JP2006073322A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve the downsizing of a connector by downsizing an insulator. <P>SOLUTION: The connector 1 is provided with an insulating plate 2 and a crimp terminal 3. The insulating plate 2 is provided with a plate-like main body 8 and a plurality of barrier ribs 9 erected and installed at the main body 8. A terminal housing groove 7 is constituted between mutually neighboring barrier ribs 9. Terminal fixing parts 11 are installed at the barrier ribs 9. The terminal fixing part 11 is formed with a protrusion 12 and a pair of ribs 13. The protrusion 12 and the ribs 13 are formed to be convex from inner faces of the barrier ribs 9. The pair of ribs 13 position the protrusion 12 between themselves. The crimp terminal 3 is provided with a substrate 17 and a pair of locking spring pieces 20. The locking spring pieces 20 are erected installed from both edges 17a, 17b of the substrate 17. The locking spring pieces 20 are locked to the inner faces of the barrier ribs 9. The locking spring pieces 20 are positioned between the protrusion 12 and the body part 8, and positioned between the pair of ribs 13 when locked to the inner faces of the barrier ribs 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector used for connecting electric wires and the like.

  In a vehicle as a moving body, a wire harness is routed to supply electric power from a power source such as a battery to electronic devices such as various lamps and various motors to be mounted. The said wire harness is provided with the connector (for example, refer patent document 1) etc. which were attached to the edge part of each of these electric wires and several electric wires.

  The electric wire is a so-called covered electric wire provided with a conductive core wire and an insulating covering portion. The connector includes a conductive terminal fitting, a connector housing as an insulating insulator, and a spacer. The terminal fitting is formed by bending a conductive sheet metal, and is attached to the end of the electric wire to be electrically and mechanically connected to the core wire of the electric wire.

  The connector housing is made of an insulating synthetic resin and is formed in a box shape. The connector housing is provided with a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers. The terminal accommodating chamber is a space that penetrates the connector housing. The terminal accommodating chamber is provided with a locking arm that locks the terminal fitting.

  The spacer is detachable from the connector housing. When the spacer is attached to the connector housing, the spacer restricts the terminal fitting from slipping out of the terminal accommodating chamber and prevents the terminal fitting from entering the terminal accommodating chamber.

The connector, that is, the wire harness having the above-described configuration is assembled as follows. A terminal fitting is attached to the end of the electric wire, and the terminal fitting is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber. Then, the locking arm is locked to the terminal fitting. Then, the spacer is attached to the connector housing. The wire harness described above is routed in the automobile by fitting the assembled connector to the connector of the electronic device described above. And a wire harness supplies the signal and electric power which are required for the electronic device mentioned above.
JP-A-8-195242

  In the connector described in Patent Document 1 described above, in order to fix the terminal fitting to the connector housing, a locking arm is provided on the connector housing, and a spacer is detachably attached to the connector housing. The locking arm described above is temporarily elastically deformed when the terminal fitting is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, and then locked to the terminal fitting.

  The connector described in Patent Document 1 described above has a tendency to increase the size of the connector housing because it is necessary to provide a space for elastically deforming the locking arm in the terminal accommodating chamber. Further, in order to make the spacer detachable from the connector housing, the connector housing tends to be larger.

  On the other hand, it is desired that a wider variety of electronic devices be mounted on the automobile described above. For this reason, the wire harness mentioned above had the tendency for an electric wire and a connector to increase. For this reason, of course, the connector described above is desired to be smaller.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector that can be miniaturized.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the connector of the present invention according to claim 1 is a connector comprising a flat insulator and a terminal fitting attached to the insulator, The insulator includes a flat plate-like main body portion and a plurality of partition walls standing from the main body portion, and is surrounded by the adjacent partition walls and the main body portion to form a terminal receiving groove for receiving the terminal fitting. The terminal fitting includes a rectangular substrate, an electrical contact portion provided at one end in the longitudinal direction of the substrate, and a pair of locking spring pieces from both edges in the width direction of the substrate. The terminal fitting is press-fitted into the terminal receiving groove, the locking spring piece is locked to the inner surface of the partition wall forming the terminal receiving groove, and the terminal fitting is fixed to the insulator. It is characterized by.

  The connector according to a second aspect of the present invention is the connector according to the first aspect, wherein the terminal fitting is press-fitted into the terminal receiving groove along a direction intersecting the surface of the main body of the insulator. It is characterized by that.

