JP6974805B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a connector used for a wire harness distributed in an automobile or the like.

Conventionally, a connector attached to a terminal of a wire harness has a plurality of connection terminals provided on each of a plurality of electric wire terminals constituting the wire harness, and a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers for accommodating and holding the plurality of connection terminals. It has a connector housing. By the way, since the terminal accommodating chamber of the connector housing has a tubular shape surrounded by peripheral walls on all sides, a plurality of connection terminals provided on the electric wire terminal are inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber one by one at the time of manufacturing the connector. Since the work to be done is required, the workability is deteriorated.

On the other hand, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-230038 (Patent Document 1), a plate-shaped housing having a plurality of groove-shaped terminal accommodating chambers is adopted, and the upper surface of the housing is covered with a plate-shaped housing. A structure has been proposed in which workability is improved by inserting a plurality of connection terminals from above into a plurality of groove-shaped terminal accommodating chambers that have been opened.

However, when such a groove-shaped terminal accommodating chamber is adopted, since the upper surface of the terminal accommodating chamber is open, there is an inherent problem that the connection terminal is easily pulled out from the terminal accommodating chamber during the assembly work. .. On the other hand, it is conceivable to adopt a locking mechanism for preventing the connector from coming off, but it is not desirable to increase the size of the connector housing, and some measures have been required.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-230038

The present invention has been made in the background of the above circumstances, and the solution thereof is to prevent the connection terminal from coming out of the terminal accommodation chamber even when a groove-shaped terminal accommodation chamber that opens upward is adopted. The purpose is to provide a connector having a new structure that can be stably held without increasing the size of the connector.

The first aspect of the present invention is a plate-shaped housing body, a groove-shaped terminal accommodating chamber opened in the upper surface of the housing body and arranged in parallel, and the terminal accommodating the terminals provided in the terminals of a plurality of electric wires. It is provided with a plurality of connection terminals accommodated and arranged in each chamber, and a cover portion that is overlapped with the upper surface of the housing body and covers the terminal accommodating chamber, and the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating chamber is elastic. An elastic lock that allows the connection terminal to be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber from above by deformation and engages with the connection terminal by elastic recovery to prevent the connection terminal from coming out of the terminal accommodating chamber upward. A claw is projected, and a tubular connection portion of the connection terminal into which the mating terminal is inserted is disposed on the tip side in the longitudinal direction of the terminal accommodating chamber, while the elastic lock claw is provided. When the elasticity is restored, the elastic lock claw enters and engages with the inner surface of the connection portion of the connection terminal, and the amount of the elastic lock claw entering the inner surface of the connection portion is the mating side. The connector is set within a range that does not interfere with the terminals .

According to this aspect, the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating chamber is allowed to be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber by elastic deformation, and the connection terminal is engaged with the connection terminal by elastic recovery to prevent the connection terminal from coming out of the terminal accommodating chamber. Elastic lock claws are projected. As a result, the connection terminals inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber are stably prevented from coming out of the terminal accommodating chamber, which is an advantage of the groove-shaped terminal accommodating chambers opened in the upper surface of the housing body and arranged in parallel. It is possible to stably hold the assembled connection terminals in the terminal accommodating chamber while making it possible to collectively assemble a plurality of connection terminals from above. As a result, it is possible to prevent the connection terminals from being displaced or dropped during the assembling work, improve the assembling workability and handleability, and further improve the reliability of the product. Moreover, since the elastic lock claws are projected from the bottom surface of the terminal accommodation chamber, the size of the housing body and the pitch between the connection terminals are prevented from increasing as compared with the case where the lock claws are provided on the side surface of the terminal accommodation chamber. can do. This makes it possible to provide a connector that stably prevents the connection terminal from coming out of the terminal accommodating chamber while reducing or avoiding the increase in size of the housing body and the connector itself. Further, according to this aspect, the elastic lock claw enters into the cylindrical connection portion of the connection terminal and engages with the connection terminal to prevent the connection terminal from coming out upward. As a result, by using the connection portion of the existing connection terminal, it is possible to configure a pull-out mechanism, further simplifying the structure of the connector and improving versatility. Moreover, since the amount of the elastic lock claws entering the inner surface of the connection portion is set within a range that does not interfere with the terminal on the other side, the connection stability of the connector can be stably maintained.

