JP3050776B2 - Terminal assembly structure in connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a terminal mounting structure for a connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 shows a schematic structure of a conventional connector described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-111982. This connector comprises a terminal 1 and a connector housing 2, and an engagement step 4 is formed on an inner wall of a terminal housing 3 of the connector housing 2.
Is provided so that when the terminal 1 is inserted through the rear opening, the lance 5 protruding from the lower surface of the terminal 1 engages with the engagement step portion 4 so that the terminal 1 is stopped and locked. Has become. The lance 5 in this case has a structure that is cut and raised obliquely from the front end.

[0003]

In the conventional connector described above, when it becomes necessary to pull out the terminal 1, a special jig having a rod shape is inserted from the front opening of the terminal accommodating chamber 3 to forcibly move the lance 5. The terminal had to be pulled backwards while deforming and unlocking. For this reason, the terminal 1 and the housing 2 may be damaged when the jig is inserted, in addition to being easily removed. In addition, since the lance 5 is simply a plate-shaped member that is cut and raised diagonally, there is a problem that the strength is weak and a sufficient locking force cannot be secured.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a terminal assembling structure in a connector which can easily remove a terminal without using a dedicated jig and can increase a locking force. .

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal housing chamber of a connector housing body having an open upper part, a locking hole with a retaining wall formed in a bottom surface of the terminal housing chamber,
A spring piece that extends from the bottom plate of the terminal accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber, protrudes below the bottom plate, curves upward, and has a free end protruding above the bottom plate; and the bottom plate of the spring piece. An engaging projection formed at a portion protruding downward, engaging with the retaining wall when inserted into the locking hole, and being disengaged from the retaining wall by operation of the free end. It is characterized by having.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal assembling structure for a connector according to the first aspect, further comprising a cover for covering an upper surface of the connector housing main body, wherein the terminal is located forward of a free end of a spring piece. The cover has a head located at a distance from the free end, and the cover fits between the head of the terminal and the free end of the spring piece on the inner surface thereof, thereby separating the head and the free end. It has a locking projection for restraining.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the terminal assembling structure for the connector according to the first or second aspect, wherein the engaging projection is formed to have a tapered shape downward. And

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the terminal assembling structure in the connector according to the third aspect, wherein the cover is formed integrally with the connector housing body via a hinge.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the terminal assembling structure in the connector according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the two engaging projections are provided, and the retaining wall is provided with the engaging projection. It is characterized in that two parts are provided corresponding to the parts.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the terminal is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber from above while aligning the engaging projection of the terminal with the locking hole of the connector housing body, and the bottom plate of the terminal is disposed on the bottom surface of the terminal accommodating chamber. Put on. Then, the engagement projection enters the locking hole while the spring piece is flexed and deformed, and the engagement projection engages with the retaining wall to fix the spring piece. Thereby, the terminal is locked in the front-rear direction and the upward direction.

On the other hand, when removing the terminal from this state, the spring piece is bent by manually operating the free end of the spring piece. Then, the engaging projection comes off the retaining wall,
The terminal can be removed by lifting it up as it is.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the cover is put on the upper surface of the connector housing main body, the locking projection on the inner surface of the cover fits between the head of the terminal and the free end of the spring piece. This prevents movement of the head and, at the same time, movement of the free end of the spring piece. Therefore, the terminal is fully locked in place.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the engaging projection of the spring piece is tapered, it is easy to insert into the locking hole. The portion engages the retaining wall.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the connector housing body and the cover are integrated, the cover may be covered so that the hinge is folded and folded.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the two engaging projections are engaged with each of the retaining walls, the holding force is increased.

[0016]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state before assembling the terminals of the connector of the embodiment. This connector includes a connector housing body 11, a cover 12, and terminals 30. The connector housing 11 has a terminal accommodating chamber 20 having an open upper surface and openings 20A and 20B at front and rear ends.

The cover 12 is integrally formed on the side of the connector housing 11 with a hinge 13 interposed therebetween. By folding the hinge 13, the entire terminal accommodating chamber 20 can be covered. On the inner surface of the cover 12, a locking projection 15 is protruded.

At the center of the bottom surface 22 of the terminal housing chamber 20 in the front-rear direction (longitudinal direction), a locking hole 24 is formed. A retaining wall 25 protrudes from the upper end of the rear inner wall of the locking hole 24. A terminal stopper 23 protrudes forward from the edge of the front end opening 20A of the terminal accommodating chamber 20.

On the other hand, the terminal 30 has a bottom plate portion 34 in which a box-shaped head 32 is formed at the front to be connected to a mating terminal. A spring piece 40 is formed on the rear side of the head 32.
The spring piece 40 is formed by making an elongated U-shaped cut 36 having a front end left as a connecting portion in the bottom plate portion 34 and bending an inner piece of the cut 36.
From the body.

The spring piece 40 is bent downward at a right angle below the bottom plate portion 34 and then bent upward to form a free end 44.
However, it projects above the bottom plate portion 34 through a hole formed by the cut 36. The free end 44 is a part (release operation part) pressed by hand at the time of releasing the lock, and the locking projection 15 of the cover 12 is fitted between the free end 44 and the head 32. I have.

An engagement projection 42 bulging rearward is formed at a portion of the spring piece 40 projecting below the bottom plate 34. The engaging projection 42 is a portion that engages with the retaining wall 25 when inserted into the locking hole 24, and has a tapered shape downward. Engagement convex portion 42 and retaining wall 25
Is such that when the free end 44 is pushed forward, the engaging projection 42 comes off the retaining wall 25.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIG.

