JP3159075B2 - 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 for retaining a terminal at a proper insertion position using a retainer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a connector shown in FIG. 11 as a connector for retaining a terminal at a regular insertion position using a retainer. It has a connector housing 1, a terminal 2 inserted into the connector housing 1, and a retainer 3 attached to the connector housing 1. When assembling, the terminal 2 is inserted with the retainer 3 temporarily fixed to the connector housing 1. When the terminal 2 is properly inserted, the locking hole 2A and the protrusion 4A of the bending locking piece 4 are engaged, and the terminal 2 comes into the restricted state. Further, when the retainer 3 is pushed rightward in FIG. 11 to be displaced to the final locking position, the retainer 3
, And engages with the bending locking piece 4, and the bending locking piece 4 is restricted from being displaced in a direction away from the terminal 2. Thus, the assembly of the connector is completed.

[0003]

In the above connector, when the terminal 2 is in the half-inserted state, the projection 4A comes into contact with the lower surface of the terminal 2 and the flexible locking piece 4 is pushed down, so that the connector 2 projects into the flexible space 5. Therefore, when the retainer 3 is to be pushed into the final locking position, the
As shown in (1), the distal end of the retainer 3 abuts against the distal end of the bending engagement piece 4 and cannot enter the bending space 5. In this case, the terminal 2 must be re-inserted, but the operation is to return the retainer 3 to the temporary locking position, push the half-inserted terminal 2 to the normal position, and again
To the final locking position.
Such an operation has many steps and is troublesome for an operator.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a connector capable of correcting the position of a terminal in a half-inserted state so as to be in a normal inserted state. .

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector housing, a terminal insertable into the connector housing, and a flexure provided on the connector housing to enable engagement with the terminal . A locking piece, and a retainer attached to the connector housing and capable of engaging with the flexible locking piece,
An engagement portion between the terminal and the flexible locking piece, wherein the flexible locking piece is held in an engaged state with the terminal in a normally inserted state when the retainer is attached to a holding position; At least one of the terminals is provided with a terminal guiding slope capable of pushing the terminal at the half-insertion position to the normal insertion position by a bending operation of the bending locking piece accompanying the displacement of the retainer to the holding position. It is characterized by its structure.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a direction of displacement of the retainer to the holding position is set to a direction along an insertion direction of the terminal.
At least one of the engaging portions of the retainer and the flexure locking piece, with the displacement of the retainer to the holding position,
The present invention is characterized in that a guide slope for bending locking piece is provided to bend the bending locking piece in a direction of pushing the terminal at the half insertion position to the normal insertion position.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the retainer is displaced to the holding position in a state where the terminal is half-inserted, the retaining piece is flexed with the displacement operation, so that the tapered terminal is bent. Guide slope pushes the terminal to the proper insertion position. Therefore, even if the terminal is half-inserted, it is not necessary to repeat the insertion operation. According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the retainer is displaced to the holding position in a state where the terminal is half-inserted, the guide slope for the flexure locking piece bends the flexure locking piece with the displacement operation, and the flexure locking piece is bent. The terminal is pushed from the half-insertion position to the normal insertion position by the terminal guiding slope with the bending operation of the piece. Since the retainer can be attached to the connector housing from the front, even when the connector housing is surrounded by the hood, the retainer can be easily operated.

[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 connector of this embodiment includes a connector housing 10 into which the female terminal 20 is inserted, and a retainer 30 attached to the connector housing 10 to hold the female terminal 20 in an inserted state. The female terminal 20 is formed by integrally joining a rectangular tube portion 21 and an electric wire fixing portion 22 in a front-rear direction, and has an engagement protrusion 23 projecting downward by beating out on the lower surface of the tube portion 21. This locking projection 2
Reference numeral 3 denotes an equilateral trapezoid when viewed from the side. Locking projection 23
The front surface of the tapered insertion guiding slope 2 which faces diagonally downward
3A, and the rear surface of the locking projection 23 is a tapered terminal guiding slope 23B facing obliquely downward. The terminal guiding slope 23B has a function of pushing the female terminal 20 at the half-insertion position to the regular insertion position, and also has a function of improving the operability when removing the female terminal 20.

