JP2017016898A - Waterproof connector housing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waterproof connector housing capable of holding even a small-sized terminal fitting within a terminal housing chamber by preventing the terminal from being dropped off more surely than the prior arts without interposing an external member.SOLUTION: In the waterproof connector housing comprising a synthetic resin housing body and a retainer, the housing body includes:a lower lance having a lower lock projection formed in a cantilevered shape forward from a rear end side on a bottom wall of a square cylindrical chamber of a terminal housing chamber and engaged in a lock hole of a bottom plate of a terminal connection part of a terminal fitting; an upper lance having an upper lock projection formed in a cantilevered shape backward from a front end side on a top wall and engaged with a top plate of the terminal connection part; a lower space receiving elastic displacement of the lower lance; and an upper space receiving elastic displacement of the upper lance. The retainer includes a lower wedge-shaped protrusion and an upper wedge-shaped protrusion which are fitted into the lower space and the upper space for regulating the elastic displacement of the lower lance and the upper lance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof connector housing having, for example, a female terminal fitting or a terminal accommodating chamber for accommodating a male terminal fitting, and more particularly to a means for preventing the terminal fitting from coming off.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an automobile connector used for connecting a wire harness or the like is a waterproof connector housing, and a terminal fitting in which an electric wire is connected to a rear end side is inserted into a terminal accommodating chamber formed in the housing body, and the housing body In general, the terminal fitting is fixed to the front end side by being fitted with a retainer from the front side. Usually, the male and female connector housings have a front end shape in which the housing bodies into which the retainers are fitted are fitted to each other. When the male and female connector housings are fitted, the front ends of the corresponding terminal storage chambers are in contact with each other. A female terminal fitting and a male terminal fitting housed in each are connected.

  As shown in the female terminal connector housing of FIG. 8, the electric wire 10 is connected to the rear end side of the female terminal fitting 1 a inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 101 formed in the housing main body 100. The terminal fitting is formed by pressing a metal plate member or the like, and has a rectangular tube-shaped terminal connecting portion in the front region. In the female terminal fitting 1a, an elastic contact piece 5 is provided inside the terminal connecting portion 2a so as to be folded back in the form of a leaf spring from the front of the bottom plate 3a. In the male terminal fitting, a rectangular tube shaped terminal connecting portion is provided. A male terminal tab extends from the front. Then, the male terminal tab inserted from the front of the terminal connection portion 2a of the female terminal fitting 1a is elastically contacted between the elastic contact piece 5a and the upper plate 6a, thereby electrically connecting the male terminal fitting and the female terminal fitting. Is obtained.

  The electric wire 10 is obtained by covering the periphery of the core wire 11 with an insulating coating 12 made of synthetic resin, and the terminal core wire 11 from which the electric wire 10 is exposed is provided as a wire connection portion in the rear region of the terminal connection portion 2a. A wire barrel 7a for crimping and crimping, and an insulation barrel 8a on the rear side of the wire barrel 7a are provided.

  In the waterproof connector, a rubber plug 13 is usually fitted on the insulating coating 12 behind the terminal core wire 10 that is crimped and crimped by the wire barrel 7 a of the electric wire 10. In the terminal accommodating chamber 101, a front region is a rectangular tube chamber 102 into which the female terminal fitting 1a is inserted, and a rear region of the rectangular tube chamber is a large-diameter cylindrical chamber 103 into which the rubber plug 13 is inserted. It has become. When the female terminal fitting 1a is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 101, the rubber plug 13 is fitted into the cylindrical chamber 103 in the rear region, thereby providing a waterproof seal (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Such a rubber plug 13 has a small-diameter mounting cylinder 15 formed in the tip end region, and the rubber plug 13 is caulked and crimped together with the electric wire 10 by the insulation barrel 8a. The rubber plug 13 is a thick cylindrical member through which the electric wire 10 passes, and a lip portion 14 whose outermost diameter is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the cylindrical chamber 103 of the terminal accommodating chamber 101 is provided on the outer peripheral surface. As a result, a sealing force for the cylindrical chamber 103 is obtained.

  A cantilever lance 104 is formed on the bottom wall of the rectangular tube chamber 102 and extends forward with the rear side as a base. At the free end of the lance 104, a locking projection 105 having an inclined surface that rises in a tapered shape toward the front of the housing body 100 and a vertical front end surface is erected. A lower space 106 for receiving the elastic displacement of the lance 104 is provided below the lance 104, and the locking projection 105 can also be elastically displaced in the vertical direction.

