JP2010211934A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector capable of pulling out an individual terminal without causing damage to a lance and a terminal metal fitting without using a jig. <P>SOLUTION: A retainer 12 can be displaced at three positions which are a terminal pull-out allowance position (a) allowing the pull-out and insertion of a connection terminal 4, a terminal temporary locking position (b) allowing the insertion of the connection terminal 4 but not allowing the pull-out of the terminal 4, and a terminal regular locking position (c) not allowing the pull-out and insertion of the connection terminal 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector including a housing and a retainer that has a lance that engages with a terminal and is inserted into the housing.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a connector in which a terminal fitting inserted into a terminal accommodating portion of a housing is prevented from being removed by locking a lance formed along an inner wall of the terminal accommodating portion.

  In the connector as described above, since the rigidity of the lance is reduced when the lance is thinned in order to reduce the size, there is a concern that the reliability of the function of retaining the terminal fitting is lowered. Therefore, according to the invention described in Patent Document 2, the connector is provided with a housing provided with a terminal housing portion and an inner wall of the terminal housing portion in order to improve the reliability of the lance retaining function while reducing the size. And a lance that is elastically deformable toward the bending space adjacent to the terminal accommodating portion, and a terminal fitting that is inserted into the terminal accommodating portion. In the process of inserting into the housing part, the lance is bent due to interference with the terminal fitting and elastically bent to the space side, and when the terminal fitting is properly inserted, the elastically restored lance is locked to the terminal fitting. Is held in a retaining state. The lance is provided with a reinforcing rib that partially protrudes from a surface facing the bending space, and a relief portion capable of accommodating the reinforcing rib is provided on the surface facing the lance in the wall facing the bending space. Provided.

  In the connector described in Patent Document 2, the terminal fitting is inserted into the terminal accommodating portion from the rear of the housing, and in the insertion process, the lower surface of the terminal fitting comes into contact with the locking projection, so that the lance is bent downward into the space. When the terminal fitting reaches the normal insertion position, the lance is elastically restored and the locking projection is locked in the locking hole, so that the terminal fitting is restricted from being pulled backward. It is held in a state (prevention state).

  When removing the terminal fitting from the terminal housing, insert a long and narrow jig from the jig insertion slot on the front of the housing, and cure with the tip of the jig being directed to the jig receiving surface of the lance. When the tool is operated, the lance is forcibly elastically bent toward the bending space so as to disengage the locking protrusion from the locking hole. Thereby, the terminal fitting is released from the retaining state by the lance.

JP-A-5-182712 JP 2006-1000027 A

  As described above, in the connector described in Patent Document 2, a jig must be used when extracting the terminal fitting. If an individual terminal fitting is to be extracted without using a jig, some contrivance is necessary, otherwise serious damage to the lance and / or terminal fitting will inevitably occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and its purpose is to be able to pull out individual terminals without using a jig and without causing damage to the lance and terminal fittings. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector that prevents one terminal from being inadvertently pulled out when it is necessary to pull out one terminal from a housing.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the connector according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) to (4).
(1) A housing having a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers for accommodating connection terminals, which are partitioned by a partition, and a hollow portion formed so as to cross between the terminal accommodating chambers;
A plurality of openings corresponding to the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers; and a lance formed in the opening that engages with the connection terminal accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber, wherein at least the opening is A retainer inserted into the cavity,
A connector with
Three locking portions are formed between the housing and the retainer to allow the retainer to be displaced in three stages with respect to the insertion direction of the retainer with respect to the housing.
The retainer is a terminal extraction allowance position that allows the connection terminal to be extracted and inserted, a terminal temporary locking position that allows the connection terminal to be inserted and does not allow the connection terminal to be extracted, and the connection terminal extraction and It must be displaceable in three positions: the terminal lock position that does not allow insertion.
(2) A connector configured as described in (1) above,
When the retainer is located at the terminal pull-out allowable position, the upper surface of the front end of the lance is substantially at the same height as the lower surface of the connection terminal.
(3) A connector configured as described in (1) or (2) above,
In the housing, the three locking portions are formed on a surface facing the retainer when the retainer is inserted into the housing,
The retainer is formed with three locking portions that engage with the three locking portions of the housing on a surface facing the surface of the housing where the three locking portions are formed.
(4) A connector having the above configuration (1) or (2),
The three locking portions are formed at the edge of the end wall of the retainer,
The housing includes three locking portions that engage with the three locking portions of the retainer at positions adjacent to the edge of the end wall of the retainer when the retainer is inserted into the housing. To be formed.

