JPH11238541A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the deformation or the breakage of a detecting pin by increasing the strength of the detecting pin for detecting the insertion of a terminal into the proper position with respect to a connector housing. SOLUTION: A connector has a connector housing 23, in which a terminal housing 34 into which a terminal 24 is inserted is formed, a terminal insertion opening 33 into which a mating terminal is inserted, provided in the position which communicates with the terminal housing 34 in a front wall part 28 of the connector housing 23, and a detecting pin insertion housing 43 provided in the front wall part 28 of the connector housing 23 independent of the terminal insertion opening 33, in order to detect the insertion of the terminal 24 to the proper position in the terminal housing 34. The detecting pin insertion opening 43 can be made large, and a detecting pin having a large diameter and high strength can be used.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector having a function of detecting that a terminal has been inserted into a proper position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A connector is provided with a locking claw in a terminal receiving chamber into which a terminal is inserted. The locking claw locks the terminal inserted into the terminal receiving chamber to prevent the terminal from coming off. Is going. The locking claw is provided so as to have elasticity in a locking direction with the terminal inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber. When the terminal is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, a frictional force is applied to the terminal from the locking claw. Works. Therefore, the terminal may be pseudo-prevented by the frictional force, and it may be mistaken that the insertion of the terminal is completed despite the incomplete insertion.

However, it is not preferable that the terminal is not inserted in the proper position, because the terminal may come off when the connector is used. For this reason, a connector has been developed which can detect whether or not the terminal is inserted at a regular position.

FIGS. 5 to 11 show a conventional connector described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-254449 having such a function. As shown in FIG. 5, this connector has a plurality of terminal insertion ports 3 in which mating terminals (not shown) are inserted in a front wall portion 2 of a connector housing 1 in an aligned manner. The terminal receiving chamber 4 communicates with the back side of the terminal.

[0007] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the terminal housing 4 is adapted to receive the terminal 5 therein, and has a locking claw 6 provided therein. The locking claw 6 has a base end portion connected to the connector housing 1 and has elasticity which can be restored by a free end portion of the front end portion. The locking claw 6 is elastically locked to the terminal 5 to prevent the terminal 5 from coming out of the terminal accommodating chamber 4.

The terminal accommodating chamber 4 for such a connector
An inspection device 7 shown in FIG. 8 is used to detect the insertion of the terminal 5 at the proper position. The inspection device 7 is configured by arranging an inspection table 9 for inspection and a connector support table 10 for holding the connector housing 1 on a base 8.

The inspection table 9 has a detection pin 11 and a check pin 12 urged toward a connector support table 10 by a spring (not shown). By operating the handle 13, the inspection table 9 is slid forward in the direction of the connector support table 10.
Then, the check pin 12 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 4 of the connector housing 1 held by the connector support base 10.

The detection pin 11 and the check pin 12
10 and 11, a pin insertion port 14 is formed in the front wall portion 2 of the connector housing 1 as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the pin insertion port 14 is formed integrally with the terminal insertion port 3 so as to communicate with the terminal insertion port 3. In this case, it is necessary to prevent the mating terminal from entering the terminal accommodating chamber 4 from the pin insertion port 14, and therefore, the pin insertion port 14 has a smaller width than the terminal insertion port 3 into which the mating terminal is inserted. ing.

When the detection pin 11 is inserted through the pin insertion port 14, the contact piece 1 inside the contact portion 15 of the terminal 5 is inserted.
6 is contacted by being pressed, and by conducting in this contact state, it is detected whether or not the terminal 5 is inserted in a proper position. At this time, the check pin 12 sinks below the terminal 5 to support the terminal 5.

In addition, an inspection when the detection pin 11 cannot be pressed against the end face of the terminal 5 will be described. In this case, the inspection is performed by making the detection pin 11 the same size as the counterpart terminal and pushing the detection pin 11 between the contact piece 16 and the contact portion 15 of the terminal 5.

[0011]

However, in the conventional connector, since the detecting pin 11 is pressed against or pushed into the contact piece 16 of the terminal 5, a load acts on the contact piece 16 to make contact. The piece 16 is deformed or damaged. As a result, there is a problem that the conduction performance between the contact piece 16 and the partner terminal is impaired.

Further, as the size of the connector is reduced, the size of the detection pin 11 becomes thinner, so that the strength of the detection pin 11 is reduced, and the detection pin 11 is easily deformed or damaged.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a connector capable of preventing a contact piece of a terminal from being deformed and damaged when detecting insertion of a terminal into a proper position, and preventing deformation and damage of a detection pin. The purpose is to provide.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a connector housing in which a terminal housing chamber into which a terminal is inserted is formed, and the terminal housing in a front wall portion of the connector housing. A terminal insertion port provided at a position communicating with the chamber and into which a mating terminal is inserted; and a front of the connector housing separately and independently of the terminal insertion port for detecting insertion of a terminal into the terminal accommodating chamber at a proper position. And a detection pin insertion port provided in the wall portion.

