JP4321417B2 - Terminal fittings and connectors - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal fitting provided with a metal lance and a connector containing the terminal fitting.

A means using a metal lance is known as means for accommodating the terminal fitting in the cavity of the connector housing in a retaining state. This is because a lance that can be bent and deformed in an obliquely rearward cantilever shape is cut and raised on one side surface of the main body of the terminal fitting, and the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity while bending and deforming the lance. When inserted to the normal position, the lance is restored and locked to the locking portion provided on the wall surface of the cavity to prevent it from coming off (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 63-257187 A

By the way, the lance provided on the terminal fitting has a shape in which the tip is protruded obliquely outward. For example, foreign matters such as electric wires get caught in the bending space of the lance during conveyance, and the lance rises. There was a risk of plastic deformation.
The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to prevent plastic deformation of the lance.

As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a terminal fitting inserted from the back into the cavity of the connector housing, and has one side surface of the main body portion having an obliquely rearward cantilever shape. Then, a lance that can be bent and deformed is formed by cutting and raising, and a protective piece for closing the bending space of the lance from the projecting end side of the lance is formed by cutting and raising on the side surface of the main body . It is provided so as to be bent and deformed obliquely forward so as to face and separate from the lance, and when the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity and approaches the final stage of insertion, the wall surface of the cavity When the lance engages with the provided locking portion and is bent and deformed, the protective piece is bent and deformed so as to follow the rear surface of the locking portion, and the terminal fitting is pushed to a normal position. Since the protruding end of the lance passes through the locking portion, the lance is restored and the protruding end is locked to the front surface of the locking portion, so that the protruding end is accommodated in the cavity. On the other hand, the protective piece is in a state of being pressed by the locking portion while being bent and deformed, and the main body portion is pressed against the opposing wall surface by the restoring elasticity of the protective piece. Have.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a terminal fitting can be inserted into the cavity formed in the connector housing from the rear , and one side surface of the body of the terminal fitting can be bent and deformed in an obliquely rearward cantilever shape. In the connector in which the terminal metal fitting is cut and raised, and the lance is elastically locked to the locking portion provided on the wall surface of the cavity so that the terminal metal fitting is prevented from coming off. On the side surface of the main body portion, a protective piece that can be bent and deformed in a diagonally forward cantilever shape is formed by cutting and raising so as to face and separate from the lance. and the rear surface side in steep locking surface are tapered guide surface, wherein the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity, approaches the end of insertion, the La to the locking portion When the protective piece is bent and deformed so as to follow the guide surface and the terminal fitting is pushed to a normal position, the protruding end of the lance passes through the locking portion. For this reason, the lance is restored and its protruding end is locked to the locking surface, so that it is housed in the cavity in a state of being prevented from coming off, while the protective piece remains bent and deformed. It is characterized in that it is in a state where it is pressed down by and is configured to be pressed against the opposing wall surface by the restoring elasticity of the protective piece .

<Invention of Claim 1>
Since the protective piece closes the bending space of the lance from the protruding end side of the lance, the entry of foreign matter such as electric wires into the bending space is restricted, and the lance is prevented from being plastically deformed. The protective piece can be easily manufactured by being cut and raised.
Further, when the lance is locked to the locking portion and prevented from coming off, the protective piece is bent and deformed and is pressed by the inner wall of the cavity. Due to the restoring elasticity of the protective piece, the terminal fitting is pressed against the wall surface on the opposite side of the cavity, that is, the terminal fitting is prevented from being loosely packed in the cavity and so on.

