JP2013069537A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a height of a housing by minimizing a flexion space while constituting a both-end-supported lance.SOLUTION: A front stop wall 25 for stopping a terminal fitting 10 at a front, and a pair of terminal receiving parts 27 for receiving right and left side edges of the terminal fitting 10 are spaced at intervals at a front end of a cavity 22. A lance 30 having a locking projection part 35 locked with the terminal fitting 10 at a tip part 31B is provided on a bottom face of the cavity 22 elastically flexibly with a base side 31A as a fulcrum in a form that it extends in an insertion direction of the terminal fitting 10. The width of the tip part 31B of the lance 30 is formed larger than an interval between both terminal receiving parts 27. Both right and left ends overlapping the terminal receiving part 27 on the tip face 31C of the lance 30 in a width direction and each terminal receiving part 27 are coupled to each other with a flexible piece 40 extending in a forward and backward direction. A cancellation part 45 engaged with a cancellation jig J is provided on the tip face 31C of the lance 30.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector provided with a double-sided lance to prevent a terminal fitting from coming off in a cavity of a housing.

As an example of a connector provided with this kind of doubly-supported lance, one described in Patent Document 1 below is known. This has a lance with a locking projection protruding from the center of the flexible plate that is long in the front-rear direction. The rear end of the flexible plate is supported on the bottom of the cavity and the front end is supported on the front wall of the cavity. When the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity from the rear, the lance is pushed in a bow-like shape and is pushed into a normal position where it hits the front wall. The protrusion is prevented from coming off by being locked to the locked portion of the terminal fitting.
On the other hand, when pulling out the terminal fitting from the cavity, the locking of the terminal fitting is released by forcibly elastically bending the lance using a release jig.

JP-A-7-28283

As described above, the double-sided lance has a shape in which the front portion of the flexible plate extends from the front surface of the locking projection, so that the front side of the locking projection is different from the cantilevered lance. The release portion that engages with the release jig cannot be set. Therefore, in the above-described conventional device, a release portion for hooking the release jig is provided on the back surface of the lance (the surface opposite to the bending space). With such a structure, the lance is bent on the back surface side of the lance. In this case, a large space is required for releasing not only the lance but also the release portion, and the housing becomes bulky, and further improvement is desired.
The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to realize a low-profile housing by minimizing the bending space while constituting a double-supported lance. There is a place to do.

  According to the present invention, a cavity into which a terminal fitting is inserted from the rear is provided in the housing, and a front stop wall for stopping the terminal fitting in front is provided at the front end of the cavity. A pair of terminal receiving portions for receiving side edge portions are provided at intervals, and a lance having a locking projection at the tip end for locking to the terminal metal fitting is provided on the bottom surface of the cavity. The tip of the lance has a width that is larger than the distance between the two terminal receiving portions. Left and right end portions that overlap the terminal receiving portion in the width direction in the surface and each terminal receiving portion are connected by a flexible piece extending in the front-rear direction, and the lance is engaged with the distal end surface of the lance. Where the release portion to be engaged with the releasing jig to deflect the release direction is provided with the features.

  When the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity from the rear, the flexible piece and the lance are pushed in while elastically bending and hit the front stop wall. Is prevented from coming off by engaging with the terminal fitting. When removing the terminal fitting from the cavity, insert a release jig from the front through between the two flexible pieces, and engage the release part on the tip surface of the lance to force the lance to elastically deflect the lance. The lock by the lance is released.

  Although a double-sided lance is configured, the front bending portion is composed of a pair of flexible pieces spaced apart from each other. Can be provided on the tip surface of the lance. Therefore, unlike the case where the release portion is provided on the back surface side of the lance, for example, the lance bending space is small enough to escape the lance including the flexible piece, and as a result, the housing can be reduced in height.

