JP6128443B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a connector in which a housing is provided with a cavity into which a terminal fitting is inserted and a lance that is locked to the terminal fitting inserted into the cavity to prevent the terminal fitting from being removed (for example, described in Patent Document 1 below) ). This connector is locked in the fitted state by the lock portion when mated with the mating connector.

JP 2004-185964 A

  By the way, in the connector configured as described above, when the terminal fitting is to be removed for maintenance or the like, it is necessary to first separate the connector locked in the fitted state. This is because, in order to extract the terminal fitting, the lance must be bent to the unlocked state, and for that purpose, a jig must be inserted from the front of the housing. For this reason, at the time of maintenance work, a step of unlocking the lock portion, a step of separating the connector, a step of inserting a jig into the housing to bring the lance into an unlocked state, a step of extracting the terminal fitting, There was a problem that it was necessary to do it and it took time and effort.

  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 easily performing maintenance work.

  The connector of the present invention has a pair of connector housings that can be fitted to each other, and at least one of the pair of connector housings includes a cavity into which a terminal fitting is inserted, and the cavity inserted into the cavity. A lance is provided for locking the terminal fitting to prevent it from coming off, and an entry position for entering the cavity to prevent the terminal fitting from being removed, and retreating from the cavity to release the terminal fitting. A terminal retaining portion that can be moved to the retracted position can be inserted, and when the pair of connector housings are fitted, the other connector housing enters the one connector housing side to unlock the lance. The latch release part to which it transfers to a state is provided.

  According to the present invention, since the terminal fitting can be removed by moving the terminal retaining portion to the retracted position while holding the pair of connector housings in the fitted state, there is no need to separate the connector during maintenance work. Therefore, maintenance work can be easily performed.

The perspective view which is a connector in a present Example, and shows the state before a male connector housing and a female connector housing fit. Sectional drawing which shows the state before a male connector housing and a female connector housing fit Sectional drawing which shows the state after a male side connector housing and a female side connector housing being fitted, and before a lock | rock Sectional drawing which shows the state after locking after the male connector housing and the female connector housing are fitted Sectional drawing which shows the state which the latching protrusion for entry positions latched on the male side latching receiving part, Comprising: Sectional drawing corresponded in the cross section in the AA position of FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the state which the latching protrusion for entry positions latched on the female side latching receiving part, Comprising: Sectional drawing corresponded in the cross section in the BB position of FIG. Sectional view showing the state in which the terminal fitting can be removed while the connector is locked in the mated state FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the retracting position locking projection is locked to the male side locking receiving portion, and is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the cross section at the CC position in FIG. 7. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the retracting position locking projection is locked to the female side locking receiving portion, corresponding to a cross section at the DD position in FIG. 7. Side view of male connector housing Cross section of male connector housing Top view of male connector housing Bottom view of male connector housing Front view of male connector housing Rear view of male connector housing Partially enlarged sectional view showing a state in which the unlocking portion deflects the counterpart lance to the unlocked state.

  In the connector according to the present invention, the terminal retaining portion may be provided with a lock portion that locks the pair of connector housings in a fitted state. According to such a configuration, the structure of the connector can be simplified as compared with the case where the lock portion and the terminal retaining portion are provided separately.

  In the connector of the present invention, the cavity and the lance are provided in both of the pair of connector housings, the terminal retaining portion can be inserted into each of the pair of connector housings, and the locking release portion is It may be provided in each of the pair of connector housings. According to such a configuration, the terminal fitting can be removed from each connector housing by moving each terminal retaining portion to the retracted position while holding the pair of connector housings in the fitted state. Therefore, it is not necessary to separate the connector, and maintenance work can be easily performed.

<Example>
Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
The connector C in this embodiment is configured to include a male connector housing 10 and a female connector housing 40 (a pair of connector housings) that can be fitted to each other. Are brought into close contact with each other by being brought close to each other. Hereinafter, in each component member, the fitting surface side in both connector housings 10 and 40 will be described as the front side, and the upper side in FIG.

  The male connector housing (one connector housing) 10 is made of a synthetic resin and has an elongated shape in the front-rear direction as a whole. As shown in FIG. 2, the rear side portion of the male connector housing 10 is a terminal holding portion 11 in which the male terminal fitting 30 is held, and the front side portion is fitted with the female connector housing 40 inside. A possible connector fitting portion 12 is provided.

  Inside the terminal holding part 11, one male cavity 13 into which the male terminal fitting 30 is inserted from the rear is formed. The male cavity 13 is configured to be opened rearward and closed frontward by a front wall. The front wall is provided with a tab insertion hole 14 penetrating in the front-rear direction through which the tab portion 31 of the male terminal fitting 30 can be inserted forward. The tab insertion hole 14 has a substantially square shape.

