JP4725505B2 - Connectors and terminal fittings - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector and a terminal fitting.

In Patent Document 1, a main body portion connected to a mating terminal is connected to a terminal of an electric wire extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the opening direction of the main body portion in a rectangular tube shape with both front and rear surfaces opened. The terminal fitting which consists of an electric wire connection part which makes | forms the L character as a whole is disclosed. The main body portion is constituted by a bottom plate, a ceiling plate, and a pair of left and right side plates, and the electric wire connecting portion is formed by bending a protruding piece protruding from the rear end of the bottom plate at a substantially right angle in the plate thickness direction. Such a terminal fitting is inserted into the connector housing from behind. The connector housing is provided with a tower portion having a cavity penetrating in the front-rear direction, and when the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity at a normal depth, the plate surface of the wire connection portion is disposed substantially vertically. The connector housing is covered with a cover from the rear, and the rear end of the main body is covered with the cover, so that the terminal fitting is prevented from coming off.
JP 2006-164609 A

  By the way, due to the fact that the terminal fitting as a whole has an L shape, the operator tries to push the main body into the cavity while grasping the electric wire connecting portion, and inserts the main body in a state inclined with respect to the cavity. There was a possibility of letting. Then, when the mating terminal is inserted into the cavity from the front, there is a concern that the contact position between the mating terminal and the terminal fitting becomes incorrect and it is difficult to obtain a good contact state.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to allow a terminal fitting including a substantially L-shaped portion to be inserted into a connector housing in a normal posture.

As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a main body portion formed by bending a metal plate and having a cylindrical shape with both front and rear surfaces opened and connected to a counterpart terminal. And a terminal fitting having a wire connecting portion that extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the opening direction of the main body and is crimped to the end of the wire, and a connector housing into which the terminal fitting can be inserted from the rear, and the terminal fitting The rear end portion is provided with a protrusion that can be pressed when inserted into the connector housing by protruding in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction with respect to the connector housing and covering the rear surface opening of the main body portion. In the terminal fitting, a connecting portion is provided between the main body portion and the wire connecting portion and extends backward from the rear surface opening end of the main body portion along the plate direction in the insertion direction. The wire connecting portion at one side edge of the connecting portion along the direction is continuous, and said projection is configured such that a form that protrudes in the thickness direction of the connecting portion from the rear end of the connecting portion It has the characteristics.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the connector housing is configured to be covered with a cover from the rear, and the cover has a receiving surface capable of pressing the protrusion, The protrusion is characterized in that it has a pressing surface that can come into surface contact with the receiving surface of the cover and can cover the center of the rear surface opening of the main body.

The invention according to claim 3 is a terminal fitting formed by bending a metal plate and capable of being inserted into the connector housing from the rear, and has a cylindrical shape with both front and rear sides opened, and the other side A main body portion connected to the terminal, and a wire connecting portion extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the opening direction of the main body portion and crimped to the end of the electric wire, and at the rear end portion thereof, an insertion direction with respect to the connector housing; A protrusion that can be pressed when inserted into the connector housing is provided by projecting in a substantially perpendicular direction to cover the rear opening of the main body, and between the main body and the wire connecting portion. A connecting portion extending rearward from the rear opening end of the main body portion along the insertion direction is provided, and the wire connection portion is connected to one side edge of the connecting portion along the insertion direction. And said Raising is characterized at where the structure has a form that protrudes in the thickness direction of the connecting portion from the rear end of the connecting portion.

<Invention of Claims 1 and 3 >
Since a protrusion is provided on the rear end of the terminal fitting so as to cover the rear opening of the main body, the main body is inserted into the connector housing in a straight posture by pressing the protrusion. It becomes possible. Therefore, the main body portion is not inserted in a tilted state, and the connection position with respect to the counterpart terminal can be secured at the normal position.
Further, since the connecting portion extends rearward from the main body portion and the protrusion is provided at the rear end of the connecting portion, the protrusion can be positioned rearward. That is, since the protrusion is not located deep inside the connector housing, the workability when pressing the protrusion is improved. Also, when manufacturing the terminal fitting, the main body part is formed into a cylindrical shape, and then the electric wire connecting part is crimped to the electric wire, but when the connecting part is extended behind the main body part, When the wire connecting portion is in a substantially right-angled positional relationship with the main body portion in the plate thickness direction, there is a circumstance that a projection that covers the rear opening of the main body portion cannot be substantially formed by bending at the rear end of the connecting portion. .
However, according to the present invention, the wire connecting portion is connected to one side edge of the connecting portion along the insertion direction with respect to the connector housing, and the protrusion protrudes from the rear end of the connecting portion in the plate thickness direction of the connecting portion. Therefore, the projection can be formed by bending.

