JP2024024681A - Electric connector and electric connector pair including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably ensure the holding strength of a retainer to a housing of a connector.

SOLUTION: An electric connector 5 comprises: a plurality of metal terminals 31; a housing 9 that has a plurality of terminal housing chambers 47 into which the plurality of metal terminals 31 are inserted, and a retainer insertion hole 51 extending in a transverse direction orthogonal to a fore-and-aft direction corresponding to an insertion direction of the plurality of metal terminals 31; and a retainer 35 that is inserted into the retainer insertion hole to retain the metal terminals 31 inserted into the terminal housing chambers 47. The retainer has a part to be locked 57 that is locked to the housing. The housing has an upper wall 41, a lower wall 42, a left wall 43, and a right wall 44 which form an outer shell of the housing. The retainer insertion hole opens in at least one of the left wall and the right wall. A groove 53 extending in the transverse direction and forming part of the retainer insertion hole is formed in an inner surface side of the upper wall or the lower wall. The groove is formed with a locking part 55 that locks the part to be locked of the retainer.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

COPYRIGHT: (C)2024,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an electrical connector equipped with a retainer that holds a plurality of metal terminals housed in a housing, and an electrical connector pair equipped with the same.

Conventionally, electrical connectors equipped with retainers that prevent the metal terminals from coming out of the housing by locking a plurality of metal terminals inserted into the terminal accommodating chambers of the housing have been in widespread use (see Patent Document 1). reference). On the other hand, the retainer is inserted into a retainer insertion hole opened in a side wall forming the outer shell of the housing, but if an external force acts in a direction opposite to the insertion direction, the retainer may come off from the retainer insertion hole.

In order to prevent such detachment of the retainer, for example, an electrical connector is provided in which a locking protrusion formed on the flexible arm of the retainer is locked to an outer wall (side wall) defining the opening of the retainer insertion hole of the housing. has been developed (see Patent Document 2). Furthermore, for example, an electrical connector has been developed in which a locking protrusion formed on a retainer is locked to a side wall that partitions a plurality of cavities (terminal accommodating chambers) of a housing (see Patent Document 3).

Utility Model Publication No. 3-097875 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-16625 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-133216

In the prior art described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the locking protrusions formed on the retainer are connected to the outer wall and inner wall of the housing (terminals in which metal terminals are housed, respectively) disposed perpendicularly to the inserting direction of the retainer. Since the retainer is locked to the housing (side wall of the housing chamber), the holding strength of the retainer to the housing (i.e., the ability to prevent the retainer from detaching from the housing) depends on the rigidity and strength of the members constituting the outer and inner walls of the housing (i.e., (wall thickness, shape, etc.)

Therefore, in the conventional technology described above, if there are restrictions on changing the thickness of the outer wall or inner wall due to the design of the housing, it may be difficult to ensure sufficient strength to hold the retainer relative to the housing.

The present invention was devised in view of the problems of the prior art, and its main purpose is to provide an electrical connector that can stably secure the strength of holding the retainer to the housing, and an electrical connector pair equipped with the same. purpose.

In a first aspect of the present invention, the electrical connector (5) includes a plurality of metal terminals (31), a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers (47) into which the plurality of metal terminals are respectively inserted, and a plurality of terminal storage chambers (47) into which the plurality of metal terminals are respectively inserted. A housing (9) having a retainer insertion hole (51) extending in the left-right direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction corresponding to the insertion direction of the metal terminal; a retainer (35) that holds the metal terminal, the retainer has a locked part (57) that is locked to the housing, and the housing has an upper wall (41) that forms an outer shell thereof. ), a lower wall (42), a left wall (43), and a right wall (44), the retainer insertion hole is opened in at least one of the left wall and the right wall, and the retainer insertion hole is opened in at least one of the left wall and the right wall. A groove (53) extending in the left-right direction and forming a part of the retainer insertion hole is formed on the inner surface of the lower wall, and the groove locks the locked portion of the retainer. A locking portion (55) is formed.

According to this, a locking part that locks the locked part of the retainer is formed in the groove provided on the inner surface of the upper wall or the lower wall, so that the strength of holding the retainer against the housing is stably ensured. It becomes possible to do so.