Further, since the tip portion of the lance is wider than the interval between the terminal receiving portions, it is possible to increase the shearing area of the locking projection and to increase the holding force of the terminal fitting. However, if the tip of the lance is wide as described above, when trying to mold with a mold that contacts and separates the lance and the terminal receiving part in the front-rear direction, the terminal receiving part overlaps with the tip of the lance. Both ends are in an overhanging state and cannot be molded only with the same mold in the front-rear direction.
On the other hand, in the present invention, the left and right end portions that overlap in the width direction with the terminal receiving portion on the front end surface of the lance, and each terminal receiving portion are connected by the flexible pieces extending in the front-rear direction. The state is eliminated, and as a result, the molding can be performed only with the molding tool in the front-rear direction.

The following configuration may also be used.
(1) The upper surface of the flexible piece is formed flush with the upper surface of the terminal receiving portion at the same height.
Along with the fact that the terminal fitting is inserted to the normal position and the lance also elastically returns to the flexible piece to prevent the terminal fitting from coming off, the left and right side edges of the terminal fitting extend from the terminal receiving portion to the flexible piece, respectively. Can be received. When the terminal fitting is secured, the left and right side edges of the terminal fitting are received over a long range, so that the terminal fitting is accommodated in a more stable posture within the cavity.

  (2) The base portion of the lance is formed narrower than the tip portion. Since the base portion of the lance is narrow, the lance is flexible and can contribute to reducing the insertion force of the terminal fitting.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a low-profile housing while minimizing the bending space while constituting a dual-supported lance.

The perspective view of the female terminal metal fitting which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. Perspective view of male housing Front view Rear view Same part cutaway perspective view Partial cutaway plan view of female housing and bottom view of female terminal fitting Perspective view from the back side of the lance Perspective view seen from the front side Bottom view 9 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 9 showing the insertion operation of the female terminal fitting. Longitudinal sectional view showing the insertion of female terminal fittings Longitudinal section with the female terminal fitting inserted to the proper position Longitudinal sectional view with the lance forcibly elastically deformed

<Embodiment>
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In this embodiment, the female connector is illustrated, and the female terminal fitting 10 connected to the end of the electric wire W is prevented from coming into the cavity 22 provided in the female housing 20 (hereinafter, female housing 20). It is comprised by being accommodated.

The female terminal fitting 10 is formed by pressing a metal plate excellent in electrical conductivity. As shown in FIG. 1, a wire barrel 13 is provided behind a terminal connecting portion 11 having a slightly flat rectangular tube shape. And the insulation barrel 14 are connected to each other, and an elastic contact piece 12 is provided in the terminal connection portion 11.
As shown in FIG. 10, the female terminal fitting 10 is fixed to the end of the electric wire W by crimping and crimping the wire barrel 13 to the end of the core wire of the electric wire W and the insulation barrel 14 to the end of the insulation coating. It is connected.

A tab of the other male terminal fitting (not shown) is inserted into the terminal connecting portion 11 of the female terminal fitting 10 from the front, and is elastically sandwiched between the bottom plate 11A of the terminal connecting portion 11 facing the elastic contact piece 12. As a result, an electrical connection is established.
Further, the rear edge portion of the ceiling plate 11B in the terminal connection portion 11 is a locked portion 15 that is locked to a lance 30 provided in the cavity 22 of the female housing 20, as will be described in detail later.

  Next, the structure of the female housing 20 will be described. The female housing 20 is made of synthetic resin, and is formed in a slightly flat block shape as a whole as shown in FIGS. The front surface of the female housing 20 (the surface on the near side in FIG. 2) is a mating surface when mated with a mating male housing (not shown). Is provided with a lock arm 21 that locks the two in a fitted state.

In the female housing 20, ten cavities 22 in which the above-described female terminal fittings 10 are inserted and accommodated from the rear are formed in a line of five in two upper and lower stages.
As shown in FIG. 10, the cavity 22 has a horizontally-long rectangular cross section in which the front half region 23 </ b> A (hereinafter referred to as the front region 23 </ b> A) fits tightly with the terminal connection portion 11 of the female terminal fitting 10. The remaining rear region 23B has a cross-sectional shape in which the lower side further expands, and the entire rear end surface is open.

