JP2003022865A - Connector and jig for releasing lance - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector and a jig for releasing a lance that can improve workability of a releasing operation of the lance. SOLUTION: A retainer 40 has jig insertion holes 47 in the left side positions of terminal insertion holes 46. The jig J has, in juxtaposed projecting form, a releasing portion 51 for unlocking the lance 26 and a guide portion 52 shorter than the releasing portion 51. In the releasing operation, when the releasing portion 51 is inserted in the jig insertion hole 47 and the guiding portion 52 is fitted in the terminal passage hole 46, the guide portion 52 is slid in contact with a rim portion 46A of the terminal passage hole 46 with the insertion motion of the jig J to guide the release portion 51 to the position of the lance 26, which improves the workability of the release operation of the lance.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector provided with a lance for locking a terminal fitting in a connector housing in a detached state, and a jig for releasing the lance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a connector in which a terminal fitting is inserted into a connector housing and the terminal fitting is locked by a lance so as not to come off, a jig insertion opening is provided on the front surface of the connector housing, and a slender member is provided from there. The terminal jig is pulled out by inserting a releasing jig, abutting its tip against the lance, and bending the lance in the releasing direction.

[0003]

Such work is performed manually by an operator. However, in the case of an unskilled person, the posture of the jig is not stable and the tip of the jig is not accurately fixed. Since it is not possible to hit the lance with the lance, there is a problem that the workability is not good because it takes time to release the lance. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a connector and a lance releasing jig that can improve the workability of the lance releasing operation.

[0004]

A connector according to a first aspect of the invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a connector housing provided with a cavity into which a terminal fitting can be inserted, and a connector housing in which the terminal fitting is retained. A connector provided with a lance capable of being stopped and a jig insertion port for inserting a releasing portion protruding from a releasing jig for releasing the locking of the lance into the connector housing, A guide portion protruding from the releasing jig is fitted into the connector housing along with the inserting operation of the releasing jig and slidably brought into contact with the releasing portion to the position of the lance. The feature is that the guide portion is provided separately from the jig insertion port.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus according to the first aspect, when the guide portion and the releasing portion and the jig insertion opening and the guide portion are erroneously associated with each other,
It is characterized in that the guide portion cannot be inserted into the jig insertion opening at the same time when the release portion is inserted into the guide portion.

The invention of claim 3 relates to claim 1 or claim 2.
In the one described in, the front surface of the connector housing, and a terminal insertion opening opening in the front surface of the cavity,
And a flexure restricting portion capable of restricting flexural deformation of the lance to prevent the terminal fitting from coming off, and the flexure restricting portion extends into the flexural space of the lance to restrict the flexural deformation of the lance. A retainer that can be held at a stop position and a temporary locking position where the bending restriction portion retracts forward to allow the bending deformation of the lance is attached, and the guide part is provided with the retainer at the temporary locking position. It is characterized by being constituted by the terminal insertion port.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the jig insertion opening is located in the middle of the pair of terminal insertion openings, and the release portion is inserted into the jig insertion opening. At the same time, the guide portion can be fitted into any of the pair of terminal insertion openings.

A lance releasing jig according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is used for the connector according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, and is inserted into the jig insertion port. It is characterized in that it integrally includes a releasing portion for releasing the locking by pushing its tip against the lance and a guide portion fitted into the guide portion.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the releasing jig is guided by fitting the guide portion of the releasing jig into the guide portion and slidingly contacting the guide portion, and the releasing portion is accurately lanced. Therefore, the workability of releasing the lance is improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the releasing jig from being inserted into the wrong position.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the terminal insertion opening formed in the retainer also serves as the guide portion, the structure of the connector can be simplified.

According to the invention of claim 4, since the guide portion can be fitted to both of the pair of terminal insertion openings adjacent to the jig insertion opening to be used as the guide portion, the releasing jig can be oriented in either direction. Can also be used and workability can be improved.

According to the invention of claim 5, by fitting the guide portion of the releasing jig to the guide portion and slidingly contacting the guide portion, the releasing jig is guided so that the releasing portion accurately abuts against the lance. Therefore, the workability of releasing the lance is improved.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the lance releasing jig J of the present embodiment (hereinafter simply referred to as the jig J)
The connector C which is the target of use will be described. The connector C is a female connector that can be fitted with a male connector housing (not shown) provided with male terminal fittings. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of female terminal fittings 10 are attached to the connector C. A possible female connector housing 20 and a retainer 40 for double locking the female terminal fitting 10 are provided. In the following description of the connector C, the left side of FIG. 1 is referred to as the front, and the vertical direction is based on FIG. 1.

