JPH10321281A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve assembling workability of a connector to be attached with a cover at an insertion inlet of a terminal metal tool in the case the terminal metal tool is engaged in double. SOLUTION: A regulating part 35 is formed in a cover 30 and the regulating part 35 regulates the movement of a female terminal metal tool 20 which is normally inserted in an installation state in a connector housing 10 by engaging with the female metal tool 20. In the case the female metal tool 20 is engaged in double in the normal insertion state, no retainer besides the cover 30 is required, so that the number of parts to be assembled in the connector housing 10 is lessened and the assembling workability is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector in which a cover is attached to an insertion opening of a terminal fitting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a connector in which a terminal fitting is inserted into a cavity formed in a connector housing from a rear insertion opening and an electric wire crimped to the terminal fitting is drawn out from the insertion opening, A cover is provided at the rear end of the connector housing for the purpose of providing simple waterproofing in case high-pressure washing water is applied from the product or reducing the load on the crimping part with the terminal fitting when the wire is pulled backward. Installation has been done.

As means for reliably preventing the terminal fitting inserted into the cavity from coming off, a double locking structure in which another locking means is provided in addition to locking the lance formed in the cavity to the terminal fitting. Adopted. As a locking means for the double locking, a method of attaching a retainer to a connector housing and locking the retainer to a terminal fitting is generally used. However, when the double locking structure using the retainer is applied to the connector of the type to which the cover is attached, it is necessary to mount the cover and the retainer, which is troublesome during assembly. And the work efficiency is poor. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to improve workability of assembling a connector when a terminal fitting is double-locked in a connector in which a cover is attached to an insertion opening of the terminal fitting. It is intended to be.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector housing having a cavity in which a terminal fitting can be inserted and an opening of the cavity serving as an insertion opening of the terminal fitting. And a cover attached to the connector housing so as to cover the insertion opening, wherein the cover is engaged with the terminal fitting which is properly inserted in a state of being attached to the connector housing. Thus, a restricting portion for restricting the movement of the terminal fitting in the removal direction is formed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a mounting direction of the cover to the connector housing is the same as an inserting direction of the terminal fitting, and the terminal fitting at a half-insertion position is the cover. Is configured to be pushed to the regular insertion position by the restricting portion in conjunction with the mounting.

[0006]

Actions and effects of the present invention

<Invention of Claim 1> When the cover is attached to the connector housing, the restricting portion engages with the terminal fitting to hold the terminal fitting at the regular insertion position. When double locking the terminal fittings, there is no need to use a retainer separately from the cover,
The number of parts to be assembled in the connector housing is small, and the workability of the assembly is good.

<Invention of Claim 2> Even if the cover is attached while the terminal fitting in the half-inserted state is present, the regulating part pushes the terminal fitting in the half-inserted position to the regular insertion position, so that the terminal fitting is half. It is prevented from being left inserted.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

<First Embodiment> Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector according to the present embodiment includes a connector housing 10, a female terminal fitting 20, and a cover 30. A plurality of cavities 11 capable of accommodating the female terminal fittings 20 are provided in the connector housing 10.
Are formed in parallel in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. The front end (left end in the figure) of each cavity 11 is opened at the front end face of the connector housing 10 and serves as a receiving port 12 that allows a tab of a male terminal fitting (not shown) to enter.
On the other hand, the rear end of the cavity 11 is
0, a large opening is formed in the rear end face, and this opening is used to insert the female terminal fitting 20 into the cavity 11.
It is set to 3. The connector housing 10 is formed with a lance 14 that protrudes forward along the lower surface of the cavity 11 in a cantilever manner. The female terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the insertion port 1
When inserted from 3 to the normal position in the cavity 11,
The projection 14A of the lance 14 is engaged with a lance hole (not shown) on the lower surface of the female terminal fitting 20, so that the female terminal fitting 20 is provided.
Is restricted from moving in the return direction. Further, the front of the lance 14 is a die-cut space 15 that opens to the front of the connector housing 10. When a jig (not shown) is inserted into the die-cutting space 15 and the lance 14 is pressed down, the locking of the female terminal fitting 20 by the lance 14 is released, and the female terminal fitting 20 can be pulled backward. I have.

