JP2015099644A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify a structure.SOLUTION: A connector comprises: a male side housing 10 having a hood part 12; a female side housing 40 fitted in the hood part 12; a female terminal metal fitting 50 inserted into the female side housing 40; a locking member 17 provided in the hood part 12, and that can be displaced between a locked form in which it is located in the hood part 12 and an evacuated form in which it is evacuated to the outside of the hood part 12; a lock part 22 formed on the locking member 17, and locking and anti-removing the female side housing 40 fitted in the hood part 12; and an anti-removing part 21 formed on the locking member 17, and locking and anti-removing the female terminal metal fitting 50 in a state where the female side housing 40 is fitted in the hood part 12.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a connector that fits a female housing into a hood portion of a male housing. The female housing is provided with a lock arm for locking both housings in the fitted state, and a retainer for preventing the female terminal fitting attached to the female housing from being removed.

JP 2012-059501 A

The above connector is provided with a lock arm for locking the housings in a fitted state and a retainer for retaining the female terminal fitting inserted into the female housing as independent means. It is inevitable that the overall structure becomes complicated.
The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to simplify the structure.

The connector of the present invention
A male housing having a hood;
A female housing fitted into the hood,
A female terminal fitting inserted into the female housing;
A locking member provided in the hood portion and displaceable between a locking configuration located in the hood portion and a retracted configuration retracted to the outside of the hood portion;
A locking portion formed on the locking member for locking and retaining the female housing fitted in the hood portion;
It is characterized in that it includes a retaining portion that is formed on the retaining member and retains the female terminal fitting by retaining the female terminal fitting in a state in which the female housing is fitted in the hood portion.

  The locking member has both a locking function for locking the housings in the fitted state and a retaining function for retaining the female terminal fitting in the female housing. Therefore, the structure can be simplified as compared with the case where the locking means and the retaining means are provided so as to be displaced independently of each other.

Side sectional view showing a state in which the male housing and the female housing are fitted in the first embodiment Side sectional view of the male housing Side sectional view of female housing XX sectional view of FIG. YY sectional view of FIG. Perspective view of male housing Rear view of male housing

  (1) The connector of the present invention has a terminal housing chamber formed in the female housing for housing the female terminal fitting, and a form communicating from the outer surface of the female housing to the terminal housing chamber. You may provide the notch part which makes the said latching member of a latching form approach, and the receiving part for lock | rock which can be latched with the said lock part formed in the said notch part. According to this configuration, when the locking member is displaced from the retracted form to the locked form, the lock part and the retaining part enter into the common cutout part. Therefore, the approach path of the lock part and the approach path of the retaining part are separated from each other. The shape of the female housing is simplified as compared with the case where the female housing is provided.

  (2) The connector according to the present invention has a configuration in which the connector extending in a cantilever shape in (1) with a region connected to the inner peripheral portion of the opening edge of the cutout portion in the inner wall portion of the terminal accommodating chamber as a base end portion. A lance for locking and retaining the female terminal fitting, and the base end portion of the lance and the inner peripheral portion of the opening edge of the notch portion function as the lock receiving portion. It may be. According to this configuration, since the locking margin between the lock receiving portion and the lock portion is increased, the reliability of the lock function is high.

  (3) In the connector of the present invention, the locking member may be connected to the hood portion via a hinge portion. According to this configuration, the number of parts can be reduced compared to the case where the hood portion and the locking member are independent parts.

<Example 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The connector of the present embodiment is configured to include a male housing 10 and a female housing 40, and the two housings 10 and 40 are fitted together by making the front surfaces (front surfaces) face each other. It has become so. In the following description, the front-rear direction is defined for each housing 10, 40. The vertical direction is defined with reference to the direction appearing in each figure.

<Male housing 10>
The male housing 10 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the terminal holding portion 11 elongated in the front-rear direction and the front end surface of the terminal holding portion 11 (the right end surface in FIGS. 1 and 2). The hood portion 12 is formed integrally with a hood portion 12 extending in a rectangular tube shape from the periphery to the front. In the terminal holding part 11, one male terminal accommodating chamber 13 opened at the rear end face is formed. A male lance 14 is formed in the male terminal housing chamber 13 so as to extend forward in a cantilevered manner along the inner wall thereof.

  A male terminal fitting 30 is inserted into the male terminal housing chamber 13 from the rear. The male terminal fitting 30 is elongated in the front-rear direction, and a tab 32 is formed on the front end of the male terminal fitting 30 so as to protrude forward from the terminal main body 31. The tab 32 is accommodated in the hood portion 12. Yes. A male side retaining projection 33 is formed on the outer surface of the terminal body 31. The male terminal fitting 30 inserted in the regular position is held in a retaining state by locking the male retaining projection 33 to the male lance 14. A male electric wire 34 is connected to the rear end portion of the male terminal fitting 30.

