JP2003059573A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a connector excellent in contact insertion property while ensuring a large contact holding force. A connector including a connector housing, a contact receiving chamber provided in the connector housing, and a housing lance provided in the connector housing and locking a contact inserted into the contact receiving chamber. The area of the contact side region in the cross section was made larger than the area of the anti-contact side region.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector,
In particular, it relates to improvement of a connector including a locking portion that locks a contact.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 8 is a front view of a conventional connector, and FIG. 9 is a view.
8 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX, FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the housing lance, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the contact.

The connector 201 is a connector housing 2
10, a contact accommodating chamber 220 provided in the connector housing 210, and a housing lance 230 provided in the connector housing 210 and locking the contact 250 inserted into the contact accommodating chamber 220.

The contact accommodating chamber 220 extends in the front-rear direction of the connector housing 210 (left-right direction in FIG. 9).

The housing lance 230 extends toward the front of the connector housing 210 (leftward in FIG. 9) and faces the contact accommodating chamber 220.

As shown in FIG. 11, the contact 250 includes a contact portion 251, a notch portion 252, and a crimp portion 253.
And a holding portion 254.

The contact 250 is formed by bending a thin metal plate.

The contact portion 251 includes an upper plate portion 251a and a lower plate portion 2
A contact portion (not shown) formed in a tubular shape having a square cross section, which is composed of 51b and two side plate portions 251c, and which contacts an unillustrated mating contact is formed in the tubular shape.

A notch 252 is formed at an end of the upper plate portion 251a of the contact portion 251 so as to abut the locking surface 231 of the housing lance 230.

The side plate portion 251c of the contact portion 251 functions as a guide when the contact 250 is inserted into the contact accommodating chamber 220.

The crimp portion 253 is the core wire 20 of the cable 205.
Hold 6

The holding portion 254 holds the core wire coating 207 of the cable 205.

Next, the insertion of the contact 250 into the connector housing 210 will be described.

The contact 250 is attached to the connector housing 2
When the side plate portion 251c is inserted into the contact accommodating chamber 220 from the rear opening 212 of the housing 10, the housing lance 230 is bent upward by the upper plate portion 251a of the contact portion 251.

When the contact 250 is inserted to the proper position, the housing lance 230 returns to its original position and the notch 252 of the contact 250 is locked to the locking surface 231a of the housing lance 230.

As a result, the contact 250 is held in the contact accommodating chamber 220 by the housing lance 230, and the contact 250 cannot be pulled out from the rear opening 212.

[0017]

The contact holding force of the housing lance 230 is substantially determined by the width w, where w is the width and h is the height of the housing lance 230. That is, the contact holding force increases as the width w increases.

However, when the height h is constant as in the above conventional example, the contact holding force can be increased by increasing the width w, but the rigidity of the housing lance 230 increases as the width w increases. Therefore, there is a problem that a large insertion force is required when inserting the contact 250 into the connector housing 210.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a connector excellent in insertability of contacts while securing a large contact holding force.

[0020]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a connector housing, a contact accommodating chamber provided in the connector housing, and a contact accommodating chamber provided in the connector housing. A connector having a locking portion for locking the contact inserted into the connector is characterized in that the area of the contact side region of the cross section of the locking portion is larger than the area of the non-contact side region.

Since the area of the contact side area of the cross section of the engaging portion is larger than the area of the non-contact side area, the contact holding force of the engaging portion can be increased and it is large when the contact is inserted into the connector housing. Does not require power.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a connector housing, a plurality of contact accommodating chambers provided in the connector housing, and the connector housing are provided.
In a connector including a locking portion that locks a plurality of contacts respectively inserted in the contact accommodating chambers,
The area of the contact side region of the cross section of the locking portion is larger than the area of the non-contact side region, and the locking portion is bent when the locking portion is bent by the insertion of the contact in the partition wall defining the contact receiving chamber. It is characterized in that a hole for receiving a part of the portion is provided.