<Invention of Claim 2>
Since the protrusion is pressed by the cover, the terminal fitting can be brought to the normal insertion position as the cover is closed. Further, since the protrusion can come into surface contact with the receiving surface of the cover and covers the center of the rear opening of the main body, the main body can be correctly pushed in the axial direction.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, an inflator connector, that is, a connector connected to an airbag device incorporating an inflator is illustrated. The connector includes a connector housing 10 that can be fitted to a mating connector housing (not shown) directly connected to a device projecting from a wall surface of the apparatus, and a terminal fitting 60 that is attached to the connector housing 10 from the rear. Is provided. In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the fitting surface side with the mating connector housing is the front.

  The terminal fitting 60 is formed by bending a metal plate such as a copper alloy, and is a female terminal fitting that can be connected to a pin-like mating terminal (not shown). As shown in FIG. 8, the terminal fitting 60 has a cylindrical shape in which both front and rear surfaces are opened, and a main body portion 61 extending in the front-rear direction, and an opening direction (extending direction) of the main body portion 61. An electric wire connecting portion 63 that extends in a right angle direction and is crimped to the end of the electric wire 90, and is interposed between the main body portion 61 and the electric wire connecting portion 63 and extends rearward from the rear end of the main body portion 61. The connecting portion 62 is provided, and is substantially L-shaped when viewed from the side.

  The main body 61 includes a bottom plate 64, a ceiling plate 65, and a pair of left and right side plates 66, and a pair of contact pieces 67 are struck out on both side plates 66. The mating terminal inserted into the main body 61 is connected in a state of being elastically sandwiched between both contact pieces 67. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the bottom plate 64 is formed with a lance 68 that prevents the connector housing 10 from coming off from the outside.

The connecting portion 62 extends from the rear end of the rear surface of the main body 61, more specifically, from the rear end of either one of the side plates 66 (right side according to the back view) along the plate surface direction of the same side plate 66 toward the rear. It is a form that protrudes straight. The connecting portion 62 has a belt-like shape that protrudes with the same width over the entire length, and the protruding dimension is approximately half of the entire length of the main body portion 61.
The wire connecting portion 63 includes a connecting portion 71 connected to the lower edge of the rear end side of the connecting portion 62 (one side edge of the connecting portion 62 along the insertion direction) and a barrel-shaped barrel portion that is caulked to the end of the electric wire 90. 72, and the barrel portion 72 is assembled on the same side as the upper side of the main body portion 61. The connecting portion 71 is disposed obliquely so as to approach the inner side as it approaches the barrel portion 72 side, so that the barrel portion 72 is positioned substantially directly below the center in the width direction of the main body portion 61. The connecting portion 71 has a substantially C-shape that is continuous with the upper end of the barrel portion 72 and expands upward.

  A projection 73 is formed at the rear end of the connecting portion 62 so as to be integrated with the connecting portion 62 and partially cover the rear surface opening of the main body portion 61 when viewed from the rear. The protrusion 73 is formed by bending an excess protrusion portion behind the connecting portion 62 inward at a substantially right angle, and has a substantially square plate shape, and its plate surface is orthogonal to the axis orthogonal direction (the insertion direction with respect to the connector housing 10 is orthogonal). Direction). Specifically, the protrusion 73 is configured to have the same width as that of the connecting portion 62, and has a substantially L shape with the connecting portion 62 according to a plan view. As shown in FIG. Projecting to a position covering the substantially central portion of the rear opening of the main body 61. The entire one contact piece 67 of the two contact pieces 67 is covered with the projection 73 in the rear view, and the other contact piece 67 is visible. The rear surface of the protrusion 73 is a pressing surface 75 that is cut substantially vertically, and the insertion operation of the terminal fitting 60 is guided by pressing this.