The connector housing 10 has a hood 1
In each of the blocks 1, two blocks 12 are provided, each of which is divided into upper and lower two stages, and a total of four blocks 12 are provided. Each female terminal 20 is inserted into a cavity 13 formed in each block 12 through a rear opening. . The upper cavity 13 is
The lower surface of the front end is open to the gap with the lower block 12, and the lower two chamber cavities 13 are open to the lower surface of the connector housing 10 at the lower surface of the front end.

In the above-mentioned opening of each cavity 13,
A flexure locking piece 14 is provided. The bending engagement piece 14
The cantilever extends forward from the rear edge of the opening parallel to the insertion direction of the female terminal 20. The flexure locking piece 14 has a plate-like shape with the plate surface facing up and down, and can be elastically flexed downward. The lower part of each bending engagement piece 14 is a bending space 1.
It is 5. When the flexure locking piece 14 flexes, it becomes an oblique posture with its front end lowered, and projects into the flexure space 15. These bending spaces 15 have bending restricting portions 3 of a retainer 30 described later.
2 is available.

A relief groove 14 in the front-rear direction along the insertion direction of the female terminal 20 is provided at the center of the flexible locking piece 14 in the width direction.
A is formed. The escape groove 14A extends from the base end (rear end) position of the flexible locking piece 14 to a position slightly before the front end. The female terminal 2 is provided in the escape groove 14A.
During the insertion / extraction process of 0, the locking projection 23 enters. The locking projection 23 does not interfere with the flexible locking piece 14 while it is in the escape groove 14A. The inner wall at the front end of the escape groove 14A has a tapered insertion guiding slope 14B that is directed obliquely upward.
It has become. The front end edge of the flexible locking piece 14 is a locking surface 14C that is stood up and down.

The retainer 30 has four mounting holes 31 penetrating in the front-rear direction, and is mounted on the connector housing 10 from the front side. When the retainer 30 is attached, the outer surface of the connector housing 10 is covered and hidden, and the block 12 is fitted into each of the attachment holes 31. The retainer 30 is selectively held to the connector housing 10 at a temporary locking position and a final locking position (a holding position, which is a component of the present invention) by locking means (not shown). When the retainer 30 is temporarily locked, the front end face of the retainer 30 is substantially flush with the front end of the hood portion 11 (see FIGS. 1 and 3), and when fully locked, the front end face of the retainer 30 is set. Is the hood section 11
2 is pushed deeper (rear side) than the front end face (see FIG. 2).
See).

Each of the mounting holes 31 is provided with a bending restricting portion 32.
Is provided. The deflection restricting portions 32 of the two upper mounting holes 31 are formed by partition walls that partition the upper and lower mounting holes 31. The two lower bending restriction portions 32
It is formed by raising the floor surface of the mounting hole 31 by one step. In a state where the retainer 30 is temporarily locked, the bending restricting portion 32 is located forward of the front end of the bending locking piece 14, so that the bending locking piece 14 is allowed to elastically bend into the bending space 15. When the retainer 30 is fully locked, the bending restricting portion 32 enters into the bending space 15 and sinks below the bending locking piece 14, so that the elastic bending of the bending locking piece 14 is restricted. Further, in a state where the bending locking piece 14 is bent and largely protrudes into the bending space 15, the bending locking piece 14 is bent.
The deflection restricting portion 32 abuts on the front end of the retainer 3.
The movement from the zero temporary locking position to the final locking position is restricted.

The bending restricting portion 32 is formed with a guiding slope 35 for bending locking pieces for pushing the female terminal 20 in the half-inserted state to the normal insertion position. The guide slope 35 for the flexure locking piece reaches a rear end edge (right end edge in the figure) from a substantially central position in the front-rear direction of the flexure restricting portion 32 and is gently inclined downward and rearward. Female terminal 2
In a state in which 0 is in the half-inserted state, the guide slope 23B for the terminal of the locking projection 23 and the upper edge of the distal end of the flexible locking piece 14 are engaged, and the bending amount of the flexible locking piece 14 is relatively small. When the retainer 30 is displaced from the temporary locking position to the final locking position, the bending slope guiding slope 35 engages with the lower edge of the front end of the bending locking piece 14. On the other hand, when the locking projection 23 is engaged with the upper surface of the bending locking piece 14 and the bending locking piece 14 is largely bent, the guiding slope 35 for the bending locking piece is bent. 14 are not engaged.

