JP5486916B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector having a terminal locking structure, and more particularly to a connector capable of increasing strength without increasing the size of a locking lance or using a separate part.

  Generally, the terminals inserted into the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing are housed and held in the terminal housing chamber in a state of being prevented from coming off. FIG. 9 shows a connector 100 having a conventional structure for preventing the terminal from being detached from the terminal accommodating chamber.

  The connector 100 has a connector housing 110 made of an insulating resin, and the terminal housing chamber 120 is formed in the connector housing 110 so as to penetrate in the lateral direction. A mating terminal insertion port 122 into which a mating terminal (not shown) is inserted is formed at the tip of the terminal accommodating chamber 120. A terminal (not shown) is inserted and accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 120 from the base end (right end) side. The terminal is electrically connected to the mating terminal by making contact with the mating terminal inserted from the mating terminal insertion port 122.

  In the connector 100, a locking lance 130 is formed to accommodate and hold the terminal in the terminal accommodating chamber 120. The locking lance 130 is connected to the base end portion 131 integrally connected to the bottom wall portion 124 of the terminal accommodating chamber 120 and the base end portion 131, and rises obliquely from the bottom wall portion 124 of the terminal accommodating chamber 120. It has a cantilevered locking projection 133. On the front side (the mating terminal insertion port 122 side) of the locking projection 133, a locking surface 135 that engages with the terminal engagement hole is formed vertically.

  Such a locking lance 130 rises so that the locking projection 133 is elastic and is positioned in the terminal accommodating chamber 120. When the terminal is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 120, the locking lance 130 is formed on the bottom plate of the terminal. The engaging surface 135 comes into contact with the engaging edge of the engaging hole of the terminal. Thereby, the terminal is accommodated and held in the terminal accommodating chamber, and the terminal from the terminal accommodating chamber 120 is blocked.

JP 2007-220354 A

  However, when a force in the pulling direction acts on the terminal accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 120, the entire locking lance 130 in which the locking projection 133 is in contact with the terminal is lifted, and the shear angle is increased. That is, when the locking lance 130 is lifted, the shear length (shear area) in the locking lance 130 linearly extending from the engaging edge of the terminal is reduced. For this reason, the holding force of the terminal by the locking lance 130 is reduced.

  In order to prevent the holding force from being lowered, it is necessary to increase the strength of the locking lance. However, if the strength is increased, the locking lance is enlarged and a separate part such as a spacer is required.

  Therefore, the present invention can increase the strength of the locking lance without increasing the size and without requiring separate parts, thereby improving the terminal detachment preventing function of the locking lance. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector having a terminal locking structure.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the locking lance having a locking projection that protrudes from the inner wall of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing and is inserted into the engaging hole of the terminal that is inserted into the terminal housing chamber. A connector having a terminal locking structure for accommodating and holding a terminal in the terminal accommodating chamber,
The locking projection has a locking surface that abuts against an engaging edge of the engaging hole of the terminal, and the locking surface is provided with a notch into which the engaging edge can be inserted, When a force is applied in a direction in which the terminal comes out of the housing chamber, the terminal locking structure is configured such that the engagement edge portion of the engagement hole is inserted into the notch to suppress deformation of the locking lance toward the terminal side. a shall of having a opening size of the notch, the engagement less than the thickness of the engagement edge of Goana, and when the force in the direction escape to the terminal has been granted, the cut-in-out It is a connector having a terminal locking structure in which the engagement edge is set to a size capable of being press-fitted.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a locking lance having a locking projection that protrudes from an inner wall of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing and is inserted into an engagement hole of a terminal that is inserted into the terminal housing chamber. A connector having a terminal locking structure for accommodating and holding a terminal in the terminal accommodating chamber,
The locking projection has a locking surface that abuts against an engaging edge of the engaging hole of the terminal, and the locking surface is provided with a notch into which the engaging edge can be inserted, When a force is applied in a direction in which the terminal comes out of the housing chamber, the terminal locking structure is configured such that the engagement edge portion of the engagement hole is inserted into the notch to suppress deformation of the locking lance toward the terminal side. The opening edge of the notch is formed with an edge inclined surface that restricts the bending of the locking lance toward the terminal when the engagement edge is press-fitted into the notch. A connector having a terminal locking structure.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the terminal is provided by a locking lance having a locking projection that protrudes from an inner wall of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing and is inserted into an engagement hole of a terminal inserted into the terminal housing chamber. A connector having a terminal locking structure for accommodating and holding the terminal in the terminal accommodating chamber,
The locking projection has a locking surface that abuts against an engaging edge of the engaging hole of the terminal, and the locking surface is provided with a notch into which the engaging edge can be inserted, When a force is applied in a direction in which the terminal comes out of the housing chamber, the terminal locking structure is configured such that the engagement edge portion of the engagement hole is inserted into the notch to suppress deformation of the locking lance toward the terminal side. An internal inclined surface that is inclined in a direction that restricts the bending of the locking lance toward the terminal side when press-fitted in the notch in the engagement edge is formed in the notch. A connector having a terminal locking structure.