The female terminal fitting 10 is, as shown in FIG.
It is formed by punching out one conductive metal plate into a predetermined shape and then bending it. It is equipped with a square tube portion 11 connected to the male tab of the male terminal fitting on the front end side and on the rear end side. A press contact portion 12 to which a core wire portion of the end of the electric wire W is press contacted,
A barrel portion 13 for crimping the covered portion of the electric wire W is provided in series.

An elastic contact piece is formed inside the rectangular tube portion 11, and when the male tab is inserted from the front opening, the elastic contact piece elastically contacts and is electrically connected to the male side terminal fitting. It has become so. On the lower surface of the rectangular tube portion 11, an insertion guide stabilizer 14 is provided so as to protrude downward at the right end position as viewed from the front of the rear end portion. In addition, the lower surface of the rectangular tube portion 11 is formed with a locking concave portion 15 having a stepwise recessed central portion in the front-rear direction, into which a locking portion 27 of a lance 26 described later can enter and lock with each other. It is said that.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the female connector housing 20 is formed of a synthetic resin material into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole, and the upper surface of the female connector housing 20 is normally fitted to the male connector housing. A lock arm 21 for locking is provided. Inside the female-side connector housing 20, eight cavities 22 into which the female-side terminal fitting 10 can be inserted along the front-rear direction are arranged in the lateral direction and two cavities 22 are arranged in the longitudinal direction.
The cavities 22 are arranged in stages, and an insertion opening 23 for inserting the female-side terminal fitting 10 is opened at the rear end of each cavity 22. A guide groove 24 along the front-rear direction is formed on the bottom surface of the cavity 22 at the right end when viewed from the front, and when the stabilizer 14 of the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted therein, the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted. The posture is stabilized. The vicinity of the front end of the cavity 22 has a shape in which the lower half is open.
A front wall 25 is formed at a front end position of the upper half of the female terminal fitting 10 to be inserted into the cavity 22. The front wall 25 allows the male tab of the male terminal fitting to be inserted therethrough. The upper half of the hole edge portion of the terminal insertion port 46 (described later) is formed.

A lance 26 extends toward the front at a position slightly rearward of the open portion of the lower half of the front portion of each cavity 22. The lance 26 is arranged at the lower left corner when viewed from the front of the cavity 22 and constitutes a part of the wall surface of the cavity 22, and is formed in an L-shaped cross section including a side wall 26A and a bottom wall 26B. At the tip of the lance 26, the bottom wall 26B protrudes upward to form a locking portion 27. The locking portion 27 enters the locking recess 15 of the female-side terminal fitting 10 described above to allow the female side to move. It can be locked with the terminal fitting 10. Further, the lance 26 is formed in a thin shape as a whole, and the vicinity of the tip end thereof can be bent and deformed in an oblique direction (downward left direction when viewed from the front).

On the other hand, the retainer 40 is also made of a synthetic resin material, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 5,
A front wall 41 that extends laterally and is divided into a pair of upper and lower parts;
The front wall 41 is provided with a pair of side pieces 42 extending rearward from both left and right ends, and has a gate shape as a whole. The retainer 40 is attachable to the female connector housing 20 so as to extend from the front in the lateral width direction, and the front wall 41 covers the open portion of the lower half of the front portion of the cavity 22 when the assembly is completed. Has become.

The front wall 41 has each cavity 22
A terminal insertion opening 46 through which the male tab can be inserted in the front-rear direction is provided at a position corresponding to the front surface of the. More specifically, the hole edge portion 46 formed in the upper portion of the front wall 41 and having a concave shape opened upward.
A is formed, and when the assembling is completed, as shown in FIG. 12, the hole edge portion 46A is aligned with the front wall 25 to complete the rectangular terminal insertion opening 46.