  In addition, a retainer 15 is swingably formed in the terminal holding part 11. The retainer 15 can enter the male terminal housing chamber 13 through a slit 16 formed in the lower surface of the terminal holding portion 11. The male terminal fitting 30 inserted into the male terminal housing chamber 13 is held in a retaining state by the retainer 15 engaging with the rear end of the terminal main body 31.

  A locking member 17 is integrally formed on the hood portion 12 through a hinge portion 19 so as to be swingable. The locking member 17 includes a locking function for locking both the housings 10 and 40 in a fitted state, and a female inserted in the female side housing 40 in a state where the female side housing 40 is fitted in the hood portion 12. It is a member having a retaining function for retaining the terminal fitting 50. The upper wall portion constituting the hood portion 12 has a slit shape that is elongated in the front-rear direction, and an escape hole 18 that communicates the inside and outside of the hood portion 12 is formed. The base end of the hinge portion 19 is connected to the front end edge portion of the opening edge of the escape hole 18. Then, the proximal end of the locking member 17 is connected to the distal end of the hinge portion 19.

  The locking member 17 has a single plate shape that is perpendicular to the width direction (left-right direction) of the male housing 10 as a whole. The front end of the locking member 17 is connected to the hinge portion 19. The locking member 17 has the hinge portion 19 as a substantial fulcrum, and most of the locking member 17 enters the escape hole 18 and is accommodated in the hood portion 12 as shown in FIG. The hood portion 12 can swing up and down with respect to the retracted form exposed upward from the outside. The rocking direction of the locking member 17 is parallel to the left and right plate surfaces (side surfaces) of the locking member 17.

  The shape of the locking member 17 in a side view is a non-regular pentagon with different lengths on each side. The front edge portion farthest from the hinge portion 19 among the outer edges of the locking member 17 is a locking function portion 20. The locking function part 20 is constituted by a retaining part 21 and a locking part 22 that are arranged in a flush manner. When the locking member 17 swings and displaces from the retracted form to the locked form, the retaining part 21 is positioned on the front side in the swing direction and the lock part 22 is positioned on the rear side in the swing direction. That is, when the locking member 17 is in the locking configuration, the retaining portion 21 is positioned below the lock portion 22.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a pair of left and right locking ribs 23 are formed to protrude from the upper edge of the locking member 17 that remains exposed to the outside of the hood 12 even in the locking mode. . Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a pair of left and right locking grooves 24 are formed on the upper surface of the upper wall portion of the hood portion 12 so as to sandwich the escape hole 18. When the locking member 17 is displaced to the locking configuration, the locking ribs 23 are locked to the locking grooves 24, whereby the locking member 17 is held in the locking configuration. Since the locking of the locking rib 23 and the locking groove 24 has a semi-lock structure, when the locking member 17 is displaced from the locking mode to the retracted mode, the locking of the locking rib 23 and the locking groove 24 is stopped. If an upward force exceeding the force is applied to the locking member 17, the locking member 17 can be displaced to the retracted form.

<Female housing 40>
The female housing 40 is made of synthetic resin and has a shape elongated in the front-rear direction as a whole. In the female housing 40, a female terminal housing chamber 41 is formed which is elongated in the front-rear direction. The female terminal accommodating chamber 41 is composed of a front chamber 42 disposed in the front end region (left region in FIG. 1) and a rear chamber 43 disposed in the rear end region. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the width dimension Wf of the front chamber 42 is set smaller than the width dimension Wr of the rear chamber 43. The rear end of the female terminal housing chamber 41 (rear chamber 43) opens to the outside as a lead-out port 44. The front chamber 42 is formed with a female lance 45 that is cantilevered forward along the upper wall surface. The female lance 45 can be elastically bent in the vertical direction with the base end portion 46 protruding from the inner wall of the female terminal accommodating chamber 41 as a fulcrum.

  The female housing 40 is formed with a notch 47 communicating from the upper surface thereof into the female terminal housing chamber 41. The notch 47 is elongated in the front-rear direction, and the opening width Ws of the notch 47 is set to be smaller than the width Wf of the front chamber 42 and the width Wr of the rear chamber 43. The formation range of the notch 47 in the front-rear direction is a region extending from the front end of the rear chamber 43 to the rear end of the female terminal housing chamber 41. The rear end of the notch 47 communicates with the upper end of the outlet 44. The rear surface of the inner periphery 48 of the opening edge at the front end of the opening region of the notch 47 is continuous with the rear surface of the base end 46 of the female lance 45. The base end portion 46 and the opening inner peripheral portion of the female lance 45 function as a lock receiving portion 49.

