47 including the front end surface 41 is provided in the front housing portion 44a. The end wall 47 has an opening 48 for inserting a connection terminal on the other side, and a groove 49 for housing the flange portion 33 of the front holder 6. Are formed. A gap 50 for accommodating the locking member 2 is provided between the upper and lower front accommodation sections 44a, and the upper and lower rear accommodation sections 44b are provided.
Are separated by a partition wall 51. The front accommodating portion 44a and the gap 50 communicate with each other through an opening 52. In the gap 50, a pin portion 53 that can be fitted into the pin insertion hole 17 of the locking member 2 protrudes from the rear surface of the partition wall 51 in the axial direction. Have been.

In order to assemble the electric connector having such a configuration, first, as shown in FIG.
Then, the pin member 53 of the housing 1 is inserted into the pin insertion hole 17 of the locking member 2. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the welding machine W is inserted into the gap 13 of the locking member 2 from the gap 50 of the housing 1 and the pin portion 53 is formed as shown in FIG.
Is melted to form a fusion portion 53a, and the locking member 2 is welded to the housing 1.

Next, when the connection terminal 5 is inserted into the terminal receiving hole 44 of the housing 1, the connection terminal 5 moves forward while bending the locking arm 11 of the locking member 2 into the gap 13, as shown in FIG. Abuts against the end wall 47 of the housing 1. At the same time, the locking arm 11 is restored and presses the connection terminal 5 outward. Thereby, the locking projection 46 of the housing 1 is locked in the locking hole 25 of the connection terminal 5, and the locking projection 15 of the locking member 2 is engaged with the rear part of the terminal body 21 of the connection terminal 5.

When the front holder 6 is pushed into the gap 13 of the locking member 2 as shown in FIG. 9, the wedge portion 31 of the front holder 6 presses the locking arm 11 of the locking member 2 toward the connection terminal 5. The flange portion 33 of the locking member 2 is
And the locking arm 11 is locked to the connection terminal 5. Since the locking arm 11 is separate from the housing 1, it can be made larger than a conventional integrated locking arm, so that the locking force is improved.

On the other hand, when removing the connection terminal 5 from the housing, first, the front holder 6 is attached, and a jig (not shown) is passed through the gap 50 to bend the locking arm 11 into the gap 50. At this time, the colors of the housing 1 and the locking member 2 are different, and furthermore, the locking arm 11 can be enlarged, so that the worker can easily identify the locking arm 11 and when pulling out the connection terminal 5. Workability is improved.

[0019]

As described above, in the electrical connector according to the present invention, the locking member is formed separately from the housing and is welded to a predetermined position of the housing, so that the locking arm is formed larger than before. And the locking force of the locking arm with respect to the connection terminal can be improved.

Further, since the housing and the locking member are colored in different colors, and the locking arm is enlarged,
The operator can easily identify the locking member, and the workability of extracting the connection terminal can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the locking member.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a housing.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a locking member is inserted into a housing.

FIG. 6 is a process diagram of welding a housing and a locking member.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the locking member is welded to the housing.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a state where connection terminals are inserted into a housing.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a state where a front holder is inserted into a housing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing 2 Locking member 3 Electric wire 5 Connection terminal 6 Front holder 11 Locking arm 13 Gap 15 Locking projection 21 Terminal main body 25 Locking hole 31 Wedge-shaped part 50 Gap 52 Opening 53 Pin part 53a Melting part

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing from the front page (72) Ryo Sawada, Inventor F-term (reference) 5-1-08-1 EE14 FF08 FF13 GG14 GG15 GG24 GG31 GG32 GG34 HH02 HH04 1-8-1, Kotakecho, Nerima-ku, Tokyo LL03 LL12 MM05 QQ04 RR06 RR12 RR25 RR42

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A connection terminal having an electric wire connected to a rear portion is housed in a housing from the rear portion, and the connection terminal is locked by a locking arm of a locking member engaged with a front portion of the housing, and the housing is connected to the housing. An electrical connector for improving a locking force of the locking arm with respect to the connection terminal by a front holder engaged with a front portion of the housing, wherein the locking member is formed separately from the housing, and a predetermined portion in the housing is provided. An electrical connector fixed to a position. 2. A connection terminal having an electric wire connected to a rear portion is housed in a housing from the rear portion, and the connection terminal is locked by a locking arm of a locking member engaged with a front portion of the housing, and the housing is connected to the housing. An electrical connector for improving a locking force of the locking arm with respect to the connection terminal by a front holder engaged with a front part of the electrical connector, wherein the locking member is formed separately from the housing and is colored in a different color. An electrical connector secured to a predetermined position in the housing. 3. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the housing houses a plurality of connection terminals in two stages, and the locking member has two locking arms formed in a substantially V shape. 4. The electrical connector according to claim 3, wherein a part of said front holder is pushed between said two locking arms to improve the locking force of said locking arms.