JP5573267B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector provided with a retainer for preventing a terminal fitting from coming off.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a connector described in Patent Document 1 is known as a connector including a retainer that prevents a terminal fitting mounted in a cavity of a connector housing from coming off. This type of connector, as shown in FIG. 1 2 and 1 3, line a connector housing 120 having a cavity 121 of the terminal fitting 100 can be mounted side by side, between each cavity 121 on the outer surface of the connector housing 120 A retainer mounting hole 122 that opens across the cavity 121 and communicates with each of the cavities 121, and a retainer 130 that prevents the terminal fitting 100 mounted in the cavity 121 from coming off by being inserted into the retainer mounting hole 122. A partition wall (not shown) is provided between the cavities 121 adjacent to each other, and a cavity corresponding to the retainer mounting hole 122 is abutted with a projection wall (not shown) provided in the retainer 130 to make the cavities 121 independent. A central partition is provided.

JP 2008-27654 A

  By the way, a slight gap is generated between the opening of the retainer mounting hole 122 of the connector and the side edge of the retainer 130 due to the assembly of the retainer 130. Therefore, when using the above connector in oil such as lubricating oil in which foreign matter such as metal dust or metal pieces generated from shavings such as gears floats, this gap extends between terminal fittings such as metal pieces. There is a possibility that a short length of time may be caused when a foreign material of a certain length enters and the foreign material contacts between the plurality of terminal fittings 100. In addition, since the retainer mounting holes 122 are formed so as to cross between the cavities 121 in a straight line, this gap forms a straight line that crosses between the plurality of terminal fittings 100. There is a problem that foreign matter easily enters.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and can prevent a short circuit between electrodes by preventing foreign matter from entering through a gap between the retainer mounting hole and the retainer. An object is to provide a connector.

As means for achieving the above object, the present invention provides a connector housing having a plurality of cavities partitioned by a partition, a terminal fitting received and locked in the cavity, and an outer surface of the connector housing. A retainer mounting hole provided so as to open and communicate with the cavity and expose an end surface portion of the partition wall, and an outer peripheral edge having a shape along the inner peripheral edge of the retainer mounting hole to lock the terminal fitting A connector having a retainer that closes the retainer mounting hole by fitting the base portion having the retainer mounting hole into the retainer mounting hole, and a projecting wall projects from the base portion; A fitting recess for fitting with the projecting wall is provided, and a boundary portion between the projecting wall and the fitting recess is covered by the base portion, and an outer peripheral edge of the retainer , In a position covering the end face of the partition wall, having characterized in that there is a bent shape.

According to the connector having such a configuration, the outer peripheral edge of the retainer has a bent shape at a position covering the end face of the partition wall, so that the retainer in which the cavities positioned on both sides of the partition wall are linearly formed. Compared to a connector having a mounting hole, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from entering between the adjacent cavities from the gap between the retainer mounting hole and the base portion, and to prevent a short circuit between the terminal fittings. .

The following configuration is desirable as an embodiment of the present invention.
A triangular recess having a shape having one of the apexes at the end surface of the partition wall is formed on the inner peripheral edge of the retainer mounting hole. The retainer has a triangular shape on the inner peripheral edge of the retainer mounting hole. It is good also as a structure in which the triangular protrusion part fitted to the recessed part of this is formed .
According to such a configuration, compared with the case where the outer peripheral edge of the retainer is bent by a gentle curve, the end surface portion of the partition wall is covered with a triangular shape , so that the retainer mounting hole and the base portion are separated. It can prevent reliably that a foreign material penetrate | invades from a clearance gap.

The retainer mounting hole includes a receiving recess that receives the base portion of the retainer, and a locking portion that protrudes in a stepped manner from a portion that is positioned so as to cover the end surface portion of the partition wall on the outer peripheral edge of the base portion. It is good also as a structure provided with the through-hole part which penetrates in the said cavity.
According to such a configuration, the gap formed between the outer peripheral edge of the base part and the retainer mounting hole is not connected to the cavity in a straight line with the gap located so as to cover the end face of the partition wall, It can prevent more reliably that a foreign material penetrate | invades into a cavity from this clearance gap, and can prevent the short circuit between each terminal metal fitting.

