JP2003346618A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector avoiding an upsizing as a whole, while curbing an excessive bending of an elastic locking piece. <P>SOLUTION: The connector 10 is provided with a hood part 20 for inserting a relay 50 from an insertion opening opened at a front face. An elastic locking piece 27 is fitted between a pair of notched grooves 26 formed from a front end backward of the hood part 20 locking the relay 50 and controlling its fall- off, and further, an excessive curving preventing part 40 is fitted to the hood part 20 which can curb an excessive curving of the elastic locking piece 27 by striking at it when it curves. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector to be fitted with an electric component such as a relay.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a relay mounting portion constituting a relay mounting structure described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-35605 has been known as a connector of this type. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the relay mounting portion 1 is configured such that a relay 5 is fitted between a pair of outer peripheral walls 2, and two pairs of relays are provided inside the outer peripheral wall 2. The elastic locking piece 3 is provided upright from the bottom wall 4 at a distance from the outer peripheral wall 2. A locking claw 7 that can be locked to a locking projection 6 provided on the relay 5 is formed at the tip of the elastic locking piece 3. When the relay 5 is inserted into the relay mounting portion 1, the elastic locking piece 3 bends outward. The pawl 7 is locked to the locking projection 6, so that the relay 5 is not detached from the relay mounting portion 1. Further, since the outer peripheral wall 2 is at a position where it can abut when the elastic locking piece 3 bends outward, excessive bending of the elastic locking piece 3 is prevented.

[0003]

However, in the relay mounting portion 1 corresponding to a conventional connector, an outer peripheral wall 2 separate from the elastic locking pieces 3 is provided outside the elastic locking pieces 3 at intervals. Therefore, there was a concern that the size would be increased as a whole. Of course, if the outer peripheral wall 2 is removed, such a concern can be solved. However, it is not appropriate because the function of preventing the elastic locking piece 3 from excessively bending is lost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and provides a connector which prevents an excessive bending of an elastic locking piece while avoiding an increase in size as a whole. It is in.

[0005]

As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 includes a hood portion for inserting an electric component with a terminal such as a relay from an insertion opening opened on the front surface, An elastic locking piece that locks the electric component and regulates detachment of the electric component is provided between a pair of cut grooves formed rearward from the front end of the hood portion. The present invention is characterized in that the elastic locking piece is provided with an excessive bending preventing portion which can prevent the excessive bending of the elastic locking piece by abutting when bending.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the excessive bending preventing portion is formed so as to bulge so as to cover the outside of the cut groove, while the elastic locking piece is It has a main body with a locking claw that locks the electric component at a regular fitting position with respect to the hood portion, and from the main body, an inner convex portion projects in the width direction, and the inner convex portion is
An extended locking surface flush with the locking surface of the locking claw, and when the elastic locking piece bends outward, after passing through the cut groove, the inner side surface of the excessive bending prevention portion It has a feature where it can be hit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the elastic locking piece locks the electrical component at a regular fitting position with respect to the hood portion. An outer convex portion extends in the width direction from the main body portion, and the outer convex portion is formed so as to cover the outer side of the cut groove, and the elastic locking piece is provided on the inner side. It is characterized in that when it bends, it can abut against the outer surface of the hood part as the excessive bending prevention part.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an elastic locking piece is provided between a pair of cut grooves formed rearward from the front end of the hood portion. An excessive bending prevention portion for restricting bending of the hood is also provided in the hood portion. As described above, since both the elastic locking piece and the excessive bending prevention portion are provided in the hood portion, it is possible to avoid an increase in the size of the entire connector.

<Invention of Claim 2> An inner protrusion projects in the width direction from the main body of the elastic locking piece, and this inner protrusion passes through the cut groove when the elastic locking piece is bent outward. rear,
Since the inner surface of the excessive bending prevention portion can be abutted, excessive elastic bending of the elastic locking piece in the outward direction is prevented. In addition, since the inner convex portion has an extended locking surface flush with the locking surface of the locking claw, the hooking amount of the locking claw to the electric component increases, and the electric component is firmly engaged. Will be stopped.

