JP3466367B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector which is used, for example, for electric wiring of an automobile or the like and has a locking portion for preventing a stored connection terminal from being pulled out backward. It is about. 2. Description of the Related Art A conventional connector of this type is usually provided with a flexible locking lance for locking a received connection terminal. The locking lance is often provided integrally, but may be provided on a separate rear holder. For example, a sectional view seen from the side of FIG. 7 and an exploded perspective view of FIG. 8 show the latter case. A rear holder 2 is engaged with a terminal accommodating chamber 1a of a housing 1 so as to be movable back and forth. The rear holder 2 is locked to the housing 1 at two positions by engaging means (not shown). The first position is a temporary engagement position where the rear holder 2 is partially inserted into the housing 1, and the second position is a full engagement position where the rear holder 2 is completely pushed into the housing 1. . As described above, the housing 1 and the rear holder 2 are temporarily engaged before the connection terminal 3 is accommodated by positioning the rear holder 2 at the two stages of the temporary engagement and the full engagement.
Further, there is an advantage that the connection terminal 3 to which the electric wire 3a is attached at the temporary engagement position can be inserted into the housing 1 through the rear holder 2. When the terminal is in the temporary engagement position, the connection terminal 3 is inserted into the terminal holding chamber 2a, and the projection 2c of the locking lance 2b is fitted into a fitting hole 3b provided at the bottom of the connection terminal 3. From this state, when the rear holder 2 is pushed into the housing 1 to be in the full engagement position, the tip 2d of the locking lance 2b rides on the guide 1b of the housing 1, and
The locking force of the locking lance 2b is reinforced. However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, since the connection terminal 3 is locked by the elastic force of the locking lance 2b, a die allowance for molding the locking lance 2b is required. In addition to the problem of bulkiness, the connection terminal 3
In the case where the connection lance 2b is pulled out, there is a problem that a jig for removing the locking lance 2b from the connection terminal 3 is required. In addition,
These problems also apply to the case where the locking lance is integrally provided in the housing. An object of the present invention is to provide a connector which can easily insert a connection terminal and can securely lock the connection terminal without using a locking lance. [0008] In order to achieve the above object, a connector according to the present invention has a rear holder for locking a connection terminal, which is fitted forwardly from the rear of a housing.
In the connector, the rear holder and the housing are respectively engaged at a temporary engagement position where the rear holder is inserted to the middle and a full engagement position where the rear holder is sufficiently pressed, and a connection terminal mounting portion of the rear holder has A rear locking portion for restricting the rearward movement of the connection terminal is provided, and a front surface of the rear locking portion has a curved surface for sliding a rear portion of an intermediate portion of the connection terminal forward and downward, and the housing is connected to the connection portion. A terminal accommodating chamber for accommodating terminals is provided, and a rear top wall of the terminal accommodating chamber receives the connection terminal in an inclined state when the rear holder is at the temporary engagement position, and an intermediate top wall of the terminal accommodating chamber is acceptable. The rear end is flexible and elastically bends outward when the rear holder is at the temporary engagement position, and receives the inclined connection terminal between the rear holder and the connection terminal. Is restored after entering the predetermined position, and is urged to lock the intermediate portion of the connection terminal, the front top wall of the terminal accommodating chamber holds the intermediate portion of the connection terminal in a horizontal state, and the rear holder To fix the connection terminal at the full engagement position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a housing 11 and a rear holder 12, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the rear holder 12 is temporarily engaged with the housing 11. A rear holder 12 made of a synthetic resin is engaged with a rear portion of the housing 11 made of a synthetic resin. The connection terminals 14 with the electric wires 13 are accommodated in the housing 11. Connection terminal 1
Numeral 4 is a square-tube-shaped terminal connecting portion 21 formed of a conductive metal plate and connected to a mating connecting terminal (not shown) sequentially from the front.
And a stabilizer piece 22 for stabilizing the connection terminal 14,
A core wire crimping portion 23 for crimping the core wire of the electric wire 13;
And a cover crimping section 24 for crimping the cover.
Further, a projection 25 and a rearward projection 26 are provided on the top surface of the terminal connection portion 21. The housing 11 is formed vertically and horizontally symmetrically, except for a locking mechanism 31 with the mating connector housing on the upper wall. The inside of the housing 11 is partitioned on the left and right by a large number of partition pieces 32, and a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 33 are provided.
Are formed in two upper and lower stages. A slit 34 is formed in the middle of the partition piece 32 in the upper and lower directions.
