JP2023102385A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

To easily secure the thickness of a partition wall even if cavities are arranged at a narrow pitch.SOLUTION: A housing 20 of a connector 10 includes a recessed portion 22 which is recessed over a rear surface 20A of the housing 20 from an inner surface of a cavity 21. The recessed portion 22 is provided for each of the cavities 21 one by one. Each of the plurality of recessed portions 22 includes: an end side recessed portion 22A which is provided, in a recessed manner, in a rear surface 47A of each of a pair of side walls 47; and a center side recessed portion 22B which is provided, in a recessed manner, in a rear surface 44A of a partition wall 44. One partition wall 43 of a plurality of partition walls 43 and 44 does not have the center side recessed portion 22B, and the other partition wall 44 excluding the one partition wall 43 includes one center side recessed portion 22B.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present disclosure relates to connectors.

The connector disclosed in Patent Literature 1 includes a housing that accommodates terminal fittings. The housing is provided with a plurality of cavities in parallel in the width direction into which terminal fittings can be inserted. Patent Documents 2 to 4 also disclose connectors having similar configurations.

JP 2016-29633 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-100236 JP 2018-85272 A JP 2014-89808 A JP 2020-72056 A

There is a demand for miniaturization of connectors as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 5. Therefore, it is conceivable to narrow the pitch between the cavities in the width direction and thin the partition wall that partitions the adjacent cavities. However, there may be cases where it is difficult to make the partition walls thinner.

Therefore, the present disclosure provides a technology that facilitates securing the thickness of the partition wall even if the pitch between the cavities is narrow.

The connector of the present disclosure is
comprising a terminal fitting and a housing,
The housing is
a plurality of cavities that accommodate the terminal fittings and are arranged side by side in the width direction;
a partition wall partitioning the cavities adjacent in the width direction;
a pair of side walls provided thicker than the partition wall at both ends of the housing in the width direction;
an electric wire connected to the terminal fitting is pulled out from the rear surface of the housing;
the housing has a recess extending from the inner surface of the cavity to the rear surface of the housing;
one recess is provided in each of the plurality of cavities;
The plurality of recesses are
end-side recesses recessed in the respective rear surfaces of the pair of side walls;
a central recess recessed in the rear surface of the partition wall,
one of the plurality of partition walls does not have the central recess,
The partition walls other than the one partition wall have one central concave portion.

According to the present disclosure, it becomes easy to ensure the thickness of the partition wall even if the pitch between the cavities is narrow.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the connector as seen from the front side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connector as seen from the rear side. FIG. 3 is a rear view of the connector with terminal fittings omitted. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the first housing. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the second housing. 6 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3. FIG. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of FIG. 6 to which electric wires with terminal fittings are added. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a terminal fitting. FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional view of the connector.

[Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure]
First, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described.
The connector of the present disclosure is
(1) provided with a terminal fitting and a housing,
The housing is
a plurality of cavities that accommodate the terminal fittings and are arranged side by side in the width direction;
a partition wall partitioning the cavities adjacent in the width direction;
a pair of side walls provided thicker than the partition wall at both ends of the housing in the width direction;
an electric wire connected to the terminal fitting is pulled out from the rear surface of the housing;
the housing has a recess extending from the inner surface of the cavity to the rear surface of the housing;
one recess is provided in each of the plurality of cavities;
The plurality of recesses are
end-side recesses recessed in the respective rear surfaces of the pair of side walls;
a central recess recessed in the rear surface of the partition wall,
one of the plurality of partition walls does not have the central recess,
The partition walls other than the one partition wall have one central concave portion.
According to the configuration of the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the size of the housing in the width direction by inserting the electric wire drawn out from the rear surface of the housing into the concave portion that is recessed from the inner surface to the rear surface of the cavity. In addition, since the side wall is thicker than the partition wall, it is easy to secure the thickness even if the end side concave portion is provided. In addition, since the center recess is provided in the partition walls other than one partition wall among the plurality of partition walls, a sufficient thickness can be ensured for one partition wall in which the center recess is not provided. Further, in the other partition wall, since one central recess is provided, it becomes easier to secure the thickness compared to the configuration in which two or more are provided. Therefore, even if the spacing between the cavities in the width direction is narrow, it is easy to ensure the thickness of the partition walls.
(2) It is preferable that the central recess is formed in the partition wall closer to the side wall with respect to the widthwise center of the housing in the cavity located on the widthwise center side.
According to this configuration, the arrangement of the central concave portions on both sides in the width direction of the housing is well balanced. Furthermore, since the partition wall located at the center in the width direction of the housing is not provided with a concave portion, it becomes easier to ensure the strength of such a partition wall.
(3) It is preferable that the amount of recess from the inner surface of the cavity of the end-side recess is larger than the amount of recess from the inner surface of the cavity of the center-side recess.
According to this configuration, since the side wall is thicker than the partition wall, it is easy to secure the thickness of the side wall even if the side wall is provided with the end side recess having a larger recess amount than the center side recess.

[Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure]
[Example 1]
A first embodiment embodying the terminal fitting of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. FIG. In the first embodiment, the directions shown in FIGS. 1 to 9 are defined as upward and downward as they are. Regarding left and right directions, the directions shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 6, and 7 are defined as left and right. As for the front-rear direction, the left and right directions shown in FIGS. 1, 8, and 9 are defined as front and rear, respectively.

(connector configuration)
The connector 10 of Example 1 is a laminated connector. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector 10 includes a housing 20 and terminal fittings 30. As shown in FIG. The housing 20 accommodates terminal fittings 30 . By fitting the housing 20 to a mating housing (not shown) of a mating connector (not shown), the terminal fittings 30 and the mating terminal fittings (not shown) are connected.

The housing 20 is made of synthetic resin. The housing 20 has a plurality of cavities 21 into which the terminal fittings 30 can be inserted, as shown in FIGS. A plurality of cavities 21 are arranged side by side in the width direction (horizontal direction). The cavity 21 has a shape penetrating the housing 20 in the front-rear direction. When the housing 20 is mated with the mating housing, the tabs of the mating terminal fittings enter the respective cavities 21 .

The housing 20 includes a first housing 40 and a second housing 50, as shown in FIGS. 1-3. The first housing 40 and the second housing 50 are laminated together.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first housing 40 has four cavities 21 arranged side by side in the width direction (horizontal direction). The first housing 40 is provided with an elastically deformable lance 41 projecting into the cavity 21, as shown in FIG. The lance 41 restricts the rearward withdrawal of the terminal fitting 30 accommodated in the cavity 21 . A pair of first protrusions 42 are provided on the first housing 40 . A first protrusion 42 is provided behind the pair of lances 41 on the left side and behind the pair of lances 41 on the right side.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first housing 40 is provided with partition walls 43 and 44 that partition the cavities 21 adjacent in the width direction (left and right direction). The partition wall 43 is provided in the widthwise center of the first housing 40 (between the pair of cavities 21 on the widthwise center side). The partition walls 44 are provided on both sides in the width direction of the partition wall 43 (end sides of the pair of cavities 21 on the center side in the width direction). The partition walls 43 and 44 extend vertically. The wall thickness of the partition wall 44 is thicker than the wall thickness of the partition wall 43 .

As shown in FIG. 4 , in the first housing 40 , a beam portion 45 is provided behind the pair of first convex portions 42 . The beam portion 45 extends in the width direction (horizontal direction) so as to be continuous with the upper ends of the pair of side walls 47 and the upper ends of the partition walls 43 and 44, which will be described later. The rear ends of the partition walls 43 and 44 are provided with recesses 46 that are recessed forward when viewed from above. The recess 46 is recessed to the rear end of the beam portion 45 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the first housing 40 is provided with side walls 47 at both ends in the width direction (horizontal direction). The side wall 47 extends vertically. The wall thickness of the side wall 47 is thicker than the wall thickness of the partition walls 43,44.

As shown in FIG. 4, the front end of the first housing 40 is provided with a pair of left and right L-shaped first engaged portions 48 projecting inward in the width direction (horizontal direction). The first locked portion 48 locks a second locking portion 58, which will be described later.