  A connector according to a third aspect of the present invention is the connector according to the first or second aspect, wherein the locking spring piece is provided at the center in the longitudinal direction of the substrate.

  A connector according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the connector according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the protrusions protrude from the inner surfaces of the adjacent partition walls that form the terminal receiving grooves. When the terminal fitting is press-fitted into the terminal receiving groove, the protrusions are in contact with the locking spring pieces and the edges on the side away from the substrate approach each other. Is temporarily deformed, and when the terminal fitting is fixed to the insulator, the locking spring piece is positioned between the terminal fitting and the body.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the connector according to the fourth aspect, wherein each of the protrusions is provided with a tapered surface that gradually increases a distance from each other as the distance from the main body portion increases. It is characterized by being.

  A connector according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the connector according to the fourth or fifth aspect, wherein the connector protrudes from the inner surface of each partition wall forming the terminal receiving groove and extends in the longitudinal direction of the terminal fitting. A pair of ribs that are spaced apart from each other and that position the protrusions between each other are provided.

  According to the connector of the present invention as set forth in claim 1, the locking spring pieces erected from both edges of the substrate of the terminal fitting are locked to the inner surface of the partition wall, and the terminal fitting is attached to the insulator. Thus, it is not necessary to provide a locking arm or the like that is elastically deformed in the insulator in order to fix the terminal fitting and the insulator.

  Moreover, the latching spring piece latched to the inner surface of a partition is standingly arranged from the both edges of the width direction of the board | substrate of a terminal metal fitting. For this reason, even if the terminal fitting is press-fitted into the terminal receiving groove, the terminal fitting can be prevented from being inclined in the width direction of the substrate within the terminal receiving groove.

  According to the connector of the present invention described in claim 2, the terminal fitting is press-fitted into the terminal receiving groove along the direction intersecting the surface of the main body portion of the insulator. For this reason, the thickness of the insulator in the direction intersecting the surface of the main body can be suppressed from the insulator that press-fits the terminal fitting into the terminal accommodating chamber along the longitudinal direction of the terminal fitting and the terminal accommodating chamber.

  According to the connector of the present invention described in claim 3, the locking spring piece is provided in the center of the terminal metal plate in the longitudinal direction. For this reason, it can prevent that a terminal metal fitting inclines in the longitudinal direction of a board | substrate within a terminal accommodation groove | channel.

  According to the connector of the present invention described in claim 4, the locking spring piece comes into contact with the protrusion, and the edges of the locking spring piece are once elastically deformed in a direction approaching each other. For this reason, when the terminal fitting is attached to the insulator, the locking spring piece is surely elastically deformed and reliably locked to the inner surface of the partition wall.

  When the terminal fitting is attached to the insulator, the locking spring piece is positioned between the protrusion and the main body. For this reason, when the terminal fitting is attached to the insulator, it is possible to prevent the locking spring piece and the protrusion from interfering with each other and the terminal fitting from falling out of the terminal receiving groove.

  According to the connector of the present invention described in claim 5, the protrusion is provided with the tapered surface. For this reason, when the terminal fitting is press-fitted into the terminal receiving groove, the locking spring piece comes into contact with the tapered surface, and the locking spring piece is elastically deformed in a direction in which the edge gradually approaches.

  According to the connector of the present invention described in claim 6, the pair of ribs that protrude from the inner surface of the partition wall that forms the terminal receiving groove and that position the protrusions between each other are provided. For this reason, when the terminal fitting is attached to the insulator, the locking spring piece is surrounded by a pair of ribs and protrusions. For this reason, when the terminal fitting is attached to the insulator, it is possible to prevent the locking spring piece and the protrusion from interfering with each other and the terminal fitting from falling out of the terminal receiving groove. Further, when the terminal fitting is attached to the insulator, the locking spring piece and the pair of ribs can interfere to prevent the terminal fitting from being displaced in the longitudinal direction in the terminal receiving groove.

  As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in order to fix the terminal fitting and the insulator, it is not necessary to provide a locking arm or the like that is elastically deformed in the insulator, and the spacer is used as the insulator. There is no need to detach. Thus, it is not necessary to provide a space in which the locking arm or the like is elastically deformed, and it is not necessary to attach or detach the spacer to or from the insulator, so that the insulator can be downsized, that is, the connector can be downsized.

