JP4501775B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  In a conventional female connector, a lance for preventing the female terminal fitting from being detached is integrally formed in a cavity for housing the female terminal fitting. On the other hand, a tab insertion hole for inserting a tab of the male terminal fitting is formed on the front surface of the connector housing. In addition, it is desirable that the guide surface be formed along the entire circumference of the tab insertion hole in order to avoid misalignment of the tab around the tab insertion hole.

  By the way, in order to mold the lance, it is necessary to use a mold that opens and closes along the longitudinal direction of the cavity. Therefore, if the front surface portion of the lance becomes a “shadow portion” of the tab insertion hole due to the die cutting, the lance cannot be molded. In order to solve this problem, the positional relationship between the front surface of the lance and the guide surface may be shifted in the height direction. However, it is normal that such measures cannot be adopted due to the recent demand for low profile. . Therefore, conventionally, a structure in which a part of the guide surface is unavoidably removed has been adopted.

When such a structure is adopted, the guiding function with respect to the tab is lost in the cut portion, and thus a structure as disclosed in Patent Document 1 has been developed.
JP-A-11-250970

  In the connector disclosed in Patent Document 1, the front wall portion of the housing is formed in a front holder separate from the housing. In this way, since the front wall portion of the housing itself is opened, it is easy to form the lance, and it is also easy to form a guide surface around the entire circumference of the tab insertion hole of the front holder.

  However, the structure in which the front holder is provided separately from the connector housing raises a new problem that the manufacturing cost increases due to an increase in the number of parts.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of reducing the manufacturing cost without impairing the induction function for the terminal.

As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that a connector housing in which a cavity for accommodating a terminal fitting is formed, a flexure provided in the cavity and engageable with the terminal fitting. A connector having a lance, wherein the lance is connected to the connector housing via a hinge portion and can be integrally formed with the connector housing in a form opened to the outside from the connector housing. includes a holding unit for a state of the connector housing side detachably locked with by the opening edge of Created lance mounting holes in and held against the lance in the connector housing, the lance is in the holding state Sometimes when the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity, the terminal fitting is bent and deformed to reach the normal position. And a locking portion that can be elastically locked. When the lance is in the holding state, the locking portion is not locked with respect to the opening edge of the lance mounting hole. When the lance is released from the holding state and pushed into the lance mounting hole to a position deeper than the holding state, an opening edge of the lance mounting hole is allowed. It is characterized in that a stop portion is formed which makes it impossible to bend in the direction of releasing the lock with the terminal fitting by locking the lock portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the locking portion is adjacent to the holding portion while having a slit in the width direction, and forward from the holding portion in the insertion direction of the terminal fitting. It is characterized by further extension.

<Invention of Claim 1>
In the first aspect of the present invention, the lance is moved from the form at the time of molding to the lance mounting hole side with the hinge portion as the center, and the holding portion is locked to the lance mounting hole opening edge. When the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity in this state, the terminal fitting reaches the normal position while bending and deforming the locking portion. Then, the locking portion is elastically restored and locked to the terminal metal fitting to be in a state of being prevented from coming off.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the lance is formed so as to be opened outward from the connector housing, it is not necessary to set a die-cutting hole for forming the lance in the connector housing, thereby ensuring a guide surface. It is valid. Therefore, there is no need to provide a separate part for securing the guide surface, so there is no increase in the number of parts, and the manufacturing cost can be kept low.
Further, by pushing the lance from the holding state to a deeper position, the stop portion of the locking portion is locked to the opening edge portion of the lance mounting hole. As a result, the locking portion cannot be bent, and the locking force for the terminal fitting can be improved. Therefore, since a function as a retainer can be added to the lance, retainer parts can be omitted, which contributes to further reduction in the number of parts.

< Invention of Claim 2 >
According to the second aspect of the present invention , since the locking portion is formed to extend forward while holding the slit between the holding portion, the length of the locking portion can be increased without excessively extending the entire length of the lance. A flexible structure can be realized.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows a female terminal fitting 1 and a female connector housing 2 for housing it. First, the female terminal fitting 1 will be described. The electric wire 4 is connected to the rear end portion of the female terminal fitting 1 by caulking the barrel portion 3, while the male terminal fitting 1 is connected to the front portion of the female terminal fitting 1. A rectangular tube-shaped main body 5 for connection is formed. A lance hole 6 is opened in a square shape on the bottom surface of the main body.

