JP6386796B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector used for connecting, for example, a wire harness disposed in an automobile.

  As a conventional connector, what is described in the following patent document 1 is known.

  Briefly, as shown in FIG. 13, the connector 100 is configured such that a female terminal fitting 103 as a terminal fitting is accommodated and held in a terminal accommodating hole 102 penetratingly formed in the housing 101. The female terminal fitting 103 is inserted from the one end opening 102 a of the terminal receiving hole 102, and the lance portion 104 which is bent and deformed in the insertion process is elastically restored and locked to the hole edge of the locking hole 105 of the female terminal fitting 103. And is retained.

  When the connector 100 is assembled, a detection pin 106 as an inspection member is inserted from the other end opening 102b side of the terminal insertion hole 102 after the female terminal fitting 103 is inserted in order to guarantee the quality of the connector 100. Thus, the connection state (insertion state) of the female terminal fitting 103 is inspected.

  In particular, in the connector 100, when the insertion state of the female terminal fitting 103 is inspected, the pin insertion hole 107 facing the inside of the terminal accommodation hole 102 is separated (independently) from the other end opening 102b of the terminal accommodation hole 102. Is formed from the other end opening 102b side of the terminal receiving hole 102, whereby the thickness of the detection pin 106 can be enlarged, and thereby the deformation and breakage of the detection pin 106 can be prevented.

JP-A-11-238541

  However, in the conventional connector 100, as described above, the pin insertion hole 107 facing the inside of the terminal accommodation hole 102 is provided separately from the other end opening 102 b of the terminal accommodation hole 102, thereby Since the thickness is increased, the housing 101 is increased in size, which causes a problem that the connector 100 is increased in size.

  The present invention has been devised in view of the above-described conventional technical problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector that can satisfactorily detect the insertion state of a terminal fitting without increasing the size of the connector.

  The present invention includes a housing having a terminal housing hole formed therethrough, a substantially square cylindrical terminal fitting inserted from one end opening of the terminal housing hole and housed and held in the terminal housing hole, and an inner wall of the terminal housing hole. And a lance portion that is provided so as to be able to bend and deform in a direction away from the terminal fitting in the insertion process of the terminal fitting, and is bent from the other end opening side of the terminal receiving hole, and the lance portion is bent and deformed. A space portion for receiving the terminal fitting, a locking portion that is provided on an outer periphery of the terminal fitting, and that is locked by the lance portion that is elastically restored from the bending deformation as the terminal fitting reaches a predetermined insertion position, and the lance A protrusion formed on the distal end side of the part, extending in the insertion direction of the terminal fitting, and a notch formed on the distal end side of the lance facing the space portion, in a completely inserted state of the terminal fitting, Externally into the space The entry has been examined member is characterized by comprising, a receiving unit for receiving portion receiving receives in the form of inserted between the bottom wall and the inner wall of the terminal accommodating hole of the protrusion.

  As described above, the receiving portion for receiving the inspection member is recessed on the distal end side of the lance portion, so that a relatively wide (thick) inspection member can be used without increasing the size of the housing. It becomes.

  Here, as one preferable aspect of the present invention, the range of the space portion defined by the protruding portion and the receiving portion is configured to substantially match the shape of the distal end side of the inspection member. Is desirable.

  As described above, it is possible to make the insertion of the inspection member necessary and sufficient by configuring the range of the space portion defined by the protrusion and the receiving portion to substantially match the shape of the distal end side of the inspection member. It is possible to effectively suppress the increase in size of the housing and ensure the rigidity of the lance part.

  According to the present invention, since the receiving portion is provided, a relatively wide (thick) inspection member can be used without enlarging the housing, and the insertion state of the terminal fitting can be detected well. .