A second aspect of the present invention is described in the first aspect, wherein the connection terminal is provided with a recess that opens in a surface facing the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating chamber. On the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating chamber, a pair of engaging projections projecting apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the terminal accommodating chamber are projected, and the pair of engaging projections are the connection terminals of the connection terminal. The connection terminals are accommodated on both sides in the longitudinal direction by being inserted and arranged in the recesses so that the pair of engaging protrusions and the forming surfaces of the recesses of the connection terminals come into contact with each other on both sides in the longitudinal direction. It is positioned and held with respect to the chamber.

According to this aspect, a pair of engaging protrusions protruding from the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating chamber and separated in the longitudinal direction are inserted into the recesses provided in the connection terminals, and the recesses are formed in the longitudinal direction. By abutting the pair of engaging protrusions on both sides, the connection terminals can be positioned and held on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the terminal accommodating chamber. As a result, in addition to preventing the terminal accommodation chamber from coming off upward, movement of the terminal accommodation chamber to both sides in the longitudinal direction (front-back direction) is restricted, and even a groove-shaped terminal accommodation chamber that opens upward can be connected. The holding property of the terminal can be stably secured. Moreover, since the pair of engaging protrusions are provided so as to project from the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating chamber, it is possible to advantageously maintain the pitch between the connection terminals and avoid increasing the size of the housing body.

A third aspect of the present invention is described in the second aspect, wherein an engaging claw projecting outward in the longitudinal direction is provided at at least one protruding end of the pair of engaging protrusions. The elastic lock claw is formed by including the engaging protrusion and the engaging claw, and the upper surface of the engaging claw is a tapered surface that inclines downward as it goes outward. It is something that is.

According to this aspect, since the elastic lock claw that prevents the connection terminal from coming out upward by using the engaging protrusion that regulates the displacement of the connection terminal in the front-rear direction is provided. Costs can be reduced by further reducing the size of the connector and simplifying the configuration.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is described in any one of the first to third aspects, wherein a plurality of the housing bodies are laminated in a plurality of upper and lower stages, and are stacked on the lower housing body. The lower surface of the upper housing body to be combined constitutes an intermediate cover portion that is overlapped with the upper surface of the lower housing body and covers the terminal accommodating chamber, while the intermediate cover portion is formed. A positioning recess or a positioning protrusion that fits with a positioning protrusion or a positioning recess that protrudes from the lower housing body is provided, and the positioning protrusion and the positioning recess are fitted to each other so that the positioning protrusion or the positioning recess is vertically laminated. The housing bodies are positioned and fixed to each other.

According to this aspect, the laminated connector can be easily provided by laminating a plurality of housing main bodies in a plurality of upper and lower stages. In particular, since the intermediate cover portion is formed by the lower surface of the housing body to cover the terminal accommodating chamber, the height can be reduced as compared with the conventional laminated connector.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is described in any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the cover portion and the housing body are locked and fitted to each other by a locking mechanism provided on the side wall. It is something that is.

According to this aspect, since the cover portion and the housing body are mutually locked and fitted by a lock mechanism provided on the side wall, the overlapped state of the cover portion and the housing body can be stably maintained. It is possible to more stably pinch the connection terminal from the terminal housing chamber.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is described in any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the plurality of electric wires to which the connection terminals are connected are reinforced in a sheet shape in a state where they are arranged in parallel. It is fixed to a member to form a bundle of electric wires with a sheet-shaped reinforcing member.

According to the present invention, the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating chamber is elastically deformed to allow the connection terminal to be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, and elastically restored to engage the connection terminal to prevent the connection terminal from coming out of the terminal accommodating chamber. Elastic lock claws are projected. As a result, the connection terminals inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber are stably prevented from coming out of the terminal accommodating chamber, which is an advantage of the groove-shaped terminal accommodating chambers opened in the upper surface of the housing body and arranged in parallel. It is possible to stably hold the assembled connection terminals in the terminal storage chamber while making it possible to collectively assemble multiple connection terminals from above. Moreover, since the elastic lock claws are projected from the bottom surface of the terminal accommodation chamber, the size of the housing body and the connector itself is reduced or avoided as compared with the case where the lock claws are provided on the side surface of the terminal accommodation chamber. At the same time, it is possible to provide a connector that stably prevents the connection terminal from coming out of the terminal accommodating chamber.