5 is set. At the front end of the terminal accommodating chamber 33, a front projection 36 for regulating forward movement of the connection terminal 14 is formed, and at the rear end of the upper and lower partition walls 35, a thin projection 35a is formed. The spacing between the partition pieces 32 is set to a size that prevents the connection terminal 14 from moving left and right, and the height of the front ceiling wall 37 is
It is sized to prevent the terminal connection portion 21 of the connection terminal 14 from moving up and down. Intermediate ceiling wall 3 extending from front ceiling wall 37
Reference numeral 8 denotes a flexible, elastic thin plate provided with a slit for each terminal accommodating chamber 33, and a rear portion thereof is curved outward. The height of the rear top wall 39 extending from the intermediate top wall 38 is made sufficiently larger than the front top wall 37, and the rearwardly rising inclined surface 3 is provided behind the rear top wall 39.
9a are formed. And the outermost partition piece 32a
A gap 41 is provided between the rear holder 12 and the side wall 40, and a guide window 4 for guiding a later-described guide projection of the rear holder 12 is provided in the side wall 40.
2 and a locking groove 43 into which a locking projection, described later, of the rear holder 12 is guided from inside. On the other hand, the rear holder 12 has a housing 11
And a connecting plate 52 that connects these side plates 51 and enters the slit 34 of the housing 11. At the front end of the connecting plate 52, an end face recess 5 into which the thin projection 35a of the upper and lower partition wall 35 is fitted
2a and upper surface recess 5 into which projection 25 of connection terminal 14 is fitted
2b are provided. On the outer surface of the side plate 51, a locking projection 53 that fits into the locking groove 43 of the housing 11 and a guide projection 54 that fits into the guide window 42 of the housing 11 are provided. On the upper and lower surfaces of the connecting plate 52, there are provided projecting rear locking portions 55 which enter the terminal accommodating chamber 33 of the housing 11 and lock the connection terminals 14. As shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 3, the front end surface of the rear locking portion 55 is formed as a curved surface 55a for sliding the rearward projection 26 of the connection terminal 14 forward and downward, and the lower portion of the curved surface 55a has a rearward projection. 26 is formed with a locking groove 55b. An upper surface rear portion of the rear locking portion 55 is formed as an inclined surface 55c, and a guide groove 55d for guiding the stabilizer piece 22 is formed on both side surfaces of the rear portion of the rear locking portion 55, and a front wall of the guide groove 55d is formed. A locking surface 55e for locking the front edge of the stabilizer piece 22 is provided. Here, the interval between the inner surface of the intermediate top wall 38 in the free state and the rear locking portion 55 at the temporary engagement position of the rear holder 12 is set between the rear locking portion 55 while the intermediate top wall 38 bends outward. The connection terminal 14 is received in an inclined state. The housing 11 and the rear holder 12 formed as described above are in a temporary engagement position where the rear holder 12 is inserted halfway into the rear portion of the housing 11 and the rear holder 1
2 are engaged with the housing 11 at the fully engaged position. When housing the connection terminal 14 with the electric wire 13 in the housing 11, as shown in FIG.
2 is in the temporary locking position with respect to the housing 11,
The connection terminal 14 is pressed into the terminal accommodating chamber 33 in an inclined state.
At this time, the side plate 51 of the rear holder 12 is
The locking projection 53 and the guide projection 54 of the rear holder 12 are fitted into the gap 41 of the housing 11 and the guide window 42.
Respectively. Then, at the full engagement position of the rear holder 12, the guide projection 54 comes into contact with the front wall of the guide window 42, and the locking projection 53 is fitted into the locking groove 43. With the insertion of the connection terminal 14, the intermediate top wall 3
8 is a terminal connecting portion 21 which is bent outward as shown in FIG.
Is received between it and the rear locking portion 55. At this time, since a slit communicating with the outside from the terminal accommodating chamber 33 is provided on the intermediate top wall 38 along the partition piece 32, the intermediate top wall 3
8 easily bends for each terminal accommodating chamber 33. When the rearward projection 26 of the connection terminal 14 enters the curved surface 55a of the rear locking portion 55, the intermediate top wall 38 is restored and urges the connection terminal 14 downward, so that the rearward projection 26
Slide forward and downward. As a result, a feeling of the connection terminal 14 advancing naturally at the time of pushing is obtained, the rear part of the connection terminal 14 moves in the direction B, and the connection terminal 14 is in a horizontal state as shown in FIG. At the same time, the rearward projection 2
6 fits into the locking groove 55b, and the projection 25 of the connection terminal 14 fits into the upper surface concave portion 52b of the rear holder. At this time, since the intermediate top wall 38 has been restored to the original position, the connection terminal 1
4 does not easily return to the tilted state. When the rear holder 12 is sufficiently pushed into the housing 11 from this state, the rear holder 12 moves to the full engagement position as shown in FIG. The front end abuts on the front protrusion 36 while fitting into the gap. Further, the thin protrusion 35 a of the housing 11 is fitted into the end face concave portion 52 a of the rear holder 12. At this time, the guide projection 54 of the rear holder 12 abuts on the front wall of the guide window 42, and the locking projection 53 of the rear holder 12 is formed.