It is an exploded sectional view of the connector concerning the present invention. It is a perspective view of the housing shown in FIG. It is a front view of the housing shown in FIG. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the female terminal metal fitting shown in FIG. 1 from upper direction. It is the perspective view which looked at the female terminal metal fitting shown in FIG. 4 from the downward direction. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the female terminal metal fitting shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the insertion state of the female terminal metal fitting with respect to a housing, (a) is an insertion process, (b) is the figure showing the state of insertion completion. (A) is a perspective view of an inspection member alone, and (b) is a longitudinal sectional view showing a use state of the inspection member shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view with which it uses for the detection of the incomplete insertion state of a female terminal metal fitting. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view used for the detection of the complete insertion state of a female terminal metal fitting. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view when not providing a receiving part in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the conventional connector.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a connector according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiment, the connector is applied to a connector for connecting a wire harness that is used for connection of electric devices of an automobile as in the conventional case. In the following description, for convenience, the X-axis direction in FIG. 1 is described as the front-rear direction (X-axis positive direction is front) and the Y-axis direction is the vertical direction (Y-axis positive direction is upward).

  That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the connector 1 is particularly crimped to a housing 10 having a terminal accommodating hole 11 that is a plurality of cavities penetrating along the front-rear direction, and a terminal of an electric wire 2 as a wire harness. A female terminal fitting 20 which is a plurality of terminal fittings inserted and accommodated in each terminal accommodating hole 11 of the housing 10; a locking means 30 for holding each female terminal fitting 20 in a locked state in each terminal receiving hole 11; Is mainly composed of

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the housing 10 is formed of a synthetic resin material in a substantially box shape, and has a substantially flat bottom wall 12 and a pair of side walls rising integrally from both side edges of the bottom wall. 13, 13, a top wall 14 integrally provided at the upper edge of the side walls 13, 13, and a substantially parallel wall between the top wall 14 and the bottom wall 12. And a plurality of partition walls 16 connected to the intermediate wall 15 and the bottom wall 12 and the top wall 14 in the vertical direction, thereby being separated by the walls 12 to 16 inside. A total of twelve terminal receiving holes 11 are formed in the upper and lower two stages along the axial direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, each of the terminal receiving holes 11 is formed in a substantially rectangular cross section, and is drilled from the one end opening 11 a to about 1/3 of the internal axial direction. A first accommodating portion 11b used for accommodating an electric wire connecting portion 21 (to be described later) of the metal fitting 20, and a portion of the circumferential direction from the distal end side of the first accommodating portion 11b to a substantially central position in the inner axial direction gradually decreases in a substantially conical taper shape. A second accommodating portion 11c provided to perform the operation, and a third portion that is provided from the distal end side of the second accommodating portion 11c to the vicinity of the other end opening 11f to accommodate a terminal connecting portion 22 (described later) of the female terminal fitting 20. The housing portion 11d is further reduced from the distal end side of the third housing portion 11d, and includes an insertion port 11e that serves to guide insertion of a male terminal (not shown).

  In addition, a predetermined space portion 17 is formed in the housing 10 toward the front end side so as to be adjacent to the third accommodation portion 11d of each terminal accommodation hole 11. The space 17 can receive deformation of the lance 31 described later, and can inspect the state of bending deformation of the lance 31 by inserting an inspection member 40 described later.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the female terminal fitting 20 is formed by bending a metal plate made of a conductive material such as copper, for example, by press molding. 2 is configured as a wire connecting portion 21 that is crimped to the terminal 2 and used for electrical connection with the wire 2, and the other end is formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape and connected to a male terminal (not shown) that is the other side. It is comprised as the terminal connection part 22 with which it uses. And inside the terminal connection part 22 is provided a connection piece 23 configured to be deformable by being cantilevered on the inner side of the upper wall, and the male terminal (not shown) is connected to the connection piece 23. These terminals are electrically connected by being sandwiched between the bottom wall 12.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 8, the locking means 30 is cantilevered on the bottom wall 12 and the intermediate wall 15 corresponding to the bottom wall of the third accommodating portion 11d of each terminal accommodating hole 11 respectively. The lance part 31 provided so as to be able to bend and the lance part provided on the bottom wall 12 of the terminal connection part 22 in each of the female terminal fittings 20, as the female terminal fittings 20 are inserted to their normal positions. It is mainly comprised from the latching | locking part 32 latched to 31. FIG.