The whole perspective view which shows the connector as the 1st Embodiment of this invention. An exploded perspective view of the connector shown in FIG. The plan view of the connector shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the housing body shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from another direction. The plan view of the housing body shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which an electric wire provided with a connection terminal and a sheet-shaped reinforcing member is housed and arranged with respect to the housing main body shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of VIII-VIII in FIG. The whole perspective view which shows the connector as the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. An exploded perspective view of the connector shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 8 show a connector 10 as the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the connector 10 includes a plurality of electric wires 12 (five in this embodiment) and a connector housing 14 provided at the terminal of the plurality of electric wires 12. .. Then, from the front side (right side in FIG. 3) of the connector 10, it is connected to a mating side connector provided on various electrical components (not shown). In the following description, the upper part means the upper part in FIGS. 1 to 2 and 4, the lower part means the lower part in FIGS. 1 to 2 and 4, and the front means the right side and the rear side in FIG. Means the left side in FIG. 3, the length direction means the left-right direction in FIG. 3, and the width direction means the up-down direction in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the connector housing 14 includes a housing body 16 and a cover portion 18, and is formed by injection molding or the like using a synthetic resin such as polypropylene (PP) or polyamide (PA), respectively. It is integrally formed. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5-6, the housing body 16 has a substantially plate shape. A terminal accommodating portion 20 having a substantially horizontally long rectangular shape in a plan view is provided on the front end side (right end side in FIG. 6) of the housing body 16 in the length direction, while the housing body 16 is provided in the length direction. On the rear end side (left end side in FIG. 6), a wire support portion 22 having a substantially vertically long rectangular shape in a plan view is provided. More specifically, the terminal accommodating portion 20 is opened outward in the length direction and the upper surface 24 of the housing body 16 so as to extend in the length direction in a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape and in the width direction (in FIG. 6). A plurality of substantially groove-shaped terminal accommodating chambers 26 arranged in parallel with respect to the vertical direction) are provided. At the central portion in the width direction in the substantially central portion of the bottom surface 28 of the terminal accommodating chamber 26 in the length direction, the terminal accommodating chamber 26 is separated from each other in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 6) and faces upward. A pair of projecting substantially angular columnar engaging protrusions 30, 30 are provided so as to project. As shown in FIG. 8, the protruding end of the engaging protrusion 30 located on the front side (right side in FIG. 6) of the pair of engaging protrusions 30 and 30 is outward in the longitudinal direction (FIG. 6). An engaging claw 32 projecting in a substantially triangular cross-sectional shape is provided so as to project toward the right side in 8). The elastic lock claw 34 is configured to include the engaging protrusion 30 and the engaging claw 32, and the upper surface 36 of the engaging claw 32 is tapered downward as it goes outward (on the right side in FIG. 8). It is said to be a face. The protrusion height dimension of the pair of engaging protrusions 30 and 30 is formed lower on the front side than on the rear side. It is only formed corresponding to the height dimension from the bottom surface 28 of the terminal accommodating chamber 26 of the crimping portion 78.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 6 and 8, in the front side (right side in FIGS. 6 and 8) of the elastic lock claw 34 on the bottom surface 28 of the terminal accommodating chamber 26, the width direction (in FIG. 6). , In the vertical direction), an engaging protrusion 38 is formed so as to project in a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view. Further, an engaging recess 40 that opens to the bottom surface 28 of the terminal accommodating chamber 26 is formed on the front side (right side in FIGS. 6 and 8) of the engaging protrusion 38 (see FIGS. 6 and 8). In addition, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5-6, the front and rear ends of the side walls 42 and 42 in the width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 6) of the terminal accommodating portion 20 are respectively. A fitting projection 44 is provided that projects outward in a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape and extends upward. Further, between the fitting projections 44 and 44 provided on the side walls 42, a lock portion 46 is formed which projects outward and extends in a substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional shape in the length direction.