JP3690934B2 - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector having a locking member for locking a terminal.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a conventional example of an electrical connector having a locking member for locking a terminal, the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-7676 is known. As shown in FIG. 6, the electrical connector 100 is provided with a locking member 104 having a convex portion 102 at the front end. When the locking member 104 is attached to the opening 110 provided on the side portion of the housing 108, the convex portion 102 enters the opening 110 of the housing 108 and contacts the upper inner wall of the cavity (terminal receiving passage) 112. Is done. As a result, the terminal is held by the convex portion 102 and the locking member 104 is prevented from floating.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-described conventional example, the entire convex portion 102 is in contact with the inner wall of the cavity 112. Therefore, unless the wall thickness is reduced, the external dimensions of the connector 100 are large. In addition, if the connector is to be miniaturized, the wall thickness must be reduced, which causes a problem that the locking strength of the locking member 104 is reduced. Furthermore, even if the terminal (not shown) is half-inserted, it may be easy to detect, but in the case of complete insertion, the tip of the protrusion 102 may be caught by the edge of the opening 110 and may be difficult to insert. is there.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector having a large locking strength of a locking member while being a small connector.
[0005]
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector that can reliably detect the half-mounting of the terminal when it is half-mounted and can smoothly insert the locking member to the final position when fully inserted.
[0006]
The electrical connector according to the present invention has a terminal having a connection portion with a terminal of a mating connector and a protrusion for preventing reverse insertion provided on the upper surface of the connection portion, and the terminal is received and the protrusion is received. an insulating housing having an opening on the side of the terminal receiving passage having a relief groove, attached to the opening, meet electrical connector comprising a locking member for locking the terminal, with the locking member A base portion extending forward from the rear portion is formed, and the base portion is in contact with a first inclined surface inclined forward and downward on an upper surface of a distal end portion of the base portion and an end wall of the opening when the terminal is incompletely inserted. , positioned in front Symbol relief groove during full insertion of the terminal, said the first inclined plane in an electrical connector having a protruding portion which is provided biased to the front side, the base, said base portion The first at the front end of the first inclined surface An inclined surface inclined downward with a larger inclination than the inclined surface, and the protrusion has a second inclined surface inclined forward and upward on a front end of the protrusion and the inclined surface, and the locking member When the terminal is completely inserted, the boundary portion of the inclined surface at the front end of the base and the second inclined surface of the protrusion contacts the shoulder of the rear end of the connection portion of the terminal to prevent the terminal from coming off. It is characterized by that .
[0007]
Preferably, the locking member includes a flat extension extending forward, and the base extends to a lower surface of the extension so as to reinforce the extension.
[0009]
It is desirable that a taper is provided at the edge of the opening, and when the locking member is inserted, the first inclined surface of the locking member is guided by the taper of the opening.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0011]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an insulating housing of an electrical connector (hereinafter simply referred to as a connector) 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view of the electrical connector 1 showing a state in which the locking member 10 is attached to the housing 2. 3A and 3B show the locking member 10, where FIG. 3A is a plan view, FIG. 3B is a front view seen from the arrow D in FIG. 4A, and FIG. 3C is a CC line in FIG. FIG.
[0012]
First, referring to FIG. 1, the insulating housing 2 of the connector 1 is a terminal receiving passage (hereinafter simply referred to as a passage) for receiving a terminal 80 (FIGS. 4 and 5) from the fitting surface 4 to the rear end 6. 8) (FIGS. 4 and 5). A latch arm 14 having a protrusion 16 for engaging with a mating connector is formed at the approximate center of the upper surface 12 of the housing 2. Since this configuration is known, detailed description thereof is omitted. On the side surface 18 of the housing 2, a temporary locking projection 20 that holds the locking member 10 in the temporary locking position is projected. An opening 22 in which the locking member 10 is disposed is provided on the upper surface 12 of the housing. Visible in the opening 22 are the cavities 24 forming the respective cavities, ie the passages 8. In the partition wall 24, ribs, i.e., flanges 26, which protrude inward at the upper part on one side, are formed in the opening 22. This is provided to prevent the terminal 80 from protruding upward from the opening 22 when the terminal 80 is inserted obliquely upward from the rear end.
[0013]
Next, referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the locking member 10 is attached to a temporary locking position on the rear upper surface of the housing 2. Here, for the sake of convenience, the locking member 10 in FIG. 3 is shown on the opposite side without the latch arm 14, but basically has the same locking structure. A rectangular opening 32 is formed in the wing 30 at both ends of the locking member 10, and the opening 32 and the protrusion 20 are engaged to be locked at the temporary locking position. The locking member 10 has an extension 36 that protrudes forward from the main body 34, and a base 38 is formed on the lower surface of the extension 36 from the rear toward the front. The distal end portion of the base portion 38 protrudes from the extension portion 36, and an inclined surface (first inclined surface) 38a inclined forward and downward is formed on the upper surface of the distal end portion. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3C, the tip of the base portion 38 is an inclined surface 38b inclined downward. A protruding portion 40 having an inclined surface (second inclined surface) 40a inclined obliquely upward and forward is provided on the inclined surface 38a of the base portion 38 in a biased manner. The inclined lower surface 34 a of the main body 34 moves in the direction of arrow A along the inclined surface 42 formed on the upper surface of the rear end portion of the housing 2. A hook 44 having an upward surface 44 a is formed at the lower end of the wing 30. The hook 44 is guided by engaging an upper surface 44 a with a first downward step portion 46 formed at the rear portion of the side surface 18 of the housing 2. Thus, the lower surface 34 a and the upward surface 44 a of the locking member 10 move along the outer side of the inclined surface 42 and the downward stepped portion 46 of the housing 2. In other words, the locking member 10 straddles the inclined surface 42 and the downward stepped portion 46 and moves in the A direction so that the rod also moves on the rail. When the locking member 10 is in the fully inserted position, that is, the main locking position, the upward surface 44a of the hook 44 is engaged with the second downward stepped portion 48 and locked. At this time, the rear end portion 34b of the main body 34 is engaged with the rear end edge 22a of the opening 22 and is prevented from coming off.
[0014]
Next, FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views of the connector 1 using the locking member 10. 4 shows the position of the locking member 10 when the terminal 80 is incompletely inserted, and FIG. 5 shows the position of the locking member 10 when the terminal 80 is completely inserted. Although the passages 8 are formed in two upper and lower rows, only the upper passage 8 will be described because it has substantially the same configuration. First, referring to FIG. 4, the terminal 80 is inserted partway through the passage 8 of the housing 2, and a reverse insertion preventing projection 84 provided on the upper surface 86 of the connection portion 82 of the terminal 80 receives the clearance groove. Located in the vicinity of 50 entrances. For this reason, even if the locking member 10 is to be inserted, the distal end portion of the base portion 38 of the locking member 10 abuts on the upper surface 86 of the terminal 80, and the inclined surface 40 a at the distal end of the protrusion 40 is the front end edge 22 b of the opening 22. , It is found that the intrusion is prevented and the terminal 80 is not completely inserted. A taper 54 is formed on the front end edge 22b of the opening 22. However, since the inclined surface 40a does not cover the taper 54, entry is reliably prevented. As a result, the base 38 is prevented from entering between the top wall 58 and the terminal 80.
[0015]
Referring now to FIG. 5, the terminal 80 is fully inserted into the passage 8, and the terminal 80 is primarily locked by the housing lance 52. Since this aspect is a known configuration, details will not be described. Since the connecting portion 82 is located inward from the escape groove 50, the locking member 10 can enter the opening 22, and the inclined surface 38a of the base portion 38 is guided by the taper 54 and moves to the left in FIG. The terminal 80 is locked by the locking member 10. The boundary portion between the inclined surface 38b at the front end portion of the base portion 38 and the inclined surface 40a of the projection portion 40 is preferably in contact with the shoulder 88 at the rear end of the connecting portion to prevent it from coming off. The protrusion 40 is located in the escape groove 50, and the rear end portion 34 b of the main body 34 is located in the rear end edge 22 a of the opening 22.
[0016]
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The sectional shape of the escape groove may be a rectangle or a curved shape constituting a part of a circle.
[0017]
【The invention's effect】
In the connector according to the present invention, a base portion including a first inclined surface inclined toward the front lower side is formed at the front end portion of the locking member, and the base portion contacts the end wall of the opening when the terminal is not fully inserted. Since the protrusion including the second inclined surface that is inclined in the front upper direction and is located in the escape groove when the terminal is completely inserted is provided, an electrical connector having a large locking strength can be obtained while being a small connector. .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an insulating housing of an electrical connector of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view of the electrical connector showing a state in which the locking member is attached to the housing.
3A and 3B show a locking member, in which FIG. 3A is a plan view, FIG. 3B is a front view, and FIG. 3C is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the position of the locking member when the terminal is incompletely inserted.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the position of the locking member when the terminal is completely inserted.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrical connector 2 Insulation housing 8 Terminal receiving path 10 Locking member 22 Opening 38 Base 38a 1st inclined surface 40 Projection 40a 2nd inclined surface 50 Relief groove 80 Terminal 84 Protrusion for reverse insertion prevention