  The lance portion 31 is formed integrally with the housing 10, and, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, obliquely upward toward the front end side in the space portion 17 provided adjacent to the third housing portion 11d. The base end portion 31a that is provided so as to be cut and raised and cantilevered by the bottom wall 12 and the intermediate wall 15 is bent and deformed in the vertical direction. And the protrusion part 31b which protrudes along the insertion direction of the said female terminal metal fitting 20 is provided in the front end side lower end part of this lance part 31, and this protrusion part 31b has the tip side upper part of the lance part 31, A locking groove 33 for locking to a locking projection 35 to be described later is recessed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the locking portion 32 is a female terminal that enters from the one end opening 11 a of the terminal receiving hole 11 in the bottom wall 12 of the third receiving portion 11 d of the terminal receiving hole 11. When the metal fitting 20 reaches a proper position, a receiving hole 34 formed at a position facing the lance portion 31 and a latch projecting from the front end edge of the receiving hole 34 and latching in the locking groove 33 The lance portion 31 is received in the receiving hole 34 when the female terminal fitting 20 is inserted to the normal position, and the locking protrusion 35 is engaged in the locking groove 33. It has become.

  Thus, when the locking means 30 inserts the female terminal fittings 20 into the terminal receiving holes 11, in the insertion process, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8B, when the lance portion 31 is maintained in a state where the lance portion 31 is bent and deformed downward while being pushed away by the bottom wall 22a of the connecting portion 22, The lance 31 is elastically restored based on the elastic force generated by the bending deformation, and the lance 31 is received in the receiving hole 34 and the locking projection 35 is engaged in the locking groove 33. The female terminal fittings 20 are held in the terminal receiving holes 11 so as not to be detached.

  In this retaining state, a predetermined jig (not shown) is inserted from the other end opening 11f of each terminal receiving hole 11 like an inspection member 40 described later, and the jig is inserted through the protruding portion 31b. Thus, the latching state of the latching protrusion 35 with respect to the latching groove 33 can be released by bending and deforming the lance part 31 downward. Thereby, the reattachment of each of the female terminal fittings 20 is enabled, and the yield of the connector 1 is improved.

  Then, after inserting the female terminal fitting 20, as shown in FIG. 11, a predetermined inspection member 40 is inserted from the other end opening 11f of each terminal receiving hole 11 and the opening 17a of each space portion 17. Thus, the quality of the connector 1 can be assured by checking (inspecting) the inserted state of each female terminal fitting 20.

  That is, in the connector 1, a first detection unit 42 described later can be inserted from the opening 17 a of the space portion 17, and the lower end of the lance portion 31 has a lower end than the opening 17 a of the space portion 17. A concave receiving portion 50 for receiving a first detection portion 42 of an inspection member 40 to be described later is inserted. The receiving portion 50 is notched from the tip of the lower end portion of the lance portion 31 so as to be parallel to the inner side surfaces of the bottom wall 12 and the intermediate wall 15 when the locking means 30 is locked. The first detection unit 42 can be received between the bottom wall 12 and the inner side surfaces of the intermediate wall 15 when the detection unit 42 is inserted.

  In addition, the receiving portion 50 has a dimension X1 in the front-rear direction that is inserted from the other end opening 11f of each terminal receiving hole 11 in the normal insertion state of each female terminal fitting 20 described later. The tip 43a of 43 is set to be able to contact the tip 20a of the female terminal fitting 20. In other words, in a state where the distal end 43a of the second detection unit 43 inserted from the other end opening 11f of each terminal receiving hole 11 is in contact with the distal end 20a of each female terminal fitting 20, a first detection unit 42, which will be described later. Is set so as to be received by the receiving portion 50.

  As shown in FIG. 9 in particular, the inspection member 40 has a base 41 as a grip portion formed in a substantially prismatic shape, and extends from the lower end of the tip of the base 41 and is inserted through the opening 17 a of the space portion 17. Thus, the first detection unit 42 having a flat prism shape that detects the bending deformation of the lance unit 31 depending on the presence or absence of contact with the lance unit 31, and the base unit so as to be in parallel with the first detection unit 42. 41. The insertion position of the female terminal fitting 20 is extended from the substantially central portion of the tip 41 and inserted through the other end opening 11f of the terminal receiving hole 11 so that the female terminal fitting 20 is inserted based on the presence or absence of conduction due to contact with the female terminal fitting 20. A second detection unit 43 that detects (tip position).