  Next, the connector housing 10 will be described. The connector housing 10 is made of a synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a vertically long and thick plate-like accommodation portion 11 and a front side from the upper end of the front surface of the accommodation portion 11. The tower portion 12 that protrudes toward the center is generally L-shaped, and the tower portion 12 can be fitted into the mating connector housing. A cavity 13 into which the main body 61 of the terminal fitting 60 can be inserted is formed in the tower portion 12 side by side. The main body 61 of the terminal fitting 60 inserted into each cavity 13 is arranged in a substantially horizontal posture along the front-rear direction. In addition, a circular terminal insertion port 15 into which a mating terminal can be inserted from the front is opened at the front surface of the front wall of the cavity 13, and a main body 61 is formed at a normal depth on the lower surface of the inner wall of the cavity 13. When inserted, the retaining portion 14 that elastically locks the lance 68 is formed in a stepped shape. When viewed from the front, the protrusion 73 is visible through the terminal insertion port 15 as shown in FIG.

  An assembly space 16 in which a detection member 80 described later is assembled is provided around the tower portion 12 in the connector housing 10, and the insertion hole 17 of the detection member 80 is provided at a position corresponding to the assembly space 16 in the housing portion 11. Is formed penetrating in the thickness direction. The detection member 80 mechanically detects that the connector housing 10 is properly fitted to the mating connector housing, and is capable of relative movement between the standby position and the detection position. 81 is comprised. At the standby position, the detection member 80 has entered the first lock arm 81 shallowly into the assembly space 16 with the movement operation to the detection position restricted, and at the detection position, both the connector housings are properly fitted. Due to this, the movement operation to the detection position is permitted, and the first lock arm 81 is caused to enter the assembly space 16 deeply. When the detection position is reached, the first lock arm 81 locks the mating connector housing in the fitted state.

  Further, a pair of left and right second lock arms 18 that similarly lock both connector housings in a fitted state are formed on the front surface of the housing portion 11 so as to protrude substantially parallel to the housing portion 11. When the detection member 80 reaches the detection position, the second lock arm 18 and the first lock arm 81 are arranged vertically so as to elastically lock the mating connector housings. The fitting state is reliably maintained.

  In addition, on the rear surface of the accommodating portion 11, accommodating grooves 19 that can accommodate the two terminal fittings 60 are formed side by side. The accommodation groove 19 communicates with the cavity 13 on the tower portion 12 side at the upper end, and is opened at the lower surface of the accommodation portion 11 at the lower end as shown in FIG. 4, and is crimped to the terminal fitting 60 through the opening portion 21. The electric wire 90 is led out to the outside. A pressure contact protrusion 22 capable of pressing the electric wire 90 in the circumferential direction is formed at the lower end of the housing groove 19. A mounting groove 23 is formed on the rear surface of the storage portion 11 so as to cross the middle of the storage groove 19, and the cylindrical member 24 is assembled to the mounting groove 23. Inside the tubular member 24, the electric wire connecting portion 63 of the terminal fitting 60 is penetrated and accommodated. A plurality of ribs 25 are formed in the groove surface of the mounting groove 23 at intervals in the circumferential direction, and the cylindrical member 24 is held in the mounting groove 23 in a loosely regulated state by the ribs 25.

  A cover 30 is placed on the rear surface of the connector housing 10. The cover 30 is made of a synthetic resin and has a plate shape, and is integrally attached to the connector housing 10 via a hinge 26 at the upper end of the connector housing 10. As the cover 30 is attached to the housing part 11, the electric wire connecting part 63 is sandwiched between the housing part 11 and the terminal fitting 60 is prevented from being detached. As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of left and right locking pieces 31 having a rectangular frame shape are formed on both side ends of the cover 30 so as to be able to bend forward, and the locking pieces 31 have locking holes 32. Is penetrated. Locking protrusions 27 are formed on both side ends of the connector housing 10 at positions corresponding to the locking pieces 31. When the cover 30 is closed, the locking holes 32 are elastically formed in the locking protrusions 27. The cover 30 is locked to the connector housing 10. As shown in FIG. 2, an accommodation recess 33 of the detection member 80 is provided on the rear surface of the cover 30, and an insertion port 34 for the first lock arm 81 is provided at the bottom of the accommodation recess 33, and this The detection member 80 is mounted. The cover 30 has a receiving surface 35 that is substantially vertically cut at a position facing the pressing surface 75 of the projection 73 of the terminal fitting 60 when the cover 30 is in the closed state. Are in surface contact with each other. The receiving surface 35 is continuous with the peripheral surface on the front surface of the cover 30 without a step.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Prior to the mating operation with the mating connector housing, the cover 30 is opened to accommodate the terminal fitting 60 in the connector housing 10. At this time, the electric wire connecting portion 63 is caulked to the electric wire 90 in advance, and the main body portion 61 is inserted into the cavity 13 of the tower portion 12 with the electric wire 90 attached, and the electric wire is connected to the accommodating groove 19 of the accommodating portion 11. The part 63 is inserted.

