JPH1197097A - Connector with retainer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector with retainer by which the exposure of a retainer insertion hole can be prevented, and the holding power of a terminal fitting can be improved. SOLUTION: A pair of insertion parts of different lengths are extended in parallel from a basic part of a retainer 40, and the taper faces for guiding the insertion parts respectively in the inserting direction and the oblique direction, are formed on the depth parts of a pair of insertion holes 30, 31 mounted on a housing 10 corresponding to the pair of insertion parts. When the retainer 40 is guided in the oblique direction, a locking projection 45 mounted on the retainer 40 is directly locked to a terminal fitting 20. As mentioned in the above, according to this connector, the retainer 40 can be directly locked on the terminal fitting 20, so that the terminal fitting 20 can be held with strong holding power. Further the insertion holes 30, 31 are formed on a front face of the housing 10, so that they are covered with a counterpart connector, and are not exposed to the outside.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a connector with a retainer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a connector with a retainer is a side retainer type (see Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-5870).
And a front retainer type (see Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. Hei 5-23455 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 8-250215).
In the side retainer type, as shown in FIG. 11, the retainer 3 is attached to the connector housing 1 in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the terminal fitting 2 is inserted. Therefore, the retainer insertion hole 4 is provided on the side of the connector housing 1. It is open. This type has an advantage that the retainer 3 is directly engaged with the terminal fitting 2 as shown in FIG. On the other hand, in the front retainer type, the retainer 5 is inserted into the connector housing 6 along the insertion direction of the terminal fitting 2 as shown in FIG.
A retainer insertion hole 7 for that purpose is open to the mating surface with the mating connector. This type has an advantage that the retainer insertion hole 7 is covered with the mating connector and is not exposed to the outside.

[0003]

However, heretofore, there has been no connector with a retainer that combines the advantages of both types described above.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector with a retainer, which can prevent exposure of a retainer insertion hole and has a high holding force for terminal fittings.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a terminal fitting inserted from the rear surface of a connector housing to the inside is prevented by a retainer inserted from the front surface of the connector housing into the inside. In the retainer-equipped connector that retains the retainer, the retainer insertion hole for inserting the retainer is formed in the retainer in such a manner that the retainer can be shifted in a direction crossing the terminal fitting insertion direction, and the retainer is shifted to the retainer. When the retainer is inserted between the retainer and the retainer insertion hole, the locking projection prevents the terminal fitting from slipping out. The feature is that a guide portion that shifts the retainer to a position where the retainer is provided is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the connector with the retainer according to the first aspect, wherein a base facing the front surface of the connector housing projects from a base end side of the insertion portion of the retainer into the retainer insertion hole, and the base portion. A protruding sub-insertion section shorter than the insertion section, the sub-insertion section can be inserted into a sub-insertion hole formed in the connector housing, and the guide section is provided between the tip of the insertion section and the retainer insertion hole, and , Is provided between the tip of the sub-insertion portion and the sub-insertion hole.

[0007] The third aspect of the present invention is the first or second aspect.
The connector with a retainer described in (1) above is characterized in that a region in which the locking projection moves by an operation of inserting the retainer interferes with the terminal fitting which is half-inserted into the connector housing.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the retainer is pushed into the retainer insertion hole, the guide portions provided therebetween are obliquely contacted with each other to shift the retainer, and the locking projection is formed. Faces the terminal fitting in the retaining direction. As described above, since the retainer can be directly locked to the terminal fitting, the terminal fitting can be held with a strong holding force. Moreover, since the retainer is inserted from the front of the connector housing,
The open part of the retainer insertion hole is covered with the mating connector and is not exposed to the outside. That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a connector having both advantages of the conventional side retainer type and the front retainer type.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the position where the guide portion is provided is between each end of the insertion portion and the sub-insertion portion having different lengths and each insertion hole, and is separated in the insertion direction. Because there are two positions, the retainer can be shifted stably.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, even if the retainer is to be pushed in while the terminal fitting is half-inserted, the retaining projection interferes with the terminal fitting and cannot push the retainer to the terminal fitting locking position. It can be noticed that the terminal fitting is half-inserted.

[0011]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
A description will be given based on FIG. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a connector housing (hereinafter, referred to as "housing 10"), and an end surface on the left side of the drawing forms a front surface fitted to a mating housing (not shown), and projects forward from the front surface. The mating hood portion provided in the mating housing is fitted and inserted into the space 13 between the hood portion 11 and the main body portion 12 inside the hood portion 11 to connect the two connectors. Also, the main part 1
A waterproof ring 14 is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the main body 2 and the inner peripheral surface of the counterpart hood.
Are squashed between the outer peripheral surfaces and are in close contact with both.

