JP4069757B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  The present inventionToRelated.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, what was described in the following patent document 1 is known as an example of what removes a terminal metal fitting from a connector housing using a jig. In this case, the lance is locked against the terminal fitting inserted into the cavity of the housing to prevent the lance from coming off. To remove this terminal fitting, the lance is bent and deformed. This is performed using a jig provided with a release portion and a terminal release portion for pushing the terminal fitting backward. In this jig, the release part for terminals is provided integrally with the jig body so as to enable relative displacement of both release parts, whereas the release part for lance is separate from the jig body. At the same time, it is assembled to the jig body via a spring so as to be able to advance and retreat. Then, when the jig is inserted toward the lance, the lance is bent and deformed by the lance release portion and the locked state with the terminal fitting is released, and then the terminal release portion is relative to the lance release portion. The terminal fitting can be pushed rearward while moving forward.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-223238 A
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the lance release portion and the terminal release portion are provided as dedicated portions, respectively, and the lance release portion is assembled separately from the jig body so as to relatively displace them. In addition, the number of parts is large and the structure is complicated, such as providing springs, resulting in high costs.
The present invention has been completed on the basis of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a jig with a simplified structure, a connector suitable for the simplified jig, and a good result with the jig. It is to provide a method for removing a terminal that can obtain a satisfactory workability.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that the connector housing is provided with a cavity into which the terminal fitting can be inserted and removed, and the cavity is provided with respect to the terminal fitting inserted from the rear. In the case where a lance that can be locked is provided, a jig insertion space is secured between the terminal fitting and the lance so that the jig releasing portion can be inserted from the front along the insertion / extraction direction of the terminal fitting. The terminal fitting is provided with a pressed projection that can be pressed by the release portion by projecting to the lance side, and the dimension in the bending direction of the lance in the jig insertion space is as follows: The release partWhile pressing the pressed protrusion backwardWhen entering the jig insertion space to a predetermined depth, it is set to be smaller than the dimension of the lance in the release part in the bending direction of the lance, and the dimension difference is necessary for releasing the locking state with respect to the terminal fitting. Is set to be substantially the same as the bending dimension of the lance, and an inclined surface is formed on any one of the lance, the pressed protrusion, or the release portion of the jig, so that The release portion is allowed to be inserted, and the release portion allows the lance to be bent and deformed. The lance has a both-end supported shape in which both front and rear ends are supported, and the front and rear support portions are bent as fulcrums. The jig insertion space into which the release portion is inserted from the front is secured between the front portion of the lance and the terminal fitting.The pressed protrusion is formed by knocking out a part of the terminal fitting to the lance side, and the lance can be locked to the rear edge portion thereof.It is characterized by its configuration.
[0006]
  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the introduction portion of the lance with respect to the release portion is gradually reduced in size in the bending direction of the lance in the jig insertion space as it goes rearward. It is characterized in that an introduction guide inclined surface having a simple gradient is formed.
  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the pressed protrusion is formed in an inclined shape so as to gradually increase the protruding dimension as it goes rearward, and on the outer surface thereof. , Characterized in that a guide inclined surface having a gradient that guides the release portion in the unlocking direction of the lance is formed by sliding the release portion..
[0009]
[Action and effect of the invention]
  <Invention of Claim 1>
  In order to remove the terminal fitting locked to the lance from the cavity of the connector housing, a jig releasing portion is inserted into the jig insertion space between the terminal fitting and the lance from the front. When the release part enters a predetermined depth, the dimension of the jig insertion space with respect to the deflection direction of the lance is smaller than the dimension of the release part (the dimension of the release part with respect to the deflection direction of the lance is larger than the dimension of the jig insertion space) ) Is set, the lance is bent in the unlocking direction by the release part, and the dimensional difference between the two is set to be approximately the same as the bending dimension of the lance required to release the locked state with respect to the terminal fitting. Therefore, the lance can be bent until the locked state with respect to the terminal fitting is released. On the other hand, when the pressed protrusion protruding from the terminal fitting to the lance side is pressed by the release portion, the unlocked terminal fitting is retracted. The state is maintained, and the removal workability of the terminal fitting is improved.
Since the pressed protrusion is locked by the lance, it is possible to improve the retaining force of the terminal fitting in the locked state.
