JP2012129111A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To support a terminal metal fitting by providing a support wall at a front mask portion of a built-in retainer.SOLUTION: A connector 10 has a housing 20. A built-in retainer 30, in which a front mask portion 40 constituting a fitting surface 11 and a retainer portion 50 for preventing detachment of a terminal metal fitting 70 mounted to the housing 20 are integrally formed, is movably assembled with the housing 20. A support wall 42 supporting the terminal metal fitting 70 is provided at the front mask portion 40, and the built-in retainer 30 is movable between a temporary locking position, at which the support wall 42 is assembled with the housing 20 without interfering with the terminal metal fitting 70, an intermediate position, which is pushed from the temporary locking position to go around the terminal metal fitting 70, and a final locking position, which is pushed to approach to the terminal metal fitting 70 from the intermediate position to prevent detachment of the terminal metal fitting 70 and support it with the support wall 42.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector having a front mask.

  In general, this type of connector has a housing in which a terminal fitting held in a retaining state by a lance is accommodated, and a retainer that doubles the terminal fitting together with the lance is attached to the housing. Things are known. In this type of connector, in order to reduce the number of parts, a front mask integrated retainer (hereinafter abbreviated as “integrated retainer”) in which the retainer and the front mask are integrated is mounted on the housing. As a connector to which a side retainer is attached, for example, a connector described in Patent Document 1 is known. When the connector is in the temporarily locked position, the integrated retainer is assembled in a temporarily locked state on the lower surface side of the housing, and after the terminal fitting is mounted, it is pushed upward toward the fully locked position. It has become.

  On the front surface of the housing, a terminal insertion port for inserting a tab terminal connected to the terminal fitting and a lance forming hole for forming the lance are opened in communication, and on both sides sandwiching the lance forming hole, A pair of support walls that support the front end of the terminal fitting are provided. The support wall prevents the front end portion of the terminal fitting from falling downward, and also restricts the quality of the terminal fitting from being affected by vibrations or the like during vehicle travel.

JP-A-10-289747

  In recent years, as the terminal metal fittings have been reduced in size, the entire housing has been reduced in size, and accordingly, the lance has also been reduced in size. However, when the lance is reduced in size, the locking force for holding the terminal fitting decreases, so that the lance can be locked over the entire width of the terminal fitting for the purpose of improving the locking force as much as possible. It is necessary to widen the width dimension. If a wide lance is formed, it is impossible to form a pair of support walls that are conventionally provided on both sides of the lance forming hole, so that the front end of the terminal fitting cannot be supported by both support walls. As a result, the quality of the terminal fitting is degraded.

  As a countermeasure, for example, a support wall may be provided on the front mask portion of the integrated retainer. However, if the terminal fitting is mounted on the housing with the integrated retainer in the temporary locking position, the terminal fitting located on the lower side of the terminal fitting to be supported by the supporting wall interferes with the supporting wall. It cannot be installed in the housing. As a matter of course, even if it is attempted to attach the terminal fitting to the housing while the integrated retainer is in the fully locked position, the terminal fitting and the retainer portion will interfere with each other, and the terminal fitting may still be attached to the housing. Can not.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above situation, and an object thereof is to support a terminal fitting by providing a support wall on a front mask portion of an integrated retainer.

  The present invention has a housing, and an integrated retainer in which a front mask portion that constitutes a fitting surface and a retainer portion that prevents a terminal fitting attached to the housing from being integrally formed is movable with respect to the housing. The assembled connector is provided with a support wall for supporting the terminal fitting on the front mask portion, and the integrated retainer has a temporary locking position assembled to the housing so that the support wall does not interfere with the terminal fitting. An intermediate position where the terminal fitting is pushed in from the temporary locking position, and a main locking position where the terminal fitting is pushed closer to the terminal fitting from the intermediate position to prevent the terminal fitting from being removed and supported by the support wall; It is characterized in that it is configured to be movable between the two.

  According to such a configuration, the terminal fitting can be supported by the support wall at the final locking position without causing the support wall to interfere with the terminal fitting at the temporary locking position and the intermediate position. In other words, unlike the conventional integrated retainer, it moves in a two-stage push-in operation (push-in operation that goes around the terminal fitting) from the temporary lock position to the final lock position via the intermediate position. Therefore, even if a support wall is provided in the front mask portion of the integrated retainer, the support wall does not interfere with the terminal fitting, and the terminal fitting can be supported by the supporting wall.

