JP2011034882A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector capable of moving a retainer from a temporary locking position to a primary locking position without spoiling strength of a connector housing. <P>SOLUTION: The connector has a housing 11, a cavity 19 arranged in the housing 11, terminal metal fitting 30 inserted into the cavity 19, a retainer mounting section 16 arranged in the housing 11, a front retainer 40 wherein pulling-out of the terminal metal fitting 30 is regulated by moving from the temporary locking position temporarily locked on the housing 11 to the primary locking position mounted on the retainer mounting section. A groove 45 along the moving direction of the front retainer 40 is arranged on the front retainer 40, and a guide projection section 21 for guiding the movement of the front retainer 40 from the temporary locking position to the primary locking position by engaging with the groove 45 is arranged in the housing 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector including a retainer that holds a terminal fitting by moving from a temporary locking position to a final locking position.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a connector including a retainer that holds a terminal fitting by moving from a temporary locking position to a final locking position is known (see Patent Document 1 below).

As this type, for example, there is a so-called front retainer type in which the retainer is mounted from the front of the connector housing.
Specifically, when the terminal fitting attached to the end of the wire is inserted into the cavity of the connector housing, the lance protruding in a cantilever shape from the cavity contacts the terminal fitting and bends and deforms, and the terminal fitting is engaged from the rear. Stop.

  And the retainer mounting part which can mount a retainer is formed in the front side of a connector housing, and the groove part extended in the front-back direction is formed in the side wall of a connector housing. Further, the retainer is provided with a convex portion that allows the retainer to move from the temporary locking position to the final locking position by engaging with the groove of the connector housing. Then, as the retainer slides from the temporary locking position to the final locking position, the bending deformation of the lance is restricted, and the terminal fitting is prevented from coming off.

JP 2008-016261 A

  However, in the configuration described above, a groove portion is provided in the connector housing as a configuration for moving the retainer from the temporary locking position to the final locking position. This causes a problem that the strength of the connector housing is weakened.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and provides a connector capable of moving a retainer from a temporary locking position to a final locking position without impairing the strength of the connector housing. With the goal.

  A connector according to the present invention is temporarily locked to a connector housing, a cavity provided in the connector housing, a terminal fitting inserted into the cavity, a retainer mounting portion provided in the connector housing, and the connector housing. A retainer that restricts removal of the terminal fitting by moving from the temporary locking position to the final locking position to be mounted on the retainer mounting portion, and the retainer has a groove portion along the moving direction of the retainer. The connector housing is characterized in that a guide protrusion is provided on the connector housing to engage the groove and guide the movement from the temporary locking position of the retainer to the final locking position.

  According to the above configuration, since the guide convex portion of the connector housing is configured to guide the retainer by engaging with the groove portion of the retainer, it is not necessary to make a part of the connector housing thin in order to guide the retainer. The retainer can be moved from the temporary locking position to the final locking position without impairing the strength of the connector housing.

In addition, it is good also as following structures.
(1) The groove portion is provided with a temporary locking convex portion that keeps the retainer at the temporary locking position by narrowing the width of the groove portion.
In this way, the retainer can be kept at the temporary locking position with a simple configuration.

(2) The connector housing is provided with a main locking concave portion, and the retainer is provided with a main locking convex portion that is locked to the main locking concave portion at the main locking position. Yes.

  According to the present invention, the retainer can be moved from the temporary locking position to the final locking position without impairing the strength of the connector housing.

The front view showing the housing in one Embodiment of the connector which concerns on this invention The figure which expanded and represented a part of AA cross section of FIG. 1 of a housing. Front view showing the front retainer Side view showing the front retainer CC sectional view of FIG. 3 showing the front retainer AA, CC side sectional view showing a state where the housing and the front retainer are separated BB and DD flat cross-sectional views showing a state where the housing and the front retainer are separated Side sectional view in the temporary locking position Plan sectional view in the temporary locking position Side cross-sectional view at the main locking position Plan sectional view at the final locking position The enlarged view of a part of the housing and front retainer at the main locking position

<Embodiment>
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The connector 10 according to the first embodiment is a female connector and is fitted to a mating male connector (not shown). In the following, the vertical direction will be described with reference to FIG. 10, with the left side of FIG. 10 being the front and the right side being the rear.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the connector 10 includes a synthetic resin housing 11 (connector housing), a plurality of terminal fittings 30 attached to the housing 11, and attached from the front of the housing 11 to prevent the terminal fittings 30 from coming off. Front retainer 40 (an example of the “retainer” of the present invention).