[0010]
According to the present invention, since the function of bending the lance and the function of retracting the terminal fitting are combined in one release part, the two dedicated parts having the above two functions are provided as in the prior art. The structure of the jig can be simplified as compared with the above, and the terminal metal removal workability can be kept good.
[0011]
  <Invention of Claim 2>
  The introduction guide inclined surface can smoothly move the release portion into the jig insertion space, and the lance can be gradually bent, so that workability is improved.
  <Invention of Claim 3>
  Since the release part can be slidably contacted with the guide inclined surface, the release part can be guided in the unlocking direction of the lance so that the terminal metal can be released more reliably..
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, a connector including a female terminal fitting 10 and a female connector housing 30 (hereinafter simply referred to as a female housing 30) that houses the female terminal fitting 10, and the female terminal fitting 10 are removed from the female housing 30. The jig 60 is shown. In the following description, the insertion direction of the female terminal fitting 10 with respect to the female housing 30 is defined as the front, the reverse extraction direction is defined as the rear, and the vertical direction will be described with reference to each drawing excluding FIG.
[0013]
The female terminal fitting 10 is formed into a desired shape by bending or striking a metal base material punched into a predetermined shape. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the female terminal fitting 10 includes a main body portion 11 that has a substantially box shape (square tube shape) that opens forward and backward, and a barrel portion that can be crimped and connected to the end of the electric wire W. 12 is connected to the front and rear. Of these, the barrel portion 12 includes a pair of caulking pieces 12a and 12b at the front and rear, and the caulking piece 12a on the front side and the caulking piece 12b on the rear side respectively correspond to the core wire portion Wa and the covering portion Wb of the electric wire W, respectively. It can be caulked.
[0014]
The main body 11 protrudes so as to face the bottom wall 13 from the protruding end of the left side wall 14 in FIG. 1 and the bottom wall 13 extending in the front-rear direction, the pair of side walls 14 and 15 rising from both side edges of the bottom wall 13. 1 and an outer wall 17 that protrudes from the right side wall 15 in FIG. 1 and is superimposed on the outside of the ceiling wall 16. In the main body 11, an elastic contact piece 18 that can elastically contact a tab of a not-shown counterpart male terminal fitting is provided.
[0015]
In the outer wall 17, a notch 19 is formed in a substantially central part in the length direction (a part slightly forward of the center), in which approximately 3/4 of the entire width of the outer wall 17 is cut out. The notch 19 is formed while leaving the side edge of the outer wall 17 on the side wall 14 side by a predetermined width. In other words, the outer wall 17 has a configuration in which the front portion 17a and the rear portion 17b are connected to each other at their protruding ends by the reinforcing piece 17c. When the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the female housing 30, the lance 33 provided in the female terminal fitting 10 can enter the cutout portion 19, and the lance 33 is inserted into the cut end surface 19 a on the front side of the cutout portion 19. It can be locked. A stabilizer 20 that functions to stabilize the insertion operation of the female terminal fitting 10 with respect to the cavity 31 is provided at the rear end portion of the rear end 17b of the outer wall 17 so as to protrude downward.
[0016]
A pressed projection 21 is formed at the front end 17a of the outer wall 17 at the front end of the notch 19 so as to protrude downward (to the lance 33 side) by knocking out. The pressed protrusion 21 is arranged in the approximate center in the width direction of the outer wall 17 and is formed in a substantially pyramid shape with the front end as a vertex. In other words, the protruding dimension from the outer wall 17 gradually increases toward the rear. It is formed as follows. The outer peripheral surface of the pressed protrusion 21 is composed of a pair of side surfaces facing sideways and a lower surface facing downward (lance 33 side). Of these, the lower surface is a tapered shape that forms a downward slope as it goes rearward. This is a guide inclined surface 21a for the jig 60 described later. The rear edge 21 b of the pressed protrusion 21 is continuous with the cut end surface 19 a on the front side of the notch 19, and can be locked to the lance 33. The rear edge portion 21b of the pressed protrusion 21 is formed in a reverse taper shape (overhang shape) that forms an upward gradient toward the rear.
