JPH09213402A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely lock a connection terminal by eliminating a locking lance. SOLUTION: A bent surface for moving the rear facing projection 26 of a connection terminal 14 forward and downward and a locking groove for locking the rear facing projection are provided on the front side of a rear locking part 55 provided in a rear holder 12. The rear top wall 39 of a terminal housing room receives the connection terminal 14 in its inclined state, the rear side of a flexible intermediate top wall 38 is bent outward and the connection terminal 14 is held horizontally by a front top wall 37. In the locking position of the rear holder 12, the inclined connection terminal 14 is received with the rear locking part 55 while the intermediate top wall 38 is distorted to the outside, the intermediate top wall 38 is restored after the rear facing projection 26 of the connection terminal 14 enters the front side of the rear locking part 55 and then the connection terminal 14 is pressed downward. Thus, the rear facing projection of the connection terminal is slid on the front bent surface of the rear locking part 55 and moved forward and the connection terminal 14 is placed in a horizontal state and fitted in the locking groove.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector which is used for electric wiring of, for example, an automobile and has a locking portion for preventing the housed connection terminal from coming out backward.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional connector of this type is usually provided with a flexible locking lance for locking the contained connection terminal. The locking lance is often provided integrally, but may be provided on a separate rear holder.

For example, the sectional view seen from the side of FIG. 7 and the exploded perspective view of FIG. 8 show the latter case, in which the rear holder 2 is movably engaged with the terminal accommodating chamber 1a of the housing 1 in the front-rear direction. The rear holder 2 is locked to the housing 1 at a two-step position by an engaging means (not shown). The first position is a temporary engagement position in which the rear holder 2 is partially inserted into the housing 1, and the second position is a main engagement position in which the rear holder 2 is completely pushed into the housing 1. .

By thus arranging the rear holder 2 in two stages of temporary engagement and final engagement, the housing 1 and the rear holder 2 are temporarily engaged before the connection terminal 3 is housed.
Further, there is an advantage that the connection terminal 3 to which the electric wire 3a is attached can be inserted into the housing 1 through the rear holder 2 at the temporary engagement position.

At the temporary engagement position, the connection terminal 3 is inserted into the terminal holding chamber 2a, and the protrusion 2c of the locking lance 2b is fitted into the fitting hole 3b provided at the bottom of the connection terminal 3. When the rear holder 2 is pushed into the housing 1 from this state to reach the main engagement position, the tip 2d of the locking lance 2b rides on the guide 1b of the housing 1,
The locking force of the locking lance 2b is reinforced.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, since the connection terminal 3 is locked by the elastic force of the locking lance 2b, the mold cost for molding the locking lance 2b becomes large. In addition to the points, the connection terminal 3
When pulling out, there is a problem that a jig for removing the locking lance 2b from the connection terminal 3 is required. In addition,
These problems also occur when the locking lance is integrally provided in the housing.

An object of the present invention is to provide a connector in which a connection terminal can be easily inserted and which can surely lock the connection terminal without using a locking lance.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, a connector according to the present invention is configured such that a rear holder for locking a connection terminal is movably fitted from a rear portion of a housing,
In the connector in which the rear holder and the housing are engaged with each other at a temporary engagement position in which the rear holder is inserted up to an intermediate position and a main engagement position in which the rear holder is sufficiently pushed, a connection terminal mounting portion of the rear holder is provided. A rear locking portion that restricts the rearward movement of the connection terminal is provided, and a front surface of the rear locking portion is a curved surface that slides a rear portion of an intermediate portion of the connection terminal forward and downward, and the housing has the connection portion. A terminal accommodating chamber for accommodating the terminals is provided, and the rear ceiling wall of the terminal accommodating chamber receives the connection terminal in an inclined state when the rear holder is in the temporary engagement position, and the intermediate ceiling wall of the terminal accommodating chamber is flexible. When the rear holder is flexible and elastically bends outward when the rear holder is in the temporary engagement position, the connection terminal in an inclined state is received between the rear holder and the rear engagement portion, and the connection end is formed. Is urged so as to restore after entering a predetermined position to lock the intermediate portion of the connection terminal, and the front ceiling wall of the terminal accommodating chamber holds the intermediate portion of the connection terminal in a horizontal state, and the rear holder Is pushed in to fix the connection terminal at the main engagement position.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the housing 11 and the rear holder 12, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the housing 11 with the rear holder 12 temporarily engaged. The synthetic resin rear holder 12 is attached to the rear portion of the synthetic resin housing 11. The connection terminal 14 with the electric wire 13 is housed in the housing 11. Connection terminal 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a square metal terminal connecting portion 21 which is formed of a conductive metal plate and which sequentially connects unillustrated mating connecting terminals from the front.
And a stabilizer piece 22 for stabilizing the connection terminal 14,
The core wire crimping portion 23 for crimping the core wire of the electric wire 13, and the electric wire 13
And a coating crimping portion 24 for crimping the coating.
Further, a projection 25 and a rearward projection 26 are provided on the top surface of the terminal connecting portion 21.

