JP5947656B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  By providing a flexible lance in the terminal housing chamber inside the connector housing, and engaging the beak (locking projection) formed on this lance with the locking hole of the terminal housed in the terminal housing chamber, A connector for holding and fixing a terminal is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP2012-84404

  First, a conventional connector of this type will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the connector 101 includes a connector housing 110, a terminal 150 attached to the tip of the electric wire W, a front holder 170 mounted from the front inside the connector housing 110, and a mating connector. And a waterproof plug 160 and a packing 165 are provided.

  The connector housing 110 is provided with an outer housing part 111 and an inner housing part 112 inside thereof. Inside the inner housing part 112, a terminal accommodating chamber 114 and a stopper 115 for positioning the terminal 150 in the forward direction. When the terminal 150 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 114 from the rear, the terminal 150 is pushed by the terminal 150 and is once bent and deformed outside the insertion path of the terminal 150 (lower side in FIG. 11). A flexible lance 120 is provided that returns from bending when inserted to a position to be positioned and positions and locks the terminal 150 backward.

  The lance 120 is extended from the inner peripheral wall of the inner housing portion 112, is provided in a cantilever shape with the tip that is a free end facing forward, and is located at the center in the width direction of the upper surface at a position close to the tip that is a free end. A beak 122 is provided at one location. As shown in FIG. 13, the lance 120 engages a locking hole 154 formed in the box portion 151 with the beak 122 and positions and locks the terminal 150 inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 114 backward.

  As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the terminal 150 has a flat rectangular tube-shaped box part (main body part) 151 into which a male tab terminal (mating terminal, not shown) of the mating connector is inserted at the front part. In addition, the rear portion has a wire crimping portion 158 for crimping and fixing to the tip of the electric wire W, and the beak 122 of the lance 120 and the beak 122 of the lance 120 are arranged at one central portion in the width direction of the wide peripheral wall constituting the box portion 151. It has a locking hole 154 to be engaged. Inside the box portion 151, an insertion space 152 that receives the male tab terminal, a spring piece (connection piece) 153 that elastically holds the male tab terminal that has entered the insertion space 152 between the inner wall of the box portion 151, Is provided.

  The spring piece 153 is engaged with the contact portion 155 that contacts the male tab terminal of the mating connector and the engagement portion 157 formed on the box portion 151 to engage the box portion 151 and the spring piece 153. 156, and is held inside the box portion 151. As shown in FIG. 16, the spring piece 153 is provided with a clearance L between the spring piece 153 and the inner wall of the box portion 151. That is, the spring piece 153 has some backlash in the vertical direction in a state where the male tab terminal is not inserted into the box portion 151, and is slightly movable in the vertical direction inside the box portion 151. Is retained.

  By the way, such a connector 101 is in a standby state in which the mating connector is not fitted after being attached to an attachment target such as a vehicle, for example, when used for conductive connection to a circuit used only when an option is selected. It may become. In this standby state, since the mating connector is not fitted to the connector 101, the male tab terminal is not inserted into the box portion 151.

  Thus, when the connector 101 is in the standby state, since the male tab terminal is not inserted into the box portion 151, as described above, the spring piece 153 is held inside the box portion 151 while being movable in the vertical direction. The For this reason, in the conventional connector 101, when the vibration generated in the vehicle or the like to be attached is applied to the connector in the standby state, the spring piece 153 repeatedly collides with the inner wall of the box portion 151, and the abnormal noise is generated from the connector. There was a risk of occurrence.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the situation mentioned above, The objective is to provide the connector which can suppress generation | occurrence | production of the noise in a standby state.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the connector according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) to (4).
(1) A main body portion formed in a cylindrical shape, and a mating terminal formed separately from the main body portion and accommodated in the main body portion, and inserted into the main body portion, is connected to the inner wall of the main body portion. A connection piece elastically sandwiched between, and a terminal electrically connected to the counterpart terminal,
The terminal housing chamber into which the terminal is inserted, and a locking projection that prevents the terminal inserted into the terminal housing chamber from being engaged by engaging with the locking recess of the main body portion are formed. A lance having a connector housing,
With
The locking convex portion engaged with the locking concave portion presses the pressing portion of the connection piece, and sandwiches the pressing portion with a wall surface forming the locking concave portion.
about.
(2) A connector having the configuration of (1),
The locking recess is formed by bending a part of the side wall of the main body toward the inside of the main body,
The locking convex portion engaged with the locking concave portion sandwiches the pressing portion between the bent side wall,
about.
(3) A connector having the configuration of (1) or (2),
The locking projection and the locking recess are formed in a pair in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the terminal and the bending direction of the lance,
about.
(4) A connector having any one of the constitutions (1) to (3),
The pressing portion is a locking piece portion that is locked to the locking recess of the main body portion and engages the main body portion and the connection piece.
about.