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5-6, the upper surface 48 of the electric wire support portion 22 is connected to the rear end side opening 50 of the terminal accommodating chamber 26 and is connected to the rear end 52 of the housing body 16. A plurality of substantially groove-shaped electric wire accommodating grooves 54 which are opened and extend in a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape are opened in the upper surface 48 of the electric wire support portion 22 and arranged in parallel in the width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 6). Has been done. Further, positioning protrusions 56 are provided so as to project in a substantially cylindrical shape at both ends in the width direction on the rear end side of the upper surface 48 of the electric wire support portion 22. The protruding tip of the positioning protrusion 56 is slightly tapered. In addition, a second positioning recess 100, which will be described later, is provided on the bottom surface of the electric wire support portion 22 at a position corresponding to the positioning protrusion 56.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cover portion 18 has a substantially block shape, and the upper portion of the cover portion 18 is used to disengage the connector 10 from the mating connector (not shown). The disengagement portion 58 is provided. Further, in the side walls 60, 60 on the front end side of the cover portion 18, a substantially frame body having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape through hole 61 extending downward in the substantially central portion in the length direction. An engaging frame body 62 is provided. On the other hand, fitting recesses 64 that open downward and on both sides in the width direction are provided at both ends of the side wall 60 in the length direction. Further, on the rear end side of the cover portion 18, the sandwiching that protrudes in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape toward the rear side (left side in FIG. 3) and extends toward both sides in the width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 3). A section 66 is provided. Through holes 68 that penetrate in a substantially circular cross-sectional shape in the vertical direction are formed on both sides in the width direction on the rear end side of the holding portion 66.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 7 to 8, a connection terminal 70 is connected to each terminal of the electric wire 12. More specifically, the insulating coating 72 on the tip side (right side in FIG. 8) of the electric wire 12 is peeled off to expose the core wire 74, and the core wire 74 is exposed to the core wire crimping portion 76 of the connection terminal 70 and the core wire 74 is exposed. The electric wire 12 is fixed and connected to the connection terminal 70 by crimping the tip portion of the electric wire 12 to the electric wire crimping portion 78 of the connection terminal 70. Further, a cylindrical connection portion 80 that opens in the length direction (left-right direction in FIG. 8) is formed at the tip end portion (right side in FIG. 8) of the connection terminal 70. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the connection terminal 70 has a recess 82 that opens in the surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 26 facing the bottom surface 28 between the core wire crimping portion 76 and the connection portion 80. Is provided. In addition, on the outer surface of the connecting portion 80, an engaging portion 83 extending along the outer surface is formed at the rear end portion (left end portion in FIG. 8) of the lower portion in FIG. 8, while the lower portion in FIG. At the front end portion (right end portion in FIG. 8), an engaging portion 84 extending outward and diagonally rearward is formed. Further, on the inner surface of the connecting portion 80, an elastic contact piece 86 extending from the rear end portion (left end portion in FIG. 8) along the inner surface at the upper part in FIG. 8 and extending inwardly diagonally forward is formed. There is. Further, an embossed portion 88 is formed on the inner surface of the connecting portion 80 by projecting the front end side (right end side in FIG. 8) of the lower portion inward in FIG. By sandwiching the mating terminal 89 between the elastic contact piece 86 and the embossed portion 88, the mating terminal 89 is connected to the mating connector. In FIG. 8, the counterpart terminal 89 is shown by a virtual line for ease of understanding. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of electric wires 12 extending from the connection terminal 70 are fixed to the sheet-shaped reinforcing member 90 in a state of being arranged in parallel. Positioning holes 92 having a substantially circular cross-sectional shape are formed on both sides of the sheet-shaped reinforcing member 90 in the width direction sandwiching the plurality of electric wires 12 on the front end side (right end side in FIG. 7).