<Invention of Claim 3> An outer convex portion projects in the width direction from the main body portion of the elastic locking piece, and this outer convex portion serves as an excessive bending preventing portion when the elastic locking piece bends inward. Of the elastic locking piece can be prevented from being excessively bent inward.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 13 show a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a connector of a vehicle relay.
It will be explained by. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a connector. The connector 10 includes a terminal accommodating portion 12 for accommodating a female terminal fitting 11 (see FIG. 13, other drawings are omitted), and a rectangular tube disposed at the front portion and opening forward. And a hood portion 20 having a shape.

A cavity 13 is formed in the terminal accommodating portion 12 so as to penetrate the terminal accommodating portion 12 along the longitudinal direction.
Is formed so as to be inserted. The cavity 13 of the present embodiment has three stages in the vertical direction in FIG. 2, and is composed of a total of five rooms, one room each in the upper stage and the middle stage, and three rooms in the left and right side in the lower stage. A flexible lance 14 is formed in the cavity 13 and can be locked to the female terminal fitting 11. The hood portion 20 is formed in a shape and size that allows the relay 50 to be inserted from an insertion opening that opens on the front surface. A relay 50 mounted on the hood section 20
Has a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole, and a relay terminal 51 protrudes from the bottom surface thereof at a position corresponding to each female terminal fitting 11 inserted into the cavity 13.

In FIG. 2, a recess 22 is formed in each of the opposing walls 21 disposed above and below the hood portion 20 by cutting off the front end thereof in a U-shape. This recess 22
As will be described in detail below, a guide edge 23 (a pair of right and left sides in FIG. 3) for guiding the insertion of the detection jig 60 for continuity inspection is provided. The contact edge 24 is provided for contacting the engaging projection 63.

Here, the structure of the detection jig 60 will be briefly described. As shown in FIGS.
Is composed of a rectangular parallelepiped operating section 61 and a main body section 62 extending from the front to the front. The main body 62 has a form in which the outer surface of the rear half thereof can be in close contact with the inner surface of the hood 20, and engagement protrusions 63 slidable on the left and right side surfaces with the recesses 22 of the hood 20. Is protruding. Further, on the front surface of the main body 62, detection pins 64 that can be engaged with the lances 14 in the cavity 13 protrude, and are formed to be shorter than the detection pins 64 near each of the detection pins 64. The conductive conduction detecting pin 66 that can contact the female terminal fitting 11 protrudes. The detection pin 64 has a tip flat portion 65, and the tip flat portion 6
5 indicates that when the lance 14 locks the female terminal fitting 11 at the proper insertion position, the lance 14 and the cavity 1
3 can be inserted into the insertion space Q formed between the inner surface of the first and third inner surfaces (see FIG. 13).

Next, the operation of the detection jig 60 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 12, the operating portion 61 is pinched, the detection jig 60 is inserted from the insertion opening of the hood portion 20, and the engaging convex portion 63 is slidably brought into contact with the guide edge 23 of the concave portion 22 while the hood portion 20 is in contact therewith. Into the back of the As shown in FIG. 13, when the front end flat plate portion 65 of the detection pin 64 reaches a position where it can be inserted into the insertion space Q, the front end surface of the engagement convex portion 63 is brought into contact with the contact stop edge 23 of the concave portion 22. become,
In addition, the conduction detection pin 66 abuts on the tip of the female terminal fitting 11, and becomes electrically conductive with the female terminal fitting 11. Conversely, when the female terminal fitting 11 is not locked by the lance 14 and is in a half-inserted state,
5 has its leading end face abutting against the lance 14 to prevent the detection jig 60 from entering. As a result, the front end face of the engaging projection 63 does not abut against the abutment edge 23 of the recess 22, and the conduction detection pin 66 does not reach the tip of the female terminal fitting 11, and is electrically non-contact. It becomes a state. Thus, whether or not the female terminal fitting 11 is in the proper insertion state can be determined by checking the electrical continuity with the continuity detecting pin 66.
By visually recognizing the contact state between the engaging projection 63 and the abutment edge 23, it is possible to visually determine whether the female terminal fitting 11 is in the proper insertion state.