  A rectangular locking hole 4a is formed in the bottom plate 3a of the female terminal fitting 1a. When the female terminal fitting 1a is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 101, the lower surface of the bottom plate 3a of the terminal connecting portion 2a comes into contact with the locking projection 105 as the rectangular tube-shaped terminal connecting portion 2a advances through the rectangular tube-shaped chamber 102. Then, the locking projection 105 is pushed down to the lower space 106 while the lance 104 is bent. When the insertion of the terminal connecting portion 2a further proceeds and the locking hole 4a reaches the locking projection 105, the locking projection 105 rises in the locking hole 4a due to elastic recovery.

  When the retainer 110 is fitted to the front end side of the housing body 100 from the front after the insertion of the female terminal fitting 1 a into the terminal accommodating chamber 101 is completed, the wedge-shaped protrusion 111 formed on the retainer 110 is located below the lance 104. The elastic displacement of the lance 104 is regulated by being fitted into the space 106. As a result, the state in which the front end surface of the locking projection 105 is in contact with the inner peripheral front end surface of the locking hole 4a is maintained, the return of the terminal connecting portion 2a to the rear is restricted, and the female terminal metal fitting 1a with respect to the housing body 100 is maintained. A retaining state is obtained. Also in the waterproof connector housing for male terminals, the terminal connection portion of the male terminal fitting is engaged by the lower lance with a locking hole formed on the lower surface of the male connector metal fitting, and below the wedge-shaped protrusion when the retainer is fitted. The state of being pulled out by the lower lance is obtained by fitting into the space.

JP 2011-146206 A

  As described above, in the conventional waterproof connector housing, the terminal fitting is prevented from coming off by the engagement between the locking projection of the lance provided on the bottom wall of the terminal accommodating chamber and the locking hole formed in the bottom plate of the terminal connecting portion. It was only done. And with the current integration of connectors and the miniaturization of terminal fittings, the metal plates that make up the terminal fittings are thinner and the terminal connection parts themselves are also smaller in width, and are easily deformed by external pressure. Yes. Accordingly, the locking force for maintaining the terminal metal fitting is also weak, and one of the terminal metal fittings is rearward in the terminal accommodating chamber due to the pressing resistance when the male terminal tab of the male terminal metal fitting is inserted into the terminal connection portion of the female terminal metal fitting. There was a risk that the electrical connection would be poor.

  Some connector housings have a structure in which another locking member is inserted and inserted from the outside in the middle of the terminal accommodating chamber. However, as described above, the waterproof connector has a rubber plug or the like in the housing. Since an area for inserting the seal member is already provided, the entire connector becomes long by adding an additional intervening area for the external member, so this is not a practical solution. Moreover, there is a possibility that the waterproof function is impaired by forming an insertion hole in the connector side wall surface.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to obtain a waterproof connector housing that can be securely held and retained in a terminal accommodating chamber without using an external member, even if it is a small terminal fitting.

In order to achieve the above object, the waterproof connector housing according to the first aspect of the present invention is made of a synthetic resin having at least one terminal accommodating chamber in which a terminal fitting connected to an electric wire terminal is inserted and accommodated forward from the rear end. A waterproof connector housing comprising a housing body and a synthetic resin retainer that is fitted to the front end side of the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing body from the front to prevent the terminal fitting from being removed.
The terminal accommodating chamber is formed in a front region of the terminal accommodating chamber, and is a corner that accommodates a rectangular tubular terminal connecting portion of the terminal fitting provided with a contact piece for obtaining an electrical connection with a counterpart terminal. A cylindrical chamber, and a cylindrical chamber that communicates with a rear region of the rectangular cylindrical chamber and into which a waterproof rubber plug fitted around an electric wire extending from the rear end side of the female terminal fitting is fitted;
The rectangular tube chamber includes a lower lance that is provided in a cantilevered manner from the rear end side of the rectangular tube chamber toward the front on the bottom wall, and a rectangular tube chamber that is elastically displaced in the vertical direction on the upper wall. An upper lance that can be elastically displaced in the vertical direction provided in a cantilevered manner from the front end side to the rear,
The lower lance is formed near the free end thereof, and when the terminal connection portion of the female terminal fitting is inserted into the rectangular tube-shaped chamber, the lower lance is inserted into the locking hole formed in the bottom plate of the terminal connection portion from below. Having a lower locking projection to engage;
The upper lance is formed at a free end thereof, and an upper locking projection that engages with an upper plate of the terminal connection portion when the terminal connection portion of the female terminal fitting is inserted into the rectangular tube-shaped chamber, Having a rear position from the lower locking projection,
The housing body has a lower space for receiving the elastic displacement of the lower lance below the lower lance, and an upper space for receiving the elastic displacement of the upper lance on the upper lance,
When the retainer is fitted to the front end side of the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing body from the front, the retainer is fitted into the lower space and the upper space, respectively, and regulates the elastic displacement of the lower lance and the upper lance. A wedge-shaped protrusion and an upper wedge-shaped protrusion are provided.