The electric wire 12 has a structure in which a core wire 74 obtained by bundling a plurality of conductors such as copper, aluminum, and other metal wires is covered with an insulating coating 72 having electrical insulating properties such as ethylene-based resin and styrene-based resin. ing. On the other hand, the connection terminal 70 is integrally formed by using various metal materials such as brass, copper, copper alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, etc., which have conductivity and can be pressed or punched. .. Further, as the sheet-shaped reinforcing member 90, for example, a glass fiber non-woven fabric, an aramid fiber non-woven fabric, or the like impregnated with an epoxy resin, a phenol resin, or the like is used, and the sheet-shaped reinforcing member 90 is pressed against the electric wire 12 by heat pressing or the like. This makes it possible to fix the fiber.

The connector 10 having such a configuration is assembled as follows. First, a wire bundle 94 with a sheet-shaped reinforcing member is prepared, in which a plurality of electric wires 12 to which the connection terminal 70 is connected to the terminal are arranged in parallel, respectively, and fixed to the sheet-shaped reinforcing member 90. Then, the plurality of connection terminals 70 provided at the terminals of the plurality of electric wires 12 in the electric wire bundle 94 with the sheet-shaped reinforcing member are accommodated and arranged in the terminal accommodating chamber 26 provided in the housing main body 16, and the sheet-shaped reinforcing member is reinforced. The positioning hole 92 penetrating the member 90 is fitted into the positioning protrusion 56 of the housing body 16. As a result, the plurality of electric wires 12 extending from the rear end side opening 50 of the terminal accommodating chamber 26 are accommodated and held in the electric wire accommodating groove 54 provided in the electric wire support portion 22, and the front end portion of the sheet-shaped reinforcing member 90 is accommodated and held. The side (right end side in FIG. 7) is placed on the upper surface 24 of the housing body 16. More specifically, the connection terminal 70 is inserted from above so that the pair of engaging protrusions 30 and 30 are arranged in the recess 82 with respect to the terminal accommodating chamber 26. As a result, the elastic lock claw 34 composed of the engaging protrusion 30 having the engaging claw 32 located on the front side (right side in FIG. 8) is elastically deformed to the rear side and the connection terminal 70 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 26. Tolerate. Subsequently, when the connection terminal 70 is placed in the terminal accommodating chamber 26, the elastic lock claw 34 elastically returns and the engagement claw 32 of the elastic lock claw 34 enters the inner surface of the connection portion 80 of the connection terminal 70. By engaging, the connection terminal 70 is advantageously prevented from coming out of the terminal accommodating chamber 26 upward (see FIG. 8). As a result, the pair of engaging protrusions 30, 30 are inserted and arranged in the recess 82 of the connection terminal 70, and the pair of engaging protrusions 30, 30 and the recess 82 are arranged on both sides in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 8). The connection terminal 70 is positioned and held with respect to the terminal accommodating chamber 26 on both sides in the longitudinal direction by abutting the front end portion of the core wire crimping portion 76, which is the forming surface, and the rear end portion of the connecting portion 80, respectively. In addition, on the distal end side (right side in FIG. 8) of the terminal accommodating chamber 26 in the longitudinal direction, a cylindrical connection portion 80 of the connection terminal 70 into which the mating side terminal 89 is inserted is disposed. As described above, the elastic lock claw 34 elastically returns, and the engagement claw 32 of the elastic lock claw 34 enters and engages with the inner surface of the connection portion 80 of the connection terminal 70. The amount of penetration of the connection portion 80 of the 34 into the inner surface is set within a range that does not interfere with the mating terminal 89.

Finally, the cover portion 18 is superposed on the upper surface 24 of the housing body 16 from above, and the positioning protrusion 56 provided on the housing body 16 is press-fitted into the through hole 68 of the cover portion 18. As a result, the terminal accommodating chamber 26 of the housing body 16 is covered by the cover portion 18, and the front end portion of the sheet-shaped reinforcing member 90 of the wire bundle 94 with the sheet-shaped reinforcing member covers the wire support portion 22 of the housing body 16. It is configured to be sandwiched between the sandwiching portions 66 of the portions 18. Here, a first positioning recess into which the positioning protrusion 56 of the housing body 16 is fitted is formed as an opening on the lower surface of the cover portion 18 by the through hole 68 of the cover portion 18. Further, the lock portion 46 constituting the lock mechanism provided on the side wall 42 of the housing body 16 is engaged with the through hole 61 of the engaging frame body 62 constituting the lock mechanism provided on the side wall 60 of the cover portion 18. It has been combined. That is, the cover portion 18 and the housing main body 16 are locked and fitted to each other by the locking mechanisms 62 and 46 provided on the side walls 60 and 42, respectively. In addition, the fitting projection 44 provided on the side wall 42 of the housing body 16 is fitted into the fitting recess 64 of the engaging frame 62 provided on the side wall 60 of the cover portion 18. As a result, the overlapped state of the cover portion 18 and the housing main body 16 can be stably held, and the sheet-shaped reinforcing member 90 is held between the electric wire support portion 22 of the housing main body 16 and the holding portion 66 of the cover portion 18. It is possible to hold it more stably between them.

According to the connector 10 having such a structure, the terminal accommodating chamber is simply inserted and arranged with the connection terminals 70 connected to the terminals of the plurality of electric wires 12 from above in the terminal accommodating chamber 26 of the housing body 16. The elastic lock claw 34 projecting from the bottom surface 28 of the 26 is elastically deformed to allow the connection terminal 70 to be inserted into the terminal housing chamber 26, and elastically returns to engage with the connection portion 80 of the connection terminal 70. Escape from the terminal accommodating chamber 26 is prevented. As a result, the connection terminals 70 provided at the terminals of the plurality of electric wires 12 of the electric wire bundle 94 with the sheet-shaped reinforcing member can be collectively fitted into the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 26 from above and are stably held. can do. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the connection terminal 70 from being displaced or dropped during the assembling work, improve the assembling workability and handleability, and further improve the reliability of the connector 10.

Further, since the elastic lock claw 34 is formed on the bottom surface 28 of the terminal accommodating chamber 26 and is not provided on the side surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 26, it is possible to prevent the housing body 16 from becoming larger due to the widening of the terminal accommodating chamber 26. ing. Moreover, since the disconnection prevention mechanism is configured by using the connection portion 80 of the existing connection terminal 70, it is possible to further simplify the connector 10 and improve its versatility. In addition, since the amount of the elastic lock claw 34 entering the inner surface of the connecting portion 80 is set within a range that does not interfere with the mating terminal 89, the connection stability of the connector 10 is also stably maintained.