  It is good also as a structure in which the inclined surface which the said protruding wall expands toward the direction where the said terminal metal fitting is inserted is formed in the both sides | surfaces of the said protruding wall. According to such a configuration, the inclined surface can smoothly guide the terminal fitting into the cavity when the terminal fitting is inserted.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the connector which can prevent the short circuit between electrodes can be provided by preventing that a foreign material penetrate | invades from the clearance gap between the opening part of a retainer attachment hole, and a retainer.

The bottom view which shows the state which the retainer temporarily fitted to the connector housing in Embodiment 1. Front view III-III sectional view of FIG. IV-IV sectional view of FIG. Bottom view of connector housing Retainer top view Front view Bottom view IX-IX sectional view of FIG. The front view which shows the state which the retainer temporarily fitted to the connector housing in Embodiment 2. XI-XI line sectional view of FIG. Bottom view showing a state where the retainer is temporarily fitted to a conventional connector Cross-sectional side view

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The connector according to the first embodiment includes a connector housing 20 made of a synthetic resin having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, a female terminal fitting 10 corresponding to a terminal fitting attached to a cavity 21 provided in the connector housing 20, and a connector housing 20. And a retainer 40 made of synthetic resin that is fitted into a retainer mounting hole 24 provided in the housing. In the following description, the vertical direction is based on the vertical direction of FIG. 2 in the present embodiment, and “front” and “rear” are “front” on the left side with respect to the horizontal direction in FIG. The right side is described as “rear”.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the connector housing is provided with an engaging portion 23 that engages with a mating connector (not shown) and holds the mating state on the upper surface of the outer surface of the connector housing. A retainer mounting hole 24 is provided on the bottom surface. The connector housing 20 has two cavities 21 side by side in which the female terminal fittings 10 are accommodated, and the cavities 21 penetrate in the front-rear direction.

Each cavity 21 is partitioned by a partition wall 25 that connects the upper surface and the bottom surface of the cavity 21, and the partition wall 25 is provided over the entire length of the cavity 21 in the front-rear direction.
Each cavity 21 is provided with a flexible lance 26 on the bottom surface thereof, and the flexible lance 26 is formed in a cantilever shape from the bottom surface toward the upper front side.

As shown in FIG. 3, the female terminal fitting 10 has a shape in which a barrel 12 for crimping and crimping the electric wire Y is provided behind the connection portion 11 having a substantially rectangular tube shape. A locking hole for locking a terminal locking portion 26A provided on the flexible lance 26 is formed on one surface of the outer surface. As a result, the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the cavity 21 from the rear of the connector housing 20 and reaches the proper fitting position, so that it is locked by the flexible lance 26 and is prevented from coming off from the cavity 21.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the retainer mounting hole 24 is provided at a substantially central portion on the bottom surface side of the connector housing 20, and its opening extends in the width direction of the connector housing 20 and both ends thereof extend in the front-rear direction. It has a different shape. The retainer mounting holes 24 are formed in the same shape that continues from the opening toward the inside of the connector housing.

A through hole 27 extending in the width direction is provided at an intermediate position of the opening of the retainer mounting hole 24, and the through hole 27 communicates with all the cavities 21 provided in the connector housing 20. Side holes 28 are provided at positions extending from both ends of the through hole 27 in the front-rear direction. The side hole 28 is provided with a front locking part 29 and a rear locking part 30 for locking an elastic locking piece 41 provided on a retainer 40 described later.

