JP3235468B2 - 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 provided with a clip for attaching a housing to a mating member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a connector in which a clip is attached to a housing for attaching a connector housing containing terminal fittings to a mating member such as a vehicle body panel. On the other hand, in a connector, a retainer is used in order to firmly hold a terminal fitting housed in a housing in a retaining state. This retainer
For example, a so-called secondary locking is performed by inserting the terminal fitting into a housing to lock it to a part of the terminal fitting or to restrict the bending deformation of the primary locking lance.

[0003]

However, such a retainer is not pushed down to a proper position, that is, it is sometimes left in a half-inserted state. If this is done, the retaining of the terminal fittings may be incomplete. It has been an important issue to accurately detect whether or not the camera has been properly attached. The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to accurately detect whether a retainer has been properly attached using a clip.

[0004]

As means for achieving the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is to provide a connector housing into which a terminal fitting is inserted, a retainer for double-locking the terminal fitting, In a connector provided with a clip for attaching a connector housing to a mating member, the connector housing and the retainer are provided.
Has a hook-shaped
Guide rails are provided facing each other,
Only after the retainer is installed in the correct position
Align the clip and insert the clip into the correct position
The feature is that the configuration is such that is possible .

[0005]

[0006]

<Operation><Invention of claim 1> If the retainer is not attached to the proper position,
Hook-shaped guide rails provided on the connector and connector housing
Clips are inserted in the correct position due to misalignment
Can not, whereby the retainer is detected that not attached to the normal position. If the retainer is installed in the correct position, it will be guided by the matched guide rails.
Then, the clip can be inserted into the regular position.

[0007]

[0008]

In other words, according to the present invention, when the clip is attached, whether or not the retainer is attached at the proper position can be easily and accurately detected depending on whether or not the clip is attached at the proper position. be able to.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, a male connector is illustrated. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a male connector housing (hereinafter, simply referred to as a male housing), which is a retainer for double-locking the male terminal fitting 10. 2 and a clip 3 for attaching the male housing 1 to the vehicle body panel 29 and the like are provided so as to be individually attachable.

The male housing 1 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material, has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole, and has a hood 6 formed on the front side (the front side in FIG. 1) of the main body 5. It is. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, two cavities 8 are formed in the main body 5, two cavities 8 facing left and right, and each cavity 8 has a male terminal fixed to an end of an electric wire 9. The metal fittings 10 are inserted from the rear side, are primarily locked and accommodated by lances 11 provided in the cavities 8, and the tabs 10 a of the male terminal fittings 10 project into the hood 6. A female housing (not shown) is fitted in the hood portion 6, and the female terminal fittings accommodated therein are individually fitted and connected to the corresponding male terminal fittings 10.

The male housing 1 is provided with a retainer 2 for secondary locking of the male terminal fitting 10 housed therein. The retainer 2 is also formed of a synthetic resin material and has a front gate shape. On the other hand, a gate-shaped retainer insertion hole 13 extending from the upper surface of both cavities 8 to the outside is formed in the ceiling surface of the main body 5 in the male housing 1 so that the retainer 2 can be inserted from above. ing.

The top plate 2a of the retainer 2 has a pair of left and right locking projections 14 projecting from the lower surface of its front edge side (the front edge in FIG. 1). The cavities 8 can protrude into the cavities 8 from the openings 15 formed on the upper surface thereof. Further, on the left and right side plate portions of the retainer 2, a temporary locking piece 16 and a full locking piece 17 are formed so as to be paired on the right and left sides of the front end and the rear end, respectively.

That is, when the retainer 2 is inserted into the retainer insertion hole 13 of the male housing 1, the left and right temporary locking pieces 16 engage with the temporary locking portion (not shown) provided on the side surface portion of the retainer insertion hole 13. By being stopped, it is temporarily locked in a retaining state. When the retainer 2 is in the temporary locking position, as shown in FIG. 3, the locking protrusion 14 is still retracted into the opening 15 and the male terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the cavity 8. It is now acceptable. When the retainer 2 is further pushed in, the piece 17 for final locking is locked to a full locking portion (not shown), so that the piece 17 is locked in a retaining state.
In this full locking position, as shown in FIG.
Rushes into the ceiling portion of the cavity 8 from the opening 15,
The rear face side of the locked portion 19 of the accommodated male terminal fitting 10 is locked, and the male terminal fitting 10 is secondarily locked after the lance 11, so-called double locking is performed. I have. It should be noted that hook-shaped guide rails 20 used for attaching the clips 3 described later are formed on the left and right side edges of the upper surface of the top plate 2a of the retainer 2 so as to face each other.

