JPH0414775A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To offer such a connector that insertion an release of its terminal to and from a mating male terminal are ensured without apprehension for deformation of a press-contact part of the male terminal and inferior assembling with a connector housing can be protected from the occurrence, by providing an engaging part in a lock release lever, and also providing an engaging part for the lock release lever in the connector housing to engage with the engaging part of the lock release lever. CONSTITUTION:A female terminal D is inserted in a terminal receiving chamber 6 in a connector housing E from a female terminal insertion inlet 6b of the rear. The tip of the female terminal D advancing inside the terminal receiving chamber 6 is first brought into contact with a taper part 11f of a lock release lever 11. The female terminal D is then advanced in sliding manner along the tapered surface while raising an operation part 11e and getting over a lance 7 inside the housing, and then the tip 7a of the lance 7 gets into an engaging hole 1a of the female terminal D to be positioned and engagement-locked inside the connector housing E. A release part 11c is fitted into a recess part of an upper plate 3 by flexibility of the operation part 11e, the operation part 11e is returned to a flat condition, and a recess part 3c of the upper plate 3 of the female terminal D and the front surface 11d of the release part become nearly close state each other.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a connector into which a female terminal is fitted, and in particular, to ensure fitting and disengagement with a mating male terminal, and to prevent interference between the female terminal and the housing. This invention relates to a connector that can prevent complete assembly.

[Conventional technology]

As a conventional example of a connector in which a female terminal is fitted and a mating male terminal is fitted, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-2 shown in Figs. 12 and 13
A technique described in Japanese Patent No. 12081 has been proposed. In these figures, the female terminal F has a channel-shaped or frame-shaped male terminal receiving part F1 at the front end of a substrate a made of a thin metal plate, and a wire connecting part F2 at the rear end. Male terminal receiving part F1
Inside, the front end of the board a is bent to form an elastic tongue extending rearward between the board a and the upper board d inside the side wall C.

The elastic tongue piece is divided into three parts by two slits,
The central elastic locking piece b1 has a cut-and-raised protrusion e formed in the middle thereof, and its tip is bent at a substantially right angle to form a rising piece f. Both sides b2 of the elastic tongue piece are curved so that the tip g is almost in contact with the substrate a.

As shown in FIG. 13, the m terminal G is inserted between the upper Fid of the female terminal F fitted into the connector H and the elastic tongue piece.

A cut-and-raised protrusion e formed on the elastic locking piece at the center of the elastic tongue piece fits into the hole formed on the male terminal G to lock both. The male terminal C has the elasticity of the elastic tongue piece,
The ends g of both sides b2 receive sufficient contact pressure due to the reaction force of contact with the substrate a, and are electrically connected.

To release the lock, push down the rising piece f at the tip of the elastic locking piece b1 with a lever i provided integrally with the connector H, and remove the cut and raised protrusion e from the hole of the male terminal G.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above conventional technology, the length of the male terminal G!
1 is longer than the distance 12 from the front surface of the connector H to the front surface of the rising piece f, the tip of the male terminal G may strongly hit the rising piece f, deforming the elastic tongue piece and the elastic lock piece b1.

When the elastic locking piece b1 is deformed, a problem arises in that the hole of the male terminal G and the cut-and-raised protrusion e no longer engage with each other. Furthermore, when the elastic tongue piece deforms, the contact pressure between the male and female terminals decreases, causing poor contact. That is, although the rising piece f is essential for unfitting, it has the disadvantage that it can cause deformation of the elastic tongue piece and the elastic locking piece b1.

Furthermore, the female terminal F engages with the lance j in the connector H and is fitted into a predetermined position in the terminal accommodation chamber of the connector h, but even if the engagement with the lance j is incomplete, it cannot be inserted from the outside. I don't know, #! The male terminals F and G caused poor contact, which was a problem.

The present invention has been made in view of the above facts.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector that can be reliably fitted and uncoupled with a male terminal, that there is no fear of deformation of the press-contact portion of a male terminal, and that can prevent defects when assembled with a connector housing.

[Means to solve the problem]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a connector in which a female terminal having a locking mechanism with a male terminal having an engaging portion is fitted into a terminal accommodating chamber in a connector housing. A male terminal receiving part having an engaged part for the engaging part of the male terminal is formed on the front part of the board, and a wire connecting part is formed on the rear part, and the male terminal receiving part is continuous with the board and has a channel shape or a frame shape. The substrate is folded back into a U-shape at the tip of the male terminal receiving portion to form an elastic tongue extending rearward within the male terminal receiving portion, and the tip of the elastic tongue is placed behind the 1i terminal receiving portion. The connector housing is provided with an opening that projects from the end and exposes the tip of the elastic tongue, and within the opening, the tip can move forward and backward in a direction substantially perpendicular to the elastic tongue, and is configured to receive a male terminal. The configuration includes a mutual lock release part for the terminals, which has a release part adjacent to the terminal part.