Further, each terminal insertion port 4 is formed on the front wall 41.
A jig insertion opening 47 into which a releasing portion 51 of a jig J, which will be described later, can be inserted from the front is provided at the left lateral position when viewed from the front with respect to 6. More specifically, the jig insertion opening 47 has a groove shape that extends in the front-rear direction and opens upward, and its size is smaller than that of the terminal insertion opening 46.
In addition, except for the jig insertion opening 47 located at the left end, in the middle of the pair of left and right terminal insertion openings 46,
Further, they are arranged at positions equidistant from the terminal insertion openings 46 on both sides. As shown in FIG. 12, when the retainer 40 is assembled to the female connector housing 20, the side piece 42 of the lance 26 is located behind the jig insertion port 47 when viewed from the front.
The upper edge of the is exposed. Further, a horizontal plate-shaped bending restriction portion 43 is projected rearward from the lower ends of the upper and lower front walls 41, and the bending restriction portion 43 enters the bending space below the locking portion 27 of the lance 26. Lance 26
The flexure of the is regulated.

The pair of side pieces 42 of the retainer 40 form planes parallel to each other, and the distal ends thereof are flexibly deformable in the opening direction. Elongated recesses 44 are formed in the front-rear direction on the inner surfaces of the both side pieces 42, and a lock portion 45 that is convex to the recesses 44 is formed on the tip end side thereof. Further, an inclined surface 42A that inclines inward is formed at the tip edges of the both side pieces 42.

On the other hand, elongated retainer mounting recesses 31 are formed in the front and rear on both left and right side surfaces of the female connector housing 20, and side pieces 42 of the retainer 40 can be fitted therein. The thickness dimension of the side piece 42 and the depth dimension of the retainer mounting recess 31 are substantially the same, and when the both are assembled, the side piece 42 is substantially flush with the side surface of the female connector housing 20. . Further, the retainer 40 is slidable in the front-rear direction with the pair of side pieces 42 fitted in the retainer mounting recess 31, and the bending restricting portion 43 is located below the locking portion 27 of the lance 26. Main locking position to advance into the bending space (see Fig. 11)
And a temporary locking position (see FIGS. 7 and 8) in which the bending restriction portion 43 retracts forward from the main locking position to allow the bending of the lance 26 (see FIGS. 7 and 8). Further, a temporary locking protrusion 32 and a main locking protrusion 33 are provided on the side surface of the female connector housing 20 in the retainer mounting recess 31 so as to be displaced in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction. Both protrusions 32,
33 has a sloped surface on the front side, and the side piece 4
The lock portion 4 is provided on the rear surface side while being fitted in the recess 44 of the second portion.
The retainer 40 is positioned at the temporary locking position or the main locking position by the locking of the retainer 5.

Now, the jig J of the present embodiment is elongated in the front-rear direction as a whole, has a gripping portion (not shown) at one end, and has the above-mentioned jig at the other end as shown in FIG. A releasing portion 51 that can be inserted into the insertion opening 47 and a guide portion 52 that is shorter than the releasing portion 51 and that can be fitted into the terminal insertion opening 46 are juxtaposed in parallel. The release section 51 and the guide section 52 are
Both of them have a rectangular cross section, and are set to have a size such that they can enter the jig insertion port 47 and the terminal insertion port 46 arranged side by side with appropriate clearances. The release portion 51 has a rounded tip, and the jig insertion port 4
The lance 26 can be flexibly deformed by inserting the lance 26 into the connector 7 and abutting its tip against the lance 26. The guide portion 52 has a tapered tip,
The fitting operation to the terminal insertion port 46 is easy. The guide portion 52 is set to have a protruding length dimension that does not contact the front end of the female-side terminal fitting 10 when the releasing portion 51 is inserted to a depth to complete the releasing operation of the lance 26.

The present invention has the above construction, and its operation will be described below. Retainer 40 to female connector housing 2
In order to attach the retainer 4 to the connector 0, the retainer 40 is first brought close to the female connector housing 20 from the front, and the pair of side pieces 42 is fitted into the retainer mounting recess 31 and the retainer 4 is inserted.
Move 0 backwards. When the inclined surface 42A of the side piece 42 comes into contact with the front surface of the temporary locking projection 32, the both side pieces 42 are bent and deformed in the opening direction, and the lock portion 45 rides on the temporary locking projection 32. Then, when the retainer 40 reaches the temporary locking position, the lock portion 45 passes over the temporary locking protrusion 32 and the side piece 42.
Is restored and deformed, and the temporary locking projection 32 enters the inside of the recess 44 and locks with the lock portion 45, whereby the retainer 40 is held (see FIGS. 7 and 8).