Fits into the locking groove 43 of the housing 11. As described above, in the embodiment, the intermediate top wall 38 of the housing 11 is flexible, and at the temporary engagement position of the rear holder 12, the intermediate top wall 38 is bent outward while the connection terminal 14 is inclined. Of the rear holder 12 of the rear holder 12 and the intermediate top wall 38 is restored after the connection terminal 14 has entered a predetermined position.
4 can be advanced to lock the terminal connecting portion 21 to the rear locking portion 55. In this embodiment, since it is not necessary to form a conventional locking lance on the housing 11, the shape and structure of the housing 11 can be simplified, and the cost of the mold can be reduced. When the connection terminal 14 is pulled out of the terminal accommodating chamber 33, the connection terminal 14 is lifted in an inclined state against the urging force of the intermediate top wall 38 so that the connection terminal 14 and the rear locking portion 55 are locked. Since the state can be released, a jig for removing the conventional locking lance from the connection terminal 14 becomes unnecessary. Further, since the connection terminal 14 is urged downward by the intermediate top wall 38, the connection terminal 14 can be prevented from returning to the inclined state, and the rear part of the terminal connection portion 21 of the connection terminal 14 is locked rearward. It can be securely locked to the portion 55. As described above, the connector according to the present invention has a curved surface on the rear holder for sliding the rear part of the terminal connection part of the connection terminal forward and downward, and engages with the rear part of the terminal connection part. A rear locking portion that regulates the movement of
The intermediate top wall of the terminal accommodating chamber is flexible and is restored after the connection terminal enters the predetermined position, and the rear part of the terminal connection part is slid on the curved surface of the rear locking part and locked to the rear locking part. When the connection terminal is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber to some extent, the connection terminal naturally advances and becomes horizontal, and the connection terminal can be securely locked to the rear locking portion. Further, it is not necessary to form the conventional locking lance, the shape and structure can be simplified, and the die cost can be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a housing and a rear holder. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a state where a rear holder is temporarily engaged with a housing. FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of a rear locking portion. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an operation when a connection terminal is inserted. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a state when a connection terminal is inserted. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a state where the rear holder is fully engaged with the housing. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional example. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional example. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Housing 12 Rear holder 14 Connection terminal 21 Terminal connection part 22 Stabilizer piece 26 Backward projection 33 Terminal storage chamber 34 Slit 38 Intermediate top wall 52 Connecting plate 55 Rear locking part 55a Curved surface 55b Locking groove

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-8-273741 (JP, A) JP-A-58-162580 (JP, U) JP-A-2-71975 (JP, U) JP-A-5-162 61970 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/42

Claims (1)

(57) Claims 1. A rear holder for locking a connection terminal is fitted forwardly from the rear of a housing, and the rear holder and the housing are temporarily inserted when the rear holder is inserted to an intermediate position. In a connector that is engaged at an engagement position and at a full engagement position where the rear holder is sufficiently pressed, a rear locking portion that restricts rearward movement of the connection terminal is provided on a connection terminal mounting portion of the rear holder. A front surface of the rear locking portion has a curved surface for sliding a rear portion of the intermediate portion of the connection terminal forward and downward, and the housing has a terminal accommodating chamber for accommodating the connection terminal. The rear top wall receives the connection terminal in an inclined state when the rear holder is in the temporary engagement position, and the intermediate top wall of the terminal accommodating chamber has flexibility and the rear holder is in the temporary engagement position. When the connection terminal in the inclined state is received between the rear locking portion and the connection terminal while elastically flexing outward when the connection terminal enters a predetermined position, the connection terminal is restored and the intermediate portion of the connection terminal is restored. The front top wall of the terminal accommodating chamber holds the middle portion of the connection terminal in a horizontal state, and pushes the rear holder to fix the connection terminal in the full engagement position. Features connector.