  In addition, the locking spring piece is erected from both edges of the terminal fitting in the width direction of the terminal metal, and the terminal metal fitting can be prevented from being inclined in the width direction of the board in the terminal accommodating groove. For this reason, even if the rigidity of the terminal fitting is lowered, that is, even if the terminal fitting is reduced in size, it is possible to prevent the terminal fitting from being unexpectedly deformed and damaged when attached to the insulator. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the size of the terminal fitting and to reduce the size of the insulator.

  The present invention according to claim 2 suppresses the thickness of the insulator in the direction intersecting the surface of the main body from the insulator that press-fits the terminal fitting into the terminal accommodating chamber along the longitudinal direction of the terminal fitting and the terminal accommodating chamber. can do. For this reason, it is possible to reliably reduce the size of the insulator, that is, the connector.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the terminal fitting can be prevented from being inclined in the longitudinal direction of the substrate within the terminal receiving groove. For this reason, even if the rigidity of the terminal fitting is lowered, that is, even if the terminal fitting is reduced in size, it is possible to prevent the terminal fitting from being unexpectedly deformed and damaged when attached to the insulator. For this reason, it is possible to surely reduce the size of the terminal fitting and to surely reduce the size of the insulator.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the terminal fitting is attached to the insulator, the locking spring piece is surely elastically deformed and reliably locked to the inner surface of the partition wall. Also, when the terminal fitting is attached to the insulator, the locking spring piece is positioned between the protrusion and the main body, so when the terminal fitting is attached to the insulator, the locking spring piece and the protrusion interfere with each other, It is possible to prevent the terminal fitting from falling out of the terminal receiving groove.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the terminal fitting is press-fitted into the terminal receiving groove, the locking spring piece comes into contact with the tapered surface, and the locking spring piece is elastically deformed in a direction in which the edge gradually approaches. For this reason, a terminal metal fitting can be easily attached to an insulator.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the terminal fitting is attached to the insulator, the locking spring piece is surrounded by the pair of ribs and the protrusions. For this reason, when the terminal fitting is attached to the insulator, it is possible to prevent the locking spring piece and the protrusion from interfering with each other and the terminal fitting from falling out of the terminal receiving groove. Further, when the terminal fitting is attached to the insulator, the locking spring piece and the pair of ribs can interfere to prevent the terminal fitting from being displaced in the longitudinal direction in the terminal receiving groove.

  Moreover, since the rib mentioned above is convex from the inner surface of a partition, the rigidity of an insulator improves with this rib. For this reason, if the rigidity is kept the same as that without ribs, the insulator can be made smaller than that without ribs. In other words, the connector can be miniaturized.

  Furthermore, since the rigidity of the insulator is improved by the rib, it is possible to prevent the insulator from being elastically deformed when a terminal fitting is attached to the insulator. Therefore, the terminal fitting can be easily attached to the insulator.

  A connector 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector 1 is fitted with the mating connector 30 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mating connector 30 includes a connector housing 31 and a plurality of terminal fittings 32. The connector housing 31 is made of an insulating synthetic resin and has a bottomed cylindrical shape. The connector housing 31 is attached to a printed wiring board (not shown). Further, on the inner surface of the connector housing 31, a lock projection (not shown) for fitting with the connector 1 is provided.

  The terminal fitting 32 is made of a conductive metal and has a rod shape. The terminal fitting 32 is bent at the center so as to form a square shape when viewed from the side. One end of the terminal fitting 32 is located in the connector housing 31, and the other end is electrically and mechanically connected to the conductor pattern of the printed wiring board.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 1 includes a cover 4, an insulating plate 2 as an insulator, and a press contact terminal 3 as a terminal fitting. In the following description, the arrow X in FIG. 1 is the width direction, the arrow Y orthogonal to the arrow X is the longitudinal direction, and the arrow Z orthogonal to both the arrows X and Y is the thickness direction.

  The cover 4 is made of an insulating synthetic resin and is formed in a plate shape, that is, a flat plate shape as shown in FIG. The cover 4 is provided with a lock portion 5 that engages with the mating connector 30. The cover 4 is provided with a locking portion 6 for locking with the insulating plate 2.

  The cover 4 is overlapped with the insulating plate 2 so as to be parallel to a later-described main body 8 and fixed to the insulating plate 2.