A female terminal waterproof connector housing according to a second aspect of the present invention is the female terminal waterproof connector housing according to the first aspect, wherein the rectangular tubular chamber is a columnar shape that fits into a recess formed in the retainer. Formed in the hollow chamber in the convex part,
The upper lance is configured to be elastically displaceable by being partially cut out by a U-shaped slit from the upper wall of the rectangular tube-shaped chamber composed of the plate-like wall of the columnar convex portion,
The slit is sealed by fitting the concave portion of the retainer and the columnar convex portion.

  A waterproof connector housing according to a third aspect of the present invention is the waterproof connector housing according to the first or second aspect, wherein the upper lance and the upper locking projection have rear end surfaces within the opening surface of the cylindrical chamber. It is arranged at a position to be projected.

  In the waterproof connector housing for female terminals of the present invention, the female terminal is formed at two locations by the lower locking projection of the lower lance formed on the bottom wall of the terminal accommodating chamber and the upper locking projection of the upper lance formed on the upper wall. The metal fitting is secured. These upper and lower lances can be elastically displaced in the vertical direction when the female terminal fitting is inserted, so even a small female terminal fitting molded from a thin and thin metal plate can be accommodated well without deformation. There is an effect that it is inserted into the room and is more reliably and stably held in the terminal accommodating room.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows schematic partial structure of the waterproof connector housing for female terminals by one Example of this invention, and is a sectional side view in the state which accommodated the female terminal metal fitting. It is a fragmentary sectional perspective view of the waterproof connector housing for female terminals of FIG. It is the whole rear view which showed the housing main body of the waterproof connector housing for female terminals of FIG. It is an AA cross-sectional perspective view of the housing main body of FIG. It is a sectional side view in the state where the male terminal metal fitting which shows the schematic partial composition of the waterproof connector housing for male terminals used as the other party of the waterproof connector housing for female terminals of Drawing 1 was stored. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of the male connector waterproof connector housing of FIG. 5. It is a schematic fragmentary sectional view which shows another latching mechanism of the upper lance in the waterproof connector housing by this invention. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the example of the conventional waterproof connector housing for female terminals, (a) has shown the retainer fitting incomplete state, (b) has respectively shown the retainer fitting completion state.

  A waterproof connector housing for female terminals according to the present invention includes a housing body made of synthetic resin having one or more terminal accommodating chambers and a front end side of the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing body, which is fitted from the front to prevent the female terminal fitting from being pulled out. In a waterproof connector housing having a synthetic resin retainer to perform, a rectangular tube terminal connection portion of a terminal fitting provided with a contact piece for obtaining an electrical connection with a mating terminal in the front region of the terminal accommodating chamber A cylindrical chamber into which a waterproof rubber plug fitted around the electric wire extending from the rear end side of the terminal fitting is fitted is communicated with the rear region of the rectangular tube chamber. A lower lance that is provided on the bottom wall in a cantilevered manner from the rear end side of the rectangular tube chamber to the front, and that can be elastically displaced in the vertical direction; Cantilevered from the front end of the cylindrical chamber to the rear The vignetting the vertical direction is obtained by an elastic displaceable top lance. In the waterproof connector housing of the present invention, the terminal fitting insertion (advance) direction is the front and the electric wire side is the rear.

  The lower lance is formed near the free end thereof, and engages with a locking hole formed in the bottom plate of the terminal connection portion from below when the terminal connection portion of the terminal fitting is fitted into the rectangular tube-shaped chamber. The upper lance is formed at the free end of the upper lance, and the upper lance engages with the upper plate of the terminal connecting portion when the terminal connecting portion of the terminal fitting is inserted into the rectangular tube-shaped chamber. The housing main body is provided with a lower space for receiving the elastic displacement of the lower lance below the lower lance, and an upper space for receiving the elastic displacement of the upper lance is provided above the upper lance. When the retainer is fitted from the front to the front end side of the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing body, the lower wedge-shaped protrusion and the upper wedge-shaped protrusion provided on the retainer are formed in the lower space and the upper space. The elastic displacement of the lower lance and upper lance is inserted respectively. It is those that win.