  The terminal holding part 11 is provided with a male side lance 15 that engages with the male side terminal fitting 30 inserted into the male side cavity 13 to prevent the detachment. The male lance 15 is formed along the lower wall of the inner wall of the male cavity 13. The male lance 15 is provided so as to be positioned at the front side portion of the male cavity 13. The male lance 15 is provided with a retaining projection 17 that can be locked to the first locking portion 35 of the male terminal fitting 30 on the upper surface of a both-end arm portion 16 that is supported at both front and rear ends. In the form.

  The arm portion 16 has a rear end portion connected to and supported by the lower wall, and a front end portion connected to and supported by the front wall, and can be bent and deformed in the vertical direction with the front and rear support portions as fulcrums. At the time of deformation, the arm portion 16 has a substantially arcuate shape with the central portion in the length direction as the lowermost end (see FIG. 16).

  The retaining projection 17 is provided in the form of projecting into the male cavity 13 approximately at the center in the width direction of the arm 16. The front surface of the retaining protrusion 17 is a male terminal locking surface 18 that is locked to the male terminal fitting 30.

  A portion of the arm portion 16 that is in front of the retaining protrusion 17 is a pressed portion 19 that is pressed downward (in the unlocking direction) by an unlocking portion 90 described later. The upper surface of the pressed portion 19 is a contact surface 21 with which the unlocking portion 90 contacts, and the contact surface 21 has a substantially semicircular curved surface (see FIG. 14). A release portion guide surface 22 is formed at the front end of the pressed portion 19 to form an inclination for guiding the locking release portion 90 toward the contact surface 21 (see FIG. 11).

  An unlocking portion 90, which will be described later, is inserted from the front in a form opened to the front surface of the terminal holding portion 11 (hereinafter referred to as a male-side fitting surface 23) in front of the male lance 15. A part insertion hole 24 is provided.

The connector fitting portion 12 is configured to protrude forward from the outer peripheral edge of the male fitting surface 23 in a rectangular tube shape.
The male terminal fitting 30 is formed in an elongated shape in the front-rear direction, and in order from the front side, a tab portion 31 connected to the female terminal fitting 60 and a terminal main body portion 32 provided with a locking means to be locked to the male connector housing 10. And an electric wire connecting portion 34 connected to the male electric wire 33 (see FIG. 2). The tab portion 31 is disposed so as to protrude into the connector fitting portion 12 in a state where the male terminal fitting 30 is accommodated in the male cavity 13.

  The terminal main body 32 has a first engagement portion 35 that engages with the male lance 15 and a second engagement that engages with a male side terminal retaining portion 70 that will be described later, as engagement means with the male connector housing 10. A stop 36 is provided. The first locking portion 35 is a protrusion that protrudes from the outer surface of the terminal body portion 32. The 2nd latching | locking part 36 is a part of rear end surface of the terminal main-body part 32, and the male side terminal securing part 70 can be latched from back.

  The female connector housing 40 is made of a synthetic resin, has a box shape elongated in the front-rear direction as a whole, and can be fitted in the connector fitting portion 12 of the male connector housing 10.

  The female connector housing 40 has one female cavity 41 into which the female terminal fitting 60 is inserted from the rear. The female-side cavity 41 is configured to be opened rearward and closed frontward by a front wall. The front wall is provided with a tab insertion hole 42 through which the tab portion 31 of the male terminal fitting 30 can be inserted into the female cavity 41 from the front in the front-rear direction. The tab insertion hole 42 has a substantially square shape, and a tab guide portion 43 that is widened to guide the tab portion 31 to the female cavity 41 is formed on the front end side.

  The female connector housing 40 is provided with a female lance 44 that is engaged with the female terminal fitting 60 inserted into the female cavity 41 and prevents the female terminal fitting 60 from coming off (see FIG. 2). The female lance 44 is formed along the upper wall of the inner wall of the female cavity 41. The female side lance 44 is provided so as to be located in the front side portion of the female side cavity 41. The female side lance 44 has substantially the same configuration as the male side lance 15, and is latched with respect to the both-side-supported arm portion 45 supported at both front and rear ends and the first locking portion 65 of the female terminal fitting 60. And a front surface of the retaining protrusion 46 is a female terminal locking surface 47 that is locked to the female terminal fitting 60.

  Similarly to the male lance 15, a portion of the arm portion 45 in front of the retaining protrusion 46 is pressed upward (in the unlocking direction) by a locking release portion 90 described later, and a pressed portion 48. The lower surface of the pressed portion 48 is a contact surface 49 with which the locking release portion 90 contacts. At the front end of the pressed portion 48, similarly to the male lance 15, a release portion guide surface 51 that forms an inclination for guiding the locking release portion 90 toward the contact surface 49 is formed.