According to the configuration of the above (1), there are three positions with respect to the retainer, that is, a terminal extraction allowable position that allows the connection terminal to be extracted and inserted, and a terminal that allows the connection terminal to be inserted and does not allow the connection terminal to be extracted. The temporary lock position and the terminal lock position that does not allow the connection terminal to be pulled out and inserted are selectively provided. If you want to pull out one inserted connection terminal, pull out the retainer. If moved to the permissible position, individual terminals can be pulled out without using a jig and without causing damage to the lance and the terminal fitting.
According to the configuration of (2) above, when one inserted connection terminal is to be pulled out, if the retainer is moved to the terminal pulling allowable position, the connection terminal and the lance are slightly engaged. One of the connection terminals can be pulled out with a slight force, while the other terminals are not accidentally dropped off.
According to the configuration of (3) or (4) above, the configuration of the present invention can be realized without significantly changing the structure of the currently used retainer.

According to the present invention, there are three positions with respect to the retainer, that is, a terminal extraction allowable position that allows the connection terminal to be pulled out and inserted, and a terminal temporary locking position that allows the connection terminal to be inserted and does not allow the connection terminal to be extracted. And the terminal lock position that does not allow the connection terminal to be pulled out and inserted is selectively given, so if you want to pull out one inserted connection terminal, move the retainer to the terminal pull-out allowable position. By doing so, individual terminals can be pulled out without using a jig and without causing damage to the lance and the terminal fitting.
Also, if you want to pull out one inserted connection terminal, if you move the retainer to the terminal pull-out allowable position, the connection terminal and the lance are slightly engaged. It can be pulled out by force, while other terminals do not fall out carelessly.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through the modes for carrying out the invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a perspective view which shows the assembly completion state of the connector which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connector of FIG. 1 when a spacer is not attached. It is a perspective view of the spacer of FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of the connector shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a front view of the spacer shown in FIG. 3. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the surface which passes the lance 12f of the spacer shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the spacer of FIG. 3 upside down. It is a bottom view of the connector of a 1st embodiment. (A) to (c) are the zero-order locking (withdrawal allowance), the primary locking (temporary locking), the secondary locking (main book) of the spacer and the housing at the site along the line AA in FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing each state of locking. (A) to (c) are the zero-order locking (withdrawal allowance), the primary locking (temporary locking), the secondary locking (main book) of the spacer and the housing at the site along the line BB in FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing each state of locking. It is sectional drawing of the connector which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIGS. 11A to 11C are enlarged views of a region C in FIG. 11, in which a spacer and a housing are locked in a zero order (withdrawal allowed), a primary lock (temporary lock), a secondary lock (main lock Each state of (stop) is shown. It is a perspective view which shows the assembly completion state of the connector which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the spacer of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the spacer of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the latching relationship of the spacer and housing shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, a connector according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, a connector 10 according to the present invention includes a housing made of a synthetic resin insulator. 11, a retainer 12 made of a synthetic resin insulator, and a connection terminal 4 (see FIG. 12). Inside the housing 11, a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 11a, which are respectively separated by partition walls 11c, are formed in two upper and lower stages. A hollow portion 13 is provided below the middle portion of the both side walls 11b of the housing 11 so as to penetrate up and down across the partition wall 11c between the terminal accommodating chambers 11a. It is supposed to be inserted into. The cavity 13 is also open to the outside on both side walls 11b.

