JPH1040992A - Disconnection locking structure for terminal fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform disconnection locking of terminal fitting securely. SOLUTION: A lance 32 formed by cut-out/raise-up in terminal fitting 21 is previously bent outward. Meanwhile, a locking protrusive part 34 against which a tip end of the lance 32 is striked is formed within a cavity 30 of a connector housing 33 into which the terminal fitting 21 is inserted while a deformation control protrusive part 35 is formed therewithin which prevents the lance 32 from being bent excessively by making hitting contact with a back surface center position of the bent lance 32. With this, even if a wire 22 joinned to the terminal fitting 21 is jerked, the lance 32 is prevented from buckling toward the inside and furthermore its excessive bending in the opposite direction to the inside is also controlled because the deformation control protrusive part 35 is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure for retaining terminal fittings assembled in a cavity of a connector housing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a structure for retaining terminal fittings incorporated in a cavity, a structure is generally used in which a lance is formed on the terminal fitting and this is abutted against a step on the wall surface of the cavity to be locked. In this case, the lance is formed by cutting and raising a part of the terminal fitting obliquely in the direction in which the terminal fitting is extracted. Therefore, when an external force is applied to the terminal fitting in the pulling-out direction, the lance is opposed to the terminal metal by extending the lance against the step.

[0003]

However, with the above structure, when an extremely large external force acts, such as when the electric wire is forcibly pulled, the lance will buckle on the way. There was a fear. The buckling of the lance results in the terminal fitting being pulled out, and the state during this time will be specifically described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

The lance 11 is moved from a state in which the lance 11 is abutted against the side surface of the locking projection 13 of the housing 12 (a state shown by a solid line in FIG. 4) by an unreasonable pulling operation (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4). The part gradually deforms in the upright direction while sliding upward on the side surface, and the tip part is the cavity 14.
(The state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4). Further, when a force is applied in the pulling-out operation direction from this state, the lance 11 moves from the state in which
Almost the center begins to bend downward (the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 5), the degree of its curvature gradually increases (the state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5), and finally it is bent to a U-shape. As a result, the lance 11 passes through the locking projection 13.

On the other hand, in order to reliably prevent the terminal fitting from being removed from the cavity, as shown in FIG. 3, an engaging hole 4 is provided in both side walls 3 of the terminal fitting 2, and an upper end portion of the lance 1 (in FIG. At the left end), there is provided a protruding piece (not shown because it protrudes in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface in the figure, and the protruding piece is engaged with the upper edge of the engaging hole 4 (particularly). Terminal fittings disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 7-320809). However, in this configuration, although the lance effectively acts to regulate (deformation) in the upright direction from the normal locked state, even if the lance can be regulated in the upright direction, the center of the lance may be restricted. Since it is not possible to regulate that the area is bent downward (deformation), the center of the lance starts to bend downward directly with the deformation in the upright direction restricted, and as a result, the lance passes through the locking projection. The terminal fitting may be pulled out. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a structure effective for preventing terminal fittings from coming off.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a part of a terminal fitting inserted into a cavity of a connector housing is locked in a direction in which the terminal fitting is removed. A piece is cut and raised obliquely, and the tip of the locking piece abuts against a locking receiving portion formed on the wall surface of the cavity, thereby preventing the terminal metal from being removed from the cavity. The locking piece is incorporated into the cavity in an outwardly curved state in advance, while the wall of the cavity abuts on the locking piece to restrict excessive bending deformation of the locking piece. A deformation restricting portion is formed. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the deformation restricting portion is formed so as to come into contact with the locking piece over a predetermined length range from a distal end side thereof. Is what you do.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the locking piece is incorporated in a state of being bent outward in advance, even if the terminal fitting is pulled in the pulling-out direction, the locking piece is locked. Although the piece deforms in a direction to increase the outward bending, it does not generate an inward deformation, that is, a deformation that allows the terminal fitting to come off. When the locking piece is to be bent outward beyond a certain amount, the locking piece is restricted by the contact between the locking piece and the deformation restricting portion, so that excessive deformation is also controlled and an effective retaining is realized. . According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the deformation restricting portion is formed so as to substantially follow the curved shape of the locking piece, it is more effective in controlling the bending of the locking piece.

[0008]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a terminal fitting retaining structure according to the present invention. The terminal fitting 21 of the present embodiment is formed by continuously forming a lance forming part 24 and a contact part 25 that comes into contact with a counterpart terminal on the tip side of a barrel part 23 to which the terminal of the electric wire 22 is caulked.

The barrel portion 23 comprises an insulation barrel portion 26 for caulking the coated end of the electric wire 22 and a wire barrel portion 27 for caulking the core wire stripped from the coated end of the electric wire 22. It is composed of two caulking pieces to be opened (FIG. 1 shows a state where the caulking pieces are caulked).

