JP2010040183A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid the size of a connector from getting enlarged. <P>SOLUTION: The connector is equipped with a terminal metal fitting 10 and a housing 30 having a plurality of cavities 33 capable of having the terminal fitting 10 inserted. A stabilizer 13 is mounted in a protruded manner on the terminal metal fitting 10 to prevent the fitting 10 from being reversely inserted into the housing 30, and a guide groove 54 is mounted in a concave manner on an internal wall of the cavity 33 for a bottom side stabilizer 15 to enter. The guide groove 54 on the housing 30 has a communicating opening 55 leading to the bottom side cavity 33 adjacent to the upper cavity 33 mounting the guide groove 54. The communicating opening 55 is set opposed to a top face of a lance 37 mounted on an upper surface of the internal wall of the lower cavity 33. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  The connector described in Patent Document 1 includes a terminal fitting and a housing having a plurality of cavities into which the terminal fitting can be inserted. A stabilizer for preventing reverse insertion protrudes from the terminal fitting, and a terminal is provided on the inner wall of the cavity. A guide groove into which the stabilizer enters as the metal fitting is inserted is recessed.

In the housing, a partition wall is provided between the inner wall of the cavity in which the guide groove is recessed and the inner wall of the cavity adjacent to the cavity. The guide groove is configured as a bottomed groove that extends in the front-rear direction in the partition wall and opens only on the rear surface of the housing.
JP 2007-305484 A

  By the way, the partition wall partitioning the adjacent cavities has a thickness that is too large, and accordingly, the housing becomes taller and there is a hate to increase the size of the entire connector.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to avoid an increase in the size of a connector.

  As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 includes a terminal fitting and a housing having a plurality of cavities into which the terminal fitting can be inserted, and the terminal fitting includes the terminal fitting. A stabilizer for preventing reverse insertion into the housing is protruded, and a guide groove into which the stabilizer enters is recessed on the inner wall of the cavity, and the guide groove in the housing is Further, the present invention is characterized in that the guide groove has a communication port communicating with the cavity adjacent to the recessed cavity and the adjacent cavity.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a lance that elastically locks the terminal fitting is provided on the inner wall of the cavity so as to be flexibly protruded, and the guide groove of the housing is provided with the lance. The communication port is characterized in that it is disposed so as to face the lance provided so as to protrude from the inner wall of the adjacent cavity.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the lance according to the second aspect, the lance is provided with a groove portion leading to the communication port, which is notched so as to be visible from the outside, on a surface facing the communication port. It has the characteristics.

  The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 2 or 3, the communication port is arranged to face the central portion in the width direction of the root portion of the lance.

<Invention of Claim 1>
Since the guide groove has a communication port that communicates with the cavity where the guide groove is recessed and the adjacent cavity, the pitch between the two cavities is narrower than when the guide groove is not connected to the adjacent cavity. This makes it possible to reduce the height of the housing and thus reduce the overall size of the connector.

<Invention of Claim 2>
Because the guide groove communication port is located opposite to the lance that protrudes from the inner wall of the adjacent cavity, even if there is a situation where the stabilizer faces the communication port, this stabilizer is projected by the intervention of the lance. The insulated terminal fitting and the terminal fitting inserted into the adjacent cavity are kept in an insulated state.

<Invention of Claim 3>
The lance has a groove that leads to the communication port so that it can be seen from the outside. By looking through the groove, you can see the stabilizer facing the communication port, and insert the terminal fitting. It can be confirmed whether or not is properly performed.

<Invention of Claim 4>
Since the communication port is arranged to face the center in the width direction of the base portion of the lance, the stabilizer of the terminal fitting inserted into the guide groove is reliably protected by the lance, and the balance of the bending operation of the lance is improved. It becomes good.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector according to this embodiment includes a terminal fitting 10 and a housing 30. The housing 30 can be fitted with a mating housing (not shown). In the following description, the front-rear direction will be described with the fitting surface side with respect to the counterpart housing as the front.