Further, a portion of the lower surface plate 34 of the retainer 30 that protrudes further than the flexure restricting portion 32 is an excessive flexure restricting portion 33 corresponding to the lower flexure locking piece 14. The excessive deflection restricting portion 33 advances into the bending space 15 when the retainer 30 is in the temporary locking state, and
4 and wait below. Note that the upper flexure locking piece 14 is connected to the connector housing 10.
The upper surface of the lower block 12 serves as an excessive bending restricting portion 16. The excessive deflection restricting portion 16 is provided with a retainer 30.
Is in a temporarily locked state, and the bending restricting portion 32 is
Is retracted forward, and waits below the flexure locking piece 14.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. When assembling the connector of the present embodiment, first,
The retainer 30 is temporarily locked to the connector housing 10 from the opening on the front surface of the hood portion 11. In this state, as shown in FIG. 1, since the bending restricting portion 32 is located in front of the bending locking piece 14, the bending locking piece 14 can be elastically bent into the bending space 15. When the female terminal 20 is inserted into the cavity 13 in this temporarily locked state, the lower surface of the female terminal 20 bends and advances along the upper surface of the locking piece 14, and the locking projection 23 is bent and locked during the insertion. The piece 14 enters the escape groove 14A and moves without interfering with the bending and locking piece 14.

When the female terminal 20 approaches the normal insertion position, the insertion guide slope 23A of the locking projection 23 comes into contact with the insertion guide slope 14B at the front end of the escape groove 14A. Then, a downward pressing force acts on the front end portion of the flexible locking piece 14 due to the inclination angle of the insertion guiding slopes 14B and 23A, and the flexible locking piece 14 elastically bends, and Protrude into. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, the locking projection 23 is further advanced while rubbing against the upper surface of the front end portion of the locking piece 14.

When the female terminal 20 reaches the normal insertion position, the locking projection 23 is disengaged from the front end of the bending locking piece 14, and the bending locking piece 14 is elastically restored to the bending space 1.
5, the front end face of the bending locking piece 14 is locked to the locking projection 23 from the rear, as shown in FIG. Thereafter, when the retainer 30 is pushed from the temporary locking position to the final locking position, as shown in FIG.
Is advanced into the bending space 15 and sneaks under the bending locking piece 14, so that the elastic bending downward of the bending locking piece 14, that is, the elastic bending in the direction coming off the locking projection 23 is restricted. It will be in the locked state. As a result, the female terminal 20 is in the double locked state, and is reliably held in the state where the movement in the removal direction is restricted at the regular insertion position.

If all the female terminals 20 have not reached the normal insertion position and there is a half-inserted female terminal 20, the following is performed. Female terminal 20
Is half-inserted at a position relatively far from the normal insertion position, as shown in FIG. 3, the locking projection 23 engages with the upper surface of the front end portion of the bending locking piece 14 to bend the space. 15 is elastically bent to a large extent. Therefore, even if the retainer 30 is to be pushed into the final locking position, the distal end of the bending restricting portion 32 abuts against the distal end of the bending locking piece 14, so that the bending restricting portion 32 cannot enter the bending space 15.

On the other hand, when the female terminal 20 is half-inserted at a position relatively close to the normal insertion position,
The amount by which the flexure locking pieces 14 project into the flexure space 15 is small. Therefore, when the retainer is pushed to the full locking position in this state, the guiding slope 35 for the bending locking piece engages with the lower end of the bending locking piece 14 as shown in FIG. The pushing force acts on the bending locking piece 14 as an upward pressing force due to the inclination of the guiding slope 35 for the bending locking piece.
When the flexible locking piece 14 is displaced upward, the upward displacement force of the flexible locking piece 14 acts as a forward pressing force against the locking projection 23 due to the inclination of the terminal guiding slope 23B, and therefore, the female terminal. Reference numeral 20 moves from the half insertion position to the normal insertion position. When the female terminal 20 reaches the normal insertion position, the bending locking piece 14 comes into contact with the lower surface of the female terminal 20 and the retainer 3 is located below the bending locking piece 14.
The 0 is sunk into the double locking state.

