JP2003197300A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an erroneous insertion of a terminal fitting. <P>SOLUTION: At a retainer 30, a locking protruded part 41 to be locked to the second locked part 16 of a female side terminal fitting 10 is installed. The rear side of the locking protruded part 41 is notched into a stepped shape, and the root side of the different grade face 42 is formed into a steeply rising vertical face 43 and the tip side is formed into a tapered face 44. In case the retainer 30 is in a temporary locking position and the female side terminal fitting 10 is formed into normally, it is inserted being guided in the straight posture by making it move along the tapered face 44, even if the attitude of the female side terminal fitting 10 is deviated. On the other hand, in the case the female side terminal fitting 10 is pushed in the state that the retainer 30 is erroneously pushed in the locking position, the vertical face 43 hits the front face of the female side terminal fitting 10 and to the first locked part 15, and further pushing is regulated, and the female side terminal fitting 10 is prevented from deformation and biting caused unreasonable pushing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector with a retainer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a so-called side retainer type connector shown in FIG. 9 has been known. This is formed so that a retainer insertion port 4 into which a retainer 3 is inserted crosses the cavity 2 on the upper surface of the connector housing 1 in which the cavity 2 is provided. As shown in FIG. 9A, the retainer 3 is first held at the temporary locking position where the locking projection 5 is retracted above the cavity 2, and the terminal fitting 6 is inserted into the cavity 2 in such a state. It is temporarily locked by the lance 7. Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the retainer 3 is pushed and held in the main locking position, the locking projection 5 projects into the cavity 2 and the jaw of the main body of the terminal fitting 6 is pushed. By locking to the portion 6A (locked portion), the terminal fitting 6 is doubly locked so as not to come off. Incidentally, this type of connector is disclosed in JP-A-8-31
It is described in Japanese Patent No. 5942.

Here, in providing the side retainer 3 as described above, there are the following circumstances. First, the retainer 3 needs to have a certain dimension in the front-rear direction in order to secure stability and strength of the insertion operation. When it is pushed into the stop position, it may interfere with the wire barrel 6B to which the core wire of the electric wire W in the terminal fitting 6 is fixed. To avoid it, wire barrel 6B
Need to be formed at a more rearward position, but if so, the thin neck portion 6C behind the main body portion becomes long, and the strength is inferior.

Therefore, if the rear half portion of the locking projection 5 is cut out in a stepped shape, the wire barrel 6B can be escaped by the cutout portion, so that the wire barrel 6B can be brought forward as much as possible, In other words, the neck 6C can be shortened and the strength problem is solved. However, when the step of the locking projection 5 is formed so as to stand up, when the retainer 3 is in the temporary locking position and the terminal fitting 6 is inserted into the cavity 2 by being swung, the step will be stepped. As shown in FIG. 9 (A),
Even if the terminal metal fitting 6 swings and is inserted, the step is formed in an upwardly tapered shape so that the terminal fitting 6 can be inserted while being guided in a straight posture by following the tapered surface 5A.

[0005]

However, if the step portion of the locking projection 5 is the tapered surface 5A, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in the lower part of (B), the retainer 3 is accidentally pushed into the main locking position before the terminal fitting 6 is inserted, and in this state, the place where the terminal fitting 6 cannot be inserted is slightly stronger. When a force is applied, it may be pushed along the tapered surface 5A. Of course, since it is forcedly pushed, there is a risk that the terminal fitting 6 may be deformed or may be bitten in the middle and become immobile. Such a problem has been more prominent because the step size of the locking projection 5 cannot be made large in accordance with the demand for miniaturization of the connector, and improvement thereof has been earnestly desired. The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to prevent erroneous insertion of terminal fittings.

[0006]

As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a terminal fitting in which a stepped locked portion is provided on an outer surface in a cavity of a connector housing. On the other hand, a retainer provided with a locking portion capable of locking the locked portion is attached to one side surface of the connector housing so as to traverse the cavity. A temporary locking position that allows the stopper to retract from the cavity and allow the terminal fitting to be inserted into and removed from the cavity; and a locking portion that enters the cavity and locks the terminal fitting. In the connector that can be retained at the main locking position for locking, the locking portion of the retainer is formed by notching a second half portion in the insertion direction of the terminal fitting into a step shape, and the step surface is In a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction of the original side, characterized in was configured to have a tapered shape that becomes an up slope along the insertion direction in the tip side. A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the root side of the step surface of the locking portion is formed in a taper shape in a direction opposite to the tip side.

