JP2002164109A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector which can be easily made waterproof and can be prevented from being left in a state of half-insertion, in the case of one provided with a moving plate and a retainer. SOLUTION: A retainer 40 is fitted to a back face of a hood part 11 from the front, so that there is no need of providing an opening for inserting a retainer at the side face of a connector housing 10, making it easy to have it waterproof. Further, a moving plate 30 is so fitted to press in the retainer 40 from a temporary locking position to a proper locking position (a fall-off restraining position) in accordance with movement backward, which prevents the retainer 30 from being left in a state of half-insertion.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector having a moving plate and a retainer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a connector having a moving plate and a retainer, there is a connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-219235. This is to form a hood part projecting forward in the connector housing, make the tab of the male terminal fitting inserted into the connector housing protrude into the hood part, and insert the tab into the positioning hole of the moving plate movably provided in the hood part. The retainer is inserted into the connector housing, and the terminal fitting is prevented from being removed by the retainer.

[0003]

The above-mentioned conventional connector is of a so-called side retainer type in which a retainer is assembled from a side surface of a connector housing. There's a problem. That is, since the opening for inserting the retainer is provided on the side surface of the connector housing, it is extremely difficult to waterproof the connector.

In general, in a connector provided with a retainer, the retainer is temporarily locked at a position allowing insertion and removal of the terminal fitting from the connector housing, and the connector in the temporarily locked state is shipped to a site where the terminal fitting is assembled. I do. And
At the assembly site, the terminal fitting is inserted into the connector housing, and then the retainer is pushed into the final locking position to restrict the terminal fitting from being removed, thereby performing assembly.
To push the retainer to the final locking position, press the finger directly with the finger.In this case, the connector is pushed without the retainer reaching the final locking position due to insufficient pushing or forgetting to push. Was sometimes neglected.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a connector having a moving plate and a retainer, waterproofing can be easily achieved, and it is possible to prevent the retainer from being left in a half-inserted state. It aims to provide connectors.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector housing having a hood portion projecting forward, and a male terminal fitting inserted into the connector housing to project a front end tab into the hood portion. A moving plate provided in the hood portion so as to be movable back and forth, and having the tab penetrated through a positioning hole; and a retainer for restricting the terminal fitting from coming out by being assembled to the connector housing from the front to the back surface of the hood portion. Wherein the moving plate is configured to be able to push the retainer through the retainer as it moves rearward to the restricted position.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sealing member capable of sealing between an inner periphery of the hood portion and an outer periphery of a mating connector fitted inside the hood portion. Configuration.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the retainer is assembled to the back of the hood from the front, there is no need to provide an opening for inserting the retainer on the side surface of the connector housing, and waterproofing is easily achieved. be able to. Also,
Since the retainer is pushed to the position where the terminal fitting is restricted by the moving plate, it is possible to prevent the retainer from being left halfway inserted.

[Invention of claim 2] Since the retainer is disposed in the inner surface of the hood, that is, in the area surrounded by the inner peripheral surface of the hood, the inner periphery of the hood and the outer periphery of the mating connector are not provided. Water around the retainer is also prevented by the seal member provided therebetween.

[0010]

[First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The connector M of the present embodiment is a connector housing 1
0, a male terminal fitting 20, a moving plate 30, and a retainer 40. In the following description, the left side of FIG. 1 is the front side in the front-rear direction, and FIG. The connector housing 10 is made of a synthetic resin, and has a hood portion 11 protruding forward on the outer periphery of the front end surface. A plurality of cavities 12 are formed inside the connector housing 10. The cavities 12 are located substantially at the center in the height direction, are divided into upper and lower tiers, and are horizontally arranged in a plurality of chambers in each tier. The male terminal fittings 20 inserted into these cavities 12 are made of resin. Lance 1
The detachment is restricted by the double locking structure of the retainer 3 and the retainer 40. Large-diameter cavities 14 are formed on both left and right sides of these two rows of cavities 12. Terminal fittings (not shown) inserted into the large-diameter cavities 14 are primarily locked by a resin lance 15. Just keep it. In addition, on both upper and lower sides of the cavity 12, receiving recesses 16 for fitting a sub-connector (not shown) from behind are formed.

