JP2009272104A - Electric connector with retainer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric connector with a retainer of fixed fitting reliably preventing fault due to imperfect mounting of a contact and capable of achieving common use of dies or the like with an electric connector with a locking mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: The electric connector with a retainer includes a housing 100 having housing chambers 110 and a lock arm 120, contacts 200 each locked to the housing so that a body 210 is positioned at a non-insertion-coupling side of a tip-end wall when it is inserted into the housing chamber after wire crimping and coming in contact with a counterpart contact when the electric connectors are insertion-coupled with each other, and a retainer 300 equipped with a support piece 310 striking the contact body from a non-insertion-coupling side in the housing chamber at a given position, a locking piece 320 extended from an end of the support piece at the non-insertion-coupling side in a direction away from the support piece in a thickness direction, and hooked to locking parts 116 when the support piece comes to a given position, and a cover 330 extended from the end of the support piece at the non-insertion-coupling side in a direction away from the support piece in a thickness direction, and covering an operating part 123 of the lock arm when the support piece comes to a given position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention belongs to the field of electrical connectors and relates to an electrical connector having a lock mechanism.

  Patent Document 1 includes an insulating plug housing having a square plug frame portion to be inserted into a mating receptacle, an elastic support portion, and a lock arm. The elastic support portion is Disclosed is a plug with a lock mechanism that is formed so as to protrude from the upper wall surface of the plug housing, and the lock arm includes a lock mechanism that is swingably coupled to an end of the elastic support portion. ing.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a connector including a housing main body, a terminal incorporated in the housing main body, and a retainer that is inserted into the housing main body to prevent the terminal from falling off and detects an incomplete mounting state of the terminal. Disclosure. Patent Document 4 also discloses a connector provided with a retainer for detecting the terminal metal retaining and the half-insertion of the terminal metal. Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 5 disclose a retainer for preventing the terminal from falling off the housing.

JP-A-2005-50620 JP-A-9-320672 JP 2002-75507 A JP 2003-272749 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-1000079

  When an electrical connector such as the conventional plug with a lock mechanism is used, the fitting force of the electrical connector with a lock mechanism to the mating electrical connector can be reinforced by the lock mechanism. If the lock mechanism is released, the electrical connector with the lock mechanism can be easily detached from the mating electrical connector. By the way, it is conceivable to set a fitted electrical connector that cannot be detached from the counterpart electrical connector once it is fitted to the counterpart electrical connector using such an electrical connector with a lock mechanism. In other words, once the electrical connector with a lock mechanism is fitted to the mating electrical connector, the lock mechanism cannot be released. Connector can be set. However, in that case, the fitted electrical connector is fitted to the mating electrical connector, but if a malfunction such as poor conduction occurs, the fitted electrical connector cannot be detached from the mating electrical connector. It is not possible to check whether or not the fitting of the contacts in the fitted electrical connector is complete.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such points, and the object of the present invention is to cover the lock arm of the electrical connector with a lock mechanism with a cover so that the operation portion cannot be operated. By providing a retainer, it is possible to reliably prevent problems such as poor continuity due to imperfect mounting of the contact to the housing, and to realize a common type with an electrical connector with a lock mechanism. Another object is to provide an electrical connector with a retainer.

  The electrical connector with a retainer according to the present invention has a depth direction, a thickness direction, and a width direction orthogonal to each other and opens as a connection port on the fitting side that is one side of the depth direction through the depth direction and It is arranged outside the side wall on one side in the thickness direction among the storage chamber that opens as the insertion port on the opposite side that is the other side in the depth direction, and the wall constituting this storage chamber, and is thick due to flexibility A halfway part is integrally provided on the side wall so that it can swing in the vertical direction, and a hook that hooks on a corner part provided on the mating electrical connector is provided at the end of the mating side when both electrical connectors are mated A lock arm having an end portion on the opposite side to be an operation portion, a housing to be fitted to the mating electrical connector on the fitting side, a box-shaped main body having a contact portion, It is provided on the non-fitting side of this body and crimps the wire A tip of the wall surrounding the connection port in the wall constituting the storage chamber when the electric wire is crimped by the barrel and then inserted into the storage chamber from the insertion port of the housing. The contact that will be locked to the housing so as to be located on the opposite mating side of the wall, and when both electrical connectors are fitted, the contact portion will contact the mating contact of the mating electrical connector, and the above A support piece that is inserted into the housing chamber from the non-fitting side and comes to a predetermined position, and the end of the fitting side comes into contact with the main body of the contact from the non-fitting side in the housing chamber, and the support piece A locking piece that extends from the end of the mating side away from the support piece in the thickness direction and extends to the fitting side, and engages with a locking portion provided on the side wall of the housing when the support piece reaches a predetermined position. Piece and the non-fitting side of the support piece Spaced support piece in the thickness direction extends the fitting side of parts, the support piece is provided with a retainer and a cover covering the operation portion of the lock arm come to a predetermined position.