  Therefore, in the waterproof connector housing of the present invention, the terminal connection portion of the terminal fitting is secured not only by the lower lance but also by the upper lance, so that the terminal fitting is small and the metal plate constituting the fitting is very thin. Even if it is narrow, it can be stably and stably held in the terminal accommodating chamber. In addition, the retainer is fixed so that the lower lance and the upper lance are prevented from being pulled out, so that the terminal fitting is pushed back from the terminal accommodating chamber by the pressing when mating with the mating terminal fitting, resulting in poor electrical connection. There is no danger of it occurring.

  Further, the terminal connection portion made of such a thin metal plate is likely to bend and deform when a pressing force is applied from the periphery when inserted into the terminal storage chamber, but in the present invention, when the terminal storage chamber is inserted, Both the upper lance and the lower lance with which the locking projections are in contact with the terminal connection portion are easily elastically displaced into the outer space, so that the terminal connection portion can be smoothly inserted into the rectangular cylindrical chamber without any resistance. The pressing force that substantially causes bending deformation in the terminal connection portion does not occur.

  As with the lower lance, the upper lance is locked with a locking hole formed on the upper plate of the terminal connection portion so that the upper connection protrusion is inserted when the terminal connection portion is fitted into the rectangular tubular chamber. And the engagement mechanism in which the upper locking projection is hooked to the rear edge of the upper plate of the terminal connection portion. In manufacturing, if it is a mechanism that is hooked to the rear edge of the terminal connecting part upper plate, it is simple because it does not need to form a locking hole in the upper plate, and has the same design as a conventional small terminal fitting. It is preferable in that it can be attached.

  In addition, since the rectangular chamber is generally formed by a hollow chamber in a columnar convex portion that fits into a concave portion formed in the retainer, a configuration in which an upper lance is provided is a columnar convex chamber. It can be easily formed as a cantilevered portion that can be elastically displaced by partially cutting out from the upper wall of the rectangular tube-shaped chamber formed of a plate-like wall by a U-shaped slit. However, the slit is sealed by fitting the concave portion of the retainer with the columnar convex portion so that the waterproof function is not impaired by the slit.

  Furthermore, it is desirable that the upper lance and the upper locking projection are arranged at positions where the rear end surfaces thereof are projected into the opening surface of the cylindrical chamber. That is, when the terminal housing chamber is viewed from the rear end side of the cylindrical chamber in a state in which the terminal fitting is not yet received, the upper lance and the upper locking projection appear to be accommodated in the opening. With this configuration, the upper lance hardly affects the distance between the terminal housing chambers adjacent to the upper side, and the configuration including a plurality of terminal housing chambers does not increase the size of the conventional connector.

  A waterproof connector housing as one embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 as an example of a pair of waterproof connector housings for female terminals and male terminals in which a plurality of small female terminal fittings are held together with large female terminal fittings. FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a portion in which one terminal accommodating chamber in which a small female terminal fitting of a female connector waterproof connector housing is accommodated and one terminal accommodating chamber in which a large female terminal fitting is accommodated are positioned. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the terminal accommodating chamber portion of FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the housing body of the waterproof connector housing for female terminals, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 and 2 show a state in which the female terminal fitting is inserted, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show a state in which the female terminal fitting is not inserted. 5 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of the male terminal waterproof connector housing which is the counterpart of the female terminal waterproof connector housing of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the terminal accommodating chamber portion. In this embodiment, the small female terminal fitting inserted and held in the terminal accommodating chamber has the same configuration as that shown in FIG. 8, and common portions are denoted by the same reference numerals. Moreover, the insertion (advance) direction of the terminal fitting into the terminal accommodating chamber was the front, and the electric wire side was the rear. That is, in FIG. 1, the left is the front and the right is the rear as viewed in the drawing, and in FIG. 5, the right is the front and the left is the rear as viewed in the drawing.

  First, the waterproof connector housing 20 for female terminals according to the present embodiment is made of a synthetic resin including a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 22 for accommodating small female terminal fittings 1a and terminal accommodating chambers 122 for accommodating large female terminal fittings. The housing main body 21 and a synthetic resin retainer 35 fitted from the front to the front end side of the terminal accommodating chamber are mainly configured. In FIG. 1, the retainer 35 is indicated by a solid line in a pre-fitting state and a broken line in a completed state. FIG. 2 shows a state where the retainer 35 is completely fitted.