  In the front of the female lance 44, an unlocking portion 90, which will be described later, is inserted from the front in a form opened to the front surface of the female connector housing 40 (hereinafter referred to as a female fitting surface 52). A release portion insertion hole 53 is provided.

  The female terminal fitting 60 is formed in an elongated shape in the front-rear direction. The tab connection portion 61 to which the tab portion 31 of the male terminal fitting 30 is connected is connected to the front side, and the female connection 62 is connected to the rear side. A portion 63 is provided (see FIG. 2). The tab connecting portion 61 has a rectangular tube shape into which the tab portion 31 can be inserted from the front, and an elastic contact piece 64 that elastically contacts the tab portion 31 is accommodated therein. Further, the tab connection portion 61 has a first locking portion 65 that locks the female lance 44 as a locking means with the female connector housing 40 and a first locking portion 65 that locks a female terminal retaining portion 80 to be described later. Two locking portions 66 are provided. The first locking portion 65 is a protrusion protruding from the outer surface of the tab connection portion 61. The 2nd latching | locking part 66 is a part of rear end surface of the tab connection part 61, and the female side terminal securing part 80 can be latched from back.

  The connector C is provided with a male terminal retaining portion 70 that can prevent the male terminal fitting 30 from being removed, and a female terminal retaining portion 80 that can prevent the female terminal fitting 60 from being removed. The male side terminal retaining part 70 and the female side terminal retaining part 80 are both provided integrally with the male side connector housing 10. The male side terminal retaining part 70 and the female side terminal retaining part 80 have substantially the same shape.

  The male-side terminal retaining part 70 has a plate shape that is formed so that the plate surface is substantially perpendicular to the lower surface of the male-side connector housing 10 as a whole. The male side terminal retaining part 70 is integrally formed on the lower surface side of the male side connector housing 10 via the hinge part 71, and the most part thereof is accommodated in the male side connector housing 10 with the hinge part 71 as a substantially fulcrum. Can be swung vertically between a closed position (see FIG. 3) and an open position (see FIG. 10) where most of the male connector housing 10 protrudes downward from the outside. ing.

  The male side terminal retaining part 70 swings between the closed position and the open position through the male side opening 25 formed in the terminal holding part 11. The male side opening 25 is formed in the rear part of the terminal holding part 11 with respect to the male side lance 15 (see FIG. 3). The male-side opening 25 is formed in an elongated shape in the front-rear direction at the approximate center in the width direction of the male-side connector housing 10, and communicates the male-side cavity 13 with the outside of the terminal holding portion 11. The width dimension of the male side opening 25 is slightly smaller than the width dimension of the terminal main body 32 of the male side terminal fitting 30 to prevent the male side terminal fitting 30 from being displaced toward the male side opening 25 side. (See FIG. 8).

  A pair of side wall portions 25S are provided on both sides of the male side opening portion 25 (see FIG. 11). The pair of side wall portions 25 </ b> S has a wall shape provided continuously over the entire length of the male side opening portion 25. On the inner side (opposite side) of the pair of side wall portions 25S, a male-side locking receiving portion 26 that can lock a male-side locking protrusion 73 provided on a male-side terminal retaining portion 70 described later is projected. (See FIG. 14).

  The male side latch receiving part 26 is provided along the lower end edge of each side wall part 25S. The lower surface side of the male side locking receiving portion 26 is a guide surface 26Y that is inclined to smoothly guide the male side locking protrusion 73 provided on the male side terminal retaining portion 70 upward, and the upper surface side is a male side locking portion. It is set as the latching receiving surface 26U which the protrusion 73 latches. The locking receiving surface 26U is a horizontal plane that is substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction.

  The male terminal retaining portion 70 is retracted from the male side cavity 13 with respect to the male side connector housing 10 and an entry position (see FIG. 3) for entering the male side cavity 13 and preventing the male side terminal fitting 30 from coming off. Thus, the male terminal fitting 30 can be held in a stepwise manner (see FIG. 7) at which the male terminal fitting 30 is released. In addition, the approach position of the male side terminal retaining part 70 is the same position as the closed position.

The male-side terminal retaining part 70 is arranged in the open position in a natural state (a state where no force is applied). By applying an upward force to the male-side terminal retaining part 70, the male-side terminal retaining part 70 enters from the retracted position and from the retracted position. It is assumed that it is elastically displaced to a position (closed position).
The male terminal retaining portion 70 includes an entry position locking projection 73S that is retained on the engagement receiving surface 26U of the male connector housing 10 and holds the male terminal retaining portion 70 in the entry position, and the male connector housing. Retraction position locking projections 73T that are locked to the ten lock receiving surfaces 26U and hold the male terminal retaining portion 70 in the retracted position are provided.

