JPH0216525Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention improves the structure of a connector used for electrical connection, specifically the terminal locking part of the connector housing in which the terminal is accommodated. The present invention relates to a connector that is smaller in size.

(Prior art) Conventionally, the 6th connector is commonly used.
There is something like the one shown in the vertical cross section in the figure. This connector has a terminal accommodating chamber b formed in a connector housing (hereinafter simply referred to as housing) a that is integrally molded from a plastic material, and a terminal t inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber b is located in front of a bottom wall c in contact with the substrate. The part is formed in a recessed part e having a bottom wall c' which is one step lower than the bottom wall c via the step part d, and further has a locking protrusion f on the upper surface facing the recessed part e from the step part d in the vertical direction. A flexible elastic locking arm g is provided in a protruding manner. The terminal t attached to the housing a is fixed by preventing the front wall h of the housing a from coming off forward, and by locking the protrusion f of the elastic locking arm g into the locking hole i provided on the base plate of the terminal t. This is done by stopping it and preventing it from coming off backwards. However, in the case of a connector with such a structure, the housing a of the terminal t
When attaching and detaching the elastic locking arm g, it is necessary to bend the elastic locking arm g downward (in the direction of the bottom wall c') by at least a locking distance j corresponding to the height of the protrusion f formed on the elastic locking arm g. Therefore, the locking arm g is used as a space for the concave portion e.
It is necessary to ensure a size larger than the bending allowance of the housing a, which has the drawback that the shape of the housing a becomes larger than necessary. Note that k in the figure is a locking arm for a mating housing (not shown), l is a locking protrusion, m is a pressing protrusion, and w is an electric wire.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The present invention was devised by focusing on this drawback of conventional connectors, and by improving the structure of the locking part of the terminal to the housing, it is necessary to attach and detach the terminal. The object of the present invention is to provide a connector that minimizes the space required for the connector, has a smaller shape, and saves molding material.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments.

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the connector A of the present invention, Fig. 2a is a sectional view taken along line A-A in Fig. 1, and Fig. 2b is a cross-sectional view of the connector A of the present invention.
A sectional view taken along line B-B in Figure a is shown.

In the figure, the connector A of the present invention is integrally molded from plastic material, and numeral 1 is a box-shaped housing in which a terminal accommodating chamber 2 is formed. The terminal accommodating chamber 2 is defined by a bottom wall 3, a top wall 4, and both side walls 5a and 5b. Therefore, a groove 7 is formed in the bottom wall 3 and extends from the terminal insertion opening 6 in the terminal insertion direction, that is, in the central longitudinal direction of the bottom wall 3, to a position slightly closer to the front than the middle part of the terminal accommodating chamber 2. A bottom wall surface 8 lower than the groove 7 and the bottom wall 3 is formed in the front part of the groove 7, and a recessed part 9 is formed on the bottom wall surface 8.
Furthermore, a flexible arm 11 is provided on an end surface 10 forming a step from the front end of the groove 7 to the bottom wall surface 8 so as to face the recessed part 9 and protrude in the extending direction of the groove 7. The upper surface 11a of the flexible arm 11 is formed on the same horizontal plane as the groove 7, and is flexibly protruded in a direction parallel to the bottom wall surface 8. Furthermore, a locking protrusion 12 is formed on the upper surface of the flexible arm 11, with an inclined surface 12a facing the terminal insertion direction (A direction) and a locking surface 12b provided at the front end opposite to the terminal insertion direction. . Thus, a space 9a sufficient to allow the flexible arm 11 to flex is formed in the direction in which the flexible arm 11 is flexible. This space 9a is illustrated as a side wall 13 formed diagonally between an end surface 10 from which the flexible arm 11 projects and the front part of the housing side wall 5a.
It is formed by partitioning the recessed part 9. In the case of this embodiment, since the flexible arm 11 is bent only in the direction of the side wall 13, no space corresponding to the space 9a is provided on the side wall 5b side. Note that 14 is the front wall of the housing 1.

(Function) Next, the function of the connector A of the present invention will be explained based on FIG. 3.

In addition, the terminal T attached to the connector A of the present invention
As shown in FIG. 3, a protrusion 16 is formed on the front part of the substrate 15 so as to face outward. This protrusion 16 is formed into a plate shape that can fit into and slide in the groove 7 formed in the bottom wall 3 of the housing 1. In addition, the illustrated terminal T is an example of a female type terminal, and has an electrical connection part 17 at the front into which a mating male type terminal (not shown) is inserted, and an electric wire w at the rear.
A connecting portion 18 is formed.

First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the terminal T is inserted from its front end 17a into the terminal accommodating chamber 2 in the A direction while sliding the protrusion 16 within the groove 7 of the housing. Then, the protrusion 16 of the terminal T eventually engages the locking protrusion 1 formed on the flexible arm 11 as shown in FIG. 3b.
The flexible arm 11 collides with the inclined surface 12a of No. 2, presses the locking protrusion 12a, and bends the flexible arm 11 in the direction of arrow B. Third
FIG. 3c shows the state shown in FIG. 3b when viewed from the side. Next, when the terminal T is further inserted until its front end 17a abuts the front wall 14 of the housing 1, the protrusion 16 of the terminal T contacts the inclined surface 1 of the locking protrusion 12.
2a, the pressure of the protrusion 16 against the inclined surface 12a is released, and the flexible arm 11 elastically returns to its original position. Simultaneously with this return, the protrusion 16 is engaged with the engagement surface 12b at the front end of the engagement protrusion 12, as shown in FIG. 3d. As a result of the above action, the terminal T can be removed from the front at the front wall 14 of the housing 1.
Further, the rear exit is performed by the protrusion 16 being engaged with the above-mentioned engagement surface 12b. As described above, according to the present invention, since the flexible arm 11 is a mechanism that bends in the direction of the side wall 13 parallel to the bottom wall surface 8 of the recessed portion 9 of the housing 1, the flexible arm 11 and the bottom wall surface of the recessed portion 9 interval between 8 s
It is sufficient that the flexible arm 11 does not come into contact with the bottom wall surface 8, so that the space of the recessed portion 9 can be reduced to a minimum.