The male housing 1 is provided with a clip 3 for attaching the male housing 1 to the vehicle body panel 29. The clip 3 is also formed of a synthetic resin material and includes a substrate 22 which is elongated in the front-rear direction. I have. As shown in FIG. 7, a pair of left and right elastic locking pieces 24 are formed in a hem-spreading shape from the upper end of the support plate 23, and can be bent and deformed inward. A locking step 25 is formed at the lower end of the elastic locking piece 24 by cutting the outer surface. Also, a pair of elastic pressing pieces 26 project from the left and right side edges on the front end side of the substrate 22, and the elastic pressing pieces 26 are formed by warping the front end side, and the front end side can be bent and deformed downward. ing. In addition, positioning portions 27 are formed at the base portions of the left and right side surfaces of the support plate 23 at positions opposite to each other in the front-rear direction.

On the other hand, an oblong mounting hole 30 is opened in the vehicle body panel 29 (see FIGS. 9 and 10). In a predetermined posture, the clip 3 flexes the elastic locking piece 24 inward with respect to the mounting hole 30 of the vehicle body panel 29,
Further, the elastic pressing piece 26 is pushed in while being bent in a horizontal posture. When the locking step 25 of the elastic locking piece 24 passes through the mounting hole 30 by being pushed in by a predetermined amount, as shown in FIG.
The elastic locking piece 24 is restored and deformed, and the locking
The clip 3 is attached to the vehicle body panel 29 while holding the vehicle body panel 29 between the elastic pressing pieces 26 and holding the clip 3 in a non-rotating state while being locked to the rim of the body 0. .

Subsequently, the clip 3 is connected to the male housing 1.
The structure of the part to be attached to the device is described. At the left and right side edges of the base plate 22 of the clip 3, there are formed insertion legs 32 which hang down and are bent outward at right angles over the entire length. On the other hand, a pair of left and right guide rails 34 and 35 are formed on both sides of the retainer insertion hole 13 on the ceiling surface of the main body 5 of the male housing 1. These guide rails 34 and 35 are formed in a hook shape facing each other so as to be aligned with the guide rail 20 of the retainer 2 described above. Only when the retainer 2 is pushed to the full locking position described above, as shown in FIG. 4, the guide rail 20 of the retainer 2 and the guide rails 34 and 35 of the male housing 1 are aligned and one Guide rail 36 is formed.

Accordingly, when the guide rail 36 is formed, the clip 3 can be inserted from the rear side while the left and right insertion legs 32 are fitted to the guide rail 36. A rear plate 38 is formed so as to close the opening on the rear end side of both insertion legs 32.
Is pushed in by a predetermined amount, the rear face plate 38 is provided on the male housing 1 and the rear side guide rail 35 is provided.
By pressing against the rear end face, the clip 3 is prevented from being pushed further.

Next, the structure of the portion that locks when the clip 3 is attached to the male housing 1 at a regular position will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, an L-shaped locking leg 40 is formed from the central portion in the width direction of the rear plate 38 of the clip 3 as shown in FIG. Have been. On the other hand, a device hole 41 into which the locking leg 40 of the clip 3 can be inserted is formed in the rear surface of the main body 5 of the male housing 1 at a position between the left and right cavities 8 described above. .

The locking leg 40 of the clip 3 is formed with a concave groove 42 at the center in the width direction from the rear surface to the lower surface. On the rear end side of the concave groove 42 on the lower surface side, a locking projection 43 is formed downward. The locking projection 43 is a guide surface that is inclined on the front side (the left side in FIG. 4) and is a locking surface that is steep on the rear side. On the other hand, a lock arm 45 is formed so as to protrude rearward substantially horizontally from the inner surface of the device hole 41 of the male housing 1, and the protruding end side can be bent and deformed downward. On the upper surface on the protruding end side, a lock protrusion 46 that can be locked to the lock protrusion 43 of the clip 3 is formed. The lock projection 46 is a guide surface that is inclined on the rear side (the right side in FIG. 4), and is a locking surface that is sharp on the front side.

