JP3773700B2 - Flat cable terminal structure and connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connector used for connecting flat cables and a flat cable terminal structure in the connector .
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, wire harnesses, for example, wire harnesses for automobiles, in which round wires having a circular cross section have been used, have been used in recent years for the purpose of increasing boarding space by reducing wiring space. It came to be able to.
Here, when a flat cable is used for in-vehicle wiring, a relay connector is required for the connection between the flat cables. For example, a relay connector for inserting and connecting the flat cable from both sides of the connector body is disclosed (for example, JP-A-5-101859).
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the flat cable is a flat cable having a thickness of 1 mm or less in which a plurality of flat electric conductors are covered with an electrically insulating synthetic resin and has low rigidity. For this reason, when the flat cable is used in the relay connector disclosed in the above publication, the flat cable is easily bent and requires a lot of labor to insert. In particular, in connection work such as in-car wiring, there is a problem that it is very difficult to connect the flat cable and the relay connector because the worker wears gloves such as gloves for safety.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector that can easily connect a flat cable even when wearing gloves , and a terminal structure of the flat cable in the connector .
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object in the present invention, the flat cable terminal structure includes a plurality of flat electric conductors and a flat cable terminal having an insulating layer covering the plurality of electric conductors, and the flat cable terminal. A terminal connected to each of the electrical conductors, a housing having a terminal portion of the flat cable and a storage portion for storing and fixing the terminal, and the terminal portion of the flat cable and the terminal being stored and fixed in the housing A retainer that is engaged and mounted in the housing in a state where the retainer is pressed, and the retainer presses a terminal portion of the flat cable against the storage portion and is provided with a terminal provided for each electric conductor The structure has a plurality of ribs that insulate each other, and the connector has such a structure. ).
[0006]
Preferably, the terminal structure of the flat cable is a structure in which the terminal part of the flat cable is stored in a bent state by the storage part of the housing and the retainer, and the connector has such a structure. 2 and 3).
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the connector of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 1 has a female housing 2 and a male housing 5 molded from an electrically insulating synthetic resin such as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT).
[0008]
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the female housing 2 is a member that is formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape, and a front half side facing the male housing 5 is inserted into a front half portion of the male housing 5. A flat cable 3 is connected. The female housing 2 is integrally formed with an arm 2a extending rearward at an upper portion, and a locking projection 2b is provided at a substantially middle upper portion of the arm 2a. The female housing 2 is formed with a plurality of square hole-like insertion portions 2c into which a plurality of female terminals 4 attached to the flat cable 3 are respectively inserted, and each insertion portion 2c has a lance 2d (FIG. 4). Reference) is provided. The female housing 2 is formed with a storage portion 2e (see FIG. 4) that opens to the rear side adjacent to the plurality of insertion portions 2c, and the engagement holes 2f are formed on both side walls on the rear end side of the storage portion 2e. Is provided. Here, the female housing 2 is provided with a plurality of ribs 2g (see FIG. 2B, FIG. 4 and FIG. 10) extending in the front-rear direction on the upper portion of the storage portion 2e, and the plurality of insertion portions 2c will be described later. Similar to the male housing 5, it is partitioned by a partition wall (not shown).
[0009]
The male housing 5 is a member formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape having a length approximately twice that of the female housing 2, and a flat cable 6 to be described later is connected thereto. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the male housing 5 is provided with an insertion portion 5 a into which the front half side of the female housing 2 is inserted in the front half portion, and a locking projection 2 b of the female housing 2 on the upper portion. The engaging portion 5b with which the is engaged is integrally formed. The male housing 5 is provided with a plurality of square hole-like insertion portions 5c (see FIG. 5) into which a plurality of male terminals 7 of the flat cable 6 are respectively inserted in an intermediate portion adjacent to the insertion portion 5a. Each insertion portion 5c is provided with a lance 5d (see FIG. 5). In addition, the male housing 5 is formed with a storage portion 5e (see FIG. 5) that opens to the rear side at a rear portion adjacent to the plurality of insertion portions 5c, and engagement holes are formed in both side walls on the rear end side of the storage portion 5e. 5f is provided. Here, like the female housing 2, the male housing 5 is provided with a plurality of ribs 5g (see FIG. 3A, FIG. 5 and FIG. 10) extending in the front-rear direction on the upper portion of the storage portion 5e. The landing portion 5c is partitioned by a partition wall 5h (see FIG. 17A).