As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 11 includes a terminal accommodating portion 12 to which the three terminal fittings 30 are attached, a hood portion 23 that surrounds the terminal accommodating portion 12 with a space therebetween and opens toward the front, A rear wall portion 25 connecting the rear end portions of the terminal accommodating portion 12 and the hood portion 23 to each other.
The terminal accommodating portion 12 has a substantially block shape, and three terminal accommodating chambers 13 in which the respective terminal fittings 30 are mounted are arranged side by side.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the terminal accommodating portion 12 has a substantially front half portion as a retainer mounting portion 16 to which the front retainer 40 is mounted, and a substantially rear half portion having a stepped shape with a slightly larger diameter and a seal ring 15 mounted thereon. The seal ring mounting portion 14 is used.

The seal ring mounting portion 14 has a substantially rectangular shape with rounded corners.
The seal ring 15 has an inner peripheral surface that is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the seal ring mounting portion 14 and an outer peripheral surface that is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of a hood portion of a male housing (not shown) when the connector is fitted to the mating connector. By doing so, the boundary portion with the male housing is sealed.

The retainer mounting portion 16 is a support wall 17 whose upper portion protrudes forward from the back wall portion 25.
The support wall 17 is in sliding contact with the inner surface of the upper portion of the front retainer 40 when the front retainer 40 is mounted.

The interior of each terminal accommodating chamber 13 is a cavity 19 into which the terminal fitting 30 can be inserted from the rear, and a cantilever lance 20 is formed from the ceiling wall 18 of each terminal accommodating chamber 13 (below the support wall 17). It protrudes forward.
The lance 20 can be bent and deformed in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 10, when the terminal fitting 30 is inserted, the distal end of the lance 20 engages the terminal fitting 30 to remove the terminal fitting 30. Stop is planned.

As shown in FIG. 7, guide convex portions 21 that guide the movement of the front retainer 40 protrude in the width direction on both side surfaces 12 </ b> A of the terminal accommodating portion 12.
The guide convex portion 21 has a flat shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and its height dimension (dimension protruding in the width direction) is larger than the thickness of a groove portion 45 described later in the side wall portion 41A of the front retainer 40. The side wall 41A is set to a size smaller than the thickness of the most protruding portion.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a main locking recess 22 is formed in a recessed manner at a position adjacent to the front side of the guide protrusion 21 in the side surface 12 </ b> A of the terminal accommodating portion 12.
The main locking concave portion 22 is a main locking convex portion 47 of the front retainer 40, which will be described later, indented during the main locking, and has a long rectangular shape in the front-rear direction. The depth is such that the entire stopper protrusion 47 is fitted.
A lock arm 24 is provided on the upper portion of the hood portion 23. The lock arm 24 is used to lock the mating state with the mating connector 10, and is configured to connect the front end portions of a pair of cantilevered arm portions with the rear end side as the base end. The elastic deformation is possible in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 10, the terminal fitting 30 has a configuration in which a terminal connection portion 31 having a substantially box shape and a barrel portion 32 that is crimped and connected to an end portion of the electric wire W are connected in the front-rear direction.
The terminal connecting portion 31 has a mating male terminal (not shown) inserted into the terminal connecting portion 31 from the front, and an elastic contact piece (not shown) capable of elastic contact with the male terminal fitting. . At a position facing the lance 20 on the outer surface of the terminal connection portion 31, a lance locking projection 31A that is locked to the lance 20 from the rear protrudes upward.

