WO2015099180A1

WO2015099180A1 - Connector

Info

Publication number: WO2015099180A1
Application number: PCT/JP2014/084707
Authority: WO
Inventors: 田代　晴紀; 誠司足立
Original assignee: 矢崎総業株式会社
Priority date: 2013-12-26
Filing date: 2014-12-26
Publication date: 2015-07-02
Also published as: JP2015125863A

Abstract

　This invention is formed so as to be provided with: a housing (1) in which there is formed a terminal housing groove (21) for housing a connector terminal (4) to which a wire (3) is connected; and a housing cover (2) closing the opening of the terminal housing groove (21) of the housing (1). The housing (1) has a protrusion (27) which is formed in the terminal housing groove (21) and which locks into a recess or a locking hole (11d) formed on the connector terminal (4) and holds the position of the connector terminal (4) in the terminal housing groove (21).

Description

connector

The present invention relates to a connector.

For example, automobiles are equipped with various electric devices and electronic devices (hereinafter collectively referred to as electric devices), and wire harnesses for transmitting electric power, control signals, and the like are routed to these electric devices. The wire harness is formed by including connectors connected to both ends or one end of a plurality of electric wires.

The connector is used not only for vehicles such as automobiles but also in various wiring fields. For example, a connector terminal to which an electric wire is connected is formed in a connector housing formed of an insulating material such as a resin, One or a plurality of cylindrical terminal accommodating chambers are formed side by side in the connector housing. And it is formed so that the connector terminal to which the electric wire is connected may be inserted and fixed into the terminal accommodating chamber from the electric wire drawing opening provided at one end of the connector housing.

In such a connector, a terminal holding structure for preventing the connector terminal from coming out of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing is known (see Patent Document 1). According to this document, an elastic cantilevered terminal holding piece (also referred to as a lance) formed of resin or the like is extended from the connector terminal insertion side of the terminal accommodating chamber, and the tip of the terminal holding piece is connected to the terminal. Protruding into the housing chamber, the connector terminal is formed with a recess or locking hole for locking the tip of the terminal holding piece. According to this, at the time of insertion of the connector terminal, the terminal holding piece is bent and the tip of the terminal holding piece is retracted into the cavity formed on the back side of the inner surface of the terminal accommodating chamber, and the connector terminal is inserted into a predetermined position. The tip of the terminal holding piece enters the recess or the locking hole of the connector terminal, and the tip of the terminal holding piece is locked to the edge of the recess or the locking hole to prevent the connector terminal from coming off. It is supposed to be.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-115614

However, according to the connector terminal retaining structure described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to form a cavity in which the tip of the terminal holding piece is retracted on the back side of the inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber. Since the outer wall of the wall becomes thick, it hinders downsizing.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to reduce the size of a connector provided with a structure for preventing the connector terminal housed in the connector housing from coming off.

The above problem is solved by the following configuration.
(1) A housing including a terminal receiving groove for receiving a connector terminal to which an electric wire is connected, and a housing cover for closing the opening of the terminal receiving groove of the housing are formed, and the terminal receiving groove is formed in the terminal receiving groove. Is a connector in which a protrusion is formed which is engaged with a recess or a locking hole formed in the connector terminal and holds the position of the connector terminal in the terminal receiving groove.

According to the configuration of (1) above, since the terminal accommodating chamber that accommodates the connector terminal is a groove-shaped terminal accommodating groove, instead of inserting the connector terminal into the cylindrical terminal accommodating chamber, the connector terminal is It can be mounted in the terminal receiving groove from the opening of the groove while being held in parallel with the extending direction of the terminal receiving groove. Therefore, a protrusion in the terminal receiving groove that locks in the recess or the locking hole formed in the connector terminal is provided so as to protrude from the inner wall surface at a position that can be locked in the recess or the locking hole of the connector terminal. Can do. Therefore, unlike the conventional case, it is not necessary to form a cavity part in which the tip of the terminal holding piece is retracted on the back side of the inner wall surface of the terminal receiving groove, so that the outer wall forming the terminal receiving groove can be made thin. The connector housing can be reduced in size.

