JP2011060708A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To hold terminal fittings in a positioning state in a connector. <P>SOLUTION: The connector 10 includes a base housing 20, a terminal fitting 40 which is formed into L-shape by a wire connection part 41 and a terminal connection part 42 and in which the terminal connection part 42 penetrate the base housing 20 and is press-fitted, a cover housing 30 which is assembled in the base housing 20 in a form to cover the wire connection part 41, a locking protrusion 22 and a locking member 31 which lock so that the cover housing 30 may be assembled in the base housing 20, a protrusion 28 which is provided projecting to the base housing 20 and is inserted into a through-hole 45 formed penetrating the wire connection part 31, and a pressing part 35 which is provided at a position corresponding to the through-hole 45 in the cover housing 30 and presses the periphery 47 of the through-hole 45, into which the protrusion 28 is inserted, to the base housing 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  Conventionally, as a connector for holding an L-shaped terminal fitting in a positioned state, for example, a connector described in Patent Document 1 is known. The terminal fitting is formed in an L shape by a leg portion connected to the board and a connection portion connected to the counterpart terminal, and the connection portion is press-fitted into a holding hole formed through the housing. Is held by the housing. On the other hand, the leg is formed with a fitting hole that fits in a penetrating manner with a fitting protrusion formed on the housing. The leg is positioned with respect to the housing by fitting the fitting hole into the fitting protrusion.

JP-A-8-162198

  However, in the above configuration, when the force is inadvertently applied to the leg portion, the fitting hole may be detached from the fitting protrusion, and thus the situation where the terminal fitting positioning function is lost may occur. .

  This invention is completed based on the above situations, Comprising: It aims at holding | maintaining a terminal metal fitting in a positioning state.

  The present invention is a connector that is mounted and fixed inside a metal case, and is formed in an L shape by a base housing, a wire connecting portion to which an electric wire is connected, and a terminal connecting portion to which a mating terminal is connected. A terminal fitting in which the terminal connecting portion is press-fitted through the base housing, a cover housing assembled to the base housing so as to cover the wire connecting portion, a lock receiving portion provided in the base housing, and a cover housing A lock portion that locks the cover housing in a state assembled to the base housing by engaging with the lock receiving portion, and a protrusion that protrudes from the base housing and is inserted into a through hole formed in the electric wire connection portion. In the cover housing at a position corresponding to the through hole, and the periphery of the through hole into which the protrusion is inserted. Having said parts at where the structure and a pressing portion for pressing the base housing.

  According to such a configuration, the cover housing is assembled to the base housing, and the cover portion is locked to the lock receiving portion to lock the cover housing in a state assembled to the base housing. In parallel with this, the peripheral portion of the through hole is pressed against the pressing portion in a state where the protrusion is inserted into the through hole. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the through hole from being detached from the protrusion, and it is possible to hold the terminal fitting in the positioning state.

The following configuration is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention.
The pressing portion may be configured to include a U-shaped rib extending in a substantially U shape along the outer peripheral surface of the protrusion.
According to such a configuration, since the pressing portion is folded back in a substantially U shape, the strength of the rib can be increased in the folded portion. That is, it can be more difficult to fall than a configuration in which a pair of linear ribs are arranged in parallel as the pressing portion.

The pressing portion may be configured to include an expansion rib formed at the opening side end of the U-shaped rib.
According to such a configuration, the opening side end portion of the U-shaped rib and the expansion rib are connected, so that the strength of the rib can be further increased. Further, by pressing the expansion rib against the electric wire connecting portion, the electric wire connecting portion can be firmly pressed against the base housing.

The cover housing may be configured separately from the base housing.
According to such a configuration, since the cover housing and the base housing can be handled separately, there is no need to assemble an electric wire to the base housing before the terminal connection portion is press-fitted into the base housing.

  According to the present invention, the terminal fitting can be held in the positioning state.