That is, when the clip 3 is inserted as described above, the locking leg 40 enters the device hole 41 while bending the lock arm 45 downward, and the locking projection 43 engages the locking projection 46. At this point, the locking projection 45 is locked by the locking projection 46 while the lock arm 45 is restored to its original shape, so that the clip 3 is locked in a locked state.

In the state where the clip 3 is locked,
As shown in FIG. 10, a release space 48 is provided above the projecting end of the lock arm 45 so that a finger of a worker's hand can enter. The concave groove 42 on the rear surface side of the locking leg 40 can be used as an insertion groove 50 for inserting a jig 49.

The connector of this embodiment has means for electrically detecting whether or not the male and female housings are properly connected to each other. This will be briefly described below. Cavity 8 in body 5 of male housing 1
The receiving space 53 for the short-circuit terminal 52 is formed on the lower surface side of. As shown in FIG. 1, the short-circuit terminal 52 has a shape in which a pair of elastic contact pieces 55 are formed so as to be folded forward from both ends of the bridge portion 54. The short-circuit terminal 52 is inserted into the housing space 53 from the side of the hood 6, and as shown in FIG. 2, a locking piece 56 cut and raised in the bridge portion 54 is formed on the bottom surface of the housing space 53. By being locked to the locking stepped portion 57, it is mounted in a state where it cannot be removed. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, a window hole 58 is opened in the bottom surface on the front end side of both cavities 8, and short-circuit terminals 52 are provided.
Is accommodated in the accommodation space 53 as described above, the contact points 59 protruding from the distal ends of the respective elastic contact pieces 55 project through the window holes 58 into the corresponding bottom surfaces of the cavities 8. .

A male terminal fitting 10 is provided in each cavity 8.
Is properly inserted, the two male terminal fittings 10 are short-circuited by coming into contact with the respective contacts 59, and are engaged with the mating female housing in such a state to reach the proper fitting state. A release plate (not shown) protruding from the mating surface of the male terminal fitting 10 and the contact 59 of the short-circuit terminal 52 are provided.
Then, the short circuit state is released by breaking into the gap, and it is possible to electrically detect that the male and female housings are properly fitted.

This embodiment has the above-described structure,
Subsequently, the operation will be described. The short-circuit terminal 52 is mounted on the male housing 1 and the retainer 2 is assembled at the temporary locking position. The retainer 2 is inserted into the retainer insertion hole 13 from above as described above, and is temporarily assembled to the temporary locking position by locking the temporary locking pieces 16. In a state where the retainer 2 is in the temporary locking position, the locking projection 14 of the retainer 2 is retracted into the opening 15 on the upper surface of the cavity 8 as shown in FIG.

Therefore, when the male terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the cavity 8, the male terminal fitting 10 is pushed into the proper position without being hindered by the retainer 2, as shown by a chain line in FIG. Is stopped. At the same time, the left and right male terminal fittings 10 are short-circuited via the short-circuit terminal 52.

Next, the retainer 2 is further pushed in, and is locked at the final locking position by the final locking piece 17. When the retainer 2 reaches the final locking position, as shown in FIG.
Project from the opening 15 into the cavity 8 to be secondarily locked to the corresponding male terminal fitting 10, whereby the male terminal fitting 1
0 is double locked. At the same time, as shown in FIG.
The guide rail 20 of the retainer 2 is lowered to a position where it is aligned with the front and rear guide rails 34 and 35 of the male housing 1 to form one guide rail 36.