  When the electric wire is crimped with the barrel of the contact and the contact with electric wire is inserted into the housing chamber through the insertion port of the housing, the contact main body is positioned on the opposite side of the front end wall of the housing and the contact is locked to the housing. Is done. Then, when the retainer is brought close to the housing from the non-fitting side, the support piece is inserted into the storage chamber and the support piece comes to a predetermined position, the support piece hits the contact body from the non-fitting side, and the locking piece comes into contact with the housing. Hang on the locking part. And if the fitting side of this electric connector with a retainer is fitted to the other party electrical connector, the contact part of a contact will contact the other party contact. Also, the lock arm swings and the hook is hooked on the corner of the mating electrical connector, and is locked so that both electrical connectors are not detached. In this case, since the support piece hits the main body of the contact, the contact is prevented from falling off from the housing. Also, since the cover covers the operation part of the lock arm, the operation part cannot be operated, the lock arm cannot be swung and the hook cannot be removed from the corner of the mating electrical connector, and the lock mechanism can be released. The electrical connector with a retainer will be fitted.

  In that case, if the support piece does not come in place, the engagement piece will not catch on the engagement portion of the housing. To be prevented. And this electrical connector with a retainer is a combination of an electrical connector with a locking mechanism and a retainer, and is established by changing the degree of engagement of the locking portion to the housing with respect to the electrical connector with a locking mechanism not combined with the retainer. A common type is realized with the electrical connector with mechanism.

  In the electrical connector with a retainer of the present invention, the housing is provided with an elastic piece that forms a part of the wall constituting the housing chamber and extends to the fitting side along the depth direction and can be elastically deformed in the thickness direction. The contact may be provided with a stopper that is hooked on the elastic piece from the fitting side, and the contact may be locked to the housing by the elastic piece and the stopper.

  In the electrical connector with a retainer of the present invention, the cover of the retainer may be formed in a bag shape with the non-fitting side closed.

  In this way, since the cover covers the operation portion of the lock arm except for the fitting side, the operation portion is more reliably prevented from being operated.

  In the electrical connector with a retainer of the present invention, the lock arm of the electrical connector with a locking mechanism is covered with a cover so that the operation portion cannot be operated, and the retainer is provided on this cover, so that the contact is not completely mounted on the housing. It has been possible to provide an electrical connector with a retainer that can be fitted around, which can surely prevent problems such as poor conduction due to being present and can share a mold with the electrical connector with a lock mechanism.