The opposing walls 25 disposed on the left and right in FIG. 2 at positions different from the opposing walls 21 provided with the recesses 22 in the hood portion 20 each have a pair of cut grooves extending rearward from the front end thereof. 26 are formed. Between the cut grooves 26, there is provided an elastic locking piece 27 which is formed integrally with the hood portion 20 and locks the relay 50 to prevent the relay 50 from separating from the hood portion 20. Elastic locking piece 2
7 has a main body portion 27F, and a tip portion of the main body portion 27F is provided when the relay 50 is at a regular fitting position (when the relay 50 is accommodated in the hood portion 20 at a regular depth). ), A locking claw 27A for locking the rear end face of the relay 50 is formed to protrude inward. A tapered surface 27B for guiding the relay 50 is provided on the upper surface of the locking claw 27A.

An inner protruding portion 27E protrudes from the main body portion 27F in the width direction inside the main body portion 27F. The inner protruding portion 27E has an extended locking surface 27H (see FIG. 6) flush with the locking surface of the locking claw 27A with respect to the relay 50. 7 is increased by the shaded portion. The inner convex portion 27E
It is always located inside the cut groove 26 (the upper cut groove in FIG. 2), and when the elastic locking piece 27 bends outward, after passing through the cut groove 26E, the hood portion 20 is further advanced by bending. So that it hits the inner surface of the Hood portion 20 that can abut against inner convex portion 27E
Is configured as an excessive bending prevention portion 40, and is formed as a cut groove 26 (an upper cut groove in FIG. 2) of the hood portion 20.
Is raised outwardly, and further bulges out so as to cover the outside of the cut groove 26. The excessive bending prevention portion 40 of the present embodiment is provided over the entire length of the cut groove 26, covers only the outside of the cut groove 26, and does not cover the outside of the main body 27F. In order to allow the relay 50 to be pulled out, the inner bending portion 27 is
An inclined surface 40A for releasing E is formed (see FIG. 8).

Further, an outer convex portion 27G extends in the width direction outside the main body portion 27F. The outer convex portion 27G is formed in a flat rectangular shape and integrally overlaps the tip of the elastic locking piece 27 from outside (see FIG. 1), and has a cut groove 26 (a lower cut groove in FIG. 2). When the elastic locking piece 27 is bent inward, the elastic locking piece 27 can abut against the outer surface of the hood portion 20 as the excessive bending prevention portion 41. The outer surface of the hood portion 20 as the excessive bending prevention portion 41 is configured as a recess 29 formed by recessing a portion where the hood portion 20 abuts against the outer convex portion 27G. The concave portion 29 is formed for extracting a forming pin when forming the outer convex portion 27G, and is useful for improving the strength of the forming pin.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. First, the relay 50 is inserted from the insertion opening of the hood portion 20. In the process of inserting the relay 50, the elastic locking piece 27 is slid on the outer surface of the relay 50 while elastically bending outward (see FIGS. 4 and 5), and the relay terminal 51 is connected to the female terminal fitting 11 of the hood 20. When it reaches the proper fitting position where it is connected, it returns elastically and locks the locking claw 27A on the rear end surface of the relay 50 in a hooked state (see FIG. 6).

In order to take out the relay 50 from the hood 20, the locking by the locking claws 27A is released and the relay 50 is pulled out from the hood 20. Specifically, FIG.
As shown in (5), the locking claw 27A may be pinched by a finger and pushed and spread in the direction of arrow S so that a path is opened in the pulling direction Z of the relay 50. At this time, since the work is performed manually, there is a concern that the elastic locking piece 27 may exceed its elastic limit. In the case of the present embodiment, however, the inner convex portion 27E is not excessively bent. Inner surface (slope 4
0A) to prevent further displacement,
Excessive outward bending of the elastic locking piece 27 can be reliably prevented. Further, when the elastic locking piece 27 is bent inward, the outer convex portion 27G abuts against the outer surface of the hood portion as the excessive bending preventing portion 41 to prevent further displacement. Excessive inward bending of the piece 27 can also be reliably prevented.