  The entry position locking projections 73S and the retracted position locking projections 73T are provided on both side surfaces (both plate surfaces) of the male terminal retaining portion 70. Each of the male side locking projections 73S and 73T has an inclined surface 74 that is inclined so as to easily get over the male side locking receiving portion 26, and a lower surface side that is the locking receiving surface of the male side locking receiving portion 26. It is set as the latching surface 75 latched to 26U (refer FIG. 8).

  When the male terminal retaining portion 70 is pushed into the entry position, the engagement surface 75 of the entry position engagement projection 73S is in relation to the engagement receiving surface 26U of the male engagement receiving portion 26, as shown in FIG. Then, it is elastically contacted by an elastic restoring force acting downward, and is held in a state assembled to the male connector housing 10 at the entry position. When the male terminal retaining portion 70 is pulled down to the retracted position, the retaining surface 75 of the retracting position retaining projection 73T is engaged with the retaining surface 26U of the male retaining member 26 as shown in FIG. Is elastically contacted by an elastic restoring force acting downward with respect to the male connector housing 10 and is held in a state assembled to the male connector housing 10 at the retracted position.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the male-side terminal retaining part 70 is positioned at the rear side of the second locking part 36 of the male-side terminal fitting 30 while being held at the entry position, and the male-side terminal fitting 30 is not pulled out. A retaining surface 76 for stopping is provided. The retaining surface 76 is perpendicular to the front-rear direction (the insertion / extraction direction of the male terminal fitting 30) when the male terminal retaining portion 70 is held at the entry position. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the retaining surface 76 retracts downward from the male cavity 13 in the state where the male terminal retaining portion 70 is held at the retracted position, and the second engagement of the male terminal fitting 30. It is arranged below the stop portion 36 (a height position equivalent to the lower wall of the male lance 15 and the terminal holding portion 11).

  At the front end of the male terminal retaining portion 70 (the end opposite to the hinge portion 71), when the male terminal retaining portion 70 is swung from the retracted position to the retracted position and from the retracted position to the open position, A male finger hooking portion 72 capable of hooking a finger is provided. The male side finger hanging portion 72 is an inclined surface that goes downward (away from the lower surface of the male side connector housing 10).

  The female terminal retaining part 80 has a plate-like shape formed in a direction in which the plate surface is substantially perpendicular to the upper surface of the male connector housing 10 as in the same manner as the male terminal retaining part 70. The female terminal retaining part 80 is integrally formed on the upper surface side of the male connector housing 10 via the hinge part 81, like the male terminal retaining part 70, and the hinge part 81 is used as a substantial fulcrum, and most of the female side terminal retaining part 80 is male. A closed position (see FIG. 4) where the connector housing 10 is accommodated in the connector fitting portion 12 and an open position (see FIG. 11) where most of the male housing protrudes outward from the male connector housing 10. Can be swung vertically.

  When the connector C is in the fitted state, the female-side terminal retaining portion 80 is in a closed position through the female-side opening 27 formed in the connector-fitting portion 12 and the notch portion 54 formed in the female-side connector housing 40. Swings between open positions.

  The female opening 27 is formed in the front portion of the connector fitting portion 12. The female-side opening 27 is formed in an elongated shape in the front-rear direction at the center in the width direction of the male-side connector housing 10, and communicates the inside and the outside of the connector fitting portion 12.

  A pair of side wall portions 27 </ b> S is provided on both sides of the female side opening portion 27. The pair of side wall portions 27 </ b> S has a wall shape provided continuously over the entire length of the female side opening portion 27. On the inner side (opposite side) of the pair of side wall portions 27S, a female side latch receiving portion 28 that can be engaged with the female side latching projection 83 provided on the female side terminal retaining portion 80 is projected (see FIG. (See FIG. 9). The female side latch receiving part 28 is provided along the upper end edge of each side wall part 27S. The upper surface side of the female side latch receiving portion 28 is a guide surface 28Y that is inclined so as to smoothly guide the female side locking projection 83 provided on the female side terminal retaining portion 80 downward, and the lower surface side is a female side engagement. It is set as the latching receiving surface 28U which the latching protrusion 83 latches. The locking receiving surface 28U is a horizontal plane that is substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction.