(Other Embodiments) FIGS. 4 and 5 show other embodiments of the present invention. That is, FIGS. 4a and 5a are sectional views corresponding to the A-A cross section in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 4b and 5
Fig. b shows an explanatory diagram of the terminal locked state as seen from the planar direction, and Figs. 4c and 5c show the same explanatory diagrams as seen from the side.

First, in the connector A' of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the inclined surface 12a of the locking projection 12 formed on the flexible arm 11 faces the terminal insertion direction,
2, and the planar shape of the locking protrusion 12 is formed into an inverted triangular shape with the locking surface 12b at the front end as the base. Further, the above-mentioned side wall 13 is also formed on the side wall 5b side so that the flexible arm 11 can be flexible in either the left or right direction in the figure, and the space 9a necessary for the flexibility of the flexible arm 11 is formed on both sides.
According to this embodiment, the terminal insertion chamber 2 of the housing
The protrusion 16 of the terminal T inserted into the groove 7 advances in the direction of the arrow A, collides with the rear end of the locking protrusion 12, and then advances while pressing either the left or right inclined surface 12a. The flexible arm 11 is bent to the right or left in the figure, and in the same manner as described above, the flexible arm 11 is bent to the right or left as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
b to prevent the terminal from coming off backwards. Note that if the protrusion 16 of the terminal T attached to the connector A' of this embodiment is formed into a plate-shaped body bent in a chevron shape toward the front of the terminal as shown in FIG. 4b, the locking protrusion 12 This is convenient for impact and locking.

Next, still another embodiment of the connector shown in FIG.
A'', the recessed portion 9 is formed at the rear of the terminal accommodating chamber 2, that is, the terminal insertion opening 6 side, and the flexible arm 11 is recessed toward the rear end of the housing 1, that is, the terminal insertion opening 6 side. It is located protruding from section 9.
Further, the locking protrusion 12 formed on the flexible arm 11 is the same as that in the embodiment shown in FIG. The same applies to the formation of .

Terminal T attached to connector A'' in this example
The protrusion 16 needs to be provided protruding from the rear of the substrate of the terminal T, and its shape is a plate-shaped body bent into a chevron shape, similar to the case of the terminal mounted in the above-described embodiment A'. According to this embodiment, the protrusion 16 of the terminal T collides with the locking protrusion 12 after most of the terminal is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber 2, and is made flexible by the same action as in the previous embodiment. The arm 11 is bent to the right or left in the figure, and is finally locked to the locking surface 12b of the locking protrusion 12, thereby preventing the terminal T from coming off backward.

(Effects of the invention) The connector of the invention has the configuration and operation described in detail above, and the flexible arm, which is formed in the terminal accommodating chamber of the connector and serves as a means for preventing the terminal from coming off backward, is attached to the front or rear of the terminal accommodating chamber. Since the connector is protruded so as to face the recess provided in the bottom wall and flex in a direction parallel to the bottom wall surface, it takes less time to flex the flexible arm than with conventional connectors in which the flexible arm flexes in the vertical direction with respect to the bottom wall surface. Space can be significantly reduced, and the size of the connector is approximately 10 to 15% compared to conventional connectors of the same type.
It becomes possible to downsize. In addition, the cost of plastic materials required to manufacture connectors due to miniaturization has been reduced.
It is possible to save about 10%.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of the connector of the present invention, Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the connector of the present invention.
Figure a is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 1, Figure 2 b is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in Figure 2 a, and Figures 3 a, c, and d are explanatory views of the connector of the present invention seen from the side. Fig. 3b is an explanatory diagram of the action seen from the same plane, Fig. 4a, Fig. 5a
are sectional views of connectors showing other embodiments of the present invention corresponding to the cross section A-A in FIG. 1, FIG. 4b, and FIG. 5, respectively.
FIG. 4B is an explanatory view of the function of the above connector as viewed from the top, FIGS. 4C and 5C are views of the function of the connector as viewed from the side, and FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the conventional connector. 1... Housing, 2... Terminal housing chamber, 3...
Bottom wall, 4...Top wall, 5a, 5b...Side wall, 7...
Groove, 8... Bottom wall surface, 9... Concave portion, 11... Flexible arm, 12... Locking protrusion, 12a... Inclined surface, 12
b...Locking surface, 15...Terminal board, 16...Protrusion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A recess is formed in the front or rear part of the bottom wall of the terminal accommodating chamber of the connector housing, and a flexible arm is provided to protrude in the longitudinal direction of the connector housing, facing the recess from the end face of the bottom wall where the recess is formed. A locking protrusion is formed on one or both sides of the flexible arm with an inclined surface facing the terminal insertion direction, and a locking protrusion is formed on one or both sides of the flexible arm, and a locking protrusion is formed on the front or rear side of the terminal board to be installed in the terminal receiving chamber. A connector characterized in that a protrusion protruding toward the terminal is locked to a front end locking surface of the locking protrusion when the terminal is attached to the terminal housing chamber.