JP2008021608A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stop oscillation of a lance in the widthwise direction. <P>SOLUTION: When a front retainer 30 is mounted on a housing 10, since its contacting faces 171, 172, 173, 174, 176, 177, 178 of the lance 17 are contacted with the contacting faces 371, 372, 373, 374, 376, 377, 378 of the front retainer 30 in the widthwise direction intersecting perpendicularly with the elastic direction, the lance 17 becomes hard to be oscillated in the width direction and the elastic direction. Therefore, the lance 17 is locked with the terminal fittings 20 sufficiently and stably when mounted, and the falling-off prevention of the terminal fittings 20 becomes sufficient. Moreover, since oscillation stopping of the lance has been enabled without raising rigidity of the lance root part, increase of insertion force of the terminal fittings due to the raised rigidity of the lance can be evaded in advance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector having a front retainer.

  Conventionally, connectors disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known. This type of connector includes a housing and a front retainer.

  A cavity into which the terminal fitting is inserted from the rear is formed inside the housing, and a lance is formed inside the cavity so as to extend forward in a cantilever manner along the wall surface. When the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity, the lance is elastically bent toward the bending space when the terminal fitting passes, and allows the passage of the terminal fitting. Further, when the terminal fitting is inserted to the normal insertion position, the lance protrudes into the cavity by elastic return and is locked to the terminal fitting to prevent the terminal fitting from being removed.

  The front retainer is assembled to the front portion of the housing and plays a role of restricting the lance from being bent toward the bending space while being dissociated from the terminal fitting when a part thereof enters the bending space.

  In this way, this type of connector can hold the terminal fitting inserted into the cavity of the housing in a double-locked state.

JP-A-11-102743 JP 2003-168512 A

  The conventional connector has a gap for molding on both sides of the lance so that the lance can be elastically bent and elastically restored. On the other hand, since the housing is molded by injection molding using a mold or the like, there is a restriction on making this gap thin because of the strength maintenance of the mold.

  For this reason, in this type of connector, when the front retainer is assembled to the housing, the lance tends to swing in the width direction perpendicular to the elastic direction. In this case, the lance is not sufficiently locked to the terminal fitting, and the terminal fitting may not be sufficiently pulled out. In addition, the lance may swing in the width direction after assembly, and similarly, the lance may not be stably locked to the terminal fitting, and the terminal metal may not be sufficiently pulled out.

  In order to prevent the lance from swinging in the width direction after assembly, it may be possible to amplify the base of the lance in order to increase the rigidity of the lance. There is also a problem of an increase in the size of the connector, which is not an appropriate measure.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a connector that can prevent the lance from swinging in the width direction.

  As a means for achieving the above object, the invention according to claim 1 has a cavity in which the terminal fitting is inserted, and when the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity, a bending space is formed when the terminal fitting passes. A housing provided with a lance that elastically bends to the side and protrudes into the cavity by elastic return when the terminal fitting is inserted to the normal insertion position, thereby locking the terminal fitting. And a front retainer for restricting the lance from being bent toward the bending space while being dissociated from the terminal fitting. The lance and the front retainer have contact surfaces that contact each other in a width direction perpendicular to the elastic direction of the lance. Furnace has a feature.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the lance is formed with a fitting recess that is recessed from the front, and the front retainer protrudes rearward, and the fitting It is characterized in that a fitting convex portion that matches the concave portion is formed.

  The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 2, the fitting projection is formed within a width dimension of the lance.

<Invention of Claim 1>
When the front retainer is assembled to the housing, the lance is in the width direction orthogonal to the elastic direction, and its abutment surface abuts against the abutment surface of the front retainer, and is difficult to swing in the width direction. For this reason, the lance is properly and stably locked to the terminal fitting, so that the terminal fitting is sufficiently secured.

  Further, since the steadying in the width direction can be performed without making the base portion of the lance thicker than necessary, it is possible to avoid an excessive insertion force of the terminal fitting.