[0017]
The female housing 30 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the female housing 30 is entirely formed in a block shape and can be fitted to a male housing (not shown). The female housing 30 is provided with cavities 31 into which the female terminal fittings 10 can be inserted from the rear, aligned in the width direction of the five chambers. The female terminal fitting 10 inserted into the cavity 31 can be elastically prevented from coming off by a lance 33 provided on the lower wall 32 side of the cavity 31, and is brought into a front-stopped state by the front wall 34 of the female housing 30. It has come to be supported. The front wall 34 is provided with a tab insertion hole 35 that allows the tab of the mating male terminal fitting to enter the cavity 31, and the front edge of the tab has a substantially bowl-like shape over the entire circumference. A guide surface is formed.
[0018]
A protrusion insertion groove 36 for inserting the pressed protrusion 21 in the female terminal fitting 10 is formed at a substantially central position in the width direction of the lower wall 32 of the cavity 31 so as to open rearward. The protrusion insertion groove 36 is continuously formed on the lance 33 side as will be described later. A stabilizer insertion groove (not shown) through which the stabilizer 20 can be inserted is formed in the lower wall 32 at a side position of the protrusion insertion groove 36.
[0019]
The height of the cavity 31 is set to be slightly larger than the height of the main body 11 (including the pressed protrusion 21). At the front end portion of the upper surface of the cavity 31 (the surface facing the lance 33), an overhang portion 37 is provided that projects inward (to the lance 33 side) in a taper shape over the entire width. By pushing the female terminal fitting 10 inserted into the cavity 31 to the lance 33 side, the locking depth of the lance 33 can be increased. On the contrary, when the female terminal fitting 10 is removed, the escape space 38 is secured on the rear side of the overhanging portion 37 between the upper surface of the female terminal fitting 10 in the inserted state. The depth of engagement with the lance 33 can be reduced by releasing the female terminal fitting 10 inside.
[0020]
In addition, a retainer mounting hole 39 into which a retainer (not shown) can be mounted from below is provided on the lower surface of a substantially central portion in the length direction of the female housing 30. The retainer has a retaining portion that can be locked to the rear end portion of the main body portion 11 of the female terminal fitting 10, and is capable of retaining the female terminal fitting 10 together with the lance 33. A lock arm 40 that protrudes from the upper surface of the female housing 30 and can be locked in a fitted state with the male housing is projected.
[0021]
The lance 33 is provided on the front side (the front side of the retainer mounting hole 39) of the lower wall 32 of the cavity 31, and includes a both-end supported arm portion 41 that supports both front and rear ends. At the approximate center in the width direction on the upper surface of the arm portion 41, there is a retaining protrusion 42 in the cavity 31 that can enter the cutout portion 19 of the female terminal fitting 10 and can be locked to the front cut end surface 19 a. It is provided in a protruding form.
[0022]
The arm portion 41 is connected and supported at the rear end portion to the lower wall 32, while the front end portion is connected and supported at the front wall 34, and can be bent and deformed along the vertical direction with the front and rear support portions as fulcrums. At the time of deformation, it becomes a substantially arcuate shape with the central portion in the length direction as the lowest end. Below the arm portion 41, a bending space allowing the bending deformation is secured for a predetermined height. The rear portion 41b of the arm portion 41 is inclined so as to form an upward gradient toward the front, whereas the front portion 41a is formed substantially horizontally along the front-rear direction. The protruding portion insertion groove 36 described above is provided continuously from the lower wall 32 side on the rear portion 41 b of the arm portion 41, and the portions left on both sides of the protruding portion insertion groove 36 support the female terminal fitting 10. A possible support 43 is provided.
Further, lower portions on both side ends of the arm portion 41 are cut out in a tapered shape when viewed from the front, and the arm portion 41 is positioned at a position facing the lower side of the taper surface before the arm portion 41 is deformed beyond the elastic limit. Thus, a pair of over-deflection restricting portions 44 capable of restricting the over-deflection by engaging with lower portions on both sides of the arm portion 41 are provided.