The housing 11 is formed symmetrically in the vertical and horizontal directions except for the locking mechanism 31 with the mating connector housing on the upper wall. The inside of the housing 11 is partitioned on the left and right by a large number of partitions 32, and a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 33
Are formed in upper and lower two stages. A slit 34 is formed in the partition 32 in the middle between the upper and lower sides, and the front portion of the slit 34 partitions the upper and lower partitions 3 in the front portion of the terminal accommodating chamber 33.
5 is set. A front projection 36 that restricts the forward movement of the connection terminal 14 is formed at the front end of the terminal accommodating chamber 33, and a thin projection 35 a is formed at the rear ends of the upper and lower partition walls 35.

The interval between the partitions 32 is set to a size that prevents the connecting terminal 14 from moving laterally, and the height of the front ceiling wall 37 is
It is sized to prevent the terminal connection portion 21 of the connection terminal 14 from moving up and down. Intermediate ceiling wall 3 extending from the front ceiling wall 37
Reference numeral 8 denotes a flexible thin plate having a slit provided for each terminal accommodating chamber 33, and its rear portion is curved outward. The height of the rear ceiling wall 39 extending from the middle ceiling wall 38 is made sufficiently larger than that of the front ceiling wall 37, and the rear surface of the rear ceiling wall 39 has an inclined surface 3 that becomes higher rearward.
9a are formed. And the outermost partition 32a
A gap 41 is provided between the side wall 40 and the side wall 40.
2 and a locking groove 43 into which a locking projection of the rear holder 12 described later is introduced from the inside.

On the other hand, the rear holder 12 has a housing 11
There are provided side plates 51 on both sides that fit into the gap 41, and a connecting plate 52 that connects the side plates 51 and enters the slit 34 of the housing 11. At the front end of the connecting plate 52, the end face concave portion 5 into which the thin protrusions 35a of the upper and lower partition walls 35 fit
2a and the upper surface recess 5 into which the protrusion 25 of the connection terminal 14 is fitted.
2b are provided. On the outer surface of the side plate 51, a lock projection 53 that fits into the lock groove 43 of the housing 11 and a guide projection 54 that fits into the guide window 42 of the housing 11 are provided.

Further, on the upper and lower surfaces of the connecting plate 52, there are provided rear projections 55 which are projecting and which enter the terminal accommodating chamber 33 of the housing 11 and lock the connection terminals 14. As shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 3, the front end surface of the rear locking portion 55 is a curved surface 55a that slides the rearward-facing projection 26 of the connection terminal 14 forward and downward, and the rearward-facing projection is formed at the lower portion of the curved surface 55a. A locking groove 55b for locking 26 is formed. The rear portion of the upper surface of the rear locking portion 55 is an inclined surface 55c, and guide grooves 55d for guiding the stabilizer pieces 22 are formed on both side surfaces of the rear portion of the rear locking portion 55, and a front wall of the guide groove 55d is formed. It is a locking surface 55e that locks the front edge of the stabilizer piece 22. Here, the distance between the inner surface of the intermediate ceiling wall 38 in the free state and the rear locking portion 55 at the temporary engagement position of the rear holder 12 is between the rear locking portion 55 while the intermediate ceiling wall 38 flexes outward. The connection terminal 14 is received in an inclined state.

The housing 11 and the rear holder 12 formed in this way have a temporary engagement position where the rear holder 12 is inserted into the rear portion of the housing 11 up to the middle, and the rear holder 1
2 are engaged with the housing 11 at the fully engaged position which is sufficiently pushed.

When the connection terminal 14 with the electric wire 13 is housed in the housing 11, as shown in FIG.
When 2 is in the temporary locking position with respect to the housing 11,
The connection terminal 14 is press-fitted into the terminal accommodating chamber 33 in an inclined state.
At this time, the side plate 51 of the rear holder 12 is attached to the housing 11
Of the rear holder 12, and the locking protrusion 53 and the guide protrusion 54 of the rear holder 12 are fitted into the gap 41 of the housing 11 and the guide window 42.
Fit in each. Then, at the main engagement position of the rear holder 12, the guide protrusion 54 contacts the front wall of the guide window 42, and the lock protrusion 53 fits into the lock groove 43.

With the insertion of the connection terminal 14, the intermediate ceiling wall 3
8 is a terminal connecting portion 21 while bending outward as shown in FIG.
Is received between the rear locking portion 55. At this time, since a slit communicating from the terminal accommodating chamber 33 to the outside is provided in the intermediate ceiling wall 38 along the partition 32, the intermediate ceiling wall 3 is formed.
8 is easily bent in each terminal accommodating chamber 33.