In the connector configured as described in (1) above, the connection piece housed inside the main body is sandwiched between the locking projection of the lance and the wall surface of the locking recess of the main body. The backlash between the parts is suppressed. For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the noise in a standby state can be suppressed.
Further, in the connector having the above configuration (1), a pressing portion different from the portion of the connecting piece that elastically clamps the counterpart terminal with the inner wall of the main body is sandwiched. Generation of abnormal noise in the standby state can be suppressed without affecting the insertion force.
In the connector having the configuration (2), since the locking recess can be formed in the main body by a simple manufacturing process called bending, manufacturing is easy, and an increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed.
In the connector having the configuration (3), since the terminal is held by the pair of locking projections and locking recesses, the terminal holding force can be improved.
In the connector having the configuration (4), the locking piece portion, which is a member for engaging the main body portion and the connection piece, also functions as the pressing portion, so that the terminal can be reduced in size, space saving, and low cost. Can be achieved.

  According to the connector according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a connector that can suppress the occurrence of abnormal noise in the standby state.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through a mode for carrying out the invention described below (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the connector of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a state before the connector is mated with the mating connector. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a terminal attached to the tip of an electric wire is about to be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber of the connector housing, and is a longitudinal sectional view at a position corresponding to the line BB in FIG. . Fig.4 (a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state in the middle of inserting a terminal in a terminal accommodating chamber, and is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in the position corresponding to the BB line of FIG. FIG. 4B is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the terminal is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, and is a longitudinal sectional view at a position corresponding to the line BB in FIG. FIG. 5 is a horizontal cross-sectional view showing a state in which a terminal is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, and is a horizontal cross-sectional view at a position corresponding to the line V-V in FIG. FIG. 6A is a horizontal sectional perspective view showing the configuration of the connector housing on the terminal housing chamber side, and FIG. 6B is a horizontal view showing the engagement state of the terminal and the lance when the terminal is inserted into the terminal housing chamber. It is sectional drawing. FIG. 7A is an external perspective view showing the terminal viewed from above, FIG. 7B is a perspective view showing the spring piece viewed from above, and FIG. 7C is FIG. 7A. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional perspective view of the terminal shown. FIG. 8A is an external perspective view showing the terminal viewed from below, and FIG. 8B is a perspective view showing the spring piece viewed from below. Fig.9 (a) is a cross-sectional view which shows the state which inserted the terminal in the terminal storage chamber, and is a cross-sectional view in the position corresponding to CC line of FIG. FIG. 9B is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a terminal is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, and is a longitudinal sectional view at a position corresponding to the line AA in FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation when the front holder is pushed from the temporary locking position to the final locking position. FIG. 10A is a state before the front holder is pushed from the temporary locking position to the final locking position. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows this, and is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in the position corresponding to the BB line of FIG. FIG. 10B is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the front holder is pushed from the temporary locking position to the final locking position, and is a vertical sectional view at a position corresponding to the line BB in FIG. FIG. 11 is a view showing a conventional connector, and is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a terminal attached to the tip of an electric wire is about to be inserted into a terminal accommodating chamber of the connector housing, and is a longitudinal sectional view at a position passing through a lance beak. FIG. FIG. 12A is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in the middle of inserting the terminal into the terminal accommodating chamber, and is a longitudinal sectional view at a position passing through the beak of the lance. FIG.12 (b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which inserted the terminal in the terminal storage chamber, and is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in the position which passes the beak of a lance. FIG. 13A is a perspective view showing the structure of the terminal housing chamber side in the connector housing in a horizontal cross section, and FIG. 13B is a horizontal view of the engagement state of the terminal and the lance when the terminal is inserted into the terminal housing chamber. It is a top view shown with a cross section. 14 (a) is an external perspective view showing the terminal viewed from above, FIG. 14 (b) is a perspective view showing the spring piece viewed from above, and FIG. 14 (c) is shown in FIG. 14 (a). It is a longitudinal cross-sectional perspective view of the terminal shown. FIG. 15A is an external perspective view showing a terminal viewed from below, and FIG. 15B is a perspective view showing a spring piece viewed from below. FIG. 16 is an explanatory view showing the clearance in the vertical direction of the terminal inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, and is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

  Specific embodiments of the connector according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 10 show a connector 1 according to an embodiment.
The connector 1 is a connector that is fitted to the mating connector 2, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector 1 is attached to the tip of the electric wire W and accommodated in the connector housing 10. A required number of metal terminals 50 to be held, a resin front holder 70 mounted from the front inside the connector housing 10, and a connector housing 10 are rotatably mounted so that both connectors 1 and 2 are fitted. When the connectors 1 and 2 are brought into the initial fitted state, the connectors 1 and 2 can be rotated from the temporary locking position to the final locking position by utilizing the principle of the lever. 2, and a waterproof plug 60 and a packing 65 are provided.

