JP2000268906A - Connector and female side terminal fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector of which wire is projected to a direction orthogonal to a connecting direction of a mating side terminal. SOLUTION: A female side connector housing 11 is provided with a cavity 13 in which a female side terminal fitting 30 is installed which is provided with an angular cylindrical terminal connection part 31. A tab 56 enters from a direction orthogonal to the cavity 13 via a through hole 19 when the female side connector housing 11 is fitted around a male side connector housing 50. A tab receiving entrance is opened on a side surface of the terminal connection part 31 at the female side terminal fitting 30 in the cavity 13, and the tab 56 enters the inside of a cylinder from the tab receiving entrance so as to be connected to an elastic contact piece provided at its inside. Thus, a wire 40 is projected to a direction orthogonal to a connecting direction of the tab 56 in the terminal connection part 31 since the tab 56 is connected to a direction orthogonal to the male side terminal fitting 30.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a connector and a female terminal fitting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a generally used connector, terminal fittings in a connector housing and mating terminal fittings are arranged on the same straight line and connected in opposite directions. The electric wire connected to the terminal fitting extends to the outside of the connector along the connecting direction of the mating terminal fitting.

[0003]

However, when such a connector as described above is connected to a terminal fitting protruding from an engine or the like in an engine room of an automobile, for example, an electric wire extending outside the connector is connected to the engine. However, there is a problem that the projections greatly protrude from other parts, and this interferes with other parts and hinders space saving. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector in which an electric wire extends in a direction orthogonal to a connecting direction of a mating terminal.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector including a terminal connecting portion capable of connecting a mating terminal metal fitting and an electric wire connecting portion capable of connecting an electric wire. A terminal housing, and a connector housing having a cavity capable of accommodating the terminal housing, wherein the mating terminal fitting is substantially orthogonal to the terminal fitting at the terminal connecting portion. The connection is characterized in that the electric wire extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the connecting direction of the mating terminal fitting.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the terminal connecting portion has a tab receiving opening capable of receiving a tab of the counterpart terminal fitting, and is elastically in contact with the tab. It is characterized in that a possible elastic contact piece is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a female terminal fitting comprising a terminal connecting part capable of connecting a tab of a mating male terminal fitting and a wire connecting part capable of connecting an electric wire, wherein The portion includes a tab receiving portion capable of receiving the tab from a direction substantially perpendicular to the length direction of the female terminal fitting, and an elastic contact piece capable of elastically contacting the tab. A female terminal fitting.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the terminal fitting and the mating terminal fitting are connected so as to be substantially orthogonal to each other, the electric wire is substantially connected to the connecting direction of the mating terminal fitting. It extends in a direction orthogonal to the direction.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the elastic contact pieces come into contact with the tabs received in the tab receiving ports, and the two terminal fittings are electrically connected.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the tab can be connected so as to be substantially perpendicular to the female terminal fitting, the electric wire can be extended in a direction substantially perpendicular to the connecting direction of the tab. .

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The female connector 10 of the present embodiment is used, for example, in an engine room of an automobile, and can be fitted to a male connector housing 50 mounted on a device 60 such as an engine (see FIG. 2). ).

The female connector 10 has a female connector housing 11 and a female terminal fitting 30 housed in the female connector housing 11. The female connector housing 11 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material, and has a cavity 13 that can accommodate the female terminal fitting 30. The cavity 13 is formed long in the left-right direction in FIG. 1, and has a terminal insertion opening 14 for inserting the female terminal fitting 30 at the right end in the figure. The bottom wall of the cavity 13 is provided with a lance 1
5 is protruded in a cantilever shape, and is engaged with the female terminal fitting 30 so as to be prevented from being removed. At the left end of the cavity 13 in FIG. 1, there is provided a mold release port 16 for removing a mold for molding, and a dummy plug 25 made of an elastic member is fitted therein to seal. . In addition, a projection 17 having a rounded prism shape is formed on the outer wall of the cavity 13 so as to project downward in FIG. 1, and a tab insertion opening 18 is formed at a tip end surface of the projection 17. Have been. This tab insertion port 18
Has a tapered shape that expands outward.
The tab 56 provided on the male connector housing 50 is
It leads to the inside of the through hole 19 provided inside. The through hole 19 is formed so as to penetrate the projecting portion 17 and to be orthogonal to the cavity 13. The tab 56 inserted from the tab insertion port 18 enters the vicinity of the tip of the cavity 13 through the through hole 19. Further, a relief recess 20 formed on the back side is inserted.