When the female terminal 20 is to be removed, first, the retainer 30 is pulled back from the full locking position to the temporary locking position, and the secondary locking is released by removing the bending restricting portion 32 from the bending locking piece 14. At the same time, the bending restricting portion 32 is retracted out of the bending space 15 so that the bending locking piece 14 can be elastically bent. In this state, when the female terminal 20 is pulled in the direction, the terminal guiding slope 23B of the locking projection 23 engages with the front end edge of the bending locking piece 14, and the bending locking piece 14 is tilted by the inclination of the terminal guiding slope 23B. The elastic protrusion is smoothly guided downward, and the locking projection 23 and the bending locking piece 14 are smoothly bent.
Is released from the primary lock. After the locking projection 23 rubs the upper surface of the front end portion of the bending locking piece 14 as shown in FIG. 3, the bending locking piece 14 elastically returns, and the locking projection 23 enters the escape groove 14A and becomes non-conductive. The female terminal 20 moves with interference, and the female terminal 20 is finally pulled out of the cavity 13.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the female terminal 20 is provided with the terminal guiding slope 23B and the retainer 30 is provided with the bending locking piece guiding slope 35, so that the retainer 30 is moved to the final locking position. Even if the female terminal 20 is in the half-inserted state when performing the pushing operation, the female terminal 20 in the half-inserted state can be pushed to the normal inserted state. Therefore, in order to reinsert the female terminal 20, the cumbersome operation of once returning the retainer 30 to the temporary locking position, pushing the half-inserted female terminal 20 to the regular position, and pushing the retainer 30 again to the full locking position is performed. No need to do it.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the configuration of the terminal guiding slope. 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 is omitted. In the first embodiment, the terminal guiding slope 23B is provided on the female terminal 20 side.
The terminal guiding slope 41 is formed by cutting out the upper edge of the distal end of the flexible locking piece 14 in a tapered shape falling forward. The terminal guide slope 23B of the first embodiment corresponds to the locking projection 23 of the second embodiment.
, The rear surface of the locking projection 23 is a surface perpendicular to the insertion / removal direction of the female terminal 20.
Then, a right-angled corner where the rear surface and the lower surface of the locking projection 23 are continuous with each other is engaged with the terminal guiding slope 41.

<Third Embodiment> Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the configuration of the guide slope for the flexure locking piece is different. 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 is omitted. In the first embodiment, the guide slope 35 for the flexure locking piece is provided on the retainer 30 side, whereas the guide slope 42 for the flexure lock piece of the third embodiment is the lower edge of the distal end of the flexure lock piece 14. It is formed by notching a portion in a tapered shape rising upward. Further, the guide slope 35 for the flexure locking piece of the first embodiment.
Is not provided on the retainer 30 of the third embodiment, and the upper surface of the deflection restricting portion 32 of the retainer 30 has the lower surface of the bending locking piece 14 over the entire region from the front end to the rear end. It is a flat surface that can be in close contact with the device. And
A right-angled corner where the upper surface and the rear surface of the flexure restricting portion 32 continue is engaged with the flexure locking piece guiding slope 42.

<Fourth Embodiment> Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The fourth embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the configurations of the female terminal and the flexure locking pieces are different. 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 is omitted. Tube part 4 of female terminal 44 of Embodiment 4
5 includes locking holes 46 instead of the locking projections 23 of the first embodiment.
Are formed. At the front edge of the locking hole 46,
By extending the bottom plate portion of the cylindrical portion 45, a tapered terminal guiding slope 47 inclined upward and rearward is formed. On the other hand, the bending locking piece 48 is formed so as to extend forward in a cantilever manner, and an engagement projection 49 projecting from the upper surface is formed near the front end thereof.
Are engaged with the locking holes 46. When the retainer 30 is pushed to the final locking position when the female terminal 44 is half-inserted,
As shown in FIG. 7, the terminal guiding slope 47 of the locking hole 46 engages with the front end corner of the engaging projection 49 of the flexible locking piece 48, and the inclination of the terminal guiding slope 47 causes the inclination of the terminal guiding slope 47 as shown in FIG. 8. As shown, the female terminal 20 is pushed to the normal insertion position.

