JPH09199211A - Housing structure for connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a housing structure for a connector which surely prevents after-coming off of a connection terminal, easily mounts it and facilitates a connection fit to a mate connector. SOLUTION: In this connector 1, a plurality of connection terminals 31 press fit connecting a wire 30 are inserted from a forward side to a connector housing 2 having a suitable number of terminal housing chambers 3, to be fixedly positioned by a positioning means 10. Here, a housing lance 5 flexible outward is provided in a front part of a roof wall 4 of the terminal housing chamber 3, a tapered surface 7 for introducing a mate tab 41 is provided in a front end part 6 of this housing lance 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a housing structure of a connector for connecting a wire harness used in an automobile or the like, and more particularly, to a connector in which a connection terminal can be easily attached and a mating connection with a mating connector is easy. Regarding the housing structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of connector housing structures have been known. For example, a connector housing as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 is known.
As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG.
A suitable number of connection terminals 31 (8 in FIG. 6)
Connector housing 52 having individual terminal receiving chambers 53
Is a connector that is inserted from the front side of and is positioned and fixed by positioning means.

Further, the positioning means is composed of a connection terminal 31.
Provided on the front side of the bottom plate 32 on the side and the locking surface thereof projects rearward, and the locking surface projects forward to the top plate 35 of the contact fitting portion 34 of the connection terminal 31. The lance piece 36 is provided, and the floating prevention piece 37 is provided at the rear end portion of the bottom plate 32 so as to face rearward. Further, on the connector housing 52 side, a first locking groove 61, a second locking groove 62, into which the stabilizer 33, the lance piece 36, and the lifting prevention piece 37 are respectively locked,
The third locking groove 63 is provided in the bottom wall 58 of the terminal accommodating chamber 53 of the connector housing 52, the inner surface of the top wall 54, and the root of the projection 59 at the rear end of the bottom wall 58. The top wall 54 covers the front part of the terminal accommodating chamber 53.

More specifically, the bottom plate 32 of the connection terminal 31 is provided with a contact fitting portion 34 at the front portion thereof, and a pressing blade 38 for pressing the electric wire 30 at the central portion and the electric wire 30 at the rear portion. A tightening portion 39 for tightening is provided. Further, the side wall 55 of the connector housing 52 is provided with a locking projection 56 for locking the mating connector 40.

In the above structure, when the connecting terminal 31 is first inserted from the front of the terminal accommodating chamber 53 of the connector housing 52, the stabilizer 33 is locked to the rear end of the first locking groove 61 and the lance piece. 36 initially contacts the top wall 54 and bends downward, but finally is locked in the second locking groove 62, so that the connection terminal 31 is locked in the front-back direction. Further, since the floating prevention piece 37 is locked in the third locking groove 63, the connection terminal 31 does not float even if it is pulled rearward by the electric wire 30 guided rearward along the protrusion 59.

After the connection terminal 31 is positioned and fixed in the terminal accommodating chamber 53 by the positioning means, the electric wire 30 is pressed against the pressure contact blade 3.
While being pressed against 8, the caulking portion 39 is caulked, and is further bent obliquely upward along the protrusion 59, and then guided rearward. When the connector housing 52 is fitted into the mating connector 40, the side of the terminal housing chamber 53 opposite the bottom wall 58 is covered by the ceiling wall of the mating connector 40. Therefore, coupled with the fact that the connection terminal 31 is reliably positioned by the positioning means, the strain relief action works even if the electric wire 30 is pulled rearward with a strong force, and the backward pull-out of the electric wire 30 is reliably prevented.

As another housing structure for the connector, the one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-51508 is known. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the connector housing 71 of the connector 70 includes a terminal accommodating chamber 72.
Abutment walls 73 are provided on both side walls rearward of the inside of the abutment wall 73, and a tapered inner surface 73a is provided on an inner front surface of the abutment wall 73. Further, a flexible locking arm 75 is provided inside the upper wall 72a forming the terminal accommodating chamber 72, and the hook portion 7 is provided at the tip thereof.
6 is provided in a protruding manner, and a projection 77 is provided at the front end of the bottom wall 72c which is opposed thereto.

First, the electric wire 81 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 72, and then the female terminal 78 is fixed to the electric wire 81 and then pulled backward. Then, the rear end of the electrical contact portion 79 of the female terminal 78 comes into contact with the inclined surface 76a of the hook portion 76, and the locking arm 75 is bent upward to enter. Then, the rear end of the electrical contact portion 79 abuts on the front end surface of the abutment wall 73, and the front end thereof is the hook portion 7
By engaging with 6 and the rear end of the protrusion 77, it is securely locked so that it cannot be pulled out forward and backward.

[0009]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional connector 51, if the fitting gap is increased in order to facilitate the connection work with the mating connector 40, the connector housing 52 will be removed as shown in FIG. When inserted at a slight angle from the lower side, the mating tab 41 on the lower side is connected to the inside of the top wall 54 of the connector housing 52 and the connection terminal 31.
There is a problem that it is pushed between the top plates 35 and the fitting connection cannot be made. When the connection terminal 31 is pressed forward in the terminal accommodating chamber 53, the lance piece 36 and the second
There is a problem in that a secure locked state cannot be ensured only with the locking groove 62.