  The barrel portion 32 has a pair of caulking pieces 32A and 32B at the front and rear, among which the pair of caulking pieces 32A on the front side covers the core wire of the electric wire W and the pair of caulking pieces 32B on the rear side cover the electric wire W. Are respectively crimped to the seal plugs 33 fitted to the. The seal plug 33 seals the inside of the cavity 19 by bringing the inner peripheral surface thereof into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the coating of the electric wire W and the outer peripheral surface thereof in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cavity 19.

As shown in FIG. 5, the front retainer 40 includes a cylindrical portion 41 that opens in the fitting direction (rear), and a back wall portion 42 that closes the cylindrical portion 41.
The back wall portion 42 is formed with a rectangular insertion hole 42A into which a male terminal is inserted when mating with the mating connector 10.
Of the rear wall portion 42, a deflection regulating convex portion 43 that protrudes rearward and can regulate the bending deformation of each lance 20 is formed on the rear side (right side in FIG. 5).

  The bending restricting convex portion 43 displaces the position of the front retainer 40 in the front-rear direction with respect to the housing 11, so that the bending restricting convex portion 43 retracts forward of the bending space of the lance 20 (FIG. 8). The deflection regulating convex portion 43 enters the deflection space and can move back and forth between two positions with the main locking position (FIG. 10) that regulates the lance 20 to bend.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cylindrical portion 41 is configured by connecting upper and lower wall portions and left and right side wall portions 41 </ b> A and 41 </ b> A in an annular shape.
A groove portion 45 extending horizontally in the front-rear direction is formed through the side wall portions 41A and 41A at the middle portion in the vertical direction of the side wall portions 41A and 41A.
The groove 45 divides the side walls 41A and 41A up and down from the position at the front of the side walls 41A and 41A (position near the back wall 42) toward the rear.

A pair of temporary locking protrusions 46 and 46 projecting inward of the groove 45 (in the direction of narrowing the groove 45) are formed at a substantially intermediate portion in the front-rear direction of the groove 45.
The temporary locking projections 46 and 46 have a stepped portion 46A whose front end protrudes in a stepped shape, and has a sloped portion 46C that becomes a flattened portion 46B on the rear side and then decreases in a sloped manner. As a result, the width of the groove 45 is narrowed at the pair of temporary locking convex portions 46 and 46, and when in the temporary locking position, the guide convex portion 21 of the housing 11 is temporarily locked. It is designed to move only forward.

On the inner surface side (front side in FIG. 5) of the side wall portions 41A, 41A, a main locking convex portion 47 is formed that protrudes inward (intermediate portion in the width direction).
The main locking projection 47 has a trapezoidal shape and is a flat flat portion 47B having a high intermediate portion, and both front and rear sides thereof are tapered portions 47A and 47C that are inclined and lowered.
A flange portion 48 is formed at the rear end portion of the tubular portion 41 so that the end portion in the width direction slightly protrudes outward (see FIG. 7).

Next, mounting of the front retainer 40 will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 6, when the front retainer 40 and the housing 11 are separated from each other, the open side (rear side) of the front retainer 40 is directed to the front side of the housing 11, and the cylindrical portion 41 of the front retainer 40 is While fitting so that the terminal accommodating part 12 may be wrapped, the guide convex part 21 of the housing 11 is made to enter the groove part 45 of the front retainer 40. When the front retainer 40 is further moved in the fitting direction, the guide convex portion 21 comes into contact with the inclined portions 46C and 46C of the pair of temporary locking convex portions 46 and 46, and when further pressed, the guide convex portion 21 is paired. It enters between the temporary locking projections 46, 46 and gets over the pair of temporary locking projections 46, 46. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8, since the front end sides of the temporary locking convex portions 46, 46 are stepped portions 46A, 46A, the forward movement of the front retainer 40 is restricted by the stepped portions 46A, 46A. Thus, the front retainer 40 is in a temporary locking position where it does not leave the housing 11.