  As best shown in FIG. 3, the retainer 12 is a frame having a plurality of openings 12 a having opening dimensions corresponding to the opening dimensions of the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 11 a, and covers the cavity 13 of the housing 11 when inserted. Cover plate portion 12b, bottom plate portion 12c extending in parallel therewith, intermediate vertical plate portion 12d corresponding to partition wall 11c of each terminal accommodating chamber 11a, and left and right side walls 12e which are the outermost vertical plate portions Have. The retainer 12 has a lance 12f in each opening 12a.

Each end wall 12e of the retainer 12 is provided with a first protrusion 12g and a second protrusion 12h at a portion facing the housing 11 when the retainer 12 is inserted into the housing 11. The first protrusion 12g is formed so as to extend in the lateral direction or the front-rear direction of the end wall 12e, and the second protrusion 12h is formed so as to extend in the same direction below the first protrusion 12g. . The first projecting portion 12g is provided behind the second projecting portion 12h (more specifically, in the insertion direction rear where the terminal 4 is inserted into the opening 12a). On the other hand, on the upper portion of the side wall of the housing 11, as shown in FIG. 2, two first engaging portions 11 g ₁ and 11 g ₂ are positioned substantially corresponding to the first projecting portion 12 g and the second projecting portion 12 h. The second engaging portion 11h is provided. The operation of the first engaging portions 11g ₁ and 11g ₂ and the second engaging portion 11h, and the first projecting portion 12g and the second projecting portion 12h will be described in detail later.

  When the retainer 12 is inserted into the housing 11 to form the connector 10, the retainer 12 shown in FIG. 3 is inserted into the cavity 13 of the housing 11 shown in FIG. However, in the process, the retainer 12 is shown in (a) to (c) of FIG. 9 and (a) to (c) of FIG. As described above, the zero-order locking (terminal pull-out allowable position) as the first locking stage, the primary locking (terminal temporary locking position) as the second locking stage, and the secondary locking as the third locking stage. It is in either state (stopped terminal lock position).

In the first zero-order locking (terminal extraction allowable position) state, as shown in FIG. 9A, the first protrusion 12 g provided on the end wall 12 e of the retainer 12 is provided on the lower side provided on the housing 11. while riding on a first engaging portion 11g ₁ of the second protrusion 12h of the retainer 12 is in contact with the second engaging portion 11h of the housing 11 from below as shown in FIG. 10 (a) . By the first projecting portion 12g rests on the first engaging portion 11g _1, retainer 12 is fixed at a position of 0 Tsugigakaritome relative to the housing 11 (withdrawal permitted). Further, in this first zero-order locking state, in the region C surrounded by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 11, as shown in FIG. 12 (a), the lance 12f in the retainer 12 has the front end of the lance 12f. The upper surface 12ft (more specifically, the surface positioned in the front in the mounting direction when the retainer 12 is mounted on the housing 11) is the lower surface 41 of the connection terminal 4 (more specifically, the terminal of the housing 11 at the connection terminal 4). It is located at substantially the same height as the surface that faces the bottom of the surfaces defining the storage chamber 11a. That is, the lance 12f and the connection terminal 4 are slightly engaged. For this reason, when the retainer 12 is fixed to the position of the zero-order lock (withdrawal allowed) with respect to the housing 11, the connection terminal 4 that passes through the terminal accommodating chamber 11a of the housing 11 and the opening 12a of the retainer 12 is Since it is slightly engaged by the front end upper surface 12ft of the lance 12f, it does not fall out carelessly. On the other hand, if a slight external force acts on the rear side of the connecting terminal 4 in the insertion direction, the lance 12f can be bent downward easily. The connection terminal 4 can be pulled out.