Subsequently, the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted into each cavity 22. When the rectangular tube portion 11 of the female-side terminal fitting 10 abuts on the locking portion 27 of the lance 26, the tip of the lance 26 is pressed downward, but the bottom wall 26B and the side wall 26A form an L-shaped cross section. Therefore, the tip of the lance 26 bends and deforms in the lower left direction when viewed from the front as shown by the arrow in FIG. 9 (see also the cavity 22 on the upper side in FIG. 10). When the female terminal fitting 10 reaches the normal position where it abuts against the front wall 25, the lance 26 is deformed and the locking portion 27 of the female terminal fitting 10 is deformed as shown in the lower cavity 22 of FIG. They enter into the locking recesses 15 and lock each other. As a result, the female-side terminal fitting 10 is temporarily locked in the pulled-out state.

After inserting the female side terminal fittings 10 into all the cavities 22 and pushing the retainer 40 rearward from the temporary locking position, the inclined surface 42A of the side piece 42 contacts the front surface of the main locking projection 33. The side pieces 42 are bent and deformed in the opening direction so that the lock portions 45 ride on the main locking protrusions 33. Then, when the retainer 40 is pushed further in, the lock portion 45
Over the main locking protrusion 33, the side piece 42 is returned and deformed, the lock portion 45 is locked to the main locking protrusion 33, and the retainer 40 is held in the main locking position (FIG.
reference). At this time, the hole edge portion 46A of the retainer 40 is aligned with the front wall 25 at the front end position of the female-side terminal fitting 10 to complete the terminal insertion opening 46. Further, the bending restriction portion 43 is inserted into the bending space below the locking portion 27 of the lance 26, the bending deformation of the lance 26 is restricted, and the female-side terminal fitting 10 is double locked. By the above, the assembling of the connector is completed.

When pulling out the female side terminal fitting 10, first, the lock portion 45 is removed from the main locking projection 33, the retainer 40 is returned, and the temporary locking position is locked again. Next, the releasing portion 51 of the jig J is inserted into the jig insertion opening 47 corresponding to the lance 26 to be released. At this time, the guide portion 52 is fitted into either one of the pair of terminal insertion openings 46 adjacent to the left and right of the jig insertion opening 47 into which the release portion 51 is inserted (see FIGS. 13 and 14 (A)). ). Then, with the insertion operation of the jig J, the guide portion 52 causes the hole edge portion 46 of the terminal insertion opening 46.
By making sliding contact with A, the posture of the jig J is stabilized and the releasing portion 5
The leading end of the first member 1 is straightly guided to a position where it contacts the upper edge of the side wall 26A of the lance 26. When the tip of the release portion 51 hits the upper edge of the side wall 26A of the lance 26, the side wall 26A
Is pressed downward, the lance 26 is bent and deformed obliquely downward as described above, and the engagement with the female side terminal fitting 10 is released. As a result, the female-side terminal fitting 10 is made into the cavity 2
It is possible to pull out from 2 backward. The guide portion 52 has a length dimension that does not reach the front end of the female-side terminal fitting 10 when the lance 26 is inserted to the position where the releasing operation is completed by the releasing portion 51. It can be prevented that 10 is pierced and damaged.

When releasing the lance 26, the operator mistakenly inserts the releasing portion 51 into the terminal insertion opening 46 and the guide portion 52 into the jig insertion opening 47. There is a possibility that In such a case, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIGS. 14B and 13, the guide portion 52 formed larger than the jig insertion port 47.
When the tip of the tool hits the hole edge of the jig insertion opening 47,
The entry of the jig J is restricted. At this time, since the tip of the releasing portion 51 does not reach the female-side terminal fitting 10, the female-side terminal fitting 1
It is possible to prevent the situation where 0 is pierced and damaged.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the guide portion 52 of the jig J is fitted into the terminal insertion port 46 and brought into sliding contact therewith, so that the jig J is guided and the release portion 51 is accurately moved. Since it can be abutted against the lance, the workability of the release operation of the lance is improved.

When the guide portion 52 and the releasing portion 51 and the jig inserting opening 47 and the terminal inserting opening 46 are misaligned with each other, the releasing portion 51 is inserted into the terminal inserting opening 46 and at the same time the guide portion is inserted. Since the jig 52 cannot be inserted into the jig insertion opening 47, it is possible to prevent the jig J from being inserted into an incorrect position.

Further, since the terminal insertion port 46 formed in the retainer 40 also serves as a guide portion for the guide portion 52, the structure of the connector can be simplified.

