JPH05217623A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To suppress eccentricity of a connection part ultimately small and smoothen coupling with the mating connector member by retaining a cable wired at a contact terminal relative to an insulated housing by the use of a removable retaining member. CONSTITUTION:A cable threaded in a cable retaining hole 7A of a retaining member 7 is connected with a wiring part 3 of each contact terminal 1. When this terminal 1 is inserted in a retaining hole 11, the terminal 1 is further inserted because of dia. reduction of a vane member 6 toward the tip. When the insertion proceeds till a specified position, the front face of the wiring part 3 is located, and the dia. of the member 6 is enlarged to prevent the terminal 1 from slipping off. Then a pawl 7B is put confronting a groove 17 while the retaining member 7 is glided on the cable 4, and if the member 7 is intruded in the hole 11, the pawl 7B undergoes elastic dia, reduction, and dia. enlargement is made into the free state by a tool insert hole 16 which prevents the retaining member 7 from slipping off. When the terminal 1 is to be drawn out, the pawl 7B is pressed by a tool T2 to remove the retaining member 7, and the vane member 6 is dia. contracted by a tool T1, and the cable 4 is drawn, and the terminal 1 is drawn out of the housing 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used in the technical field of electrical connectors, and more particularly to an electrical connector in which a plurality of contact terminals are arranged in an insulating housing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various types of electrical connectors in which a plurality of contact terminals are arranged in an insulating housing are known. For example, in the one disclosed in FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings, the insulating housing 50 has a front end (the left end in the drawing).
Side and rear end sides are opened and a plurality of holding holes 51 are formed at a predetermined pitch in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface.

Each of the holding holes 51 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape as a whole, but a stepped locking portion 52 for preventing the contact terminal from coming off is provided at an intermediate portion.

On the other hand, the contact terminal 60 has a connecting portion 61 on its front portion.
(In the case of the figure, it has a female connecting portion that receives the male contact terminal of the mating connector), and a cable 63 is connected to the rear connecting portion 62. An annular peripheral groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate portion of the contact terminal 60, and a blade member 64 as a locking ring is fitted in the peripheral groove. The blade member 6
No. 4 is provided with a slit 64A at one position in the circumferential direction so as to be able to elastically reduce the diameter and expand the diameter, and further forward so that the stepped locking portion 52 can be smoothly overcome when the slit 64A is inserted into the holding hole 51. It is tapering toward.

An annular space is provided between the connecting portion 61, which is the front portion of the contact terminal 60, and the holding hole 51 of the housing 50, with a radial interval so that the annular sleeve portion of the tool T3 can enter. A is formed.

Thus, when it is desired to pull out the contact terminal 60 from the insulating housing for some reason after the contact terminal 60 has been inserted, the sleeve portion of the tool T3 is provided in the annular space A.
In the state where the blade member 64 is reduced in diameter by the sleeve portion to release the locked state with the locking portion 52, the cable 63 is pulled and the contact terminal 60 is pulled out rearward.

[0007]

In the above-mentioned electric connector, the annular space A is formed around the front portion of the contact terminal 60 so that a tool for extracting the contact terminal can enter. Therefore, there is a large space between the holding hole 51 and the holding hole 51. On the other hand, in the rear part of the contact terminal 60, since the plurality of contact terminals are arranged at a predetermined pitch, even when there is a tolerance for forming the holding hole, the plurality of contact terminals are not easily connected to the contact terminals of the mating connector. In addition, a gap having a dimension corresponding to at least the above-mentioned tolerance is required between the connection portion 62 and the holding hole so as not to be affected by the influence.

In such an electrical connector, the cable 6
When an external bending force is applied to the contact terminal 3, the contact terminal 60 is inclined with the locking portion 52 as a fulcrum. At this time, since there is an annular space A around the front portion of the contact terminal 60, there is nothing to prevent the inclination, and the rear portion of the contact terminal 60 is largely inclined until it comes into contact with the holding hole. As a result, the connection portion 61 of the contact terminal is located eccentrically with respect to the axis of the holding hole, and the pitch of the plurality of contact terminals exceeds the above-mentioned tolerance, which hinders coupling with the mating connector. Sometimes.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems and to provide an electric connector which suppresses the eccentricity of the connecting portion as much as possible and does not hinder the connection with the mating connector.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the above object is to provide an insulating housing having a plurality of holding holes for accommodating contact terminals, which are formed so as to open in parallel with each other at front and rear ends, and a connecting portion. A contact terminal having a front portion and a wiring portion at the rear portion, which is inserted into the holding hole from the rear end side opening of the holding hole and is held at a predetermined position, and the contact terminal is directed to the predetermined position. When a blade member is provided to prevent slipping, it is elastically contracted by the inner surface of the holding hole during insertion, and expands when reaching a predetermined position and is locked by the locking part of the holding hole. This is achieved by the fact that a holding member for holding the cable connected to the connection portion of the terminal is detachably fitted to the rear end side opening of the holding hole.