  The notch 54 is formed in the rear part of the female connector housing 40 with respect to the female lance 44 (see FIG. 2). The notch 54 is formed in an elongated shape in the front-rear direction at the center in the width direction of the female connector housing 40, and communicates the outside of the female connector housing 40 and the female cavity 41. The notch 54 opens to the rear end surface and the upper surface of the female connector housing 40. The lower part (the female cavity 41 side) of the notch 54 has a width smaller than that of the female opening 27 as shown in FIG. The width dimension of the lower part of the notch 54 is equal to the width dimension (plate thickness dimension) of the female terminal retaining part 80 excluding the female locking projection 83 described later. The width dimension of the lower part of the notch 54 is smaller than the width dimension of the female terminal fitting 60, and the female terminal fitting 60 is prevented from being displaced toward the notch 54. The upper portion of the notch 54 is shaped to expand upward, and has a width dimension equivalent to the width dimension of the female opening 27 at the upper end.

  The female-side terminal retaining portion 80 enters the female-side cavity 41 with respect to the female-side connector housing 40 fitted to the male-side connector housing 10, and enters the female-side terminal fitting 60 (see FIG. 4). ) And the female-side terminal 41 are released from the female-side cavity 41, and the female-side connector housing 40 is engaged with the lock-receiving surface (rear surface) 55 of the female-side connector housing 40. It is possible to hold in a stepwise manner at a retracted position (see FIG. 7) that locks to the position. In addition, the approach position of the female side terminal retaining part 80 is the same position as the closed position.

  The female-side terminal retaining portion 80 is disposed in the open position in a natural state (a state where no force is applied). By applying downward force to the female-side terminal retaining portion 80, the female-side terminal retaining portion 80 enters from the open position to the retracted position. It is assumed that it is elastically displaced to a position (closed position).

  The female terminal retaining portion 80 includes an entry position locking projection 83S that is locked to the locking receiving surface 28U of the male connector housing 10 and holds the female terminal retaining portion 80 at the entry position, and a male connector housing. Retraction position locking projections 83T that are locked to the ten locking receiving surfaces 28U and hold the female-side terminal retaining portion 80 in the retracted position are provided.

  The entry position locking projections 83S and the retracted position locking projections 83T are provided on both side surfaces (both plate surfaces) of the female terminal retaining portion 80. Any of the female side locking projections 83S and 83T has an inclined surface 84 inclined on the lower surface side so as to easily get over the female side locking receiving portion 28, and an upper surface side of the female side locking projection 83S. The locking surface 85 is locked with the surface 28U (see FIG. 9). Further, any of the female side locking projections 83S and 83T has a protruding height larger than that of the male side locking projection 73 provided on the male side terminal retaining portion 70. The female side locking projections 83S and 83T do not necessarily have a projection height larger than that of the male side locking projection 73. For example, the female side locking projections 83S and 83T are equivalent to the male side locking projection 73. It is good also as what has the protrusion height.

  When the female terminal retaining portion 80 is disposed at the entry position, as shown in FIG. 6, the engagement surface 85 of the entry position engagement projection 83 </ b> S is opposed to the engagement receiving surface 28 </ b> U of the female side engagement receiving portion 28. Therefore, the elastic contact force is elastically contacted by the upwardly acting elastic restoring force, and the female connector housing 40 is held in the assembled state at the entry position. Further, when the female terminal retaining portion 80 is disposed at the retracted position, as shown in FIG. 9, the retaining surface 85 of the retracting position retaining projection 83 </ b> T is engaged with the retaining receiving surface 28 </ b> U of the female side retaining portion 28. Is elastically contacted by an elastic restoring force acting upward, and is held in a state assembled to the female connector housing 40 at the retracted position.

  At the rear end of the female terminal retaining portion 80 (the end opposite to the hinge portion 81), the female terminal retaining portion 80 is swung from the retracted position to the retracted position and from the retracted position to the open position. In addition, a female side finger hooking portion 82 capable of hooking a finger is provided (see FIG. 7). The female finger hooking portion 82 is an inclined surface that is inclined upward (away from the upper surface of the male connector housing 10).

  In addition, since the latching of the male side latching receiving part 26 and the male side latching protrusion 73 and the latching of the female side latching receiving part 28 and the female side latching protrusion 83 are both semi-lock structures, The locking state is released by applying a force exceeding the locking force between the locking receiving portions 26A, 28A and the locking protrusions 73, 83 to the male terminal retaining portion 70 or the female terminal retaining portion 80. Can do.

