JP3235479B2 - 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 mounted with a retainer embedded in a side wall of a connector housing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A general structure of this type of connector is to insert a female terminal fitting into each cavity of a connector housing having a plurality of cavities to engage with the connector housing. The retainer is inserted from the retainer insertion opening formed in the side wall portion so as to penetrate the cavity, and the movement of the terminal fitting in the removal direction is restricted by the retainer.

In this configuration, the retainer is set in a "temporarily locked position" in which the retainer is previously locked to the connector housing in consideration of work efficiency but does not hinder the insertion and removal of the terminal fitting. It is transported to the work site where the terminal fittings are assembled. Then, when all of the terminal fittings are inserted, the retainer is pushed into the “finally locked position” and fixed to completely prevent the terminal fitting from coming off.

When maintenance such as replacement of terminal fittings is required, for example, by returning the retainer from the final locking position to the temporary locking position and disengaging the terminal fittings,
The terminal fitting can be removed.

[0005]

However, in the above configuration, since the retainer at the temporarily locked position is slightly protruding from the side wall of the connector housing, a large number of connectors with the retainer set at the temporarily locked position are provided. For example, when packing in a box or bag and transporting it to a work site for assembling the terminal fittings, the connectors may collide with each other and push the other retainer to the final locking position. Then, at the terminal insertion work site, the retainer must be pulled back to the temporary locking position before assembling the terminal fittings, and the work is much troublesome, and there is a long-awaited improvement.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of preventing a retainer at a temporarily locked position from colliding with another and falling into a fully locked position. It is in.

[0007]

Connector according to the invention of claim 1 for achieving the above object, according to an aspect of, in a connector to which the connection state is inserted into the hood of a mating connector,
A terminal fitting is mounted in a cavity of the connector housing, and a rectangle formed on an upper wall of the connector housing.
The retainer is inserted in a direction intersecting with the extension direction of the cavity through the retainer insertion opening to prevent the terminal fitting from being pulled out. Along with providing a portion, the connector housing is provided with a protective projection wall along the pressing projection,
The retainer is provided with a locking mechanism that is temporarily locked at a position where the pressing protrusion is substantially equal to the height of the protective protrusion wall, and is fully locked at a position that sinks into the connector housing , In addition, in the temporary locking state,
The surface other than the pressing projection on the surface on the rear end side is a connector
The feature is that it is flush with the top wall of the housing .

[0008] The connector according to claim 2 is the one according to claim 1, wherein the upper end of the push 圧突portion on the upper surface thereof
With a permanent unlocking projection that extends along
The opening edge of the retainer insertion opening of the connector housing
This is accommodated in the
The jig insertion concave portion is formed .

[0009]

In the connector according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the retainer is set at the temporary locking position, the pressing projection projects from the side wall of the connector housing. However, since the protective projection wall extends along the pressing projection at substantially the same height, even if another connector housing or the like collides with the side wall of the connector housing, the pressing projection is protected by the protective projection wall, It is no longer pushed by the connector housing or the like. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the retainer from accidentally dropping to the final locking position.

[0010] Further, since a protective projection wall projects from the side wall of the connector housing, a structure is required for the hood of the mating connector to be fitted with the connector to escape from the protection projection wall. However, in the present invention, the pressing projection is provided on a part of the end face of the retainer. Therefore, it is sufficient to provide the protection projection wall locally. This means that the hood of the mating connector only needs to be locally provided with a recess for escaping the protective projection wall, and it is not necessary to increase the size of the entire hood. To contribute.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the retainer reaches the final locking position, the final unlocking projection is located in the jig insertion recess in the side wall of the connector housing. Therefore, when returning the retainer at the final locking position to the temporary locking position, it is sufficient to insert the jig into the jig insertion concave portion and pull up the projection for releasing the final locking, which is very difficult. Easy.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The connector housing 10 of the female connector F
Has a box shape, and a plurality of cavities 11 are provided therein so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 2). In this embodiment, for example, the cavities 11 are formed in upper and lower three stages on the left and right sides and in upper and lower two stages in the center, and have a total of eight cavities 11. A male terminal insertion opening 12 connected to the cavity 11 is opened on the front surface of the connector housing 10, and the female terminal fitting 2 is inserted into the cavity 11 from the rear.
0 and the male terminal fitting (not shown) is inserted through the male terminal insertion opening 12 when the female terminal fitting 2 is inserted.
Connect to 0.

The female terminal fitting 20, as shown in FIG.
Wire barrel 2 to which core 31 of electric wire 30 is caulked
1, an insulation barrel 22 to which an insulation coating of an electric wire 30 is fixed by caulking, and a well-known shape integrally provided with a rectangular tube-like connection portion 23 in front of the insulation barrel 22; An elastic contact piece (not shown) connected to the terminal fitting is provided. In addition, the connection portion 23
A lance 24 is formed on the upper surface of the connector housing 10 so as to engage with a locking projection 19 provided on the inner surface of the cavity 11 of the connector housing 10 to prevent the female terminal fitting 20 from coming off. A pair of stabilizers 25 project upward from the rear of the lance 24.