  A pair of insulating plates 2 are provided in the illustrated example. The insulating plate 2 is made of an insulating synthetic resin, and is formed in a plate shape, that is, a flat plate shape as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The insulating plate 2 is integrally provided with a flat plate-like main body 8, a plurality of partition walls 9 erected from the surface 8 a of the main body 8, and one end wall 10.

  The plurality of partition walls 9 are parallel to each other and spaced from each other. The plurality of partition walls 9 are arranged at equal intervals. A terminal receiving groove 7 is formed between the adjacent partition walls 9. For this reason, the terminal accommodating groove 7 is formed by being surrounded by a pair of adjacent partition walls 9 and the main body 8. The terminal accommodating groove 7 accommodates the press contact terminal 3.

  The end wall 10 is erected from the main body 8. The longitudinal direction of the end wall 10 is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the partition wall 9. The end wall 10 continues to one end of the plurality of partition walls 9. That is, the end wall 10 connects the partition walls 9 to each other.

  The partition walls 9 are each provided with a terminal fixing portion 11 as shown in FIGS. The terminal fixing portion 11 is provided on the inner surface of each of the adjacent partition walls 9 constituting the terminal receiving groove 7. That is, it is provided on both surfaces of the partition wall 9. The terminal fixing portion 11 is provided at the center of the partition wall 9, that is, the terminal accommodating groove 7 in the longitudinal direction Y.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the terminal fixing portion 11 includes a protrusion 12 and a pair of ribs 13. The protrusions 12 are formed so as to protrude from the inner surfaces of the partition walls 9 that form the terminal accommodating grooves 7, that is, from both surfaces of the partition walls 9. For this reason, between the pair of partition walls 9 forming the terminal accommodating groove 7, the pair of protrusions 12 are opposed in the width direction X as shown in FIG. 5.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the protrusion 12 is provided in the center of the partition wall 9 in the thickness direction Z. That is, the protrusion 12 is spaced from the surface 8 a of the main body 8 along the thickness direction Z. The protrusion 12 is provided with a tapered surface 14. The taper surface 14 is inclined with respect to both the width direction X and the thickness direction Z described above in a direction in which the pair of protrusions 12 facing each other gradually separate from each other as the distance from the main body portion 8 increases.

  The pair of ribs 13 are formed so as to protrude from the inner surfaces of the partition walls 9 that form the terminal accommodating grooves 7, that is, from both surfaces of the partition walls 9. For this reason, between the pair of partition walls 9 forming the terminal accommodating groove 7, the ribs 13 are opposed to each other along the width direction X as shown in FIG. 5.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the rib 13 is provided along the thickness direction Z of the partition wall 9 from the surface 8 a of the main body portion 8 to the edge 9 a on the side away from the main body portion 8 of the partition wall 9. The ribs 13 are linearly formed along the thickness direction Z. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pair of ribs 13 positions the protrusion 12 between each other along the longitudinal direction Y. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the pair of ribs 13 are in contact with the protrusion 12 (integrated).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a hole 15 communicating with the terminal receiving groove 7 is opened in the end wall 10. The hole 15 passes through one end of the terminal fitting 32 of the mating connector 30 described above. Further, the insulating plate 2 is provided with a locking portion 16 for fixing the insulating plate 2 to each other and for fixing to the cover 4 described above.

  The insulating plates 2 having the above-described configuration are fixed to each other by being stacked so that the main body portions 8 are parallel to each other.

  The press contact terminal 3 is made of a conductive sheet metal or the like. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the press contact terminal 3 is integrally provided with a substrate 17, an electrical contact portion 18, an electric wire connection portion 19, and a pair of locking spring pieces 20. The substrate 17 has a rectangular planar shape. The electrical contact portion 18 is provided at one end portion in the longitudinal direction Y of the substrate 17. The electrical contact portion 18 includes a rectangular tubular portion 21 and an elastic spring piece 22.

  One outer wall of the cylindrical portion 21 is connected to the substrate 17. One end portion of the terminal fitting 32 of the mating connector 30 enters the cylindrical portion 21. One end of the elastic spring piece 22 is connected to the other outer wall of the cylindrical portion 21 and extends from the other outer wall toward the substrate 17 described above. The elastic spring piece 22 presses one end of the terminal fitting 32 that has entered the cylinder portion 21 toward the inner surface of the cylinder portion 21. The electrical contact portion 18 is printed with the terminal fitting 32 of the mating connector 30 by the elastic spring piece 22 pressing one end of the terminal fitting 32 that has entered the cylinder portion 21 toward the inner surface of the cylinder portion 21. It is electrically and mechanically connected to the conductor pattern of the wiring board.

