JP2002184506A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To protect a retainer hinge by restricting the reversal turn of a retainer. SOLUTION: A retainer 14 is capable of moving aslant mounted to a connector housing 1 having a cavity 10 through a hinge 15. When the retainer 14 is turned toward the side which is reverse in the direction of closing an entrance 19, as a reversal turn restricting part 18, touching the retainer 14, is mounted to the connector housing 1, an excessive movement of reversal turn is restricted, and the hinge 15 is protected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector of the type which uses a retainer to double-lock terminal fittings.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional technique will be described with reference to FIGS. Conventionally, a connector provided with a retainer 62 in addition to the lance 61 in the connector housing 50 to double-lock the terminal fitting 64 has been known.
This type of connector has a structure in which a separate retainer (not shown) is assembled with the connector housing 50 after the terminal fitting 64 is assembled. However, as a result of development to reduce product cost, today, 9 and 10
As shown in FIG.
Some are rotatably mounted via hinges 65. In this case, the retainer 62 is connected to the retainer entrance 6 provided in the connector housing 50 as shown in FIG.
10, between a lock release position where the metal terminal 64 is allowed to enter and the metal terminal 64 is allowed to enter, and a lock position where the metal fitting 64 is inserted through the retainer entrance 66 and the terminal fitting 64 is restricted by the locking portion 67 as shown in FIG. To tilt.

[0003]

By the way, the hinge is formed by thinning a connecting portion with the connector housing. On the other hand, when the retainer is in the unlocked position, the retainer can be reversed in the direction opposite to the direction in which the entrance of the retainer is closed. There is a possibility that the retainer may be excessively inverted due to entanglement. In such a case, excessive stress is generated in the hinge, which may hinder the hinge function.

The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of restricting excessive rotation of a retainer.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a connector housing having a cavity for accommodating a terminal fitting, and the connector housing being capable of being tilted via a hinge. A connector comprising a retainer, which is attached to the connector housing, and which is opened on a side surface of the connector housing, enters through a retainer entrance that communicates with the cavity, and has a locking portion that locks the terminal fitting in a retaining state. When the retainer is reversed to the direction opposite to the direction in which the retainer entrance is closed, the retainer comes into contact with the retainer to provide a reversing restricting portion that restricts the reversing operation of the retainer.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the case where the retainer intends to excessively invert, the inversion restricting portion comes into contact with the retainer. Cannot be reversed. Therefore,
The hinge function is maintained without excessive force acting on the hinge.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. <First Embodiment> FIGS. 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a female connector housing, in which a cavity 10 for accommodating a terminal fitting 12 is formed. In this embodiment, four cavities 10 are arranged along the width direction of the female connector housing 1 in this embodiment, and each of the four cavities 10 is formed to penetrate along the length direction of the female connector housing 1. A cantilever-shaped lance 11 is formed at a position near the front end in each cavity 10 so as to be able to bend. Stop.

Further, a cantilevered lock arm 13 is provided on the side surface of the female connector housing 1 so as to be flexible, and locks with the male connector housing when the male connector housing (not shown) is properly fitted. Thus, both connector housings can be held in the fitted state. In the female connector housing 1, the lock arm 1 described above is used.
A concave portion is provided on the surface opposite to the surface on which each of the cavities 3 is provided, and a retainer entrance 19 for allowing each locking portion 16 of the retainer 14 described below to enter into each concave portion. They are arranged correspondingly and each is formed so as to communicate with each cavity 10. A retainer 14 for secondary locking of the terminal fitting 12 is provided in the recess.
Is arranged.

The retainer 14 is continuous with a rear end edge of the recess through a thin hinge 15 and is rotatable about the hinge 15. The same number of locking portions 16 corresponding to each cavity 10 are formed on the back surface of the retainer 14 so as to protrude. When the retainer 14 is at the unlocked position shown in FIG. 2, each of the locking portions 16 is located outside the connector housing 1 and the terminal fitting 1 with respect to the cavity 10.
2 can be inserted and removed, but when the retainer 14 rotates until it comes into close contact with the concave portion of the female connector housing 1 and reaches the locking position shown in FIG. 10 and engages with the rear edge 17 of the connecting portion of the terminal fitting 12 to prevent the terminal fitting 12 from coming off. Further, the retainer 14 is provided with a locking means (not shown in detail), and is engaged with a part of the female connector housing 1 when the retainer 14 is in the engagement position to retain the retainer 14.
Can be held in the locking position.