  When the cover of the retainer is formed in a bag shape with the non-fitting side closed, it is possible to more reliably prevent the operation portion from being operated and to secure the function of fitting.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG.1 and FIG.7 shows the end of the harness which connects an electric wire with the electrical connector with a retainer which is embodiment of this invention. The electrical connector with a retainer according to this embodiment includes a housing 100 formed of an insulating material, a contact 200 formed of a conductive material, and a retainer 300. The electrical connector with a retainer of the harness of this embodiment is fitted to the mating electrical connector 400. The mating electrical connector 400 of this embodiment includes a housing formed of an insulating material and a contact provided on the lever housing formed of a conductive material, and is mounted on the printed wiring board 500. The configuration or usage pattern of the mating electrical connector is not limited to this. For convenience of description, a depth direction, a thickness direction, and a width direction orthogonal to each other are set. In the case of this embodiment, if it demonstrates in FIG. 1, the up-down direction of a figure is a depth direction, a lower side is the fitting side which is one side of a depth direction, and the upper side is a non-fitting side which is the other side of a depth direction. is there. Further, the left-right direction in the figure is the thickness direction, and the direction perpendicular to the drawing sheet is the width direction. Here, when the member or part is referred to as the fitting side or the counter-mounting side, when the member or part is provided in the electric connector with a retainer, the fitting side or the non-fitting side of the electric connector with the retainer. That is, when the member or part is provided in the mating electrical connector, it is the mating side or the counter mating side of the mating electrical connector. The fitting side is the side to be fitted, and the anti-fitting side is the side opposite to the fitting side.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the housing 100 is fitted into the mating electrical connector 400 when the fitting side is inserted into the mating electrical connector 400, and is unplugged from the mating electrical connector 400. The connector 400 is configured to be detached. The present invention can be applied to an electrical connector with a retainer in which both electrical connectors are fitted by inserting the mating side of the housing into the mating electrical connector. The present invention can also be applied to an electrical connector with a retainer in which both electrical connectors are fitted by inserting the side into the housing. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 100 is provided with a storage chamber 110 penetrating in the depth direction. The storage chambers 110 are provided in a number corresponding to the number of poles. Although two rows are provided in this embodiment, the number and arrangement of the housing chambers of the housing in the electrical connector with a retainer of the present invention are not limited thereby. The accommodation chamber 110 is opened as a connection port 111 on the fitting side which is one side in the depth direction, and is opened as an insertion port 112 on the non-fitting side which is the other side in the depth direction. Further, a lock arm 120 is disposed outside the side wall 113 on one side in the thickness direction among the walls constituting the housing chamber 110 of the housing 100. The lock arm 120 has a midway part 121 integrally provided on the side wall 113, and the lock arm 120 swings in a seesaw shape in the thickness direction around the midway part 121 due to its flexibility. It is like that. That is, the lock arm 120 swings in a seesaw shape so that both ends in the depth direction form an arc around the midway portion 121 as viewed from the width direction. A hook 122 protruding in the thickness direction toward the side wall 113 is provided at the end of the lock arm 120 on the fitting side. When the electric connector with the retainer and the mating electric connector 400 are fitted, the lock arm 120 is configured to move in a seesaw shape in the thickness direction so that the hook 122 gets over the corner portion 410 provided on the mating electrical connector 400 and then hooks to the corner portion 410. A recess that is recessed in the thickness direction is formed in the housing of the mating electrical connector 400, and a corner 410 is formed on the fitting side of the recess. Instead of this, a corner may be formed in the housing so as to protrude in the thickness direction. Further, the end of the lock arm 120 on the side opposite to the mating side is an operation portion 123. By pushing the operation portion 123 with a finger or the like and moving the lock arm 120 in a seesaw shape, the hook 122 is connected to the mating electrical connector 400. The electrical connector with the retainer can be detached from the mating electrical connector 400 by removing from the corner portion 410 provided in the electrical connector.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the contact 200 includes a box-shaped main body 210 having a contact portion 211, and a barrel 220 that is provided on the opposite side of the main body 210 to crimp the electric wire 600. It has. The box shape is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. Since this contact 200 is female, the end on the fitting side of the main body 210 is open and the inner wall of the main body 210 is a contact portion. In this opening, the pin of the mating electrical connector 400 is received, A pin is brought into contact with the contact portion. When the contact is male, a pin as a contact portion is extended from the fitting side end of the main body 210 to the fitting side. The barrel 220 includes a wire barrel for crimping the core wire of the electric wire 600 and an insulation barrel for crimping the insulating coating of the electric wire 600. When the electric wire 600 is crimped by the barrel 220 and the contact 200 with electric wire is inserted into the accommodation chamber 110 from the insertion port 112 of the housing 100, the main body 210 surrounds the connection port 111 in the wall constituting the accommodation chamber 110. It is comprised so that it may be latched by the housing 100 so that it may be located in the anti-fitting side of the front end wall 114 in this. And when the electrical connector with a retainer and the other party electrical connector 400 fit, the said contact part 211 will be comprised so that the other party contact of the other party electrical connector 400 may contact. As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 100 has an elastic piece 115 that forms a part of a wall constituting the housing chamber 110 and extends along the depth direction toward the fitting side and can be elastically deformed in the thickness direction. Is provided. Further, the contact 200 is provided with a stopper 212 that is hooked on the elastic piece 115 from the fitting side. The stopper 212 is formed by a protruding piece obtained by cutting and raising a part of the wall of the contact 200 facing the thickness direction of the main body 210. Therefore, when the contact 200 with the electric wire is inserted into the housing chamber 110 from the insertion port 112 of the housing 100, the contact 200 pushes the elastic piece 115 in the thickness direction to be elastically deformed, and the elastic piece 115 is moved over to the fitting side. The contact 200 is locked to the housing 100 by the stopper 212 being hooked on the tip of the restored elastic piece 115. The stopper may be formed by providing an opening in a wall facing the thickness direction of the main body of the contact, and the periphery thereof. Instead of this, an elastic piece may be provided on the contact and locked to the housing. However, the electrical connector with a retainer of the present invention includes an embodiment in which a lance structure using such an elastic piece is not provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 4 to 9, the retainer 300 is fitted to the support piece 310 and the support piece 310 spaced apart from the end of the support piece 310 on the non-fitting side in the thickness direction. A locking piece 320 that extends to the side, and a cover 330 that is spaced apart from the support piece 310 in the thickness direction from the end of the support piece 310 on the non-fitting side and extends to the fitting side. The support piece 310 is formed in a plate shape and faces in the thickness direction. When the retainer 300 is brought close to the housing 100 from the non-fitting side and the support piece 310 is inserted into the housing chamber 110 of the housing 100 from the non-fitting side and comes to a predetermined position, the end of the support piece 310 on the fitting side Is configured to contact the main body 210 of the contact 200 from the opposite side in the housing chamber 110 of the housing 100. Further, the locking piece 320 is configured to be engaged with a locking portion 116 provided on the side wall 113 of the housing 100 when the support piece 310 is in a predetermined position. Here, a hole penetrating in the thickness direction is provided in the locking piece 320, and a protrusion protruding in the thickness direction is provided in the side wall 113 to form the locking portion 116, and the locking piece 320 is flexible due to the flexibility of the locking piece 320. The hole was fitted into the locking portion 116 so that the edge of the hole was hung on the locking portion 116. Conversely, a protrusion protruding in the thickness direction is provided on the locking piece, and a hole is provided in the side wall of the housing to form a locking portion, and the locking piece protrusion is fitted into the locking portion by the flexibility of the locking piece. The protrusion may be hung on the edge of the locking portion. Further, the cover 330 is configured to cover the operation portion 123 of the lock arm 120 when the support piece 310 is in a predetermined position. And this cover 330 is formed in the bag shape which the non-fitting side closed. The cover 330 connects the plate-shaped first wall 331 facing the support piece 310 in the thickness direction and both end edges in the width direction of the first wall 331 to the support piece 310 in the width direction. Two first plate-shaped second walls 332 and the first wall 331 and the two second walls 332 are closed so that the opposite side of the wall formed in a substantially U shape when viewed in the depth direction is closed. And a third wall 333 connected to the wall 331 and the second wall 332. In addition, a modification in which the cover 330 is configured by the first wall 331 and the second wall 332 without the third wall 333, and the first wall 331 and the third wall 333 without the second wall 332 are provided. There is a modification in which the cover 330 is configured.