[0011]

In the contact terminal of the present invention, when the cable is inserted into the holding hole of the insulating housing and an external force of bending is applied to the cable, the holding member holding the cable becomes the contact terminal of the external force. And the contact terminals are firmly held through the cable. Therefore, the contact terminal does not tilt.

In order to remove the contact terminal from the insulating housing, the holding member is removed from the holding hole, and the blade member of the contact terminal is pressed by a tool to reduce the diameter of the contact terminal so that the contact portion is locked at the locking portion of the insulating housing. It is in the released state. Under such a state, the contact terminal is pulled out by pulling the cable portion.

[0013]

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

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the apparatus of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view showing a holding member and its fitting portion of the apparatus of FIG. In both figures, orthogonal coordinates XYZ are set in order to clarify the directionality in the three-dimensional space.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 designates a contact terminal extending in the X direction. A female type connecting portion 2 for receiving a male contact terminal (not shown) of a mating connector is provided at a front portion thereof, and a cable 4 is connected at a rear portion thereof. And the connecting portion 3 that is connected. Connection part 2
Has a diameter smaller than that of the wire connection portion 3 in order to insert the contact terminal 1 from the connection portion 2 into an insulating housing described later. An annular peripheral groove 5 is formed in the connecting portion 2 whose outer surface is cylindrical, and an annular blade member 6 is formed in the peripheral groove 5.
Is fitted. The blade member 6 has a diameter larger than that of the connecting portion 2 in the free state, and has a diameter equivalent to that of the connecting portion 2 in a state where the blade member 6 is reduced in diameter by receiving an external force. A slit 6A extending in the direction (X direction) is formed to give elasticity in the radial direction. Further, this annular blade member 6 is tapered in the insertion direction (X direction) in this embodiment so as to be convenient when it is inserted into the insulating housing.

The cable 4 is passed through a ring-shaped holding member 7. The holding member 7 is formed with a cable holding hole 7A for holding the cable 4 in the central portion, and has two claw portions 7B projecting outward on the diameter line. The thickness of the holding member 7 is set so that the outer diameter of the claw portion 7B can be elastically reduced so that the outer diameter of the claw portion 7B becomes the same as the inner diameter of the holding hole when the holding member 7 is fitted into the holding hole of the insulating housing. .. When it is desired to increase the wall thickness, it is preferable to form a slit slit 7C at one position in the circumferential direction, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. Alternatively, the holding member may be made of a material that is more easily elastically deformed except for the claw portion.

In the insulating housing 10, holding holes 11 for holding the contact terminals 1 penetrating in the X direction are formed in parallel with each other at a predetermined pitch in the Y direction. The holding hole 11 is composed of a connecting portion accommodating portion 12 at the front portion in the X direction and a connecting portion accommodating portion 13 at the rear portion in the X direction. The connecting portion accommodating portion 12 has an inner diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of the connecting portion 2 of the contact terminal 1, and the wire connecting portion accommodating portion 13 has an inner diameter substantially the same size as the maximum diameter portion of the wire connecting portion 3. As described above, in the contact terminal 1, the connecting portion 2 is thinner than the connecting portion 3,
Correspondingly, the holding hole 11 is also formed with the connecting portion accommodating portion 12 having a smaller diameter than the wire connecting portion accommodating portion 13, and the boundary thereof is formed stepwise so that when the contact terminal 1 is inserted into the retaining hole 11. , The front surface of the wire connection portion 3 is brought into contact with and positioned.

The connecting portion accommodating portion 12 has a locking portion 14 formed at a position corresponding to the blade member 6 of the contact terminal 1 and having a space for allowing the diameter expansion of the blade member 6 to a free state. There is.

Further, the insulating housing 10 has an X
A tool insertion hole 15 penetrating in the Z direction is formed at the position of the locking portion 14 in the direction. The tool insertion hole 15 is
The cross-sectional shape is not limited, but in the case of this embodiment, it is rectangular.

Further, at the rear portion of the insulating housing 10, another tool insertion hole 16 forming a locking portion penetrating in the Z direction is provided at the position of the claw portion 7B of the holding member 7 in the X direction, and thereafter. Grooves 17 for guiding the claw portions 7B extending in the X direction in the X direction are formed on the respective sides. Like the tool insertion hole 15 for the blade member, the tool insertion hole 16 is not limited in its cross-sectional shape, but has a square shape in this embodiment. In addition, these two types of tool insertion holes 15,
It is more convenient if the tools T1 and T2 having a quadrangular cross section inserted into 16 have the same shape and size so that they can be used in common.