[0007]

<Advantages and effects of the invention><Invention of claim 1> When the retainer is at the temporary locking position and the terminal fitting is inserted, even if the posture thereof is swung, the tip of the stepped surface of the locking portion. It is inserted while being guided in a straight posture along the side tapered surface. On the other hand, if the terminal fitting is inserted while the retainer is accidentally pushed into the final locking position, the surface of the stepped surface that is substantially orthogonal to the insertion direction on the root side hits the terminal fitting and It is possible to prevent the terminal fitting from being deformed or bitten due to the restriction of the pushing and the forced pushing. That is, it is possible to prevent the erroneous insertion such that the terminal fitting is inserted while the retainer is in the main locking position while exhibiting the function of guiding the posture when the terminal fitting is properly inserted. <Invention of Claim 2> Since the root side of the stepped surface is an inverted taper surface, when the terminal fitting hits it, it functions to press it down, and the pressing of the terminal fitting can be regulated more firmly. .

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. <First Embodiment> A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, a female-side connector of waterproof lever-type connectors is illustrated.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the female connector includes a female-side terminal fitting 10 and a female-side connector housing 20 (hereinafter, referred to as a female housing) in which the female-side terminal fitting 10 is housed.
And a retainer 30. Although this female connector is a hybrid type that accommodates large and small types of female side terminal fittings, a portion relating to the small female side terminal fitting 10 will be mainly described below, and a large female side terminal fitting will be described. Descriptions of parts will be simplified or omitted as appropriate.

The small female terminal fitting 10 is formed by pressing a metal plate having excellent conductivity, and has a contact tongue (not shown) connected to the tab of the mating male terminal fitting. By providing a rectangular tube-shaped connecting portion 11 provided inside and caulking a barrel 12 provided at the rear end side, both the waterproof rubber plug 13 and the waterproof rubber plug 13 are crimped to the end of the electric wire W. A first locked portion 15 is formed to project at a position near the tip of the lower surface of the connection portion 11, and a second locked portion 16 is also formed to project to the rear edge.

The female housing 20 is made of synthetic resin,
It has a shape in which a hood portion 23 is provided around the main body portion 21, and the front wall portion 22 of the main body portion 21 is formed as a separate piece and integrated by retrofitting. The front wall portion 22 also has a function of preventing the packing 27 fitted to the outer periphery of the base portion of the main body portion 21 from coming off. The female housing 20 is provided with a lever 24 for assisting fitting with a mating male housing (not shown).

In the main body portion 21 of the female housing 20, a plurality of cavities 25 in the front-rear direction for accommodating the above-mentioned female-side terminal fittings 10 are provided in a region on the right side when viewed from the front.
, But are formed side by side in two steps. In addition,
In the area on the left side is a cavity 2 for a large female terminal fitting.
5L is formed. On the front surface of the cavity 25, a terminal insertion opening 26 into which the tab of the mating male terminal fitting can be inserted is opened. As shown in FIG. 2, a lance 28 that locks with the first locked portion 15 of the female-side terminal fitting 10 is integrally formed on the bottom surface of the cavity 25. This lance 28
Is a cantilever that extends diagonally upward and extends forward,
The tip side can be bent and deformed in the vertical direction.

A retainer 30 can be attached to the female housing 20 from the bottom surface upward. for that reason,
A retainer insertion port 32 is formed on the bottom surface of the main body portion 21 at a position slightly rearward of the position where the lance 28 is formed so as to penetrate the cavity 25 upward. An opening 33 is also formed on the lower surface side of the hood portion 23, and the retainer 30 is removably inserted into the retainer insertion opening 32 through the opening 33.