In a second aspect of the invention, the groove is defined by a front surface (53A), a rear surface (53B), and a bottom surface (53C), and the locking portion is formed on the front surface or the rear surface. The configuration is as follows.

According to this, since the locking portion is formed on a surface other than the bottom surface of the groove, formation of the locking portion in the groove can be prevented from affecting the thickness of the upper wall or the lower wall of the housing.

In a third aspect of the present invention, the locked portion of the retainer is a protrusion (57) protruding toward the front or rear of the retainer, and the retainer is an insertable portion on which the protrusion is formed. a side part (71) and a base part (73) connected to the insertion side part, and the width of the insertion side part in the front-rear direction including the protrusion is less than or equal to the width of the base part in the front-rear direction; do.

According to this, even when a protrusion is provided as a locked part of the retainer, the width in the longitudinal direction necessary for stably holding the retainer relative to the housing at the base can be maintained while suppressing an increase in the width in the longitudinal direction of the retainer. Can be secured.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, the housing includes a plurality of inner walls (49) extending in the front-rear direction between the upper wall and the lower wall, and arranged at predetermined intervals in the left-right direction. The plurality of inner walls each have a notch (59) forming the left and right side walls of each of the terminal accommodating chambers and forming a part of the retainer insertion hole. The notch (59A) in the inner wall facing the insertion side of the retainer has a smaller width in the front-rear direction than the notch (59B) in the inner wall facing the base of the retainer. .

According to this, by providing an inner wall having notches with different widths in the anteroposterior direction so as to correspond to the insertion side and the base, a retainer with a smaller width in the anteroposterior direction can be used as a retainer with a larger width in the insertion side and the anteroposterior direction. The base of each can be stably held.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the retainer, the insertion side portion is provided with a long hole (87) that is arranged inside the protrusion and passes through the insertion side portion in the vertical direction. do.

According to this, the portion between the protrusion and the elongated hole of the retainer can be easily deformed, so that the protrusion is easily locked to the locking part of the housing.

In a sixth aspect of the present invention, an elastic deformation portion (89) is formed between the projection of the retainer and the elongated hole, the elastic deformation portion (89) being elastically deformed when the projection is locked in the locking portion. , the vertical width of the elastic deformation portion is smaller than the maximum value of the vertical width of the entire insertion side portion.

According to this, since the vertical width of the elastic deformation part is smaller than the maximum vertical width of the entire insertion side part, the rigidity of the insertion side part is ensured as much as possible, while the elasticity between the protrusion of the retainer and the elongated hole is This prevents the deformation of the deformable portion from being inhibited.

In a seventh aspect of the present invention, the retainer has a terminal locking part that locks the plurality of metal terminals, and the terminal locking part (83, 93) has a cross section perpendicular to the left-right direction. The structure is such that a portion protrudes forward toward the terminal accommodating chamber side.

According to this, even if a locking portion that locks the locked portion of the retainer is formed in a groove provided on the inner surface side of the upper wall or the lower wall, excessive expansion of the retainer insertion hole (i.e., The metal terminal can be stably locked by the retainer while suppressing the decrease in rigidity of the metal terminal.

In an eighth aspect of the present invention, the middle portion of the upper wall or the lower wall in the left-right direction in which the groove is formed in the housing is configured to be disposed inwardly of the housing to be connected to the electrical connector. A housing locking portion (61) is formed for locking the housing of another electrical connector forming the retainer, and a housing locking portion (61) corresponding to the housing locking portion is formed in the intermediate portion in the left-right direction on the side of the retainer opposite to the groove. The structure is such that recesses (95) are arranged as shown in FIG.

According to this, when an electrical connector is connected to a paired electrical connector, the retainer prevents the housing locking portion from moving inward (i.e., the connection between the electrical connector and the other electrical connector). can be avoided.

In a ninth aspect of the present invention, the metal terminal is a female metal terminal (31) connectable to a male metal terminal (11), and the housing holds the male metal terminal. The female housing (33) is connectable to the male housing (13).

According to this, the structure for engagement between the retainer and the metal terminal can be easily secured by the female metal terminal, so that the structure of the electrical connector including the retainer is simplified.