Further, the lock releasing portion may be provided with a locking portion, and the connector housing may be provided with a locking portion for a release rod that engages with the locking portion.

Alternatively, the lock release portion may be rotatably connected to the connector housing by a hinge.

In addition to any of the above configurations, a release portion may be formed at the tip of the lock release rod, and the release portion may be provided with an opening edge locking portion that locks on the opening edge of the opening of the connector housing.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the fulcrum between the lock release part and the connector housing be provided near the end of the connector housing on the male terminal insertion side.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the external appearance of the connector of the present invention, and in the same figure,
E is a connector housing in which a female terminal is fitted. Reference numeral 11 denotes a lock release portion formed separately from the connector housing E.

The configurations of the female terminal D, the connector housing E, and the release part 11 will be explained below in this order.

Figures 2 and 3 are views of the female terminal. The female terminal includes a male terminal receiving part D 1 in the front part of the board 1 and a wire connecting part D 2 in the rear part.

The middle part of one of the side walls 2, 2 standing upright and connected on both sides of the tip of the substrate 1 is bent, and the other side wall 2 is constructed to form the upper plate 3.
It becomes. The free end central portion 3a of the upper plate 3 fits into the recess 2a of the opposing side wall 2 and rests on the tip surface of the side wall 2, and the six pieces 2b on both sides of the recess 2a are bent and the upper plate 3
is pressed to form a male terminal receiving portion D1. This upper plate 3 is formed with two contact protrusions 3b, 3b which are pushed in from the outside and protrude into the male terminal receiving portion Di.

The elastic tongue piece 4, which is integrally formed with the front end of the board 1 and is folded in a U-shape, is divided into three parts by two strips 4a, 4a, and extends rearward within the male terminal receiving part Di. Among these, the central elastic locking piece 4b is approximately parallel to the substrate 1, and has a cut-and-raised protrusion 5, which is an engaged portion, formed in the middle.
A free end projects from the rear of the male terminal receiving portion D1. In the illustrated case, the upper plate 3 is made to protrude by forming a recess 3C. Further, both ends of the elastic locking piece 4b are bent downward and reinforcing pieces 4b having a printed cross section are provided to provide strength. On the other hand, the pressing pieces 4C on both sides of the elastic tongue piece 4 are curved in a chevron shape with respect to the substrate 1, and their tips are in elastic contact with the substrate 1. Both tips of the pressing pieces 4c, 4c are connected and integrated, and both can slide on the substrate 1 at the same time.

In addition, the above-mentioned one has an elastic lock piece 4 due to the slit 4a.
b and pressing pieces 4c on both sides, but it is also possible to use the negative elastic tongue pieces 4 as the elastic locking pieces 4b.

Further, the cut and raised protrusion 5, which is the engaged part, is fixed to the elastic locking piece 4.
The elastic lock piece 4b is shown above.
A cut-and-raised projection may be provided on the inside of the upper plate 3 facing the upper plate 3.

At positions corresponding to the elastic locking pieces 4b of the substrate 1, a locking hole 1a is formed by cutting out three of the four sides, and a support side 1b is formed by cutting and raising the locking hole portion. The locking hole 1a is for locking with a lance inside the connector housing, which will be described later. On the other hand, the support piece 1b is provided to prevent the elastic lock piece 4b from being deformed beyond its elastic limit, and is provided slightly apart from the elastic lock piece 4b.

Next, the configuration of the connector housing E will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The connector housing E has a terminal accommodating chamber 6 therein, which communicates with a male terminal insertion opening 6a at the front and a female terminal insertion opening 6b at the rear. Inside the terminal accommodating chamber 6 is the aforementioned lance 7, which has a locking protrusion 7a formed at its tip.

The upper surface of the connector housing E has an opening 8 for the terminal accommodating chamber 6.
is drilled from the center toward the rear, and a female terminal insertion opening 6b
It is in a state of communication. In addition, a lip-shaped stopper 9 is formed near the female terminal insertion opening 6b except for the opening 8 and the center of the side surface of the connector, and a protrusion-shaped release button is formed in the part of the side surface of the connector where the stopper 9 is missing. A rod locking portion 10 is provided in a protruding manner.