  As shown in FIG. 10, in a state where the lance portion 31 is bent and deformed downward, the tip 42 a of the first detection portion 42 comes into contact with the tip 31 c of the lance portion 31 (projecting portion 31 b), thereby The distal end 43a of the second detector 43 is separated from the distal end 20a of the female terminal fitting 20 and becomes non-conductive. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, in a state where the lance portion 31 is not bent and deformed, the tip 42 a of the first detector 42 is received by the receiver 50, whereby the tip 43 a of the second detector 43. Will come into contact with the distal end 20a of the female terminal fitting 20 and become conductive. By being configured with a dimensional relationship that constitutes such an alternative state, the insertion state of the female terminal fitting 20 can be inspected.

  As shown in FIG. 11, in the present embodiment, the range of the space portion 17 defined by the protruding portion 31 b and the receiving portion 50 in the lance portion 31 is the range of the first detection portion 42 of the inspection member 40. It is comprised so that it may correspond with the front end side shape substantially.

  Hereinafter, the assembly process and the inspection process of the connector 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 10 to 12.

(Assembly process)
A female terminal fitting 20 in which a wire connection portion 21 is previously crimped to each wire terminal (not shown) is inserted into each terminal receiving hole 11 of the housing 10 from one end opening 11a of each terminal receiving hole 11 from the terminal connecting portion 22 side. (See FIG. 1). During the approach, when the tip 20a of the female terminal fitting 20 comes into contact with the upper end 31c of the lance portion 31, it is further pushed in, as shown in FIG. The lance portion 31 is bent and deformed so as to push it downward, and the lance portion 31 continues to enter while sliding on the upper end portion 31c of the lance portion 31 that has been bent and deformed. Then, when the tip of the terminal connecting portion 22 reaches the normal insertion position, as shown in FIG. 8B, the lance portion 31 is elastically restored based on the elastic force generated by the bending deformation, and the lance portion is restored. 31 is received in the receiving hole 34, and the locking projection 35 is engaged with the locking groove 33, so that the female terminal fitting 20 is held in the terminal receiving hole 11.

(Inspection process)
When the insertion of the female terminal fitting 20 into each terminal receiving hole 11 is completed, the inspection member 40 is inserted from the other end opening 11f side of the terminal receiving hole 11 into which the female terminal fitting 20 is inserted (FIG. 9B). )reference). That is, the base 41 of the inspection member 40 is gripped, and the first detector 42 is inserted from the opening 17 a of the space 17, and the second detector 43 is inserted from the other end opening 11 f of the terminal accommodation hole 11.

  Then, in the state where the insertion of the above-described female terminal fitting 20 as shown in FIG. 10 is incomplete, the tip 42a of the first detection part 42 that enters the space part 17 in advance is in the bending deformation state. It will contact | abut to the front-end | tip 31c of 31 (projection part 31b). As a result, the second detection unit 43 cannot enter the terminal accommodating hole 11, and the tip 43 a of the second detection unit 43 is separated from the tip 20 a of the female terminal fitting 20, so that conduction is not obtained. . Thereby, it is confirmed that the insertion of the female terminal fitting 20 is incomplete.

  On the other hand, in the state where the insertion of the above-described female terminal fitting 20 as shown in FIG. 11 is properly completed, the first detection unit 42 that has entered the space portion 17 in advance does not interfere with the lance portion 31, The upper end on the front end side of the first detecting portion 42 passes through the lower side of the protruding portion 31 b of the lance portion 31 and is received by the receiving portion 50 provided at the lower end on the front end side of the lance portion 31. Then, the second detection unit 43 enters the terminal accommodating hole 11, and as a result of the tip 43 a of the second detection unit 43 coming into contact with the tip 20 a of the female terminal fitting 20, conduction with the female terminal fitting 20 is obtained. It is confirmed that the insertion of the female terminal fitting 20 is properly completed.

  Here, when the connector 1 (housing 10) is configured without the receiving portion 50, as shown in FIG. 12 as a reference example, the first detection portion 42 is connected to the lower end on the front end side of the lance portion 31. It will interfere. For this reason, the vertical width dimension Y2 of the first detection unit 42 is forced to be reduced in order to avoid such interference, which causes a problem that sufficient strength (vertical width dimension Y2) cannot be secured for the first detection unit 42.