The following configuration is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention.
The integrated retainer may be assembled at the temporary locking position from below the housing, and the support wall may be configured to support the lower surface side of the terminal fitting at the final locking position.
According to such a configuration, since the lower surface side of the terminal fitting can be supported by the support wall, it is possible to efficiently regulate the deterioration of the quality of the terminal fitting under the influence of vibration or the like during vehicle travel.

The integrated retainer may be configured to be pushed upward from the temporary locking position toward the intermediate position and pushed backward from the intermediate position toward the final locking position.
According to such a configuration, when there is a terminal fitting in a half-inserted state with respect to the housing, when the integrated retainer is pushed upward from the temporary locking position toward the intermediate position, the retainer portion is in the half-inserted terminal. Since it interferes with the metal fitting, half-insertion detection can be performed.

A support wall is good also as a structure arrange | positioned so that a front end of a terminal metal fitting can be contacted in a temporary latching position.
According to such a configuration, when the terminal fitting is assembled to the housing at the temporary locking position, the terminal fitting can be stopped by the support wall.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to support the terminal fitting by providing the support wall on the front mask portion of the integrated retainer.

The perspective view of the connector in an embodiment Front view of the connector of FIG. Rear view of the connector of FIG. Right side view of the connector of FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the connector of FIG. Rear view of the connector of FIG. Right side view of the connector of FIG. Front view of the connector of FIG. Sectional drawing which showed the state which assembled | attached the integrated retainer in the temporary latching position with respect to the housing Sectional drawing which showed the state which moved the integrated retainer of FIG. 9 to the intermediate position Sectional drawing which showed the state which moved the integrated retainer of FIG. 10 to this latching position AA line sectional view in FIG. Sectional drawing which showed the state which assembled | attached the integrated retainer of FIG. 12 in the temporary latching position with respect to the housing. Sectional drawing which showed the state which moved the integrated retainer of FIG. 13 to the intermediate position Sectional drawing which showed the state which moved the integrated retainer of FIG. 14 to this latching position

<Embodiment>
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 10 according to the present embodiment has a horizontally long and flat block shape in which a fitting surface 11 arranged on the front side of the figure forms a horizontally long substantially square shape and extends in the fitting direction. The connector 10 can be fitted to a board connector (not shown) connected to a conductive path of a circuit board (not shown) in a conductive manner. In the following description, the front-rear direction is based on the fitting direction with the board connector, and the fitting surface 11 side is the front side.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the connector 10 includes a housing 20 made of synthetic resin and an integrated retainer 30. A lock arm 21 is provided at the center in the width direction on the upper surface of the housing 20. The lock arm 21 is formed with a length from the front end portion to the rear end portion of the housing 20, and the rear end portion can be displaced in the vertical direction with the front end portion as a base end. When the connector 10 is properly fitted to the board connector, the lock arm 21 is locked to the board connector, so that the connector 10 and the board connector are held in a properly fitted state.

  A pair of guide ribs 22 are provided on both side surfaces of the housing 20. The guide rib 22 has a form extending in the front-rear direction, and is fitted into a guide receiving groove (not shown) provided in the board connector so that the fitting operation to the board connector is guided. Yes.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, a plurality of cavities 23 having a shape penetrating in the front-rear direction are formed inside the housing 20. A plurality of these cavities 23 are provided side by side in the left-right direction in two steps. As shown in FIG. 9, a female terminal fitting 70 can be inserted into the cavity 23 from behind. On the bottom wall of the front end portion of the cavity 23, a lance 24 that extends forward in a cantilever shape is provided. The lance 24 holds the terminal fitting 70 in a retaining state by being locked to the terminal fitting 70 inserted in the regular insertion position with respect to the cavity 23.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the integrated retainer 30 includes a front mask portion 40 that constitutes the fitting surface 11 of the connector 10, a retainer portion 50 that is mounted in a retainer mounting port 25 described later, and these portions 40, 50. And a pair of left and right side plates 61 that are integrally connected to each other. In other words, the integrated retainer 30 is a member in which the front mask portion 40 corresponding to the front mask and the retainer portion 50 corresponding to the retainer are integrated by the side plates 61.