Now, in the female connector housing 11,
A hood portion 21 is provided so as to substantially concentrically surround the projecting portion 17 including the tip portion of the outer wall of the cavity 13. The hood portion 21 has a rounded cylindrical shape as a whole and extends in a direction orthogonal to the cavity 13, and the position of the tab 56 is matched with the through hole 19 by fitting the male connector housing 50. You can do it. Further, on the left side surface of the hood portion 21 in FIG. 1, a die opening 22 of a molding die is opened.

On the other hand, the male connector housing 50 is made of a synthetic resin material and has a rounded tubular portion 51 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 51 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the hood portion 21 so that it can fit into the hood portion 21. In addition, the cylindrical portion 5
A U-shaped groove 52 is formed in the side wall of the hollow 1, and the outer wall of the cavity 13 is fitted into the groove 52 when the cylindrical portion 51 is fitted into the hood 21.

A male terminal fitting 5 is provided inside the cylindrical portion 51.
A tab 56 formed at one end of 5 (all not shown) protrudes. The tab 56 is formed in a flat plate shape, and enters the cavity 13 through the through hole 19 from the tab insertion opening 18 with the fitting operation of the connector housings 11 and 50, and the female terminal fitting 30 and It can be connected.

A rubber ring 58 is fitted on the inner periphery of the inner side of the cylindrical portion 51 so that both connector housings 11 and
When the connector housing 50 is fitted, the rubber ring 58 is fitted on the outer periphery of the protruding portion 17 so that both connector housings 11 and 5 are fitted.
The space between 0 is sealed. As shown in FIG. 2, the male connector housing 50 is attached to a device 60 such as an engine so that a tab 56 projects vertically.

The female terminal fitting 30 is formed by bending a conductive metal plate, and includes a terminal connecting portion 31 to which the tab 56 can be connected and an electric wire connecting portion 32 to which the electric wire 40 can be connected. Have. In the following, the female terminal fitting 30 will be described.
In the description, the side provided with the terminal connecting portion 31 is referred to as a front side.

The electric wire connecting portion 32 includes a wire barrel 32A composed of a pair of caulked pieces and an insulation barrel 32B also composed of a pair of caulked pieces. The core of the electric wire 40 is caulked to the wire barrel 32A. ing. In addition, in the insulation barrel 32B,
One end of a rubber plug 45 fitted around the electric wire 40 is fixed by caulking. The rubber stopper 45 is connected to the inner peripheral wall of the cavity 13 and the electric wire 4 near the terminal insertion port 14.
0 and a seal is provided.

The terminal connecting portion 31 is formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape, and an engagement hole 3 engageable with the lance 15 is formed at a rear portion of a bottom wall thereof.
4 are provided. A pair of protrusions 35 are formed downward from both left and right edges of the engagement hole 34, and when the lance 15 is engaged with the engagement hole 34, the lance 15 is sandwiched between the two protrusions 35. By doing so, the posture of the female terminal fitting 30 can be maintained.

The right and left side surfaces of the terminal connecting portion 31 have through holes 1
9, a pair of tab receiving ports 36 capable of receiving the tabs 56 are opened (see FIG. 5).
Are connected so as to intersect the female terminal fitting 30 at right angles. In addition, the width in the length direction of each tab receiving port 36 is made larger than the lateral width of the through hole 19, so that the tip of the tab 56 does not hit the hole edge of the tab receiving port 36 when the tab 56 is inserted. Has become. An elastic contact piece 37 is provided inside the terminal connecting portion 31 so as to extend obliquely into the cylinder from the side (the right side in FIG. 5) of the side edge of the bottom wall into which the tab 56 is inserted. Yes,
It can be bent and deformed up and down. Further, the tip of the elastic contact piece 37 is folded in a mountain shape to form a contact 37A that can contact the tab 56. Furthermore, the terminal connection part 3
A protrusion 38 is formed on the upper wall of the first terminal 1 at a position facing the contact 37A, and the tab 56 is sandwiched between the protrusion 38 and the contact 37A, so that the electrical connection between the two terminal fittings 30, 55 is achieved. Contact is ensured.