The lance forming portion 24 is formed in a box shape having an open upper surface, and has a side wall 28 extending along the length direction.
, A stabilizer 29 is formed to protrude upward in a state where the stabilizer 29 is opposed to an end portion (the left end portion in FIG. 1) on the side connected to the barrel portion 23. Each of the stabilizers 29 engages with a groove (formed on the back side of the locking projection 34 in FIG. 1) formed along the length direction on both sides of the locking projection 34 described later, and connects the terminal fitting 21. It serves to guide to a regular position in the cavity 30. Further, a lance 32 is formed between the side walls 28 so as to bend and deform in the vertical direction in the drawing by cutting and raising a part of the bottom surface upward. That is, the lance 32 is cut and raised upward obliquely rearward from an end (the right end in FIG. 1) on the side connected to the contact portion 25, and is bent upward in a natural state so as to be bowed. It is preformed in a state.

On the other hand, a cavity 30 for assembling the terminal fitting 21 is formed in the connector housing 33. The cavity 30 is formed in a square hole shape, and one opening end is a terminal mounting port 30 a for mounting the terminal fitting 21. A locking projection 34 is formed on the ceiling surface at a predetermined depth from the terminal mounting port 30a. The terminal assembly port 30a of the locking projection 34
The end on the side (the left end in FIG. 1) is cut obliquely to form a guide surface 34a, and the lance 32 of the terminal fitting 21 is formed.
Into the inside of the locking projection 34. Also, the end of the locking projection 34 opposite to the terminal assembling opening 30a (FIG. 1).
Middle, right end) is abutment surface 3 that is almost perpendicular to the ceiling surface
4b, the tip of the lance 32 inserted inside the locking projection 34 in a state where the terminal fitting 21 is assembled is abutted here.

Further, a deformation restricting portion 35 is formed on the ceiling surface inside (to the right in FIG. 1) of the locking convex portion 34. The deformation restricting portion 35 is set so as to come into contact with a substantially central portion of the lance 32 which is warped in a bow shape when the terminal fitting 21 is assembled in the cavity 30.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
The terminal fitting 21 is connected to the cavity 3 through the terminal mounting port 30a.
0, the lance 32 engages with the guide surface 34a of the locking projection 34 and deflects downward. It passes through and is inserted inside. Then, lance 32
Is returned from the bent state to the original state.
The tip of the second 2 engages with the abutting surface 34b of the locking projection 34. As a result, the assembling work of the terminal fitting 21 is completed, and the lance 32 is brought into contact with the abutting surface 3 of the locking projection 34.
4b, the terminal fitting 21 is prevented from being pulled out.

If the electric wire 22 connected to the barrel 23 of the terminal fitting 21 is pulled in this stopped state, the terminal fitting 21 receives a force in the pulling-out direction (the direction of arrow a in FIG. 1). Become. In such a case,
When the lance 32 buckles inward, the lance 32 passes through the locking projection 34 as described above, and comes off. However, in this embodiment, since the lance 32 is incorporated in a state of being curved outward in advance, Buckling is unlikely to occur, and conversely, outward bending is promoted. Therefore, the terminal fitting 2
Even if a strong force in the pull-out direction acts on 1, the lance 32 does not start to curve inward.

[0015] Even when the outward bending of the lance 32 progresses excessively, it is not desirable from the viewpoint of terminal holding. However, in the present embodiment, the deformation restricting portion 3
Since 5 is in contact with the substantially central portion of the lance 32, excessive bending of the lance 32 is also restricted, whereby the terminal fitting 21 is reliably prevented from coming off.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be modified as follows, for example, and these embodiments also belong to the technical scope of the present invention. (1) In the above-described embodiment, the deformation restricting portion 35 is formed in front of the locking convex portion 34 so as to abut the substantially central portion of the lance 32. However, as shown in FIG.
The lower surface of the deformation restricting portion 41 may be formed along the warped shape of No. 2 and the back surface of the lance 32 may be brought into close contact therewith. By doing so, the deformation of the lance 32 is more reliably regulated, and the effect of preventing the lance 32 from falling off is further enhanced.

(2) In the above embodiment, the lance 32 is cut and raised upward, and is brought into contact with the locking projection 34 formed on the ceiling surface. It may be configured to abut against the side wall of the concave portion formed in the recess. In this case, the lance is configured to bow downward (in a direction opposite to the pull-out direction) in a bow shape. Further, the lance 32 can be formed on the side surface of the terminal fitting. In addition, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the scope.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the entirety of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional terminal having a protruding piece for preventing standing deformation.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a deformation state of a lance (deformation in an upright direction) in the related art.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a deformation state of a lance (a deformation in a direction deviating from a locked state) in the related art.

[Description of Signs] 21 ... Terminal fitting 30 ... Cavity 32 ... Lance (locking piece) 33 ... Connector housing 34 ... Locking convex part (locking receiving part) 35 ... Deformation restriction part (deformation restriction part)

Claims (2)

[Claims] An engaging piece is cut obliquely in a part of a terminal fitting inserted into a cavity of a connector housing in a direction in which the terminal fitting is removed. A terminal fitting for preventing the terminal fitting from being removed from the cavity by abutting against a locking receiving portion formed on the wall surface of the terminal. A retaining structure for a terminal fitting, wherein a deformation restricting portion is formed on a wall surface of the cavity to abut against the locking piece and restrict excessive bending deformation of the locking piece, while being incorporated in a curved state. . 2. The terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein the deformation restricting portion is formed so as to come into contact with the locking piece over a predetermined length range from a distal end side thereof. Retaining structure.