  The wire connection portion 19 is provided at the other end portion in the longitudinal direction Y of the substrate 17. The electric wire connection part 19 is electrically and mechanically connected to an electric wire (not shown). The electric wire is a so-called covered electric wire including a conductive core wire and an insulating covering portion that covers the core wire.

  The electric wire connecting portion 19 includes a plurality (a pair in the illustrated example) of press contact blades 23. The press contact blade 23 is formed in a plate shape and is erected from the substrate 17. The press contact blades 23 are arranged at intervals along the longitudinal direction Y of the substrate 17. The press contact blade 23 is provided with a slit 24. The slit 24 extends linearly from the edge of the press contact blade 23 away from the substrate 17 toward the substrate 17, and cuts out the press contact blade 23. The slit 24 is provided at the center in the width direction X of the press contact blade 23. In the press contact blade 23, an electric wire is press-fitted into the slit 24, and the inner edge of the slit 24 cuts the covering portion and comes into contact with the core wire. The press contact blade 23, that is, the electric wire connecting portion 19 is in pressure contact with the electric wire and electrically and mechanically connected to the electric wire.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the locking spring piece 20 is erected at the center in the longitudinal direction Y of the substrate 17 and from both edges 17a and 17b in the width direction X of the substrate 17 as shown in FIG. The pair of locking spring pieces 20 are opposed to each other with a space along the width direction X of the substrate 17. The pair of locking spring pieces 20 intersects both the width direction X and the thickness direction Z described above in a direction in which the distance between the pair of locking spring pieces 20 gradually increases as the distance from the substrate 17 increases.

  Further, the pair of locking spring pieces 20 are elastically deformable so that the edges 20a on the side away from the substrate 17 mentioned above come in contact with each other. In addition, approaching / separating means approaching or separating from each other. Further, in the neutral state that is not elastically deformed, the interval between the edges 20a of the locking spring piece 20 described above is between the protrusions 12 that protrude from the inner surface of the partition wall 9 that forms the terminal receiving groove 7 and that face each other. Longer than the interval. Further, in the neutral state described above, the interval between the edges 20a of the locking spring piece 20 described above is equal to or slightly longer than the interval between the inner surfaces of the partition walls 9 forming the terminal accommodating groove 7 described above. Further, the length in the thickness direction Z from the substrate 17 to the edge 20a of the locking spring piece 20 is shorter than the distance in the thickness direction Z from the surface 8a of the main body 8 to the protrusion 12.

  The connector 1 having the above-described configuration is assembled as follows. The surface 8a of the main body 8 and the surface of the substrate 17 are made parallel to each other, the terminal 3 is brought close to the insulating plate 2 along the arrow K perpendicular to (intersects) the surface 8a of the main body 8. Press fit into 7. The arrow K is parallel to the thickness direction Z. For this reason, the press contact terminal 3 is press-fitted into the terminal accommodating groove 7 along a direction orthogonal (crossing) to the surface 8 a of the main body 8 of the insulating plate 2. At this time, the locking spring piece 20 is positioned between the pair of ribs 13 of the terminal fixing portion 11, and the locking spring piece 20 is aligned with the protrusion 12 along the arrow K, ie, the thickness direction Z.

  When the press contact terminal 3 is brought close to the insulating plate 2 along the arrow K and press-fitted into the terminal receiving groove 7, the edge 20 a of the locking spring piece 20 contacts the tapered surface 14 of the protrusion 12. When the press contact terminal 3 is further press-fitted into the terminal accommodating groove 7, the edge 20a moves on the tapered surface 14, and the locking spring piece 20 is elastically deformed in a direction in which the edges 20a approach each other. When the edge 20a exceeds the protrusion 12, the locking spring piece 20 returns to the neutral state by the elastic restoring force in the direction in which the edges 20a are separated from each other. In this way, the locking spring piece 20 is locked to the inner surface of the partition wall 9 in a manner surrounded by the pair of ribs 13, the projecting portion 12, and the main body portion 8. That is, the protrusion 12 positions the locking spring piece 20 between the main body 8 and the protrusion 12. In this way, the press contact terminal 3 is attached to each insulating plate 2.