This embodiment has the above configuration, and its operation will be described below. To assemble the female connector 10,
The female terminal fitting 30 to which the electric wire 40 and the rubber stopper 45 are attached is inserted into the cavity 13 through the terminal insertion opening 14. When the female terminal fitting 30 is inserted to the proper position, the lance 1
5 is engaged with the inside of the engagement hole 34 to prevent the removal.

Next, in order to assemble the female connector 10 into the male connector housing 50, the tubular portion 51 is fitted into the hood portion 21. Then, the tab 56 is in the tab insertion opening 1
8, enters the cavity 13 through the through hole 19, and is inserted into the terminal connecting portion 31 from one of the tab receiving ports 36. Then, while the tip of the tab 56 contacts the elastic contact piece 37 and deflects it downward, it further enters and is inserted into the other tab receiving port 36. On the other hand, the protrusion 17 is pushed into the inner periphery of the rubber ring 58, and the outer wall of the cavity 13 is fitted into the groove 52. Thus, when the connector housings 11, 50 are fitted to the proper positions, the assembly is completed (see FIG. 6). At this time, the tab 56 penetrates the terminal connecting portion 31 from the orthogonal direction through the tab receiving port 18, and the elastic contact piece 37 is in elastic contact with the tab 56. The electric wire 40 extends in a direction orthogonal to the connecting direction of the tab 56. Also,
The interior of the cavity 13 is sealed in a watertight manner by the rubber stopper 45, the dummy stopper 25 and the rubber ring 58.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the electric wire 40 extends in the direction orthogonal to the connecting direction of the tab 56, the electric wire 40 does not protrude from the device 60 such as an engine, Interference with members becomes difficult. In the connector housing 11, the female terminal fitting 30 is connected to the tab 56.
Therefore, the length of the connector housing 11 in the connecting direction of the tab 56 can be reduced, and the space can be effectively used. Furthermore, the electric wire 40 extended from the connector 10 is
, And the appearance is improved as compared with the case where the electric wire 40 projects from the device 60.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the followings are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. (1) In the present embodiment, the number of the female terminal fittings 30 accommodated in the female connector 10 is one, but the number of the female terminal fittings 30 may be plural. (2) In the present embodiment, the connector 10 used in the engine room of an automobile is shown. However, the present invention is not particularly limited to such a usage mode. It can be applied when you want to bend the exit direction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view of a connector according to an embodiment before assembly.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a female connector housing and a male connector housing.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a female connector housing and a female terminal fitting.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the female connector housing and the female terminal fitting.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a terminal connecting portion of the female terminal fitting.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a state after assembly.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Female connector (connector) 11 ... Female connector housing (connector housing) 13 ... Cavity 30 ... Female terminal fitting (terminal fitting) 31 ... Terminal connecting part 32 ... Wire connecting part 36 ... Tab receiving port (Tab receiving part) 37 ... Elastic contact piece 40 ... Electric wire 55 ... Male terminal fitting (mating terminal fitting) 56 ... Tab

Claims (3)

[Claims] A terminal fitting having a terminal connecting part capable of connecting a mating terminal fitting and an electric wire connecting part capable of connecting an electric wire;
A connector housing having a cavity capable of accommodating the terminal fitting, wherein the mating terminal fitting is connected to the terminal connecting portion so as to be substantially orthogonal to the terminal fitting. By that
The connector wherein the electric wire extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to a connecting direction of the mating terminal fitting. 2. The terminal connecting portion is provided with a tab receiving port capable of receiving a tab of the counterpart terminal fitting, and an elastic contact piece capable of elastically contacting the tab. The connector according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A female terminal fitting comprising a terminal connecting part capable of connecting a tab of a mating male terminal fitting and a wire connecting part capable of connecting an electric wire, wherein the terminal connecting part has A tab receiving portion capable of receiving the tab from a direction substantially orthogonal to the length direction of the female terminal fitting, and an elastic contact piece elastically contactable with the tab are provided. Female terminal fittings.