  The terminal fitting 10 is formed by bending a conductive metal plate or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal fitting 10 has a rectangular tube-shaped connecting portion 11 at the front and an open barrel-shaped barrel 12 at the rear. ing. A male tab of a mating terminal fitting (not shown) is inserted into the connection portion 11 from the front in accordance with the fitting of the housing 30 and the mating housing, and both terminal fittings are electrically connected to each other. A stabilizer 13 is provided on one wall of the connecting portion 11 so as to protrude by being cut and raised. The stabilizer 13 has a plate shape along the front-rear direction, and is a rectangular plate shape disposed on one side in the width direction of the upper surface of the connection portion 11, and on the other side in the width direction of the lower surface of the connection portion 11. It consists of a trapezoidal plate shape and a small lower stabilizer 15. The stabilizer 13 prevents the terminal fitting 10 from being inserted into a cavity 33 (to be described later) of the housing 30 in a forward / reverse (up / down / left / right) inverted posture, and the insertion operation of the terminal fitting 10 into the cavity 33. Play a role in guiding. As shown in FIG. 1, a locking receiving portion 16 is formed on the upper surface of the connecting portion 11. The locking receiving portion 16 has a concave shape as the stabilizer 13 is cut and raised. The locking receiving portion 16 can receive a locking portion 44 (described later) of the lance 37. The barrel portion 12 has a wire barrel 17 that is caulked to the terminal core wire of the electric wire 90 at the front portion, and an insulation barrel 18 that is caulked to the end sheath of the electric wire 90 at the rear portion.

  The housing 30 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 3, the housing 30 has a rectangular block shape as a whole, and a lock arm 31 that holds the mating housing in a fitted state is provided at the center of the upper surface in the width direction. Yes. The lock arm 31 is configured to extend from the front upper end of the housing 30 so as to bend backward. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a pair of protective walls 32 are provided on the upper surface of the housing 30 so as to extend in the front-rear direction on both sides of the lock arm 31. The upper end of the protective wall 32 is equal to or higher than the upper end of the lock arm 31, and the lock arm 31 is protected by the protective wall 32.

  A plurality of cavities 33 are provided in the housing 30 in a plurality of rows in the height direction, specifically in two steps and in a plurality of rows in the width direction. The cavity 33 extends in the front-rear direction and opens on the rear surface of the housing 30, and the terminal fitting 10 can be inserted from the rear through the rear surface opening. As shown in FIG. 4, the housing 30 is provided with a front wall 34 that partitions the front surface of the cavity 33 and forms a front stop of the terminal fitting 10. A male tab insertion hole 35 is provided in the front wall 34 so as to communicate with the cavity 33, and a tab guide surface 36 for guiding the male tab around the hole of the insertion hole 35 on the front surface of the front wall 34 is formed in a trumpet shape. It is provided to expand.

  In addition, a cantilever lance 37 that prevents the terminal fitting 10 from coming off backward is provided on the upper surface of the inner wall of the cavity 33 in the housing 30 so as to be able to bend. The center in the width direction of the lance 37 is decentered to one side from the center in the width direction of the cavity 33, and the upper stabilizer 14 can enter between the other side surface in the width direction of the lance 37 and the inner side surface of the cavity 33 facing this. An insertion groove 38 is provided. The cross-sectional shape of the insertion groove 38 is a vertically long slit along the outer shape of the upper stabilizer 14.

  The lance 37 includes a root portion 41 configured to gradually build up and enter the cavity 33 in the front-rear direction intermediate portion of the inner wall of the cavity 33, and a main body portion that projects substantially straight forward from the front end of the root portion 41. 42, and the main body portion 42 can be bent and deformed in the height direction with the root portion 41 as a fulcrum. A longitudinally slit-shaped escape groove 43 extends in the front-rear direction and is opened at the rear surface at the center in the width direction of the rear portion of the root portion 41. The relief groove 43 ensures the smoothness of the bending operation of the root portion 41. Further, at the distal end portion of the main body portion 42, when the terminal fitting 10 is properly inserted, the locking portion 44 that can enter the locking receiving portion 16 of the terminal fitting 10 and come into contact with the front end edge of the locking receiving portion 16. Is provided to protrude downward.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the housing 30 is provided with a punching hole 45 that is opened by punching a mold member that forms the front portion of the lance 37. A substantially inverted L-shaped column wall 46 is provided in the die punching hole 45 so as to cover the front of the insertion groove 38. The front wall 34 of the housing 30 is provided with a notch groove 47 in the height direction that connects the lower edge of the front end opening of the punching hole 45 and the upper edge of the front end opening of the insertion hole 35. When the locked state of the terminal fitting 10 is released, a release jig (not shown) can be inserted into the mold punching hole 45 through the notch groove 47.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a reference surface 51 is configured at a position corresponding to the insulation barrel 18 of the terminal fitting 10 at the rear end of the lower surface of the inner wall of the cavity 33 in the housing 30. A support surface 53 that can support the connection portion 11 of the terminal fitting 10 is formed on the inner wall of the cavity 33 at a position that is one step higher than the reference surface 51 via the tapered surface 52. The bottom surface of the barrel portion 12 of the terminal fitting 10 has a stepped shape substantially along the reference surface 51, the tapered surface 52, and the support surface 53.