(2) The connector according to (1) above, wherein the housing is positioned inside an electric wire outlet from which the electric wire is drawn out and is more open than an opening of the electric wire outlet attached to the outer periphery of the electric wire. A connector formed with a recess for accommodating a ring member having a large outer diameter.
According to the configuration of (2) above, even if a gap is generated between the wire outlet and the electric wire due to the manufacturing tolerance of the housing and the housing cover, or the manufacturing tolerance of the resin coating of the electric wire, the inner edge of the electric wire outlet and the ring member Since they overlap (wrap), even if an elongated conductive member is erroneously inserted through the gap, the ring member can prevent the conductive member from entering. As a result, even if an elongated conductive member is mistakenly inserted into the electric wire outlet and the electric wire from the gap, the conductive member can be prevented from touching the exposed portion of the connector terminal or the electric wire, thereby ensuring safety. Can do. The ring member is preferably formed of a member having elasticity such as rubber. According to this, the tolerance of the outer diameter of an electric wire can be absorbed and it can adhere to an electric wire closely.

(3) The connector according to (1), wherein the housing has a housing wall in which a cutout portion having a semicircular arc bottom portion from which the electric wire is drawn out is formed at one end of the terminal receiving groove. The housing cover has a wall member that forms a wire outlet in cooperation with the notch.
According to the configuration of (3) above, the connector housing is divided into two parts: a housing in which a terminal receiving groove is formed and a housing cover that closes the opening of the terminal receiving groove. A wire outlet can be formed by combining a semicircular cutout formed in the housing wall on one end side of the housing groove and a wall member formed in the housing cover.

According to this, when the connector terminal is held in parallel with the extending direction of the terminal receiving groove, the housing cover is inserted after inserting the electric wire into the notch portion of the housing wall when mounting the terminal into the terminal receiving groove from the opening of the groove. It is possible to assemble the wire in a state where it is pulled out from the wire outlet. Therefore, unlike the prior art, there is no need to insert the connector terminal from the opening of the wire lead-out portion of the connector housing, so that the wire lead-out port of the present invention can be adjusted to the outer diameter of the wire. As a result, since it is not necessary to provide an electric wire holding member such as a rear holder in order to close the opening of the electric wire drawing portion of the connector housing, the number of parts can be reduced. Furthermore, since the gap between the wire outlet and the electric wire can be reduced, it is possible to prevent the conductive member from being inadvertently inserted into the connector through the gap between the electric wire outlet and the electric wire.

In addition, if the notch bottom part of the notch part of the housing wall and the notch part of the wall member of the housing cover are each formed in a semicircular arc shape, the two semicircular arc notch parts are attached to each other and assembled. A circular wire outlet that matches the outer diameter of the wire can be formed. According to this, the clearance gap between an electric wire outlet and an electric wire can be minimized.

(4) The connector according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the housing has a cover mounting portion in which a part of a peripheral edge of the housing cover is fitted into an upper opening of the terminal receiving groove. Formed connector.
According to the connector having the configuration (4), since the housing cover is fitted into the cover mounting portion of the housing, it is possible to prevent the housing cover from being laterally displaced and to be firmly fixed to the housing.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size of the connector provided with a structure for preventing the connector terminal housed in the connector housing from coming off.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an exploded main part of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of the connector of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the connector according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in an assembled state. 4A is an assembled perspective view of the connector of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the wire outlet side, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view thereof.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments.

One embodiment of the connector of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector according to the present embodiment includes a connector terminal 4 in which an electric wire 3 is connected to a connector housing including a housing 1 formed of an insulating material such as resin and a housing cover 2 formed of an insulating material such as resin. It is configured to accommodate. 1 shows an embodiment of a connector housing that accommodates one connector terminal 4. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the connector housing that accommodates a plurality of connector terminals 4 arranged in parallel is shown. The present invention can be applied.

The connector terminal 4 is formed by bending a metal plate, which is a conductive plate material, and having a terminal portion 11 and a wire connecting portion 12 integrally formed at one end of the terminal portion 11. The electric wire 3 is crimped and connected at the core portion to the electric wire connecting portion 12, and a ring member 14 is attached to the outer periphery of the electric wire 3. The terminal portion 11 includes a female terminal portion 11a formed by bending a metal plate into a rectangular tube shape, an elastic terminal contact portion 11b formed by bending the female plate portion 11a, and a lower surface of the female terminal portion 11a ( 3), and has a rectangular locking hole 11c. The wire connecting portion 12 has a crimping piece 12a and a wire holding piece 12b. The core wire 13b from which the insulating coating 13a at the tip of the wire 3 is peeled is caulked with the crimping piece 12a, and the wire 3 is electrically connected to the terminal portion 11. Further, the tip end portion of the insulating coating 13a is caulked and fixed by the electric wire holding piece 12b.