In addition, in the other conventional connector, when the female terminal 78 is inserted into the connector housing 71, the locking arm 75 may be bent and deformed inward, and when the male terminal is inserted. However, there is a concern that the locking arm 75 may bend inward and deform both female and male terminals.

The object of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and even if the fitting gap between the connector housing and the mating connector is large, the mating tab is not caught and the connection is reliable and easy, and the workability is good. And to provide a highly reliable connector housing structure.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above object of the present invention is to insert a connecting terminal for connecting an electric wire from the front side of a connector housing having a terminal accommodating chamber and fix the terminal in a predetermined position in the terminal accommodating chamber. In the housing structure of the connector, a flexible wall is provided at a front portion of a top wall of the terminal accommodating chamber, the flexible wall being capable of being flexed outward and having a flexure preventing portion for preventing inward flexure. Can be achieved by the housing structure of the connector.
Further, it can be achieved by providing a taper surface for introducing the mating tab at the front end portion of the flexible wall.

According to the above construction, the front portion of the top wall of the terminal accommodating chamber is a flexible wall, and the front end of the flexible wall is provided with the taper surface, so that the connection terminal is forward of the terminal accommodating chamber. It can be easily inserted from the side, and the mating tab between the connector housing and the mating connector is large, so the mating tab can be easily mated with the tapered surface and the flexible wall even if the connector housing is inserted and fitted diagonally to the mating connector. It can be reliably introduced into the connection terminal.

Further, the flexible wall 5 is flexed outward by a thin portion 19 formed by a notch 18 provided on the inside of the ceiling wall 4, and is brought into contact by contacting both end surfaces of the notch 18 inside. This can be achieved by preventing bending to Further, it can be achieved by the anti-deflection portion being anti-deflection walls 18a and 18b which are both end faces of the notch 18. According to the above configuration, it is possible to surely perform the outward bending and to prevent the inward bending with a simple configuration.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of a connector housing structure of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 is an assembled perspective view showing an embodiment of a housing structure of a connector of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of completed assembly in FIG.
2 is an operation explanatory diagram in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram in FIG.

1 and 2, the connector 1 is
A housing structure in which a plurality of connection terminals 31 for press-fitting and connecting the electric wires 30 are inserted from the front side into a connector housing 2 having an appropriate number (10 in FIG. 1) of terminal accommodating chambers 3 and positioned and fixed by the positioning means 10. Is.
A housing lance 5 as a flexible wall that can be flexed outward is provided at the front portion of the top wall 4 of the terminal accommodating chamber 3, and a mating tab 41 is introduced to the front end portion 6 of the housing lance 5. A tapered surface 7 is provided for this purpose.
With respect to the flexibility of the housing lance 5, by forming the thin portion 19 by forming the cut 18 inside the ceiling wall 4, the deflection preventing walls 18a and 18b are formed on both end faces of the cut 18. It is possible to flex only in the outer direction without bending inward.

The positioning means 10 is provided on the front portion of the bottom plate 32 on the side of the connection terminal 31 and has a stabilizer 33 having a locking surface protruding rearward, and a connecting surface with the locking surface forward. The lance piece 36 is provided so as to project from the top plate 35 of the contact fitting portion 34, and the floating prevention piece 37 is provided at the rear end portion of the bottom plate 32 toward the rear. Further, the positioning means 10 on the connector housing 2 side
The first locking groove 11, the second locking groove 12, and the third locking groove 13 with which the stabilizer 33, the lance piece 36, and the lifting prevention piece 37 are respectively locked are the terminal accommodating chamber 3 of the connector housing 2. Are provided on the inner surfaces of the bottom wall 8, the top wall 4, and the root of the projection 9 at the rear end of the bottom wall 8.

More specifically, the connector housing 2 is provided with a displaceable hinge 14 at the rear end portion of the ceiling wall 4, and a rear lid 15 for covering the rear portion of the terminal accommodating chamber 3 is pivoted forward and opened. Are connected together. Further, the rear lid 15 is provided with a first electric wire retainer 16 and a second electric wire retainer 17 for pressing the pressed electric wire 30 toward the bottom wall 8. A locking mechanism (not shown) is provided so that the rear cover 15 is locked to the connector housing 2 when the rear portion of the terminal accommodating chamber 3 is covered. Further, locking projections 19 for locking the mating connector 40 are provided on both side walls 18 of the connector housing 2. The connection terminal 31
The bottom plate 32 is provided with a contact fitting portion 34 on the front portion thereof, and a press contact blade 38 for pressing the electric wire 30 on the center portion thereof.
And, a caulking portion 39 for caulking the electric wire 30 is provided at the rear portion.

In the present embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration,
First, when the connection terminal 31 is inserted from the front of the terminal accommodating chamber 3 of the connector housing 2 as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the lance piece 36 replaces the housing lance 5.
The connection terminal 31 is inserted in a state in which the housing lance 5 bends downward by coming into contact with the front end portion 6 thereof and also bends upward with the thin portion 19 formed by the notch 18 as a fulcrum. Due to this upward bending, the prevention wall 18a is displaced relative to the anti-deflection wall 18b in a direction in which it is relatively separated. And
As shown in (c), the stabilizer 33 has the first locking groove 11
The lance piece 36 is locked to the second locking groove 12 while being locked to the rear end. Also, the lifting prevention piece 37 is the third
It is locked in the locking groove 13.