The lock release part 11 is formed separately from the connector housing E, and has a printed base 11b along the stopper 9 on the rear side.
has. At both ends of the base portion 11b, there are locking portions 11a that fit into the portion where the stopper 9 on the side surface of the connector is missing.
There is. On the other hand, the unlocking part 11 is formed with an operation part lie and a releasing part 11c at its tip, a releasing part front lid that comes into contact with a male terminal (described later) almost perpendicularly on the front surface of the releasing part 11c, and a releasing part front lid that comes into contact with a male terminal to be described later approximately perpendicularly, and a A tapered portion 11f is formed.

The lock release part 11 is fitted from above or behind the connector housing E, and the locking part 11a rides over the release rod locking part lO of the connector housing E, and the locking part 11a is inserted into the hole of the locking part 11a. 10 protrusions are inserted, and at the same time base 1
The front surface of 1b abuts against the rear surface of stopper 9 and is locked in position. The release portion 11c at the tip of the operation portion lie is
It projects into the terminal housing chamber 6 through the opening 8 .

Next, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to FIG.

First, the lock release part 11 is fitted into the connector housing E in advance. Thereafter, the female terminal is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 6 in the connector housing E from the rear female terminal insertion opening 6b. The electric wire 12 is crimped in advance to the electric wire crimping portion D2 on the female terminal. The tip of the female terminal that has advanced inside the terminal housing chamber 6 first comes into contact with the tapered portion 11f of the lock release portion 11.

Then slide along this taber surface to open the operation part.
The lance 7 in the housing moves forward while lifting up, and the tip 7a of the lance 7 eventually enters the locking hole 1a.
is inserted and positioned, and is locked and fixed within the connector housing E. At this time, the release section 11c is operated by the operation section li.
Due to its own flexibility, it fits into the recess 3c (Fig. 2) of the upper plate 3, and the operation part lie returns to a flat state, and the recess 3c of the upper plate 3 of the female terminal and the front lid of the release part are almost In a state of close proximity.

In the above case, the lock release part 11 was fitted to the connector housing in advance, but this lock release part 11
may be installed after the female terminal is fitted.

This completes the assembly of the connector.

Next, the male terminal G is inserted through the male terminal insertion opening 6a of the connector housing E, and is fitted into the male terminal receiving portion D1 of the female terminal. The male terminal G is inserted between the upper plate 3 and the elastic tongue piece 4 of the female terminal. The cut-and-raised protrusion 5 as an engaging part of the elastic locking side 4b is fitted into the male terminal locking hole 13 as an engaged part formed in the male terminal G to form a locking mechanism and lock both. The male terminal G is connected to the elasticity of the elastic tongue piece 4 and the pressing piece 4.
Due to the reaction force when the tips of the tips c and 4c come into contact with the substrate, they are pressed with sufficient contact pressure to the contact protrusions 3b and 3b formed on the upper plate 3, and are electrically connected.

At this time, the release part 11c of the lock release part 11 is located between the upper plate 3 of the female terminal and the elastic tongue piece 4, and its tip faces the elastic tongue piece 4. If the length zi of the male terminal G is longer than the distance 12 from the front surface of the connector housing E to the release section front lid of the lock release section 11, the release section front surface lid will function as a stopper. Further, when the female terminal D (upper plate 3) and the release part front lid are brought into contact (engagement), the female terminal can be doubly prevented from coming off backward by the lance 7 and the release part 11c.

Furthermore, since the free end of the elastic locking piece 4b is parallel to the base plate 1, it is not subjected to any harmful force from the male terminal G that would cause deformation.

Next, a case will be described in which the male and female terminals are uncoupled from each other.

In the fitted state shown in FIG. 6, the distal end release portion 1 of the lock release portion 11
Add force of arrow amount Y to 1c. The free end of the elastic locking piece 4b is lowered, and the raised protrusion 5 is pulled out from the male terminal locking hole 13. At the same time, by applying a force Z to the connector housing, the male terminal G can be released from the female terminal.

Next, prevention of poor fitting of the female terminal will be explained with reference to FIG.

If the tip 7a of the lance 7 is not fitted into the locking hole 1a of the female terminal, the release portion 11c at the tip of the lock release portion 11 will ride on the top Ffi, 3 of the female terminal, and the lock release portion 1
1 protrudes greatly from the connector housing E, which means that the female terminal is not fitted in the specified position.
It can be clearly identified even from the outside.

Also, after inserting the female terminal into the connector housing E,
When the lock release part 11 is attached from the rear, the release part 11c at the tip also has the effect of pressing the female terminal to fit it into a predetermined position even if the female terminal is in the incompletely fitted position. become.