In a tenth aspect of the present invention, the electrical connector (5) according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, and another electrical connector (3) provided so as to be connectable to the electrical connector, An electrical connector pair (1) is provided.

According to this, in the electrical connectors constituting the electrical connector pair, the locking portion that locks the locked portion of the retainer is formed in the groove provided on the inner surface side of the upper wall or the lower wall, so that the housing It becomes possible to stably secure the retaining strength of the retainer.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily attach the louver material to a predetermined position in a building.

Perspective view of electrical connector pair 1 An exploded perspective view of the female connector 5 according to the embodiment Front view of female housing 33 Left side view of female housing 33 (A) A perspective view of the upper surface side and (B) a perspective view of the lower surface side of the retainer 35 VI-VI cross-sectional view of the retainer 35 shown in FIG. 5(A) An explanatory diagram showing the operation of attaching the retainer 35 to the female housing 33 (the female housing 33 corresponds to the cross section taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 3). An explanatory diagram showing the operation of attaching the retainer to the female housing (the female housing 33 corresponds to the cross section taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 3). (A) A sectional view taken along the line IXa-IXa in FIG. 3 and (B) a sectional view taken along the line IXb-IXb in FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An electrical connector and an electrical connector pair including the same according to embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. For convenience of explanation, the up-down, front-back, and left-right directions are defined as indicated by arrows in FIG. 1 and the like. However, the arrangement of the electrical connector and the electrical connector pair that is actually used is not limited to these directions.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electrical connector pair 1 is a device that electrically connects electric wires or electric wires and electric appliances (circuit boards, etc.). The electrical connector pair 1 includes a male connector 3 and a female connector 5 (electrical connectors) that are connectable to each other.

The male connector 3 includes a plurality of male metal terminals (hereinafter referred to as male terminals) 11 and a resin male housing 13 that accommodates the male terminals 11.

The plurality of male terminals 11 each have a pin-shaped tip 11A, and are arranged in a row at predetermined intervals within the male housing 13.

The male housing 13 has a box shape with a substantially rectangular opening 13A on the rear side. The male housing 13 has an upper wall 15, a lower wall 16, a left wall 17, a right wall 18, and a front wall 19, which form the outer shell. The opening 13A is defined by the rear edges of the upper wall 15, the lower wall 16, the left wall 17, and the right wall 18. The male housing 13 is fixed to the circuit board 21 by a mounting bracket 23 with its lower wall 16 in contact with the circuit board 21 . The circuit board 21 is electrically connected to the plurality of male terminals 11. Note that the plurality of male terminals 11 may be connected to electric wires instead of the circuit board 21, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2, the female connector 5 includes a plurality of female metal terminals (hereinafter referred to as female terminals) 31, a female housing 33 made of resin that accommodates the female terminals 31, and a female housing 33 that accommodates the female terminals 31. A retainer 35 made of resin is attached to the housing 33.

Each female terminal 31 has a rectangular cylindrical portion 31A located on the front side and a crimp portion 31B located on the rear side. An electric wire 34 is connected to each crimp portion 31B.

The female housing 33 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and includes an upper wall 41, a lower wall 42, a front wall 43 (see FIG. 3), a rear wall 44, a left wall 45, and a right wall 46, which form the outer shell. The female housing 33 has a complementary structure that can be connected to the male housing 13. The female housing 33 can be fitted into the male housing 13 by being inserted into the male housing 13 through the opening 13A of the male housing 13, except for a portion (rear part) thereof.

The female housing 33 is formed with a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 47 into which the plurality of female terminals 31 are respectively inserted. Each terminal accommodating chamber 47 has a space having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the space extends in the front-rear direction so as to penetrate the front wall 43 and the rear wall 44 . The upper and lower surfaces of each terminal accommodating chamber 47 are generally defined by the inner surfaces of the upper wall 41 and the lower wall 42, respectively. Further, the left and right side surfaces of each terminal accommodating chamber 47 are generally defined by any one of a plurality of inner walls 49, a left wall 45, and a right wall 46 extending in the front-rear direction between the upper wall and the lower wall. That is, the upper wall 41 and the lower wall 42 function as the upper wall and lower wall of the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 47. Moreover, the inner wall 49, the left wall 45, and the right wall 46 also function as side walls of the plurality of terminal storage chambers 47.