Then, the housing lance 5 returns and the front end portion 6 locks the front end surface of the connection terminal 31. The return of the housing lance 5 causes the prevention wall 18a to come into contact with the deflection prevention wall 18b again, thereby reliably preventing the inward deflection of the housing lance 5. Therefore, the workability is improved, and the connection terminal 31 is surely locked in the front-rear direction, and the connection terminal 31 floats up even if the connection terminal 31 is pulled rearward by the electric wire 30 guided rearward along the protrusion 9. There is no.

After the connection terminal 31 is positioned and fixed in the terminal accommodating chamber 3 by the positioning means 10, the electric wire 30 is pressed against the press-contact blade 38, and is also caulked to the caulking portion 39, and further along the protruding portion 9. It is bent diagonally upward and then guided backward. Then, when the rear lid 15 is rotated by the hinge 14 to cover the rear portion of the terminal accommodating chamber 3 of the connector housing 2, the first and second electric wire retainers 16 and 17 respectively cause the electric wire 30 in the press contact blade 38 and the caulking. The part 39 is pressed down. Therefore, coupled with the fact that the connection terminal 31 is reliably positioned by the positioning means 10, the electric wire 3
Even if 0 is pulled backward by a strong force, the strain relief function works, and the backward pull-out of the electric wire 30 is reliably prevented.
Therefore, the reliability of the connector is further improved.

Next, when the connector housing 2 is fitted and connected to the mating connector 40, if the fitting gap is increased to facilitate the connecting work, the connector housing 2 is slightly larger than the mating connector 40 as shown in FIG. When inserted from diagonally below, the tip of the lower mating tab 41 hits the tapered surface 7 and pushes down the housing lance 5 in the lower part of the drawing. That is, one of the prevention walls 18a forming the notch 18
Is displaced in a direction away from the other prevention wall 18b to bend the lower housing lance 5, and
The housing lance 5 in the upper part in the figure is prevented from bending by the both prevention walls 18
This can be prevented by the contact between a and 18b, and the entire connector housing 2 is pushed down. Therefore, the fitting and connecting work of the connectors can be proceeded without any trouble, and the connecting workability is remarkably improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be implemented in other modes by making appropriate changes. For example, in the present embodiment, the front wall of the top wall 4 is provided with a notch on the inside to form the housing lance 5 that bends outward. However, the notch width is increased to improve flexibility. take,
It is also possible to attach a separate anti-bending member to prevent inward bending. Also, housing lance 5
A member having a larger flexibility than the connector housing 2 may be attached to the front end of the top wall 4 for the portion.

[0024]

As described above, according to the housing structure of the connector of the present invention, the flexible wall which can be flexed outward is provided at the front portion of the top wall of the terminal accommodating chamber, and the front end portion thereof is provided. Is provided with a tapered surface for introducing a mating tab. Therefore, the connection terminal can be easily inserted from the front side of the terminal accommodating chamber, and even if the connector housing is obliquely inserted and fitted into the mating connector due to the large fitting gap between the connector housing and the mating connector. With the flexible wall, the mating tab can be easily and surely introduced into the connection terminal. Therefore, the assembling and fitting work of the connector can be remarkably improved and the reliability can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view showing an embodiment of a housing structure of a connector of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the completed assembly state in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram in FIG.

5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a housing structure of a conventional connector.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the completed state of assembly in FIG.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory diagram of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of a housing structure of another conventional connector.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a completed assembly state in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 connector 2 connector housing 3 terminal accommodating chamber 4 top wall 5 housing lance (flexible wall) 6 housing front end 7 taper surface 8 bottom wall 9 protrusion 10 positioning means 11 first locking groove 12 second locking groove 13 second 3 Locking groove 18 Notches 18a, 18b Deflection prevention wall 19 Thin portion 30 Electric wire 31 Connection terminal 32 Bottom plate 33 Stabilizer 34 Contact fitting part 35 Top plate 36 Lance piece 37 Lifting prevention piece 41 Opposite tab

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A housing structure of a connector, wherein a connection terminal for connecting an electric wire is inserted from a front side of a connector housing having a terminal accommodating chamber, and is fixed at a predetermined position by a positioning means in the terminal accommodating chamber. A housing structure for a connector, characterized in that a flexible wall is provided at a front portion of a top wall of the connector, the flexible wall having an anti-flexing portion for preventing inward bending. 2. The housing structure for a connector according to claim 1, wherein a taper surface for introducing a mating tab is provided at a front end portion of the flexible wall. 3. The flexible wall flexes outward at a thin portion formed by a notch provided inside the ceiling wall, and prevents inward flexure by abutting both end surfaces of the notch. The housing structure for a connector according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The housing structure for a connector according to claim 1, wherein the bending prevention portion is a bending prevention wall which is both end surfaces of the cut.