Note that the release part 11c of the lock release part 11 only needs to be able to move the elastic lock piece 4b in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction.
The shape and structure of attachment to the connector are flexible. Moreover, if the lock release part 11 is formed integrally with the connector housing E, it will be similar to the case where the lock release part 11 is previously fitted to the connector housing.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show another embodiment of the present invention in which a flexible unlocking portion 11 is connected to a connector housing E by a hinge.

A rising fixing part 11 is provided at the tip of the connector housing E.
g are integrally connected, and the base 11b of the widened lock release part 11 is rotatably connected to this via the hinge 11h. When no external force is applied, the biasing force of the hinge 1lhO causes the hinge 1lhO to rotate as shown in FIG. As shown in a), the connector housing E stands up outside. An operating portion lie whose width becomes linearly narrow from the other side of the base portion 11b extends from the upper surface of the housing through a gap 1, and a release portion 11c is erected substantially perpendicularly to the tip of the operating portion 11e.

There is a guide slope 111 at the tip of the release part 11c, and an opening edge locking part 11j is formed at the rear end, so that it can be engaged with the opening edge 8a of the opening 8 formed in the connector housing E. ing.

The locking portion 11a of the lock release portion 11 is provided as a pair of flexible pieces facing each other on the side of the connector housing E of the base portion 11b. , a groove-shaped release rod locking portion 14 having a slope 14a is provided LJ.

When the distal end release portion 11c of the lock release portion 11 is pressed toward the connector housing E, first, the guide slope 11i
is on the opening edge 8a, and the tip of the locking part 11a is also on the slope 14.
a, and each slope acts as a guide to move the release part 11c into the opening and the locking part 11a into the release part locking part 14. Eventually, the locking part 11a climbs over the slope 14a and engages with the release part locking part 14, and then the guide slope 11i
The opening edge locking portion 11j at the rear end enters the opening 8 and engages with the opening edge 8a. After this, a gap! via the operating section 11e
When pressed, the release part 11c further enters into the connector housing E due to the flexibility of the operating part 11e.
Even if the pressing force is removed, the opening edge locking portion 11j engages with the opening edge 8a, so the state shown in FIG. 8(b) is maintained,
It does not return to the state shown in FIG. 8(a). In this embodiment, the lock release part 11 is locked doubly by the locking part 11a and the opening edge locking part 11j, but either one of them may be locked. In short, it is sufficient that there is at least one locking portion on the free end side of the lock release portion 11 for the purpose of preventing the release portion 11c from lifting up.

FIG. 9 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 6 of the embodiment described above.

The female terminal is fitted into the connector housing E as in FIG. 6, and the release portion 11c at the tip of the lock release frame 11 faces the tip of the elastic locking piece 4b. That is, the release unit 1
By advancing and retracting 1c, the male and female terminals are opened as in the previous embodiment,
G lock mechanism can be released. Note that the male terminal is fitted in the same manner as shown in FIG. 6, and the tip of the male terminal approaches the surface 11k of the release portion 11c opposite to the guide slope 11i.

In addition, if the female terminal is not properly fitted, even if the release part 11C is pushed in, it will not be able to reach the correct position in the connector housing E (Fig. 8(b)), and the release part 11C will protrude outside. Therefore, it is the same as in the above-mentioned embodiment that a poor fit can be immediately detected from the outside.

In addition, in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the hinge l
lh is the lock release part 11 and the connector housing E at the same time.
This fulcrum part 11h is located on the tip end side of the connector, that is, on the insertion side of the male terminal G. In the above embodiment, the fulcrum part 11h of the lock release part 11 (the base shown in 11b and the operating part 11e) is on the rear end side of the connector, that is, on the insertion side of the female terminal. In other words, if the fulcrum part is on the rear end side of the connector, the
When the release part 11c is pressed in the Y direction as shown in FIG.
The amount of overlap between the lock and the lock may be reduced, making the unlocking operation less stable and difficult to unlock.

On the other hand, when the fulcrum shown in FIG. 10(b) is located on the tip side of the connector, it moves in the direction in which the wrap amount d mentioned above increases, so the stability of the unlocking operation is improved. .

FIGS. 11(a), (b), and (C) are modified examples of FIGS. 8 and 9, in which the lock release part 11 is connected to the connector housing E.
In this example, the fulcrum part of the lock release part is formed separately from the connector, and the fulcrum part of the lock release part is on the distal end side of the connector. Although it is common to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 that the lock release part 11 is separate,
This embodiment is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 in that it engages with the connector housing E at three locations: the locking portion 11a and the opening edge locking portion 11j.

A lip 14b is provided in a three-shape shape along the periphery at the male terminal insertion side end of the connector housing, and a slope 14a is provided on the inner peripheral side of the lip 14b, and a groove 14 is provided at the bottom of the slope 14a.
c are formed respectively.