  In the invention according to claim 1, in the normal state, the locking lance prevents the terminal from coming out of the terminal accommodating chamber by the locking surface of the locking projection coming into contact with the engaging edge of the terminal. When a force in the pulling direction acts on the terminal, the engaging edge portion of the terminal is inserted into the notch of the locking surface. When the engaging edge portion of the terminal is inserted into the notch of the locking surface, the locking projection receives the force in the pulling direction from the terminal vertically. For this reason, the deformation | transformation which a latching lance floats to the terminal side can be suppressed. As a result, a large shear length (shear area) in the locking lance can be secured, and a terminal holding force of the locking lance can be secured. According to the invention described in claim 1, it is possible to increase the strength without enlarging the locking lance or using a separate part, and to improve the terminal retaining mechanism by the locking lance. it can.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to having the effect of the first aspect of the invention, the opening size of the notch is such that the engagement edge of the terminal when the force in the pull-out direction is applied to the terminal. In the normal state, the engagement edge portion of the terminal is in contact with the locking surface perpendicularly, while the engagement edge is only when a force in the withdrawal direction is applied. The part is pressed into the notch. In such a structure, since it is not necessary to perform a special operation on the locking lance, the handleability does not deteriorate even if a notch is provided.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to having the effects of the inventions described in claims 1 and 2, the edge inclined surface formed at the opening edge of the notch is an engagement edge into the notch. The bending of the locking lance toward the terminal side is restricted when the portion is press-fitted. For this reason, it is suppressed that the locking lance is lifted to the terminal side, the shear length in the locking lance is not changed, and the terminal holding force of the locking lance can be ensured.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first and second aspects of the invention, the internal inclined surface formed inside the notch is press-fitted into the notch of the engaging edge. Occasionally restrains the locking lance from bending toward the terminal. For this reason, it is suppressed that the locking lance is lifted to the terminal side, the shear length in the locking lance is not changed, and the terminal holding force of the locking lance can be ensured.

  In addition, according to the inventions of the first to fourth aspects, since the terminal locking structure described above is provided in the terminal accommodating chamber, the terminal holding force can be obtained without requiring an increase in size or separate parts. It can be set as the connector provided with the latching lance which ensured.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the latching structure of the terminal in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of one Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the effect | action of one Embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the effect | action following FIG. It is sectional drawing explaining an effect | action when there is no notch. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows the latching structure of the terminal of another embodiment of this invention. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows the latching structure of the terminal of another embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the inside of the conventional connector.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. 1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a locking structure of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view, FIG. 3 is a side view, 4 and 5 are longitudinal sectional views showing the action, and FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the action when there is no notch.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the connector 1 has a connector housing 2 made entirely of an insulating resin. Although not shown, the connector housing 2 is formed with a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 3 aligned in the up-down direction and the left-right direction (paper surface penetrating direction). Each of the terminal accommodating chambers 3 is an independent accommodating chamber in the connector housing 2 by being partitioned by a partition wall 3a and a left and right partition wall 3b that are positioned vertically in a state of extending in the front-rear direction.

  A mating terminal insertion port 4 into which the mating terminal is inserted is opened on the front side of each terminal accommodating chamber 3, and the rear side is opened so that the terminal 20 can be inserted. A terminal 20 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 3 from the rear opening.

  A locking lance 11 is formed in each terminal accommodating chamber 3. The locking lance 11 is formed so as to protrude from the partition wall 3 a serving as the bottom wall (inner wall) of each terminal accommodating chamber 3 to the inside of the terminal accommodating chamber 3.

  The locking lance 11 has a base end portion 12 that is integrally connected to the partition wall 3a, and a lance body 13 that rises obliquely from the base end portion 12. Therefore, the lance body 13 has a structure that is supported in a cantilever manner on the partition wall 3a, and can be elastically bent in the vertical direction.

  The lance body 13 integrally includes a guide surface 14 on the upper surface side and a locking projection 15 on the distal end side (the counterpart terminal insertion port 4 side).