In addition to the above-mentioned retaining structure, a double locking structure utilizing a retainer 40 as described below is provided to more reliably prevent the retaining structure. That is, the retainer 40 has a configuration in which the vertical walls 41 and the horizontal walls 42 are arranged in a lattice as shown in FIG. A rectangular retainer insertion opening 13 is formed in the upper surface wall of the connector housing 10, and when the retainer 40 is inserted into the connector housing 10 from above, the respective lateral walls 4 of the retainer 40 are
2 corresponds to each cavity 11. At the lower ends of the left and right vertical walls 41 of the retainer 40, a pair of locking claws 43 are respectively provided so as to be elastically deformable. As shown in FIG. 5, an upper locking projection 14 and a lower locking projection 15 are provided in two steps with a slight vertical space therebetween, and the retainer 40 is inserted into the connector housing 10 so that the locking claw 43 is formed. The retainer 40 can be selectively held at the “temporarily locked position” and the “fully locked position” by being selectively engaged with the upper locking projection 14 and the lower locking projection 15. In the provisionally locked position of the retainer 40 in which the locking claw 43 is engaged with the upper locking protrusion 14, the upper surface of the retainer 40 is substantially flush with the upper surface wall of the connector housing 10, and the lateral wall 42 is in the cavity 11. Do not enter (see Fig. 2). In addition, when the retainer 40 is in the final engagement position where the engagement claw 43 is engaged with the lower engagement protrusion 15, the upper surface of the retainer 40 is slightly depressed from the upper surface wall of the connector housing 10, and the lateral wall 42.
Enters the cavity 11 and locks the rear end of the stabilizer 25 of the female terminal fitting 20 (see FIG. 6), thereby preventing the female terminal fitting 20 from coming off in a double manner.

A rectangular pressing projection 44 is provided at the center of the upper wall of the retainer 40. The height of the pressing projection 44 is set to a dimension corresponding to a stroke between the temporary locking position of the retainer 40 and the full locking position,
Therefore, when the retainer 40 is at the temporary locking position, the pressing projection 44 protrudes from the upper wall of the connector housing 10,
When the retainer 40 is pushed into the final locking position, the upper surface of the pressing protrusion 44 is substantially flush with the upper wall of the connector housing 10. On the rear end side of the pressing projection 44, a final locking release projection 45 is integrally extended, while on the top wall of the connector housing 10, the final locking release projection 4 is provided.
The jig insertion recess 16 in which the housing 5 is accommodated is formed to be depressed. The lower surface of the final locking release projection 45 is an inclined surface that rises forward, and the bottom of the jig insertion concave portion 16 is also an inclined surface in the same direction. The release projection 45 is set larger. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the retainer 40 has reached the final locking position and the final locking release projection 45 is housed in the jig insertion concave portion 16, the position between the projection 45 and the concave portion 16 is reduced. A gap is formed in which an unlocking jig (not shown) such as a flathead screwdriver can be inserted.

On the peripheral edge of the retainer insertion opening 13 of the connector housing 10, a single protective projection wall 17 is provided at a position corresponding to the front of the pressing projection 44 of the retainer 40. Are provided on both sides of the jig insertion recess 16 at two positions. The height of these protective projections 17 is
The height of the pressing projection 44 is set to be substantially the same as the height of the pressing projection 44, so that when the retainer 40 is in the temporary locking position, the pressing projection 44 and the protection projection wall 17 are in a state where their upper surfaces are flush with each other. Become.

On the other hand, as for the male connector M, as shown in FIG.
Of the connector housing 10 can be accommodated. The hood portion 51 is formed with a guide groove 52 that allows the reverse insertion prevention rib 18 formed in the connector housing 10 of the female connector F to enter, and the opposite side of the formation position is formed in the connector housing 10. A projecting wall passage groove 53 that allows the formed protective projecting wall 17 to enter is formed.

The configuration of the present embodiment is as described above, and the operation is as follows. In the process of assembling the female connector F, first, the retainer 40 is connected to the connector housing 10.
And set to the temporary locking position. To do this, the retainer 40 is inserted through the retainer insertion opening 13 and its locking claw 4
3 is pushed into the connector housing 10 until it engages with the upper locking projection 14. In this state, as shown in FIG. 2, the pressing protrusion 44 of the retainer 40 is protected from the front and rear by the protection protrusion walls 17 provided on the upper surface of the connector housing 10.