  A front wall 25 is formed at the upper position of the front end surface of the cavity 22 so as to stop in front of the terminal connection portion 11 of the inserted female terminal fitting 10. The mating male terminal fitting is formed on the front wall 25. A terminal insertion opening 26 into which the tabs can be inserted is opened. An opening groove 25 </ b> A is cut out at the center width position of the lower edge portion of the terminal insertion opening 26 in the front wall 25.

The front end portion of the cavity 22, more specifically, the left and right side walls 22 </ b> A immediately after the front wall 25, is a height position that is lowered from the ceiling wall 22 </ b> B by a dimension comparable to the height of the terminal connection portion 11 of the female terminal fitting 10. In FIG. 2, a pair of terminal receiving portions 27 are formed to protrude. Both terminal receiving portions 27 are formed with an interval comparable to the width of the above-described opening groove 25A.
Therefore, when the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the cavity 22 from the rear side, the front end edge of the terminal connection portion 11 is stopped by hitting the front wall 25, and the left and right side edge portions on the front end side of the terminal connection portion 11 are also combined. Is received by the left and right terminal receiving portions 27.

In the front region 23A of each cavity 22, the bottom surface is opened, but a lance 30 that is locked to the female terminal fitting 10 to prevent it from coming off is formed at a position on the rear side of the bottom surface.
As shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 10, the lance 30 has a lance main body 31 that extends forward from a bottom wall 22 </ b> C of the cavity 22 and then extends forward. The lance body 31 is formed with a narrow width about the base portion 31A (an area of a little less than half of the entire length), such as a little more than half the width of the front area 23A of the cavity 22, whereas the tip portion 31B is more than the base portion 31A. It is formed to have a predetermined width that is wide (about 1.5 times the base portion 31A). More specifically, the tip portion 31B is formed with a width wider than the distance between the pair of left and right terminal receiving portions 27 described above. The side surface of the narrow base portion 31A and the side surface of the wide tip portion 31B are connected via a tapered surface 32 that is widened in two steps toward the front.

With respect to the height position of the upper surface of the lance body 31, the upper surface of the base portion 31A is a horizontal surface at a height corresponding to the bottom surface of the front region 23A of the cavity 22, and the tip portion 31B has a slightly upward slope. The upper surface is a horizontal surface that is one step higher. Further, a short ridge 33 having the same width as the base portion 31A is formed from the front edge of the upper surface of the base portion 31A to the center portion in the width direction of the upper surface of the tip portion 31B.
As a result, a locking protrusion 35 that locks to the locked portion 15 of the female terminal fitting 10 is formed by a substantially upper half of the tip portion 31B of the lance main body 31, more specifically, a portion above the upper surface of the base portion 31A. Has been. The locking projection 35 has a convex shape with a central width portion increased in a front view, and at least in the lower half region of the locking projection 35, as compared with the root portion 31A of the lance body 31, as described above. It is about 5 times wider.

Since the tip 31B of the lance body 31 is formed wide as described above, it protrudes from both ends of the lower half region of the tip surface 31C of the lance body 31 and the left and right side walls 22A of the front end of the cavity 22. The protruding side of the provided terminal receiving portion 27 is overlapped in the width direction. A flexible piece having an elongated rectangular bar shape between the rear surfaces of the protruding portions of the left and right terminal receiving portions 27 and the left and right end portions of the lower region of the distal end surface 31C of the lance main body 31 in this overlapping relationship. 40 is handed over and connected.
Both the flexible pieces 40 are arranged in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval. In a natural state, the upper surface of the flexible piece 40 is a horizontal plane flush with the upper surface of the terminal receiving portion 27.

The lance 30 having the shape as described above has a so-called dual-support type in which the base portion 31 </ b> A of the lance main body 31 and the tips of both flexible pieces 40 are fixed to the inner surface of the cavity 22. As shown in FIG. 11, the lance body 31 and the flexible pieces 40 are elastically bent into an arc shape that bulges downward as a whole, with the front and rear fixed portions as fulcrums, respectively, and the locking protrusions accordingly. 35 is moved downward.
Therefore, a lower region of the lance 30 including the flexible piece 40 is a bending space 42 that allows the lance 30 including the flexible piece 40 to be bent and deformed.