The housing 1 is formed with a terminal receiving groove 21 whose upper surface is opened in the figure in which the connector terminal 4 to which the electric wire 3 is connected is received. An insertion port 23 into which a not-shown mating connector terminal connected to the connector terminal 4 is inserted into the distal end wall 22 which is a wall on one end side of the terminal receiving groove 21, and a housing wall on the other end side of the terminal receiving groove 21 The rear end wall 24 is cut out from the upper end, and a cutout portion 25 through which the electric wire 3 is drawn is formed. A protrusion 27 is formed on the bottom surface 26 of the terminal receiving groove 21 so as to protrude into the groove. The protrusion 27 is formed at a position to be locked in a locking hole 11 c formed in the connector terminal 4. That is, when the distal end of the connector terminal 4 is brought into contact with the distal end wall 22 and mounted in the terminal accommodating groove 21, the protrusion 27 is locked to the edge of the locking hole 11c. Thereby, even if the force pulled out in the direction of the arrow 29 in FIG. 3 acts on the connector terminal 4, the movement of the connector terminal 4 is restricted by the protrusion 27 and is prevented from coming off. It is to be noted that a recess such as a notch is formed on the side surface of the connector terminal 4 in place of the locking hole 11c, and a protrusion locked in the recess is protruded from the inner surface of the groove wall of the terminal receiving groove 21. The effect of can be produced.

In the present embodiment, the housing 1 has an engagement arm that is engaged with the other side of the locking hole 11c on the opposite side to the side of the rectangular locking hole 11c with which the protrusion 27 is locked. 28 is provided. The engagement arm 28 is formed to have a hook-shaped engagement claw that engages with the edge of the locking hole 11 c at the tip of an arm portion provided upright from the bottom wall of the housing 1. An opening 28a is formed in the vicinity of the bottom wall of the housing 1 where the engagement arm 28 is provided. The opening 28a is an opening into which a locking release jig is inserted when the engagement of the engagement arm 28 is released.

The terminal receiving groove 21 of the housing 1 is formed having a pair of groove walls 30 having a groove width corresponding to the width of the terminal portion 11 of the connector terminal 4.

Step portions

31 and 32 projecting in the width direction of the housing 1 are formed on the upper end portions of the pair of groove walls 30 separately on the front end side and the rear end side excluding the central portion of the housing 1. Cover mounting

walls

33 and 34 that are continuous with the front end wall 22 and the rear end wall 24 are erected on the outer edges of the

step portions

31 and 32, respectively. The step portion 31 is lower than the step portion 32 and is divided into a plurality of steps. These

step portions

31 and 32 and

cover mounting walls

33 and 34 form a cover mounting portion into which a peripheral edge of a cover main body portion 41 of the housing cover 2 described later is fitted. The upper ends of the center portions of the pair of groove walls 30 are formed at the same height as the highest step portion of the step portion 31 so that the lower surface of the center portion of the cover main body portion 41 abuts.

Further, on the outer surface of the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the pair of groove walls 30 of the housing 1, engagement protrusions 35 that engage with a gate-type engagement receiving portion 44 of a cover main body portion 41 to be described later are provided. . The engagement protrusion 35 is formed in a trapezoidal shape or a triangular shape whose cross section viewed from the longitudinal direction of the groove wall 30 is widened downward in the drawing. Further, the cover mounting wall 34 on the rear end wall 24 side of the housing 1 engages with a gate-shaped engagement receiving portion 36 that engages with an engagement protrusion 45 protruding on a side surface on the rear end side of a cover main body portion 41 described later. Is provided.

On the other hand, the housing cover 2 includes a flat cover body portion 41 that closes the opening of the terminal accommodating groove 21 of the housing 1 and a locking arm provided with an engagement arm 51 for engaging with a housing of a mating connector (not shown). Part 52 is formed. The cover main body 41 includes a rectangular front end cover portion 41 a that is fitted into the cover mounting portion on the front end side of the housing 1, a rear end cover portion 41 b that is fitted into the cover mounting portion on the rear end side, and the groove wall 30 of the housing 1. A narrow central cover portion 41c that is in contact with the upper surface of the central portion is formed. Base portions 42 having a plurality of different steps are formed on the lower surfaces on both sides of the tip cover portion 41a so as to correspond to the plurality of step portions of the step portion 31 of the cover mounting portion on the tip end side of the housing 1. At the tip of the base portion 42, an engagement protrusion 43 is provided so as to protrude. The engagement protrusion 43 is formed so as to be inserted into an engagement hole 37 formed in the distal end wall 22 of the housing 1. In addition, a gate-shaped engagement receiving portion 44 is provided on both side surfaces of the central cover portion 41c so as to protrude and hang down. Further, engagement projections 45 are provided on both side surfaces of the rear end cover portion 41b. ing.