[0023]
The retaining protrusion 42 is disposed so as to straddle the front part 41 a and the rear part 41 b of the arm part 41, and the rear surface thereof is formed in a tapered shape that continues to the inclination of the rear part 41 b of the arm part 41. The front surface of the retaining protrusion 42 is an upper locking surface 46 that forms a locking surface 45 for the female terminal fitting 10, and is formed as an upright surface that is substantially orthogonal to the front-rear direction (insertion / extraction direction of the female terminal fitting 10). Has been. The retaining protrusion 42 is continuously provided with a protrusion insertion groove 36 formed in the rear portion 41b of the arm portion 41, whereby the retaining protrusion 42 has a substantially central portion in the width direction when viewed from the front. It has a concave shape (FIG. 3). The support portions 43 described above are continuously provided at both side positions of the retaining protrusion 42.
[0024]
A groove 47 is formed in the form of the front part 41a of the arm part 41 in the upper surface width direction substantially in the form of opening forward (over the entire length). The depth of the groove portion 47 differs between the front portion 47a and the rear portion 47b. Specifically, the rear portion 47b is formed to a depth that is a little more than half the thickness dimension of the front portion 41a of the arm portion 41. The front portion 47a is formed to have the same depth as the thickness of the front portion 41a of the arm portion 41, so that the front half portion of the front portion 41a of the arm portion 41 (the connection portion with the front wall 34) is bifurcated. is doing. The groove portion 47 secures a predetermined space between the female terminal fitting 10 inserted into the cavity 31 and the lance 33, and this forces the lance 33 to bend and deform from the front outside. A jig insertion space 48 into which the jig 60 can be inserted is formed. Although the bottom surface of the rear portion 47b of the groove portion 47 is formed substantially horizontally along the front-rear direction, the front edge (introduction portion with respect to the jig 60) is formed in a tapered shape that forms a downward gradient toward the front. In other words, it is formed so as to be inclined so as to decrease the distance from the lower surface of the female terminal fitting 10, that is, the height dimension of the jig insertion space 48 as it goes rearward. The inclined surface 49 can guide the entering operation of the jig 60. The front end position of the inclined surface 49 is set to be substantially the same as or slightly ahead of the front end position of the female terminal fitting 10 inserted to the normal depth in the cavity 31. Note that the support portions 43 described above are continuously provided at both side positions of the rear portion 47 b of the groove portion 47 and are connected to the front wall 34.
[0025]
The pressed protrusion 21 of the female terminal fitting 10 can enter the rear end side of the groove 47, and the rear end surface of the groove 47 is continuous with the upper locking surface 46 of the retaining protrusion 42 and is covered. A lower locking surface 50 that can be locked to the rear edge 21 b of the pressing protrusion 21 is provided. The lower locking surface 50 is formed to have an inclination (an inclination along the rear edge portion 21b of the pressed protrusion 21) such that the lower locking surface is retracted rearward from the upper locking surface 46. In other words, the lower locking surface 50 constituting the locking surface 45 has an obtuse angle with respect to the direction in which the female terminal fitting 10 is pulled out, and the upper locking surface in which the angle is approximately 90 degrees. 46 is set smaller. In a state in which the pressed protrusion 21 has entered the groove 47, the guide inclined surface 21a of the pressed protrusion 21 is disposed facing diagonally downward and forward, and the jig 60 inserted from the front can be slidably contacted. Thus, the jig 60 can be guided downward (in the unlocking direction of the lance 33).
[0026]
Next, the structure of the jig 60 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the jig 60 includes a jig main body 61 that can be gripped by an operator, and a release portion 62 that protrudes from the front end surface of the jig main body 61 and that can press the lance 33 and the like. And a restricting portion 63 that is connected to the jig main body 61 and the release portion 62 and can restrict the insertion depth of the jig 60. The release portion 62 is set to a substantially constant thickness dimension T over its entire length, but is reinforced by a restriction portion 63 connected to the root portion thereof. The front edge portion of the release portion 62 is formed in a slightly rounded shape. The restricting portion 63 inserts the release portion 62 into the jig insertion space 48, and when the tip portion reaches a depth just before it hits the retaining protrusion 42, the inclined surface 49 (the bifurcated portion of the arm portion 41). Further, the insertion can be restricted by engaging with the branch base end portion.