According to the present invention, for the terminal inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, the detecting pin is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber from the detecting pin insertion opening formed in the front wall portion of the connector housing, and the terminal is inserted into the proper position. Is detected.

The detection pin insertion port is separate and independent from the terminal insertion port into which the counterpart terminal is inserted, so that the counterpart terminal is not erroneously inserted from the detection pin insertion port, and it is necessary to consider the insertion of the counterpart terminal. There is no. For this reason, the detection pin insertion opening can be enlarged, and a detection pin that is thick and has high strength that matches the detection pin insertion opening can be used. Therefore, deformation and breakage of the detection pin can be prevented.

Further, the detection pin can be inserted from the detection pin insertion opening so as to be in contact with the end face of the terminal, so that the detection pin is not pressed against or pushed into the contact piece of the terminal, thereby preventing the deformation and breakage of the contact piece. be able to.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the detection pin insertion port is provided at a position facing an end face of the terminal inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber. I do.

According to the present invention, since the detection pin insertion port faces the end face of the terminal, the detection pin inserted from the detection pin insertion port reliably contacts the end face of the terminal. Therefore, the detection pin does not come into contact with the contact piece of the terminal, and no load acts on the contact piece, so that deformation and breakage of the contact piece can be prevented.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the terminal inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber has a rectangular cylindrical contact portion into which a mating terminal is inserted. The insertion port is provided at a position facing the distal end surface of the contact portion.

In the present invention, since the detection pin insertion port faces the contact portion of the terminal having a rectangular cylindrical shape, the detection pin comes into contact with the distal end face of the rectangular cylindrical contact portion. For this reason, the detection pin does not enter the inside of the contact portion, and no load acts on the contact piece inside the contact portion. Therefore, deformation and breakage of the contact piece can be reliably prevented.

[0022]

FIG. 1 shows a connector 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention. A connector housing 23 is formed by a housing main body 21 and a front holder 22 mounted on the front side of the housing main body 21. I have.

The front holder 22 includes upper and lower walls 26, 2
7 and a front wall portion 28 vertically connected to the front side of the upper and lower wall portions 26 and 27, and is formed in a U-shape with left and right side surfaces and a rear portion opened. On the housing body 21 side of the upper and lower walls 26 and 27, an excessive displacement prevention plate 29 is provided as shown in FIG. Excessive displacement prevention plate 2
Numeral 9 prevents excessive displacement of the locking claw 32 described later to the outside.

Further, a locking claw deflection preventing plate 30 is provided on the upper and lower walls 26 and 27 in front of the excessive displacement preventing plate 29. The locking claw bending prevention piece 30 prevents the bending of the locking claw 32 and locks the locking claw 32 to the terminal 24 by mounting the front holder 22 to the housing main body 21. Further, a terminal pressing plate 31 for preventing the terminal 24 from floating is provided in front of the locking claw deflection preventing plate 30.

A terminal insertion port 33 into which a mating terminal (not shown) is inserted is provided in the front wall portion 28 of the front holder 22.
Is open. A plurality of terminal insertion openings 33 are provided in two upper and lower stages, and a plurality of terminals are arranged in each stage so that a plurality of terminals are arranged. In this embodiment, the terminal insertion opening 33 has a rectangular shape that matches the outer shape of a contact portion 37 of the terminal 24 described later.

Such a front holder 22 is assembled with the housing main body 21 by being slid from between the left and right side walls 25 of the housing main body 21 to form the connector housing 23.

As shown in FIG. 4, a terminal housing chamber 34 communicating with the terminal insertion port 33 of the front holder 22 is formed in the housing body 21 so as to correspond to the terminal insertion port 33. The terminal accommodating chamber 34 accommodates the terminal 24 when the terminal 24 is inserted.

The terminal accommodating chamber 34 is provided with a locking claw 32. The locking claw 32 has elasticity that can be restored by its base end (rear end) being connected to the housing body 21 and its tip end being a free end. The locking claw 32 is locked to the terminal 24 inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 34, thereby preventing the terminal 24 from coming out of the terminal accommodating chamber 34.

The terminal 24 is formed by punching and pressing a conductive plate. As shown in FIG. 2, a crimping portion 35, a connecting portion 36, and a contact portion 37 are sequentially provided from the rear side. The crimping part 35 fixes the electric wire 38 by being crimped to the electric wire 38, and the connecting part 36 conducts the electric wire 38 to the terminal 24 by being crimped to the core wire 39 of the electric wire 38, and the contact part 37 By inserting the mating terminal, the terminal 24 is electrically connected to the mating terminal.