Since the area of the contact side area of the cross section of the engaging portion is larger than the area of the non-contact side area, the contact holding force of the engaging portion can be increased and it is large when the contact is inserted into the connector housing. Does not require power. Further, when the connector housing is provided with a plurality of contact accommodating chambers, the pitch between the contact accommodating chambers is determined by the thickness of the locking portions, the bending space that absorbs the bending of the locking portions when the contacts are inserted, and the contact housing. Depending on the thickness of the partition that separates the chambers and the height of the contact, the partition that defines the contact accommodating chamber receives part of the locking portion when the locking portion bends due to insertion of the contact. Since the holes are provided, the pitch between the contact receiving chambers can be reduced by the thickness of the partition wall.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the connector according to the second aspect, the partition wall is provided with a bending amount regulating portion for regulating a bending amount of the locking portion when the contact is inserted. Is characterized by.

Since the partition wall is provided with a bending amount restricting portion for restricting the bending amount of the locking portion when the contact is inserted, a large force is applied to bend the locking portion by a predetermined amount or more by pulling out the contact. Even if it does, excessive bending of the locking portion is regulated by the bending amount regulating portion.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the connector according to the second or third aspect, the connector is detachably attached to the contact accommodating chamber and is provided with a closing member capable of closing the hole.

Since the contact accommodating chamber is provided with a closing member that can be attached to and detached from the contact receiving chamber and can close the hole, the opening area of the front end face of the connector housing can be reduced when the closing member is mounted in the contact receiving chamber. The contact between adjacent contacts can be closed.

[0028]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II--II of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a housing lance, and FIG. IV-
It is sectional drawing which follows the IV line.

The connector housing 10 of the connector 1 is
Contact storage chamber 20 and housing lance (locking part) 3
It has 0 and.

The connector housing 10 is made of resin, and a hole 11 for guiding a mating contact (not shown) to the contact storage chamber 20 is formed on the front end surface of the connector housing 10, and a contact 250 is formed on the rear end surface of the contact 250. A rear opening 12 for guiding to is formed.

Further, the connector housing 10 is provided with a lock lever 14 for releasing the locked state between the lock receiving portion (not shown) of the mating connector and the lock portion 13.

The contact storage chamber 20 is formed so as to extend in the front-back direction of the connector housing 10. The housing lance 3 faces the contact storage chamber 20.
0 is provided.

The housing lance 30 has a cantilever structure extending from the rear portion to the front portion of the connector housing 10, and the tip end side portion thereof is elastically deformed in the vertical direction of the connector housing 10 (direction shown by arrow A). It is possible.

The housing lance 30 is provided with a flat plate portion 31 located on the contact storage chamber 20 side and a projection portion (a part of the locking portion) 32 formed on the upper surface of the flat plate portion 31.

The width of the flat plate portion 31 is sufficiently larger than the width of the protrusion portion 32, and as shown in FIG. 4, the area of the contact side region Z1 of the cross section of the housing lance 30 is larger than the area of the anti-contact side region Z2.

The tip 32a of the projection 32 extends forward (in the direction toward the front end surface of the connector housing 10) from the locking surface 31a of the flat plate portion 31.

The sum of the height of the flat plate portion 31 and the height of the protruding portion 32 is almost the same as the height of the conventional housing lance 230.

The engaging surface 31a of the flat plate portion 31 is the contact 2
The notch 252 of 50 is locked.

Contact accommodating chambers 20 that are vertically adjacent to each other
The partition wall 21 defining the partition wall 22 is provided with a hole 22 that receives the protrusion 32 when the housing lance 30 is bent upward by inserting the contact 250.

Further, when the housing lance 30 bends upward due to the insertion of the contact 250, the flat plate portion 31 comes into contact with the partition wall 21, and a deflection amount regulation portion 23 for regulating the deflection amount of the housing lance 30 is provided in the partition wall 21. .

Next, the insertion of the contact 250 into the connector housing 10 will be described.