The retainer 30 is also made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 1, in the region on the right side when viewed from the front, the upper and lower two steps are fitted closely within the depth dimension of the retainer insertion opening 32. The shelves 40 of the female terminal fittings 10 are provided at the positions corresponding to the respective cavities 25 on the shelves 40, which will be described later in detail. The protrusion 41 is formed. In addition, in the area on the left side, a locking projection 4 that double-locks with a large female terminal fitting is provided.
1L is provided.

A pair of side plates 3 is provided at both left and right ends of the retainer 30.
4, a pair of front and rear temporary holding arms 35 and a main holding arm 36 are formed on the upper side of each side plate 34 so as to be flexibly deformable in a back-to-back posture. On the other hand, the retainer insertion opening 32 in the main body 21 of the female housing 20
Insertion groove 3 into which the above-mentioned side plate 34 can be inserted on both left and right sides of
7 is cut, and the temporary lock protrusion 3 is provided on the rear side edge.
8 is the main lock projection 39 at a position slightly higher than the front side edge.
Are formed respectively.

The position where the retainer 30 is inserted into the retainer insertion port 32 and the temporary holding arm 35 is locked to the temporary locking projection 38 is the temporary locking position, and this temporary locking position is shown in FIG. As described above, each locking projection 41 of the retainer 30
Are retracted downward to a position flush with the corresponding bottom surface of the cavity 25, so that the female terminal fitting 10 can be inserted into and removed from the cavity 25. On the other hand, a position where the main holding arm 36 is locked to the main locking protrusion 39 is a main locking position, and in this main locking position, as shown in FIG. 5, each locking protrusion 41 corresponds to a cavity. It is designed to rush into 25.

In this embodiment, the shape of the locking projection 41 provided on the retainer 30 is changed.
That is, as shown in detail in FIG.
It is formed in almost the first half portion on the shelf 40, in other words, the rear of the locking projection 41 is cut out in a step shape. Then, in the step surface 42 of the locking projection 41, almost half of the root side is a vertical surface 43 that is raised, and the remaining tip end side is a tapered surface that has an upward slope toward the front. It is supposed to be 44. The upper end of the tapered surface 44 is further rounded.

This embodiment has the structure as described above,
Next, the operation will be described. At the time of assembly, the retainer 30 is first held at the temporary locking position shown in FIG. 2, and in this state, the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the cavity 25 from the rear. The female-side terminal fitting 10 advances in the cavity 25 and passes over the upper surface of the locking projection 41 of the retainer 30.
The lance 28 is pushed in while flexing and deforming. As shown in the upper part of FIG. 4, when the female-side terminal fitting 10 is pushed to the normal position where it abuts on the front wall portion 22, the lance 28 is restored and deformed and fits on the rear surface of the first locked portion 15 to be temporarily locked. To be done.

In the process of inserting the female-side terminal fitting 10, for example, when the female-side terminal fitting 10 is inserted with the neck slightly swung downward, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 4, the first locked portion 15 engages with the retainer 30. The taper surface 44 of the stepped surface 42 of the stop projection 41 is guided by the taper surface 44 and gradually turned in a straight direction to be pushed in, and then temporarily locked by the lance 28 as in the upper stage. When all the female-side terminal fittings 10 including the large-sized one are inserted into the cavity 25, the retainer 30 is pushed upward and held in the main locking position shown in FIG. As a result, the locking projection 41 of the retainer 30 projects into the cavity 25, and projects into the rear surface side of the second locked portion 16 of the corresponding female terminal fitting 10, and the female terminal fitting 10 moves in the pulling direction. Double locked.