Claims (3)

A terminal having a connection portion with a terminal of a mating connector and having a protrusion for preventing reverse insertion provided on the upper surface of the connection portion, and a terminal receiving passage having a clearance groove for receiving the protrusion while accommodating the terminal an insulating housing having an opening on the side of, attached to the opening, an electrical connector comprising a locking member for locking the pin, extending from the rear to the front in the locking member the base is formed, the base portion includes a first inclined surface that forward and inclined downwardly at the distal end portion upper face of the base portion, in contact with the end wall of said opening when an incomplete insertion of the terminal, during a full insertion of the terminal In the electrical connector having a protrusion that is located in the escape groove and is biased toward the front end side on the first inclined surface ,
The base has an inclined surface that is inclined downward with a larger inclination than the first inclined surface at a front end of the first inclined surface of the base,
The projecting portion has a second inclined surface forward and tilt upward the front end of the projecting portion and onto the inclined surface,
When the locking member is completely inserted, a boundary portion between the inclined surface at the front end of the base and the second inclined surface of the protrusion comes into contact with a shoulder at the rear end of the connection portion of the terminal. An electrical connector characterized in that it is prevented from coming off. The locking member includes a flat extension extending forward,
The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the base portion extends to a lower surface of the extension portion so as to reinforce the extension portion. A taper is provided at the edge of the opening,
3. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein when the locking member is inserted, the first inclined surface of the locking member is guided by the taper.

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