  The female terminal fitting 50 is formed to be elongated in the front-rear direction as a whole. A square tube portion 51 is formed at the front end of the female terminal fitting 50, and an elastic contact piece 52 that elastically contacts the tab 32 of the male terminal fitting 30 is accommodated in the square tube portion 51. A female side retaining projection 53 is formed on the outer surface of the rectangular tube portion 51. The rear end of the rectangular tube portion 51 functions as a retaining portion 54 for retaining. A female electric wire 56 is connected to the crimping portion 55 at the rear end of the female terminal fitting 50.

  The female terminal fitting 50 is inserted into the female terminal housing chamber 41 from the rear of the female housing 40. Here, the width dimension of the rectangular tube portion 51 is set to a dimension slightly smaller than the width dimension Wf of the front chamber 42, that is, a dimension smaller than the opening width dimension Ws of the notch 47. The width dimension of the crimping part 55 is set to a dimension slightly smaller than the width dimension Wr of the rear chamber 43, that is, a dimension larger than the width dimension Wf of the front chamber 42 and the opening width dimension Ws of the notch 47. . Therefore, even if the notch 47 communicating with the rear chamber 43 is formed, there is no possibility that the female terminal fitting 50 is displaced upward and enters the notch 47 illegally.

  The female terminal fitting 50 that is normally inserted into the female terminal housing chamber 41 is held in the retaining state by engaging the female retaining protrusion 53 with the female lance 45. In a state in which the female terminal fitting 50 is properly inserted, the retaining receiver 54 at the rear end of the rectangular tube portion 51 is disposed at substantially the same position as the locking receiver 49 in the front-rear direction. That is, the lock receiving portion 49 and the retaining receiving portion 54 are arranged so as to be substantially flush with each other.

<Fitting of both housings 10, 40>
When the two housings 10 and 40 are fitted together, the male terminal fitting 30 is inserted into the male housing 10 and held in a secured state by the male lance 14 and the retainer 15. The locking member 17 is held in a retracted form. On the other hand, in the female-side housing 40, the female terminal fitting 50 is inserted into the female-side terminal accommodating chamber 41 and held in a retaining state by the female-side lance 45.

  In this state, the female housing 40 is inserted into the hood portion 12. In the fitting process, the locking member 17 and the female housing 40 do not interfere with each other. And when both housings 10 and 40 reach a regular fitting state, the tab 32 enters the rectangular tube portion 51 and contacts the elastic contact piece 52, and both terminal fittings 30 and 50 are in a connected state. When the two housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted, the cutout portion 47 of the female housing 40 and the relief hole 18 of the hood portion 12 have a corresponding positional relationship in the front-rear direction. That is, the locking member 17 is positioned above the notch 47.

  After fitting both the housings 10 and 40, the locking member 17 is swung from the retracted form to the locked form. In the swinging process, the locking member 17 enters the rear chamber 43 of the female terminal receiving chamber 41 while passing through the escape hole 18 and the notch 47. Then, when the locking member 17 reaches the locking mode, as shown in FIG. 1, the lock portion 22 of the locking member 17 approaches the lock function portion of the female housing 40 from the rear and faces the lock function portion. At the same time, the retaining portion 21 of the locking member 17 approaches the retaining portion 54 of the female terminal fitting 50 from the rear side and faces the retaining portion 54.

  In this state, if the female housing 40 is to be detached rearward from the hood portion 12, the lock portion 22 and the lock receiving portion 49 are locked, thereby restricting the detachment of both the housings 10 and 40. Further, when the female terminal wire 50 is picked up and the female terminal fitting 50 is pulled rearward, the separation of the housings 10 and 40 is restricted by the retaining portion 21 and the retaining portion 54 being retained. . Of course, the female terminal fitting 50 is also prevented from coming off from the female housing 40 to the rear.

  The connector of this embodiment includes a male housing 10 having a hood portion 12, a female housing 40 fitted into the hood portion 12, and a female terminal fitting 50 inserted into the female housing 40. Yes. The hood portion 12 is provided with a locking member 17 that can be displaced between a locking configuration located in the hood portion 12 and a retracted configuration retracted to the outside of the hood portion 12. The locking member 17 includes a lock portion 22 that locks and prevents the female housing 40 fitted in the hood portion 12 and a female terminal in a state where the female side housing 40 is fitted in the hood portion 12. A retaining portion 21 that locks and prevents the metal fitting 50 from being formed is formed. As described above, the locking member 17 has both a locking function for locking the housings in the fitted state and a retaining function for retaining the female terminal fitting 50 in the female housing 40. Therefore, the structure is simplified as compared with the case where the locking means and the retaining means are provided so as to be displaced independently of each other.