Next, when the retainer 12 is pushed deeply into the housing 11 by one step and brought into the primary locking (terminal temporary locking position), which is the second locking stage, as shown in FIG. the first protruding portion 12g provided in the end wall 12e is in contact from below with the first engaging portion 11g ₂ of upwardly away from the first engagement portion 11g ₁ below provided in the housing 11, and the retainer 12 As shown in FIG. 10B, the second projecting portion 12 h is located on the second engaging portion 11 h of the housing 11. The retainer 12 is fixed to the housing 11 at the primary locking (temporary locking) position by the second protrusion 12h riding on the second engaging portion 11h. Further, in the primary locking state that is the second locking stage, in the region C surrounded by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 11, the lance 12f in the retainer 12 is as shown in FIG. A part of the upper front end of the lance 12f engages a part of the shoulder 4a of the connection terminal 4. In this primary locking state, if the terminal receiving chamber 11a of the housing 11 and the opening 12a of the retainer 12 are inserted from the rear of the housing 11, the lance 12f is bent downward and the connection terminal 4 is inserted. Can do. On the other hand, when an external force acts rearward in the insertion direction on the connection terminal 4 temporarily locked by the lance 12f, a part of the upper front end of the lance 12f engages with the shoulder 4a of the connection terminal 4, so that the connection terminal 4 can be pulled out. As in the prior art, when an excessive external force is applied to the connection terminal 4 in the insertion direction rearward in the primary locking state, the connection terminal 4 can be extracted. However, this operation is not the intention of the present invention aiming at preventing damage to the connection terminal 4 and the lance 12f.

Further, when the retainer 12 is pushed into the housing 11 and brought into a secondary locking state (terminal lock position) which is the third locking stage, as shown in FIG. housing as the first protrusion 12g provided to ride on the first engagement portion 11g ₂ of the upper in the housing 11, and the second protrusion 12h of the retainer 12 is shown in FIG. 10 (c) 11 is located at a position away from the second engaging portion 11h. By the first projecting portion 12g rests on the first engaging portion 11g _2, the retainer 12 is fixed at the position of 2 Tsugigakaritome (full locking) relative to the housing 11. Further, in the secondary locking state that is the third locking stage, in the region C surrounded by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 11, the lance 12f in the retainer 12 is shown in FIG. All of the upper part of the convex front end completely fits into the concave shoulder 4 a of the connection terminal 4. For this reason, it is possible to completely prevent the connection terminal 4 from being pulled backward in the insertion direction. When pulling out the connection terminal 4 that is locked to the housing 11 in the secondary locked state, switching between the secondary locking, the primary locking, and the 0th locking is performed in the reverse order of the above procedure. The connection terminal 4 is pulled out from the housing 11 in the zero-order locked state.

  As described above, according to the connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention, when one connecting terminal 4 inserted in the housing 11 is to be pulled out, the retainer is moved from the final locking position to the temporary locking position. By simply applying a force that does not damage the lance, the individual connection terminals can be easily pulled out without using a jig. Unlike the conventional connector in which the connection terminal is pulled out in the temporarily locked state, the connection terminal and the lance are not damaged. Furthermore, since the connection terminal that does not need to be pulled out is slightly locked with the lance, it does not fall out carelessly.

  Next, a connector according to a preferred second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the retainer 12 is engaged with the housing 11 in the first locking stage (zero-order locking (withdrawal allowance)), and the second locking stage is the primary locking (temporary locking). Stop), the position of secondary locking (main locking), which is the third locking stage, is selectively taken. The difference from the first embodiment is that in the second embodiment, the side wall 11b of the housing 11 is opened. Therefore, the end wall 12e of the retainer 12 at the time of mounting is inside the side wall 11b of the housing 11, and as described above, the retainer 12 is placed in the first locking stage with respect to the housing 11 in the first order. The structure for holding in locking (withdrawal allowance), primary locking that is the second locking stage (temporary locking), and secondary locking that is the third locking stage (main locking) is different, It is.