  The guide surface 14 is inclined so as to incline upward from the proximal end portion 12 to the distal end side along the insertion direction of the terminal 20, and the terminal 20 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 3 from the rear side. Contact with. Since the downward pressing force acts on the guide surface 14 by this contact, the lance body 13 is elastically bent downward, and the terminal 20 can be inserted smoothly.

  The locking protrusion 15 is located on the tip side (the counterpart terminal insertion port 4 side) from the guide surface 14. The locking projection 15 is engaged with the terminal 20, and a vertical locking surface 16 is formed on the distal end side. The locking surface 16 contacts and engages with the terminal 20. A notch 18 to be described later is formed in the locking surface 16.

  A tip protrusion 17 is provided below the locking protrusion 15 (partition wall 3a side). The tip projection 17 extends further to the tip side than the locking surface 16 of the locking projection 15 in a state of being inclined obliquely downward. The tip protrusion 17 receives a jig (not shown) for forcibly elastically bending the locking lance 11 when the terminal 20 is removed.

  The notch 18 is formed so as to be recessed from the front side of the locking surface 16. As shown in FIG. 2, the notch 18 is formed over the entire width of the locking surface 16 along the width direction (left-right direction) of the locking surface 16 (locking protrusion 17). The notch is formed in the locking surface 16 so as to correspond to an engaging edge 27 described later of the terminal 20. The notch 18 is formed in accordance with the cross-sectional shape of the engaging edge 27 of the terminal 20. In this embodiment, the notch 18 has a rectangular cross section because the engaging edge 27 has a quadrangular cross section. Has a square cross section. Furthermore, the opening dimension of the notch 18 is smaller than the thickness dimension of the engaging edge 27 of the terminal 20. For this reason, even if the engagement edge portion 27 of the terminal 20 abuts against the locking surface 16, the engagement edge portion 27 of the terminal 20 only abuts against the engagement surface 16. The part 27 is not inserted. On the other hand, when a force in the pulling direction acts on the terminal 20, the engaging edge 27 is press-fitted into the notch 18.

  The terminal 20 is a female terminal fitting into which a mating terminal (not shown) is inserted. The terminal 20 has a terminal main body 21 formed by punching a conductive metal and a barrel portion (not shown) integrally connected to the rear side of the terminal main body 21, and the core wire of the covered electric wire is provided in the barrel portion. By being crimped (not shown), it is electrically connected to the covered electric wire.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal main body 21 is formed in a box shape by a bottom plate portion 22, a top plate portion 23, and side plate portions on both sides connecting them, and is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 3 from the rear side. A mating terminal insertion opening 24 into which the mating terminal is inserted is formed on the front surface of the terminal body 21. The mating terminal insertion opening 24 is at a position corresponding to the mating terminal insertion port 4 formed in the terminal accommodating chamber 3. Inside the terminal main body 21, an elastic contact piece 25 connected to the top plate portion 23 in a cantilever manner is provided, and the elastic contact piece 25 is elastically attached to the mating terminal inserted from the mating terminal insertion opening 24. Electrical contact with the mating terminal is made by contact.

  An engagement hole 26 is formed in the bottom plate portion 22 of the terminal body 21. As shown in FIG. 1, the engaging projection 15 of the locking lance 11 protruding from the partition wall 3 a is inserted into the engaging hole 26. The engagement protrusion 15 inserted into the engagement hole 26 enters the inside of the terminal body (terminal) 21, and the engagement surface 16 faces the engagement edge portion 27 that is the end surface of the engagement hole 26. It contacts the part 27. Due to this contact, the terminal 20 is locked to the locking projection 15, so that the terminal 20 is accommodated and held in the terminal accommodating chamber 3.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 4 shows a state in which the terminal main body 21 of the terminal 20 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 3. When the terminal body 21 is inserted, the bottom plate portion 22 pushes the guide surface 14 downward while sliding on the guide surface 14 of the lance body 13, so that the lance body 13 is elastically bent downward and the terminal 20 is Inserted smoothly. When the engagement hole 26 of the bottom plate portion 22 reaches the lance head 13 by inserting the terminal 20 into the terminal accommodating chamber 3, the pushing force from the bottom plate portion 22 is lost. For this reason, the locking projection 15 of the lance body 13 is inserted into the engagement hole 26 of the bottom plate portion 22 of the terminal 20 by an elastic restoring force and is fitted into the engagement hole 26.