  Thus, the connector according to the first aspect can prevent the lance from swinging in the width direction without making the insertion force of the terminal fitting excessive, and ensure that the terminal fitting is prevented from coming off.

<Invention of Claim 2>
The lance is preferably formed with a fitting recess recessed from the front, and the front retainer is provided with a fitting protrusion protruding rearward and aligned with the fitting recess. In this case, since the lance does not have a portion protruding forward, it is possible to reduce the size of the connector. In addition, the punching die for the fitting recess of the lance is the same as the punching die for the gaps on both sides of the lance, so the structure of the mold and the like can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. It is.

<Invention of Claim 3>
If the fitting convex part is formed within the width dimension of the lance, the lance will not increase in the width direction, and the connector can be miniaturized.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The connector of this embodiment includes a housing 10 and a front retainer 30.

  The housing 10 is made of a synthetic resin material and has a block shape as a whole as shown in FIGS. Inside the housing 10, two cavities 11 (one or three or more) penetrating in the front-rear direction are formed in parallel in the width direction (horizontal direction) at a constant pitch. Each cavity 11 is elongated in the front-rear direction and has a substantially square cross-sectional shape. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a terminal fitting 20 is inserted into each cavity 11 from the rear.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a recess 12 is formed on the front end surface of the housing 10 so as to correspond to each of the cavities 11. Each recess 12 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the front, and the front end of each cavity 11 is open to the front of the housing 10 in the recess 12.

  A substantially square opening 13 that opens the cavity 11 forward is formed with a front stop 14 that protrudes downward along the upper edge thereof. At both left and right ends of the front stop portion 14, auxiliary front stop portions 15 that extend slightly downward along the upper left and right edge portions of the opening portion 13 are formed continuously with the front stop portion 14. . That is, the front stop portion 14 and the auxiliary front stop portion 15 have a gate shape when viewed from the front. The rear surface of the front stop portion 14 and the rear surface of the auxiliary front stop portion 15 are flush with each other.

  Below the front end region of each cavity 11, a bending space 16 is formed in a form opened to the front end surface of the housing 10. The bending space 16 faces the recess 12 and is open to the front end surface of the housing 10.

  Further, a lance 17 is integrally formed between the bending space 16 and the cavity 11 so as to extend forward in a cantilever manner along the upper surface of the bending space 16 and the bottom wall of the cavity 11. The lance 17 can be elastically bent downward so as to advance into the bending space 16. On the upper surface of the lance 17 (the surface facing the cavity 11), a retaining protrusion 17 a having a front end surface that is a locking surface substantially orthogonal to the insertion direction of the terminal fitting 20 with respect to the cavity 11 is formed.

  On both sides of the lance 17, a gap 18 that connects the cavity 11 and the bending space 16 is formed. Each gap 18 faces the recess 12 and is formed in a form that opens to the front end surface of the housing 10. The front end (free end) of the lance 17 is located behind the recess 12.

  The lance 17 is formed with a fitting recess 17b that is recessed from the front. Each fitting recess 17b has a T-shape when viewed from the front. That is, as shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 3, each fitting recess 17 b has a first contact surface 171 facing the direction in which the lance 17 is elastically bent in order from the top, as viewed from the front, and the lance 17. A second abutting surface 172 in the width direction orthogonal to the elastic direction of the lance 17, a third abutting surface 173 facing the direction in which the lance 17 is elastically restored, and a fourth abutting in the width direction orthogonal to the elastic direction of the lance 17. A surface 174, a fifth contact surface 176 in the width direction orthogonal to the elastic direction of the lance 17, a sixth contact surface 177 facing the direction in which the lance 17 is elastically restored, and a width orthogonal to the elastic direction of the lance 17 And a seventh contact surface 178 in the direction. The first contact surface 171, the third contact surface 173, and the sixth contact surface 177 face each other, the second contact surface 172 and the seventh contact surface 178 face each other, and the fourth contact surface 174 and the fourth contact surface 174. 5 faces the abutment surface 176.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the terminal fitting 20 is obtained by bending a metal plate material punched into a predetermined shape, and a substantially first half portion thereof is a rectangular tube portion 21, and a mating side (not shown) is provided in the inside thereof. An elastic contact piece 22 for elastic contact with the male tab of the terminal is accommodated. A locking hole (not shown) for accommodating the retaining protrusion 17 a of the lance 17 is formed in the lower wall of the rectangular tube portion 21. In a state where the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the regular position in the cavity 11, the retaining protrusion 17 a is locked in the locking hole so that the terminal fitting 20 can be prevented from being pulled out.