Front view of the connector in the embodiment Top view of connector AA line sectional view in FIG. The principal part expanded sectional view in FIG. Sectional view showing the cover housing, terminal fittings, and base housing in FIG. BB sectional view in FIG. Side view of terminal fitting Plan view of terminal fitting Front view of terminal fitting

<Embodiment>
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, the connector 10 according to the embodiment is attached and fixed inside a transmission case C of an automobile, and is used in an environment where machine oil mixed with iron powder adheres. This connector 10 is fixed to an iron plate constituting the mission case C. Further, the connector 10 is connected to a solenoid valve S disposed inside the mission case C.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the connector 10 includes a base housing 20, a cover housing 30, and terminal fittings 40 sandwiched between the housings 20 and 30. In the following description, the vertical direction is based on the vertical direction in FIG. 1, the longitudinal direction is based on the vertical direction in FIG. 2, the upper side in FIG. 2 is the front side, and the width direction is based on the horizontal direction in FIG. And

  As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal fitting 40 includes a wire connecting portion 41 connected to the end of the wire W and a terminal connecting portion 42 connected to the solenoid valve S. The electric wire connection part 41 and the terminal connection part 42 are connected in a substantially L shape in a side view. The terminal fitting 40 is formed by pressing a metal flat plate, and the terminal connection portion 42 is formed on the wire connection portion 41 by bending the front edge of the wire connection portion 41 arranged in a horizontal posture at a substantially right angle. On the other hand, it is connected in an L shape.

  The wire connection portion 41 is long in the front-rear direction, and a pair of barrel pieces 43 for caulking the core wire of the wire W are opposed to both side edges of the wire connection portion 41 as shown in FIGS. It is formed in the form of standing up. As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of serrations 44 are arranged in parallel on the crimp surfaces of the barrel pieces 43. In addition, a through hole 45 is formed in front of both barrel pieces 43 in the electric wire connecting portion 41 so as to penetrate in the vertical direction. In addition, a pair of projecting portions 46 are formed to project on both sides in the width direction on the front end side of both side edges of the terminal connecting portion 42.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, the terminal connecting portion 42 is formed to have a thickness approximately equal to two by bending a metal flat plate closely, and as shown in FIG. It is formed in a shape. In addition, the lower end part of the terminal connection part 42 is made into the taper shape, and it is comprised so that the guide function at the time of press-fitting in the holding hole 21 mentioned later may be fulfill | performed.

  The base housing 20 is made of a synthetic resin, and is formed in a substantially box shape having a substantially square shape in plan view and opening upward. A holding hole 21 for press-fitting and holding the terminal connection portion 42 is formed in the base housing 20 so as to penetrate in the vertical direction. The holding holes 21 have a shape that is long in the width direction, and a pair of the holding holes 21 are arranged at a predetermined interval in the width direction in the base housing 20. As shown in FIG. 6, the terminal connecting portion 42 is press-fitted with both side edges in the width direction slidingly in contact with both end portions in the width direction of the holding hole 21. When the terminal connection portion 42 is press-fitted into the holding hole 21 at a normal depth, the wire connection portion 41 is arranged in parallel in the width direction on the upper surface of the base housing 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of lock protrusions 22 are provided on the outer peripheral side surface of the base housing 20. Specifically, two lock protrusions 22 are provided at a predetermined interval in the width direction on the front side surface of the base housing 20, and one lock protrusion 22 is provided at the center in the width direction on the rear side surface of the base housing 20. Are provided, and one lock projection 22 is provided on each of the rear sides of both side surfaces of the base housing 20 in the width direction. A lock piece 31 described later is engaged with these lock protrusions 22 so that the cover housing 30 is locked in a state assembled to the base housing 20.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of holding pieces 23 are provided on both sides in the width direction of the base housing 20 so as to extend to both sides in the width direction and then extend downward. Both holding pieces 23 can be locked to the solenoid valve S, and the connector 10 can be held in a state of being connected to the solenoid valve S. A guide 24 disposed between the terminal connection portions 42 extends downward on the lower surface of the base housing 20. Both the terminal connecting portions 42 are partitioned by the guide 24 and the connector 10 is held in a positioning state with respect to the solenoid valve S.

  An insertion groove 25 through which the electric wire W is inserted is provided on the rear side surface of the base housing 20. An insertion hole through which the electric wire W is inserted is formed by the insertion groove 25 and the cover housing 30. The two insertion grooves 25 are symmetrically disposed on both sides in the width direction with the lock protrusion 22 disposed on the rear side surface of the base housing 20 as the center.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cover housing 30 is made of synthetic resin and has a pair of protrusions 32 that fit into a pair of mounting holes C <b> 1 that are formed through the transmission case C. Of the two protrusions 32, the left one in the figure is a rotation-preventing protrusion 32, and the right one in the figure is a fixing protrusion 32. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the fixing protrusion 32 has a plurality of fixing pieces 32A arranged at equiangular intervals, and the fixing pieces 32A are bent and deformed inward in the radial direction. By being inserted into C1 and elastically restored, the retaining protrusion 32B formed at the tip of the fixed piece 32A is locked to the hole edge of the mounting hole C1. Thereby, when both the protrusions 32 are fitted in both the mounting holes C1, the connector 10 is fixed in a state of being prevented from rotating around the transmission case C.