An opening 45A on the insertion side of the retainer insertion hole 51 into which the retainer 35 is inserted is formed in the left wall 45 of the female housing 33. The retainer insertion hole 51 extends in the left-right direction from the left wall 45 to the right wall 46 within the female housing 33. As shown in FIG. 4, the opening 45A formed in the left wall 45 has a substantially rectangular shape with rounded corners.

Regarding the retainer insertion hole 51, a groove 53 is formed on the inner surface side (lower surface side) of the upper wall 41, extending in the left-right direction and forming a part (upper part) of the retainer insertion hole 51. The groove 53 has an upwardly convex shape and is defined by a front side surface 53A, a rear side surface 53B, and a bottom surface (here, located on the upper side) 53C. A protrusion (locking portion) 55 (hereinafter referred to as housing protrusion 55, see FIGS. 7(A) and (B)) protruding forward from the rear side surface 53B is a protrusion (locking portion) formed on the retainer 35. 57 (hereinafter referred to as retainer protrusion 57). The housing protrusion 55 has an inclined surface 55A, a parallel surface 55B, and a vertical surface 55C, each of which has a rectangular shape. The left edge of the inclined surface 55A is connected to the rear surface 53B, and extends forward right from the left edge (that is, diagonally with respect to the rear surface 53B). The parallel surface 55B is connected to the right edge of the inclined surface 55A and extends to the right in parallel with the rear surface 53B. The vertical surface 55C is connected to the right edge of the parallel surface 55B and extends perpendicularly to the rear surface 53B, so that its right edge is connected to the rear surface 53B.

In this way, since the housing protrusion 55 that locks the retainer protrusion 57 is formed in the groove 53 provided on the inner surface side of the upper wall 41, the holding strength of the retainer 35 with respect to the female housing 33 is stably ensured. be done. Further, since the housing protrusion 55 is formed on the rear side surface 53B (other than the bottom surface 53C) of the groove 53 (that is, it does not protrude in the thickness direction of the upper wall 41), the housing protrusion 55 is formed in the groove 53 on the female side housing 33. This can avoid affecting the thickness of the upper wall 41. Note that the groove 53 may be formed on the inner surface side (here, located on the upper side) of the lower wall 42. Moreover, the housing protrusion 55 may be provided to protrude rearward from the front side surface 53A.

Regarding the retainer insertion hole 51, each inner wall 49 has a notch 59 formed to correspond to the cross-sectional shape of a portion (lower portion) of the retainer 35.

An opening 46A (see FIGS. 7A and 7B) is formed in the right wall 46 of the female housing 33 to expose the tip of the retainer 35. However, the opening 46A in the right wall 46 may be omitted.

The upper wall 41 of the female housing 33 has a locking claw (housing A locking portion) 61 is provided. Further, the upper wall 41 is provided with an operation piece 63 (see FIG. 1) that is operated by the user when the female housing 9 is fitted (electrically connected) to the male housing 13. It is being By pressing the operation piece 63 downward, the user displaces the periphery of the locking claw 61 on the upper wall 41 to the inside (downward) of the female housing 33 so that it is not covered by the locking portion of the male housing 13. To facilitate the locking of the locking claw 61. An opening 41A (see FIG. 2) is provided in a portion of the upper wall 41 located above the retainer insertion hole 51. A portion of the bottom surface 53C of the groove 53 is cut out by the opening 41A. The user can check the state of insertion of the retainer 35 into the retainer insertion hole 51 through the opening 41A.

The lower wall 42 of the female housing 33 is provided with a plurality of elastic locking claws 65 (FIG. 9(A), (B)) is provided. Each elastic locking pawl 65 is provided so as to be displaceable substantially in the vertical direction, so that each female terminal 31 can be placed in a normal accommodation position (that is, a state in which each female terminal 31 is completely inserted into the terminal accommodation chamber 47). In some cases, it is inserted into an opening formed in the bottom wall of the cylindrical portion 31A.