In order to release the locking of the female terminal fitting 10 by the lance 30, the lance 30 is forcibly elastically bent by a release jig J (see FIG. 13).
Therefore, in the lower region of the tip surface 31C of the lance main body 31 described above, a release portion 45 on which the tip of the release jig J can be placed is formed so as to protrude toward the front side at the center width position. The formation position of the release portion 45 is set independently at a position different from the drawing position of both the flexible pieces 40 described above.
A region below the region between the left and right flexible pieces 40 opens to the front surface, and thus a jig insertion space 47 is formed on the front side of the release portion 45. The upper surface 45A of the release portion 45 is an inclined surface having a downward slope toward the front side so that the tip of the release jig J can be guided.

Then, the effect | action of this embodiment is demonstrated.
The female terminal fitting 10 connected to the terminal of the electric wire W according to the above-described procedure takes the posture of being inverted upside down, and then, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 10, in the cavity 22 formed in the female housing 20. Is inserted from behind. In the female terminal fitting 10, the terminal connection portion 11 rides on the upper surface of the locking projection 35 from the upper surface of the root portion 31 </ b> A of the lance 30, and the lance 30 is bent toward the bending space 42 with the flexible piece 40 as shown in FIG. 11. It is pushed in while elastically bending.

When the female terminal fitting 10 is pushed in until it comes into contact with the front wall 25, as shown in FIG. 12, the locked portion 15 at the rear edge of the terminal connecting portion 11 of the female terminal fitting 10 pushes the locking projection 35 of the lance 30. In order to pass, the lance 30 with the flexible piece 40 is elastically restored, and the locking projection 35 is locked to the locked portion 15 of the female terminal fitting 10 and is prevented from coming off. At the same time, the left and right side edge portions of the terminal connection portion 11 of the female terminal fitting 10 are received by the flexible piece 40 from the terminal receiving portion 27 over the entire length, and the female terminal fitting 10 is not bent forward or the like. The horizontal posture is taken in 22 and is stably held.
The assembly of the female connector is completed when the female terminal fitting 10 is retained and accommodated in all the cavities 22 in the same manner as described above.

Such a female connector is similarly fitted with a male connector in which a male terminal fitting is attached to the male housing, and a tab of each male terminal fitting enters the cavity 22 of the female housing 20 from the terminal insertion port 26. And by inserting in the terminal connection part 11 of the female terminal metal fitting 10 accommodated in the cavity 22, the corresponding female terminal metal fitting 10 and male terminal metal fittings are connected.
In this state, when the electric wire W drawn to the rear surface side of the female connector is pulled, the locked portion 15 of the female terminal fitting 10 is locked to the locking protrusion 35 of the lance 30 and is prevented from coming off. Here, since the locking projection 35 is formed wide and has a large shear area, a large holding force against shear fracture can be obtained.

When the female terminal fitting 10 is removed from the cavity 22 of the female housing 20 for maintenance or the like, the release jig J is inserted from the front into the jig insertion space 47 formed between the left and right flexible pieces 40, and the tip thereof Is placed on the release portion 45 projecting from the distal end surface 31C of the lance main body 31 and pushed down, the lance 30 and the flexible piece 40 are elastically deflected toward the bending space 42, so that the female by the locking projection 35 is obtained. The locking of the terminal fitting 10 with respect to the locked portion 15 is released.
Then, by pulling the electric wire W backward, the female terminal fitting 10 can be pulled out behind the cavity 22.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the double-supported lance 30 is configured. However, since the front-side bent portion is configured by the flexible pieces 40 having a pair of gaps, Is used as the insertion space 47 of the release jig J, and the release portion 45 can be provided on the distal end surface 31C of the lance body 31. Therefore, unlike the case where the release portion is provided on the back surface side of the lance, for example, the bending space 42 of the lance 30 is small enough to allow the lance 30 (including the flexible piece 40) to escape. Can be turned upside down.