<Fifth Embodiment> Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The fifth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the configuration of the retainer. 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 is omitted. In the first embodiment, the retainer 30 is connected to the connector housing 1.
However, the retainer 50 of the fifth embodiment is attached to the connector housing 10 from below. When the retainer 50 is displaced from the provisionally locked position to the fully locked position, the retainer 50 is moved upward. However, since the moving direction is the same as the bending direction of the bending locking piece 14, the moving direction is changed by the inclination of the retainer 50. Without directly bending the locking piece 14. Therefore, the retainer 50 according to the fourth embodiment is not provided with a component corresponding to the guide slope 35 for the flexure locking piece according to the first embodiment. When the retainer 50 is displaced to the full locking position when the female terminal 20 is in the half-inserted state, the bending locking piece 14 is pushed up, and the female terminal 20 is tilted by the inclination of the terminal guiding slope 23B as in the first embodiment. It is pushed to the regular insertion position.

<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 first to third embodiments, the guide slope is provided on only one of the bending locking piece and the locking projection. However, according to the present invention, the guiding slope is provided on both the bending locking piece and the locking projection. A slope may be provided.

(2) In the first to third embodiments, the guide slope is provided on only one of the bending locking piece and the retainer. However, according to the present invention, the guiding slope is provided on both the bending locking piece and the retainer. May be provided. (3) In the fourth embodiment, the guiding slope is provided only in the locking hole of the bending locking piece and the locking hole. However, according to the present invention, the guiding slope may be provided only in the bending locking piece. A guide slope may be provided in both the locking hole and the bending locking piece.

(4) In the fourth embodiment, the guide slope is provided only on the retainer of the flexure locking piece and the retainer. However, according to the present invention, the guide slope may be provided only on the flexure lock piece. A guide slope may be provided on both the locking piece and the retainer. (5) In the fifth embodiment, the guiding slope is provided only on the locking protrusion of the locking protrusion and the bending locking piece. However, the guiding slope may be provided only on the bending locking piece. It is good also as composition which provides guidance slope in both of a locking projection.

(6) The structure in which the retainer presses the flexible locking piece from below (from the side in the direction of insertion and removal of the terminal) as in the fifth embodiment is of a type in which the flexible locking piece and the locking hole engage. The connector can also be applied. (7) In the above embodiment, the female connector including the female terminal has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to a male connector including a male terminal.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state before a terminal is inserted in a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a terminal is properly inserted in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the terminal is being inserted in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a state where the terminal is pushed from the half-insertion position to the normal insertion position in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a state where the terminal is pushed from the half-insertion position to the normal insertion position in the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a state where a terminal is pushed from a half-insertion position to a normal insertion position in the third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a state where a terminal is pushed from a half-insertion position to a normal insertion position in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a state where a terminal is pushed to a regular insertion position in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a state where a terminal is pushed from a half-insertion position to a normal insertion position in the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a state where a terminal is pushed to a normal insertion position in the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a terminal is at a half insertion position in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector housing 14 ... Flexible locking piece 20 ... Female terminal 23B ... Guiding slope for terminal 30 ... Retainer 35 ... Guiding slope for flexible locking piece 41, 47 ... Guiding slope for terminal 42 ... Guiding slope for flexible locking piece 44 ... female terminal 48 ... flexible locking piece 50 ... retainer

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-10-50380 (JP, A) JP-A-10-50383 (JP, A) JP 5-23455 (JP, U) JP 5-50 27974 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/42 H01R 13/64-13/645

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A connector housing, a terminal insertable into the connector housing, and a connector provided in the connector housing to enable engagement with the terminal.
Is provided with a resilient locking piece is, a retainer that is capable of engagement with the resilient locking pieces mounted on said connector housing, wherein the deflection engagement when said retainer is attached to the holding position The stopper is held in an engaged state with the terminal in a properly inserted state, wherein at least one of the engaging portion of the terminal and the flexible locking piece is provided with the retainer to the holding position. A connector having a terminal guiding slope capable of pushing the terminal at a half-insertion position to a normal insertion position by a bending operation of the bending locking piece accompanying displacement. 2. The retainer is configured such that a direction of displacement of the retainer to the holding position is a direction along an insertion direction of the terminal, and at least one of an engagement portion between the retainer and the bending engagement piece includes: In accordance with the displacement of the retainer to the holding position, a bending locking piece guiding slope for bending the bending locking piece in a direction to push the terminal at the half insertion position to the normal insertion position is provided. Claim 1.
The connector described.