  When the locking projection 15 is inserted into the engagement hole 26, the locking surface 16 of the locking projection 15 abuts on the engagement edge portion 27 of the engagement hole 26, so that the terminal 20 is engaged with the engagement projection. The terminal storage chamber 3 is held in the terminal accommodating chamber 3. At this time, the engaging edge 27 only contacts the locking surface 16 and does not enter the notch 18 of the locking surface 16.

  In FIG. 4, an arrow F is a force applied to the terminal 20 held in the terminal accommodating chamber 3 in the withdrawal direction. By applying the force F in the pull-out direction, the terminal 20 moves backward in the terminal accommodating chamber 3. Since the engagement edge 27 of the engagement hole 26 faces the notch 18 of the locking surface 16, the engagement edge 27 is press-fitted into the notch 18 by the retreat of the terminal 20.

  FIG. 5 shows a state in which the engaging edge 27 is press-fitted into the notch 18. When the engaging edge 27 is press-fitted into the notch 18, the engaging protrusion 15 (locking lance 11) receives the force F in the direction of withdrawal from the terminal 20 in a vertical direction. For this reason, it is suppressed that the latching lance 11 floats, and it suppresses that the latching lance 11 deform | transforms into the terminal 20 side. In such a state, a large shear length D (shear area) in the locking lance 11 can be secured.

  FIG. 6 shows a case where the structure is the same as that of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5 except that the notch 18 is not provided in the locking surface 16 of the locking protrusion 15. When a force F in the pulling-out direction acts on the terminal 20, the engaging edge portion 27 that is in contact with the locking surface 16 lifts the engaging protrusion 15 (locking lance 11) as indicated by an arrow G, The engagement lance 11 is in a state indicated by a two-dot chain line. And since the latching lance 11 floats as shown with a dashed-two dotted line, the latching lance 11 deform | transforms into the terminal 20 side, Therefore The shear length d in the latching lance 11 becomes small. For this reason, there is a defect that the holding force of the terminal 20 by the locking lance 11 is reduced and the terminal 20 is easily pulled out.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, as described above, the locking lance 11 can be prevented from floating to the terminal 20 side, and the shear length D can be secured large, so that the terminal holding force of the locking lance 11 is ensured. be able to. Accordingly, it is possible to increase the strength without increasing the size of the locking lance 11 or using a separate part, and it is possible to improve the mechanism for preventing the terminal 20 from coming off by the locking lance 11.

  Further, in this embodiment, since the opening dimension of the notch 18 is set to a dimension in which the engagement edge portion 27 of the terminal 20 is press-fitted when a force in the pull-out direction F is applied to the terminal 20. In this state, the engaging edge 27 comes into contact with the locking surface 16 perpendicularly. On the other hand, the engaging edge 27 is press-fitted into the notch 18 only when a force in the withdrawal direction is applied. In such a structure, since it is not necessary to perform a special operation on the locking lance 11, even if the notch 18 is provided, the handleability does not deteriorate.

  FIG. 7 shows an enlarged cross-section of the main part in another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the notch 31 is formed in the locking surface 16 of the locking protrusion 15, but the edge inclined surface 32 is formed in the notch 31. The edge inclined surface 32 is formed at the upper part of the opening edge of the notch 31 and is provided at the entrance portion of the engagement edge 27 of the terminal 20. The edge inclined surface 32 is inclined downward from the upper part of the opening edge, and is inclined in a direction away from the terminal 20.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 7, when a force in the extracting direction is applied to the terminal 20, the engaging edge 27 of the terminal 20 is press-fitted into the notch 31, but the engaging edge 27 contacts the edge inclined surface 32. Press-fitted in contact. Due to the contact with the edge inclined surface 32, the locking projection 15 is restricted from being bent and deformed in the direction of rising toward the terminal 20 side. In this way, by restricting the upward bending to the terminal 20 side, the engagement between the locking projection 15 and the terminal 20 is not weakened, and the terminal holding force can be secured.

  In particular, in this embodiment, since the edge inclined surface 32 is inclined downward, the engagement protrusion 27 is brought into contact with the edge inclined surface 32, whereby the locking protrusion 15 is lifted. It can be deformed in the opposite direction (downward). In the deformation in this direction, the terminal 20 and the locking projection 15 can be firmly engaged. Therefore, also in such an embodiment, since the terminal holding force by the locking lance 11 can be secured, it is not necessary to enlarge the locking lance 11 or use a separate part.