The contact 250 is attached to the connector housing 1
0 is inserted into the contact storage chamber 20 from the rear opening 12.

Contact 25 in the contact accommodating chamber 20
0 pushes the housing lance 30 upward to bend the housing lance 30. At this time, the housing lance 3
The zero protrusion 32 is received in the hole 22.

When the contact 250 is inserted to the regular locking position, the housing lance 30 is returned to its original position by the elastic force, and the notch 252 of the contact 250 is locked to the locking surface 31a of the housing lance 30. .

As a result, the contact 250 is prevented from coming off the connector housing 10.

When pulling out the contact 250, a tool (not shown) is inserted from the front end face of the connector housing 10 to lift the tip portion 32a upward so that the contact 25
0 notch 252 and locking surface 31 of housing lance 30
The contact 250 may be pulled rearward of the connector housing 10 after releasing the locked state with the connector a.

At this time, even if a large force for bending the housing lance 30 by a predetermined amount or more is applied, the flat plate portion 31
The upper surface 31b of the housing abuts on the bending amount restricting portion 23, and excessive bending of the housing lance 30 is restricted.

According to the first embodiment, since the area of the contact side region Z1 of the cross section of the housing lance 30 is made larger than the area of the anti-contact side region Z2, the contact holding force of the housing lance 30 can be improved. It is possible to obtain excellent insertability that does not require a large force when inserting the contact 250 into the connector housing 10.

Further, when the housing lance 30 is bent, the projection 32 of the housing lance 30 is received in the hole 22 of the partition wall 21.
The pitch between the contact accommodating chambers 20 can be made smaller than the pitch between them by the thickness of the partition wall 21.
It is possible to make the connector 1 smaller and thinner by reducing the vertical dimension of the connector 1.

Further, even if a large force for bending the housing lance 30 by a predetermined amount or more is applied, since the excessive bending of the housing lance 30 is restricted by the bending amount restricting portion 23, the plastic deformation of the housing lance 30 is prevented. It

FIG. 5 is a front view of a connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a housing lance. The same parts as those of the embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

The connector 101 is the connector housing 1.
10, a contact storage chamber 120, a housing lance (locking portion) 30, and a resin retainer (closing member) 14
It has 0 and.

The connector housing 110 is made of resin, and a hole 111 for guiding a mating contact (not shown) to the contact storage chamber 120 is formed in the front end surface of the connector housing 110.
The contact 250 is provided with a contact 250 on the rear end surface.
A rear opening 112 for guiding to is formed.

The contact storage chamber 120 is formed so as to extend in the front-rear direction of the connector housing 110.
A housing lance 30 is provided so as to face the contact storage chamber 120.

Contact accommodating chambers 12 that are vertically adjacent to each other
The partition wall 121 that defines 0 is provided with a hole 122 that receives the protrusion 32 when the housing lance 30 is bent upward by the insertion of the contact 250.

Further, when the housing lance 30 bends upward due to the insertion of the contact 250, the flat plate portion 31 comes into contact with the partition wall 121, and a deflection amount regulation portion 123 for regulating the deflection amount of the housing lance 30 is provided in the partition wall 121. .

The retainer 140 is the connector housing 11.
Cover part 141 for covering the front end face of 0 and this cover part 141
And an insertion protrusion 142 that is orthogonal to, and is detachably attached to the connector housing 110 via, for example, a lock portion (not shown).

A hole 143 for guiding a mating contact (not shown) to the contact storage chamber 120 is formed in the cover portion 141 so as to face the hole 111.

The insertion protrusion 142 is provided with a closing plate 144 having a width slightly smaller than that of the hole 122 and a thickness substantially the same as that of the hole 122. When the retainer 140 is attached to the connector housing 110, the closing plate 144 has a tip portion 144a.
Contacts the contact surface 110a of the connector housing 110 to close the hole 122.

Next, the insertion of the contact 250 into the connector housing 110 will be described.