Locking portions 11a are formed on both left and right sides of the base portion 11b of one of the unlocking portions 11, and a slope 11a' corresponding to the slope 14a described above is formed on the lower surface of the locking portion 11a.

When the lock release part 11 is placed on the connector housing E and pressed, the base part 11b is bent, the slope 11a' moves along the slope 14a, and the locking part 11a climbs over the slope 14a and fits into the groove 14b. On the other hand, the release part 11c also entered the opening 8 while being guided by the guide slope 11i at the same time as above, but after the locking part 11a was fitted into the groove 14b, the opening edge locking part 11j of the release part lIC Opening 8t8a
It will be engaged with.

In this case, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, if the locking part 11a can prevent the release part 11c from lifting up, the opening edge locking part 11j can be omitted.

The following is the same as the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the elastic tongue of the female terminal is not subjected to harmful deformation from the male terminal, and the connecting portion of the female and male terminals can always maintain stable contact pressure.

Moreover, if the female terminal in the connector housing is improperly fitted, the lock release portion will be lifted up, so that it can be recognized at a glance from the outside, and it is possible to reliably prevent the male and female terminals from being improperly fitted due to improper fitting.

Furthermore, if the fulcrum part between the lock release part and the connector housing is provided near the end of the male terminal insertion side of the connector housing, the amount of wrap at the time of unlocking can be increased, so that the release work can be done easily. is now possible stably.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the assembled state of the connector of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the female terminal, Fig. 3(a) is a sectional view taken along line BB in Fig. 2, and (b) is a perspective view showing the assembled state of the connector of the present invention. (a)
, (C) is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in (a), FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the connector housing and the unlocking part, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the connector housing shown in FIG. 1, Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in Fig. 1 showing the state of fitting with the male terminal, Fig. 7 is a sectional view showing a case in which the female terminal is poorly fitted in Fig. 6, and Fig. 8 is a sectional view showing another example of the present invention. In the figures of the embodiment, (a) is a perspective view showing a state in which the lock release part 11 stands up outside the connector housing E, and (b) shows the lock release part 11 locked in a predetermined position of the connector housing E. FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line A'-A' in FIG.
(b) is the case where the support point is at the front of the housing, and FIG. 11 shows a further embodiment of the present invention, (
a) is an exploded perspective view of the connector housing and the lock release part, (b) is a perspective view of the lock release part seen from below, and (C
) is a perspective view of the connector housing seen from the opposite side to (a), Figure 12 is a perspective view of a conventional female terminal, and Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional connector showing the fitted state of male and female terminals. be. D...Female terminal, Dl...Male terminal receiving part, Dl...
Wire connection part, E... Connector housing, G... Male terminal, 1... Board, 4b... Elastic tongue piece, 8... Opening, 11... Release part, lla... Connection Tobe, LLC・
...Release part, llh...Hinge or fulcrum part, llj.
...Opening edge locking portion, 10.14...Release portion locking portion. Patent Applicant: Yazaki Sogyo Co., Ltd. Diagram (b) Procedures Shinho Seisho (Spontaneous) August 16, 1996

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) In a connector in which a female terminal having a locking mechanism with a male terminal having an engaging portion is fitted into a terminal accommodating chamber in a connector housing, the female terminal is engaged with the male terminal at the front of the board. A receiving part for a male terminal having a part to be engaged with the mating part, an electric wire connecting part connected to the rear part, the male terminal receiving part being formed in a channel shape or a frame shape continuously with the board, and the male terminal receiving part The board is folded back into a U-shape at the tip of the connector housing to form an elastic tongue extending rearward within the male terminal receiving part, and the tip of the elastic tongue protrudes from the rear end of the male terminal receiving part. is provided with an opening that exposes the tip of the elastic tongue, and within the opening, the tip can move forward and backward in a direction substantially perpendicular to the elastic tongue;
What is claimed is: 1. A connector characterized in that a mutual terminal lock release rod is provided and has a release portion adjacent to a male terminal receiving portion. (2) The connector according to claim 1, wherein the lock release rod is provided with a locking portion, and the connector housing is provided with a locking portion for the release rod that engages with the locking portion. (3) The connector according to claim 1, wherein the lock release rod and the connector housing are rotatably connected by a hinge. (4) A release portion is formed at the tip of the lock release rod, and the release portion is provided with an opening edge locking portion that locks on the opening edge of the opening of the connector housing.
Connector listed in any of the above. (5) The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fulcrum between the lock release rod and the connector housing is provided near the male terminal insertion side end of the connector housing.