  Although not specifically shown, the upper and lower sides of the first detection unit 42 are also cut by cutting the inner bottom surface of the space portion 17 to reduce the thickness width dimension Y2 of the bottom wall 12 and the intermediate wall 15. This is used for enlarging the width dimension Y2. However, in the case of such a configuration, if the necessary and sufficient thickness width dimension Y2 for the bottom wall 12 and the intermediate wall 15 is to be secured, the vertical position of the terminal receiving hole 11 is increased upward by the amount of the shaving. It will be offset, and the problem that the housing 10 will enlarge will be caused.

  On the other hand, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, since the receiving portion 50 is provided at the lower end on the distal end side of the lance portion 31, the receiving portion 50 can receive the first detecting portion 42. This makes it possible to ensure the necessary and sufficient strength (vertical width dimension Y1) for the first detection unit 42 and eliminates the possibility of increasing the size of the housing 10 and consequently the size of the connector 1.

  Thus, according to the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, since the first detection unit 42 is configured to be received by the receiving unit 50 provided in the lance unit 31, without enlarging the connector 1, The insertion state of the female terminal fitting 20 can be satisfactorily detected by the first detector 42 having sufficient strength.

  In addition, since the range of the space portion 17 defined by the protruding portion 31b of the lance portion 31 and the receiving portion 50 is configured to substantially coincide with the shape of the distal end side of the first detection portion 42 of the inspection member 40. Therefore, the insertion of the first detection unit 42 can be made necessary and sufficient, and both the effective suppression of the increase in the size of the housing 10 and the securing of the rigidity of the lance unit 31 are provided.

  Further, in contrast to the conventional method (see FIG. 13) in which only the conduction with the female terminal fitting 103 is confirmed, in the present embodiment, the first detection unit 42 detects the bending deformation of the lance portion 31 and the second detection unit. Since the insertion position of the female terminal fitting 20 is detected (confirmation of conduction) by 43, there is also an advantage that an appropriate insertion state can be reliably detected from both the viewpoints of the locked state and insertion position of the female terminal fitting 20. .

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration exemplified in the above-described embodiment. For example, the specific shapes of the housing 10 and the female terminal fitting 20, the specific configurations of the locking means 30 and the inspection member 40, and the like. It can be freely changed according to the configuration and specifications of the connector 1 without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  In the present embodiment, the female terminal fitting 20 is described as an example of the terminal fitting, but a male terminal fitting may be used as a terminal fitting.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the lance portion 31 has been described by exemplifying the cantilever shape as described above. However, for example, both end portions are supported on the inner wall of the third housing portion 11d. You may employ | adopt the both-ends-like form formed by this.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Connector 10 ... Housing 11 ... Terminal accommodation hole 17 ... Space part 20 ... Female terminal metal fitting (terminal metal fitting)
31 ... Lance part 35 ... Locking protrusion (locking part)
50: Receiving part

Claims (1)

A housing having a terminal housing hole formed therethrough;
A substantially square tube-shaped terminal fitting inserted from one end opening of the terminal accommodation hole and accommodated and held in the terminal accommodation hole;
A lance portion supported on the inner wall of the terminal receiving hole and provided so as to be able to bend and deform in a direction away from the terminal fitting in the insertion process of the terminal fitting;
A space portion that is drilled from the other end opening side of the terminal accommodating hole and receives the bending deformation of the lance portion;
A locking portion that is provided on the outer periphery of the terminal fitting, and that the lance portion that has elastically returned from the bending deformation as the terminal fitting reaches a predetermined insertion position is locked;
A protrusion formed on the tip side of the lance part, and extending in the insertion direction of the terminal fitting;
Are notches formed on the stepped concave on the distal end side of the lance portion facing the space portion, in a fully inserted state of the terminal fitting, the test element that is inserted from the outside into the space, and the inner wall of the front SL terminal accommodating holes A receiving part for receiving between ,
With
The receiving portion has a parallel surface parallel to the inner wall of the terminal receiving hole in a state where the lance portion is locked to the locking portion, and a vertical surface perpendicular to the parallel surface,
A portion of the inspection member inserted into the space has a certain height in the longitudinal direction, and a horizontal plane parallel to the parallel surface and a vertical end surface parallel to the vertical surface. And a concave and convex fitting with the receiving portion in a completely inserted state of the terminal fitting .

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