[0010]
Here, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the flat cables 3 and 6 are made of a plurality of flat electric conductors 3 a and 6 a (see FIG. 9) made of copper or the like having an electrically insulating property such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). It is a wire harness covered with synthetic resins 3b and 6b.
The female terminal 4 and the male terminal 7 are made of a metal having excellent elasticity, such as brass, phosphor bronze, beryllium copper, etc., and are processed from a metal having excellent conductivity, and are connected to the electric conductors 3a and 6a at the ends of the flat cables 3 and 6, respectively. It is attached.
[0011]
As shown in FIG. 6, the female terminal 4 is provided with a flat surface portion 4b at the rear portion of the riser body 4a. The receptacle body 4a is a portion where a later-described tab 7b of the male terminal 7 is fitted, and an opening 4c is formed on the lower surface. On the other hand, the flat part 4b is provided with a plurality of puncture pieces 4d (see FIG. 8) on both sides. When attaching the female terminal 4 to the electric conductor 3a of the flat cable 3, the puncture piece 4d pierces the flat cable 3 at the portion of the electric conductor 3a as shown in FIG. The flat cable 3 is pressed against the flat portion 4b at the tip. Here, the puncture piece 4d is chamfered into a wedge shape in a range of 15 to 45 degrees by cutting or crushing so as to easily penetrate the flat cable 3.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 7, the male terminal 7 is formed with a tab 7b at the front portion of the tab body 7a and a flat surface portion 7c at the rear portion. The tab body 7a has an opening 7d (see FIG. 7) formed on the lower surface, and a plurality of puncture pieces (not shown) configured similarly to the puncture pieces 4d of the female terminal 4 are provided on both sides of the flat surface portion 7c. It has been.
In use, the connector 1 constructed as described above has a female terminal 4 inserted into each insertion portion 2c of the female housing 2 and a male terminal 7 inserted into each insertion portion 5c of the male housing 5, respectively. Install cables 3 and 6. In the female housing 2, when the female terminal 4 is inserted into each insertion portion 2c, the front portion of the receptacle body 4a is disposed at a position slightly inside the front portion of the insertion portion 2c. On the other hand, in the male housing 5, when the male terminal 7 is inserted into each insertion portion 5c, the tab 7b protrudes to the middle of the insertion portion 5a.
[0013]
At this time, in the female housing 2 and the male housing 5, when the female terminal 4 and the male terminal 7 are inserted into the insertion portions 2c and 5c, the lances 2d and 5d are elastically deformed, and the opening 4c and the tab main body 7a of the riser body 4a. The two terminals 4, 7 are held so as not to be pulled out from the insertion portions 2c, 5c.
Therefore, the female housing 2 and the male housing 5 can easily insert the female terminals 4 and the male terminals 7 attached to the end portions into the insertion portions 2c and 5c even if the rigidity of the flat cables 3 and 6 is small. Even if gloves are worn, the flat cables 3 and 6 can be easily attached.
[0014]
In this way, the female housing 2 and the male housing 5 to which the flat cables 3 and 6 are attached connect the flat cable 3 and the flat cable 7, that is, connect the plurality of female terminals 4 to the corresponding male terminals 7, respectively. When doing so, as shown in FIG. 1, the front half side of the female housing 2 is arranged to face the insertion portion 5 a of the male housing 5.
[0015]
Next, the front half side of the female housing 2 is inserted into the insertion portion 5 a of the male housing 5. Then, in the female housing 2, the locking projection 2b provided on the arm 2a engages with the engaging portion 5b of the male housing 5, and the two housings 2 and 5 are securely fitted as shown in FIG. Thus, the connector 1 can easily fit the female housing 2 and the male housing 5 even when wearing gloves, and can be provided at low cost because it is made of synthetic resin.
[0016]
On the other hand, when the connection between the female terminal 4 and the male terminal 7 is released, that is, when the fitting between the female housing 2 and the male housing 5 is released, the tip of the arm 2a of the female housing 2 is pushed down. As a result, the female housing 2 and the male housing 5 are released from the engagement between the locking projection 2b and the engaging portion 5b. can do.
[0017]
Here, when the connector 1 is inserted into the female housing 2 or the male housing 5 with a retainer formed of the same synthetic resin, the female terminal 4 or the male terminal 7 is more securely attached to the insertion portion 2c or the insertion portion 7c. Can be held.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the retainer 10 for the female housing 2 has a base portion 10a and an insertion piece 10b.