  The terminal accommodating chamber 22 is a rectangular tube-like chamber 23 into which the rectangular tube-shaped terminal connecting portion 2a of the female terminal fitting 1a is inserted in the front region. This area is a large-diameter cylindrical chamber 24 into which a waterproof rubber plug 13 fitted to the electric wire 10 extending from the rear end of the female terminal fitting 1a is fitted.

  The bottom wall 25 of the rectangular tube-shaped chamber 23 is formed with a cantilevered lower lance 26 that extends forward with the rear side as a base, and is tapered toward the front of the housing body 21 near the free end of the lower lance 26. A lower locking projection 27 having an inclined surface and a front end surface perpendicular to the vertical surface is provided. The lower locking protrusion 27 is formed on the bottom plate 3a of the terminal connection portion 2a when the terminal connection portion 2a of the female terminal fitting 1a is fitted into the rectangular tube chamber 23 at the back of the rectangular tube chamber 23. It arrange | positions in the position which overlaps with the made locking hole 4a. A lower space 28 is provided below the lower lance 26 to receive the elastic displacement in the vertical direction of the lower lance 26 with the lower locking projection 27.

  Further, a cantilevered upper lance 30 is formed on the upper wall 29 of the rectangular tube-like chamber 23 so as to extend rearward from the front side as a base, and from the rear of the housing body 21 toward the front at the free end of the upper lance 30. An upper locking projection 31 having an inclined surface that rises in a tapered shape is provided. The upper locking projection 31 is near the front side of the rectangular tube-shaped chamber 23, and when the terminal connection portion 2a of the female terminal fitting 1a is fitted into the rectangular tube-shaped chamber 23, the rear end of the upper plate 6a of the terminal connection portion 2a. It is arranged at the position that hits the edge. An upper space 32 is provided above the upper lance 30 to receive the elastic displacement in the vertical direction of the upper lance 30 with the upper locking projection 31.

  On the other hand, the retainer 35 communicates with the lower wedge-shaped projection 37 fitted into the lower space 28 when fitted to the housing body 21, the upper wedge-shaped projection 38 fitted into the upper space 32, and the front end of the terminal connection portion 2a. And a male terminal insertion port 39 is provided.

  When the female terminal fitting 1a is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 22 in the housing main body 21 having the above-described configuration, the rectangular tube terminal connecting portion 2a on the tip side passes through the large-diameter cylindrical chamber 24 and is square. When reaching the cylindrical chamber 23 and further proceeding through the rectangular cylindrical chamber 23, first, the upper surface of the upper plate 6a of the terminal connecting portion 2a comes into contact with the upper locking projection 31 on the front side. However, since the upper lance 30 can be elastically displaced in the vertical direction, the terminal connecting portion 2a can move forward while pushing up the upper locking projection 31 to the upper space 32.

  Next, the lower surface of the bottom plate 3a of the terminal connection portion 2a contacts the lower locking protrusion 27 at the back, but since the lower lance 26 can be elastically displaced in the vertical direction, the terminal connection portion 2a is The protrusion 27 can be moved forward while being pushed down to the lower space 28. At this time, the terminal connection portion 2a is simultaneously brought into contact with the upper locking projection 31 and the lower locking projection 27 from the vertical direction, but both are elastically displaced in the vertical vertical direction and act on the terminal connection portion 2a. The pressing force is only small so that the terminal connecting portion 2a cannot be deformed.

  Then, when the front end of the terminal connection portion 2a reaches the front end of the terminal accommodating chamber 22, and the insertion of the terminal connection portion 2a into the rectangular tubular chamber 23 is completed, the lower locking projection 27 is elastically restored upward. The terminal connecting portion 2a rises from the lower side in the locking hole 4a of the bottom plate 3a, engages with the locking hole 4a, and the upper locking projection 31 also elastically recovers downward to restore the upper plate 6a of the terminal connecting portion 2a. The female terminal fitting 1a can be prevented from being pulled out by engaging the rear end edge of the upper and lower portions.

  Thereafter, when the retainer 35 is fitted to the housing body 21 from the front, the lower wedge-shaped projection 37 is fitted into the lower space 28 to restrict the elastic displacement of the lower lance 26 and the upper wedge-shaped projection 38 is moved to the upper space. 32, the elastic displacement of the upper lance 30 is regulated. As a result, the engagement state of the lower locking projection 27 and the upper locking projection 31 with respect to the terminal connection portion 2a is fixed, and the retaining state of the female terminal fitting 1a in the terminal accommodating chamber 22 is fixed. By holding the two upper and lower orientations in this way, the small female terminal fitting 1a can be held in the terminal accommodating chamber 22 more reliably and stably.

