JP3087658B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector in which a terminal is held in an inserted state by a retainer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a metal lance 1A of a terminal 1 is connected to a connector housing 2 as shown in FIG.
There is one that locks to the locking portion 2A. As a means for improving the reliability of the locking function of the terminal 1 in such a connector, it is conceivable to use a retainer (not shown) that can be locked to the rear end of the cylindrical portion 1B of the terminal 1.

In this case, in order to avoid interference with the metal lance 1A, the retainer is attached to the connector housing as shown in FIG.
Of the connector housing 2, the retainer is attached to the connector housing 2 at a temporary locking position where it does not interfere with the terminal 1, the terminal 1 is inserted and the primary lance 1A is inserted by the metal lance 1A. Locked,
After that, the retainer is moved to the final lock, and the retainer is secondarily locked to the rear end of the cylindrical portion 1B, and thus the terminal 1 is double locked.

[0004]

In the final locking state, the retainer needs to be positioned further below the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 1B. On the other hand, in the temporarily locked state, the retainer needs to be positioned further above the metal lance 1A in order to avoid interference with the metal lance 1A projecting further above the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 1B. Therefore, when the retainer is displaced between the final locking and the temporary locking, a large stroke including the locking allowance required for locking with the cylindrical portion 1B and the projection size of the metal lance 1A is required. Becomes

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a connector for temporarily locking a projection of a terminal to a housing, when the retainer is secondarily locked by a retainer, provisional locking of the retainer and full locking are performed. The purpose of the present invention is to reduce the amount of displacement between them.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector housing, a primary locking projection which can be inserted into and removed from the connector housing, and which can be projected outward from a side surface and locked with the connector housing. A terminal provided with a secondary locking portion located inside the primary locking protrusion, and a final locking with respect to the connector housing, the terminal is locked to the secondary locking portion, and the final locking is performed. A retainer that is displaced from the secondary locking portion by being displaced from the position to the outer temporary locking position, wherein the retainer allows the primary locking projection to pass when the terminal is inserted and removed at the temporary locking position. The feature is that the escape portion is provided. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, one piece of the primary locking projection is provided at a center position in the width direction, and the retainer has a pair of locking projections that can be locked to the secondary locking portion. It is provided so as to be located on both sides of the locking projection, and is characterized in that a space between the pair of locking projections is a relief portion.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the retainer is formed with a relief portion that allows the passage of the primary locking projection in the temporarily locked state, the retainer is temporarily engaged from the fully locked position. The amount of movement when the secondary lock is released by moving to the stop position is only the minimum size necessary for the retainer to be released from the secondary lock. That is, since it is not necessary to displace the retainer greatly until it is further outside the primary locking projection, the amount of movement of the retainer between the fully locked state and the temporarily locked state can be reduced. According to the second aspect of the present invention, since only one piece of the primary locking projection is provided at the center, the strength of the primary locking projection is higher than when the primary locking projection is divided into two pieces. The reliability of the stop function is improved. Also, since the locking projection of the retainer is configured to lock with the secondary locking portion at both side positions,
The locking to the terminal becomes uniform, and the reliability of the secondary locking function is improved.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

<First Embodiment> A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The saw of this embodiment includes a connector housing 10 and the connector housing 10.
And a terminal 20 which can be inserted into and removed from the
And a retainer 30 for holding the in the inserted state. The connector housing 10 is formed with a total of six cavities 11 divided into two upper and lower stages and three chambers in each stage. A terminal 20 is provided on the upper surface of the upper cavity 11.
Elastic locking piece (primary locking projection which is a component of the present invention)
A locking projection 12 that can be locked to the locking projection 24, and a retainer insertion hole 13 that opens to the outer surface of the connector housing 10 behind the locking projection 12 are formed. A region in front of the locking projection 12 on the upper surface of the cavity 11 is
The retainer insertion hole 1 is provided at the bending space 15 in which the elastic locking piece 24 is accommodated, and is located rearward of the locking projection 12.
The region including 3 is a passage space 14 for the elastic locking piece 24. A terminal 20 is inserted into the cavity 11 through an opening at the rear end. The lower cavity 11 is vertically symmetrical with respect to the upper cavity 11, so that the description is omitted.

The terminal 20 has a rectangular cylindrical portion 21 on the front end side, and an electric wire fixing portion 22 to which an electric wire 23 is continuously crimped behind the cylindrical portion 21. On the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 21 in a state of being inserted into the upper cavity 11, an elastic locking piece 24 is formed, which cantileverly extends obliquely rearward by cutting and raising the central portion in the width direction upward. I have. The elastic locking piece 24 is always in the cylindrical portion 21.
Although it is in a state of protruding further outward, it is also possible to bend so as to be flush with the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 21. A rear end edge of the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 21 is provided with a secondary locking portion 2 on which the locking projection 32 of the retainer 30 can be locked from behind.
It is 5. The terminal 20 inserted into the lower cavity 11 is the same as the terminal 20 inserted into the upper cavity 11, but the posture is upside down.