[0018]
The base 10a is formed with engaging projections 10c that engage with the engaging holes 2f of the female housing 2 on both sides, and projections 10d that determine the vertical position of the base 10a in the female housing 2 on both sides of the base 10a. It arrange | positions in contact with the rear part of the part 2e. The insertion piece 10b extends from the upper portion of the base portion 10a in a direction orthogonal to the storage portion 2e, and has a plurality of protrusions 10e inserted into the insertion portions 2c of the female housing 2 at the tip. Yes. A plurality of ribs 10f are formed on the lower surface of the insertion piece 10b. The rib 10f is formed between the plurality of projecting pieces 10e along the direction of insertion into the storage portion 2e.
[0019]
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the retainer 15 for the male housing 5 has a base portion 15a and an insertion piece 15b.
The base portion 15a is formed with engaging projections 15c that engage with the engaging holes 5f of the male housing 5 on both sides, and protrusions 15d that determine the vertical position of the retainer 15 in the male housing 5 on both sides of the upper portion. It arrange | positions in contact with the rear part of the accommodating part 5e. The insertion piece 15b extends from the upper portion of the base portion 15a in a direction orthogonal to the storage portion 5e, and has a plurality of projection pieces 15e inserted into the insertion portions 5c of the male housing 5 at the tip. Yes. A plurality of ribs 15f are formed on the lower surface of the insertion piece 15b. The rib 15f is formed between the plurality of projecting pieces 15e along the direction of insertion into the storage portion 5e.
[0020]
Accordingly, when the retainer 10 is inserted into the female housing 2, as shown in FIG. 15, the insertion piece 10b is inserted into the storage portion 2e, and the plurality of protrusions 10e are inserted into the corresponding insertion portions 2c. Is done. At the same time, in the retainer 10, the engaging protrusions 10 c on both sides of the base portion 10 a engage with the corresponding engaging holes 2 f of the female housing 2, and the base portion 10 a comes into contact with the rear portion of the storage portion 2 e and is fixed to the female housing 2. The
[0021]
Thereby, although not shown in FIG. 15, the retainer 10 has a plurality of ribs 10f on the lower surface of the insertion piece 10b pressing the flat portion 4b of the female terminal 4 attached to the flat cable 3 toward the bottom surface side of the storage portion 2e. Each of the projecting pieces 10e comes into contact with the rear portion of the receptacle body 4a of each female terminal 4, so that the female terminal 4 is more securely held by the insertion portion 2c. At this time, when the retainer 10 is inserted, the flat cable 3 attached to the female housing 2 extends downward from the gap between the base portion 10a and the rear portion of the storage portion 2e.
[0022]
On the other hand, when the retainer 15 is inserted into the male housing 5, as shown in FIG. 16, the insertion piece 15b is inserted into the storage portion 5e, and the plurality of protruding pieces 15e are inserted into the corresponding insertion portions 5c. The At the same time, the retainer 15 has the engaging projections 15c on both sides of the base portion 15a engaged with the corresponding engaging holes 5f of the male housing 5, and the base portion 15a abuts on the rear portion of the storage portion 5e and is fixed to the male housing 5. The
[0023]
Thereby, although not shown in FIG. 16, the retainer 15 presses the flat portion 7c of the male terminal 7 attached to the flat cable 6 to the bottom surface side of the storage portion 5e by the rib 15f on the lower surface of the insertion piece 15b. At the same time, by inserting the retainer 15 into the male housing 5, as shown in FIGS. 17 (a) and 17 (b), each of the plurality of projecting pieces 15e is brought into contact with the rear portion of the tab body 7a of each male terminal 7. Then, the male terminal 7 is more securely held by the insertion portion 5c.
[0024]
At this time, since the retainer 15 is inserted, the flat cable 6 attached to the male housing 5 extends downward from the gap between the base portion 15a and the rear portion of the storage portion 5e, like the flat cable 3 of the female housing 2. Put out.
As described above, when the retainers 10 and 15 are inserted into the female housing 2 and the male housing 5, respectively, the female terminal 4 and the male terminal 7 are more securely held by the insertion portion 2c and the insertion portion 5c. In addition, since the retraction of the female terminal 4 and the male terminal 7 is restricted by the projecting pieces 10e and 15e that are in contact with the rear portion of the tab body 7a, both terminals 4 and 7 can be connected well.