<Invention of Claim 2 >
In a state before the terminal fitting is housed in the connector housing, the protective piece is in a state of closing the bending space of the lance from the protruding end side of the lance, and foreign substances such as electric wires are restricted from entering the bending space.
When the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity, the rearward lance engages with the engaging portion and is pushed in while being bent and deformed. On the other hand, the protective piece is bent and deformed so as to follow the guide surface of the forward facing. . When the terminal fitting is pushed to the normal position, the lance is restored and its protruding end is locked to the locking surface to prevent it from coming off. At that time, the protective piece is in a state of being pressed by the engaging portion while being bent and deformed, and the terminal fitting is pressed against the wall surface on the opposite side of the cavity by the restoring elasticity of the protective piece, that is, is packed.
In the state before the terminal fitting is received in the connector housing, the protective piece prevents foreign material from entering the bending space to prevent the lance from being plastically deformed, and the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity to prevent it from coming off. In this state, it functions to pack the terminal fitting in the cavity.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In this embodiment, a female connector is illustrated, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a female terminal fitting 10 and a female connector housing 20 (hereinafter referred to as a female housing 20) for housing the female terminal fitting 10 are configured. Has been.

  The female terminal fitting 10 is formed by pressing a metal plate having excellent conductivity, and a wire barrel 12 and an insulation barrel 13 are provided behind a main body portion 11 having a long rectangular tube shape in the front-rear direction. Is formed. An elastic contact piece 14 is provided in the main body 11 by folding a tongue piece extending from the front edge of the bottom plate into, for example, a chevron, and a mating male terminal fitting inserted from the front of the main body 11. It is in elastic contact with a tab (not shown).

  The ceiling plate 15 of the main body part 11 of the female terminal fitting 10 is provided with a lance 16 that engages with an engaging part 30 formed in the cavity 23 of the female housing 20 as will be described later. The lance 16 is cut and raised in a cantilever-like shape in the front side of the ceiling plate 15 of the main body 11 so as to face the rear and obliquely upward. The lance 16 has a width approximately half of the entire width of the ceiling plate 15, and the protruding end side thereof can be bent and deformed toward the bending space 17 on the lower surface side.

  Now, on the ceiling plate 15 of the main body 11 of the female terminal fitting 10 described above, a protective piece 18 is provided in the rear region. The protective piece 18 is also formed by cutting and raising so as to face the lance 16, that is, in a cantilever shape in which the front face is inclined gently upward. The protection piece 18 has substantially the same length and width as the lance 16 and is formed so that the protruding ends abut against each other in the natural state, and can be bent and deformed downward as well. The protective piece 18 functions to close the bending space 17 of the lance 16 from the protruding end side.

  The female housing 20 is made of synthetic resin, and a plurality of (four in the figure) cavities 23 facing in the front-rear direction for accommodating the female terminal fittings 10 are formed in the interior thereof. . The female housing 20 is fitted with a mating male housing (not shown), and a lock arm 21 for locking the mating male housing with the mating male housing is provided on the upper surface.

  The female terminal fitting 10 can be inserted into each cavity 23 from the inlet 24 at the rear end thereof, and the insertion is stopped by hitting the front wall 25. The front wall 25 has a terminal insertion opening 26 into which a tab of a male terminal fitting attached to the mating male housing is inserted. On the ceiling surface 27 of each cavity 23, an engaging portion 30 that engages with the lance 16 of the female terminal fitting 10 is formed.

Specifically, the locking portion 30 has a predetermined length in the front-rear direction and is formed to protrude downward at a predetermined height. A locking surface 31 is formed on the front surface of the locking portion 30 so as to be perpendicular to the ceiling surface 27 of the cavity 23 or to be slightly overhanged. On the other hand, the rear surface of the locking portion 30 is a guide surface 32 having a gentle taper shape. Further, the protruding surface facing the horizontal direction in the locking portion 30 is a pressing surface 33 for pressing the protective piece 18 as described later.
In addition, a jig insertion port 35 that opens to the above-described locking portion 30 is formed at an upper position of the terminal insertion port 26 in each cavity 23, and a release jig (not shown) for forcibly bending and deforming the lance 16. Can be inserted from the front.

Then, the effect | action of this embodiment is demonstrated.
As shown in FIG. 2, the female terminal fitting 10 is fixed to the end of the electric wire 40 by caulking the wire barrel 12 at the end of the core wire 41 and the insulation barrel 13 at the end of the covering 42. . A large number of electric wires 40 each having the female terminal fitting 10 fixed to the terminal are bundled and carried to the terminal insertion site.
At the time of loading, since the female terminal fitting 10 is in a state of being exposed, foreign matter such as the electric wire 40 may try to enter the bending space 17 of the lance 16, but the bending space 17 of the lance 16 is caused by the protective piece 18. Since it is blocked from the protruding end side, the entry of foreign matter into the bending space 17 is restricted.