  Next, when the front retainer 40 is further pressed in the fitting direction from this temporary locking position, the guide convex portion 21 is guided and moved while being engaged with the groove portion 45. First, the main locking convex portion 47 taper portions 47 </ b> C abut on the side surface 12 </ b> A of the terminal accommodating portion 12. When pressed further in the same direction, the side wall portions 41A and 41A are slightly bent so that the main locking convex portion 47 rides on the side surface 12A, and the flat portion 47B of the main locking convex portion 47 contacts the side surface 12A of the terminal accommodating portion 12. Move while sliding.

  When the main locking projection 47 reaches the position of the main locking recess 22, the main locking projection 47 falls into the main locking recess 22 by the restoring force of the side walls 41A and 41A, as shown in FIG. At the same time, the guide convex portion 21 reaches almost the front end portion of the groove portion 45 and becomes the main locking position.

  At the main locking position, the main locking projection 47 is locked to the main locking recess 22, so that the front retainer 40 is positioned. At this time, since the deflection regulating convex portion 43 of the front retainer 40 has entered the bending space above the lance 20, the lance 20 of the lance 20 remains in a state where the lance 20 holds the terminal fitting 30 by the deflection regulating convex portion 43. Deflection is regulated. Thereby, the terminal fitting 30 is prevented from coming off.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since the guide protrusion 21 of the housing 11 (connector housing) is engaged with the groove 45 of the front retainer 40 to guide the front retainer 40 (retainer), a groove is formed on the housing 11 side, etc. Thus, since it is not necessary to make a part of the housing thin, the front retainer 40 can be moved from the temporary locking position to the final locking position without losing the strength of the housing.

(2) Since the groove 45 is provided with temporary locking convex portions 46 and 46 that keep the front retainer 40 in the temporary locking position by narrowing the width of the groove 45, the front retainer 40 can be configured with a simple configuration. Can be kept in the temporary locking position.

<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, 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 above embodiment, the groove portion 45 is provided so as to penetrate the side wall portions 41A and 41A of the front retainer 40. However, the groove portion 45 does not penetrate the side wall portions 41A and 41A, and the inner surface side of the side wall portions 41A and 41A. It is good also as a groove part by which a recessed part is formed in.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a front retainer type mounted from the front of the housing 11, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention may be applied to a side retainer type mounted from the side of the housing. Moreover, in the said embodiment, when the front retainer 40 was made into the main locking position, it was the structure which the bending deformation of the lance 20 was controlled and the removal of the terminal metal fitting 30 was controlled, but it is not restricted to this, The terminal metal fitting 30 is ( It is good also as a structure which prevents the terminal metal fitting 30 from coming off by latching directly with a retainer.

10 ... Connector 11 ... Housing (connector housing)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Terminal accommodating part 12A ... Side surface 13 ... Terminal accommodating chamber 16 ... Retainer mounting part 17 ... Support wall 19 ... Cavity 20 ... Lance 21 ... Guide convex part 22 ... This latching recessed part 23 ... Hood part 30 ... Terminal metal fitting 40 ... Front Retainer (Retainer)
41 ... Cylindrical part 41A ... Side wall part 43 ... Deflection restricting convex part 45 ... Groove part 46 ... Temporary engaging convex part 46A ... Step part 46B ... Flat part 46C ... Inclined part 47 ... This engaging convex part W ... Electric wire

Claims (3)

A connector housing;
A cavity provided in the connector housing;
A terminal fitting inserted into the cavity;
A retainer mounting portion provided in the connector housing;
A retainer in which the terminal metal fitting is regulated by moving from a temporary locking position temporarily locked to the connector housing to a final locking position mounted on the retainer mounting portion,
The retainer is provided with a groove along the moving direction of the retainer,
The connector housing is provided with a guide protrusion that engages with the groove and guides the movement of the retainer from the temporary locking position to the final locking position.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the groove portion is provided with a temporary locking convex portion that keeps the retainer at the temporary locking position by narrowing the width of the groove portion.   The connector housing is provided with a main locking concave portion, and the retainer is provided with a main locking convex portion that is locked to the main locking concave portion at the main locking position. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is characterized by the following.

Images