The conventional relay mounting section 1
Although the outer peripheral wall 2 is provided at an interval outside the elastic locking piece 3 (see FIG. 15), in the present embodiment, both the elastic locking piece 27 and the excessive bending prevention portions 40 and 41 are formed of a hood. Since the connector is integrally formed, it is possible to avoid an increase in the size of the entire connector unlike the related art.

Further, the inner protrusion 27E is provided with a locking claw 27A.
Has an extended locking surface 27H which is flush with the locking surface of the locking claw 27A.
Of the relay 50 is increased, so that the relay 50 is securely and firmly locked. Furthermore, unlike the conventional relay mounting portion 1, the outer side surface of the elastic locking piece 27 is not completely covered by the excessive bending preventing portion 40, so that the elastic locking piece 2 is visually observed from the outside.
7 can be seen. That is, if it is visually recognized that the elastic locking piece 27 is not bent, the relay 5
0 can be determined to be in the normal fitting state, and when it is visually recognized that the elastic locking piece 27 is bent, the locking claw 27A does not accurately lock the relay 50, and the relay 50 It can be determined that it is in the half-fitted state.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments 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) The mating partner of the connector is not limited to the relay, but may be, for example, a fuse, and may be any electric component with terminals. (2) The excessive bending prevention portion that prevents excessive bending inward does not need to be formed as a recess, and may be formed on the same plane as the other outer surface of the hood portion. (3) The excessive bending preventing portion for preventing the excessive bending inward may not be necessarily provided, and therefore, the elastic locking piece may have no outer convex portion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a connector according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the connector.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the connector during the process of inserting the relay.

FIG. 5 is a front view in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the connector after a relay is inserted.

FIG. 7 is a front view in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the connector when the relay is taken out.

9 is a front view of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a side view of a detection jig for continuity inspection.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a detection jig.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a process of inserting the detection jig.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the connector in a state where the detection jig has reached the detection position.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a conventional connector.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a conventional connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Connector 20: Food section 26 ... kerf 27 Elastic locking piece 27A ... locking claw 27E: Inside convex part 27F ... body 27G: Outside convex part 27H: Extended locking surface 40 (41): excessive bending prevention portion 50 ... Relay

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A hood portion for inserting an electric component with a terminal such as a relay through an insertion opening opened on the front surface, wherein the hood portion is provided between a pair of cut grooves formed rearward from a front end of the hood portion. An elastic locking piece for locking the electric component and restricting the detachment of the electric component is provided, and furthermore, the elastic locking piece abuts against the hood when the elastic locking piece is bent, and the elastic locking piece is excessively bent. A connector provided with an excessive bending prevention portion capable of preventing the connector from being bent. 2. The over-flexure prevention portion is formed so as to bulge so as to cover the outside of the cut groove, while the elastic locking piece holds the electric component at a regular fitting position with respect to the hood portion. A main body portion provided with a locking claw for locking, from which an inner protrusion projects in the width direction, and the inner protrusion is flush with a locking surface of the locking claw. It has a stop surface, and when the elastic locking piece bends outward,
The connector according to claim 1, wherein after passing through the cut groove, the connector can abut against an inner surface of the excessive bending prevention portion. 3. The elastic locking piece has a main body having a locking claw that locks the electric component at a regular fitting position with respect to the hood, and the elastic locking piece has a widthwise outer side from the main body. The convex portion projects, and the outer convex portion is formed so as to cover the outside of the cut groove, and when the elastic locking piece bends inward, it comes into contact with the outer surface of the hood portion as the excessive bending prevention portion. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the function is enabled.
Or the connector of 2.