The retainer 30 is connected to the connector housing 10.
It can be attached to the upper surface and the lower surface. Retainer 30 attached to upper surface and retainer 30 attached to lower surface
Has a vertically symmetric configuration, so only the retainer 30 attached to the upper surface will be described. The retainer 30 has a plate shape parallel to the upper surface of the connector housing 10, and has a pair of mounting portions 31 extending downward at both end edges. A guide groove (not shown) formed so as to extend from the upper right direction to the lower left direction in FIG. 1 and a projection (not shown) formed on the side surface of the connector housing 10 is engaged with the mounting portion 31, thereby retaining the retainer. Numeral 30 is adapted to be selectively held in a temporary locking state and a full locking state with respect to the connector housing 10 and is displaced in an oblique direction between the temporary locking state and the full locking state. You can do it.

On the lower surface of the retainer 30, three pairs of locking projections 32 are formed so as to project obliquely to the lower left in FIG. When the retainer 30 is attached to the connector housing 10, each pair of locking projections 32 enters the corresponding retainer insertion hole 13 and faces the cavity 11. In the state where the retainer 30 is temporarily locked, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the lower end of the locking projection 32 is located slightly above the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 21, and even if the terminal 20 is inserted or removed, the engagement protrusion 32 is engaged. There is no interference between the stop projection 32 and the cylindrical portion 21. When the retainer 30 is in the fully locked state, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the locking projection 32 is located below the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 21 and is located rearward with respect to the secondary locking portion 25. From which the movement of the cylindrical portion 21 in the withdrawing direction is restricted.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a space is provided between each pair of locking projections 32 so as to correspond to the elastic locking piece 24 when viewed from the front. The space is
In the provisionally locked state, the elastic locking pieces 24 serve as relief portions 33 for allowing the locking projections 32 to pass through. The relief portion 33 is connected to the passage space 14 of the cavity 11 in the insertion / removal direction of the terminal 20. Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. When assembling the connector of the present embodiment, first, the retainer 30 is attached in a temporarily locked state as shown in FIG. In this state, the locking projection 32 of the retainer 30 is retracted outside the passage area of the cylindrical portion 21 (upper in the upper cavity 11 and lower in the lower cavity 11). The escape portion 33 is positioned so as to correspond to the passage space 14, and secures a passage area of the elastic locking piece 24 continuously with the passage space 14.

When the terminal 20 is inserted from the rear in this state, the cylindrical portion 21 advances to the depth of the cavity 11 without interfering with the locking projection 32. After passing through the passage space 14, the elastic locking pieces 24 protruding from the cylindrical portion 21 pass through the escape portion 33 so as to pass through between the pair of locking protrusions 32 as shown in FIG. 3. , And proceed to the back without interfering with the retainer 30. Then, the elastic locking piece 24 passes through the locking protrusion 12 while being elastically bent so as to be engaged with the tapered guide surface 12A and become flush with the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 21. The elastic projection is elastically restored to a state of protruding from the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 21 and is engaged with the locking projection 12 from the front. The terminal 20 is primarily locked by the engagement between the elastic locking piece 24 and the locking projection 12.

After the primary locking, the retainer 30 is moved to the fully locked state. Then, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the distal end of the locking projection 32 is engaged with the secondary locking portion 25 of the cylindrical portion 21 from the rear, so as to be in the secondary locking state, and the elastic locking piece is provided. The terminal 20 is double-locked by cooperating with the primary locking by the locking projection 24 and the locking projection 12. From the above,
Assembly of the connector is completed. When removing the terminal 20 from the assembled state, the retainer 30 is moved from the fully locked position to the temporarily locked position. Then, the locking projection 3
2 is released from the secondary locking portion 25 to release the secondary locking, and the movement of the cylindrical portion 21 in the removing direction is allowed. Next, a jig (not shown) is inserted into the bending space 15 from the front of the connector housing 10 and the elastic locking piece 24 is bent so as to be flush with the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 21 to perform primary locking. Cancel. And while maintaining this state, Terminal 2
0 is pulled backward, the elastic locking piece 24
Pass through. After passing through the locking projection 12, the elastic locking piece 24 returns elastically and returns to a state of protruding from the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 21,
As shown in the lower part of FIG. 1, the gas passes through the escape portion 33 and further passes through the passage space 14. Further, since the locking projection 32 is retracted outside the passage area of the cylindrical portion 21, the cylindrical portion 2
1 can move backward without interfering with the locking projection 32.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the escape portion 33 is formed in the retainer 30 to allow the elastic locking piece 24 to pass in the provisionally locked state, so that the retainer 30 is moved from the fully locked state. The displacement when releasing the secondary locking by moving to the temporary locking state is only the minimum dimension required for the locking projection 32 to be disengaged from the secondary locking portion 25. That is, since the retainer 30 does not need to be largely displaced until the locking projection 32 is located further outside the elastic locking piece 24, the amount of displacement of the retainer 30 between the fully locked state and the temporarily locked state And the operability of the retainer 30 is excellent. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the pair of locking projections 32 are substantially equally engaged with the secondary locking portion 25 at the left and right ends thereof, so that the secondary locking function is stable. It is done.

<Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the configuration of the elastic locking pieces, locking projections, and relief portions. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the same configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals and description of the structures, operations, and effects will be omitted. While only one elastic locking piece 24 of the first embodiment is provided at the center position in the left-right direction when viewed from the front, the elastic locking piece of the second embodiment (the primary requirement of the present invention, which is a constituent element of the present invention). A pair of locking projections 26 are provided at both left and right positions as viewed from the front. Also, retainer 3
0 of the pair of elastic locking pieces 2 when viewed from the front.
6, only one piece is provided at the center position in the width direction that does not interfere with 6. The shape of the locking projection 34 viewed from the side is the same as that of the locking projection 32 of the first embodiment. Further, the locking projection 3
The space on both sides of 4 is a pair of left and right relief portions 35. The pair of relief portions 35 are provided so as to correspond to the pair of elastic locking pieces 26, and when the terminal 20 is inserted and removed in the temporarily locked state, the pair of elastic locking pieces 26 are Pass through both sides of 34. Also in the second embodiment, since the escape portion 35 is provided in the retainer 30, the amount of displacement of the retainer 30 between the temporarily locked state and the fully locked state can be reduced. Further, in this embodiment, since only one elastic locking piece 26 is provided at the center, the strength of the elastic locking piece is higher than that in the case where the elastic locking piece is divided into two pieces. The reliability of the stop function is excellent. Further, since the locking projections 32 of the retainer 30 are locked with the secondary locking portions 25 at both side positions, the locking with respect to the terminal 20 is performed evenly, and the reliability of the secondary locking function is improved. Excellent in nature.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the above embodiment, the retainer is displaced obliquely with respect to the insertion / removal direction of the terminal. According to the present invention, the retainer is displaced in the direction perpendicular to the terminal insertion / extraction direction. Can also be applied.

(2) In the above embodiment, the primary locking projection is an elastic locking piece that can be elastically bent. However, in the present invention, the primary locking projection is a projection that does not bend by, for example, beating, and this is used. The present invention can also be applied to a connector that is to be locked with an elastic locking piece provided on the housing side.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a state in which a retainer is temporarily locked in a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a state in which a retainer is fully locked in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a positional relationship between the escape portion and the terminal in a state where the retainer is temporarily locked in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the positional relationship between the escape portion and the terminal when the retainer is fully locked in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a positional relationship between the escape portion and the terminal in a state where the retainer is temporarily locked in the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a positional relationship between the escape portion and the terminal in a state where the retainer is fully locked in the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector housing 20 ... Terminal 24 ... Elastic locking piece (primary locking protrusion) 25 ... Secondary locking part 30 ... Retainer 32 ... Locking projection 33 ... Relief part 26 ... Elastic locking piece (Primary locking protrusion) ) 34: locking projection 35: relief

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-7-312255 (JP, A) JP-A 8-227750 (JP, A) JP-A 3-106670 (JP, U) JP-A 61- 168575 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 61-161884 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/42

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A connector housing, a primary locking projection which can be inserted into and removed from the connector housing, protrudes outward from a side surface and can be locked to the connector housing, and is located inside the primary locking projection. A terminal provided with a secondary locking portion, and a final locking position which is locked to the secondary locking portion by being fully locked to the connector housing, and which is a temporary locking position outside of the fully locked position. A retainer that is displaced from the secondary locking portion by being displaced to the retainer, wherein the retainer is provided with a relief portion that allows the primary locking projection to pass when the terminal is inserted and removed at the temporary locking position. A connector comprising: 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the primary locking projection is located at a central position in the width direction.
The retainer is provided with a pair of locking projections that can be locked to the secondary locking portion so as to be located on both sides of the primary locking projection. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein said space is a relief portion.