The retainer 35 holds the plurality of female terminals 31 inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 47 of the female housing 33. More specifically, the retainer 35 is inserted into the retainer insertion hole 51 of the female housing 33 and engages with each female terminal 31 in the normal housing position, thereby causing each female terminal 31 to move rearward. Regulate movement. As a result, rearward movement of each female terminal 31 is doubly regulated by the elastic locking claw 65 of the female housing 33 and the retainer 35.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the retainer 35 includes an insertion side portion 71 located on the insertion side of the female housing 33, a base portion 73 continuous to the rear of the insertion side portion 71, and a base portion 73 located on the insertion side of the female housing 33. It has a flange portion 75 formed at the rear end.

The insertion side part 71 has an upper stage part 81, a middle stage part 82, and a lower stage part (terminal locking part) 83, as shown in FIG. 5(B). A retainer protrusion 57 that is engaged with the housing protrusion 55 is provided in a protruding manner on the rear surface 81A of the upper stage portion 81 . The retainer protrusion 57 has a rectangular inclined surface 57A, a parallel surface 57B, and a vertical surface 57C. The right edge of the inclined surface 57A is connected to the rear surface 81A, and extends from the right edge toward the left rear (that is, diagonally with respect to the rear surface 81A). The parallel surface 57B is connected to the left edge (rearward in the insertion direction) of the inclined surface 57A, and extends to the left in parallel with the rear surface 81A. The vertical surface 57C is connected to the left edge of the parallel surface 57B and extends perpendicularly to the rear surface 81A, so that its left edge is connected to the rear surface 81A.

Further, on the inside (front) of the locking protrusion 85 in the upper stage part 81, a long hole 87 is provided that passes through the upper stage part 81 in the vertical direction. Thereby, the portion between the retainer protrusion 57 and the elongated hole 87 functions as an elastic deformation portion 89 that is elastically deformed when the retainer protrusion 57 is engaged with the housing protrusion 55 . The vertical width of the elastically deformable portion 89 (that is, the upper stage portion 81) is smaller than the maximum value of the vertical width of the entire insertion side portion 71, as also shown in FIG. Thereby, while ensuring the rigidity of the insertion side portion 71 as much as possible, it is possible to avoid hindering the deformation of the elastic deformation portion 89 between the retainer protrusion 57 and the elongated hole.

The front edge 87A of the elongated hole 87 extends further forward beyond the rear surface 82A of the middle section 82, so that the elongated hole 87 is visible when viewed from below the retainer 35 (see FIG. 5(B)). has a smaller width in the longitudinal direction than when viewed from above (see FIG. 5(A)). With such a configuration, the rigidity of the insertion side part 71 is ensured by the middle part 82, the thickness of the elastic deformation part 89 (that is, the upper part 81) is made smaller, and the width of the elongated hole 87 in the front-rear direction is made larger. (In other words, the retainer protrusion 57 can be easily displaced when engaged with the housing protrusion 55).

In the insertion side portion 71 , the middle section 82 has a narrower width in the front-rear direction than the upper section 81 . Further, the lower stage part 83 is formed to protrude forward from the middle stage part 82 toward the terminal accommodating chamber 47 side (downward) in a cross section perpendicular to the left-right direction of the retainer 35 (see FIG. 9(B)). . The lower section 83 has a width in the front-rear direction that is narrower than that of the middle section 82 . Due to this configuration of the lower step part 83, even when the retainer protrusion 57 is formed in the groove 53 provided on the inner surface side of the upper wall 41, the retainer insertion hole 51 is excessively expanded (that is, the female housing 9 The female terminal 31 can be stably locked by the retainer 35 while suppressing a decrease in rigidity.

The base portion 73 has an upper portion 91, a middle portion 92, and a lower portion (terminal locking portion) 93, as shown in FIG. 5(A). The upper stage part 91 continues to the left of the upper stage part 81 of the insertion side part 71 (backward in the insertion direction). The middle section 92 continues to the left of the middle section 82 of the insertion side section 71 . The middle section 92 has a wider width in the front-rear direction than the middle section 82 of the insertion side section 71 . The lower step portion 93 continues to the left of the lower step portion 83 of the insertion side portion 71 .