  And an electric wire is press-contacted to the press-contacting blade 23 of the press-contacting terminal 3 attached to each insulating plate 2. Then, the locking portions 16 of the insulating plate 2 are locked to each other, and the locking portion 16 of the insulating plate 2 located on the upper side in FIG. 4 and the insulating plate 2 are fixed to each other. At this time, the cover 4 and the main body 8 of the insulating plate 2 are made parallel to each other. In this way, the connector 1 is assembled and fitted with the mating connector 30 described above. In this way, the connector 1 is fitted with the mating connector 30 or the like to form a wire harness routed in an automobile or the like, and transmits desired power, signals, or the like of each electronic device of the automobile.

  According to the present embodiment, the locking spring piece 20 erected from both edges 17 a and 17 b of the substrate 17 of the press contact terminal 3 is locked to the inner surface of the partition wall 9 and the press contact terminal 3 is attached to the insulating plate 2. Thus, in order to fix the press contact terminal 3 and the insulating plate 2, it is not necessary to provide a locking arm or the like that is elastically deformed on the insulating plate 2, and it is not necessary to attach or detach the spacer to the insulating plate 2. Thus, it is not necessary to provide a space in which the locking arm or the like is elastically deformed, and it is not necessary to attach or detach the spacer to or from the insulating plate 2, so that the insulating plate 2 can be downsized, that is, the connector 1 can be downsized. Can do.

  The locking spring piece 20 that locks to the inner surface of the partition wall 9 is erected from both edges 17 a and 17 b in the width direction of the substrate 17 of the press contact terminal 3. For this reason, even if the press contact terminal 3 is press-fitted into the terminal receiving groove 7, the press contact terminal 3 can be prevented from being inclined in the width direction X of the substrate 17 in the terminal receiving groove 7. For this reason, even if the rigidity of the press contact terminal 3 is lowered, that is, even if the press contact terminal 3 is downsized, the press contact terminal 3 can be prevented from being unexpectedly deformed and damaged when being attached to the insulating plate 2. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the size of the press contact terminal 3 and to reduce the size of the insulating plate 2.

  The press contact terminal 3 is press-fitted into the terminal receiving groove 7 along a direction orthogonal (crossing) to the surface 8 a of the main body 8 of the insulating plate 2. For this reason, the thickness of the insulating plate 2 in the direction K orthogonal to (intersects with) the surface 8a of the main body portion 8 can be suppressed from the insulator that press-fits the terminal fitting into the terminal accommodating chamber along the longitudinal direction. For this reason, it is possible to reliably reduce the size of the insulating plate 2, that is, to reduce the size of the connector 1.

  A locking spring piece 20 is provided at the center in the longitudinal direction Y of the substrate 17 of the press contact terminal 3. For this reason, the press contact terminal 3 can be prevented from being inclined in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 17 in the terminal accommodating groove 7. Even if the rigidity of the press contact terminal 3 is lowered, that is, even if the press contact terminal 3 is reduced in size, it is possible to prevent the press contact terminal 3 from being unexpectedly deformed and damaged when being attached to the insulating plate 2. For this reason, it is possible to reliably reduce the size of the press contact terminal 3 and to reliably reduce the size of the insulating plate 2.

  The locking spring piece 20 comes into contact with the protrusion 12, and the edge 20a of the locking spring piece 20 is once elastically deformed in a direction approaching each other. For this reason, when the press contact terminal 3 is attached to the insulating plate 2, the locking spring piece 20 is reliably elastically deformed and is securely locked to the inner surface of the partition wall 9.

  When the press contact terminal 3 is attached to the insulating plate 2, the locking spring piece 20 is positioned between the protrusion 12 and the main body 8. For this reason, when the press contact terminal 3 is attached to the insulating plate 2, it is possible to prevent the locking spring piece 20 and the protrusion 12 from interfering with each other and the press contact terminal 3 from falling out of the terminal accommodating groove 7.

  A taper surface 14 is provided on the protrusion 12. For this reason, when press-fitting the press contact terminal 3 into the terminal accommodating groove 7, the locking spring piece 20 comes into contact with the tapered surface 14, and the locking spring piece 20 is elastically deformed in a direction in which the edge 20 a gradually approaches. For this reason, the press contact terminal 3 can be easily attached to the insulating plate 2.