Further, a pair of engaging protrusions 30 and 30 are inserted and arranged in the recess 82 of the connection terminal 70 and abut on the front end portion of the core wire crimping portion 76 and the rear end portion of the connection portion 80, respectively, so that the pair of engagement protrusions 30 and 30 abut on both sides in the longitudinal direction. The connection terminal 70 is positioned and held with respect to the terminal accommodating chamber 26. As a result, in addition to preventing the terminal accommodating chamber 26 from coming off upward, the movement of the terminal accommodating chamber 26 to both sides in the longitudinal direction is restricted, and the terminal accommodating chamber 26 has a substantially groove shape that opens upward. Can also stably hold the connection terminal 70.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited by these specific descriptions. For example, in the first embodiment, the housing body 16 has only one stage, but as in the connector 96 as the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 9 to 10, the housing bodies 98 and 16 are used. It may be configured by being stacked on top of each other. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 10, the housing bodies 98 and 16 are stacked in two upper and lower stages, and the lower surface of the upper housing body 98 is overlapped with the lower housing body 16. However, the terminal accommodating chamber 26 of the housing main body 16 is covered with the lid so as to be overlapped with the upper surface 24 of the lower housing main body 16. Further, the housing main body 98 constitutes an intermediate cover portion for sandwiching the sheet-shaped reinforcing member 90 with the electric wire support portion 22 of the housing main body 16, while the intermediate cover portion includes the lower housing main body 16. A second positioning recess 100 into which the positioning protrusion 56 projecting from the electric wire support portion 22 is fitted is provided (see FIG. 10). Then, by press-fitting the positioning protrusion 56 into the second positioning recess 100, the housing bodies 98 and 16 stacked vertically are positioned and fixed to each other.

The housing body 98 disposed between the cover portion 18 and the lowermost housing body 16 has an engaging frame body 62 that constitutes a lock mechanism as compared with the lowermost housing body 16. Have the same shape. Therefore, the housing bodies 16, 98 can be manufactured by reducing the mold cost. Further, when the lock mechanism is not provided, only the housing main body 16 can be used, so that the configuration can be further simplified and the parts management can be facilitated. Further, in the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 9 to 10, the housing bodies 98 and 16 are stacked in two upper and lower stages, but the number of stages to be easily stacked is increased by increasing the number of stacked housing bodies 98. be able to.

Further, in the above embodiment, the fitting of the positioning protrusion 56 into the through hole 68 constituting the first positioning recess and the second positioning recess 100 is press-fitted, but may be inserted, and the sheet in that case may be inserted. The sandwiching of the shape reinforcing member 90 may be configured by, for example, a locking mechanism such as a locking mechanism 46, 62. Further, the first positioning recess may be a through hole 68 as in the first embodiment, or may be a recess such as the second positioning recess 100. In addition, the combination of the convex portion and the concave portion in the positioning protrusion 56, the through hole 68 constituting the first positioning concave portion, and the second positioning concave portion 100 may be a combination of the concave portion and the convex portion. That is, the positioning protrusion 56 may be provided on the housing main body 98 side which is the cover portion 18 or the intermediate cover portion, and the concave portion may be formed on the upper surface 24 of the housing main bodies 16 and 98.

In addition, the sheet-shaped reinforcing member 90 is not limited to the example, and the electric wire 12 is provided with an adhesive layer on the resin sheet material so that the electric wire 12 is fixed to the cloth sheet material. Any material can be adopted as long as it is in the form of a sheet and can hold and hold the electric wire 12 by sewing. Further, in the first and second embodiments, there is an example of a connector having a structure in which a plurality of electric wires 12 extending from the connection terminal 70 are fixed and reinforced to the sheet-shaped reinforcing member 90 in a state where they are arranged in parallel. Although the present invention has been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is similarly applicable to a connector having a structure that does not need to be provided with such a sheet-shaped reinforcing member 90.

The technical ideas that can be grasped from the above embodiments are described below.

(1) A plate-shaped housing main body, a plurality of groove-shaped terminal accommodating chambers opened in parallel on the upper surface of the housing main body, and a plurality of electric wire terminals provided in the terminal accommodating chambers. It is provided with a plurality of connection terminals and a cover portion that is overlapped with the upper surface of the housing body and covers the terminal accommodation chamber, and the bottom surface of the terminal accommodation chamber is elastically deformed to cover the connection terminals. It is a connector in which an elastic lock claw is provided so as to allow insertion into the terminal accommodating chamber and to engage with the connection terminal by elastic return to prevent the connection terminal from coming out of the terminal accommodating chamber.