  In this embodiment, the rectangular tubular chamber 23 is formed as a hollow chamber in the columnar convex portion 34 that fits into the concave portion 36 formed in the retainer 35. The upper lance 30 is an elastically displaceable piece partly cut out by a U-shaped slit 33 as shown in FIG. It is formed as a holding part. Accordingly, in this configuration, an upper space 32 in which the upper lance 30 can be elastically displaced is formed on the upper side around the columnar convex portion 34, and a lower space 28 in which the lower lance 26 can be elastically displaced is formed on the lower side, and the peripheral edge of the concave portion 36 of the retainer 35 is formed. An upper wedge-shaped protrusion 38 is formed above the part, and a lower wedge-shaped protrusion 37 is formed below.

  In this embodiment, even if such a slit 33 is formed on the terminal accommodating chamber 22 side, the slit 33 is sealed by fitting the concave portion 36 and the columnar convex portion 34 of the retainer 35, so that the female terminal The required waterproof function of the waterproof connector housing 20 is not impaired. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, when the terminal accommodating chamber 22 is viewed from the cylindrical chamber 24 side, the upper lance 30 and the upper locking projection 31 are configured to fit in the inner space of the terminal accommodating chamber 22. Therefore, the upper lance 30 hardly affects the distance between the terminal receiving chambers adjacent to the upper lance 30 and does not become larger than the conventional connector even in the configuration including a plurality of terminal receiving chambers.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the male terminal waterproof connector housing 40 which is the counterpart of the female terminal waterproof connector housing 20 of FIG. However, the configuration of the terminal accommodating chamber 42 provided in the housing main body 41 is substantially the same as the configuration of the terminal accommodating chamber 22 for female terminals.

  In other words, the terminal accommodating chamber 42 is a rectangular tube chamber 43 into which the rectangular tube-shaped terminal connecting portion 2b of the male terminal fitting 1b is inserted in the front region, and the diameter of the terminal storage chamber 42 is expanded from the rectangular tube chamber 43 to communicate with it. The rear region is a large-diameter cylindrical chamber 44 into which a waterproof rubber plug 13 fitted to the electric wire 10 extending from the rear end of the male terminal fitting 1b is fitted.

  The bottom wall 45 of the rectangular tube-shaped chamber 43 is formed with a cantilevered lower lance 46 that extends forward with the rear side as a base, and is tapered toward the front of the housing body 41 near the free end of the lower lance 46. A lower locking projection 47 having an inclined surface that rises and a vertical front end surface is provided. The lower locking projection 47 is formed on the bottom plate 3b of the terminal connection portion 2b when the terminal connection portion 2b of the male terminal fitting 1b is fitted into the rectangular tube chamber 43 at the back of the rectangular tube chamber 43. It arrange | positions in the position which overlaps with the made locking hole 4b. A lower space 48 is provided below the lower lance 46 to receive the vertical elastic displacement of the lower lance 46 with the lower locking projection 47.

  Further, a cantilevered upper lance 50 is formed on the upper wall 49 of the rectangular tubular chamber 43 so as to extend rearward with the front side as a base, and the free end of the upper lance 50 extends from the rear of the housing body 41 toward the front. An upper locking projection 51 having an inclined surface that rises in a tapered shape is provided. This upper locking projection 51 is near the front of the rectangular tube-shaped chamber 53, and when the terminal connecting portion 2b of the male terminal fitting 1b is fitted into the rectangular tube-shaped chamber 53, the rear end of the upper plate 6b of the terminal connecting portion 2b. It is arranged at the position that hits the edge. An upper space 52 is provided above the upper lance 50 to receive the vertical elastic displacement of the upper lance 50 with the upper locking projection 51.

  On the other hand, when the retainer 55 is fitted to the housing main body 41, the lower wedge-shaped protrusion 57 inserted into the lower space 48, the upper wedge-shaped protrusion 58 inserted into the upper space 52, and the terminal connecting portion 2b are horizontally projected forward. A male terminal through hole 59 through which a tab (male terminal tab) 5b as a contact piece on the male terminal side extending in the direction passes is provided.