  At the terminal insertion site, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 2, the female terminal fitting 10 fixed to the end of the electric wire 40 is inserted into the corresponding cavity 23 of the female housing 20 from the rear. When approaching the final stage of the insertion, as shown in FIG. 3, the rearward lance 16 is engaged with the locking portion 30 and is pushed into the bending space 17 while being deformed. On the other hand, the protective piece 18 is forward-facing, but its protruding end hits the tapered guide surface 32 and is pushed in while being bent and deformed so as to follow the guide surface 32.

  When the female terminal fitting 10 is pushed to the proper position, as shown in FIG. 4, the protruding end of the lance 16 passes through the locking portion 30, so that the lance 16 is restored upward and the protruding end is the locking surface. Thus, the female terminal fitting 10 is prevented from coming off and accommodated in the cavity 23. At this time, the protective piece 18 is in a state of being bent and deformed and being pressed by the pressing surface 33 of the locking portion 30, and the body 11 of the female terminal fitting 10 becomes the bottom surface of the cavity 23 by the restoring elasticity of the protective piece 18. It is pressed against 28, that is, is packed.

When the insertion of the female terminal fitting 10 is completed, the female housing 20 is fitted with the mating male housing. Accordingly, the tab of the male terminal fitting attached to the male housing enters from the terminal insertion port 26 and is inserted into the main body 11 of the female terminal fitting 10 from the front and comes into contact with the elastic contact piece 14. .
Here, even if both housings are fitted to the vehicle body in a fitted state and are subjected to vibration or the like, the female terminal fitting 10 is packed in the cavity 23 as described above, so that the cavity 23 is restricted from sliding finely, and wear is prevented from progressing at the contact portion with the mating male terminal fitting.

  When the female terminal fitting 10 is pulled out of the cavity 23 for maintenance or the like, after dissociating from the mating male housing as shown in FIG. 4, the jig is inserted from the jig insertion port 35 and the lance 16 is forcibly bent. Deform. Since the locking by the locking part 30 is thereby released, when the electric wire 40 is pulled rearward, the female terminal fitting 10 is moved backward from the cavity 23 while the protective piece 18 and the lance 16 are passed through the lower surface of the locking part 30. Can be removed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, before the female terminal fitting 10 is accommodated in the female housing 20, the protective piece 18 is in a state of closing the bending space 17 of the lance 16 from the protruding end side of the lance 16. Thus, the entry of foreign matter such as the electric wire 40 into the bending space 17 is restricted, thereby preventing the lance 16 from being plastically deformed. On the other hand, the protective piece 18 functions to pack the female terminal fitting 10 in the cavity 23 in a state where the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the cavity 23 and is prevented from being pulled out. Fine sliding wear with the metal fitting is prevented. Further, since the protective piece 18 itself is formed by cutting and raising from the ceiling plate 15 of the main body part 11 of the female terminal fitting 10, it can be easily manufactured, for example, without having to change the pressing process so much.

< Reference example >
Next, a reference example will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the female terminal fitting 50 of the reference example, the protective piece 51 is substantially the same height as the protruding end of the lance 16 at a position spaced apart from the protruding end of the lance 16 by a predetermined distance so as to close the bending space 17 of the lance 16. It is formed in a form cut and raised at a right angle from the ceiling plate 15 to the position.
Therefore, in a state where the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the cavity 23 to the normal position and the lance 16 is locked to the locking portion 53 of the ceiling surface 27 of the cavity 23, as shown in FIG. Remains in the rear without engaging with the locking portion 53.
About another structure, it is the same as that of the said Embodiment 1, Comprising: About the site | part which has the same function, the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

In this reference example , the protective piece 51 is formed with a gap between the protruding end of the lance 16, but if it is about the electric wire 40, this is from the protruding end side in the bending space 17 of the lance 16. It functions sufficiently to restrict the entry, so that the lance 16 can be prevented from being plastically deformed. Compared to the first embodiment, when the protective piece 51 is cut and raised, the area of the opening formed in the ceiling plate 15 can be kept small, so that the strength reduction of the main body 11 of the female terminal fitting 50 can be suppressed. .