In the connector of the technical idea (1), the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating chamber allows the connection terminal to be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber by elastic deformation, and is engaged with the connection terminal by elastic recovery from the terminal accommodating chamber of the connection terminal. An elastic lock claw is provided to prevent it from slipping out. As a result, the connection terminals inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber are stably prevented from coming out of the terminal accommodating chamber, which is an advantage of the groove-shaped terminal accommodating chambers opened in the upper surface of the housing body and arranged in parallel. It is possible to stably hold the assembled connection terminals in the terminal accommodating chamber while making it possible to collectively assemble a plurality of connection terminals from above. As a result, it is possible to prevent the connection terminals from being displaced or dropped during the assembling work, improve the assembling workability and handleability, and further improve the reliability of the product. Moreover, since the elastic lock claws are projected from the bottom surface of the terminal accommodation chamber, the size of the housing body and the pitch between the connection terminals are prevented from increasing as compared with the case where the lock claws are provided on the side surface of the terminal accommodation chamber. can do. This makes it possible to provide a connector that stably prevents the connection terminal from coming out of the terminal accommodating chamber while reducing or avoiding the increase in size of the housing body and the connector itself.

(2) The connection terminal is provided with a recess that opens on a surface facing the bottom surface of the terminal accommodation chamber, while the bottom surface of the terminal accommodation chamber is the length of the terminal accommodation chamber. A pair of engaging protrusions projecting apart from each other in the direction are provided, and the pair of engaging protrusions are inserted and arranged in the recess of the connection terminal, and the pair of engaging protrusions are engaged on both sides in the longitudinal direction. The connection terminal is positioned and held with respect to the terminal accommodating chamber on both sides in the longitudinal direction by the contact between the joint protrusion and the formation surface of the recess of the connection terminal.

According to the connector of the technical idea (2), a pair of engaging protrusions protruding from the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating chamber and separated in the longitudinal direction are inserted into the recesses provided in the connection terminals, and the forming surface of the recesses is formed. By abutting the pair of engaging protrusions on both sides in the longitudinal direction with respect to the connector, the connection terminals can be positioned and held on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the terminal accommodating chamber. As a result, in addition to preventing the terminal accommodation chamber from coming off upward, movement of the terminal accommodation chamber to both sides in the longitudinal direction (front-back direction) is restricted, and even a groove-shaped terminal accommodation chamber that opens upward can be connected. The holding property of the terminal can be stably secured. Moreover, since the pair of engaging protrusions are provided so as to project from the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating chamber, it is possible to advantageously maintain the pitch between the connection terminals and avoid increasing the size of the housing body.

(3) In the above technical idea (2), an engaging claw projecting outward in the longitudinal direction is provided at at least one protruding end of the pair of engaging protrusions, and the engaging claw is provided. The elastic lock claw is configured to include the joint protrusion and the engaging claw, and the upper surface of the engaging claw is a tapered surface that inclines downward as it goes outward.

According to the connector of the technical idea (3), an elastic lock claw is provided to prevent the connection terminal from coming out upward by using an engaging protrusion that regulates the displacement of the connection terminal in the front-rear direction in the terminal accommodation chamber. Therefore, it is possible to further reduce the cost by making the connector more compact and simplifying the configuration.

(4) On the distal end side in the longitudinal direction of the terminal accommodating chamber, a tubular connection portion of the connection terminal into which the mating terminal is inserted is disposed, while the elastic lock claw is elastically restored. The elastic lock claw is adapted to enter and engage with the inner surface of the connection portion of the connection terminal, and the amount of the elastic lock claw entering the inner surface of the connection portion does not interfere with the mating terminal. It is set to.

According to the connector of the technical idea (4), the elastic lock claw enters the tubular connection portion of the connection terminal and engages with the connection terminal to prevent the connection terminal from coming out upward. ing. As a result, by using the connection portion of the existing connection terminal, it is possible to configure a pull-out mechanism, further simplifying the structure of the connector and improving versatility. Moreover, since the amount of the elastic lock claws entering the inner surface of the connection portion is set within a range that does not interfere with the terminal on the other side, the connection stability of the connector can be stably maintained.