Inside the housing 10, a pair of cavities 15, 15 (only one is shown in the figure; see FIG. 2) is formed to penetrate in the direction of fitting with the mating connector. The rear side of the housing 10 in the cavity 15 (FIG. 1)
A male tab (not shown) of a mating connector inserted from the tab insertion port 15B opened to the front side is electrically connected to the terminal fitting 20 inserted from the terminal insertion port 15A opened to the right (right side).

The terminal fitting 20 is formed as shown in FIG. 1 by sequentially cutting and bending a conductive metal plate, and a front end face 21 A of a terminal base 21 formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape is formed in the cavity 15. Abutment walls (not shown in the figure) are abutted against each other to determine a position in the cavity 15 to the front side (the left side in FIG. 1). Also, the terminal base 2
A pair of opposing pieces 22, 22 extend forward from the front end face 21A of the first opposing face 21A so as to approach each other.
The male tab is sandwiched between the two for electrical connection. Further, the metal lances 23,
23 is extended obliquely rearward, and the metal lances 23, 23
Is locked to the receiving protrusion 16 formed in the cavity 15 and the locking protrusion 45 or the stepped surface 46 (see FIG. 9) of the retainer 40 described later, so that the terminal fitting 20 is prevented from coming off.

The rear end surface 21B of the terminal base 21 has a rising portion 24 extending rearward from a central portion thereof, and a barrel portion 26 for crimping the electric wire 25 is provided at an end thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, a waterproof rubber plug 27 is crimped to the barrel portion 26 together with an end of the electric wire 25, and the waterproof rubber plug 27 is attached to the outer sheath of the electric wire 25 and the cavity 15.
It is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface.

In the housing 10, as shown in FIG.
A retainer insertion hole 30 and a sub insertion hole 31 are formed so as to open to the front surface of the main body 12. As shown in the figure, the retainer insertion hole 30 is located above the cavities 15 and 15 in the main body 12 and has a rectangular cross section that is wide in the left-right direction in the figure. (See FIG. 3). The retainer insertion hole 30 communicates with the cavities 15, 15 from the upper surface side (see FIGS. 1 and 2). It does not interfere. As shown in FIG. 3, a tapered surface 32 that is inclined toward the rear side and downwards in the figure is provided at the back of the retainer insertion hole 30. On the other hand, the sub insertion hole 31 is disposed between the cavities 15 and 15 as shown in FIG. 2, and is parallel to the retainer insertion hole 30 as shown in FIG.
, And communicates with the retainer insertion hole 30 on the open side. As shown in FIG. 3, a sub-taper surface 33 that is inclined so as to be parallel to the taper surface 32 is provided in the inner part of the sub-insertion hole 31.

As shown in FIG. 4, the retainer 40 includes a main insertion portion 41 and a sub-insertion portion 42 from a flat base 43.
The main insertion portion 41 is inserted into the retainer insertion hole 30, and the sub insertion portion 42 is inserted into the sub insertion hole 31. Each of the insertion portions 41 and 42 has a width dimension (a dimension in the vertical direction in FIG. 5) corresponding to each of the insertion holes 30 and 3.
1 (see the horizontal dimension in FIG. 2), and as shown in FIG. 3, the thickness dimension (the vertical dimension in FIG. 3) is the vertical dimension of each of the insertion holes 30, 31 (FIG. 3). Vertical dimension). Thereby, the respective insertion portions 41 and 42 can be shifted in the vertical direction in FIG. 3 inside the respective insertion holes 30 and 31. Further, each of the insertion portions 41 and 42 is provided with each of the insertion holes 30 and 3.
When each of the insertion portions 41 and 42 is inserted into each of the insertion holes 30 and 31, the tips of the insertion portions 41 and 42 almost simultaneously contact the tapered surfaces 32 and 33 obliquely, and the retainer 40 is guided obliquely downward right in FIG. further,
The upper surface side corner at the tip of each of the insertion portions 41 and 42 is rounded (see FIG. 3, reference symbols R1 and R2), and the tapered surfaces 32 and 3 are provided.
3 can be slid smoothly.

Also, both side surfaces 41A, 41 of the main insertion portion 41
5A, a pair of small projections 44 project from each other as shown in FIG. Then, both insertion portions 41 and 42 are tapered surfaces 3
When the retainer 40 is inserted to a position before contacting the retainers 2 and 33 (see FIG. 3), the small projections 44 are engaged with the temporary engagement recesses 34 provided on both inner side surfaces of the retainer insertion hole 30 (see FIG. 3). Is referred to as the temporary locking of the retainer). In addition, both insertion portions 41, 4
2 is each insertion hole 30, 31 by both tapered surfaces 32, 33.
When the small projections 44 are inserted to the position guided to the inner part of the retainer (see FIG. 8), the small projections 44 are engaged with the final engagement recesses 35 provided on both side surfaces of the retainer insertion hole 30 (this is engaged with the main retainer of the retainer). Stop). As a result, the retainer 40 is prevented from inadvertently moving from each locking position.