  The female housing 40 has a female terminal housing chamber 41 for housing the female terminal fitting 50, and a form communicating from the outer surface of the female housing 40 into the female terminal housing chamber 41. A notch 47 for allowing the engaging member 17 of the form to enter, and a lock receiving portion 49 formed in the notch 47 and engageable with the lock portion 22 are formed. According to this configuration, when the locking member 17 is displaced from the retracted form to the locked form, the lock part 22 and the retaining part 21 enter the common cutout part 47. Therefore, the shape of the female housing 40 is simplified as compared with the case where the approach path of the lock part and the approach path of the retaining part are provided separately.

  The female-side housing 40 has a form that extends in a cantilever manner with a base end portion 46 as a region that continues to the opening edge inner peripheral portion 48 of the notch 47 in the inner wall portion of the terminal accommodating chamber. A female-side lance 45 that locks 50 and prevents it from being removed is formed. The base end portion 46 of the lance and the inner peripheral portion 48 of the opening edge of the cutout portion 47 function as a lock receiving portion 49. According to this configuration, the locking allowance between the lock receiving portion 49 and the lock portion 22 is increased by the base end portion 46 of the female lance 45, so the reliability of the lock function is high. Further, since the locking member 17 is connected to the hood portion 12 via the hinge portion 19, the number of parts is reduced compared to the case where the hood portion and the locking member are independent components.

<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) In the above-described embodiment, the lock portion and the retaining portion enter the common cutout portion. However, the lock portion and the retaining portion may be provided separately.
(2) In the above embodiment, both the base end portion of the lance and the inner peripheral portion of the opening edge of the notch portion function as a lock receiving portion. Only one of the base end portion and the inner peripheral portion of the opening edge of the cutout portion may be provided.
(3) In the above embodiment, the locking member is connected to the hood portion via the hinge portion. However, the locking member may be a separate component from the hood portion.
(4) In the above embodiment, the opening region of the notch portion is communicated with the outlet for leading the electric wire connected to the female terminal fitting substantially coaxially on the outer surface of the female housing to the outside of the female housing. However, paying attention to this point, the opening width of the notch may be set to a dimension that allows the female terminal fitting to pass therethrough. According to this configuration, the female terminal fitting can be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber through the notch. Since the insertion direction of the female terminal fitting at this time is a direction intersecting with the axis of the electric wire, the female terminal fitting is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber in the axial direction from the outlet with the electric wire picked up. Deformation of terminal fittings and electric wire buckling are unlikely to occur.
(5) In the above-described embodiment, the cutout portion and the outlet port are communicated with each other, but the opening region of the notch portion and the opening region of the outlet port may be independent from each other.
(6) In the above embodiment, the case where the number of poles (the number of conductive paths by the male terminal fitting and the female terminal fitting) is one has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to the case where the number of poles is plural. Applicable.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Male side housing 12 ... Hood part 17 ... Locking member 19 ... Hinge part 21 ... Stopping part 22 ... Lock part 40 ... Female side housing 41 ... Female side terminal accommodation chamber (terminal accommodation chamber)
45. Female lance (lance)
46 ... Base end portion of female lance 47 ... Notch portion 48 ... Inner edge of opening edge of notch portion 49 ... Lock receiving portion 50 ... Female terminal fitting

Claims (4)

A male housing having a hood;
A female housing fitted into the hood,
A female terminal fitting inserted into the female housing;
A locking member provided in the hood portion and displaceable between a locking configuration located in the hood portion and a retracted configuration retracted to the outside of the hood portion;
A locking portion formed on the locking member for locking and retaining the female housing fitted in the hood portion;
A connector, comprising: a retaining portion that is formed on the retaining member, and retains the female terminal fitting by retaining the female terminal fitting when the female housing is fitted in the hood portion.   A terminal housing chamber formed in the female housing for housing the female terminal fitting, and a locking member in a locking form, wherein the locking member has a form communicating with the terminal housing chamber from the outer surface of the female housing. The connector according to claim 1, further comprising: a notch portion to be entered; and a lock receiving portion that is formed in the notch portion and can be engaged with the lock portion.   Of the inner wall portion of the terminal accommodating chamber, a region extending to the inner peripheral portion of the opening edge of the cutout portion is extended in a cantilevered manner, and the female terminal metal fitting is locked and prevented from being pulled out. The connector according to claim 2, further comprising a lance, wherein the base end portion of the lance and the inner peripheral portion of the opening edge of the notch portion function as the lock receiving portion. .   The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the locking member is connected to the hood portion via a hinge portion.

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