In this embodiment, the contact portion 37 is formed as shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), the outer wall portion 40 has a rectangular cylindrical shape, and a contact piece 41 provided inside the outer wall portion 40. The upper surface 41a of the contact piece 41 is in contact with the lower surface of the outer wall 40 by bending. The distal end 41b of the contact piece 41 is curved downward from the upper surface 41a, and the distal end 41b is folded back to form an elastic lower surface 41c. Lower surface part 41 having elasticity
Has advanced into the contact portion 37 and elastically contacts the counterpart terminal inserted into the contact portion 37. In this case, the contact piece 41 is attached to the outer wall section 40 so that the curved tip section 41b is located on the back side of the distal end face 40a of the outer wall section 40. It is provided inside and is not exposed outside.

In such a connector 20, a circular detection pin insertion opening 43 into which the detection pin 42 (see FIG. 4) is inserted is formed in the front wall portion 28 of the front holder 22. The detection pin 42 is the terminal 2 inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 34.
4 is for detecting whether or not 4 is at a regular position. Therefore, the detection pin insertion port 43 into which the detection pin 42 is inserted is
As shown in FIG. 1, it is provided so as to correspond to the terminal insertion port 33 communicating with the terminal accommodating chamber 34. The detection pin insertion port 43 is provided at a position close to the corresponding terminal insertion port 33, but is formed separately and independently from the terminal insertion port 33. Therefore, the mating terminal and the detection pin 42 are inserted from the separate insertion ports 33 or 43, respectively.

By providing the detection pin insertion port 43 independently of the terminal insertion port 33 in this way, it is possible to prevent a partner terminal from being erroneously inserted from the detection pin insertion port 43. Therefore, there is no need to consider insertion of the partner terminal, and the detection pin insertion opening 43 can be enlarged. Therefore,
The detection pin 42 can have a thickness corresponding to the detection pin insertion opening 43, and the detection pin 42 having a large strength can be used. Thereby, the detection pin 42 is deformed,
In addition to preventing the detection pin 42 from being damaged, it is possible to prevent a detection error caused by an inspection performed without noticing that the detection pin 42 is deformed or damaged.

The detection pin 42 is attached to an inspection table 45 of the inspection device 44, and is urged in the direction of the connector 1 by an urging spring 46 provided in the inspection table 45 as shown in FIG. . With this bias, the detection pin 42 is securely pressed against the terminal 24, and it is possible to detect whether or not the terminal 24 is at the proper position.

In this embodiment, the detection pin insertion port 4
As shown in FIG. 4, 3 is provided so as to face the distal end surface of the outer wall portion 40 in the contact portion 37 of the terminal 24. By providing the detection pin insertion port 43 at such a position,
The detection pin 42 inserted from the detection pin insertion opening 43 is pressed against the distal end surface 40a of the outer wall 40, and does not interfere with the contact piece 41 inside the outer wall 40. Therefore, since the load from the detection pin 42 does not act on the contact piece 41, it is possible to prevent the contact piece 41 from being deformed or damaged by the load.

[0035]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the detection pin insertion port is independent of the terminal insertion port, and the counterpart terminal is erroneously inserted from the detection pin insertion port. Because there is no need to consider insertion of the partner terminal,
The detection pin insertion opening can be enlarged. Therefore, a large and strong detection pin can be used in accordance with the detection pin insertion port, and thereby deformation and breakage of the detection pin can be prevented.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the detection pin insertion port faces the end face of the terminal, the detection pin inserted from the detection pin insertion port contacts the end face of the terminal, and the detection pin contacts the terminal. Without contact with the piece, deformation and breakage of the contact piece can be prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the detection pin insertion port faces the contact portion of the rectangular cylindrical terminal, the detection pin comes into contact with the distal end face of the contact portion, and the inside of the contact portion is formed. , And deformation and breakage of the contact piece can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a terminal used in one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a contact portion of a terminal.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional connector.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing detection of a terminal normal position with respect to a conventional connector.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing another detection of a terminal normal position.

FIG. 8 is a side view of an inspection device for inspecting a normal position of a terminal.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a terminal insertion port in a conventional connector.

FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a terminal insertion opening in a conventional connector.

FIG. 11 is still another cross-sectional view for detecting a normal position of a terminal in a conventional connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Connector 23 Connector housing 24 Terminal 25 Terminal accommodating chamber 28 Front wall part 32 Locking claw 33 Terminal insertion port 41 Contact piece 42 Detection pin 43 Detection pin insertion port

Claims (3)

[Claims] A connector housing in which a terminal accommodating chamber into which a terminal is inserted is formed; and a terminal insertion port provided in a front wall portion of the connector housing at a position communicating with the terminal accommodating chamber, into which a mating terminal is inserted. And a detection pin insertion port provided on a front wall portion of the connector housing separately and independently from the terminal insertion port for detecting insertion of a terminal into the terminal accommodating chamber at a regular position. And connectors. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the detection pin insertion port is provided at a position facing an end face of the terminal inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber. 3. The invention according to claim 2, wherein the terminal inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber has a rectangular cylindrical contact portion into which a mating terminal is inserted, and the detection pin insertion opening is A connector provided at a position facing a tip end surface of a contact portion.