  12 to 16, locking claw portions 17a and 17b, which are crane neck-like protrusions, are provided on one side of the edge of the end wall 12e of the retainer 12 (left side in FIG. 15). . Further, another locking claw portion 17c is provided at the edge of the end wall 12e opposite to the locking claw portion 17b. On the other hand, two locking claws 18a and 18b are provided on the inner side wall of the housing 11 at positions substantially corresponding to the two locking claws described above, and the retainer 12 is engaged by the engagement of these locking claws. Locked to the housing 11 in three stages.

  With reference to FIG. 16, a three-stage locking structure for a connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In FIG. 16, the retainer 12 is in its lowermost position, that is, a zero-order locking position (terminal pulling allowable position) that is the first locking stage. In FIG. 16, when the retainer 12 is pushed upward and the locking claw portion 17c on the end wall 12e exceeds the locking claw portion 18b on the housing side, the retainer 12 is in the primary locking position which is the second locking stage. When the retainer 12 is further pushed upward and the locking claw portion 17b exceeds the locking claw portion 18a on the housing side, the secondary locking position is the third locking stage. (Terminal book lock position).

  In the second embodiment, as described in the first embodiment, in a state where the retainer 12 is temporarily locked to the housing 11 (primary locking), the lance 12f can lock the connection terminal. When the retainer 12 is fully locked to the housing 11 (secondary locking), the connection terminal is locked with a larger holding force by the lance 12f. On the other hand, when the retainer 12 is released from the terminal lock to the housing 11 (zero-order lock), the terminal drop prevention portion 16 prevents the connection terminals from being pulled out at one time. By simply pulling only the connected terminal, the connection terminal can be extracted without using a jig.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably. In addition, the material, shape, dimensions, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the retainer is applied to the male connector housing that accommodates the female terminals (connection terminals) has been described. However, the retainer is similarly applied to the female connector housing that accommodates the male terminals. Can do.

4 connection terminal 10 connector 11 housing 11a terminal accommodating chamber 11b side wall (wall portion)
11c Partition 11h Second engaging portion 11g ₁ First engaging portion 11g ₂ First engaging portion 12 Retainer 12a Opening portion 12e End wall of retainer 12f Lance 13 Cavity portion 17a Locking claw portion (engaging portion)
17b Locking claw (engagement part)
17c Locking claw part (engagement part)
18a Claw part for locking (engagement part)
18b Locking claw (engagement part)

Claims (4)

A housing having a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers for accommodating connection terminals, and a cavity formed so as to cross between the terminal accommodating chambers, partitioned by a partition;
A plurality of openings corresponding to the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers; and a lance formed in the opening that engages with the connection terminal accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber, wherein at least the opening is A retainer inserted into the cavity,
A connector with
Three locking portions are formed between the housing and the retainer to allow the retainer to be displaced in three stages with respect to the insertion direction of the retainer with respect to the housing.
The retainer is a terminal extraction allowance position that allows the connection terminal to be extracted and inserted, a terminal temporary locking position that allows the connection terminal to be inserted and does not allow the connection terminal to be extracted, and the connection terminal extraction and A connector characterized by being displaceable in three positions, a terminal final locking position that does not allow insertion.   2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein when the retainer is positioned at the terminal pull-out allowable position, the upper surface of the front end of the lance is substantially at the same height as the lower surface of the connection terminal. In the housing, the three locking portions are formed on a surface facing the retainer when the retainer is inserted into the housing,
The retainer is formed with three locking portions that engage with the three locking portions of the housing on a surface facing the surface of the housing where the three locking portions are formed. The connector according to claim 1 or 2. The three locking portions are formed at the edge of the end wall of the retainer,
The housing includes three locking portions that engage with the three locking portions of the retainer at positions adjacent to the edge of the end wall of the retainer when the retainer is inserted into the housing. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is formed.

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