  A guide groove 54 into which the lower stabilizer 15 can enter is recessed in the inner wall of the cavity 33 in the housing 30 from the tapered surface 52 to the support surface 53. The cross-sectional shape of the guide groove 54 is a vertically long slit along the outer shape of the lower stabilizer 15. The groove bottom surface of the guide groove 54 is configured to extend substantially straight in the front-rear direction as a whole while being substantially flush with the reference surface 51.

  The groove bottom surface and the reference surface 51 of the guide groove 54 in the upper cavity 33 are aligned at substantially the same height as the upper surface of the front region from the root portion 41 of the lance 37 on the inner wall upper surface of the adjacent lower cavity 33. . Therefore, the area in front of the root 41 of the lance 37 in the guide groove 54 communicates with the lower cavity 33, which is configured as the communication port 55 of the present invention. In other words, the communication port 55 of the guide groove 54 in the upper cavity 33 is continuous with the front end of the root portion 41 of the lance 37 in the lower cavity 33. The communication port 55 is located at a front end portion of the guide groove 54, and the front end thereof is located behind the front end of the main body portion 42 of the lance 37 and is opposed to the upper surface of the main body portion 42. In addition, the communication port 55 has a form that communicates straight with the region of the guide groove 54 excluding the communication port 55 in the front-rear direction without any step. When the communication port 55 communicates with the lower cavity 33, the guide groove 54 is shifted toward the lower cavity 33 with respect to the height direction, whereby the thickness of the partition wall 56 separating the upper and lower cavities 33 is reduced. It has become. A space between the upper surface of the main body portion 42 of the lance 37 and the upper surface of the lance 37 in front of the base portion 41 is configured as a bending space 57 of the lance 37.

  In the range from the front surface of the root portion 41 to the upper surface of the main body portion 42 in the lance 37, a groove portion 58 communicating with the communication port 55 is provided by being cut out. The groove portion 58 has a slit groove shape extending in the front-rear direction at the center portion in the width direction of the lance 37, and is visible from the outside through the die-cutting hole 45 in the front surface of the housing 30. The bottom surface of the groove portion 58 is located at substantially the same height as the top surface of the inner wall of the cavity 33. A central portion in the width direction of the base portion 41 of the lance 37 is a base end portion 59 that extends in the height direction between the groove portion 58 and the escape groove 43 and is connected to the main body portion 42 at a substantially right angle. A thick portion 61 bulges on the upper surface of the housing 30 at a position corresponding to the root portion 41 of the lance 37 provided in the upper cavity 33. At the front end portion of the thick portion 61, a die-cutting hole 45 is held, and a bending fulcrum portion of the lock arm 31 is connected to the upper surface thereof.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 2, the terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the cavity 33 of the housing 30 from the rear. In the insertion process, the lower stabilizer 15 enters the guide groove 54 from the rear and slides on the groove bottom surface of the guide groove 54, and the upper stabilizer 14 enters the insertion groove 38 from the rear after this and is inserted. The bottom surface of the groove 38 slides, and the connecting portion 11 of the terminal fitting 10 slides on the support surface 53 of the cavity 33. Thereby, the insertion attitude | position of the terminal metal fitting 10 is stabilized, and the smoothness of the insertion operation of the terminal metal fitting 10 is ensured. Further, in the process of inserting the terminal fitting 10, the lance 37 is bent and deformed in the bending space 57.