  The integrated retainer 30 is assembled to the housing 20 so as to be movable between a temporary locking position shown in FIG. 9, an intermediate position shown in FIG. 10, and a final locking position shown in FIG. When the terminal retainer 30 is assembled in the temporary locking position with respect to the housing 20, the terminal fitting 70 is inserted into the cavity 23, and when all the terminal fittings 70 are inserted into the regular insertion positions, the integral retainer 30 is removed. The state where it is pushed upward to be assembled at the intermediate position, and the integrated retainer 30 is continuously pushed backward to reach the state where it is assembled at the final locking position. At the final locking position, all the terminal fittings 70 are in a state of being double-stopped together with the lance 24 by the retainer portion 50.

  A plurality of terminal insertion holes 41 are formed through the front mask portion 40. The terminal insertion hole 41 is provided at a position corresponding to the cavity 23. In addition to the front end opening of the cavity 23, a die cutting hole 26 for forming the lance 24 is also opened on the front surface of the housing 20 where the front mask portion 40 is mounted. Are in line with each other and communicate with each other. In a state where the integrated retainer 30 is mounted on the housing 20, the front mask portion 40 closes the die release hole 26 of the lance 24, so that a male terminal fitting (not shown) inserted through the terminal insertion hole 41 is provided. It is possible to restrict the accidental entry into the punching hole 26.

  A retainer mounting port 25 is provided behind the lance 24 in the housing 20. The retainer mounting opening 25 intersects with all the cavities 23 and opens on the lower surface of the housing 20. The operation of mounting the integrated retainer 30 on the housing 20 is performed by assembling the retainer portion 50 to the retainer mounting opening 25. The retainer portion 50 is provided with a window 51 through which all the terminal fittings 70 are allowed to pass at the temporary locking position. The windows 51 are arranged in a line at positions corresponding to the cavities 23 on the lower side. Therefore, the retainer portion 50 is formed in a lattice shape by the plurality of windows 51.

  In the main locking position shown in FIG. 11, the upper frame portion of the window frame constituting the window 51 can be locked to the upper terminal fitting 70, and the lower frame portion is the lower terminal fitting 70. Can be locked. In addition, in the intermediate position shown in FIG. 10, the upper frame portion of the window 51 is prevented from interfering with the upper terminal fitting 70, and the lower frame portion of the window 51 is not interfered with the lower terminal fitting 70. Has been.

  A pair of both side plates 61 are arranged in an opposed state so as to sandwich the front mask portion 40 and the retainer portion 50 from the left and right sides. A retainer lock portion 62 is provided at the front lower portion of each side plate 61. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, a pair of upper and lower lock receiving portions 27, which can be locked in the vertical direction, are provided on the side wall of the housing 20. The lower lock receiving portion 27 is configured to be engaged with the retainer lock portion 62 when the integrated retainer 30 is in the temporary locking position. The upper lock receiving portion 27 is configured so that the integrated retainer 30 is The retainer lock portion 62 is locked when the intermediate position and the main lock position are present.

  Both lock receiving portions 27 are formed longer than the retainer lock portion 62 in the front-rear direction. For this reason, the retainer lock portion 62 is positioned at the front end side of the upper lock receiving portion 27 at the intermediate position, and when the integrated retainer 30 is moved to the main locking position, the retainer lock portion 62 is moved to the upper lock receiving portion. The retainer lock portion 62 is located on the rear end side of the upper lock receiving portion 27 at the final locking position.

  A pair of front and rear lock pieces 63 is provided at a position behind the retainer lock portion 62 in the side plate 61 (see FIG. 5). Further, a reinforcing wall 64 is erected between the lock pieces 63 in the side plate 61. The pair of left and right reinforcing walls 64 are respectively disposed on the left and right sides of the retainer portion 50.

  A bending space of the front lock piece 63 is formed between the front lock piece 63 and the reinforcing wall 64, and the rear lock piece 63 is provided between the rear lock piece 63 and the reinforcing wall 64. A deflection space is formed. Accordingly, the front lock piece 63 can be bent backward toward the reinforcing wall 64, and the rear lock piece 63 can be bent forward toward the reinforcing wall 64.