Further, in this embodiment, in order to prevent the retainer 14 from excessively rotating in the inversion direction, the inversion restricting portions 18 are provided on both the female connector housing 1 side and the retainer 14 side. The inversion restricting part 18 is a hinge 15
Are provided over substantially the entire width thereof at corresponding positions on the front side of the female connector housing 1 and the outer surface of the female connector housing 1, and in this embodiment, each of them projects in a semicircular cross section, and their top edges meet each other. Thus, the rotation angle of the retainer 14 in the reverse direction can be restricted.

Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment configured as described above will be specifically described. When the retainer 14 is at the unlocked position, the terminal fitting 12 is inserted from behind the cavity 10. When the terminal fitting 12 passes through the lance 11, the terminal fitting 12 bends and deforms in the retreating direction, and returns after passing through the lance 11, whereby the terminal fitting 12 is primarily locked with the terminal fitting 12. Terminal fitting 12 for each cavity 10
Is completed, the retainer 14 is rotated so that each locking portion 16 enters the cavity 10 through the retainer entrance 19. Thereby, each locking portion 16 is connected to the terminal fitting 12.
The terminal fittings 12 are double-locked together with the locking by the lances 11 so that the terminal fittings 12 are securely locked. When the terminal fitting 12 is not inserted into the cavity 10 to the normal depth, that is, in a so-called half-inserted state, the retainer 1
Since each of the locking portions 16 of FIG. 4 interferes with the terminal fitting 12 so that the locking means (not shown) is not locked, the operator can detect that the terminal fitting is half-inserted.

By the way, the retainer 1 in the unlocked position
When the rotating member 4 is rotated in the reversing direction to a predetermined angle, the retainer 14 and the reversing restricting portions 18 on both sides of the female connector housing 1 abut against each other, so that further reversing operation is restricted. Therefore, since the hinge 15 is not excessively pulled or excessively compressed, it is possible to prevent the hinge 15 from being damaged.

<Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8
Shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the form of the reversal restricting portion 21 is changed. In addition, in the first embodiment, the inversion restricting portion 18 is provided on both the retainer 14 and the female connector housing 1, but in the present embodiment, it is disposed only on the retainer 14 side. The inversion restricting portion 21 has a triangular cross section, and its rear end surface is formed so as to contact the upper surface 20 of the female connector housing 1 and restrict further inversion operation when the retainer 14 is inverted to a predetermined angle. ing. FIG. 7 shows the angular position of the retainer 14 when the female connector 1 is formed. As shown in FIG. 7, the reverse connector is provided only on the retainer side, so that the entire connector is in the horizontal direction in the figure. Molding is possible only with a mold that opens and closes.

Therefore, also in the second embodiment, when an excessive reversing operation of the retainer 14 is attempted,
This operation can be regulated by contacting the inversion regulating portion 21 of the retainer 14 with the upper surface 20 of the female connector housing 1. In addition, in the second embodiment, since the entire connector can be formed only by the mold that opens and closes in the left-right direction in FIG. 7, there is an advantage that the connector can be manufactured with a simple mold structure. The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same operation and effect can be exhibited.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in 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, the inversion restricting portion is formed on the retainer, but the inversion restricting portion may be formed on the connector housing side.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a connector housing showing a state in which a retainer is in an unlocked position according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the connector housing showing a state in which a retainer is in an unlocking position in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the connector housing after the terminal fitting is mounted, showing a state in which the retainer is in a locking position in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the connector housing after the terminal fitting is mounted, showing a state in which the retainer is in a locking position in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the connector housing showing a state in which the retainer is restricted by the reversing restricting portion in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the connector housing showing a state in which a retainer is at an unlocking position in the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the connector housing showing a state in which the retainer is at an unlocking position in the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the connector housing showing a state in which the retainer is restricted by the reversing restricting portion in the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a general sectional view of a connector housing showing a state where a retainer is in an unlocked position.

FIG. 10 is a general cross-sectional view of the connector housing after the terminal fitting is mounted, showing a state in which the retainer is at a locking position.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Connector housing 10 ... Cavity 14 ... Retainer 15 ... Hinge 18 ... Reversal control part 19 ... Entrance

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A connector housing having a cavity for accommodating a terminal fitting, and is tiltably attached to the connector housing via a hinge, opened on a side surface of the connector housing, and entered through a retainer entrance which communicates with the cavity. And a retainer provided with a locking portion for locking the terminal fitting in a retaining state, wherein when the retainer is turned to the opposite side to the direction in which the retainer entrance is closed, the A connector provided with a reversing restricting portion for restricting the reversing operation of the retainer by being in contact with the connector.