  FIG. 8 shows an enlarged cross section of the main part in still another embodiment of the present invention. Also in this embodiment, the notch 35 is formed on the locking surface 16 of the locking projection 15, but the inner inclined surface 36 is formed in the notch 35. The internal inclined surface 36 forms the upper and lower surfaces of the notch 31 and is inclined in a direction (downward) away from the terminal 20 in a state of being opposed vertically.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 8, when a force in the extracting direction is applied to the terminal 20, the engagement edge 27 of the terminal 20 is press-fitted into the notch 35, but the engagement edge 27 that has been press-fitted is notched 35. And slides in contact with the inner inclined surface 36. When the engaging edge portion 27 comes into contact with the inner inclined surface 36, the deformation of the locking protrusion 15 in the direction of rising toward the terminal 20 is restricted. In this way, by restricting the lifting deformation to the terminal 20 side, the engagement between the locking projection 15 and the terminal 20 is not weakened, and the terminal holding force can be secured.

  In particular, in this embodiment, since the internal inclined surface 36 is inclined downward, the engaging protrusion 27 comes into contact with the internal inclined surface 36 so that the locking protrusion 15 is lifted to the terminal 20 side. Deforms in the opposite direction (downward). By deformation in this direction, the terminal 20 and the locking projection 15 can be firmly engaged. In the deformation in this direction, the terminal and the locking projection 15 are firmly engaged. Therefore, the terminal holding force by the locking lance 11 can be ensured, and the locking lance 11 does not need to be enlarged or a separate part need not be used.

  In the embodiment described above, the locking lance 11 is provided on the lower side of the terminal 20. However, in the present invention, the locking lance 11 may be provided on the upper side or the side of the terminal 20. Can work in the same way. In this case, the terminal 20 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 3 so that the engagement hole 26 of the terminal 20 corresponds to the locking lance 11.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connector 2 Connector housing 3 Terminal accommodating chamber 11 Locking lance 12 Base end part 13 Lance main body 15 Locking protrusion 16 Locking surface 18, 31, 35 Notch 20 Terminal 26 Engagement hole 27 Engagement edge part F In the extraction direction Power of

Claims (3)

The terminal is housed and held in the terminal housing chamber by a locking lance having a locking projection that protrudes from an inner wall of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing and is inserted into an engagement hole of a terminal inserted into the terminal housing chamber. A connector having a terminal locking structure,
The locking projection has a locking surface that abuts against an engaging edge of the engaging hole of the terminal, and the locking surface is provided with a notch into which the engaging edge can be inserted, When a force is applied in a direction in which the terminal comes out of the housing chamber, the terminal locking structure is configured such that the engagement edge portion of the engagement hole is inserted into the notch to suppress deformation of the locking lance toward the terminal side. a shall to have a,
The opening dimension of the notch is smaller than the thickness dimension of the engaging edge of the engaging hole, and the engaging edge can be press-fitted into the notch when a force in the pull-out direction is applied to the terminal. A connector having a terminal locking structure set to various dimensions. The terminal is housed and held in the terminal housing chamber by a locking lance having a locking projection that protrudes from an inner wall of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing and is inserted into an engagement hole of a terminal inserted into the terminal housing chamber. A connector having a terminal locking structure,
The locking projection has a locking surface that abuts against an engaging edge of the engaging hole of the terminal, and the locking surface is provided with a notch into which the engaging edge can be inserted, When a force is applied in a direction in which the terminal comes out of the housing chamber, the terminal locking structure is configured such that the engagement edge portion of the engagement hole is inserted into the notch to suppress deformation of the locking lance toward the terminal side. a shall to have a,
A terminal locking structure in which the opening edge of the notch is formed with an edge inclined surface that restricts the bending of the locking lance toward the terminal when the engagement edge is pressed into the notch. A connector comprising: The terminal is housed and held in the terminal housing chamber by a locking lance having a locking projection that protrudes from an inner wall of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing and is inserted into an engagement hole of a terminal inserted into the terminal housing chamber. A connector having a terminal locking structure,
The locking projection has a locking surface that abuts against an engaging edge of the engaging hole of the terminal, and the locking surface is provided with a notch into which the engaging edge can be inserted, When a force is applied in a direction in which the terminal comes out of the housing chamber, the terminal locking structure is configured such that the engagement edge portion of the engagement hole is inserted into the notch to suppress deformation of the locking lance toward the terminal side. a shall to have a,
A terminal locking structure in which an internal inclined surface is formed in the notch so as to be inclined in a direction to restrict the bending of the locking lance toward the terminal side when the engagement edge is press-fitted in the notch. A connector comprising:

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