  Further, lock protrusions 65 are provided at the upper ends of the lock pieces 63, respectively. The lock protrusion 65 of the front lock piece 63 is configured to protrude forward, and the lock protrusion 65 of the rear lock piece 63 is configured to protrude rearward. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, a locking shelf 28 that can be locked in the vertical direction with the lock protrusion 65 of the front locking piece 63 is provided inside the housing 20. A locking step portion 29 that can be locked in the vertical direction is provided with the lock protrusion 65 of the lock piece 63 on the rear side.

  When the integrated retainer 30 is in the temporary locking position, as shown in FIG. 13, the lock protrusion 65 of the front lock piece 63 is arranged in contact with the lower surface side of the lock shelf 28, and the rear lock piece 63 is arrange | positioned in the state which contacted the front side of the latching step part 29. FIG. In this state, none of the lock pieces 63 is arranged in a natural state that is not bent and deformed, and the integral retainer 30 is restricted from moving from the temporary locking position to the intermediate position unintentionally. .

  When the integrated retainer 30 is in the intermediate position, as shown in FIG. 14, the lock protrusion 65 of the front lock piece 63 is disposed in contact with the upper surface side of the locking shelf 28, and the rear lock piece 63 The lock protrusion 65 is disposed in a non-contact state with the locking step portion 29 at an obliquely upper front of the locking step portion 29. In other words, even if the integrated retainer 30 is moved rearward from the intermediate position toward the main locking position, the lock protrusion 65 of the rear locking piece 63 does not interfere with the locking step portion 29. .

  While the integrated retainer 30 is moved upward from the temporary lock position toward the intermediate position, the lock protrusion 65 rides on the lock shelf 28 while the front lock piece 63 is bent backward and the lock protrusion 65 is locked. When the shelf 28 is climbed over, the front locking piece 63 is elastically restored to the state shown in FIG. In this state, since the lock protrusion 65 of the lock piece 63 on the front side is engaged with the engagement shelf 28 in the vertical direction, the integral retainer 30 is restricted from moving from the intermediate position to the temporary engagement position. .

  When the integrated retainer 30 is in the main locking position, as shown in FIG. 15, the locking protrusion 65 of the front locking piece 63 is not in contact with the locking shelf 28 at an obliquely rear upper side of the locking shelf 28. The locking projection 65 of the rear locking piece 63 is arranged in contact with the upper surface side of the locking step portion 29. In this state, the lock protrusion 65 of the front lock piece 63 is not vertically engaged with the engagement shelf 28, but the lock protrusion 65 of the rear lock piece 63 is engaged with the engagement step portion 29 in the vertical direction. Therefore, the integrated retainer 30 is restricted from dropping out of the housing 20 from the main locking position.

  Now, as shown in FIG. 11, a support wall 42 that supports the lower surface side of the front end portion of the terminal fitting 70 is provided on the front mask portion 40 in the final locking position so as to protrude rearward. A plurality of support walls 42 are arranged corresponding to each terminal fitting 70, and an upper support wall 42 that supports the upper terminal fitting 70, and a lower support wall 42 that supports the lower terminal fitting 70, It is composed of The upper support wall 42 is disposed between the upper terminal insertion hole 41 and the lower terminal insertion hole 41, and the lower support wall 42 is disposed below the lower terminal insertion hole 41. Has been. The upper support wall 42 closes the die punching hole 26 of the upper lance 24, and the lower support wall 42 closes the die punching hole 26 of the lower lance 24.

  When the integrated retainer 30 is in the temporary locking position, as shown in FIG. 9, the upper support wall 42 is disposed in front of the lower terminal fitting 70, and the lower support wall 42 is the bottom of the housing 20. It is disposed in front of the wall and below the lower terminal fitting 70. Therefore, the upper support wall 42 can stop the terminal fitting 70 inserted into the lower cavity 23. Further, the lower support wall 42 is formed so as to protrude rearward from the upper support wall 42 and is formed to be longer in the front-rear direction than the upper support wall 42 by the protruding size.