Subsequently, as shown by the arrow in FIG.
2 is aligned with the guide rail 36, and the clip 3 is inserted from the rear side of the male housing 1. Accordingly, the locking leg 4
0 is inserted into the device hole 41 and the locking projection 4 of the locking leg 40 is inserted.
The lock arm 45 hits the lock projection 46 of the lock arm 45, and the lock arm 45 is pushed downward while being bent and deformed downward via an oblique guide surface. As shown in FIG.
Of the rear guide rail 3 on the rear side of the male housing 1
When the push is stopped when the lock arm 45 comes into contact with the rear surface of the lock 5, the lock arm 45 is restored and deformed.
6 is locked to the locking projection 43 of the locking leg 40 and the clip 3
Is locked in the retaining state.

On the other hand, if the retainer 2 is not pushed into the final locking position after the male terminal fitting 10 is inserted, or if the pushing amount is insufficient to reach the final locking position, as shown in FIG. And the guide rail 20 of the retainer 2
Are not aligned with the guide rails 34 and 35 of the male housing 1, in other words, the top plate 2 a of the retainer 2 protrudes from the ceiling surface of the male housing 1. Therefore, when the clip 3 is next fitted and inserted into the guide rail 35,
As shown in FIG. 8, the insertion leg 32 of the clip 3 is
Abuts against the rear edge of the top plate 2a of the retainer 2, and the clip 3 cannot be further pushed in, and therefore cannot be locked. With this, it is detected that the retainer 2 is not attached to the regular final locking position. Therefore, the clip 3 may be attached by pushing the retainer 2 to the final locking position again.

When the retainer 2 and the clip 3 are attached to the proper positions, they are fitted with the mating female housing.
When the two housings are properly fitted, the short-circuit state between the male terminal fittings 10 is released as described above, and this is detected. When the clip 3 is attached to the vehicle body panel 29, the clip 3 is inserted into a mounting hole 30 opened in the vehicle body panel 29, and as shown in FIGS. The male housing 1 is attached to the vehicle body panel 29 while holding the vehicle body panel 29 therebetween.

When the male housing 1 is detached from the clip 3 for maintenance or the like, a jig 49 provided on the locking leg 40 is provided above the projecting end of the lock arm 45 as shown in FIG. Since the insertion groove 50 is opened, the projecting end of the lock arm 45 is pushed while the tip of the jig 49 is inserted into the insertion groove 50, and the lock arm 4 is pressed.
When the male housing 1 is forcibly deformed, the lock projection 46 is disengaged from the locking projection 43 and the lock is released. Therefore, if the male housing 1 is pushed forward (left side in the figure) as it is,
It can be removed from the clip 3. Further, since the release space 48 is provided above the protruding end of the lock arm 45, it is also possible to release the lock by inserting a finger and pressing the protruding end of the lock arm 45 to bend downward. It is.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, if the retainer 2 is not properly pushed into the final locking position, the next time the clip 3 is to be mounted,
, The clip 3 cannot be attached to the regular position, and it can be simply and reliably detected that the retainer 2 is not properly assembled at the full locking position.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above with reference to 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) The present invention is not limited to the side retainer type illustrated in the above embodiment, and can be similarly applied to a type using a retainer of another type such as a front type. (2) The present invention is not limited to the male connector but can be similarly applied to the female connector.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along a lock portion when a retainer is temporarily locked.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the cavity.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a clip inserting operation.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view cut along a cavity when the retainer is fully locked.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along a lock portion where a clip is properly attached.

FIG. 7 is a rear view thereof.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view when half-insertion of a retainer is detected.

FIG. 9 is a rear view when the male housing is attached to the vehicle body panel.

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Male housing 2 ... Retainer 2a ... Ceiling part (of retainer 2) 3 ... Clip 10 ... Male terminal fitting 13 ... Retainer insertion hole 20 ... Guide rail (of retainer 2) 29 ... Body panel 30 ... Mounting hole 32 ... Difference Including legs 34, 35 ... guide rails (of male housing 1) 36 ... (unified) guide rails

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A connector provided with a retainer for double-locking a terminal fitting and a clip for attaching the connector housing to a mating member in a connector housing into which the terminal fitting is inserted. , The connector housing and the retainer respectively
The hook-shaped guide rail for attaching the clip is
The retainer is provided facing each other,
Guide rails are aligned only when installed in position
Then, it is possible to insert the clip into a regular position.
Connector, characterized in that there.