At the rear end of the first housing 40, a first locking portion 49 (see FIG. 4) is provided on the upper side of each side wall 47 and protrudes inward in the width direction (horizontal direction). When the second housing 50 is temporarily locked with respect to the first housing 40, the first locking portion 49 locks onto a second locked portion 59A, which will be described later. When the second housing 50 is fully locked with respect to the first housing 40, the first locking portion 49 is locked to a third locked portion 59B, which will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 3, the second housing 50 has four cavities 21 arranged side by side in the width direction (horizontal direction). As shown in FIG. 5, the second housing 50 is provided with an elastically deformable lance 51 projecting into the cavity 21 . The lance 51 engages from the rear with a projecting portion 34 (described later) of the terminal fitting 30 accommodated in the cavity 21 to restrict the terminal fitting 30 from coming out rearward. The second housing 50 is provided with second protrusions 52A and 52B. Second protrusions 52A are provided behind the lances 51 on both ends in the width direction. A second convex portion 52B is provided behind the pair of lances 51 on the center side in the width direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the second housing 50 is provided with partition walls 53 and 54 that partition the cavities 21 adjacent to each other in the width direction (horizontal direction). The partition wall 53 is provided in the widthwise center of the second housing 50 (between the pair of cavities 21 on the widthwise center side). The partition walls 54 are provided on both sides in the width direction of the partition wall 53 (end sides of the pair of cavities 21 on the center side in the width direction). The partition walls 53 and 54 extend vertically. The wall thickness of the partition wall 54 is thicker than the wall thickness of the partition wall 53 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the second housing 50 is provided with side walls 57 at both ends in the width direction (horizontal direction). The side wall 57 extends vertically. The wall thickness of the side wall 57 is thicker than the wall thickness of the partition walls 53,54.

As shown in FIG. 5, on the lower surface side of the second housing 50, at a position slightly forward of the rear end, an opening 55 extending in the width direction (horizontal direction) and opening downward is provided. The opening 55 is provided so as to communicate with each cavity 21 .

As shown in FIG. 5, the front end of the second housing 50 is provided with a pair of left and right second locking portions 58 projecting outward in the width direction (horizontal direction). Each side wall 57 of the second housing 50 is provided with a second locked portion 59A and a third locked portion 59B projecting outward in the width direction (horizontal direction). The second locked portion 59A and the third locked portion 59B are provided at positions overlapping the opening 55 in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 8, the terminal fitting 30 has an elongated shape as a whole in the front-rear direction. The terminal fitting 30 has a box portion 31 , a crimping portion 32 and an overhanging portion 33 . The box portion 31 constitutes the front portion of the terminal fitting 30 . The box part 31 is each cylindrical. A projecting portion 34 is provided at the front end of the box portion 31 . The projecting portion 34 is formed by deforming a part of the wall portion that constitutes the box portion 31 . As shown in FIG. 9 , when the terminal fitting 30 is accommodated in the cavity 21 , the projecting portion 34 abuts against the lance 41 from the front, thereby restricting the terminal fitting 30 from coming out rearward. The crimp portion 32 has an open barrel shape. The crimp portion 32 has a first barrel 32A and a second barrel 32B. The first barrel 32A crimps a lead wire 35A led out from the wire 35. As shown in FIG. The second barrel 32B is fixed to the electric wire 35 by crimping the coating of the electric wire 35. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, the electric wire 35 connected to the terminal fitting 30 is pulled out rearward of the housing 20 . The projecting portion 33 is provided between the box portion 31 and the crimping portion 32 .

When the first housing 40 and the second housing 50 are stacked, the lances 41 and 51 are arranged back to back as shown in FIG. The first protrusion 42 and the second protrusions 52A and 52B are meshed in the width direction (horizontal direction). As shown in FIG. 9, the beam portion 45 enters into the opening portion 55 . The terminal fitting 30 accommodated in the cavity 21 of the first housing 40 is prevented from coming out rearward by the projecting portion 33 coming into contact with the second projecting portions 52A and 52B (see FIG. 5) from the front. Similarly, the terminal fitting 30 accommodated in the cavity 21 of the second housing 50 is prevented from coming out rearward by the projecting portion 33 coming into contact with the first projecting portion 42 from the front, as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the housing 20 has a recessed portion 22 extending from the inner surface of the cavity 21 to the rear surface 20A of the housing 20. As shown in FIG. One concave portion 22 is provided for each of the plurality of cavities 21 . The depth of the recess 22 is, for example, half or more of the thickness of the partition walls 44 and 54 . The plurality of recesses 22 aligned in the width direction (horizontal direction) are positioned at the same height in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 7, the size of the housing 20 in the width direction can be reduced by allowing the electric wires 35 drawn out from the rear surface 20A of the housing 20 to enter the recess 22 .

As shown in FIG. 9 , the recess 22 overlaps the crimping portion 32 of the terminal fitting 30 accommodated in the cavity 21 and the end of the wire 35 . Specifically, the recess 22 extends from the rear surface 20A of the housing 20 to a position in front of the second barrel 32B (the rear end of the first barrel 32A).