  The female-side terminal retaining portion 80 has a locking function for locking the male and female connector housings 10 and 40 in a fitted state and a female-side terminal fitting 60 inserted into the female-side connector housing 40. It also has a retaining function.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the female-side terminal retaining portion 80 is held at the entry position, and the rear surface (lock) of the second locking portion 66 of the female-side terminal fitting 60 and the notch portion 54 of the female-side connector housing 40. The retaining surface (locking portion) 86 is provided on the rear side of the receiving surface 55) and prevents the female terminal fitting 60 from coming out and preventing the female connector housing 40 from being detached. The retaining surface 86 is substantially perpendicular to the front-rear direction (the insertion / extraction direction of the male terminal fitting 30 and the detachment direction of the female connector housing 40) when the female terminal retaining portion 80 is in the entry position.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the retaining surface 86 is retracted upward from the female cavity 41 in the state where the female terminal retaining portion 80 is held at the retracted position, and the second locking portion 66 of the female terminal fitting 60. The lock receiving surface 55 is disposed only on the rear side. As a result, the female terminal fitting 60 can be removed and the connector housings 10 and 40 remain locked in the fitted state.

  Now, when the connector housings 10 and 40 are fitted, the male connector housing 10 and the female connector housing 40 enter the mating side and forcibly shift the mating lances 15 and 44 to the unlocked state. An unlocking portion 90 is provided. In the following, among the unlocking portions 90, the one provided on the male connector housing 10 is the male side unlocking portion 90M, and the one provided on the female connector housing 40 is the female side unlocking portion 90F. Called.

  The male and female locking release portions 90M and 90F project forward from the male fitting surface 23 and the female fitting surface 52 in a cantilevered manner. The male / female locking release portions 90M and 90F are substantially perpendicular to the male-side fitting surface 23 and the female-side fitting surface 52. The male / female unlocking portions 90M and 90F are both formed in a bar shape that is elongated in the front-rear direction (the dimension in the front-rear direction is larger than the width dimension) and thin (the dimension in the vertical direction is smaller than the width dimension). Has been. The male / female release portions 90M and 90F are elastically deformable in the vertical direction.

  The male side locking release portion 90M is provided at a position corresponding to the release portion insertion hole 53 of the female side connector housing 40, and the female side lock release portion 90F corresponds to the release portion insertion hole 24 of the male side connector housing 10. It is provided in the position to do. The male side unlocking portion 90M is provided above the tab insertion hole 14, and the female side unlocking portion 90F is provided below the tab insertion hole 42.

  Of the male and female locking release portions 90M and 90F, the contact surface 91 with the male lance 15 or the female lance 44 (the upper surface in the male locking release portion 90M and the lower surface in the female locking release portion 90F) is male. A curved shape is formed along the contact surfaces 21 and 49 of the side lance 15 or the female lance 44 (see FIGS. 1 and 4). In addition, the taper part 92 is formed in the front-end | tip part of the contact surface 91 of each latch release part 90M and 90F.

  Moreover, the surface on the opposite side to the contact surface 91 among each latch release part 90M and 90F is made into a flat surface over the whole, and the other end lances 15 and 44 and the other party terminal fitting 30 are in the front-end | tip part. , 60 is formed with an insertion guide surface 93 that is inclined so that the distal end portions of the respective unlocking portions 90M, 90F can be smoothly inserted.

Next, an example of the fitting operation of the connector C will be described.
First, the male terminal fitting 30 is inserted into the male connector housing 10 and the female terminal fitting 60 is inserted into the female connector housing 40 and held therein.
As shown in FIG. 7, the male terminal fitting 30 is inserted into the male cavity 13 with the male terminal retaining portion 70 held in the retracted position. When the male terminal fitting 30 is inserted into the proper position, the male lance 15 is locked to the first locking portion 35 of the male terminal fitting 30 and is held in a retaining state. Next, as shown in FIG. 2, when the male terminal retaining part 70 is pushed into the entry position, the retaining surface 76 of the male terminal retaining part 70 is engaged with the second engaging part 36 of the male terminal fitting 30. The male-side terminal retaining part 70 is in a state where it is retained double. Note that when the male terminal fitting 30 is inserted into the male cavity 13, the male terminal retaining portion 70 may be in an open position.

  Further, the female terminal fitting 60 is inserted into the female cavity 41 of the female connector housing 40. When the female terminal fitting 60 is inserted into the proper position, as shown in FIG. 2, the female lance 44 is locked to the first locking portion 65 of the female terminal fitting 60 and is held in a retaining state. The At this time, the second locking portion 66 of the female terminal fitting 60 is disposed at a position where the position of the lock receiving surface 55 of the female connector housing 40 in the front-rear direction is substantially the same. That is, the lock receiving surface 55 and the second locking portion 66 are arranged so as to be substantially flush with each other.