The insertion side portion 71 including the retainer protrusion 57 has a width in the front-rear direction that is narrower than the base portion 73 in plan view. As a result, even when the retainer protrusion 57 is provided as a locked portion of the retainer 35 that is locked to the female housing 33, the retainer 35 can be attached to the female housing at the base portion 73 while suppressing an increase in the width of the retainer 35 in the longitudinal direction. It is possible to secure the width in the front-rear direction necessary to stably hold it against 33. However, the width of the insertion side portion 71 including the retainer protrusion 57 in the front-rear direction in a plan view may be set larger than the width of the base portion 73 in the front-rear direction, if necessary.

The flange portion 75 can be fitted into the opening 43A of the female housing 9, and its outer edge has a substantially rectangular shape with four corners rounded.

At the middle part of the upper surface of the retainer 35 in the left-right direction (a part of the upper surface of the insertion side part 71 and the base part 73), there is a locking claw of the female housing 33 with the retainer 35 attached to the female housing 33. A recess 95 is formed so as to correspond to the position of 61. Thereby, when the female connector 5 is connected to the male connector 3, it is possible to avoid the retainer 35 from inhibiting the inward displacement of the locked claws 61 of the female housing 33.

Next, the operation of attaching the retainer 35 to the female housing 9 by the user (that is, the operation of locking the plurality of female terminals 31 by the retainer 35) will be described.

A user (not shown) inserts the retainer 35 into the retainer insertion hole 51 by moving it to the right from the state shown in FIGS. 7(A) and 8(A). Thereby, the retainer 35 is attached to the retainer insertion hole 51, as shown in FIGS. 7(B) and 8(B).

During the insertion of the retainer 35 into the retainer insertion hole 51, the inclined surface 57A of the retainer protrusion 57 comes into contact with the inclined surface 55A of the housing protrusion 55. In this state, when the user further pushes the retainer 35 to the right, the retainer protrusion 57 is displaced inward (forward) and moves to the right of the housing protrusion 55 so as to overcome the housing protrusion 55. As a result, the vertical surface 57C of the retainer projection 57 comes into contact with the vertical surface 55C of the housing projection 55, and the leftward movement of the retainer 35 is restricted (that is, the movement of the retainer 35 from the retainer insertion hole 51 is restricted). withdrawal is prevented).

As shown in FIG. 7(B), the width of the groove 53 constituting the retainer insertion hole 51 in the front-rear direction (the distance between the front side surface 53A and the rear side surface 53B) It is approximately the same as the width of the upper stage part 81 in the front-rear direction, or slightly larger than the width of the upper stage part 81 in the front-rear direction. As a result, insertion of the retainer 35 into the retainer insertion hole 51 is not inhibited until the inclined surface 57A of the retainer projection 57 comes into contact with the inclined surface 55A of the housing projection 55.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8(B), among the plurality of inner walls 49, the cutout portion 59A of the inner wall 49 facing the insertion side portion 71 of the retainer 35 is closer to the cutout portion 59B of the inner wall 49 facing the base portion 73. It also has a small front-to-back width. By providing the inner wall 49 having notches 59A and 59B with different widths in the front-rear direction so as to correspond to the insertion-side part 71 and the base 73 of the retainer 35, the insertion-side part 71 of the retainer 35 and The base portion 73 of the retainer, which has a larger width in the front-rear direction, can be stably held.

When the retainer 35 is completely attached to the female housing 33, the lower part 83 or 93 of the retainer 35 is attached to the rear end of the cylindrical part 31A of the female terminal 31, as shown in FIGS. This contact prevents the female terminal 31 from moving backward (that is, leaving the terminal accommodating chamber 47).

Although the present invention has been described above based on specific embodiments, these embodiments are merely illustrative, and the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. All of the components of the electrical connector and the electrical connector pair equipped with the electrical connector shown in the above-described embodiments are not necessarily essential, and those skilled in the art can select them as appropriate without departing from the scope of the present invention. is possible.

