JP3551904B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connector provided with a retainer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, a waterproof connector often has a shape in which a housing around which a cavity for accommodating terminal fittings is formed is covered with a hood. On the other hand, a retainer is used to more reliably prevent the terminal fitting housed in the cavity from coming off. In the connector provided with the hood as described above, a front-type retainer is generally used in consideration of handling. .
This retainer has a protrusion that can protrude into a bending space of a lance for temporarily locking the terminal fitting, and is mounted from the front of the housing. More specifically, the retainer is previously mounted at a temporary locking position where the protrusion is retracted in front of the bending space of the lance, and in this state, the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity and is primarily locked by the lance. Is pushed into the main locking position, the protrusion enters the bending space of the lance, and restricts the bending deformation, thereby performing secondary locking. Despite the presence of the hood, the retainer can be pushed in from the open front side, so that handling is excellent as described above.
Such a connector is described, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-60072.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional type, the front side of the mounting position of the retainer is in a fully open state, so that the pushing operation is easy as described above, but the terminal fitting is assembled with the retainer mounted in the temporary locking position. Foreign matter may hit the retainer through the open portion during the transportation to the site or the like, and may be pushed to the final locking position. Then, at the site where the terminal fitting is assembled, extra work is required to return the retainer to the temporary locking position, so that an effective remedy has been required.
The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a housing having a cavity in which a terminal fitting is accommodated, and a hood provided around the housing are separately formed and can be assembled, and a retainer is provided on a side surface of the housing. The retainer is mounted on the hood so that it can be pushed from a retracted position retracted from the cavity to allow insertion and removal of the terminal fitting to an advanced position in which the terminal fitting is advanced into the cavity. A push-in opening for pushing in is opened, and an opening edge of the push-in opening is provided so as to overlap a part of the retainer.
[0005]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the retainer is formed integrally with the housing by taking the retracted position with respect to the housing via a hinge, and the hood is formed of the same metal as the housing. It is characterized in that it is molded in a mold and the housing and the hood are assembled in the mold.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, a seal member for taking a seal between the housing and a counterpart housing is mounted on the housing. And it is characterized by being molded with the same mold as the hood, and being mounted on the housing within the mold.
[0006]
Function and effect of the present invention
<Invention of claim 1>
With the retainer in the retracted position, the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity of the housing, and then the retainer is pushed into the advanced position through the push-in opening formed in the hood, and the terminal fitting is locked in a retaining state.
Since the housing and the hood are formed separately, the push-in opening is opened in the hood, but the opening edge can be provided so as to overlap a part of the retainer. Opening the push-in opening on the hood makes it easy to push the retainer.In addition, because the opening edge of the push-in opening overlaps a part of the retainer, the overlapped portion causes the retainer to be accidentally pushed into the advanced position. From being protected.
[0007]
<Invention of Claim 2>
After the housing and the hood, in which the retainer is integrally formed at the retracted position, are formed by the same mold, and assembled in the mold, the connector with the retainer previously mounted at the retracted position is taken out.
The manufacturing process is simplified, which can contribute to cost reduction.
<Invention of Claim 3>
When a seal member is further mounted on the housing, the seal member is also molded in the same mold as the housing and the hood, and then assembled in the mold, and the connector on which the seal member has been previously mounted is taken out. Similarly, the manufacturing process is simplified and cost reduction is achieved.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In this embodiment, a female waterproof connector is illustrated. This waterproof connector comprises a housing 20, a hood 40, and a sealing member 50 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and a female terminal fitting 11 fixed to an end of the electric wire 10 is attached as shown in FIG. It is supposed to be.
The housing 20 and the hood 40 are made of a hard synthetic resin, while the seal member 50 is made of a soft synthetic resin, and are separately molded by two-color molding in the same molding die and assembled in the same molding die. It has become.
[0009]
The housing 20 is formed in a flat block shape, and has five cavities 21 shown therein, into which the female terminal fittings 11 are inserted, arranged in a horizontal line. On the ceiling surface of each cavity 21, a lance 22 for primary locking to the female terminal fitting 11 is provided so as to be flexibly deformable.
The rear end of the lower surface of the housing 20 is formed in a stepped shape with one step lowered. A retainer insertion port 24 is opened in front of the stepped portion 23 over five cavities 21. 7, the front edge of the retainer insertion port 24 corresponds to the position of the jaw portion 12 of the female terminal fitting 11 properly inserted into the cavity 21, and the rear edge of the 13 corresponds to the position of the rear end.
[0010]
The retainer insertion opening 24 is provided with a retainer 25. The retainer 25 is formed integrally with the front edge of the stepped portion 23 and has a substrate 26 that covers the retainer insertion opening 24 to a portion slightly ahead of the front edge. On the upper surface of the substrate 26, as shown in FIG. 4, a locking plate 27 is set up at a position corresponding to each cavity 21. The locking plate 27 is formed in a chevron shape that becomes gradually shorter from a position slightly in the back of the front end of the substrate 26 to a position near the base end, and the highest portion is engaged with the jaw portion 12 of the female terminal fitting 11. The locking portion 28 stops. The tip of the retainer 25 is swingable with the base of the substrate 26 as a hinge 30.