  The connector housing 10 is provided with an outer housing portion 11 having an opening 11a on the front surface and an inner housing portion 12 inside thereof. Between the outer housing portion 11 and the inner housing portion 12, both connectors 1 are provided. A hood portion fitting space 13 into which the hood portion 4 of the housing 3 of the mating connector 2 enters is secured when the two connectors 2 are fitted. The outer housing portion 11 and the inner housing portion 12 are integrally connected to each other at a position that does not interfere with components to be mounted later.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 14 into which terminals 50 are inserted from the rear and the front ends of the terminals 50 inserted from the rear into the terminal accommodating chambers 14 abut each other inside the inner housing portion 12. The stopper 15 for positioning the terminal 50 in the forward direction, and when the terminal 50 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 14 from behind, the terminal 50 is pushed to the outside of the insertion path of the terminal 50 (lower side in FIG. 3). A flexible lance 20 that once bends and deforms and returns from bending when the terminal 50 is inserted to a position positioned by the stopper 15, and the terminal 50 is positioned and locked backward to prevent it from coming off. Is provided.

  The lance 20 is extended from the inner peripheral wall of the inner housing portion 12, and is provided in a cantilever shape with the tip, which is a free end, facing forward. As shown in FIG. 6, the lance 20 is formed in a single wide plate shape corresponding to the width dimension of the box portion 51 of the terminal 50. A beak 22 that engages with the locking hole 54 of the terminal 50 is provided on the wide surface near the tip, which is the free end of the lance 20, so as to engage with the locking hole 54 of the terminal 50. Further, on the wide surface, two beaks 23, 23 that respectively engage with the locking recesses 55, 55 of the terminal 50 project from both ends in the width direction. That is, on the wide surface, two beaks 23, 23 are perpendicular to the insertion direction of the terminal 50 (front-rear direction) and the bending direction of the lance 20 (up-down direction) (left-right direction, width direction of the lance 20) , In the depth direction in FIG. 3).

  In the lance 20, slits 24 for reducing the rigidity of the lance 20 are formed along the front-rear direction, and the tips of three portions separated in the width direction of the lance 20 by these slits 24 are connected to each other by a connecting portion 25. Has been. Further, the positions of the beaks 23 arranged at both ends in the width direction of the lance 20 and the beaks 22 placed in the center in the width direction are shifted in the front-rear direction, and the front ends of the three beaks 22 and 23 are the locking holes 54 and the locking holes. The front hole edge of the recess 55 is engaged, and at least the side surfaces of the beaks 23 arranged at both ends in the width direction are engaged with the side hole edges of the locking recess 55. Further, the beaks 23 disposed at both ends in the width direction are formed longer in the front-rear direction than the beak 22 disposed in the center in the width direction.

  When the front holder 70 is in the temporary locking position, the lance 20 is pushed by the terminal 50 inserted from the rear of the connector housing 10 and is once moved toward the bending space 28 (in the direction indicated by the arrow X in FIG. 4A). .) When the terminal 50 is deformed and returned to the position where the terminal 50 is inserted to a position where it is stopped by the stopper 15, the terminal 50 can be prevented from coming off and locked.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the male tab terminal of the mating connector 2 enters from the front, the terminal 50 receives the male tab terminal (the mating terminal, not shown) and is brought into contact conduction. It has a flat rectangular tube-shaped box part (main body part) 51, and has a wire crimping part 59 for crimping and fixing to the tip of the wire W at the rear part. The box part 51 is formed by bending a single metal plate. A locking hole 54 that engages with the beak 22 of the lance 20 is provided at the center in the width direction of the wide peripheral wall constituting the box portion 51. Locking recesses 55 and 55 that engage with the pair of beaks 23 and 23 of the lance 20 are provided at both ends in the width direction of the peripheral wall. That is, two locking recesses 55, 55 are formed in the peripheral wall in directions perpendicular to the insertion direction (front-rear direction) of the terminal 50 and the bending direction (up-down direction) of the lance 20 (left-right direction, width of the terminal 50). Direction, the depth direction in FIG. 3). The locking recess 55 is formed by bending bent pieces 58 a and 58 b formed by cutting out a part of the wall surface of the box portion 51 toward the inside of the box portion 51. Inside the box portion 51, an insertion space 52 for receiving the male tab terminal, and the male tab terminal that has entered the insertion space 52 are elastically sandwiched between the inner wall of the box portion 51, and the terminal 50 and the male tab terminal are connected. A spring piece (connection piece) 53 for electrical connection is provided.