As shown in FIG. 6, the recess 22 has a first side 24 and a second side 25 . The first side surface 24 is a surface along the vertical direction and the front-rear direction. The second side surface 25 is tapered toward the inside of the cavity 21 with respect to the first side surface 24 . As shown in FIG. 9, the rear end of the cavity 21 of the first housing 40 is provided with an inclined portion 26 that slopes downward toward the rear. As shown in FIG. 7, the electric wire 35 is in contact with the first side surface 24 of the recess 22 and the surface of the cavity 21 opposite to the first side surface 24 in the left-right direction.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the housing 20, the cavities 21 positioned at the ends in the width direction (left-right direction) are referred to as cavities 21A, and the cavities 21 positioned at the center side in the width direction (left-right direction) are referred to as cavities 21B.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the first housing 40, the plurality of recesses 22 includes end side recesses 22A and center side recesses 22B. 22 A of end side recessed parts are provided in the cavity 21A. The end-side recessed portions 22A are recessed in the rear surfaces 47A of the pair of side walls 47, respectively. The central recessed portion 22B is provided in the cavity 21B. The central recess 22B is recessed in the rear surface 44A of the partition wall 44. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, one partition wall (partition wall 43) of the plurality of partition walls 43 and 44 does not have the central recess 22B. The partition walls (partition walls 44) other than one partition wall (partition wall 43) have one central recess 22B. That is, two or more central recesses 22B are not provided in each of the pair of partition walls 44 . Therefore, the thickness of the partition wall 43, which is not provided with the central recess 22B, can be sufficiently ensured. In addition, since one central recess 22B is provided in the partition wall 44, it is easier to secure the thickness compared to a configuration in which two or more recesses are provided. Therefore, even if the spacing between the cavities 21 in the width direction (horizontal direction) is narrow, it is easy to ensure the thickness of the partition walls 43 and 44 .

As shown in FIG. 6, the center recess 22B is formed in the partition wall 44 near the side wall 47 with respect to the center of the first housing 40 in the width direction in the cavity 21B (the cavity on the center side in the width direction). That is, in the right cavity 21B, the right partition wall 44 is provided with the central recess 22B. In the left cavity 21B, the left partition wall 44 is provided with a central recess 22B. Therefore, the balance of the arrangement of the central recesses 22B on both sides in the width direction of the housing 20 is improved, and the balance in the direction in which the electric wires 35 are pulled out from the rear surface 20A of the housing 20 is also improved. Moreover, since the partition wall 43 is not provided with the concave portion 22, the strength of the partition wall 43 can be easily ensured.

As shown in FIG. 6, the recess amount D1 of the end side recess 22A provided in the side wall 47 from the inner surface of the cavity 21 is larger than the recess amount D2 of the center side recess 22B provided in the partition wall 44 from the inner surface of the cavity 21. Therefore, even if the side wall 47 is provided with the end side recess 22A having a larger recess amount than the center side recess 22B, the thickness of the side wall 47 can be easily secured.

The concave portion 22 provided in the second housing 50 also has the same configuration as the concave portion 22 provided in the first housing 40 . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the end-side recessed portions 22A are recessed in the rear surfaces 57A of the pair of side walls 57, respectively. The central recess 22B is recessed in the rear surface 54A of the partition wall 54. As shown in FIG. One partition wall (partition wall 53) of the plurality of partition walls 53 and 54 does not have the central recess 22B. The partition walls (partition walls 54) other than one partition wall (partition wall 53) have one central recess 22B. The center recess 22B is formed in the partition wall 54 near the side wall 57 with respect to the center of the second housing 50 in the width direction in the cavity 21B (the cavity on the center side in the width direction). The recessed amount from the inner surface of the cavity 21 of the end recessed portion 22A provided in the side wall 57 is larger than the recessed amount from the inner surface of the cavity 21 of the central recessed portion 22B provided in the partition wall 54 .

(Effect of Example 1)
In the connector 10 of the first embodiment, the width of the housing 20 can be reduced by the amount that the electric wire 35 drawn out from the rear surface 20A of the housing 20 is inserted into the recess 22 that is recessed from the inner surface of the cavity 21 to the rear surface 20A. In addition, since the side walls 47, 57 are thicker than the partition walls 43, 44, 53, 54, it is easy to secure the thickness even when the end recess 22A is provided. In addition, since the central recessed portion 22B is provided in the partition walls (partition walls 44, 54) other than one of the plurality of partition walls 43, 44, 53, 54 (partition walls 43, 53), the one partition wall 43, 53 in which the central recessed portion 22B is not provided can be sufficiently thick. In addition, since one center recess 22B is provided in the partition walls 44 and 54, it is easier to secure the thickness compared to a configuration in which two or more recesses are provided. Therefore, even if the spacing between the cavities 21 in the width direction is narrow, the thickness of the partition walls 43, 44, 53, 54 can be easily ensured.