When the rearward projection 26 of the connection terminal 14 enters the curved surface 55a of the rear locking portion 55, the intermediate ceiling wall 38 is restored to urge the connection terminal 14 downward, and the rearward projection 26 is formed.
Slide forward and downward. As a result, the feel of the connection terminal 14 advancing naturally when being pushed is obtained, the rear portion of the connection terminal 14 moves in the direction B, and the connection terminal 14 becomes horizontal as shown in FIG. At the same time, the rearward projection 2
6 fits into the locking groove 55b, and the projection 25 of the connection terminal 14 fits into the upper recess 52b of the rear holder. At this time, since the intermediate ceiling wall 38 is restored to the original position, the connection terminal 1
4 does not easily return to the tilted state.

When the rear holder 12 is pushed sufficiently into the housing 11 from this state, the rear holder 12 moves to the main engagement position as shown in FIG. 6, and the terminal connecting portion 21 is divided into the upper and lower partition walls 35 and the front ceiling wall 37. The front end abuts on the front projection 36 while fitting in between. Further, the thin projection 35a of the housing 11 is fitted into the end surface recess 52a of the rear holder 12. At this time, the guide protrusion 54 of the rear holder 12 contacts the front wall of the guide window 42, and the locking protrusion 53 of the rear holder 12 is locked.
Fits into the locking groove 43 of the housing 11.

As described above, in the embodiment, the intermediate ceiling wall 38 of the housing 11 is flexible, and at the temporary engagement position of the rear holder 12, the intermediate ceiling wall 38 is bent outward while the connecting terminal 14 is inclined. The terminal connecting part 21 of the rear holder 12 is received between the rear locking part 55 and the rear locking part 55, and the intermediate top wall 38 is restored after the connecting terminal 14 enters the predetermined position, so that the connecting terminal 1
4 can be moved forward to lock the terminal connecting portion 21 to the rear locking portion 55.

In this embodiment, since it is not necessary to form a conventional locking lance on the housing 11, the shape and structure of the housing 11 can be simplified and the cost of the mold can be reduced. Further, when pulling out the connection terminal 14 from the terminal accommodating chamber 33, the connection terminal 14 is lifted in an inclined state against the biasing force of the intermediate ceiling wall 38, and the connection terminal 14 and the rear locking portion 55 are locked. Since the state can be released, a conventional jig for removing the locking lance from the connection terminal 14 is unnecessary.

Further, since the connecting terminal 14 is urged downward by the intermediate ceiling wall 38, the connecting terminal 14 can be prevented from returning to the inclined state, and the rear portion of the terminal connecting portion 21 of the connecting terminal 14 is locked backward. The part 55 can be securely locked.

[0022]

As described above, in the connector according to the present invention, the rear holder has a curved surface that allows the rear portion of the terminal connecting portion of the connecting terminal to slide forward and downward, and is retained at the rear portion of the terminal connecting portion by locking the curved surface. Is provided with a rear locking part that restricts movement to
The intermediate top wall of the terminal accommodating chamber is flexible, and the connection terminal is restored after entering into a predetermined position, and the rear portion of the terminal connection portion is slid along the curved surface of the rear locking portion and locked to the rear locking portion. Thus, when the connection terminal is inserted to some extent in the terminal accommodating chamber, the connection terminal naturally advances and becomes horizontal, so that the connection terminal can be reliably locked to the rear locking portion. Further, it is possible to eliminate the need to form a conventional locking lance, simplify the shape and structure, and reduce the die cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a housing and a rear holder.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state where a rear holder is temporarily engaged with the housing.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of a rear locking portion.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the operation when inserting the connection terminal.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which a connection terminal is inserted.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a rear holder is fully engaged with the housing.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional example.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Housing 12 Rear Holder 14 Connection Terminal 21 Terminal Connection Part 22 Stabilizer Piece 26 Rearward Protrusion 33 Terminal Housing Chamber 34 Slit 38 Intermediate Top Wall 52 Connecting Plate 55 Rear Locking Part 55a Curved Surface 55b Locking Groove

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rear holder for locking a connection terminal is movably fitted from a rear portion of a housing, and the rear holder and the housing are provided with a temporary engagement position where the rear holder is inserted up to an intermediate position, and the rear holder sufficiently. In the connector which is engaged with the main engagement position pushed in, the rear terminal of the rear holder is provided with a rear locking portion for restricting the rearward movement of the connection terminal. The front surface is a curved surface that slides the rear part of the middle part of the connection terminal forward and downward, the housing is provided with a terminal accommodating chamber for accommodating the connection terminal, and the rear top wall of the terminal accommodating chamber has the rear holder as the temporary holder. When the connection terminal is in the engagement position, the connection terminal is received in an inclined state, and the intermediate top wall of the terminal accommodating chamber is flexible and elastically outward when the rear holder is in the temporary engagement position. The connection terminal in an inclined state is received between the rear locking portion and the rear locking portion while being biased so as to restore after the connection terminal enters a predetermined position and lock the intermediate portion of the connection terminal. The connector is characterized in that the front ceiling wall of the terminal accommodating chamber holds the intermediate portion of the connection terminal in a horizontal state and pushes the rear holder to fix the connection terminal at the main engagement position.