  When the integrated retainer 30 is in the intermediate position, as shown in FIG. 10, the upper support wall 42 is disposed in front of the die hole 26 of the upper lance 24, and the lower support wall 42 is disposed on the lower stage side. The lance 24 is disposed in front of the punching hole 26. At this time, the lower support wall 42 has already supported the lower surface side of the front end portion of the lower terminal fitting 70, but the upper support wall 42 still supports the upper terminal fitting 70. Absent. The support wall 42 does not approach linearly to the terminal fitting 70 to be supported at the final locking position when the integrated retainer 30 is moved from the temporary locking position to the intermediate position, but is L-shaped. It will approach as if turning around.

  The present embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described subsequently. First, the integrated retainer 30 is assembled at the temporary locking position, and the terminal fitting 70 is inserted into the cavity 23 from behind. When all the terminal fittings 70 are inserted into the proper insertion positions, the integrated retainer 30 is pushed upward from the state shown in FIG. 9 to move to the intermediate position shown in FIG. 10, and then the integrated retainer 30 is pushed backward. It is moved to the final locking position shown in FIG. Thereby, the terminal fitting 70 is double-prevented together with the lance 24, and the lower surface side of the front end portion of the terminal fitting 70 can be supported by the support wall 42. Therefore, it is possible to restrict the vibration of the terminal fitting 70 due to vibration during traveling of the vehicle, and to efficiently restrict the wear of the contact portion with the male terminal fitting.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the support wall 42 is provided on the front mask portion 40 of the integrated retainer 30, and the lower surface side of the front end portion of the terminal fitting 70 is supported by the support wall 42. Quality can be improved. Further, when the integrated retainer 30 is assembled to the housing 20, it is pushed upward from the temporary locking position toward the intermediate position, and then pushed backward from the intermediate position toward the final locking position. It is possible to avoid the wall 42 from interfering with the terminal fitting 70.

  In addition, since the lower surface side of the front end portion of the terminal fitting 70 is supported by the support wall 42, it is possible to efficiently regulate the deterioration of the quality of the terminal fitting due to the influence of vibration or the like during traveling of the vehicle. Further, when there is the terminal fitting 70 in the half-inserted state with respect to the cavity 23, when the integrated retainer 30 is pushed upward from the temporary locking position toward the intermediate position, the retainer portion 50 is in the half-inserted state. Therefore, half-insertion detection can be performed. In addition to these, when the terminal fitting 70 is inserted into the lower-side cavity 23, the terminal fitting 70 can be stopped by the upper-side support wall 42.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) In the above embodiment, the integrated retainer 30 is pushed upward from the temporary locking position toward the intermediate position and pushed backward from the intermediate position toward the main locking position. The integrated retainer 30 may be pushed backward from the temporary locking position toward the intermediate position and then pushed upward from the intermediate position toward the final locking position.

  (2) Although the lower surface side of the terminal fitting 70 is supported by the support wall 42 in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, for example, when the lance is provided on the ceiling wall side of the cavity 23, the support wall It is good also as a structure which supports the upper surface side of the terminal metal fitting 70 by.

  (3) Although only the front stop of the lower terminal fitting 70 is performed by the lower support wall 42 in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, the front stop wall that performs the front stop of the upper terminal fitting 70 is provided. The front mask portion 40 may be provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector 11 ... Mating surface 20 ... Housing 30 ... Integrated retainer 40 ... Front mask part 42 ... Support wall 50 ... Retainer part 70 ... Terminal metal fitting

Claims (4)

An integrated retainer having a housing and integrally formed with a front mask portion constituting a fitting surface and a retainer portion for retaining a terminal fitting attached to the housing is movably assembled to the housing. Connector,
A support wall for supporting the terminal fitting is provided on the front mask portion,
The integrated retainer has a temporary locking position assembled to the housing so that the support wall does not interfere with the terminal fitting, and an intermediate position pushed to go around the terminal fitting from the temporary locking position; A connector which is pushed from the intermediate position so as to approach the terminal fitting to prevent the terminal fitting from coming off, and is movable between a main locking position supported by the support wall.   The integrated retainer is assembled to the temporary locking position from below the housing, and the support wall supports the lower surface side of the terminal fitting at the final locking position. The connector according to claim 1.   The said integrated retainer is pushed upward toward the said intermediate position from the said temporary latching position, and is pushed back toward the said main latching position from the said intermediate position. connector.   The connector according to claim 3, wherein the support wall is disposed so as to be able to contact the front end of the terminal fitting at the temporary locking position.

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