The rear end wall 24 is provided with a notch 25 that forms an electric wire outlet cut out from the upper end of the wall toward the bottom of the housing 1. The notch bottom of the notch 25 is formed in a semicircular arc shape that matches the outer diameter of the electric wire 3. On the other hand, the housing cover 2 has a width corresponding to the notch width of the notch portion 25 of the rear end wall 24 from the rear end edge of the rear end cover portion 41b of the housing cover 2, and has a thickness equivalent to the thickness of the rear end wall 24. A wall member 46 is suspended. The front end of the wall member 46 is set to a position where the dimension of the notch 25 to the notch bottom of the semicircular arc is the outer diameter of the electric wire 3 with the housing cover 2 mounted at a predetermined position. According to this embodiment, the housing cover 2 is attached to the housing 1, and the wall member 46 is inserted into the notch 25, whereby the wire outlet 47 for drawing out the wire 3 is formed. In the illustrated embodiment, the front end surface of the wall member 46 is formed flat. Instead, the front end surface of the wall member 46 is formed in a semicircular arc shape or an arc shape according to the outer diameter of the electric wire 3. can do. Further, instead of this, the upper end of the rear end wall 24 is lowered to a semicircular arc-like position of the notch 25 and the lower end of the wall member 46 is extended to a position where it abuts against the upper end of the rear end wall 24. By forming a semicircular cutout at the lower end of the wall member 46 and abutting both cutouts, a circular wire outlet can be formed.

In the present embodiment, an inner wall 39 having a notch 38 through which the electric wire 3 can be inserted is provided on the terminal receiving groove 21 side so as to face the rear end wall 24 that is a housing wall. A recess 40 is formed between the end wall 24 and the ring member 14 mounted on the outer periphery of the electric wire. However, it is sufficient that the recess 40 for accommodating the ring member 14 is formed, and the inner wall 39 can be omitted. The ring member 14 is formed of a member having elasticity such as rubber, but is not limited thereto. If the ring member 14 is made elastic, it can absorb the tolerance of the outer diameter of the electric wire 3 and adhere to the electric wire 3 closely.

Thus, since the connector housing of this embodiment formed the terminal accommodation chamber which accommodates the connector terminal 4 in the groove-shaped terminal accommodation groove 21, it inserts the connector terminal 4 in a cylindrical terminal accommodation chamber. Instead, the connector terminal 4 can be mounted in the terminal receiving groove 21 from the opening of the groove while being held in parallel with the extending direction of the terminal receiving groove 21. Therefore, the protrusion 27 that is locked in the locking hole 11 c formed in the connector terminal 4 only has to protrude to the bottom of the terminal receiving groove 21. That is, unlike the prior art, it is not necessary to form a hollow portion in which the tip of the terminal holding piece is retracted on the back side of the inner wall surface of the terminal receiving groove 21, so that the outer wall on the bottom side forming the terminal receiving groove 21 is formed thin Therefore, the connector housing can be reduced in size. Further, by reducing the size and thickness of the connector, tentacles to the live parts such as the connector terminals 4 accommodated in the connector housing can be suppressed, so that the safety of the connector can be improved.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the connector housing is divided into two parts, that is, the housing 1 in which the terminal accommodating groove 21 is formed and the housing cover 2 that closes the opening of the terminal accommodating groove 21. 3 can be formed by dividing the electric wire outlet 47 through which 3 is pulled out. That is, a notch 25 is provided in the rear end wall 24 of the housing 1, and a wall member 46 extending downward from the rear end of the housing cover 2 so as to face the notch 25 is provided. 2 is inserted, the wall member 46 is inserted into the notch 25, and the wire outlet 47 is formed. Therefore, when the connector terminal 4 is mounted in the terminal receiving groove 21, the electric wire 3 is inserted into the notch 25, and then the wall member 46 of the housing cover 2 is inserted into the notch 25. Can be formed. As a result, since it is not necessary to insert the connector terminal 4 from the large opening formed in the connector housing in accordance with the connector terminal 4, the wire outlet 47 can be formed small according to the outer diameter of the wire 3. Moreover, since it is not necessary to provide a wire holding member such as a rear holder in order to close the large opening formed between the wire outlet 47 and the wire 3, the number of parts can be reduced. Furthermore, the gap between the wire outlet 47 of the connector housing and the wire 3 can be minimized.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the ring member 14 having an outer diameter larger than the opening of the electric wire outlet that is mounted on the outer periphery of the electric wire 3 is housed inside the electric wire outlet from which the electric wire 3 is drawn out. A recess is formed. Therefore, even if there is a gap between the wire outlet 47 and the electric wire 3 due to the manufacturing tolerance of the housing 1 and the housing cover 2 or the manufacturing tolerance of the resin coating of the electric wire 3, the inner edge of the electric wire outlet 47 and the ring member 14 are Since they overlap (wrap), even if an elongated conductive member is erroneously inserted from the gap, the ring member can prevent the conductive member from entering. As a result, even if an elongated conductive member is mistakenly inserted into the electric wire outlet and the electric wire from the gap, the conductive member can be prevented from touching the exposed portion of the connector terminal or the electric wire, thereby ensuring safety. Can do.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on one Embodiment, this invention is not limited to these, It is possible to implement in the form deform | transformed or changed in the range of the main point of this invention. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art, and it is obvious that such modifications or alterations belong to the scope of the claims of the present application.