  Therefore, when the male terminal fitting 1b is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 42 in the housing main body 41, the rectangular tube-shaped terminal connecting portion 2b passes through the large-diameter cylindrical chamber 44 and reaches the rectangular tube-shaped chamber 43. The upper surface of the upper plate 6b of the terminal connection portion 2b abuts on the upper locking projection 51 on the near side, the upper lance 50 is elastically displaced to push the upper locking projection 51 up to the upper space 52, and the terminal connection portion 2b The lower surface of the bottom plate 3b comes into contact with the lower locking projection 47 whose upper surface is closer to the back, and moves downward while elastically displacing the lower lance 46 and pushing down the lower locking projection 47 to the lower space 48. When the insertion of the terminal connection portion 2b into the rectangular tube-shaped chamber 43 is completed, the lower locking projection 47 is elastically restored upward and the lower side in the locking hole 4b of the bottom plate 3b of the terminal connection portion 2b. The upper locking projection 51 is also elastically restored downward and engaged with the rear end edge of the upper plate 6b of the terminal connecting portion 2b, and is engaged with the upper end of the terminal hole 2b. A 1b retaining state is obtained.

  Thereafter, when the retainer 55 is fitted to the housing body 41 from the front, the lower wedge-shaped projection 57 is fitted into the lower space 48 to restrict the elastic displacement of the lower lance 46 and the upper wedge-shaped projection 58 is moved to the upper space. 52, the elastic displacement of the upper lance 50 is regulated. Thereby, the engagement state of the lower locking projection 47 and the upper locking projection 51 with respect to the terminal connecting portion 2b is fixed, and the retaining state of the male terminal fitting 1b in the terminal accommodating chamber 42 is fixed. By holding the upper and lower two orientations as described above, the small male terminal fitting 1b can be held in the terminal accommodating chamber 42 more reliably and stably.

  Also in the male connector waterproof connector housing 40, the rectangular tubular chamber 43 is formed as a hollow chamber in the columnar convex portion 54 that fits into the concave portion 56 formed in the retainer 55, and the upper lance 50 is It is formed as an elastically displaceable cantilever portion partially cut out by a U-shaped slit 53 from an upper wall 49 of a rectangular tube-shaped chamber formed of a plate-like wall of the columnar convex portion 54. The slit 53 is sealed by fitting the concave portion 56 and the columnar convex portion 54 of the retainer 55, and the waterproof function required for the waterproof connector housing 40 is maintained.

  Accordingly, when the female terminal waterproof connector housing 20 and the male terminal waterproof connector housing 40 having the above configuration are fitted to each other, the male terminal tab 5b of the male terminal fitting 1b extending forward from the front end of the terminal accommodating chamber 42 is obtained. Then, it is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 42 from the male terminal insertion port 39 and is pushed between the elastic contact piece 5a in the terminal connection portion 2a and the upper plate 6a. At this time, the female terminal fitting 1a and the male terminal fitting 1b are pressed against each other to the rear of the terminal accommodating chamber, but each is stably held in each terminal accommodating chamber by retaining at two locations as described above. Therefore, a reliable electrical connection is established without being pushed back backwards.

  In the above embodiment, the upper locking projection is engaged with the rear edge of the upper surface as the locking mechanism with the terminal connecting portion of the upper lance. However, the present invention is not limited to this. However, other locking mechanisms may be employed. For example, as shown by the female terminal waterproof connector housing 60 in FIG. 7, the upper locking hole 9 is also provided in the upper plate 6a of the terminal connecting portion 2a, and the upper locking protrusion 71 of the upper lance 70 is engaged with this. A configuration is mentioned.

  That is, as in the above embodiment, the upper wall 69 of the rectangular tubular chamber 63 of the terminal accommodating chamber 62 is formed with a one-handed upper lance 70 from the front to the rear, and above the upper lance 70 of the housing body 61. Further, the upper space 72 for receiving the elastic displacement in the vertical direction of the upper lance 70 is provided. However, the upper connection protrusion 71 provided at the free end of the upper lance 70 is connected to the terminal connecting portion 2a of the terminal fitting 1a in a rectangular tube shape. This is a configuration provided so as to be positioned so as to overlap the upper locking hole 9 when fitted into the chamber 63.