Further, since both of the pair of terminal insertion openings 46 adjacent to the jig insertion opening 47 can be used as the guide portion by fitting the guide portion 52, the jig J can be used in either direction for work. It is possible to improve the property.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the following technical scope is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. (1) The present invention can also be applied to a male connector provided with a male terminal fitting. (2) In the above embodiment, the terminal insertion hole provided in the retainer is used as the guide portion. However, according to the present invention, the guide portion and the terminal insertion opening may be provided separately, for example, a through hole in the connector housing. Alternatively, a groove-shaped portion may be provided to fit the guide portion. (3) In the above-described embodiment, the retainer is of a so-called front retainer type in which the terminal fitting is doubly locked by being assembled from the front with respect to the connector housing and restricting the bending deformation of the lance. Can also be applied to a so-called side retainer type in which the retainer is assembled from the direction orthogonal to the cavity and directly locked to the terminal fitting. (4) In the above embodiment, the lance is provided in the connector housing and has an L-shaped cross section and bends in an oblique direction. However, according to the present invention, the structure of the lance is not limited to this, and for example, a terminal fitting. A so-called metal lance may be provided on the side.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded side sectional view of a connector of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the connector housing.

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view of a connector housing and a retainer before assembling.

[Figure 4] Side view

FIG. 5 is a front view of the retainer.

FIG. 6 (A) is a partially enlarged front view of a lance releasing jig. (B) Plan view

FIG. 7 is a plan sectional view showing a state in which the retainer is in a temporary locking position.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view thereof.

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged front view of the connector housing for explaining the operation of the lance.

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing a state where the terminal fitting is being mounted.

FIG. 11 is a side sectional view showing a completed state of assembly.

FIG. 12 is a front view thereof

FIG. 13 is a plan sectional view showing a releasing operation of a lance by a jig.

FIG. 14 (A) is a front view showing the positional relationship with respect to the jig insertion opening and the terminal insertion opening when the jig is properly inserted. (B) The jig insertion opening when the jig is inserted by mistake. And a front view showing the positional relationship with respect to the terminal insertion port

[Explanation of symbols]

C ... Connector J ... Release jig 10 ... Female terminal fitting (terminal fitting) 20 ... Female side connector housing (connector housing) 22 ... Cavity 26 ... Lance 40 ... Retainer 43 ... Deflection control section 46 ... Terminal insertion port 47 ... Jig insertion slot 51 ... Release unit 52 ... Guide

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Ryotaro Ishikawa             Sumitomo Den 1-14 Nishi-Suehiro-cho, Yokkaichi-shi, Mie Prefecture             Sozo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Osamu Kawase             Sumitomo Den 1-14 Nishi-Suehiro-cho, Yokkaichi-shi, Mie Prefecture             Sozo Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5E063 HA06 HB14 HB19                 5E087 EE14 FF07 FF15 GG15 GG24                       GG37 MM05 RR25 RR26 RR47

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A connector housing having a cavity into which a terminal fitting can be inserted, a lance capable of locking the terminal fitting in a retaining state, and a release jig for releasing the locking of the lance. A connector having a jig insertion port for inserting the provided releasing portion into the connector housing, wherein the releasing jig is provided in the connector housing as the releasing jig is inserted. A guide part that guides the release part to the position of the lance by fitting and slidingly contacting a guide part protruding from the connector is provided separately from the jig insertion port. . 2. When the guide portion and the releasing portion and the jig insertion opening and the guide portion are erroneously associated with each other, the releasing portion is inserted into the guide portion and at the same time the guide portion is moved. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector cannot be inserted into the jig insertion port. 3. The front surface of the connector housing is provided with a terminal insertion opening that opens to the front surface of the cavity, and a bending restriction portion that restricts the bending deformation of the lance to prevent the terminal fitting from coming off. In addition, a main locking position in which the bending restriction portion advances into the bending space of the lance to restrict the bending deformation of the lance, and a temporary locking position in which the bending restriction portion retracts forward to allow the bending deformation of the lance The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a retainer that can be held at a position is attached, and the guide portion is configured by the terminal insertion port of the retainer at the temporary locking position. 4. The jig insertion opening is located in the middle of a pair of the terminal insertion openings, and the guide is inserted into any of the pair of terminal insertion openings at the same time when the release portion is inserted into the jig insertion opening. The connector according to claim 3, wherein the parts are configured to be fittable. 5. The connector for use in the connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is inserted into the jig insertion opening and the tip thereof is abutted against the lance. A jig for releasing a lance, characterized by integrally comprising a releasing part for releasing the stop and a guide part fitted to the guide part.