  A pair of ribs 13 are provided so as to protrude from the inner surface of the partition wall 9 constituting the terminal accommodating groove 7 and to position the protrusion 12 therebetween. For this reason, when the press contact terminal 3 is attached to the insulating plate 2, the locking spring piece 20 is surrounded by the pair of ribs 13 and the protrusions 12. For this reason, when the terminal fitting 32 is attached to the insulating plate 2, it is possible to prevent the locking spring piece 20 and the protrusion 12 from interfering with each other and the press contact terminal 3 from falling out of the terminal accommodating groove 7. Further, when the press contact terminal 3 is attached to the insulating plate 2, the locking spring piece 20 and the pair of ribs 13 interfere with each other, and the press contact terminal 3 is displaced in the longitudinal direction Y in the terminal accommodating groove 7. Can be prevented.

  Further, since the rib 13 described above is convex from the inner surface of the partition wall 9, the rigidity of the insulating plate 2 is improved by the rib 13. For this reason, if the rigidity is kept the same as that without the rib 13, the insulating plate 2 can be made smaller than that without the rib 13. That is, the connector 1 can be miniaturized.

  Furthermore, since the rigidity of the insulating plate 2 is improved by the rib 13, it is possible to prevent the insulating plate 2 from being elastically deformed when the press contact terminal 3 is attached to the insulating plate 2. Therefore, the press contact terminal 3 can be easily attached to the insulating plate 2.

  In the above-described embodiment, the press contact terminal 3 that is in pressure contact with the electric wire is shown as the terminal fitting. However, in the present invention, a so-called crimp terminal including a plurality of crimping pieces for crimping an electric wire may be used as the terminal fitting. In the above-described embodiment, a so-called female terminal having a cylindrical electrical contact portion 18 is shown as the terminal fitting. However, in the present invention, a so-called male terminal having a rod-like or plate-like electrical contact portion may be used as the terminal fitting.

  In addition, embodiment mentioned above only showed the typical form of this invention, and this invention is not limited to embodiment. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a perspective view which decomposes | disassembles and shows the connector concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the insulating plate to which the press-contact terminal of the connector shown by FIG. 1 was attached. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the insulating plate shown in FIG. 2. It is sectional drawing which follows the IV-IV line in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the VV line in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Connector 2 Insulation plate (insulator)
3 Pressure contact terminals (terminal fittings)
7 Terminal receiving groove 8 Body portion 8a Surface 9 Bulkhead 12 Projection portion 13 Rib 17 Substrate 17a, 17b Both edges 18 Electrical contact portion 20 Locking spring piece K A perpendicular direction (a crossing direction)
X Width direction Y Longitudinal direction

Claims (6)

A connector comprising a flat insulator and a terminal fitting attached to the insulator,
The insulator includes a flat plate-like main body portion and a plurality of partition walls erected from the main body portion, and is surrounded by the adjacent partition walls and the main body portion to form terminal receiving grooves that receive the terminal fittings. Has been
The terminal fitting includes a substrate, an electrical contact portion provided at one end in the longitudinal direction of the substrate, and a pair of locking spring pieces from both edges in the width direction of the substrate,
The terminal fitting is press-fitted into the terminal receiving groove, the locking spring piece is locked to the inner surface of the partition wall forming the terminal receiving groove, and the terminal fitting is fixed to the insulator. Characteristic connector.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the terminal fitting is press-fitted into the terminal receiving groove along a direction intersecting the surface of the main body of the insulator.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the locking spring piece is provided at a center in a longitudinal direction of the substrate. Convex protrusions are provided from the inner surfaces of the partition walls adjacent to each other to form the terminal receiving groove,
These protrusions temporarily elastically deform the locking spring pieces in the direction in which the edges on the side away from the substrate come in contact with the locking spring pieces when the terminal fitting is press-fitted into the terminal receiving groove. The locking spring piece is positioned between the main body and the terminal fitting when the terminal fitting is fixed to the insulator. Connector.   The connector according to claim 4, wherein each of the protrusions is provided with a tapered surface that gradually increases a distance from each other as the distance from the main body portion increases.   Protruding from the inner surface of each partition wall forming the terminal receiving groove, and spaced apart from each other along the longitudinal direction of the terminal fitting, and provided with a pair of ribs for positioning the protrusion between each other The connector according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the connector is characterized in that:

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