  As a result, when the terminal connection portion 2a is inserted into the rectangular tube-shaped chamber 63, the bottom surface 3a of the terminal connection portion 2a pushes the lower locking projection 67 of the lower lance 66 down to the lower space 68 and at the same time the upper surface 6a rises. When the upper locking projection 71 of the lance 70 is pushed up to the upper space 72 and the terminal connecting portion 2a is completely inserted into the rectangular tubular chamber 63, the upper and lower lances (70, 66) are elastically restored, Each locking projection (67, 71) rises and engages in the corresponding locking hole (4a, 9). Then, by fitting the retainer 75, the lower wedge-shaped projection 77 and the upper wedge-shaped projection 78 are fitted into the lower space 68 and the upper space 72, respectively, and the elastic displacement of the upper and lower lances is restricted, whereby the terminal connection portion 2a is Thus, it is possible to obtain a reliable retaining state at the two locking holes of the bottom plate 3a and the upper plate 6a.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a: Female terminal metal fitting 1b: Male terminal metal fitting 2a, 2b: Terminal connection part 3a, 3b: Bottom plate 4a, 4b: Locking hole 5a: Elastic contact piece 5b: Male terminal tab 6a, 6b: Upper board 7a, 7b: Wire Barrel 8a, 8b: Insulation barrel 9: Upper locking hole 10: Electric wire 11: Core wire 12: Insulation coating 13: Rubber plug 14: Lip 15: Mounting tube portion 20: Female terminal waterproof connector housing 40: Male terminal waterproof Connector housing 21, 41, 61: Housing body 22, 62: Terminal housing chamber (for small female terminal fittings)
42: Terminal accommodating chamber (for small male terminal fittings)
23, 43, 63: Square tubular chambers 24, 44, 64: Cylindrical chambers 25, 45, 65: Bottom walls 26, 46, 66: Lower lances 27, 47, 67: Lower locking projections 28, 48, 68: Lower spaces 29, 49, 69: Upper walls 30, 50, 70: Upper lances 31, 51, 71: Upper locking projections 32, 52, 72: Upper spaces 33, 53, 73: U-shaped slits 34 , 54, 74: columnar convex portions 35, 55, 75: retainers 36, 56, 76: concave portions 37, 57, 77: lower wedge-shaped projections 38, 58, 78: upper wedge-shaped projection 39: male terminal insertion port 59 : Male terminal through hole 100: Housing main body 101: Terminal accommodating chamber 102: Square tubular chamber 103: Cylindrical chamber 104: Lance 105: Locking projection 106: Lower space 107: Male terminal insertion port 108: Sealing material 110: Retainer 111: wedge-shaped protrusion 122: terminal The vessel chamber (for large female terminal fittings)

Claims (3)

A housing body made of synthetic resin having one or more terminal housing chambers in which a terminal fitting connected to the wire terminal is inserted and housed forward from the rear end thereof is fitted from the front side to the terminal housing chamber front end side of the housing body. In a waterproof connector housing provided with a synthetic resin retainer for retaining the terminal fitting,
The terminal accommodating chamber is formed in a front region of the terminal accommodating chamber, and is a corner that accommodates a rectangular tubular terminal connecting portion of the terminal fitting provided with a contact piece for obtaining an electrical connection with a counterpart terminal. A cylindrical chamber, and a cylindrical chamber that communicates with the rear region of the rectangular cylindrical chamber and is fitted with a waterproof rubber stopper fitted around the electric wire extending from the rear end side of the terminal fitting,
The rectangular tube chamber includes a lower lance that is provided in a cantilevered manner from the rear end side of the rectangular tube chamber toward the front on the bottom wall, and a rectangular tube chamber that is elastically displaced in the vertical direction on the upper wall. An upper lance that can be elastically displaced in the vertical direction provided in a cantilevered manner from the front end side to the rear,
The lower lance is formed near the free end thereof, and is engaged from below with a locking hole formed in the bottom plate of the terminal connection portion when the terminal connection portion of the terminal fitting is fitted into the rectangular tube-shaped chamber. Has a lower locking projection that mates,
The upper lance is formed at a free end thereof, and has an upper locking projection that engages with an upper plate of the terminal connection portion when the terminal connection portion of the terminal fitting is fitted into the rectangular tube-shaped chamber,
The housing body has a lower space for receiving the elastic displacement of the lower lance below the lower lance, and an upper space for receiving the elastic displacement of the upper lance on the upper lance,
When the retainer is fitted to the front end side of the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing body from the front, the retainer is fitted into the lower space and the upper space, respectively, and regulates the elastic displacement of the lower lance and the upper lance. A waterproof connector housing comprising a wedge-shaped protrusion and an upper wedge-shaped protrusion. The rectangular tubular chamber is formed by a hollow chamber in a columnar convex portion that fits into a concave portion formed in the retainer,
The upper lance is configured to be elastically displaceable by being partially cut out by a U-shaped slit from the upper wall of the rectangular tube-shaped chamber composed of the plate-like wall of the columnar convex portion,
The waterproof connector housing according to claim 1, wherein the slit is sealed by fitting the concave portion of the retainer and the columnar convex portion.   3. The waterproof connector housing according to claim 1, wherein the upper lance and the upper locking projection are arranged at positions where rear end surfaces thereof are projected into an opening surface of the cylindrical chamber.

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