The contact 250 is attached to the connector housing 1
10 is inserted into the contact accommodation chamber 120 through the rear opening 112. At this time, the contact 250 in the contact accommodating chamber 120 presses the housing lance 30 upward, so that the housing lance 30 is deformed.

When the contact 250 is inserted to the regular locking position, the housing lance 30 is returned to its original position by the elastic force, and the notch 252 of the contact 250 is locked to the locking surface 31a of the housing lance 30. .

Then, the retainer 140 is mounted on the connector housing 110.

When the insertion protrusion 142 of the retainer 140 is inserted into the contact receiving chamber 120 by a predetermined amount, the tip portion 144a of the closing plate 144 of the retainer 140 contacts the contact surface 110a of the connector housing 110.

As a result, the opening area of the front end face of the connector housing 110 is reduced by the cover portion 141, and the hole 122 provided in the partition wall 121 which partitions the adjacent contact accommodating chambers 120 is closed by the closing plate 144.

According to the second embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained, and the connector housing 1
The opening area of the front end face of 10 is the cover portion 141 (retainer 1
40), the contact storage chamber 12
Since dust and the like can be prevented from entering 0, and the holes 122 provided in the partition walls 121 that partition the adjacent contact storage chambers 120 are closed by the closing plate 144 (retainer 140), the adjacent contact storage chambers can be closed. The withstand voltage performance between contacts inserted in 120 is improved.

When the contact 250 is in the half-inserted state, the housing lance 30 is in a bent state. Therefore, when the retainer 140 is inserted, the tip portion 144a of the retainer 140 is moved to the tip portion 32a of the housing lance 30.
Alternatively, since the retainer 140 cannot be inserted to the regular locking position because it abuts the locking surface 31a, it can be detected that the contact 250 has not been inserted to the regular locking position.

Although the housing lance 30 has the cross section shown in FIG. 4 in the above embodiment, if the area of the contact side area of the cross section of the housing lance 30 is larger than the area of the non-contact side area, L Any cross-sectional shape such as a letter shape may be used.

[0070]

As described above, according to the connector of the first aspect of the present invention, excellent contact insertability can be obtained while securing a large contact holding force.

According to the connector of the invention described in claim 2,
It is possible to obtain excellent contact insertability while securing a large contact holding force, and to reduce the size of the connector housing in the up-down direction (flexing direction of the locking part) to reduce the size and thickness of the connector. You can

According to the connector of the invention described in claim 3,
Plastic deformation of the locking portion is prevented.

According to the connector of the invention described in claim 4,
Dust and the like can be prevented from entering the contact accommodating chambers, and the withstand voltage performance between the contacts inserted in the adjacent contact accommodating chambers is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a housing lance.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the connector according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a housing lance.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a conventional connector.

9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of a housing lance.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a contact.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,101 connector 10,110 connector housing 20,120 Contact storage room 21,121 bulkhead 22,122 holes 23,123 Deflection amount control part 30 Housing lance (locking part) 140 retainer (closure member) 250 contacts

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A connector comprising: a connector housing; a contact accommodating chamber provided in the connector housing; and an engaging portion provided in the connector housing for engaging a contact inserted in the contact accommodating chamber, The connector is characterized in that an area of a contact side region of a cross section of the locking portion is larger than an area of a non-contact side region. 2. A connector housing, a plurality of contact accommodating chambers provided in the connector housing, and an engagement portion that is provided in the connector housing and engages a plurality of contacts respectively inserted in the contact accommodating chambers. In the connector including, the area of the contact-side region of the cross section of the locking portion is larger than the area of the non-contact-side region, and the locking portion is bent by the insertion of the contact in the partition wall that partitions the contact accommodating chamber. A connector characterized by being provided with a hole for receiving a part of the locking portion at times. 3. The connector according to claim 2, wherein the partition wall is provided with a flexure amount restricting portion that restricts a flexure amount of the locking portion when the contact is inserted. 4. The connector according to claim 2, further comprising a closing member that can be attached to and detached from the contact accommodating chamber and that can close the hole.