  A lock piece 31 that engages with the lock protrusion 22 is formed at a position corresponding to the lock protrusion 22 of the base housing 20 on the outer peripheral side surface of the cover housing 30. The lock piece 31 can be bent, and as shown in FIG. 3, a lock hole 31A penetratingly formed in the lock piece 31 fits into the lock protrusion 22 and the inner peripheral surface of the lock hole 31A and the lock protrusion 22 is locked in the vertical direction (left-right direction in FIG. 3). As a result, the lock protrusion 22 and the lock piece 31 are locked, and the cover housing 30 is locked in a state where it is assembled to the base housing 20 so as to cover the wire connection portion 41.

  Now, since the free end (lower end) of the lock piece 31 is deflected and displaced while drawing a swinging locus, the lock piece 31 is in a state where the free end of the lock piece 31 gets over the lock projection 22 and is elastically restored. A gap G is always formed between the free end and the lock projection 22 (see FIG. 3). For this reason, when only the lock structure of the lock piece 31 and the lock protrusion 22 is provided, the cover housing 30 and the base housing 20 are likely to rattle due to the gap G. Further, since a large amount of iron powder mixed with machine oil is present inside the mission case C, these iron powders easily enter the connector 10 and the adjacent terminal fittings 40 are short-circuited. Can be a factor.

  For this reason, as shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, a wall portion 33 is provided on the lower surface of the cover housing 30 so as to protrude downward, while a groove portion 26 into which the wall portion 33 is press-fitted is provided on the upper surface of the base housing 20. ing. The wall part 33 and the groove part 26 have sliding contact surfaces that are in sliding contact with each other. That is, the wall portion 33 and the groove portion 26 are held in a press-fit state when the sliding contact surfaces are in sliding contact with each other. Thereby, the cover housing 30 is fixed to the base housing 20 without rattling. Therefore, even when iron powder enters the inside of the connector 10, the adjacent wire connection portions 41 are isolated and the adjacent terminal fittings 40 are not short-circuited.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the wall portion 33 has a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and extends along the wire connection portion 41 at the center portion in the width direction of the adjacent wire connection portions 41. For this reason, even if iron powder enters the inside of the connector 10, the adjacent wire connection portion 41 is blocked by the press-fitting portion of the wall portion 33 and the groove portion 26, so that a short circuit between the adjacent terminal fittings 40 is prevented. Can be prevented. Moreover, since the creepage distance between the adjacent wire connection portions 41 is increased by the amount of the sliding contact surface of the groove portion 26 as compared with the case where the space between the adjacent wire connection portions 41 is formed as a flat surface, the short-circuit prevention effect. Can be further enhanced.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a pair of cutout portions 34 are provided in the cover housing 30 on the base end side of the wall portion 33 on both sides in the width direction of the wall portion 33. The opening edge part of the groove part 26 is extended and formed in the press-fit direction so that it can be fitted in both the notch parts 34. As a result, the sliding contact surface where the wall portion 33 and the groove portion 26 are in sliding contact increases in the press-fitting direction by the amount of the notch 34 formed, and the frictional force generated on the sliding contact surface also increases. Therefore, the fixing force between the cover housing 30 and the base housing 20 can be further increased.

  Moreover, since the groove part 26 is arrange | positioned in the width direction center of the base housing 20, and the wall part 33 is arrange | positioned in the width direction center of the cover housing 30, the assembly | attachment precision of the cover housing 30 and the base housing 20 can be improved. it can. In other words, even if there is a molding error in each of the housings 20 and 30, this molding error can be dispersed on both sides of the press-fitted portion between the groove 26 and the wall 33. Therefore, the positional deviation between the cover housing 30 and the base housing 20 is minimized, and these can be assembled with high accuracy.

  By the way, on the upper surface of the base housing 20, a protrusion 28 that is inserted into the through hole 45 of the electric wire connecting portion 41 is formed to protrude upward. The protrusion 28 is for positioning the terminal fitting 40 with respect to the base housing 20. The diameter of the protrusion 28 is set to be approximately the same as the diameter of the through hole 45. In a state in which the projection 28 is fitted in the through hole 45, the terminal fitting 40 is positioned with respect to the base housing 20 at the two positions of the holding hole 21 and the projection 28.