  Since the through-hole portion 27 has a shape extending in the width direction with respect to the connector housing 20, the through-hole portion 27 is opened so as to be orthogonal to the direction in which the cavities 21 extend with respect to all the cavities 21. In addition, the partition wall 25 provided between the cavities 21 is in a state where the end surface portion is orthogonal to the direction in which the through-hole portion 27 extends and is exposed from the through-hole portion 27. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a fitting recess 31 that fits the retainer 40 and shuts off between the cavities 21 is formed in the approximate center of the end face portion. Further, the retainer mounting hole 24 is set to be located slightly behind the connecting portion 11 of the female terminal fitting 10 when the female terminal fitting 10 is fitted into the cavity 21 at the proper position.

  6 to 9, the retainer 40 includes a base portion 42 that closes the opening of the retainer mounting hole 24, and an elastic locking piece 41 that is locked to the front and rear locking portions 29 and 30 of the retainer mounting hole 24. The base portion 42 and the elastic locking piece 41 are integrally formed. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the retainer 40 is inserted into the retainer mounting hole 24 after the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted in a state where the retainer 40 is temporarily held in the connector housing 20. It is the structure inserted and fitted to a position.

  The base portion 42 has a shape in plan view substantially the same as the inner peripheral edge of the opening of the retainer mounting hole 24. The retainer mounting hole 24 is completely closed by fitting along the peripheral edge. In addition, the base body part 43 located in the center of the base part 42 is provided with side clogging parts 44 extending in the front-rear direction from both ends thereof and corresponding to the side hole parts 28 of the retainer mounting holes 24, compared to the front. The rear is slightly longer.

  Each of the side closing portions 44 is formed with a pair of elastic locking pieces 41 protruding from the surface inserted into the retainer mounting hole 24 at a position slightly closer to the center than both end portions thereof. The front elastic locking piece 41F is locked to the 24 front locking portions 29, and the rear elastic locking piece 41R is locked to the rear locking portion 30.

  The length of these elastic locking pieces 41 in the protruding direction is set to about half of the length of the connector housing 20 in the thickness direction, and the retainer 40 is inserted into the retainer mounting hole 24 so as to be properly fitted. These elastic locking pieces 41 are locked to the front and rear locking portions 29, 30 of the retainer mounting hole 24, and the retainer 40 is prevented from coming off from the retainer mounting hole 24.

  Further, a plate for positioning the retainer 40 with respect to the retainer mounting hole 24 at a position slightly closer to the front elastic locking piece 41F between the front elastic locking piece 41F and the rear elastic locking piece 41R of the side closing portion 44. A positioning piece 45 is formed, and when the retainer 40 is inserted into the retainer mounting hole 24, the rear end surface portion of the positioning piece 45 is engaged with the front locking portion 29 of the side hole portion 28 of the retainer mounting hole 24 and the rear locking portion. The retainer 40 is guided to a predetermined position of the retainer mounting hole 24 by sliding with a guide portion 32 provided between the portion 30 and the guide portion 32.

The base body 43 is provided with a plate-like protruding wall 46 at the center of the base body 43 on the surface to be inserted into the retainer mounting hole 24, and a plate-like retaining part 47 is provided on the base body 43. Two protrusions are provided at an intermediate position between the center and both ends. The protruding wall 46 and the retaining portion 47 are set to a height that does not protrude into the cavity 21 when the retainer 40 is temporarily fitted to the connector housing 20. Further, the protruding wall 46 has a longitudinal surface that is orthogonal to the longitudinal surface of the base body 43 and is tapered toward the side where the female terminal fitting is inserted.
When the retainer 40 is inserted into the retainer mounting hole 24 and reaches the proper fitting position, the projecting wall 46 is engaged with the fitting recess 31 of the partition wall 25 exposed from the retainer mounting hole 24 and is fitted into each cavity. 21 is cut off.

  When the retainer 40 is inserted into the retainer mounting hole 24 and reaches the proper fitting position, the two retaining portions 47 protrude to the rear of the connection portion 11 of the female terminal fitting 10 attached to the cavity 21 and are female. The mold terminal fitting 10 is double-locked together with the flexible lance 26.