  The female connector housing 1 is made of a synthetic resin material, and is formed so as to be fitted to a hood portion of a male connector housing (not shown). Further, a lock arm 7 is provided on the upper surface of the female connector housing 2 so as to be able to bend when both the connector housings are fitted in a normal state and locked with the male connector housing to lock the fitted state.

  Further, a cavity 8 is formed in the female connector housing 1 along the front-rear direction. The rear opening of the cavity 8 is a terminal insertion hole 9 through which the female terminal fitting 1 is inserted, and the front opening is a tab through which a tab portion of the male terminal fitting accommodated in the male connector housing can be inserted. The insertion hole 10 is provided. In the front surface of the female connector housing 1, around the tab insertion hole 10, a total of four inclined surfaces are formed on the entire circumference, forming a mortar shape with the tab insertion hole 10 as a bottom surface as a whole.

  A lance mounting hole 13 that is opened and closed by a lance 12 described later is formed in the bottom surface 2A of the female connector housing 2. The lance mounting hole 13 is composed of two regions each having a different opening length in the front-rear direction in half in the width direction, and each front end edge has a step. Hereinafter, a first locking edge 14 is formed to project rearward from the front edge on the shorter opening length side of both opening regions, and the second locking edge is similarly formed on the front edge on the longer opening length side. 15 is formed in a protruding manner.

  A hinge 16 is provided along the width direction of the bottom surface of the female connector housing 2 further behind the lance mounting hole 13, and the lance 12 is connected via the hinge 16. As shown in FIG. 1, the lance is integrally formed with the female connector housing 2 in a state where the entire lance is open to the outside of the female connector housing 2 (a state in which the lance hangs downward with respect to the female connector housing 2).

  The lance 12 has a holding portion 17 for holding the lance 12 to the female connector housing 2 in a primary locking position (a position where the lance mounting hole is closed as shown in FIG. 2), and the holding portion 17 has a width. It comprises a locking portion 18 for locking the female terminal fitting 1 in parallel with the direction. The holding portion 17 is formed with a width that is approximately half that of the entire lance 12, and is formed to have a length capable of closing the region on the short side in the front-rear length of the opening region of the lance mounting hole 13. A first protrusion 19 protrudes from the upper portion of the front end surface of the holding portion 17, and the entire lance 12 can be held at the primary locking position by riding on and locking to the first locking edge 14. . As shown in the drawing, the outer surface of the first protrusion 19 is rounded so as to smoothly engage and release the first engaging edge 14. Further, when the lance 12 is held at the primary locking position, the upper surface of the holding portion 17 is substantially flush with the bottom surface of the cavity 8. Further, the lower side of the first protrusion 19 on the front end surface of the holding portion 17 interferes with the rear end surface of the first locking edge 14 while the entire lance 12 moves to the second locking position (position shown in FIG. 5). I'm not going to do that.

  The locking portion 18 is formed so that the slit 20 is held over the entire height between the locking portion 18 and protrudes further forward from the front end of the holding portion 17. Apart from that, it is possible to bend in the vertical direction independently. A locking portion 18A that can be inserted into the lance hole 6 is formed on the top surface of the locking portion 18 so as to protrude into the lance hole 6. The locking portion 18A is formed in the cavity 8 when the lance 12 is in the primary locking position. It comes to rush in. In addition, a relief surface 21 is formed on the front end surface of the locking portion 18 with a gradient that recedes as it goes downward. When the lance 12 is in the primary locking position, the locking portion 18 2 It is made not to interfere with the rear end surface of the locking edge 15, thereby enabling a smooth bending operation of the locking portion 18 accompanying the passage of the female terminal fitting.

Further, a second protrusion 22 (stop portion) projects forward from the lower portion of the front end surface of the lock portion 18, and rides on the second lock edge 15 to lock the entire lance 12. It can be held in the next locking position. As a result, the locking portion 18 cannot be bent downward. The second protrusion 22 has a rounded outer surface for the same reason as the first protrusion 19.
The locking portion 18 is formed so that the lower surface of the locking portion 18 is substantially flush with the lower surface of the holding portion 17 when the lance 12 is in the primary locking position.