  On the other hand, a pressing portion 35 is formed on the lower surface of the cover housing 30 so as to protrude downward, pressing the peripheral portion 47 of the through hole 45 into which the protrusion 28 is inserted, against the upper surface of the base housing 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the pressing portion 35 includes a U-shaped rib 35A formed in a substantially U shape that opens forward, and a pair of expansions extending from both ends of the opening side of the U-shaped rib 35A to both sides in the width direction. The rib 35B is provided. The U-shaped rib 35A is formed in a rib shape extending in a substantially U shape along the outer peripheral surface of the protrusion 28, and both the extended ribs 35B are connected at right angles to the U-shaped rib 35A. And the strength of the U-shaped rib 35A is increased.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the U-shaped rib 35 </ b> A is configured to press the peripheral edge portion 47 of the through hole 45 against the base housing 20. That is, in a state where the tip of the U-shaped rib 35A presses the peripheral edge portion 47 of the through hole 45, the tip of the protrusion 28 is not in contact with the lower surface of the cover housing 30, and both the housings 20 and 30 are locked in the assembled state. Therefore, the through hole 45 is restricted from coming off from the protrusion 28. Furthermore, since the extension rib 35B is configured to press the overhanging portion 46 of the electric wire connecting portion 41, the electric wire connecting portion 41 is placed on the base housing 20 rather than the case where the electric wire connecting portion 41 is pressed only by the U-shaped rib 35A. Can be firmly pressed against the upper surface of the substrate. As a result, the terminal fitting 40 is held in a positioning state with respect to the base housing 20.

  The present embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described subsequently. When assembling the connector 10, the core wire exposed at the end of the electric wire W is caulked by the barrel piece 43. Thereby, the terminal of the electric wire W can be crimped and fixed to the terminal fitting 40. At this time, since both the housings 20 and 30 are configured separately, there is no need to pass the electric wire W through the base housing 20, and after crimping the terminal of the electric wire W to the terminal fitting 40, The electric wire W with the terminal fitting 40 can be assembled to the base housing 20.

  Next, the terminal connection portion 42 of the terminal fitting 40 is press-fitted into the holding hole 21 from the upper surface side of the base housing 20. The terminal connecting portion 42 is press-fitted to a normal depth by sliding both sides in the width direction on both sides in the width direction of the holding hole 21. In parallel with this, the projection 28 is fitted into the through hole 45 of the wire connecting portion 41. As a result, the terminal fitting 40 is positioned at two locations by both the holding hole 21 and the protrusion 28. Further, since the terminal fitting 40 is assembled to the base housing 20 by press-fitting, the terminal fitting 40 does not have to be insert-molded into the base housing 20, a molding die (not shown) can be simplified, and the molding process Can be simplified.

  Subsequently, the cover housing 30 is assembled to the base housing 20. The lock piece 31 formed on the outer peripheral side surface of the cover housing 30 is elastically deformed so as to ride on the lock projection 22. When the lock piece 31 gets over the lock projection 22, the lock piece 31 is elastically restored, and the lock projection 22 is locked into the lock hole 31 </ b> A. Fit into. Then, the locking surface of the lock protrusion 22 and the inner peripheral surface of the lock hole 31 </ b> A are locked, and the cover housing 30 is locked in a state where it is assembled to the base housing 20. Thereby, the electric wire connection part 41 will be in the state pinched | interposed into the base housing 20 and the cover housing 30, and will be in the state by which the electric wire W was pulled out from the insertion groove 25 back.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, since the wall portion 33 is press-fitted into the groove portion 26, rattling between the cover housing 30 and the base housing 20 is restricted. Moreover, since the adjacent electric wire connection part 41 is isolated by the crimping | compression-bonding part of the wall part 33 and the groove part 26, the iron powder etc. which mixed with oil penetrate | invaded between the adjacent electric wire connection parts 41, and these are controlled. it can. Furthermore, the area of the slidable contact surface is increased by the amount of the notch 34 formed, and the frictional resistance generated on the slidable contact surface is increased accordingly, so that the cover housing 30 is more firmly fixed to the base housing 20. be able to. Further, along with the increase in the area of the sliding contact surface, the creeping distance between the adjacent wire connecting portions 41 becomes longer, and the short-circuit prevention effect can be improved.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the peripheral portion 47 of the through hole 45 fitted to the protrusion 28 is pressed against the base housing 20 by the U-shaped rib 35A, and the overhanging portion 46 is pressed against the base housing 20 by the expansion rib 35B. Attached. Thereby, it can control that penetration hole 45 comes off projection 28, and terminal metal fitting 40 is held in the state where it was positioned at two places, holding hole 21 and projection 28. Since the U-shaped rib 35A is reinforced by the expansion rib 35B, the U-shaped rib 35A is not damaged due to falling or the like. Furthermore, since the groove portion 26 is disposed at the center in the width direction of the base housing 20 and the wall portion 33 is disposed at the center in the width direction of the cover housing 30, the wall portion 33 is press-fitted into the groove portion 26, so The housing 20 can be positioned, and the cover housing 30 can be assembled to the base housing 20 with high accuracy.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the press-fitting structure of the groove portion 26 and the wall portion 33 is provided, rattling of both the housings 20 and 30 can be eliminated, and a short circuit between the two terminal fittings 40 can be prevented. Further, since the notch 34 is formed in the cover housing 30 and the opening edge of the groove 26 enters the notch 34, the area of the slidable contact surface increases and the frictional resistance increases. The fixing force of the housings 20 and 30 can be increased. Furthermore, the short-circuit prevention effect of the both terminal fittings 40 can be heightened because the creeping distance between the adjacent electric wire connecting portions 41 is increased. Moreover, since the press-fitting portion of the groove portion 26 and the wall portion 33 is provided at the center in the width direction of both the housings 20 and 30, both the housings 20 and 30 can be assembled with high accuracy in the positioning state.