Now, as shown in FIG. 5, the retainer mounting hole 24 is provided with a triangular recess 33 corresponding to a bent portion having a triangular shape from the central edge portion of the through-hole portion 27 toward the front direction and the rear direction. As shown in FIG. 6, a triangular protrusion 48 corresponding to a triangular protrusion corresponding to the triangular recess 33 of the retainer mounting hole 24 is provided in the front and rear direction from the center edge of the base body 43.
Specifically, the triangular recess 33 is formed on the inner peripheral edge in the longitudinal direction of the through-hole portion 27 from the position on both sides of the partition wall 25 exposed from the through-hole portion 27 to a position closer to the center of the cavity 21 toward the partition wall 25. The through hole 27 is formed in a substantially isosceles triangle shape by an outer peripheral edge extending straight to an intermediate position on both side surfaces of the partition wall 25 so that an angle with the inner peripheral edge in the longitudinal direction is about 70 degrees. The vertices of an isosceles triangle are positioned at the middle position between both side surfaces.

  In addition, the triangular protrusion 48 of the retainer 40 corresponds to the triangular recess 33 and has an angle with the outer peripheral edge in the longitudinal direction of about 70 degrees from a position slightly closer to both ends from the center of the outer peripheral edge in the longitudinal direction of the base body 43. Is formed in an isosceles triangle shape extending toward the center side of the base body portion at an angle of when the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the cavity 21 in a state where the retainer 40 is temporarily fitted to the connector housing 20. In addition, the triangular projection 48 formed wider than the thickness of the partition wall 25 is set slightly thinner than the protruding wall 46 so that it does not protrude into the cavity 21 and obstruct the insertion of the female terminal fitting.

When the retainer 40 is inserted into the retainer mounting hole 24 and reaches the proper fitting position, the triangular projection 48 is fitted into the triangular recess 33, and the surface of the triangular projection 48 on the cavity 21 side is the end surface of the partition wall 25. It is the structure which contacts the part. At this time, the portion of the triangular protrusion 48 that is not in contact with the end face of the partition wall 25 on the surface of the cavity 21 constitutes the bottom surface of the cavity 21.
As a result, the opening edge of the retainer mounting hole 24 has a configuration in which there is no portion that linearly crosses between the cavities 21 in which the female terminal fittings 10 are mounted.

Then, the effect | action in this Embodiment 1 is demonstrated.
First, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted in a state where the retainer 40 is held in the connector housing 20 in a temporarily fitted state. When the retainer 40 is inserted to the proper fitting position, the front elastic locking piece 41F and the rear elastic locking piece 41R of the side closing portion 44 of the retainer 40 are connected to the front locking portion 29 and the rear of the retainer mounting hole 24. After abutting against the locking portion 30 and bending and deforming toward the center of the side closing portion 44, the retainer 40 is mounted in the retainer mounting hole 24 by being elastically restored and locked to the respective locking portions 29, 30. The As a result, the retaining portion 47 of the retainer 40 is positioned slightly behind the connecting portion of the female terminal fitting 10 inserted into the cavity 21, so that the female terminal fitting 10 can be moved by the retainer 40 in addition to the flexible lance 26. The state is double-locked to the cavity 21.

  At this time, according to the first embodiment, the triangular protrusions 48 of the base body 43 of the retainer 40 are fitted into the triangular recesses 33 provided in the through hole 27 of the retainer mounting hole 24, and the retainer 40. The base 42 is in a state of closing the retainer mounting hole 24, and the opening edge of the retainer mounting hole 24 does not have a portion that linearly crosses between the cavities in which the female terminal fittings 10 are mounted.

  According to such a configuration, even when a foreign object such as a metal piece penetrates between the cavities 21 into a slight gap generated between the retainer mounting hole 24 and the retainer 40, Is not formed in a straight line, foreign matter does not easily enter between the cavities 21, and a short circuit between the terminal fittings can be prevented.