  As shown in FIGS. 1-3, on the upper wall of the housing 10, a lock arm 10a for receiving a lock projection of the mating connector is formed so as to be able to bend and extend in a cantilevered manner from the front to the rear. In addition, protective walls 10b extending in the front-rear direction are formed on both sides of the lock arm 10a. Further, holding portions 10 c are formed on both side walls of the housing 10.

  The front retainer 30 shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 is made of a synthetic resin material. As shown in FIG. 5, the front retainer 30 includes a front wall portion 33 that can be fitted into the recess 12 of the housing 10, and a pair of connecting plates 36 that extend horizontally from both ends of the front wall portion 33 in the vertical direction toward the rear. And two pieces of restricting plates 37 extending continuously rearward from the lower end of the front wall portion 33.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the front wall portion 33 has a shallow notch 33 a corresponding to each cavity 11, and a deep notch 33 b in a form in which a substantially central portion in the width direction of the shallow notch 33 is notched downward. Is formed. The shallow notch 33a corresponds to a recess surrounded by the lower edge of the front stop 14 of the housing 10 and the side edge of the auxiliary front stop 15, and the shallow notch 33a and the recess form a horizontal rectangular tab. An insertion port 35 is configured. The deep notch 33b corresponds to the lance 17 and the bending space 16, and a release jig (not shown) for elastically bending the lance 17 toward the bending space 16 is provided in the deep notch 33b. It is designed to be plugged in.

  The connecting plate 36 extends along both the left and right outer surfaces of the housing 10, and the front retainer 30 is temporarily engaged with the housing 10 by engaging the holding portion 10 c of the housing 10 on the inner surface of the connecting plate 36. A holding portion 30a for holding at either the stop position or the main locking position is formed.

  Each of the restriction plates 37 protrudes rearward from the lower edge position of the deep notch 33 b and can enter the bending space 16 of the housing 10. When the restriction plate 37 enters the bending space 16, the elastic bending of the lance 17 toward the bending space 16 (in the direction of dissociating from the terminal fitting 20) is restricted.

  On the upper surface of each regulating plate 37, a fitting convex portion 37b projects from the front wall portion 33 toward the rear. Each fitting convex part 37b has a T-shape when viewed from the back, and is aligned with the fitting concave part 17b of the lance 17. That is, as shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 6, each fitting convex portion 37 b is aligned with the first abutting surface 171 of the fitting concave portion 17 b in order from the top when viewed from the front. 371, a ninth contact surface 372 that matches the second contact surface 172 of the fitting recess 17b, a tenth contact surface 373 that matches the third contact surface 173 of the fitting recess 17b, and a fitting recess An eleventh contact surface 374 that aligns with the fourth contact surface 174 of 17b, a twelfth contact surface 376 that aligns with the fifth contact surface 176 of the fitting recess 17b, and a sixth contact of the fitting recess 17b. It consists of a thirteenth contact surface 377 that aligns with the surface 177 and a fourteenth contact surface 378 that aligns with the seventh contact surface 178 of the fitting recess 17b. Thus, each fitting concave portion 17b is recessed within the width of each lance 17, and each fitting convex portion 37b is aligned with each fitting concave portion 17b. Are formed within the width dimension.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  When inserting the terminal fitting 20 into the housing 10, first, as shown in FIG. 7, the front retainer 30 is assembled to the housing 10 from the front and held in the temporary locking position. In the state of being in the temporary locking position, the connecting plate 36 is engaged with the holding portion 10c of the housing 10 so that the position and posture of the front retainer 30 are held in the vertical direction, and the front retainer 30 is moved in the horizontal direction. Misalignment is regulated. Further, the restricting plate 37 enters the front end portion of the bending space 16, but since the entering region is a region further forward than the front end of the lance 17, the lance 17 can be elastically bent toward the bending space 16. It is like that.