[0011]
When the housing 20 is formed, the retainer 25 is formed in a state where the substrate 26 is in a downwardly inclined position and the locking portion 28 is in the retracted position retracted into the retainer insertion port 24 as shown in FIG. It has become so. On the other hand, when the front end of the retainer 25 is pushed upward, when the front end of the substrate 26 abuts against the front edge on the outer surface side of the retainer insertion port 24, the engaging portion 32 formed on the front surface of the locking plate 27 is moved. The retainer is held at the advanced position by being hooked on the front edge on the inner surface side of the retainer insertion opening 24. At this advanced position, the locking portion 28 enters the cavity 21 and engages with the female as shown in FIG. It can be locked to the jaw 12 of the side terminal fitting 11.
A guide plate 34 protrudes from the rear surface of the housing 20 at the center in the width direction of the upper edge, and a locking hook 35 is formed at the center in the width direction of the protruding end of the guide plate 34. Further, a stepped guide pin 36 whose front end is reduced in diameter is protrudingly provided on both left and right lower ends of the rear surface of the housing 20.
[0012]
The hood 40 is formed in a flat annular shape so as to cover around the housing 20 described above, and has a reduced diameter portion 41 formed on the rear end side thereof, and a slightly thick rubber plug is provided on the rear surface of the reduced diameter portion 41. The retainer 42 is stretched. At the center of the upper surface of the hood 40 in the width direction, there is provided a lock arm 43 for locking a mating state with a housing (not shown) of a mating male connector.
At the center of the lower surface of the hood 40 in the width direction, a push port 45 for pushing the retainer 25 provided on the housing 20 toward the advanced position is opened. Here, the opening edge 45A in front of the push-in port 45 is set to be located a predetermined distance S behind the tip of the retainer 25 when the hood 40 and the housing 20 are assembled as described later in detail. (See FIG. 3). In other words, when viewed from directly below, the front edge 45A of the retainer 25 and the opening edge 45A in front of the push-in port 45 are overlapped by the predetermined dimension S.
[0013]
In the rubber stopper 42 of the hood 40, terminal insertion holes 46 through which the female terminal fittings 11 can be inserted are formed corresponding to the arrangement of the cavities 21.
At the upper part of the rubber plug retainer 42, a locking hole 47 that can be locked to the locking hook 35 of the guide plate 34 projecting from the rear surface of the housing 20 is formed. A guide hole 48 through which the small-diameter portion 37 on the distal end side of the guide pin 36 is inserted almost tightly is opened.
[0014]
The sealing member 50 has a shape in which a thick rubber stopper 52 is continuously provided on the rear side of a flat annular packing 51. The packing 51 is for sealing between the housing 20 and the mating male housing, and can be tightly fitted to the outer periphery on the rear end side of the housing 20.
One rubber plug 52 is applied over the entrances 21A of all the cavities 21 to collectively seal the entrances 21A, and can be fitted into the reduced diameter portion 41 of the hood 40. An electric wire insertion hole 54 through which the electric wire 10 can be inserted tightly is formed in the rubber stopper 52 so as to correspond to the arrangement of the cavities 21 and the terminal insertion holes 46.
A guide groove 55 is formed in the upper part of the rubber stopper 52 so that the guide plate 34 protruding from the rear surface of the housing 20 can be inserted tightly. A guide hole 56 for tightly inserting the large-diameter portion 38 on the base end side is formed.
[0015]
Subsequently, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.
As described above, the housing 20, the hood 40, and the seal member 50 are separately formed by two-color molding in the same molding die. At this time, the retainer 25 is formed integrally with the housing 20 in the retracted position.
Next, the housing 20, the hood 40, and the seal member 50 are assembled in the same mold with the mold opening.
As an example of an assembling procedure, first, the seal member 50 is pressed against the rear side of the housing 20. Here, the guide plate 34 and the guide pin 36 projecting from the rear surface of the housing 20 are pushed into the guide groove 55 and the guide hole 56 of the rubber plug 52 while relatively entering the same, and the front surface of the rubber plug 52 is The pushing is stopped by hitting the rear surface of the housing 20, and the packing 51 is fitted to the outer periphery of the rear end of the housing 20. At this time, the locking hook 35 and the small-diameter portions 37 at the tips of the two guide pins 36 project to the rear surface of the rubber plug 52.
[0016]
Next, the housing 20 integrally assembled with the seal member 50 is pushed into the hood 40 from the front. At the end of the pushing, the locking hook 35 is pushed into the locking hole 47 of the rubber stopper 42 of the hood 40 while being bent and deformed, and the small diameter portion 37 of the guide pin 36 is inserted into the guide hole 48 while the sealing member is inserted. A packing 51 is fitted in the reduced diameter portion 41 of the hood 40. When the packing 51 hits the rubber stopper 42, the pushing is stopped. At that time, the locking hook 35 is restored and locked in the locking hole 47, so that the housing 20 is sandwiched by the hood 40 Is assembled in a state where it cannot be removed. When the housing 20, the hood 40, and the seal member 50 are assembled as described above, the product is taken out of the mold as a product.