  The spring piece 53 is formed separately from the box portion 51, and is formed integrally with the contact portion 57 and the contact portion 57 that elastically contact the male tab terminal of the mating connector 2, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. And a locking piece portion 56. The spring piece 53 is engaged with the box portion 51 by the locking piece portion 56 being locked to the bent pieces 58a and 58b of the box portion 51 as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a part of the locking piece portion 56 is exposed from the locking recess 55 toward the outside of the box portion 51.

  In a state where the lance 20 keeps the terminal 50 inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 14 from coming off, as shown in FIG. 9, the beak 23 engaged with the locking recess 55 is connected to the locking piece portion of the spring piece 53. 56 is pressed in the locking direction of the lance 20, and the locking piece 56 is sandwiched between the bent piece 58a (that is, the wall surface forming the locking recess 55). More specifically, the beak 23 presses and holds the portion exposed to the outside from the box portion 51 of the locking piece portion 56 between the bent piece 58a. For this reason, the vertical movement of the locking piece 56 is restricted. At this time, since the end face in the left-right direction of the locking piece 56 is in contact with the bent piece 58b, the movement of the spring piece 53 in the left-right direction is also restricted. That is, the locking piece portion 56 is not only used as a locking piece portion that is locked to the locking recess 55 of the box portion 51 and engages the box portion 51 and the spring piece 53, but also when the terminal 50 is prevented from coming off. It functions also as a pressing part pressed by 23.

  A rubber waterproof plug 60 that seals a gap between the peripheral wall of the terminal accommodating chamber 14 and the outer periphery of the electric wire W is provided on the outer periphery of the electric wire W whose tip is fixed to the terminal 50, and the inner housing of the connector housing 10 is provided. A packing 65 is provided on the outer periphery of the portion 12 to seal the gap between the hood portion 4 of the mating connector 2 and the inner housing portion 12 when the connectors 1 and 2 are fitted together. The connector 1 is configured to be waterproof by the sealing action of the packing 65. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the waterproof plug 60 is caulked and fixed on the insulating coating of the electric wire W at the rear end of the terminal 50.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the front holder 70 can be pushed into the inner housing portion 12 of the connector housing 10 from the front temporary locking position to the rear final locking position.

  The front holder 70 is provided with a cylindrical wall 71 that fits to the outer peripheral portion of the front end of the inner housing portion 12, and a terminal 50 is provided on the bottom side of the cylindrical wall 71 as shown in FIG. When the front holder 70 is pushed from the temporary locking position to the final locking position in a state in which the lance 20 is prevented from coming off, the lance 20 enters the bending space 28 of the lance 20 to inhibit the lance 20 from being bent. A lance pressing portion 78 that double-locks 50 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lever 80 includes a pair of side plates 81 and 82 that face each other in parallel, and a connection operation portion 83 that connects the pair of side plates 81 and 82. The lever 80 is mounted on the connector housing 10 so as to be horizontally rotatable in a state where both side plates 81 and 82 are disposed at positions where the inner housing portion 12 of the connector housing 10 is sandwiched from above and below. By rotating from the position, the connectors 1 and 2 that are initially fitted can be completely fitted.

  Below, the effect | action and effect of the connector 1 which concern on this embodiment are demonstrated.

The connector 1 according to the present embodiment is formed separately from the box portion (main body portion) 51 formed in a cylindrical shape and the box portion 51, and is accommodated in the box portion 51 and inserted into the box portion 51. A spring piece (connection piece) 53 for elastically holding the male tab terminal between the inner wall of the box part 51 and the terminal 50 electrically connected to the male tab terminal and the terminal 50 are inserted. The flexibility in which the terminal accommodating chamber 14 and the beak (engaging convex portion) 23 that prevents the terminal 50 inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 14 from coming off by engaging with the engaging recess 55 of the box portion 51 is formed. And a connector housing 10 having a lance 20 having the same. The beak 23 engaged with the locking recess 55 presses the locking piece portion (pressing portion) 56 of the spring piece 53 and engages with the bent piece (wall surface forming the locking recess 55) 58a. The stop piece 56 is clamped.
As a result, the spring piece 53 accommodated inside the box portion 51 is sandwiched between the beak 23 of the lance 20 and the bent piece 58a of the box portion 51. The backlash is suppressed. For this reason, according to the connector 1 which concerns on this embodiment, generation | occurrence | production of the noise in a standby state can be suppressed. Moreover, since the latching piece part 56 different from the contact part 57 elastically clamped between the inner wall of the box part 51 among the spring pieces 53 is clamped, the terminal insertion force of the male tab terminal is increased. Can suppress the generation of abnormal noise in the standby state without affecting.