The upper cavity 12 and the lower cavity 12 are vertically symmetrical, and a resin lance 13 extending forward in a cantilever manner is formed at the front end thereof. The upper resin lance 13 is formed along the lower surface of the cavity 12, and the lower resin lance 13 is formed along the upper surface of the cavity 12.
Between them, a bending space 17A for allowing the resin lance 13 to be elastically bent is formed in a form opened to the front end face of the connector housing 10. In the process of inserting the male terminal fitting 20 into the cavity 12 from behind, the resin lance 1
3 elastically bends toward the bending space 17A due to the interference with the male terminal fitting 20, and when the male terminal fitting 20 is properly inserted, the interference is released and the resin lance 13 elastically returned to the free state is attached to the male terminal fitting 20. On the other hand, it is locked in the removal restriction state. The inserted male terminal fitting 20 is configured such that the tab 21 at the front end of the male terminal fitting 20 projects from the front end face of the connector housing 10 (the back face of the hood section 11) into the hood section 11.

The bending space 17A communicates with the adjacent cavities 12, and has a slit shape elongated in the left-right direction as a whole. When the resin lance 13 is in a free state in which the resin lance 13 is not elastically deformed, the disengagement restriction function portion 41 of the retainer 40 is provided in the bending space 17A.
Are fitted without play in the vertical direction. The bending space 1 is provided on both left and right sides of the bending space 17A.
A pair of left and right guide holes 17B is formed to communicate with the connector 7A and open at the front end surface of the connector housing 10. The guide portion 42 of the retainer 40 can be fitted into the guide hole 17B without play in the vertical and horizontal directions. As described above, the bending space 17 </ b> A and the pair of guide holes 17 </ b> B constitute the retainer mounting hole 17 which is open on the inner surface of the hood 11 in the connector housing 10. On the inner surface of the guide hole 17B, a projection-like provisional locking receiving portion 18A and a final locking receiving portion 18B are formed. These receiving portions 18A, 1
8B, the locking portion 43 of the retainer 40 is locked, and the locking allows the retainer 40 to be held at the temporary locking position and the full locking position (removal restriction position) with respect to the connector housing 10. I have.

Next, the moving plate 30 will be described. The moving plate 30 is made of a synthetic resin, and has a male terminal fitting 20 protruding into the hood 11 from a front end surface (a back surface of the hood 11) of the connector housing 10.
A plate-shaped plate body 31 parallel to and having the same shape as the front end face of the connector housing 10, and a tab 21 protruding forward from the outer periphery of the plate body 31. It is formed integrally with a guide tube portion 32 which can slide on the inner periphery. The plate body 31 has a positioning hole 33 through which the tab 21 of the male terminal fitting 20 inserted into the upper and lower cavities 12 is inserted, and a male terminal fitting protruding from the sub-connector fitted into the housing recess 16. A positioning hole 34 for penetrating a tab (not shown) and a positioning hole 35 for inserting a tab (not shown) of the male terminal fitting inserted into the large-diameter cavity 14 are formed.

Retainer 40 in plate body 31
The surface facing the (retainer mounting hole 17) is a pushing portion 36, and the pushing portion 36 comes into contact with the retainer 40 and can press the retainer 40.

The guide cylinder 32 of the moving plate 30
, A seal member 38 is provided integrally. The seal member 38 is provided at the rear end of the guide cylinder 32 (the plate body 3).
1) outer peripheral side sealing portion 38A along the outer periphery
And an inner peripheral side seal portion 38B along the inner periphery in front of the outer peripheral side seal portion 38A. The two seal portions 38A and 38B are provided with a plurality of connection holes 39 provided at intervals in the circumferential direction. Are connected to each other.

Incidentally, cam pin receivers 32A are formed on both upper and lower sides of the guide cylinder portion 32. In the process of mating with the mating connector F, the cam pin (not shown) of the mating connector F and the cam pin receiver 32A are fitted and integrated with the cam groove of the lever (not shown). When the lever is rotated about the rotation shaft 32B, the cam action causes the mating connector F to approach the connector housing 10 integrally with the moving plate 30 and come into a fitted state. I have.

The retainer 40 is made of a synthetic resin, and has a horizontal plate-shaped detachment restricting function portion 41 which is long in the left-right direction. The surface is formed by integrally molding a pair of guide portions 42 having a plate shape oriented substantially perpendicularly. The front end face of the retainer 40 is substantially flush with both the disengagement restriction function part 41 and the guide part 42, but the rear end part of the guide part 42 is further rearward than the rear end of the disengagement restriction function part 41 ( It protrudes in the mounting direction with respect to the connector housing 10).

A pair of front and rear locking portions 43 are formed on the outer surface of the rear end portion of the guide portion 42 which protrudes from the slip-out restricting function portion 41. Guide hole 17B
When the locking portion 43 is engaged with the temporary locking receiving portion 18A so as to sandwich it from both front and rear sides, the retainer 40 is held at the temporary locking position with respect to the connector housing 10. When the retainer 40 is at the temporary locking position,
Does not enter the bending space 17A, and therefore,
The elastic deformation of the resin lance 13 into the bending space 17A is allowed, and the insertion and removal of the male terminal fitting 20 with respect to the cavity 12 can be performed.