  When the terminal fitting 60 is mounted, it is possible to keep the insertion posture of the main body 61 in a substantially horizontal and straight posture by pressing the pressing surface 75 of the projection 73 located rearward from the main body 61 with a finger. Become. When the terminal fitting 60 is properly inserted into the cavity 13, the lance 68 is elastically locked to the retaining portion 14 and the terminal fitting 60 is prevented from coming off. Further, when the terminal fitting 60 is properly inserted, the protrusion 73 is disposed at the rear end of the connector housing 10, and the pressing surface 75 of the protrusion 73 is substantially flush with the rear surface of the connector housing 10, or slightly the connector housing. 10 protruding from the rear surface.

  Subsequently, the cover 30 is rotated around the hinge 26 to be in a closed state. When the cover 30 is normally closed, the locking piece 31 elastically locks the locking projection 27 and the cover 30 is locked with respect to the connector housing 10. If the terminal fitting 60 is not in the regular insertion position and is kept in the half insertion position in the above, the receiving surface 35 of the cover 30 contacts the pressing surface 75 of the protrusion 73 in the process of regular mounting of the cover 30. The protrusion 73 is pushed forward and the terminal fitting 60 is normally inserted into the cavity 13 in a straight posture in the axial direction (front-rear direction). When the cover 30 is properly attached to the connector housing 10 and the terminal fitting 60 is normally inserted, the pressing surface 75 of the protrusion 73 and the receiving surface 35 of the cover 30 are brought into contact with each other.

Subsequently, the detection member 80 is held by the cover 30 at the standby position, and the connector housing 10 is fitted into the mating connector housing from this state. When both connector housings are properly fitted, the second lock arm 18 is locked, and the detachment of both connector housings is restricted. During the mating of both connector housings, the mating terminal is inserted into the cavity 13 from the front through the terminal insertion port 15, the mating terminal enters the center (axis center) of the main body 61, and the mating terminal is both The contact pieces 67 are connected so as to be conductive by contact with the contact pieces 67. At this time, a retracting force is applied to the main body 61 of the terminal fitting 60 with the insertion operation of the mating terminal. However, the protrusion 73 and the cover 30 are in contact with each other at the rear end of the terminal fitting 60. The main body 61 does not move backward due to the force.
Thereafter, when the detection member 80 is pushed into the detection position, the first lock arm 81 is locked, and both the connector housings are double-locked by the first lock arm 81 and the second lock arm 18.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the protrusion 73 is provided at the rear end portion of the terminal fitting 60 so as to cover the rear surface opening of the main body portion 61, and the main body is placed in the cavity 13 by pressing the protrusion 73 forward. Since the portion 61 is inserted in a straight posture in the axial direction, it can be connected to the counterpart terminal at a normal position.
Further, since the protrusion 73 is pressed by the cover 30 and the terminal fitting 60 can be brought into the normal insertion position as the cover 30 is closed, the situation in which the terminal fitting 60 is retained in the half-inserted state is avoided. it can. Further, since the projection 73 can come into surface contact with the receiving surface 35 of the cover 30 and covers the center of the rear opening of the main body 61, the main body 61 can be correctly pushed in the axial direction by the cover 30.