Further, the central recessed portion 22B is formed in the partition walls 44, 54 near the side walls 47, 57, respectively, with respect to the widthwise center of the housing 20 in the cavity 21 positioned at the widthwise central side. This improves the balance of the placement of the center recesses 22B on both sides of the housing 20 in the width direction. Furthermore, since the recess 22 is not provided in the partition walls 43 and 53 positioned most centrally in the width direction of the housing 20, the strength of such partition walls 43 and 53 can be easily ensured.

Furthermore, the recessed amount from the inner surface of the cavity 21 of the end side recessed part 22A is larger than the recessed amount from the inner surface of the cavity 21 of the center side recessed part 22B. As a result, the sidewalls 47, 57 are thicker than the partition walls 43, 44, 53, 54. Therefore, even if the sidewalls 47, 57 are provided with the end recesses 22A having a larger recess than the central recesses 22B, the thickness of the sidewalls 47, 57 can be easily secured.

[Other embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the first embodiment illustrated by the above description and drawings, but is indicated by the claims. The present invention includes all modifications within the meaning and equivalents of the claims and the scope of the claims, and is intended to include the following embodiments.
Although the number of cavities 21 arranged in the left-right direction is four in the first embodiment, the number may be five or more.
In the first embodiment, the partition walls 43 and 53 are not provided with the recess 22 , but the partition walls 44 and 54 may not be provided with the recess 22 . Specifically, one concave portion 22 of the left and right cavities 21</b>B may be provided in the partition walls 43 and 53 .
In the first embodiment described above, the first housing 40 and the second housing 50 may have partition walls in which the recesses 22 are not provided at different positions in the left-right direction.
In the first embodiment, the wall thickness of the partition wall 44 is thicker than the wall thickness of the partition wall 43, but the thickness may be the same, or the wall thickness of the partition wall 43 may be thicker.
Although the connector 10 is a laminated connector in the first embodiment, it may be a single-layer connector.
In the connector 10 which is the laminated connector of the first embodiment or the connector configured as a single layer connector, the housing 20 may be provided with cavities 21 in other stages such as one stage or three stages in addition to the upper and lower two stages of cavities 21 .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Connector 20... Housing 20A... Rear surface 21, 21A, 21B... Cavity 22... Recess 22A... End side recess 22B... Center side recess 24... First side surface 25... Second side surface 26... Inclined part 30... Terminal metal fitting 31... Box part 32... Crimping part 32A... First barrel 32B... Second barrel 33... Protruding part 34... Protruding part 35... Electric wire 35A... Lead wire 40... First housing 41... Lance 42 First convex portions 43, 44, 53, 54 Partition wall 44A Rear surface 45 Beam portion 46 Recesses 47, 57 Side wall 47A Rear surface 48 First locked portion 49 First locking portion 50 Second housing 51 Lances 52A, 52B Second convex portion 54A Rear surface 55 Opening 57 Side wall 57A Rear surface 58 Second locking portion 59A Second Locked portion 59B... Third locked portion

Claims (3)

comprising a terminal fitting and a housing,
The housing is
a plurality of cavities that accommodate the terminal fittings and are arranged side by side in the width direction;
a partition wall partitioning the cavities adjacent in the width direction;
a pair of side walls provided thicker than the partition wall at both ends of the housing in the width direction;
an electric wire connected to the terminal fitting is pulled out from the rear surface of the housing;
the housing has a recess extending from the inner surface of the cavity to the rear surface of the housing;
one recess is provided in each of the plurality of cavities;
The plurality of recesses are
end-side recesses recessed in the respective rear surfaces of the pair of side walls;
a central recess recessed in the rear surface of the partition wall,
one of the plurality of partition walls does not have the central recess,
The connector, wherein the partition walls other than the one partition wall have one central concave portion. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein said central recessed portion is formed in said partition wall closer to said side wall than said widthwise center of said housing in said cavity located on said widthwise center side. 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the amount of recess from the inner surface of said cavity of said end side recess is larger than the amount of recess from said inner surface of said cavity of said center side recess.

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