When the retainer 40 at the temporary locking position is pushed into the full locking position, the locking portion 43 engages with the full locking receiving portion 18B of the guide hole 17B so as to sandwich it from both front and rear sides. The retainer 40 is held at the final locking position with respect to the connector housing 10. In a state where the retainer 40 is in the final locking position, the detachment restricting function portion 41 is fitted into the flexible space 17A without play, so that the resin lance 13 is bent toward the flexible space 17A (in a direction in which the resin lance 13 is separated from the male terminal fitting 20).
To the male terminal fitting 20.
Is restricted.

Further, at the rear end of the guide portion 42 (the front end in the mounting direction with respect to the retainer mounting hole 17), there is provided a tapered leading end which gradually decreases in vertical dimension toward the rear end. A portion 44 is formed. Furthermore, each cavity 1 in the dropout restricting function unit 41
At the front end of the position corresponding to 2 (each resin lance 13),
Support portions 45 protruding upward and downward, respectively, are formed. The support portion 45 comes into contact with the front end portion of the male terminal fitting 20 in the cavity 12 from the bending space 17A side in a state where the retainer 40 is assembled at the final locking position. The inclination of the front end portion toward the bending space 17A is restricted, and the male terminal fitting 20 is maintained in a stable posture. The support portion 45 also functions as a stopper that restricts excessive pushing of the retainer 40 by abutting on the front end of the resin lance 13 when the retainer 40 is assembled at the final locking position.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. When assembling the connector M of the present embodiment, first, the retainer 40 is assembled to the connector housing 10 and temporarily locked. At this time, the retainer 40 is
The rear end portion is fitted into the guide hole 17B of the retainer mounting hole 17, and the locking portion 43 is engaged with the temporary locking receiving portion 18A to be held at the temporary locking position (see FIG. 1). next,
The moving plate 30 is accommodated in the hood portion 11 and is held at a fitting standby position which is separated from the front end surface of the connector housing 10 (the back surface of the hood portion 11) as shown in FIG. At this time, the front end face of the retainer 40 is positioned so as to be substantially flush with the front end face of the plate body 31 (the pushing portion 36) of the moving plate 30.

In this state, the male terminal fittings 20 are inserted into the cavities 12 so as to be in the primary locking state by the resin lance 13, and the leading end of the tab 21 projecting from the front end face of the connector housing 10 is positioned on the moving plate 30. Fit into the hole 33 (see FIG. 1). Thereby, each tab 21 is positioned in a state where play in the up, down, left and right directions is regulated, and prepares for fitting with each female terminal fitting (not shown) of the mating connector F.

When all the male terminal fittings 20 are fitted, the mating connector F is fitted into the hood portion 11, and the retainer 40 at the temporarily locked position is pushed into the fully locked position. To fit the mating connector F, a cam pin (not shown) of the mating connector F and the moving plate 30 are fitted.
The cam pin receiver 32A is fitted and integrated, and is engaged with a cam groove of a lever (not shown). When the lever is rotated about the rotation shaft 32B, the mating connector F is moved by the moving plate 30 by the cam action.
And approach the connector housing 10 together. As a result, the pushing portion 36 pushes the retainer 40 forward,
The two connectors M and F reach the regular fitting state, and the retainer 40 reaches the final locking position.

When the retainer 40 is pushed into the final locking position, the detachment restricting function part 41 is fitted into the flexure space 17A and regulates the resin lance 13 from elastically flexing in a direction in which the resin lance 13 is disengaged from the male terminal fitting 20. Thereby, the male terminal fitting 20 is formed.
Is in a secondary locking state, and the male terminal fitting 20 is primarily locked by the resin lance 13 and secondary locked by the retainer 40.
Is held in a double-locked state, and the removal of the male terminal fitting 20 from the cavity 12 is reliably restricted.

In the state where the mating connector F is fitted, as shown in FIG. 2, the outer peripheral side seal portion 38A of the moving plate 30 is brought into close contact with the inner periphery of the hood portion 11 so that the hood portion 11 and the moving plate 30 are connected to each other. Are sealed in a watertight state, and the inner peripheral side sealing portion 38B of the moving plate 30 is in close contact with the outer periphery of the mating connector F, so that the space between the moving plate 30 and the mating connector F is sealed in a watertight state. , This sealing member 3
8 seals the space between the hood 11 and the mating connector F. In addition, due to the sealing action of the seal member 38, the retainer mounting hole 17 that is open in a region inside the seal member 38 on the front end surface of the connector housing 10 also becomes waterproof.