For example, the structure which is located inside the electric wire outlet from which the electric wire 3 is drawn out and forms a recess in which the ring member 14 having an outer diameter larger than the opening of the electric wire outlet attached to the outer periphery of the electric wire 3 is accommodated. The present invention is not limited to the two-part connector housing as shown in FIG. For example, the present invention is applied to a connector that is formed so that a connector terminal to which an electric wire is connected is inserted and fixed into a terminal accommodating chamber from an electric wire outlet opening provided at one end of a connector housing, and the technical aspects related to the ring component 14 are applied. There is an effect. That is, even if the wire lead-out opening is large, the inner edge of the wire lead-out opening and the ring member 14 overlap if a recess for accommodating the ring member 14 having an outer diameter larger than the opening is provided inside the wire lead-out opening ( Therefore, even if an elongated conductive member is mistakenly inserted through the gap, the ring member can prevent the conductive member from entering and ensure safety.

In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably. In addition, the material, shape, dimensions, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.
This application is based on a Japanese patent application filed on December 26, 2013 (Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-268759), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

According to the connector of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size of the connector having a structure for preventing the connector terminal housed in the connector housing from coming off.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing 2 Housing cover 3 Electric wire 4 Connector terminal 11 Terminal part 11a Female terminal part 11b Terminal contact part 11c Locking hole 12 Electric wire connection part 21 Terminal accommodation groove 22 Front end wall 23 Insertion opening 24 Rear end wall 25 Notch part 27 Protrusion part 30 Groove wall 31 Step portion 32

Step portion

33, 34 Cover mounting wall 35 Engaging projection 36 Engagement receiving portion 41 Cover main body portion 41a Front end cover portion 41b Rear end cover portion 41c Central cover portion 42 Base portion 43 Engaging projection 44 Engagement Joint part 45 Engagement protrusion 46 Wall member

Claims

Formed with a housing formed with a terminal receiving groove for receiving a connector terminal to which an electric wire is connected, and a housing cover for closing the opening of the terminal receiving groove of the housing;
A connector in which a protrusion is formed in the terminal receiving groove to be held in a recess or a locking hole formed in the connector terminal and hold the position of the connector terminal in the terminal receiving groove.
The housing is positioned inside an electric wire outlet from which the electric wire is drawn out, and a recess is formed in which a ring member having an outer diameter larger than the opening of the electric wire outlet attached to the outer periphery of the electric wire is accommodated. The connector according to claim 1.
The housing has a housing wall in which a cutout portion having a semicircular arc bottom portion from which the electric wire is drawn out is formed at one end of the terminal receiving groove;
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the housing cover includes a wall member that forms an electric wire outlet in cooperation with the notch.
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the housing is formed with a cover mounting portion into which a part of a peripheral edge of the housing cover is fitted into an upper opening of the terminal receiving groove.