  Next, the male connector housing 10 and the female connector housing 40 are fitted. As shown in FIG. 2, the female connector housing 40 is fitted into the connector fitting portion 12 with the female terminal retaining portion 80 disposed at the open position. Then, the female connector housing 40 moves forward with respect to the male connector housing 10 without interfering with the female terminal retaining portion 80, and eventually the tab portion 31 of the male terminal fitting 30 is moved to the female terminal fitting 60. The entry into the tab connecting portion 61 is started. Thereafter, male and female locking release portions 90M and 90F provided on the fitting surfaces 23 and 52 of the connector housings 10 and 40 respectively start insertion into the counterpart release portion insertion holes 24 and 53, and are provided at the distal ends. The tapered portion 92 is in contact with the release portion guide surfaces 22 and 51 of the counterpart lances 15 and 44, and the insertion guide surface 93 provided at the tip is in contact with the counterpart terminal fittings 30 and 60. It is smoothly guided between the side lances 15 and 44 and the mating terminal fittings 30 and 60. The male and female locking release portions 90M and 90F are obliquely deformed along the second locking portions 36 and 66 of the mating terminal fittings 30 and 60, while the abutting surfaces 21, 49 is pressed in the unlocking direction, and the counterpart lances 15 and 44 are forcibly displaced in the unlocking direction. When both the connector housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted, as shown in FIG. 16, the male and female lances 15 and 44 and the male and female terminal fittings 30 and 60 are completely separated by the locking release portions 90M and 90F. The locked state is released. At this time, the tab portion 31 of the male terminal fitting 30 enters the tab connecting portion 61 of the female terminal fitting 60 and comes into contact with the elastic contact piece 64 so that both the terminal fittings 30 and 60 are electrically connected. Become. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, the notch part 54 of the female side connector housing 40 and the female side opening part 27 of the connector fitting part 12 are distribute | arranged to the position connected in an up-down direction.

Next, the female terminal retaining part 80 is swung from the open position to the entry position. When the female terminal retaining part 80 is pushed downward, the retaining surface 86 of the female terminal retaining part 80 enters the female opening 27 and the notch 54 as shown in FIG. Protrusively. The retaining surface 86 is in a state of being opposed to the lock receiving surface 55 of the female connector housing 40 and the rear of the second locking portion 66 of the female terminal fitting 60. Thereby, both the connector housings 10 and 40 are locked in a proper fitting state, and the female terminal fitting 60 is kept from coming off.
Thus, the fitting operation between the connector housings 10 and 40 is completed.

Next, an example of the extraction operation of the male terminal fitting 30 and the female terminal fitting 60 in the maintenance operation of the connector C will be described.
When the male terminal fitting 30 is extracted, the male terminal retaining part 70 is swung from the entry position to the retracted position. When a downward force is applied by hooking a finger on the male side finger hooking portion 72, the entry position locking projection 73S is disengaged from the male side locking receiving portion 26, and the male side terminal retaining portion 70 is swung and retracted by an elastic restoring force. To the position. Then, the retracting position locking projection 73T is locked to the male locking receiving portion 26, and the male terminal retaining portion 70 is held at the retracted position (see FIG. 7). As a result, the state in which the male terminal fitting 30 is prevented from being detached by the male terminal retaining portion 70 is released, so that the male terminal fitting 30 can be removed.

  When extracting the female terminal fitting 60, the female terminal retaining portion 80 is swung from the entry position to the retracted position. When an upward force is applied by hooking a finger on the female side finger-holding portion 82, the entry position locking projection 83S is detached from the female-side locking receiving portion 28, and the female-side terminal retaining portion 80 is swung and retracted by an elastic restoring force. To the position. Then, the retracting position locking projection 83T is locked to the female side locking receiving portion 28, and the female side terminal retaining portion 80 is held at the retracted position. Thereby, since the retaining state of the male terminal fitting 30 by the female terminal retaining portion 80 is released, the female terminal fitting 60 can be removed. At this time, the connector housings 10 and 40 are locked in the fitted state by the retaining surface 86 of the female terminal retaining portion 80.

  As described above, the two terminal fittings 30 can be simply operated by simply hooking the fingers on the finger hooking portions 72 and 82 of the male terminal retaining portion 70 and the female terminal retaining portion 80 and applying a downward or upward force. , 60 can be extracted, so that both terminal fittings 30, 60 can be easily extracted.