In the device of this embodiment, the contact terminal 1 is inserted into and removed from the insulating housing 10 in the following manner.

First, the cable holding hole 7 of the holding member 7
The cable 4 passed through A is connected to the connection portion 3 of the contact terminal 1. When the holding member 7 has the slit slit 7C, the holding member 7 may be inserted into the cable through the slit 7C.

Next, the contact terminal 1 with the above cable
Is inserted into the holding hole 11 in the positive X direction. Then,
The blade member 6 abuts on the step portion which is the starting end of the connection portion accommodating portion 12 of the holding hole 11. However, since the blade member 6 is tapered toward the front, the diameter of the blade member 6 is easily elastically reduced and the contact terminal 1 is formed.
Is inserted further.

When inserted to a predetermined position, the connection part 3
The front surface of the blade member is brought into contact with the step portion to be positioned, and the blade member 6 becomes free in the space of the locking portion 14 and expands in diameter. That is, the expanded blade member 6 prevents the contact terminal 1 from coming off from a predetermined position. Thus, the insertion of the contact terminal 1 into each holding hole 11 is completed.

Thereafter, the holding member 7 is slid on the cable 4 so that the claw portion 7B faces the groove 17, and the holding member 7 is pushed into the holding hole 11 as it is. Then, the claw portion 7B elastically contracts in diameter, expands to a free state at a predetermined insertion position, that is, the tool insertion hole 16 as a locking portion, and holds the holding member 7.
Is prevented from coming off. In this way, a series of insertion work for the contact terminal 1 is completed.

When a bending external force is applied to the cable 4 of the contact terminal 1, the holding member 7 prevents the external force from being transmitted to the contact terminal 1 and secures the contact terminal 1 via the cable 4. Since the contact terminal 1 is kept in a predetermined posture, the contact terminal 1 does not tilt.

Next, when the contact terminal 1 is pulled out, the claw portion 7B of the holding member 7 is pressed with the tool T2 to reduce the diameter to remove the holding member 7, and then the blade is used with the tool T1. The contact terminal 1 is pulled out of the insulating housing 10 by reducing the diameter of the member 6 to release the locking at the locking portion 14 and pulling the cable 4 rearward in this state.

Next, according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3 as a second embodiment, a conventional tool T3 is formed from the front of the insulating housing between the connecting portion 22 of the contact terminal and the holding hole 23. It can also be applied to the type that is inserted into the annular space. In this case, even if an external force acts on the cable 4, the contact terminal 21 is held at two places, the locking portion 24 and the holding member 7,
Moreover, since there is a distance between them, the contact terminal 21 does not tilt despite the presence of the annular space.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the cable connected to the contact terminal is firmly held by the detachable holding member with respect to the insulating housing, even if an external force of bending acts on the cable, The contact terminal hardly tilts, which brings about the effect that the mating with the mating connector is carried out very smoothly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a first embodiment device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view showing a holding member and its mounting portion of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a second embodiment device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a conventional connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Contact terminal 2; 22 Connection part 3 Connection part 6 Blade member 7 Holding member 7A Cable holding hole 7B Claw part 7C Slit 10 Insulating housing 11; 23 Holding hole 16 Locking part (tool insertion hole) 17 Groove

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An insulating housing in which a plurality of holding holes for accommodating contact terminals are formed so as to open parallel to each other at front and rear ends, a connecting portion is provided at a front portion, and a connecting portion is provided at a rear portion. A contact terminal inserted into the holding hole from the rear end side opening and held at a predetermined position, the contact terminal
A blade member for preventing slipping is provided that is elastically reduced in diameter by being pressed by the inner surface of the holding hole during the insertion toward the predetermined position, expands when reaching the predetermined position, and is locked by the locking portion of the holding hole. In the electric connector, a holding member for holding the cable connected to the connection portion of the contact terminal is detachably fitted to the rear end side opening of the holding hole. 2. The holding member has a ring shape in which a cable holding hole is formed in a central portion, and has a claw portion protruding in a radial direction on an outer periphery, and the insulating housing guides the claw portion of the holding member forward. The groove and the locking part that locks the claw at a predetermined position,
The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connector is provided at a position in a direction perpendicular to an array surface including axes of the plurality of contact terminals. 3. The holding member has a ring shape with a cable holding hole formed in the center thereof, and a slit slit extending in the front-rear direction is formed at one position in the circumferential direction. Electrical connector.