[0027]
The above-described jig insertion space 48 changes in the process in which the height dimension (dimension in the bending direction of the lance 33) goes from the front side to the rear side, and the thickness dimension T ( This will be described in detail while comparing with the dimension of the lance 33 in the bending direction. First, the height dimension A of the jig insertion space 48 at the front end position P1 of the inclined surface 49 is set to be substantially the same as or slightly larger than the thickness dimension T of the release part 62, so that the release part 62 enters. Is easy. In the process from the front end position P1 to the rear end position P2 of the inclined surface 49, the height dimension of the jig insertion space 48 gradually decreases to B, and becomes smaller than the thickness dimension T of the release portion 62. In the process, the lance 33 is pressed downward by the release portion 62 to be bent and deformed. In the process from the rear end position P2 of the inclined surface 49 to the front end position P3 of the pressed protrusion 21, the height dimension of the jig insertion space 48 is kept constant at B. The dimensional difference between the height dimension B and the thickness dimension T of the release portion 62 is slightly smaller than the deflection dimension of the lance 33 necessary for releasing the locked state with the female terminal fitting 10. Accordingly, when the release portion 62 reaches the position P3 of the jig insertion space 48, the lance 33 is bent only to a state where a slight locking allowance is left with respect to the female terminal fitting 10.
[0028]
In the process in which the release portion 62 moves from the front end position P3 of the pressed protrusion 21 to the rear side, the pressed protrusion 21 protrudes toward the lance 33, so that the height dimension of the jig insertion space 48 gradually decreases. Therefore, C is reached when a predetermined position P4 (a position ahead of the rear end of the pressed protrusion 21) is reached. The dimensional difference between the height dimension C of the jig insertion space 48 and the thickness dimension T of the release portion 62 is substantially the same as the bending dimension of the lance 33 required to release the locked state with respect to the female terminal fitting 10. ing. Therefore, when the release portion 62 is inserted to the position P4 of the jig insertion space 48, the lance 33 is bent to a position where the locked state with the female terminal fitting 10 is released. In addition, since the height dimension of the jig insertion space 48 is smaller than C at the rear side from the position of P4 described above, the dimensional difference from the thickness dimension T of the release portion 62 is the locked state with respect to the female terminal fitting 10. It becomes larger than the bending dimension of the lance 33 required for canceling.
[0029]
The present embodiment has the above-described structure, and the operation thereof will be described subsequently. From the state shown in FIG. 4, the female terminal fittings 10 connected to the ends of the electric wires W are moved back into the cavities 31 in a state where a retainer (not shown) is mounted in the retainer mounting hole 39 of the female housing 30. Insert from. In the insertion process, the pressed protrusion 21 is inserted into the protrusion insertion groove 36 and the stabilizer 20 is inserted into the stabilizer insertion groove, so that the insertion operation of the female terminal fitting 10 becomes smooth. When the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted to a predetermined depth, the lance 33 is pressed by the pressed protrusion 21, so that the arm portion 41 is bent and deformed downward. In this process, since the pressed protrusion 21 is formed in a substantially pyramid shape with the front end as the apex, the insertion operation in the protrusion insertion groove 36 becomes smooth, and the lance 33 can be pressed smoothly. .
[0030]
When the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the cavity 31 to a normal depth, the pressed protrusion 21 gets over the retaining protrusion 42 of the lance 33 and enters the groove 47 in front of it as shown in FIG. Accordingly, the lance 33 is elastically restored. Then, the retaining protrusion 42 in the lance 33 enters the notch 19, and the upper locking surface 46 and the lower locking surface 50 are behind the cut end surface 19 a on the front side of the notch 19 and the pressed protrusion 21. The female terminal fitting 10 is prevented from coming off by being locked to the edge portion 21a. In the process of regular insertion, the front end portion of the main body portion 11 is pushed down by the overhanging portion 37 on the upper surface of the cavity 31 and displaced so as to approach the lance 33 side. This contributes to the improvement of the retaining force. Moreover, since the rear edge 21b of the pressed protrusion 21 is formed in a reverse taper shape and the lower locking surface 50 is formed in a reverse taper shape along the inclination, the retaining force is stronger. It has become a thing. After all the female terminal fittings 10 have been inserted into the corresponding cavities 31, the retainers are moved to the full locking position, so that the female terminal fittings 10 are double locked.