At the tip of the main insertion portion 41, a pair of locking projections 45, 45 (only one is shown in FIG. 4; see FIG. 5) protrudes downward in FIG. And retainer 4
In the temporary locking position, as shown in FIG.
Is opposed to the receiving portion 16 of the cavity 15, and the metal lance 23 of the terminal fitting 20 is locked there. When the retainer 40 is in the full locking position, as shown in FIG. Projecting into the cavity 15 to face the rear end face 21B of the terminal base 21 of the terminal fitting 20. Further, the right end face of FIG. 4 of the locking projection 45 forms an inclined surface 45A inclined to the upper right in FIG. 4, and when the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the cavity 15 with the retainer 40 in the temporary locking position. The metal lance 23 abuts on the surface 45A and the rear slope 16A (see FIG. 1) of the receiving portion 16 and is bent and deformed.

On the lower surface 41B of the main insertion portion 41 facing the lower side of FIG. 4, a pair of stepped surfaces 46, 46 (46) facing the left side of FIG. FIG.
Only one appears in. 5) is formed, and the retainer 4 is formed.
When 0 is the final locking position, the metal lance 23 of the terminal fitting 20 is locked to the stepped surface 46 as shown in FIG.

The base 43 is, as shown in FIG.
And has a pair of through holes 47, 47 corresponding to the tab insertion openings 15B, 15B. Then, when the retainer 40 is at the final locking position, the tab insertion opening 15B and the through hole 47 are aligned as shown in FIG. 9, so that the male tab can be inserted into the cavity 15. Further, the base 43 faces the waterproof ring 14 and also serves to prevent the waterproof ring 14 from coming off.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. Generally, a connector production factory and a harness factory for crimping terminal fittings to the ends of electric wires and assembling the connectors are located at locations separated from each other. In a connector manufacturing plant, the retainer 40 is temporarily locked to the housing 10. To do so, the respective insertion portions 41 and 42 of the retainer 40 are connected to the housing 1.
0 may be inserted into the respective insertion holes 30 and 31. Each of the insertion portions 41 and 42 of the retainer 40 is
When inserted halfway between 0 and 31, as shown in FIG.
The small protrusion 44 of the main insertion portion 41 is locked in the temporary locking recess 34 of the retainer insertion hole 30, and the retainer 40 is in a temporarily locked state.
And it is conveyed to a harness factory in this state.

At the harness factory, the terminal fitting 20 is assembled to the connector. In the connector carried into the harness factory, the retainer 40 is in the temporarily locked state and the locking projection 45 does not protrude into the cavity 15 (see FIG. 1).
Just push it in. Then, on the way, the metal lance 23 of the terminal fitting 20 comes into contact with the receiving projection 16 and the locking projection 45 of the retainer 40 and is pushed down. It is restored by getting over the vehicle 16 and 45 and is locked to both the protruding portions 16 and 45. At this time, the terminal base 21 of the terminal fitting 20 abuts against the abutting wall (not shown) of the cavity 15 to determine the forward position.

In this state, the retainer 40 is pushed inward. Then, the small protrusion 44 of the main insertion portion 41 and the temporary locking recess 34
And the retainer 40 is moved, and the insertion portions 41, 42 obliquely abut the tapered surfaces 32, 33 at the back of the insertion holes 30, 31, almost simultaneously. In this state, when the retainer 40 is further pushed in, the tips of the insertion portions 41 and 42 are guided along the tapered surfaces 32 and 33, and the retainer 40 moves in parallel in a direction intersecting the insertion direction of the terminal fitting 20. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, when the tips of the insertion portions 41 and 42 are located at the lower ends of the tapered surfaces 32 and 33, the base 43 of the retainer 40 abuts on the front surface of the housing 10, and the small projections 44 are fully engaged. Retained in recess 35 and retainer 4
0 is in the final locking state. Here, in the connector of the present embodiment, two insertion portions 41, 42 and two tapered surfaces 32,
With 33, the retainer 40 is guided at two separate positions on the distal end side and the proximal end side in the insertion direction, so that the retainer can be shifted stably.

Now, when the retainer 40 is in the final locking state, as shown in FIG.
The through hole 47 of the base 43 is aligned with the tab insertion opening 15B, and the tab can be inserted into the cavity. On the other hand, the housing 10
, The locking projections 45 of the retainer 40 face the rear end face 21 </ b> B of the terminal base 21 of the terminal fitting 20, and the terminal fitting 20 is directly prevented from coming off by the retainer 40. Here, if the terminal fitting 20 is in the half-inserted state,
As shown at 0, the terminal base 21 of the terminal fitting 20 is located in the movement area of the locking projection 45 and interferes with the locking projection 45, so that the retainer 40 cannot be pushed into the full locking position.
Thereby, it can be detected that the terminal fitting 20 is in the half-inserted state.