Further, since the connecting portion 62 extends rearward from the main body portion 61 and the protrusion 73 is provided at the rear end of the connecting portion 62, the rear surface such that the pressing surface of the protrusion 73 is substantially flush with the rear surface of the connector housing 10. It is possible to be located at. That is, since the protrusion 73 is not positioned deep inside the connector housing 10, workability when pressing the protrusion 73 is improved. Further, when the terminal fitting 60 is manufactured, the main body portion 61 is formed into a cylindrical shape, and then the electric wire connecting portion 63 is crimped to the electric wire 90. However, the connecting portion 62 extends rearward from the main body portion 61. In this case, when the wire connecting portion 63 is in a substantially right-angled positional relationship with the main body portion 61 in the plate thickness direction as in the prior art, a protrusion 73 that covers the rear surface opening of the main body portion 61 is bent at the rear end of the connecting portion 62. There is a situation that it cannot be practically formed by processing.
However, according to the present embodiment, the wire connecting portion 63 is connected to the lower edge of the connecting portion 62 along the insertion direction with respect to the connector housing 10, and the protrusion 73 is formed from the rear end of the connecting portion 62 to the plate thickness of the connecting portion 62. Since the protrusion protrudes in the direction, the protrusion 73 can be formed by bending, and the forming becomes easy.

<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.
( 1 ) In the said embodiment, although the protrusion was a form which partially covers a main-body part, according to this invention, the form which entirely covers a main-body part may be sufficient.
( 2 ) In the above embodiment, the protrusion protrudes to a position covering at least the center of the rear opening of the main body. However, according to the present invention, the protrusion does not need to cover the center of the rear opening of the main body.
( 3 ) In the above embodiment, the terminal fitting is generally L-shaped due to the fact that the main body portion and the electric wire connecting portion are arranged in a direction perpendicular to each other. The terminal fitting is not particularly limited as long as it includes at least a portion having the substantially L shape.

( 4 ) In the above embodiment, when the terminal fitting is properly inserted into the cavity, the pressing surface of the protrusion is arranged flush with or slightly protruding from the rear surface of the connector housing. When the terminal fitting is properly inserted into the cavity, the pressing surface of the protrusion may be arranged so as to be retracted inward from the rear surface of the connector housing. In this case, a protrusion may be formed on the front surface of the cover, and the protruding end of the protrusion may be used as a receiving surface to contact the pressing surface of the protrusion.
( 5 ) In the above embodiment, the protrusion is integrally formed by bending the metal plate. However, according to the present invention, the protrusion is welded to the rear end portion of the connecting portion or the main body portion by retrofitting or the like. It may be attached.

The perspective view of the connector of this embodiment Cross section Perspective view before covering Bottom view Rear view before covering Front view before covering Cross-sectional view before covering Terminal metal perspective view

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector housing 11 ... Accommodating part 13 ... Cavity 30 ... Cover 60 ... Terminal metal fitting 61 ... Main-body part 62 ... Connection part 63 ... Electric wire connection part 67 ... Contact piece 73 ... Protrusion 75 ... Pressing surface 90 ... Electric wire

Claims (3)

It is formed by bending a metal plate, and has a cylindrical shape with both front and rear surfaces opened, connected to the mating terminal, and extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the opening direction of the main body portion. A terminal fitting having a wire connecting portion to be crimped to the terminal;
A connector housing into which the terminal fitting can be inserted from the rear,
A protrusion that can be pressed when inserted into the connector housing by projecting in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction with respect to the connector housing and covering the rear surface opening of the main body portion at the rear end portion of the terminal fitting. Is provided ,
In the terminal fitting, a connecting portion is provided between the main body portion and the electric wire connecting portion and extends backward from the rear surface opening end of the main body portion along the plate direction in the insertion direction. The electric wire connecting portion is connected to one side edge of the connecting portion along the line, and the protrusion protrudes from the rear end of the connecting portion in the thickness direction of the connecting portion. Characteristic connector. A cover is attached to the connector housing from the rear, and the cover has a receiving surface capable of pressing the protrusion,
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion has a pressing surface that can come into surface contact with the receiving surface of the cover and can cover the center of the rear surface opening of the main body. A metal terminal that is formed by bending a metal plate and can be inserted into the connector housing from behind,
A main body connected to a mating terminal in a cylindrical form with both front and rear surfaces opened, and a wire connecting portion that extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the opening direction of the main body and is crimped to the end of the electric wire. And a protrusion at the rear end that protrudes in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction with respect to the connector housing and covers the rear surface opening of the main body, thereby enabling pressing when inserted into the connector housing. And
Between the main body portion and the wire connecting portion, a connecting portion is provided that extends rearward from the rear opening end of the main body portion along the insertion direction, and extends along the insertion direction. The terminal, wherein the electric wire connecting portion is connected to one side edge of the connecting portion, and the protrusion protrudes from the rear end of the connecting portion in the thickness direction of the connecting portion. Hardware.

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