It should be noted that the female terminal fitting 10 is provided with a cavity 25.
It is possible that the retainer 30 may be accidentally pushed into the fully locked position before being inserted therein. In that case,
As shown in FIG. 5, the locking projection 41 of the retainer 30 projects into the cavity 25, so that the female-side terminal fitting 1
Even if 0 is inserted, the lower edge of the front surface of the connecting portion 11 hits the vertical surface 43 on the base side of the step surface 42 of the locking projection 41 midway, as shown in the lower part of FIG. Part 1
Even if the front side of 1 rides on the locking projection 41, the first locked portion 15 hits the vertical surface 43 to prevent further pushing. This makes it possible to detect that the retainer 30 has been erroneously pushed to the main locking position, and then returns the retainer 30 to the temporary locking position and insert the female terminal fitting 10 again. By restricting the pushing of the female terminal fitting 10 by the vertical surface 43 of the locking projection 41, the connecting portion 11 is deformed and pushed in,
There is no longer a chance of being bitten immovably.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the step surface 42 of the locking projection 41 of the retainer 30 is formed with the vertical surface 43 on the root side and the tapered surface 44 with the upward slope on the tip side. First, when the retainer 30 is at the temporary locking position and the female-side terminal fitting 10 is properly inserted, the female-side terminal fitting 1
Even if the posture of 0 is swung, it can be inserted while guiding it to a straight posture by following the taper surface 44. On the other hand, when the retainer 30 is erroneously pushed into the main locking position, the female terminal fitting 10 is When inserted, the vertical surface 43 contacts the female-side terminal fitting 10 to restrict further pushing, and the female-side terminal fitting 10 is deformed or bites due to being forcedly pushed. This can be prevented. That is, erroneous insertion such that the female-side terminal fitting 10 is inserted while the retainer 30 is in the main locking position after exhibiting the posture guiding function when the female-side terminal fitting 10 is properly inserted is prevented. can do.

<Second Embodiment> FIGS. 7 and 8 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, as shown in detail in FIG. 7, the root-side portion of the step surface 42A of the locking projection 41 provided on the retainer 30 is opposite to the tip-side tapered surface 44. The reverse tapered surface 46 has a downward slope toward the front. The other structures are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the portions having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the duplicate description will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, when the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted in a state where the retainer 30 is erroneously pushed into the main locking position, as shown in the lower part of FIG. The lower edge side is the step surface 42A of the locking projection 41.
The reverse taper surface 46 on the root side of the
Although the locked portion 15 hits the reverse tapered surface 46 and the pushing is restricted, since the reverse tapered surface 46 is used, the connecting portion 11
It functions to press down the lower edge of the front surface or to bite into the first locked portion 15, and the pressing of the female-side terminal fitting 10 is more firmly regulated.

<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 to the above, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) The present invention can also be applied to a male connector that accommodates male terminal fittings. (2) The present invention is not limited to the waterproof connector illustrated in the above embodiment, but can be applied to a non-waterproof connector,
It is also applicable to a connector that does not use a lever.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a female connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the state before inserting the female-side terminal fitting.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the details of the structure of the retaining projection of the retainer.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view showing an inserting operation of the female-side terminal fitting.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which a retainer is mounted at a main locking position.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which erroneous insertion of female terminal fittings is restricted.

FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the details of the structure of the locking projection of the retainer according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which erroneous insertion of the female terminal fitting is restricted.

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Female terminal fitting (terminal fitting) 15 ... First locked portion 16 ... Second locked portion (locked portion) 20 ... Female housing (connector housing) 21 ... Main body 25 ... Cavity 30 ... Retainer 32 ... Retainer insertion slot 35 ... Temporary holding arm 36 ... Book holding arm 38 ... Temporary lock protrusion 39 ... This lock protrusion 41 ... Locking protrusion (locking part) 42, 42A ... Step surface 43 ... Vertical surface 44 ... Tapered surface 46 ... Inverse taper surface

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A terminal fitting having a stepped locked portion on the outer surface thereof can be inserted into the cavity of the connector housing, while the locked portion is provided on one side surface of the connector housing. A retainer having a locking portion capable of locking is mounted so as to cross the cavity, and the retainer allows the locking portion to retract from the cavity and the terminal fitting to be inserted into and removed from the cavity. And a main locking position in which the locking portion enters the cavity and locks the locked portion of the terminal fitting, respectively. The locking portion has a stepped notch formed in the latter half of the insertion direction of the terminal fitting, and the stepped surface extends along the insertion direction on the base side in a direction substantially orthogonal to the insertion direction and on the distal side. Connector characterized in that it is formed in a tapered shape that becomes an up slope Te. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein a root side of the stepped surface of the locking portion is formed in a taper shape in a direction opposite to a tip side.