When this connector is mated with the mating connector, the tab of the mating connector is inserted into the cavity 15 for electrical connection, and the waterproof ring 14 between the connectors and the waterproof rubber plug 27 in the cavity 15 are connected. Thereby, the inside of the cavity 15 becomes a waterproof state.

As described above, according to the connector of the present embodiment, since the retainer 40 can be directly locked to the terminal fitting 20, the terminal fitting 20 can be held with a strong holding force. Moreover,
Since the open portions of the insertion holes 30 and 31 into which the retainer 40 is inserted are located on the front surface of the housing 10, they are covered with the mating connector and are not exposed to the outside. In other words, this connector can combine the advantages of both the conventional side retainer type and the front retainer type, and can hold the terminal fitting with a large holding force despite being a waterproof connector.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
In addition to the following, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a waterproof connector is described. However, the present invention may be applied to a non-waterproof type connector. (2) Although the guide portions (tapered surfaces 32, 33) of the above embodiment are provided in the insertion holes 30, 31, the guide portion is provided in the retainer, or the guide portion is provided in both the retainer and the insertion hole. May be provided. (3) In addition, the guide portion is the tapered surface 32, 3 of the present embodiment.
The guide member is not limited to a flat inclined surface as shown in FIG. 3, but may be formed in an arc shape and guided to the terminal fittings so that the retainer draws an arc.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a connector with a retainer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the housing.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a retainer.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the retainer.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the connector in a state where the retainer is in a temporary locking position.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the connector in which the retainer is in a final locking position.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of the connector showing a state in which the retainer is guided by the tapered surface.

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of the connector in a state where the retainer has prevented the terminal fitting from coming off.

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view of the connector in a state where the terminal fittings are partially inserted.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a conventional side retainer type connector.

FIG. 12 is a partial sectional view thereof.

FIG. 13 is a side sectional view showing a conventional front retainer type connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector housing 20 ... Terminal fitting 30 ... Retainer insertion hole 31 ... Sub insertion hole 32 ... Tapered surface (guide part) 33 ... Sub taper surface (guide part) 40 ... Retainer 41 ... Main insertion part 42 ... Sub insertion part 43 ... Base 45: locking projection

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 6, 1998

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0002

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a connector with a retainer includes a side retainer type (see Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-58570) and a front retainer type (see Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-2345).
No. 5, JP-A-8-250215). In the side retainer type, as shown in FIG. 11, the retainer 3 is attached to the connector housing 1 in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the terminal fitting 2 is inserted. Therefore, the retainer insertion hole 4 is provided on the side of the connector housing 1. It is open. This type has an advantage that the retainer 3 is directly engaged with the terminal fitting 2 as shown in FIG. On the other hand, in the front retainer type, as shown in FIG. 13, the retainer 5 is inserted into the connector housing 6 along the insertion direction of the terminal fitting 2, and the retainer insertion hole 7 therefor is opened to the mating surface with the mating connector. ing. This type has an advantage that the retainer insertion hole 7 is covered with the mating connector and is not exposed to the outside.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A connector with a retainer for retaining a terminal fitting inserted from the rear surface of a connector housing into a retainer inserted from the front surface of the connector housing into the retainer, wherein a retainer for inserting the retainer is provided. A hole is formed within the hole so that the retainer can be shifted in a direction intersecting the direction in which the terminal fitting is inserted, and a locking projection is formed in the retainer to prevent the terminal fitting from coming off when the retainer shifts. Along with projecting a portion, between the retainer and the retainer insertion hole, when the retainer is inserted, the retainer is brought into a position obliquely in contact with each other, and the locking projection is moved to a position where the retainer stops the terminal fitting. A connector with a retainer, which is provided with a guide portion for shifting. 2. A base portion of the retainer facing a front surface of the connector housing is protruded from a base end side of an insertion portion into the retainer insertion hole, and a sub-insertion portion shorter than the insertion portion protrudes from the base portion. And the sub-insertion portion can be inserted into a sub-insertion hole formed in the connector housing. The guide portion is provided between a tip of the insertion portion and the retainer insertion hole, and a tip of the sub-insertion portion. 2. The connector with a retainer according to claim 1, wherein the connector is provided between both of the connector and the sub insertion hole. 3. The moving area of the locking projection due to the insertion operation of the retainer and the terminal fitting half-inserted into the connector housing interfere with each other. Item 3. A connector with a retainer according to Item 2.