1: Electrical connector pair 3: Male connector 5: Female connector (electrical connector)
9 :Female housing 11 :Male terminal 13 :Male housing 15 :Top wall 16 :Bottom wall 17 :Left wall 18 :Right wall 19 :Front wall 21 :Circuit board 23 :Mounting bracket 31 :Female terminal (metal terminal)
33: Female housing 34: Electric wire 35: Retainer 41: Upper wall 42: Lower wall 43: Front wall 44: Rear wall 45: Left wall 46: Right wall 47: Terminal housing chamber 49: Inner wall 51: Retainer insertion hole 53: Groove 53A: Front side 53B: Back side 53C: Bottom 55: Housing protrusion 57: Retainer protrusion 59: Notch 61: Locked pawl (housing locking part)
63 : Operation piece 65 : Elastic locking claw 71 : Insertion side part 73 : Base part 75 : Flange part 81 : Upper part 82 : Middle part 83 : Lower part (terminal locking part)
85 : Locking protrusion 87 : Long hole 89 : Elastic deformation part 91 : Upper part 92 : Middle part 93 : Lower part (terminal locking part)
95: Concave part

Claims (10)

An electrical connector,
multiple metal terminals,
a housing having a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers into which the plurality of metal terminals are respectively inserted, and a retainer insertion hole extending in a left-right direction orthogonal to a front-rear direction corresponding to an insertion direction of the plurality of metal terminals;
a retainer that is inserted into the retainer insertion hole to hold the metal terminal inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber;
The retainer has a locked portion that is locked to the housing,
The housing has an upper wall, a lower wall, a left wall, and a right wall forming an outer shell of the housing,
The retainer insertion hole is opened in at least one of the left wall and the right wall,
A groove extending in the left-right direction and forming a part of the retainer insertion hole is formed on the inner surface of the upper wall or the lower wall,
An electrical connector, wherein the groove is formed with a locking portion that locks the locked portion of the retainer. the groove is defined by a front side, a rear side, and a bottom side;
The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the locking portion is formed on the front side or the rear side. The locked portion of the retainer is a protrusion protruding toward the front or rear of the retainer,
The retainer has an insertion side portion in which the protrusion is formed, and a base portion continuous to the insertion side portion,
3. The electrical connector according to claim 2, wherein a width in the front-back direction of the insertion side portion including the protrusion is less than or equal to a width in the front-back direction of the base. The housing has a plurality of inner walls extending in the front-back direction between the upper wall and the lower wall and arranged at predetermined intervals in the left-right direction,
The plurality of inner walls each have a notch that constitutes the left and right side walls of each of the terminal accommodating chambers and that constitutes a part of the retainer insertion hole,
3. The notch in the inner wall of the plurality of inner walls facing the insertion side of the retainer has a smaller width in the front-rear direction than the notch in the inner wall facing the base of the retainer. Electrical connectors listed in . 5. The electrical connector according to claim 3, wherein in the retainer, the insertion side portion is provided with a long hole that is arranged inside the protrusion and passes through the insertion side portion in the vertical direction. An elastic deformation portion is formed between the protrusion and the elongated hole of the retainer, and the elastic deformation portion is elastically deformed when the protrusion is locked to the locking portion.
The electrical connector according to claim 5, wherein the vertical width of the elastically deformable portion is smaller than the maximum value of the vertical width of the entire insertion side portion. The retainer has a terminal locking part that locks the plurality of metal terminals,
The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the terminal locking portion forms a portion that protrudes forward toward the terminal accommodating chamber in a cross section perpendicular to the left-right direction. In the middle part of the upper wall or the lower wall in the left-right direction in which the groove is formed in the housing, a housing of another electrical connector to be paired with the electrical connector is disposed inwardly of the housing. A housing locking portion is formed to lock the housing.
Any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a recessed portion arranged to correspond to the housing locking portion is formed in the intermediate portion in the left-right direction on the side of the retainer facing the groove. Electrical connectors as described in Section. The metal terminal is a female metal terminal connectable to a male metal terminal,
9. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the housing is a female housing connectable to a male housing holding the male metal terminal. An electrical connector pair comprising: the electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 9; and another electrical connector connectable to the electrical connector.

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