  Next, the operation and effect of the electrical connector with a retainer of the above embodiment will be described. When the electric wire 600 is crimped by the barrel 220 of the contact 200 and the contact 200 with electric wire is inserted into the accommodation chamber 110 from the insertion port 112 of the housing 100, the main body 210 of the contact 200 is counterfitted with the distal end wall 114 of the housing 100. The contact 200 is locked to the housing 100 at the side. Then, when the retainer 300 is brought close to the housing 100 from the non-fitting side, the support piece 310 is inserted into the storage chamber 110 and the support piece 310 is in a predetermined position, the support piece 310 is brought into contact with the main body 210 of the contact 200 from the non-fitting side. The locking piece 320 hits the locking portion 116 of the housing 100. When the fitting side of the electrical connector with a retainer is fitted to the mating electrical connector 400, the contact portion 211 of the contact 200 contacts the mating contact. Further, the lock arm 120 swings and the hook 122 is hooked on the corner portion 410 of the mating electrical connector 400 so that both electrical connectors are not detached. In this case, since the support piece 310 contacts the main body 210 of the contact 200, the contact 200 is prevented from falling off the housing 100. Further, since the cover 330 covers the operation portion 123 of the lock arm 120, the operation portion 123 cannot be operated, and the lock arm 120 can be swung to remove the hook 122 from the corner portion 410 of the mating electrical connector 400. Therefore, the lock mechanism cannot be released, so the electrical connector with a retainer is fitted.

  In this case, if the support piece 310 does not come into a predetermined position, the engagement piece 320 does not engage with the engagement portion 116 of the housing 100, so that it is understood that the contact 200 is not completely attached to the housing 100, and the conduction Defects such as defects are reliably prevented. And this electrical connector with a retainer is a combination of an electrical connector with a locking mechanism and a retainer, and is established by changing the degree of engagement of the locking portion to the housing with respect to the electrical connector with a locking mechanism not combined with the retainer. A common type is realized with the electrical connector with mechanism.