When assembling, as shown in FIG. 2A, the connector housing main body 1 is opened with a cover (not shown) opened.
The terminal 30 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 20 from above while aligning the engaging projection 42 of the terminal 30 with the locking hole 24 of the first terminal 3.
The 0 bottom plate portion 34 is placed on the bottom surface 22 of the terminal accommodating chamber 20.
Then, as shown in (b), the spring projection 40 is bent and deformed, and the engagement projection 42 enters the locking hole 24, and the engagement projection 42 is engaged with the retaining wall 25, and the spring piece 40 is engaged. Is fixed. Thereby, the terminal 30 is temporarily locked in the front-rear direction and the upward direction. At this time, since the engaging projection 42 of the spring piece 40 has a tapered shape, it is easy to insert into the locking hole 24, and the spring piece 40 is easily bent and deformed with the insertion.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1C, a cover 12 is put on the upper surface of the connector housing main body 11. Then, the locking projection 15 on the inner surface of the cover 12 fits between the head 32 of the terminal 30 and the free end 44 of the spring piece 40. As a result, the movement of the head 32 is prevented, and at the same time, the movement of the free end 44 of the spring piece 40 is prevented, so that the terminal 30 is fully locked in the fixed position.

In this case, the terminal 30 is double-locked by the spring piece 40 and the locking hole 24, and the locking projection 15 and the head 32 of the cover 12, so that a high terminal holding force is ensured. Also,
Since the curved portion protruding downward from the bottom plate portion 34 of the spring piece 40 obtains a locking force by entirely entering the locking hole 24, the strength is higher and larger than that of a conventional lance which is cut and raised obliquely. The locking force can be exerted. Further, since the terminal 30 is elastically held by the spring piece 40, it is possible to prevent the terminal 30 from rattling.

Further, since the connector housing body 11 and the cover 12 are joined by the hinge 13, the hinge 13
If the cover 12 is placed so as to be folded and folded, the cover 12 can be mounted at an appropriate position, and the terminal 30 can be securely locked. At this time, if the set position of the terminal 30 is incomplete, the cover 12 cannot be covered properly, so that a set failure can be detected.

On the other hand, when removing the terminal 30 from this state, after removing the cover 12, the free end 4
Push 4 forward by hand. Then, the spring piece 44 bends,
The terminal 30 can be removed by detaching the engaging projection 42 from the retaining wall 25 and lifting it up. Therefore, the terminal 30 can be easily removed without using a dedicated jig or the like, and there is no possibility of damaging the terminal 30 or the connector housing body 11 at all.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where only one engaging protrusion 42 of the spring piece 40 is provided on the rear surface side is shown. However, as shown in FIG. Two retaining walls 25 may be provided on each side, and one retaining wall 25 may be provided on each of the front and rear inner walls of the locking hole 24 correspondingly. In such a case, the holding force of the terminal 30 can be further increased.

[0030]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the terminal can be easily removed without using a dedicated jig or the like by simply operating the free end of the spring piece by hand. Therefore, there is no possibility of damaging the terminals and the housing.
Also, it will not come off easily unless you operate the free end,
It can be handled as it is in the temporarily locked state. Further, since the portion of the spring piece projecting downward from the bottom plate portion enters the locking hole, the locking force is obtained, and thus the locking force is large. Further, since the spring pieces can be elastically held, it is possible to prevent rattling of the terminal. In addition, since the portion of the spring piece that protrudes downward from the bottom plate portion that exhibits the locking function has a curved shape, it can have high strength.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the head of the terminal can be pressed by the locking projection by covering the cover with the cover in addition to the locking force of the engagement projection of the spring piece and the locking hole. . Therefore, the terminal can be double-locked.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the terminal can be easily inserted into the locking hole and the terminal can be easily attached.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the connector housing body and the cover are integrated, so that the number of parts is reduced and the handling becomes easy. In addition, since the connector housing is connected by the hinge, it is possible to easily cover the connector housing body.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the holding force of the terminal is increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part showing a state before assembling a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a terminal assembling procedure and operation according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state before assembling terminals of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Connector housing main body 12 Cover 13 Hinge 15 Engagement convex part 20 Terminal accommodating chamber 22 Bottom surface 24 Engagement hole 25 Retaining wall 30 Terminal 32 Head 34 Bottom plate part 40 Spring piece 42 Engagement convex part 44 Free end

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/42

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A terminal housing chamber of a connector housing body having an open upper part, a locking hole with a retaining wall formed in a bottom surface of the terminal housing chamber, and a bottom plate of a terminal housed in the terminal housing chamber. Part,
A spring piece having a free end protruding above the bottom plate portion after projecting below the bottom plate portion and curving upward, and a portion of the spring piece protruding below the bottom plate portion is inserted into the locking hole. A terminal assembling structure for a connector, comprising: an engagement projection that engages with the retaining wall when the operation is performed and is released from the engagement with the retaining wall by operating the free end. 2. The terminal assembling structure according to claim 1, further comprising a cover that covers an upper surface of the connector housing main body, wherein the terminal is located forward of a free end of the spring piece. The cover has a head located at an interval between the cover and the cover. The cover fits on the inner surface between the head of the terminal and the free end of the spring piece to restrain the head and the free end. A terminal assembling structure in a connector, comprising a locking projection that engages. 3. The terminal assembling structure for a connector according to claim 1, wherein the engaging projection of the spring piece is formed so as to be tapered downward. Terminal assembly structure in connector. 4. The terminal assembling structure for a connector according to claim 3, wherein the cover is formed integrally with the connector housing body via a hinge. 5. The terminal assembling structure for a connector according to claim 1, wherein two of said spring piece engaging projections are provided, and said retaining wall corresponds to said engagement projection. A terminal assembling structure in a connector, wherein two terminals are provided.