For example, a large number of the connector housings 10 are packed in a box or a bag, and are conveyed to a work site in a step of inserting the terminal fittings 20. At this time, the connector housings 10 collide with each other and press against each other. However, since the protective protrusion wall 17 is formed before and after the pressing protrusion 44 of the retainer 40, the other connector housings 10
Even if the pressure collides with the pressing projection 44, the force is received by the protective projection wall 17, and the pressing projection 44 does not fall into the connector housing 10 to reach the final locking position. Further, even if the other connector housing 10 hits a portion other than the pressing protrusion 44 of the retainer 40, that portion will
The retainer 40 is not pushed into the connector housing 10 because it is substantially flush with the top wall of the connector housing 10.

When the female terminal fittings 20 have been inserted into the respective cavities 11 in the terminal fitting assembling step, if the upper surface of the retainer 40 is pressed by a finger or the like, the retainer 40 falls into the connector housing 10. Thus, the female terminal fitting 20 is double-locked.

When it is necessary to remove the female terminal fitting 20 from the connector housing 10 for maintenance or the like, first, the retainer 40 at the final locking position is pulled back to the temporary locking position. For this, for example, a locking release jig with a sharp tip such as a flathead screwdriver,
What is necessary is just to insert it into the space between the final locking release projection 45 of the retainer 40 and the jig insertion concave portion 16 of the connector housing 10 and pull up the final locking release projection 45.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the retainer 40 is set at the temporary locking position, the upper surface of the retainer 40 is flush with the upper surface wall of the connector housing 10, and the pressing protrusion 44 is provided. Only connector housing 1
Project from 0. However, since the protective projection wall 17 of the connector housing 10 extends along the pressing projection 44 at substantially the same height, even if another connector housing or the like collides with the connector housing 10, the pressing projection 44 remains in the protection projection. Protected by the wall 17, the retainer 40 is reliably prevented from accidentally dropping to the final locking position.

On the other hand, since the protective projection wall 17 is formed on the upper wall of the connector housing 10, the hood 51 of the mating male connector M fitted with the female connector F is formed.
Requires a structure for escaping the protection projection wall 17. However, in this embodiment, the pressing projection 44 is provided on a part of the end face of the retainer 40. Therefore, it is sufficient that the protection projection 17 is also provided locally. Since the protruding wall passage groove 53 for escape is locally provided, it is not necessary to increase the size of the hood 51, which contributes to downsizing of the male connector M.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above with reference to the drawings and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition to the following, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

(1) In the above embodiment, the retainer 40 is provided with the pressing projection 44 for the female connector F, and the protective projection wall 17 is provided for the connector housing 10. However, the male connector M is also provided with the pressing projection on the retainer. And a protective projection wall may be provided on the male connector housing.

(2) In the above embodiment, a connector having eight connection circuits has been exemplified, but the number of poles is not limited to this.
It is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a so-called hybrid type connector in which various terminals having different current capacities are mixed.

(3) In the above embodiment, the female terminal fitting 20
A pair of stabilizers 25 are protruded from the connecting portion 23, and the rear end of the stabilizer 25 is locked by the lateral wall 42 of the retainer 40 to prevent double removal. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be directly locked.

(4) In the above embodiment, the gap is formed by making the angle of inclination of the lower surface of the locking release projection 45 larger than the angle of inclination of the bottom of the jig insertion recess 16. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, the gap may be formed by setting the inclination to the same angle and making the thickness of the final locking release projection 45 thinner than the depth of the jig insertion concave portion 16.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a male and female connector showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the female connector shown in a temporarily locked position of a retainer.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the female terminal fitting.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a retainer.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional front view showing a retaining structure of a retainer at a temporary retaining position.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a female connector in which a retainer is in a final locking position.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional front view showing a retaining structure of a retainer at a final locking position.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector housing 13 ... Retainer insertion opening 17 ... Protective projection wall 16 ... Jig insertion recessed part 20 ... Female terminal metal fitting 25 ... Stabilizer 40 ... Retainer 43 ... Locking claw 44 ... Pressing protrusion 45 ... Full locking release protrusion

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A connector is inserted into the hood of a mating connector in a connected state, the terminal fitting is mounted in the cavity of the connector housing, the connector Howe
Through the rectangular retainer insertion hole formed on the top wall of the jing
Then , a retainer is inserted in a direction intersecting with the extension direction of the cavity to prevent the terminal fitting from being removed,
A pressing projection is provided on a part of the surface on the rear end side in the insertion direction of the retainer, and a protection projection wall is provided on the connector housing along the pressing projection, and the retainer is provided with the protection projection. A locking mechanism that is temporarily locked at a position substantially equal to the height of the protruding wall, and is further locked at a position below the connector housing , and in the temporarily locked state, Insertion end rear end side
The surface of the surface other than the pressing protrusion is a connector housing.
A connector characterized by being flush with an upper wall of the connector. 2. An upper end of the pressing projection extends along an upper surface thereof.
A projection for releasing the final lock is provided, and
At the opening edge of the retainer insertion port of the connector housing,
Jig insertion for accommodating this locking release projection
The connector according to claim 1, wherein a recess is formed .