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the retainer 40 is assembled from the front to the inner surface of the hood portion 11, there is no need to provide an opening for inserting the retainer on the side surface of the connector housing 10. The structure allows easy waterproofing. Further, the retainer 40 is disposed on the inner surface of the hood 11 in the connector housing 10, that is, in the area surrounded by the inner periphery of the hood 11. Therefore, by simply providing the seal member 38 between the inner periphery of the hood portion 11 and the outer periphery of the mating connector F, the fitting portion with the mating connector F can be waterproofed, Water is also prevented.

The moving plate 30 can push the retainer 40 from the temporary locking position to the full locking position (removal restricting position) as it moves rearward. It can be prevented from being left in a half-inserted state. In the present embodiment, the retainer 40 at the temporarily locked position is pushed into the fully locked position together with the mating with the mating connector F, but if necessary,
At a stage before the mating connector F is fitted, the lever 40 of the moving plate 30 is operated so that the retainer 40
The moving plate 3
After returning 0 to the original position (fitting standby position), the fitting operation with the mating connector F may be performed. Also,
The moving plate 30 is connected to the connector housing 10 in advance.
The retainer 40 may be put in the final locking position by pressing it with a finger or the like in a state where the moving plate 30 is detached from the housing, and the moving plate 30 may be assembled later to perform the fitting operation. Even in that case,
When the retainer 40 is erroneously in the half-inserted state, the moving plate 30 pushes the retainer 40 to the final locking position (removal restriction position).

The retainer 40 has a guide portion 42 which is inserted into the retainer mounting hole 17 prior to the detachment restricting function portion 41 when the retainer 40 is assembled to the connector housing 10. Part 4
By inserting 2 into retainer mounting hole 17 first, retainer 40 is positioned with respect to connector housing 10 and the posture is stabilized. Thereby, the retainer 40 can be assembled smoothly and reliably.

Further, the guide portion 42 is disengaged.
Are arranged in a pair at both ends, so that the posture of the retainer 40 is less likely to tilt as compared with the case where it is formed only at one end. Further, since the leading portion 44 having a tapered shape is formed at the tip of the guide portion 42, the guide portion 42 can be easily inserted into the retainer mounting hole 17. Further, since the locking portion 43 for holding the retainer 40 in the temporary locking position and the full locking position is formed in the guide portion 42, compared with the case where the locking portion is arranged at a position separate from the guide portion 42. Thus, simplification and downsizing of the shape of the entire retainer 40 are realized.

[Other Embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above with reference to the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a waterproof connector is described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a non-waterproof connector. (2) In the above embodiment, seal rings are provided around the inner and outer circumferences of the moving plate as waterproof means between the hood and the mating connector, but according to the present invention, they are attached to the inner circumference of the hood. The seal member may be directly adhered to the outer periphery of the mating connector.

(3) In the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a lever-type connector has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a connector that does not use a lever. (4) In the above-described embodiment, the front end surface of the retainer at the temporary locking position is substantially flush with the front end surface (pressing portion) of the plate main body of the moving plate. Of the plate body may be shifted rearward with respect to the front end surface of the plate body (a state in which the retainer is deeper than the pushing portion).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where a retainer is temporarily locked and a terminal fitting is inserted.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a mating connector is fitted and a retainer is fully locked.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the connector housing.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a moving plate.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a moving plate.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a retainer.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a retainer.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a retainer.

FIG. 9 is a rear view of the retainer.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged horizontal sectional view showing a state where a retainer is removed.

FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged horizontal sectional view showing a state where the retainer is temporarily locked.

FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged horizontal sectional view showing a state where the retainer is fully locked.

[Explanation of symbols]

 M: Connector 10: Connector housing 11: Hood section 20: Male terminal fitting 21: Tab 30: Moving plate 33: Positioning hole 38: Seal member 40: Retainer

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A connector housing having a hood portion projecting forward, a male terminal fitting inserted into the connector housing to project a front end tab into the hood portion, and provided movably in the hood portion. A moving plate having a tab penetrated through a positioning hole; and a retainer that is attached to a back surface of the hood portion from the front of the connector housing and controls the terminal fitting to come off. A connector that can be pushed into the restricted position by removing the retainer with the rearward movement. 2. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a sealing member capable of sealing between an inner periphery of the hood portion and an outer periphery of a mating connector fitted into the hood portion. connector.