Further, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the locking recess 55 is formed by bending a part of the wall surface (folded piece 58 a) of the box portion 51 toward the inside of the box portion 51. The beak 23 engaged with the hook sandwiches the locking piece 56 between the bent wall surface.
For this reason, according to the connector 1 which concerns on this embodiment, since the latching recessed part can be formed in a main-body part by the simple manufacturing process called bending, manufacture is easy and it can suppress the increase in manufacturing cost.

Further, in the connector 1 according to this embodiment, the beak 23 and the locking recess 55 are formed in a pair side by side in the direction (width direction) perpendicular to the insertion direction of the terminal 50 and the bending direction of the lance 20. . Further, a beak 22 and a locking hole 54 are formed at the center in the width direction of the pair of beaks 23 and the locking recess 55 formed side by side in the width direction.
For this reason, according to the connector 1 which concerns on this embodiment, since a terminal is hold | maintained by a pair of beak 23 and the latching recessed part 55, the beak 22, and the latching hole 54, terminal holding force can be improved.

In the connector 1 according to this embodiment, the pressing portion pressed by the beak 23 is locked to the locking recess 55 of the box portion 51 to engage the box portion 51 and the spring piece 53. 56.
For this reason, according to the connector 1 which concerns on this embodiment, since the latching piece part 56 which is a member for engaging the box part 51 and the spring piece 53 functions also as a press part, the terminal 50 is reduced in size. Thus, space saving and cost reduction can be achieved.

  The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. The above-described embodiments can be accompanied by various modifications and improvements within the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the locking recess 55 is formed by bending the bent pieces 58a and 58b formed by cutting out part of the wall surface of the box portion 51. A configuration formed by a known method may be used. For example, it may be configured to form the locking recess by casting or welding.

  Further, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the locking piece portion 56 of the spring piece 53 that is locked to the locking recess 55 of the box portion 51 and engages the box portion 51 and the spring piece 53 includes: The beak 23 is pressed and sandwiched between the box portion 51 and functions as a pressing portion. However, the pressing portion provided separately from the locking piece portion 56 of the spring piece 53 is provided by the beak 23. It may be configured to be pressed and sandwiched between the box portion 51.

  Further, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the beak 23 and the locking recess 55 are formed in pairs in the width direction, but the single beak 23 and the locking recess 55 are formed. It does not matter as a configuration. Moreover, it is good also as a structure by which the beak 23 and the latching recessed part 55 are formed three or more.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connector 2 Mating connector 3 Housing 4 Hood part 10 Connector housing 11 Outer housing part 12 Inner housing part 14 Terminal accommodation chamber 20 Lance 22 Beak 23 Beak (locking convex part)
50 Terminal 51 Box part (main part)
52 Insertion space 53 Spring piece (connection piece)
54 Locking hole 55 Locking recess 56 Locking piece (pressing part)
57 Contacting part 58a Bending piece 58b Bending piece

Claims (4)

A main body formed in a cylindrical shape, and formed separately from the main body, is accommodated in the main body, and the other terminal inserted into the main body is elastic between the inner wall of the main body. A connection piece that is sandwiched between, and a terminal that is electrically connected to the counterpart terminal,
The terminal housing chamber into which the terminal is inserted, and a locking projection that prevents the terminal inserted into the terminal housing chamber from being engaged by engaging with the locking recess of the main body portion are formed. A lance having a connector housing,
With
The locking convex portion engaged with the locking concave portion presses the pressing portion of the connection piece, and sandwiches the pressing portion with a wall surface forming the locking concave portion.
A connector characterized by that. The locking recess is formed by bending a part of the wall surface of the main body toward the inside of the main body,
The locking convex portion engaged with the locking concave portion sandwiches the pressing portion between the bent wall surface;
The connector according to claim 1. The locking projection and the locking recess are formed in a pair in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the terminal and the bending direction of the lance,
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is a connector. The pressing portion is a locking piece portion that is locked to the locking recess of the main body portion and engages the main body portion and the connection piece.
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein:

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