The female terminal fitting 20 has a box-shaped fitting portion 2 in which a tab of a male terminal fitting (not shown) is fitted from the front.
1 and an electric wire connecting portion 22 connected to the rear end of the fitting portion 21. The wire connecting portion 22 is composed of a wire barrel 23 rising from both side edges and located at a front portion, and an insulation barrel 24 rising from both side edges and located at a rear portion. The core wire 27 that has been stripped and exposed is crimped by crimping, and the resin coating 26 is crimped to the insulation barrel 24 by crimping. The insulation barrel 24 to which the resin coating 26 is crimped surrounds the side surface and the upper surface of the electric wire 25. The rear end of the portion of the insulation barrel 24 protruding above the electric wire 25 is described later. Cover 3
The receiving portion 28 is engageable with the zero regulating portion 35.
When the terminal fitting is inserted into a proper position in the cavity 11, the receiving portion 28 of the insulation barrel 24 is located deeper than the opening surface of the insertion opening 13 and extends from the rear end of the insulation barrel 24. An electric wire 25 is drawn out of the connector housing 10 from the insertion port 13 through the rear end of the cavity 11.

The cover 30 includes a plate-shaped main body 31 corresponding to the rear end surface of the connector housing 10 and a cylindrical fitting portion 32 protruding forward from the peripheral edge of the plate-shaped main body. When attaching to the connector housing 10, the cylindrical fitting portion 3
2 is fitted along the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing 10 from behind. That is, the mounting direction of the cover 30 depends on the cavity 11 of the female terminal fitting 20.
It is the same direction as the direction of insertion into. When the cover 30 is attached, the plate-shaped main body portion 31 covers the insertion opening 13 and the tubular fitting portion 32 is fitted to the outer periphery of the connector housing 10. A locking hole 33 is formed on the inner peripheral lower surface of the cylindrical fitting portion 32, and a locking projection 16 is formed on the outer peripheral lower surface of the connector housing 10.
When the cover 30 is attached to the connector housing 10, the engagement of the locking projection 16 with the locking hole 33 restricts the cover 30 from being detached from the connector housing 10. In addition,
When the cover 30 is removed, the engagement between the locking hole 33 and the locking projection 16 is released by elastically bending the cylindrical fitting portion 32, so that the cover 30 can be prevented from being pulled backward. In addition, an electric wire drawing groove 34 for drawing out the electric wire 25 to the outside of the cover 30 is formed on the lower surface of the cylindrical fitting portion 32. Further, the distance between the lower end of the rear end of the connector housing 10 and the rear end of the wire drawing groove 34 is
Is set to be slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the connector 25, so that the lead-out portion of the electric wire 25 is sandwiched between the connector housing 10 and the cover 30 to be in a state where the movement is restricted.

The cover 30 has the female terminal fitting 20 thereon.
A restricting portion 35 that can be engaged with the receiving portion 28 is formed. The restricting portion 35 cantileverly projects forward from an upper position of the plate-shaped main body 31 so as to reach the inside of the tubular fitting portion 32. The direction in which the restricting portion 35 projects depends on the mounting direction of the cover 30 to the connector housing 10 and the female terminal fitting 2.
0 is the same as the direction of insertion into the cavity 11. Regarding the protruding dimension of the regulating portion 35, the cover 3
0 is attached to the connector housing 10 and the protruding end surface of the restricting portion 35 is set to substantially abut against the receiving portion 28 of the female terminal fitting 20 from the rear in a state where the female terminal fitting 20 is at the regular insertion position. ing. Further, the height of the lower surface of the restricting portion 35 is set to a height at which the lower surface of the regulating portion 35 comes into sliding contact with the upper surface of the electric wire 25 in the cavity 11.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. When attaching the female terminal fitting 20 to the connector housing 10, the female terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the cavity 11 through the insertion opening 13. When the female terminal fitting 20 is inserted to the proper position, the lance 14 is locked in the lance hole, so that the female terminal fitting 2 is locked.
0 is held at the regular insertion position, and the primary locking state is established as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the cover 30 is attached to the rear end of the connector housing 10. Installation of the cover 30
With the electric wire 25 extending from the insertion opening 13 facing downward, the cylindrical fitting portion 3 is inserted while the electric wire drawing groove 34 is fitted into the electric wire 25.
2 along the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing 10. During the attachment, the restricting portion 35 enters the cavity 11, and the lower surface of the restricting portion 35 slides on the upper surface of the electric wire 25, so that the lifting of the electric wire 25 is restricted. When the cover 30 is mounted, if the female terminal fitting 20 is not inserted into the regular position and is in a half-inserted state, the restricting portion 35 is inserted halfway as shown in FIG. Receiving part 2 of female terminal fitting 20
8, the female terminal fitting 20 is pushed from the semi-inserted position to the regular inserted position as the fitting of the cover 30 proceeds.