[0031]
On the other hand, the female terminal fitting 10 may be removed from the female housing 30 due to circumstances such as maintenance. In that case, as shown in FIG. 6, the jig 60 is arranged in front of the female housing 30, and the release part 62 is inserted into the groove part 47 (jig insertion space 48) from the tip side. The insertion posture of the jig 60 is maintained such that its axis is substantially along the front-rear direction (insertion / removal direction of the female terminal fitting 10). In the process in which the release portion 62 is inserted from the position P1 to the position P2 in the jig insertion space 48, the release portion 62 is smoothly slid into the depth of the jig insertion space 48 by being brought into sliding contact with the inclined surface 49. At the same time, the lance 33 is gradually bent downward and deformed by being pressed by the release portion 62. In the process in which the release portion 62 reaches the position from P2 to P3 in the jig insertion space 48, the area pressed by the release portion 62 on the bottom surface of the groove portion 47 is expanded, and as shown in FIG. The front portion 41a is bent and deformed to take a substantially horizontal posture. In this state, the retaining projection 42 is retracted downward from the notch 19 and the upper locking surface 46 is detached from the front cut end surface 19a and the lower locking surface 50 is detached from the pressed projection 21. The locking surface 46 is slightly locked to the protruding tip of the pressed protrusion 21.
[0032]
When the release portion 62 is further inserted from the position of P3 in the jig insertion space 48, the release portion 62 presses the pressed projection 21 rearward, and slides against the guide inclined surface 21a to move downward. To be guided to. At this time, since the lance 33 is still locked to the female terminal fitting 10 and the backward movement of the female terminal fitting 10 is restricted, the release portion 62 is displaced downward along the guide inclined surface 21a. At the same time, the lance 33 pressed by the release portion 62 is further bent and deformed downward. When the release portion 62 reaches the position P4 in the jig insertion space 48, as shown in FIG. 8, the lance 33 is bent and deformed to a position where the upper locking surface 46 is completely removed from the pressed projection 21. As a result, the locking state of the lance 33 with respect to the female terminal fitting 10 is released. Accordingly, the female terminal fitting 10 is pushed rearward by a predetermined distance (corresponding to the distance from P3 to P4) by the pressing force applied to the pressed protrusion 21 from the release portion 62, and the release portion 62 is at the original height position. The position is displaced upward to the position where the upper surface of the release portion 62 contacts the lower surface of the main body 11. In the process of retreating the female terminal fitting 10, the main body portion 11 is displaced upwardly, that is, away from the lance 33 by being released into the escape space 38 on the rear side of the overhang portion 37, so that the smoothness can be achieved more smoothly. The lock is released. When the release portion 62 is further pushed in from this state, the female terminal fitting 10 can be retracted by the stroke as shown in FIG. And the cancellation | release part 62 is stopped in the position just before the retainer protrusion 42 because the control part 63 contacts the inclined surface 49, and the further insertion operation | movement is controlled. As described above, when the retaining state of the female terminal fitting 10 is released by performing the one-action operation of inserting the jig 60 into the jig insertion space 48 substantially straight along the front-rear direction, the electric wire W is moved backward. The female terminal fitting 10 can be pulled out from the cavity 31 by pulling to the side.
[0033]
Even if there is a variation in the locking allowance between the lance 33 and the female terminal fitting 10 for each product, for example, when the locking allowance is larger than that described above, the release portion 62 is further moved away from the position P4. By pushing in toward the side, the lance 33 can be further bent and deformed further downward than in the state of FIG. 8, so that even in such a case, the locked state of the lance 33 can be reliably released.
[0034]
By the way, as shown in FIG. 9, when the female terminal fitting 10 is retracted by the release portion 62, the pressed protrusion 21 enters the protrusion insertion groove 36 in the retaining protrusion 42 and the protruding tip portion thereof. By pressing the lance 33 with the lance 33, the lance 33 is held in a bent and deformed posture, and the bottom surface of the groove portion 47 is detached from the release portion 62. Therefore, even if the jig 60 is pulled from this state and the release portion 62 is pulled out of the jig insertion space 48, the lance 33 is bent by the pressed protrusion 21 and the locked state remains released. The Thereby, for example, after all the lances 33 are released by the jig 60, it is possible to perform an operation of pulling all the electric terminal W together and pulling out all the female terminal fittings 10 at once.
[0035]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the function of bending the lance 33 and the function of retracting the female terminal fitting 10 are combined with the single release portion 62, so that the above two functions are performed as in the prior art. The structure of the jig 60 can be simplified and the detachability of the female terminal fitting 10 can be kept good as compared with the case where two dedicated portions are provided.