  When the terminal fitting 10 reaches the proper insertion position with respect to the cavity 33, as shown in FIG. 1, the lance 37 is elastically restored, and the locking portion 44 enters the locking receiving portion 16 to enter the terminal fitting 10. The back is prevented from coming off. In this normal insertion position, the upper stabilizer 14 reaches substantially the same position as the locking portion 44 of the lance 37 in the front-rear direction, and the lower stabilizer 15 reaches a position corresponding to the communication port 55 of the guide groove 54. In this case, the insertion state of the lower stabilizer 15 can be confirmed by looking through the mold opening hole 45 from the front surface of the housing 30 in the direction of the arrow in the figure. When all the terminal fittings 10 are inserted into the cavity 33, the housing 30 is directly opposed to the counterpart housing, and the two housings are fitted in this state. When the two housings are properly fitted, the lock arm 31 elastically locks the mating housing to lock both housings in the disengagement restricted state, and the terminal fitting 10 is conductively connected to the mating terminal fitting.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the guide groove 54 has the communication port 55 that communicates with the lower cavity 33 adjacent to the upper cavity 33 in which the guide groove 54 is recessed. Compared with the case where 54 is not communicated with the lower cavity 33, the pitch between the two cavities 33 can be narrowed, the height of the housing 30 can be reduced, and the overall size of the connector can be reduced.

  Further, since the communication port 55 of the guide groove 54 is disposed to face the upper surface of the main body portion 42 of the lance 37 provided so as to protrude from the inner wall of the lower cavity 33, the lower stabilizer 15 faces the communication port 55. Even if there is a situation such as this, the terminal fitting 10 in which the lower stabilizer 15 is protruded by the intervention of the lance 37 and the terminal fitting 10 inserted in the adjacent lower cavity 33 are kept in an insulated state. There is no possibility of short-circuiting both terminal fittings.

  Furthermore, since the state of the lower stabilizer 15 facing the communication port 55 can be seen by looking into the communication port 55 through the groove portion 58, it can be seen whether or not the terminal fitting 10 is properly inserted.

  Furthermore, since the communication port 55 is disposed to face the central portion in the width direction of the root portion 41 of the lance 37, the lower stabilizer 15 of the terminal fitting 10 inserted into the guide groove 54 is reliably protected by the lance 37. In addition, the balance of the bending operation of the lance 37 is improved.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments 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.
(1) The guide groove may be provided in a partition wall that partitions adjacent cavities in the width direction, and the communication port may communicate with the adjacent cavities in the width direction.
(2) The upper stabilizer may be omitted.
(3) The lance may be configured to lock the rear end jaw portion of the connection portion.
(4) The terminal fitting may be a male terminal fitting having a male tab.

It is a sectional side view of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a sectional side view of a connector in the state just before inserting a terminal metal fitting in a cavity. It is a sectional side view of a housing. It is a front view of a housing. It is a rear view of a housing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Terminal metal fitting 13 ... Stabilizer 14 ... Upper side stabilizer 15 ... Lower side stabilizer 30 ... Housing 33 ... Cavity 37 ... Lance 54 ... Guide groove 55 ... Communication port

Claims (4)

A terminal fitting and a housing having a plurality of cavities into which the terminal fitting can be inserted, and the terminal fitting is provided with a stabilizer for preventing reverse insertion of the terminal fitting into the housing; The inner wall of the cavity is a connector in which a guide groove into which the stabilizer enters is recessed,
The connector, wherein the guide groove in the housing has a communication port that communicates with a cavity adjacent to the cavity in which the guide groove is recessed. A lance that elastically locks the terminal fitting is provided on the inner wall of the cavity so as to be able to bend,
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the communication port of the guide groove in the housing is disposed to face the lance provided to protrude from an inner wall of the adjacent cavity.   The connector according to claim 2, wherein a groove portion that communicates with the communication port is formed in the lance so as to be visible from the outside on a surface facing the communication port.   The connector according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the communication port is disposed to face a central portion in the width direction of the base portion of the lance.

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