  In this state, the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into each cavity 11 from behind. In the process of inserting the terminal fitting 20, the square tube portion 21 interferes (presses down) with the retaining protrusion 17 a of the lance 17, so that the lance 17 is elastically moved toward the bending space 16 (the side retracted from the insertion area of the terminal fitting 20). Bend.

  Then, when the terminal fitting 20 is inserted to the proper position, as shown in FIG. 8, the entire area of the upper edge at the front end of the rectangular tube portion 21 and the upper end portions of the left and right end portions respectively abut against the rear surface of the front stop portion 14. By this abutment, the terminal fitting 20 is reliably stopped at the normal insertion position.

  Further, when the terminal fitting 20 reaches the normal insertion position, the lance 17 is elastically restored, and the retaining projection 17 a is locked in the locking hole of the terminal fitting 20. Due to the locking of the lance 17, the terminal fitting 20 is held in a rearward movement restricted state (that is, a retaining state).

  After the insertion of all the terminal fittings 20 is completed, the front retainer 30 at the temporary locking position is pushed into the final locking position. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, each fitting convex portion 37 b of the front retainer 30 is inserted into each fitting concave portion 17 b of each lance 17. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 10, each first contact surface 171 and each eighth contact surface 371 contact each other, each second contact surface 172 and each ninth contact surface 372 contact, The third contact surfaces 173 and the tenth contact surfaces 373 are in contact with each other, the fourth contact surfaces 174 and the eleventh contact surfaces 374 are in contact with each other, and the fifth contact surfaces 176 and the respective 12 abutment surfaces 376 abut, each sixth abutment surface 177 abuts each 13th abutment surface 377, and each seventh abutment surface 178 abuts each 14th abutment surface 378.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 11, each restricting plate 37 is fitted in the bending space 16, whereby the elastic deformation of the lance 17 toward the bending space 16 is restricted, and the lance 17 is locked to the terminal fitting 20. Is secured. In a state where the front retainer 30 is pushed into the main locking position, the front wall portion 33 is fitted in the recess 12 and the tab insertion port 35 is opened in the cavity 11.

  Thus, also in this connector, the terminal fitting 20 inserted into the cavity 11 of the housing 10 can be retained in a double-locked state.

  During this time, the contact between each second contact surface 172 and each ninth contact surface 372 and the contact between each seventh contact surface 178 and each fourteenth contact surface 378 are in the width direction orthogonal to the elastic direction. Are facing each other. Further, the contact of each fourth contact surface 174 and each eleventh contact surface 374 and the contact of each fifth contact surface 176 and each twelfth contact surface 376 are in the width direction orthogonal to the elastic direction. Face to face. For this reason, the lance 17 is difficult to swing from side to side.

  Also, the contact of each first contact surface 171 and each eighth contact surface 371, the contact of each third contact surface 173 and each tenth contact surface 373, and each sixth contact surface 177 and each each The contact with the thirteenth contact surface 377 faces in the elastic direction. Further, the upper surface of the regulation plate 37 inserted into the bending space 16 also faces these in the elastic direction. For this reason, the lance 17 is difficult to swing up and down.