<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) The lance can be similarly applied to a surface formed on a surface other than a ceiling plate such as a bottom plate in the main body of the terminal fitting, in which case the protective piece is cut and raised from the same surface on which the lance is formed. It may be formed.
(2) The present invention can be similarly applied to a male terminal fitting and a male connector in which the male terminal fitting is accommodated in a male housing.

(3) The main body of the terminal fitting is not limited to the rectangular tube shape exemplified in the above embodiment, and may be another cylindrical shape such as a cylindrical shape. When the main body is cylindrical, the same side surface on which the lance is formed refers to a peripheral surface in a predetermined angle range including the position where the lance is formed .

The perspective view of the female housing and female terminal metal fitting which concern on Embodiment 1 of this invention. Longitudinal section before female terminal fitting is inserted into cavity Longitudinal section at the end of insertion Longitudinal section when insertion is completed Perspective view of female terminal fitting according to reference example A longitudinal sectional view of the female terminal fitting inserted into the cavity

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Female terminal fitting (terminal fitting)
11 ... Main unit 15 ... Ceiling board (one side surface of main unit 11)
16 ... Lance 17 ... Deflection space 18 ... Protection piece 20 ... Female housing (connector housing)
23 ... Cavity 27 ... Ceiling surface (wall surface)
28 ... Bottom 30 ... Locking portion 31 ... Locking surface 32 ... Guide surface 33 ... Pressing surface (inner wall of cavity)
40 ... Electric wire 50 ... Female terminal fitting (terminal fitting)
51 ... Protective piece 53 ... Locking part

Claims (2)

A terminal fitting that is inserted into the cavity of the connector housing from the rear, and a lance that can be bent and deformed in an obliquely rearward cantilever shape is cut and raised on one side surface of the main body .
On the side surface of the main body portion, a protective piece that blocks the bending space of the lance from the protruding end side of the lance is formed by cutting and raising ,
The protective piece is provided so as to be able to be bent and deformed in a cantilever shape facing diagonally forward so as to face and separate from the lance.
When the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity and approaches the final stage of the insertion, the lance engages with a locking portion provided on the wall surface of the cavity to bend and deform, while the protective piece is the locking portion. Bends and deforms to follow the rear surface,
When the terminal fitting is pushed to a normal position, the protruding end of the lance passes through the locking portion, so that the lance is restored and the protruding end is locked to the front surface of the locking portion, thereby The protective piece is housed in the cavity in a state of being prevented from being detached, while the protective piece is in a state of being pressed by the locking portion while being bent and deformed, and on the wall surface facing the main body portion by the restoring elasticity of the protective piece. Terminal fittings that are configured to be pressed . A terminal fitting can be inserted into the cavity formed in the connector housing from the rear, and a lance that can be bent and deformed in an obliquely rearward cantilever shape is formed on one side of the body of the terminal fitting. In this connector, the lance is elastically locked to a locking portion provided on the wall surface of the cavity so that the terminal fitting is prevented from being detached.
On the side surface of the main body portion of the terminal fitting, a protective piece that can be bent and deformed in an obliquely forward cantilever shape is formed by cutting and raising so as to face and separate from the lance. The front side is a locking surface that stands up and the rear side is a tapered guide surface,
When the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity and approaches the final stage of insertion, the lance engages with the locking portion to bend and deform, while the protective piece flexes and deforms to follow the guide surface,
When the terminal fitting is pushed to the normal position, the protruding end of the lance passes through the locking portion, so that the lance is restored and the protruding end is locked to the locking surface, thereby the cavity. While the protective piece is housed in a retaining state, the protective piece is in a state of being pressed by the locking portion while being bent and deformed, and the body portion is pressed against the opposing wall surface by the restoring elasticity of the protective piece. A connector characterized by being configured .

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