  The cover of the electrical connector with a retainer according to the present invention extends from the end of the support piece opposite to the mating side in the thickness direction away from the support piece and extends to the mating side. What is necessary is just to be comprised so that the operation part may be covered. Among such various embodiments, the cover 330 of the retainer 300 of the above embodiment is formed in a bag shape with the non-fitting side closed. In this way, since the cover 330 covers the operation unit 123 of the lock arm 120 except for the fitting side, the operation of the operation unit 123 is more reliably prevented.

  The present invention includes embodiments in which the features of the above-described embodiments or modifications are combined. Furthermore, the above embodiment has shown only some examples of the electrical connector with a retainer of this invention. Therefore, the description of these embodiments does not limit the retainer-equipped electrical connector of the present invention.

It is an expanded sectional view showing the end of the harness formed by connecting the electric connector with the retainer which is an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the housing of the electrical connector with a retainer. It is the expanded side view which looked at the contact of the electrical connector with a retainer from the width direction. It is a perspective view of the retainer of the said electrical connector with a retainer. It is the side view which looked at the retainer of the said electrical connector with a retainer from the width direction. It is a perspective view of a housing etc. and a retainer when a contact with an electric wire is inserted and locked in the housing of the electrical connector with a retainer. It is a perspective view which shows the end of the harness formed by attaching a retainer to the housing of FIG. FIG. 8 is a front view of one end of the harness of FIG. 7 as seen from the thickness direction when fitted to a mating electrical connector mounted on a printed wiring board. FIG. 8 is a side view of the harness of FIG. 7 as seen from the width direction by fitting one end of the harness to a mating electrical connector mounted on a printed wiring board.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Housing 110 Accommodating chamber 111 Connection port 112 Insertion port 113 Side wall 114 Front end wall 115 Elastic piece 116 Locking part 120 Lock arm 121 Midway part 122 Hook 123 Operation part 200 Contact 210 Main body 211 Contact part 212 Stopper 220 Barrel 300 Retainer 310 Supporting piece 320 locking piece 330 cover 400 mating electrical connector 410 corner 600 electric wire

Claims (3)

When taking a depth direction, a thickness direction, and a width direction orthogonal to each other, it penetrates in the depth direction and opens as a connection port on one side in the depth direction, and a counter-fit on the other side in the depth direction A storage chamber that opens as an insertion port on the mating side, and is arranged outside the side wall on one side of the thickness direction among the walls constituting the storage chamber, so that it can swing in the thickness direction due to flexibility Part is provided integrally with the side wall, and the hook on the corner provided on the mating connector is provided at the end on the mating side, and the end on the counter mating side is operated. A lock arm that becomes a part, and a housing to be fitted to the mating connector on the fitting side,
A box-shaped main body having a contact portion and a barrel which is provided on a non-fitting side of the main body and which crimps an electric wire, and after crimping the electric wire with the barrel, from the insertion port of the housing to the accommodation chamber Inserted into the housing, the main body is locked to the housing so as to be positioned on the opposite side of the tip wall around the connection port of the walls constituting the housing chamber, and both connectors are fitted. If the contact, the contact portion will contact the mating contact of the mating connector,
The support piece, which is inserted into the housing chamber from the side opposite to the mating side and comes to a predetermined position, the end of the mating side comes into contact with the contact body in the housing chamber from the side opposite to the mating side. A member that extends from the end of the piece on the opposite side to the support piece in the thickness direction and extends to the fitting side. When the support piece is in a predetermined position, the engagement is applied to a locking portion provided on the side wall of the housing. A cover and a cover that extends from the end of the support piece on the side opposite to the mating side in the thickness direction and extends to the mating side, and covers the operation portion of the lock arm when the support piece is in a predetermined position. An electrical connector with a retainer.   The housing is provided with an elastic piece which forms a part of a wall constituting the housing chamber and extends in the depth direction to the fitting side and can be elastically deformed in the thickness direction, and the contact is provided with the elastic piece. An electrical connector with a retainer according to claim 1, wherein a stopper is provided on the fitting side, and the contact is locked to the housing by the elastic piece and the stopper.   The electrical connector with a retainer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cover of the retainer is formed in a bag shape with the non-fitting side closed.

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