(5) A plurality of the housing bodies are laminated in a plurality of upper and lower stages, and are overlapped with the upper surface of the lower housing body by the lower surface of the upper housing body overlapped with the lower housing body. An intermediate cover portion that covers the terminal accommodating chamber is configured, while the intermediate cover portion has a positioning protrusion or a positioning recess that fits with a positioning protrusion or a positioning recess that protrudes from the lower housing body. A positioning protrusion is provided, and by fitting the positioning protrusion and the positioning recess, the housing bodies laminated on the upper and lower sides are positioned and fixed to each other.

According to the connector of the technical idea (5), the laminated connector can be easily provided by laminating a plurality of housing main bodies in a plurality of upper and lower stages. In particular, since the intermediate cover portion is formed by the lower surface of the housing body to cover the terminal accommodating chamber, the height can be reduced as compared with the conventional laminated connector.

(6) The cover portion and the housing main body are locked and fitted to each other by a locking mechanism provided on the side wall.

According to the connector of the technical idea (6), since the cover portion and the housing body are locked and fitted to each other by the lock mechanism provided on the side wall, the overlapping state of the cover portion and the housing body is stabilized. It can be held, and the connection terminal can be more stably pinched out of the terminal accommodating chamber.

10, 96: Connector, 12: Electric wire, 16: Housing body, 18: Cover part, 24: Top surface, 26: Terminal storage chamber, 28: Bottom surface, 30: Engagement protrusion, 32: Engagement claw, 34: Elastic lock Claw, 36: Top surface, 46: Lock part (lock mechanism), 56: Positioning protrusion, 62: Engagement frame (lock mechanism), 68: Through hole (first positioning recess), 70: Connection terminal, 80: Connection Part, 82: recess, 89: mating terminal, 98: housing body (intermediate cover), 100: second positioning recess

Claims (6)

Plate-shaped housing body and
A groove-shaped terminal accommodating chamber opened in parallel on the upper surface of the housing body and arranged in parallel,
A plurality of connection terminals provided in the terminals of a plurality of electric wires and accommodated and arranged in the terminal accommodating chambers, respectively.
It is provided with a cover portion that is overlapped with the upper surface of the housing body and covers the terminal accommodating chamber.
On the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating chamber, elastic deformation allows the connection terminal to be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber from above, and elastic recovery allows the connection terminal to engage with the connection terminal from the terminal accommodating chamber. There is an elastic lock claw that prevents it from coming out upwards .
On the distal end side in the longitudinal direction of the terminal accommodating chamber, a tubular connection portion of the connection terminal into which the mating terminal is inserted is disposed, while the elastic lock is elastically restored when the elastic lock claw is elastically restored. The claws enter and engage with the inner surface of the connection portion of the connection terminal, and the amount of the elastic lock claws entering the inner surface of the connection portion is set within a range that does not interfere with the mating terminal. and that connector. The connection terminal is provided with a recess that opens in a surface facing the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating chamber, while the connection terminal is provided with a recess.
A pair of engaging protrusions projecting from each other in the longitudinal direction of the terminal accommodating chamber are projected from the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating chamber.
The pair of engaging protrusions are inserted and arranged in the recesses of the connection terminals, and the pair of engaging protrusions and the forming surfaces of the recesses of the connection terminals come into contact with each other on both sides in the longitudinal direction. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connection terminals are positioned and held with respect to the terminal accommodating chamber on both sides in the longitudinal direction. An engaging claw projecting outward in the longitudinal direction is projected from at least one protruding end of the pair of engaging protrusions, and the elastic claw including the engaging protrusion and the engaging claw is included. The connector according to claim 2, wherein the lock claw is configured and the upper surface of the engaging claw is a tapered surface that inclines downward as it goes outward. A plurality of the housing bodies are laminated in a plurality of upper and lower stages, and the lower surface of the upper housing body overlapped with the lower housing body is overlapped with the upper surface of the lower housing body. While the intermediate cover portion that covers the terminal accommodating chamber is configured, the intermediate cover portion has a positioning recess or a positioning protrusion that fits with a positioning protrusion or a positioning recess that protrudes from the lower housing body. provided by engagement of the positioning projection and the positioning recess, according to any one of claims 3 wherein the housing body between stacked vertically claim 1 adapted to be positioned and fixed Connector. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the cover portion and the housing main body are mutually locked and fitted by a locking mechanism provided on a side wall. Any of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the plurality of electric wires to which the connection terminals are connected are fixed to the sheet-shaped reinforcing member in a state where they are arranged in parallel to form a bundle of electric wires with the sheet-shaped reinforcing member. Or the connector described in item 1.

Images