Next, the operation and effect of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.
The connector C of this embodiment has a male connector housing 10 and a female connector housing 40 that can be fitted to each other, and the connector housings 10 and 40 are respectively provided with a male terminal fitting 30 or a female terminal fitting 60. The male cavity 13 or the female cavity 41 is provided. Further, the male housing lances 15 that are engaged with the male terminal fitting 30 or the female terminal fitting 60 inserted into the male cavity 13 or the female cavity 41 to prevent the connector housings 10 and 40 from coming off are provided in the connector housings 10 and 40, respectively. Alternatively, a female side lance 44 is provided. The connector housings 10 and 40 have an entry position for entering the male cavity 13 or the female cavity 41 to prevent the male terminal fitting 30 or the female terminal fitting 60 from being removed, and the male cavity 13 or the female cavity. The male terminal retaining part 70 or the female terminal retaining part 80 that can move to the retracted position where the male terminal fitting 30 or the female terminal fitting 60 is released from the side cavity 41 can be inserted. ing. In addition, when the connector housings 10 and 40 are fitted to each other, both the connector housings 10 and 40 enter the mating side to move the mating lances 15 and 44 to the unlocking state, respectively. Are provided.

  According to this configuration, the male terminal fitting 30 and the female side are moved by moving the male terminal retaining portion 70 and the female terminal retaining portion 80 to the retracted position while the connector housings 10 and 40 are held in the fitted state. Since the terminal fitting 60 can be removed, it is not necessary to separate the connector C during the maintenance work, and the maintenance work can be easily performed.

  Further, the female-side terminal retaining portion 80 is provided with a lock portion that locks both the connector housings 10 and 40 in the fitted state. According to this configuration, the structure of the connector C can be simplified as compared with the case where the lock portion and the terminal retaining portion are provided separately.

<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 above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the connector C having the cavities 13 and 41 and the lances 15 and 44 provided in both the connector housings 10 and 40 has been described. Can be applied even to a connector in which a cavity and a lance are provided only in one of the connector housings. In such a case, for example, the terminal fitting is connected to the connector housing. The thing of the form hold | maintained by press injection etc. may be sufficient.
(2) In the above embodiment, both the male connector housing 10 and the female connector housing 40 are provided with the unlocking portions 90. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and only one of the pair of connector housings is locked. It is good also as what provides a cancellation | release part.
(3) In the above embodiment, the male side terminal retaining part 70 and the female side terminal retaining part 80 are both provided integrally with the male side connector housing 10, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the male side terminal retaining part May be provided integrally with the male connector housing and the female terminal retaining portion may be provided integrally with the female connector housing.
(4) In the above embodiment, the male terminal retaining part 70 and the female terminal retaining part 80 are both provided integrally with the male connector housing 10, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the male terminal retaining part and Both the female terminal retaining portions may be separate from the male connector housing and the female connector housing.
(5) In the above-described embodiment, the male terminal retaining part 70 and the female terminal retaining part 80 swing with the hinge parts 71 and 81 as fulcrums, respectively. The terminal retaining part and the female terminal retaining part may be slid.
(6) In the said Example, although the female side terminal prevention part 80 is provided with the locking function, not only this but a male side terminal prevention part is good also as what is provided with a locking function.
(7) In the above embodiment, the female terminal retaining portion 80 has a locking function. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a locking mechanism may be provided separately from the male terminal retaining portion and the female terminal retaining portion. Good.
(8) In the above embodiment, the case where the number of poles (the number of conductive paths formed by the male terminal fitting and the female terminal fitting) is 1 has been described. However, the present invention provides a case where the number of poles is plural. It can also be applied to.

C ... Connector 10 ... Male connector housing (one connector housing)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 ... Male side cavity 15 ... Male side lance 30 ... Male side terminal metal fitting 40 ... Female side connector housing (the other connector housing)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 41 ... Female side cavity 44 ... Female side lance 60 ... Female side terminal metal fitting 70 ... Male side terminal retaining part 80 ... Female side terminal retaining part 86 ... Retaining surface (locking part)
90F ... Female side unlocking part 90M ... Male side unlocking part

Claims (3)

Having a pair of connector housings that can be fitted together,
At least one connector housing of the pair of connector housings is provided with a cavity into which a terminal fitting is inserted, and a lance that engages with the terminal fitting inserted into the cavity to prevent its removal, A terminal retaining portion that can be moved to an entry position that enters the cavity and prevents the terminal fitting from being removed and a retracted position that retreats from the cavity and releases the stopper of the terminal fitting can be inserted,
The other connector housing is provided with an unlocking portion that enters the one connector housing side and shifts the lance to the unlocked state when the pair of connector housings are fitted.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the terminal retaining portion is provided with a lock portion that locks the pair of connector housings in a fitted state. The cavity and the lance are provided in both the pair of connector housings,
The terminal retaining portion can be inserted into each of the pair of connector housings,
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the locking release portion is provided in each of the pair of connector housings.

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