  Next, the operation and effect of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 1, the female connector housing 2 is in a state where the entire lance 12 is opened outward from the female connector housing 2. Molded with. Prior to insertion of the female terminal fitting 1, the lance 12 is rotated around the hinge 16, and the upper surface side is fitted into the lance mounting hole 13 of the female connector housing 2 and pushed in as it is. Then, the 1st protrusion 19 of the holding | maintenance part 17 latches to the 1st latching edge 14, and, thereby, the lance 12 whole closes the lance mounting hole 13, and is hold | maintained at a primary latching position (state of FIG. 2). At this time, the upper surface of the holding portion 17 is substantially flush with the bottom surface of the cavity 8, but the retaining portion 18 </ b> A of the locking portion 18 is in a state of protruding relatively large into the cavity 8.

  When the female terminal fitting 1 is inserted into the cavity 8 through the terminal insertion hole 9 with the lance 12 held in the primary locking position as described above, the main body portion 5 of the female terminal fitting 1 moves over the retaining portion 18A. When passing, the locking portion 18 bends and deforms downward, so that the female terminal fitting 1 can pass over the lance 12 as it is (state in FIG. 3). Then, when the female terminal fitting 1 is inserted into the cavity 8 to a normal depth, the lance hole 6 and the retaining portion 18A are fitted, so that the locking portion 18 is deformed to return upward. Thus, the female terminal fitting 1 is temporarily locked by the locking by the locking portion 18 (the state shown in FIG. 4).

  After the above, the entire lance 12 is pushed deeper into the lance mounting hole 13. Then, the entire holding portion 17 is further displaced upward, and the first protrusion 19 is separated upward from the first locking edge 14. At the same time, since the second protrusion 22 rides on the second locking edge 15 in the locking portion 18, the entire lance 12 is held in the secondary locking position. In the secondary locking position, the locking portion 18 is restricted from being bent downward, and the locking portion 18A enters the lance hole 6 more deeply, so that the locking force on the female terminal fitting 1 is further increased. . That is, the female terminal fitting 1 is locked in a state where the locking portion 18 can be bent and deformed at the primary locking position of the lance 12, whereas the locking portion 18 cannot be bent at the secondary locking position. Since it is locked, the retainer function is exhibited by the locking portion 18.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the lance 12 is formed integrally with the outside of the connector housing 2, a punching hole for forming the lance 12 is formed on the guide surface of the connector housing. Not. Therefore, the induction function for the male terminal fitting is not impaired. In addition, since it is not necessary to set a separate part from the connector housing in order to ensure the guiding function, the number of parts and the manufacturing cost associated therewith can be reduced.

<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 present embodiment, the front and rear lengths of the holding portion and the locking portion are different from each other. However, if the locking portion can be bent and deformed, these front and rear lengths may be formed to be equal. Good.

  (2) The present invention can also be applied to a male connector.

Cross section of female connector housing Sectional drawing which shows the state by which the lance was hold | maintained at the primary locking position Sectional view showing insertion of female terminal fitting Sectional view showing the completed insertion state of the female terminal fitting Sectional drawing which shows the state by which the lance was hold | maintained in the secondary locking position The perspective view which shows the latching structure of a lance and a lance installation hole

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Female terminal metal fitting 2 ... Female connector housing 6 ... Lance hole 11 ... Guide surface 12 ... Lance 13 ... Lance mounting hole 14 ... 1st latching edge 15 ... 2nd latching edge 17 ... Holding part 18 ... Locking part 22 ... Second protrusion (stopping part)

Claims (2)

A connector housing comprising a connector housing in which a cavity for housing a terminal fitting is formed, and a lance that is provided in the cavity so as to be able to bend and can be locked to the terminal fitting,
The lance is connected to the connector housing via a hinge part and can be molded integrally with the connector housing in a form opened to the outside from the connector housing.
This lance is
A holding unit for a state of the connector housing side detachably locked with by the opening edge of Created lance mounting holes in and held against the lance in the connector housing,
When the lance is in this holding state, the terminal fitting is bent and deformed as the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity so that the terminal fitting can be elastically locked to the terminal fitting when the terminal fitting reaches a normal position. And
When the lance is in the holding state, the locking portion is in a non-locking state with respect to the opening edge portion of the lance mounting hole and allows the deformation of the locking portion. When the holding state is released and it is pushed into the lance mounting hole to a position deeper than the holding state , the locking portion is connected to the terminal fitting by locking to the opening edge of the lance mounting hole. A connector is formed, wherein a stop portion is formed so as not to bend in the direction of releasing the lock .   The said latching | locking part is extended further toward the insertion direction of the said terminal metal fitting from the holding | maintenance part, adjoining holding the slit in the width direction with respect to the said holding | maintenance part. Connector.

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