[0013] When the cover 30 is in a normal mounting state, the locking projections 16 and the locking holes 33 are engaged to hold the cover 30 in the mounted state. At the same time, the distal end of the restricting portion 35 substantially comes into contact with the receiving portion 28 of the female terminal fitting 20, whereby the movement of the female terminal fitting 20 in the pull-out direction is restricted, and the secondary locking state is established. That is, by the primary locking by the lance 14 and the secondary locking by the restricting portion 35, as shown in FIG. 2, the female terminal fitting 20 is double locked in the normal insertion state. With the cover 30 attached, the cover 30 covers the rear end surface of the connector housing 10 where the insertion opening 13 is formed, and the upper surface and the left and right side surfaces of the outer periphery of the rear end portion connected to the rear end surface. Even if it is wet from behind, from above, or from the side, the simple waterproof function is exhibited, and the infiltration into the cavity 11 is prevented. Further, the electric wire 25 is bent in a J-shape inside the cover 30 at a portion extending from the insertion opening 13, and is pinched between the connector housing 10 and the cover 30 so that the movement is restricted. Pulled out. Therefore, even if a tensile force acts on the electric wire 25, the tensile force does not reach the crimped portion between the electric wire 25 and the female terminal fitting 20, and the contact reliability of the crimped portion is ensured.

As described above, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to attach a retainer separately from the cover 30 when the female terminal fitting 20 is double-locked. The number of parts to be mounted on the device can be reduced, and the workability of assembling is excellent, and the cost can be reduced. Further, even when the female terminal fitting 20 in the half-inserted state exists when the cover 30 is attached, the restricting portion 35 of the cover 30 pushes the female terminal fitting 20 in the half-inserted position to the normal insertion position. This prevents the female terminal fitting 20 from being left half-inserted.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the above embodiment, the cover is fitted in the same direction as the direction in which the terminal fittings are inserted, that is, from the rear to the front. However, according to the present invention, the cover can be placed in any of up, down, left, and right directions, that is, the terminal fittings. May be fitted from the lateral direction with respect to the insertion direction. In this case, half-insertion of the terminal fitting can be detected if the cover interferes with the terminal fitting that has not been properly inserted during the fitting.

(2) In the above embodiment, the connector in which the female terminal is inserted has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to a connector in which the male terminal is inserted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a state in which a cover is removed in a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state in which a cover is attached in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a cover is in contact with a half-inserted female terminal fitting in the first embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector housing 11 ... Cavity 13 ... Insertion opening 20 ... Female terminal fitting 30 ... Cover 35 ... Regulator

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A connector housing having a cavity into which a terminal fitting can be inserted and an opening of the cavity serving as an insertion opening of the terminal fitting, and the connector housing so as to cover the insertion opening. A cover attached to the connector housing, wherein the cover is engaged with the terminal fitting that is properly inserted in a state where the terminal fitting is attached to the connector housing, thereby restricting movement of the terminal fitting in the removal direction. A connector, wherein a restricting portion is formed. 2. The direction in which the cover is attached to the connector housing is the same as the direction in which the terminal fitting is inserted, and the terminal fitting at the half-insertion position is properly inserted into the regular insertion position by the restricting portion as the cover is attached. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is configured to be pushed.