[0025]
Here, if the retainers 10 and 15, for example, the retainer 15 for the male housing 5, can regulate the backward movement of the male terminal 7, as shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, The projecting piece 15e may be omitted by adopting a configuration in which the tip is in direct contact with the rear portion of the tab body 7a. Further, since the retainers 10 and 15 have ribs 10f and 15f formed between the plurality of projecting pieces 10e and 15e, the plurality of projecting pieces 10e and 15e are formed by a partition wall (not shown) of the female housing 2 or a male. Corresponding to the position of the partition wall 5 h of the housing 5, the adjacent female terminals 4 and male terminals 7 can be insulated.
[0026]
Furthermore, the female housing 2 and the male housing 5 are provided with a plurality of ribs 2g and 5g on the upper portions of the storage portions 2e and 5e, and the insertion pieces 10b and 15b are inserted into the storage portions 2e and 5e in a line contact state. . For this reason, the retainers 10 and 15 can be inserted into the female housing 2 and the male housing 5 with a small frictional resistance.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, since the retraction of the female terminal and the male terminal is restricted, both terminals can be snugly connected, even wearing gloves, connection of the flat cable is easy flat cable terminal In addition to providing a structure and a connector, there is an effect that insulation between adjacent terminals can be ensured. Moreover, since the connector is made of synthetic resin, it contributes to cost reduction.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a female housing and a male housing of a connector according to the present invention.
2 is a perspective view (a) of the female housing of FIG. 1 viewed from the front and a perspective view (b) of the female housing viewed from the rear.
3 is a perspective view (a) of the male housing of FIG. 1 viewed from the front and a perspective view (b) of the male housing viewed from the rear.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a female housing cut along a fitting direction with a male housing.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the male housing cut along the fitting direction with the female housing.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a flat cable that is used in a female housing and has a plurality of female terminals attached to its end, as viewed from the inside out.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a flat cable that is used in a male housing and has a plurality of male terminals attached to its end, as viewed from the inside out.
8 is an enlarged perspective view showing the puncture piece of the female terminal shown in FIG. 6. FIG.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the puncture piece of FIG. 8 penetrates the flat cable.
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the connector of the present invention in which a female housing and a male housing are fitted.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view (a) of the retainer used in the female housing as seen from the front and a perspective view (b) as seen from the rear.
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a retainer used in the female housing cut along the longitudinal direction.
FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a retainer used in a male housing cut along the longitudinal direction.
FIG. 14 is a perspective view (a) of the retainer used in the male housing as viewed from the front and a perspective view (b) as viewed from the rear.
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a female housing with a retainer inserted.
FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a male housing with a retainer inserted.
FIGS. 17A and 17B are a partial cross-sectional plan view (a) and a partial cross-sectional side view (b) showing the main part of the positional relationship between the retainer inserted into the male housing and the male terminal.
FIGS. 18A and 18B are a partial cross-sectional plan view (a) and a partial cross-sectional side view (b) showing the main part of the positional relationship between the retainer and the male terminal in a modification of the retainer inserted into the male housing.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Connector 2 Female housing (first housing)
2c Insertion portion 2d Lance (second engagement portion)
3 Flat cable 3a Electrical conductor (flat)
4 Female terminal 4c opening (1st engaging part)
5 Male housing (second housing)
5c Insertion portion 5d Lance (second engagement portion)
6 Flat cable 6a Electrical conductor (flat)
7 Male terminal 7c Opening (first engaging portion)
10,15 Retainer

Claims (3)

A flat cable end portion having a plurality of flat electrical conductors and an insulating layer covering the plurality of electrical conductors;
A terminal connected to each electrical conductor at the end of the flat cable;
A housing having a storage portion for storing and fixing the terminal portion of the flat cable and the terminal;
A terminal portion of the flat cable in the housing and a retainer engaged and mounted in the housing in a state where the terminal is housed and fixed;
  The retainer has a plurality of ribs that press the terminal portion of the flat cable against the housing portion and insulate the terminals provided for the electrical conductors. . The flat cable terminal structure according to claim 1, wherein the flat cable terminal portion is stored in a bent state by the housing storage portion and the retainer. The terminal structure of the flat cable according to claim 1 or 2 is a male terminal, the other terminal is a female terminal, the terminal structures of the two flat cables are opposed to each other, and the male terminals A connector characterized by coupling a female terminal.

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