[0036]
In addition, the inclined surface 49 can smoothly move the release portion 62 into the jig insertion space 48, and the lance 33 can be gradually bent, so that workability is improved.
Furthermore, since the release portion 62 is slidably contacted with the guide inclined surface 21a, the release portion 62 can be guided in the direction in which the lance 33 is unlocked. Can be done.
In addition, since the pressed protrusion 21 is locked to the lance 33, the retaining force of the female terminal fitting 10 in the locked state can be improved.
[0037]
<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the lance has not been bent to the unlocking position when the release portion contacts the pressed protrusion. However, the release portion contacts the pressed protrusion. A structure in which the lance is bent to the unlocking position in the previous stage is also included in the present invention.
[0038]
(2) In the above-described embodiment, the thickness dimension of the release portion is made substantially constant and the height dimension of the jig insertion space is changed. It is good also as a setting which becomes gradually larger than the height dimension of jig | tool insertion space by setting it as the form (taper shape) which a thickness dimension increases. In this case, the height dimension of the jig insertion space may be substantially constant.
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the inclined surface is formed only at the front end portion (introducing portion) of the lance. However, for example, the inclined surface that guides the releasing portion entirely from the introducing portion to the pressed protrusion. May be formed.
[0039]
  (4) The pressed protrusion is not necessarily tapered..
  (5) The jig may be guided in the unlocking direction of the lance by the guide surface of the pressed protrusion before the inclined surface of the lance.
  (6) The present invention can also be applied to a male connector having a male terminal fitting.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a female terminal fitting according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[Figure 2] Bottom view of female terminal fitting
FIG. 3 is a front view of a female housing.
FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a female terminal fitting and a female housing.
FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the female terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged side sectional view showing a jig and a female housing with a female terminal fitting inserted therein.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state where the release portion reaches the position of P3 in the jig insertion space
FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state where the release portion reaches the position of P4 in the jig insertion space.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state in which the female terminal fitting is retracted by the release portion.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 ... Female terminal fitting (terminal fitting)
21 ... Pressed protrusion
21a ... Guide slope
30 ... Female housing (connector housing)
31 ... cavity
33 ... Lance
48 ... Jig insertion space
49 ... Inclined surface (introduction guide inclined surface)
60 ... Jig
62 ... Release part

Claims (3)

In the connector housing, a cavity into which the terminal fitting can be inserted and removed is provided, and in the cavity, a lance that can be locked to the terminal fitting inserted from behind is provided.
Between the terminal fitting and the lance, a jig insertion space is secured in which the jig release part can be inserted from the front along the insertion / extraction direction of the terminal fitting.
The terminal fitting is provided with a pressed protrusion that can be pressed by the release portion by protruding to the lance side,
Further, the dimension of the lance in the jig insertion space with respect to the bending direction is determined so that the release portion moves into the jig insertion space to a predetermined depth while pressing the pressed protrusion backward. The dimension of the lance is set to be smaller than the dimension of the lance, and the dimensional difference is set to be approximately the same as the lance deflection dimension required to release the locked state with respect to the terminal fitting. By forming an inclined surface on either the pressed protrusion or the release portion of the jig, insertion of the release portion into the jig insertion space is allowed, and the lance is bent and deformed by the release portion. Is supposed to be
The lance has a doubly supported shape in which both front and rear ends are supported and can be bent and deformed with the front and rear support portions as fulcrums. The release portion is inserted from the front between the front portion of the lance and the terminal fitting. The jig insertion space is secured ,
The pressed protrusion is formed by knocking out a part of the terminal fitting to the lance side, and the lance can be locked to a rear edge portion of the connector.   An introduction guide inclined surface having a gradient that gradually decreases the dimension of the lance in the jig insertion space with respect to the bending direction is formed at the introduction portion of the lance with respect to the release portion. The connector according to claim 1. The pressed projection is formed in an inclined shape so as to gradually increase the protruding dimension as it goes rearward, and the release portion is slidably contacted to the outer surface of the release projection so that the release portion is unlocked. 3. The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a guide inclined surface having a slope that guides to the side is formed .

Images