Since the tip portion 31B of the lance 30 is wider than the interval between the terminal receiving portions 27, the shearing area of the locking projection 35 can be increased, and the holding force of the female terminal fitting 10 can be increased. However, if the tip 31B of the lance 30 is wide as described above, when trying to mold the lance 30 and the terminal receiving portion 27 with a molding die that contacts and separates in the front-rear direction, particularly the tip surface 31C of the lance body 31 Both end portions overlapping with the terminal receiving portion 27 in an overhang state are in an overhanging state, and cannot be molded only by the molding tool in the front-rear direction.
On the other hand, in this embodiment, the left and right end portions overlapping in the width direction with the terminal receiving portion 27 on the distal end surface 31C of the lance main body 31, and each terminal receiving portion 27 are formed by a flexible piece 40 extending in the front-rear direction. Since they are connected, the above overhang state is eliminated, and as a result, it is possible to mold only with the molding tool in the front-rear direction.

When the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted to a proper position and the flexible piece 40 and the lance 30 are elastically restored to prevent the female terminal fitting 10 from coming off, the left and right side edges of the terminal connecting portion 11 of the female terminal fitting 10 Is received from the terminal receiving portion 27 to the flexible piece 40. That is, the left and right side edges of the terminal connection portion 11 of the female terminal fitting 10 are received over a long range, so that the female terminal fitting 10 is accommodated in the cavity 22 in a more stable posture.
In addition, since the base portion 31A serving as a fulcrum for elastic deformation of the lance body 31 is narrow, the flexibility of the lance 30 is improved, which can contribute to reducing the insertion force of the female terminal fitting 10.

<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 height position of the upper surface of the flexible piece may be lower than the upper surface position of the terminal receiving portion, and the flexible piece itself may not function to receive the female terminal fitting. Those included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(2) The width of the base portion of the lance main body may be as wide as the tip portion.
(3) The lance may be of a type in which the locking projection is fitted and locked in a lance hole opened on one surface of the terminal connection portion of the female terminal fitting.

(4) The front stop wall that stops the female terminal fitting inserted into the cavity is not limited to the shape of the front wall exemplified in the above embodiment, and only the left and right vertical edges of the front end surface of the terminal connection portion are abutted. Other shapes may be used.
(5) The present invention can be similarly applied to a male connector in which a male terminal fitting is accommodated in a male housing.

10 ... Female terminal fitting (terminal fitting)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Terminal connection part 15 ... Locked part 20 ... Female housing (housing)
22 ... Cavity 22C ... Bottom wall (bottom surface of cavity)
22A ... side wall 23A ... front side area 25 ... front wall (front blind wall)
27 ... Terminal receiving portion 30 ... Lance 31 ... Lance main body 31A ... Root portion (of lance main body 31) 31B ... Tip portion (of lance main body 31) 31C ... Tip end surface (of lance main body 31) 35 ... Locking protrusion 40 ... Flexible piece 42 ... Deflection space 45 ... Release part 47 ... Jig insertion space J ... Release jig

Claims (3)

A cavity into which the terminal fitting is inserted from the rear is provided in the housing,
On the front end of this cavity, a pair of terminal receiving portions that receive the left and right side edges of the terminal fitting that has been stopped together with a front stop wall that stops the terminal fitting in front are provided at an interval,
On the bottom surface of the cavity, a lance provided with a locking projection for locking to the terminal fitting is provided at the tip so that the lance extends along the insertion direction of the terminal fitting so that the base side can be elastically bent. And
The width of the tip of the lance is formed larger than the distance between the two terminal receiving portions,
The left and right end portions that overlap in the width direction with the terminal receiving portion on the front end surface of the lance, and each terminal receiving portion are connected by a flexible piece extending in the front-rear direction,
A connector, characterized in that a release portion that engages with a release jig is provided on the tip surface of the lance so as to bend the lance in the unlocking direction. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the flexible piece is formed flush with the upper surface of the terminal receiving portion. The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a root portion of the lance is formed narrower than a tip portion.

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