[0017]
In this assembled state, as shown in FIG. 3, the retainer 25 is located at the retracted position, and the opening edge 45 </ b> A in front of the pushing port 45 opened on the lower surface of the hood 40 is in contact with the tip side of the retainer 25. They overlap over a predetermined dimension S. The connector is stocked in this assembled state and is appropriately conveyed to the terminal assembling site. The push-in port 45 opened in the hood 40 has the width of the hood 40 as shown in FIGS. Since the front opening edge 45A is protected by overlapping with the front end side of the retainer 25, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from hitting the retainer 25 at the retracted position through the push-in port 45 as much as possible. This prevents the retainer 25 from being inadvertently pushed into the advanced position.
[0018]
At the terminal assembling site, the female terminal fitting 11 fixed to the end of the electric wire 10 is inserted into the corresponding terminal insertion hole 46 of the electric wire holder 42 from behind. The female terminal fitting 11 is pushed in while expanding the electric wire insertion hole 54 of the rubber plug 52 of the sealing member 50, is inserted into the corresponding cavity 21, and is temporarily locked by the lance 22 when it is pushed to the proper position.
When the insertion of all the female terminal fittings 11 is completed, the jig 58 is inserted in a slightly oblique posture from the pushing hole 45 opened in the hood 40 as shown by a chain line in FIG. Push upward. Then, the retainer 25 swings about the hinge 30, and when the front end of the substrate 26 abuts on the front edge on the outer surface side of the retainer insertion port 24, as shown in FIG. And is held at the advanced position by being hooked on the front edge on the inner surface side of the. At this time, each locking portion 28 enters the corresponding cavity 21 and locks on the jaw portion 12 of the female terminal fitting 11.
[0019]
If any of the inserted female terminal fittings 11 is held in a semi-inserted state, when the retainer 25 is pushed toward the advanced position, the locking portion 28 is turned into a box of the female terminal fitting 11. The pushing is restricted by hitting the portion 14, and it is detected that the half-inserted female terminal fitting 11 is present. Then, the female terminal fitting 11 may be pushed again.
When the retainer 25 is held at the advanced position as described above, each female terminal fitting 11 is double-locked and accommodated in the cavity 21, and the rubber stopper 52 of the seal member 50 closes the inlet 21 </ b> A of each cavity 21. Assembling of the sealed female waterproof connector is completed.
When mating with the mating male connector, the male and female terminal fittings are connected to each other, and the packing 51 of the seal member 50 is sandwiched between the female housing 20 and the mating male housing. The space between the two housings is sealed.
[0020]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the housing 20 and the hood 40 are formed separately, even if the push hole 45 for pushing the retainer 25 into the hood 40 is opened, the front portion of the push hole 45 can be opened. The opening edge 45A can be provided so as to overlap the tip of the retainer 25. That is, the pushing operation of the retainer 25 can be easily performed by using the pushing port 45 of the hood 40, while the opening edge 45A of the pushing port 45 overlaps the tip of the retainer 25 to protect the foreign matter from hitting. , Can be prevented from being inadvertently pushed into the advanced position.
In addition, since the housing 20, the hood 40, and the sealing member 50 are molded in the same mold and assembled in the same mold, the manufacturing process can be simplified, and a significant cost reduction can be achieved. it can.
[0021]
<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, and are not limited to the following without departing from the gist. Can be implemented with various modifications.
(1) The assembling procedure of the above embodiment is an example, and other procedures such as sequentially pushing a seal member and a housing into a hood may be used.
(2) The present invention can be applied to a male waterproof connector.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a waterproof connector according to an embodiment of the present invention before assembling; FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof; FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view of the waterproof connector after assembly is completed. FIG. 5 is a bottom view thereof. FIG. 6 is a rear view thereof. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing completion of insertion of the female terminal fitting. Longitudinal cross-sectional view of double locked state [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Female terminal fitting 12 ... Jaw part 20 ... Housing 21 ... Cavity 24 ... Retainer insertion opening 25 ... Retainer 28 ... Locking part 30 ... Hinge 40 ... Hood 45 ... Push-in port 45A ... Opening edge 50 (of the push-in port 45) ... Seal member 51 ... Packing S ... Overlapping dimension

Claims (3)

A housing having a cavity for accommodating the terminal fitting and a hood provided around the housing are formed separately and can be assembled. A retainer is provided on a side surface of the housing to allow insertion and removal of the terminal fitting. From the retracted position retracted from the cavity to a position where the retainer is pushed into the cavity so as to be engaged with the terminal fitting. A connector having an opening, and an opening edge of the pushing port is provided so as to overlap a part of the retainer. The retainer is formed integrally with the housing by taking the retracted position with respect to the housing via a hinge, and the hood is formed by the same mold as the housing, and the housing and the hood are formed in the mold. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein said connector is assembled. The housing is provided with a seal member for taking a seal between the housing and a counterpart housing, and the seal member is formed by the same mold as the housing and the hood, and is formed in the mold. 3. The connector according to claim 2, wherein the connector is mounted on the housing.

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