  When the terminal fitting 40 is assembled to the base housing 20, the terminal connection portion 42 is press-fitted and held in the holding hole 21, the through hole 45 is fitted into the protrusion 28, and the peripheral portion 47 of the through hole 45 is the U-shaped rib 35 </ b> A. As a result of being pressed against the base housing 20 and the overhanging portion 46 being pressed against the base housing 20 by the expansion rib 35B, the electric wire connecting portion 41 is held in a positioned state on the base housing 20. Since the cover housing 30 is configured separately from the base housing 20, the terminal fitting 40 can be assembled to the base housing after the terminal fitting 40 is crimped to the end of the electric wire W, and the assembly work of the connector 10 is facilitated. Become.

<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) Although the lock protrusion 22 is formed on the base housing 20 and the lock piece 31 is formed on the cover housing 30 in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, the lock piece is formed on the base housing 20 and the cover housing is formed. A lock protrusion may be formed on 30.
(2) Although the pair of terminal fittings 40 are arranged in the base housing 20 in the above embodiment, one terminal fitting 40 may be arranged in the base housing 20 according to the present invention.

(3) In the above embodiment, the pressing portion 35 is configured to include the U-shaped rib 35A and the expansion rib 35B. However, according to the present invention, the pressing portion 35 may have a cylindrical shape.
(4) Although the cover housing 30 is configured separately from the base housing 20 in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, the cover housing 30 may be integrally connected to the base housing 20 by a hinge.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector 20 ... Base housing 22 ... Lock protrusion (lock receiving part)
28 ... Projection 30 ... Cover housing 31 ... Lock piece (lock part)
35 ... Pushing part 35A ... U-shaped rib 35B ... Expansion rib 40 ... Terminal fitting 41 ... Wire connection part 42 ... Terminal connection part 45 ... Through hole 46 ... Extrusion part 47 ... Rear edge part C ... Mission case S ... Solenoid valve ( Mating terminal)
W ... Electric wire

Claims (4)

A connector that is attached and fixed inside a metal case,
A base housing;
A terminal fitting formed in an L shape by a wire connecting portion to which an electric wire is connected and a terminal connecting portion to which a counterpart terminal is connected, and the terminal connecting portion is press-fitted through the base housing;
A cover housing assembled to the base housing in a form to cover the wire connection portion;
A lock receiving portion provided in the base housing;
A lock portion that is provided on the cover housing and locks with the lock receiving portion to lock the cover housing in a state assembled to the base housing;
A protrusion that protrudes from the base housing and is inserted into a through-hole that is formed through the wire connection portion; and
A connector provided with a pressing portion which is provided at a position corresponding to the through hole in the cover housing and presses a peripheral portion of the through hole into which the protrusion is inserted against the base housing.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the pressing portion includes a U-shaped rib extending in a substantially U shape along an outer peripheral surface of the protrusion.   The connector according to claim 2, wherein the pressing portion includes an extension rib formed at an opening side end portion of the U-shaped rib.   The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cover housing is configured separately from the base housing.

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