  Therefore, the lance 17 is sufficiently and stably locked to the terminal fitting 20 by the positioning function of the front retainer 30, and the terminal fitting 20 is sufficiently prevented from being pulled out.

  In addition, since the lance 17 is difficult to swing from side to side after assembly, the bending space 16 of the housing 10 and the regulation plate 37 that enters the bending space 16 can be reduced in size, and the connector can be reduced in size. In addition, even if the base of the lance is not increased to increase the rigidity of the lance itself, the lance can be prevented from swinging in the width direction. It can also contribute to reducing the burden.

  As described above, in this connector, the terminal fitting 20 is sufficiently prevented from coming off. In particular, in this connector, since the fitting convex portion 37b is formed within the width dimension of the lance 17, the lance 17 does not increase in the width direction, and the connector is downsized.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.

  (1) In the present embodiment, a fitting recess is provided in the lance from the front, and the front retainer is provided with a fitting protrusion in the rear. In the present invention, the relationship between the unevenness is reversed. Things are also envisaged.

(2) In the present embodiment, the fitting concave portion and the fitting convex portion are T-shaped, but it goes without saying that other shapes such as a + -shape may be used in the present invention. For example, the fitting recess may be formed on both sides in the width direction of the lance, and the fitting protrusion may be formed on the front retainer side so as to enter the recessed portion.
Further, the fitting recess does not necessarily have to be provided in the lance. For example, it is also conceivable to form an upward U-shaped part on the front retainer so that the lower part of the lance can be sandwiched by the front retainer from both sides in the width direction.

  (3) In this embodiment, the fitting convex part is integrally formed on the upper surface of the regulating plate. In this case, there exists an advantage which is easy to ensure the intensity | strength of a fitting convex part. However, it is also possible to provide a fitting convex part separately from the regulating plate.

  (4) This embodiment is a form in which the lance extends in a cantilevered manner. In this case, the lance tends to become unstable, and the effect of the present invention is great. However, the present invention can be applied even when the lance extends in a both-sided manner.

  (5) In the present embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a female connector has been described. However, application to a male connector is also possible.

  (6) Although the present embodiment has described the connector in which the cavities are arranged in a line, the present invention can also be applied to a connector divided into two upper and lower stages and a connector divided into three or more stages.

Longitudinal sectional view of the housing with the front retainer removed Top view of the housing with the front retainer removed Front view of the housing with the front retainer removed Front sectional view of the front retainer Top view of the front retainer Rear view of front retainer Longitudinal section with the front retainer in the temporary locking position and the terminal fitting in the middle of insertion Longitudinal section with the front retainer in the temporary locking position and the terminal fitting in the normal insertion position Partial perspective view in the middle of setting the front retainer to the final locking position Cross section of the front retainer in the fully locked position Vertical sectional view of the front retainer in the temporary locking position

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Terminal metal fitting 11 ... Cavity 16 ... Deflection space 17 ... Lance 10 ... Housing 30 ... Front retainer 171, 172, 173, 174, 176, 177, 178 ... Contact surface 17b ... Fitting recessed part 37b ... Fitting convex part

Claims (3)

When the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity, the terminal fitting is elastically bent toward the bending space when passing through the terminal fitting, and when the terminal fitting is inserted to the normal insertion position, the terminal fitting is elastic. A housing provided with a lance that protrudes into the cavity by return and is locked to the terminal fitting to prevent the terminal fitting from being removed;
In a connector provided with a front retainer that is assembled by allowing it to enter the bending space from the front of the housing and restricts the lance from being bent toward the bending space while being detached from the terminal fitting.
The lance and the front retainer have contact surfaces that contact each other in a width direction perpendicular to the elastic direction of the lance.   The lance is formed with a fitting recess that is recessed from the front, and the front retainer is provided with a fitting protrusion that protrudes rearward and aligns with the fitting recess. The connector according to claim 1.   The connector according to claim 2, wherein the fitting convex portion is formed within a width dimension of the lance.

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