  In addition, since the shape between the cavities 21 is a triangular protrusion, for example, even when an invading foreign object is curved, it can be prevented from entering between the cavities 21 and a short circuit between the terminal fittings can be prevented. .

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the connector of the second embodiment, the inner shape of the retainer mounting hole 24 is different from that of the first embodiment, and a stepped step 34 is formed in the retainer mounting hole 24 from the opening toward the cavity 21. The stepped portion 34 is provided in the region of the triangular recess 33, and the height thereof is set to about half of the thickness from the opening of the retainer mounting hole 24 to the bottom surface of the cavity 21. On the other hand, the triangular protrusion 48 of the retainer 40 fitted into the retainer mounting hole 24 is set to be approximately half that of the first embodiment so that the thickness thereof corresponds to the stepped portion 34 , and the retainer 40 is mounted on the retainer 40. When fitted into the hole 24, the stepped portion 34 is brought into contact with the hole 24. In addition, the triangular recessed part 33 comprised here corresponds to an accommodation recessed part , and the step part 34 corresponds to a bottom face . Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, and the same effects are obtained.

As in the embodiment 2, by providing the stepped portion 34 to the position of the triangular recesses 33 of the retainer mounting hole 24, enters the foreign matter retainer mounting hole through the apex of the triangular recess 33 if bent triangular Even in such a state, the inner peripheral edge portion of the triangular recess 33 is not configured in such a shape that the outer surface of the connector housing 20 and the inside of the cavity 21 are connected in a straight line. Such foreign matter can be reliably prevented from entering.

<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 present embodiment, the triangular recess 33 and the triangular protrusion 48 are configured in the shape of an isosceles triangle. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. The triangles 33 and the triangular protrusions 48 may be configured to be the same regular triangle or all different triangles.
(2) In this embodiment, the triangular concave portion 33 is provided on the inner peripheral edge of the retainer mounting hole 24, and the triangular triangular protrusion 48 is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the retainer 40. For example, the present invention may be configured such that the inner peripheral edge of the retainer mounting hole 24 and the outer peripheral edge of the retainer 40 are formed in a curved or corrugated shape.

10: Female terminal fitting (terminal fitting)
20: Connector housing 21: Cavity 24: Retainer mounting hole 25: Partition wall 27: Through hole 33: Triangular recess (bent part)
40: Retainer 42: Base part 43: Base body part (projection)
48: Triangular protrusion (protrusion)

Claims (3)

A connector housing provided side by side with a plurality of cavities defined by partition walls;
A terminal fitting received and locked in the cavity;
A retainer mounting hole provided on the outer surface of the connector housing so as to communicate with the cavity and to expose an end surface portion of the partition;
A connector provided with a retainer that closes the retainer mounting hole by fitting a base portion having an outer peripheral edge along the inner peripheral edge of the retainer mounting hole into the retainer mounting hole so as to lock the terminal fitting. There,
A protruding wall is provided on the base portion,
The end surface portion of the partition wall is provided with a fitting recess to be fitted with the protruding wall,
A boundary portion between the protruding wall and the fitting recess is covered by the base portion,
The connector is characterized in that the outer peripheral edge of the retainer is bent at a position covering the end surface of the partition wall. On the inner peripheral edge of the retainer mounting hole, a triangular recess having a shape having one of its apexes is formed on the end face of the partition wall,
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the retainer is formed with a triangular protrusion that fits into a triangular recess at an inner peripheral edge of the retainer mounting hole. On the peripheral edge of the retainer mounting hole , a bottomed storage recess for storing the base is formed,
The accommodating recess has an inner peripheral surface along an outer peripheral edge of the base portion, and a bottom surface parallel to the outer surface of the connector housing,
The connector according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the outer surface of the connector housing, the inner peripheral surface, and the bottom surface are continuously arranged so as to form a stepped shape .

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