JP6380036B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  In Patent Document 1, the terminal fitting inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber is prevented from being pulled out by locking the locking arm, and the locking arm is bent by the front holder assembled so as to close the front end portion of the terminal accommodating chamber. A connector to be regulated is disclosed. When the terminal fitting is properly inserted, since the locking arm is not bent, the detection plate of the front holder enters the bending space of the locking arm. When the terminal fitting is half inserted, the locking arm bends and enters the bending space, so that the detection plate hits the locking arm. Therefore, the insertion state of the terminal fitting can be detected based on whether or not the half-insertion detection unit hits the locking arm.

JP-A-8-288017

  In the above conventional connector, the detection plate abuts against the front end portion of the locking arm. However, when the connector is downsized, the locking arm is thinned and its strength is reduced. There is a concern that this may be illegally deformed. If the locking arm is deformed improperly, it is impossible to accurately detect the insertion state of the terminal fitting.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to improve the reliability of the function of detecting the insertion state of the terminal fitting.

The connector of the present invention
A housing in which a terminal accommodating chamber is formed;
It is formed in a form that cantilevered forward in the terminal receiving chamber, and in the process of inserting the terminal fitting into the terminal receiving chamber, the terminal fitting is elastically bent so as to advance into the bending space, and the terminal fitting is properly inserted. Then, a lance that elastically recovers and locks to the terminal fitting,
A front retainer assembled from the front with respect to the housing;
A detection unit that is formed on the front retainer and enters the bending space when the lance is not elastically bent;
An engagement surface formed on the lance and engaged with the terminal fitting, and formed on the lance, adjacent to the engagement surface, and abuts the detection portion only when the lance is elastically bent. A sensing surface;
A partition wall partitioning the terminal accommodating chambers adjacent to each other in the width direction intersecting with the bending direction of the lance;
Of the partition wall portion, provided with a notch portion in the form of notching a region corresponding to the detection surface in the bending direction of the lance,
The detection surface formation region in the width direction is characterized in that it extends over a range including the terminal accommodating chamber and the cutout portion.

  In a state where the terminal fitting is not properly inserted and the lance is elastically bent, when the front retainer is to be assembled, the detection unit abuts against the detection surface, so that it can be detected that the terminal fitting is in the half-inserted state. The detection surface against which the detection unit abuts is not arranged at the tip of the protruding part, but is adjacent to the locking surface, so even if the entire housing including the lance is downsized, the lance is deformed incorrectly. It is hard to produce. In addition, since the detection surface formation region in the width direction is extended not only to the terminal accommodating chamber but also to the thickness range of the partition wall portion, unauthorized deformation of the lance can be prevented more reliably. Therefore, the connector of the present invention is excellent in the reliability of the function of detecting the insertion state of the terminal fitting.

Side sectional view showing a state in which the terminal fitting is properly inserted and the detection part of the front retainer enters the bending space in the first embodiment. Side sectional view showing the state before the terminal fitting is properly inserted and the detection part of the front retainer enters the bending space Side sectional view showing a state where the detection part of the front retainer is in contact with the detection surface of the lance that has elastically bent due to interference with the terminal fitting XX sectional view of FIG. Partial enlarged view of FIG. YY sectional view of FIG. Partial enlarged view of FIG. Front view of housing Rear view of front retainer Top view of the front retainer Partial enlarged view of FIG. Partial enlarged view of FIG.

The connector of the present invention
A front end portion of the lance protrudes forward from the detection surface, and a jig abutting portion for bending the lance toward the bending space is formed so as to be aligned with the detection surface in the width direction. Has been
The detection surface may be formed only in a region that is biased to one side in the width direction.
According to this configuration, it is possible to sufficiently secure the width dimension of one detection surface as compared with the case where the detection surface is formed at two locations separated in the width direction.

The connector of the present invention
The front retainer may be formed with a protruding wall part that can enter the notch part.
According to this structure, the short circuit between the terminal fittings inserted in the terminal accommodating chambers adjacent in the width direction can be prevented by the partition wall and the protruding wall.

<Example 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The connector according to the present embodiment includes a synthetic resin housing 10, a plurality of terminal fittings 21, and a synthetic resin front retainer 30. In the following description, the horizontal direction is based on the orientation when the housing 10 is viewed from the front, as shown in FIGS. Moreover, the left-right direction and the width direction are used synonymously.

A plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 11 are formed in the housing 10 so as to be aligned in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction (width direction). The terminal accommodating chamber 11 has a form penetrating the housing 10 in the front-rear direction. The terminal accommodating chamber 11 is inserted from the rear of the housing 10 (right side in FIGS. 1 to 3). The terminal accommodating chambers 11 adjacent to each other in the width direction are partitioned by partition walls 12. In each partition wall 12, the lower end region notch 13 in a form notched over the entire width of the partition wall portion 12 is formed. The notch 13 is open to the front end surface of the housing 10 (see FIG. 7).

  The terminal accommodating chamber 11 is provided with a lance 14 that extends in a cantilevered manner forward along its lower wall. Although the lance 14 always maintains the locking posture (see FIGS. 1, 2, and 11), the lance 14 can be elastically bent to the locking releasing posture (see the lowermost stage in FIG. 3) with the rear end portion as a fulcrum. It is like that. The elastic deflection direction of the lance 14 is a direction orthogonal to the width direction. Below the lance 14, a flexure space 15 is formed that is open to the front end surface of the housing 10. When the lance 14 is elastically bent to the unlocking posture, the lance 14 enters the bending space 15. The bending space 15 communicates with the cutout portion 13.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the lance 14 has a main body 16 that extends in an arm shape forward as a whole. When the lance 14 is in the locking posture, the upper surface of the main body 16 and the lower surface of the main body 16 are parallel to the direction in which the front retainer 30 is attached to the housing 10. The lower surface of the main body portion 16 has a substantially flat shape over the entire region including a jig abutting portion 19 described later.

  A locking projection 17 is formed on the upper surface of the main body 16. The formation region of the locking projection 17 in the front-rear direction is a range from a position behind the front end of the main body 16 (lance 14) to a position ahead of the lower end of the main body 16. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the formation region of the locking projection 17 in the width direction is a range slightly closer to the center than the right end from the left end of the entire width region of the main body 16. In other words, the locking protrusion 17 is formed over a large range excluding the right side edge of the main body 16. The front surface of the locking projection 17 is a locking surface 18 that is substantially orthogonal to the insertion direction of the terminal fitting 21.

  In the process of inserting the terminal fitting 21 into the terminal accommodating chamber 11 (that is, when the terminal fitting 21 is half-inserted), the locking projection 17 interferes with the terminal fitting 21, so that the lance 14 is in the unlocking posture. When the terminal fitting 21 is properly inserted, the locking projection 17 is released from the interference with the terminal fitting 21, so that the lance 14 is elastically returned to the upper locking posture, and the locking surface 18 is moved to the terminal fitting 21. Lock. Due to the locking action of the locking surface 18, the terminal fitting 21 is restricted from being displaced rearward (withdrawal direction).

  The front end portion of the main body portion 16 of the lance 14 (that is, the end region in front of the locking surface 18 is a jig abutting portion 19. The jig abutting portion 19 is a locking protrusion 17 (the locking surface). 18) is a portion for bringing a long and narrow jig (not shown) into contact with the terminal fitting 21. The jig is inserted from the front of the housing 10 with the front retainer 30 removed, and the jig. Is pressed against the upper surface of the jig abutting portion 19, the lance 14 is elastically bent downward (in the unlocking direction), and the locking of the locking protrusion 17 with respect to the terminal fitting 21 can be released.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the formation area of the jig abutting portion 19 in the width direction is a slightly narrower range than the locking protrusion 17. In other words, the jig abutting portion 19 is in a range from the left end of the full width region of the main body portion 16 to a position to the left of the right end of the locking projection 17. Therefore, the left side surface of the locking projection 17 and the left side surface of the jig abutting portion 19 are connected in a flush manner. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the jig abutting portion 19 is disposed below the locking projection 17 in the vertical direction (direction parallel to the elastic deflection direction of the lance 14). When the lance 14 is in the locking posture, the upper surface of the jig abutting portion 19 is gently inclined so as to have a downward slope toward the front. The rear end of the upper surface of the jig abutting portion 19 is connected to the lower end portion of the locking surface 18 at a substantially right angle.

  A detection surface 20 facing forward is formed at the front end of the main body 16. The detection surface 20 is a flat surface in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the front retainer 30 is attached to the housing 10 when the lance 14 is in the locking posture. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 11, the region where the detection surface 20 is formed in the vertical direction is below the locking protrusion 17, that is, in the same height range as the jig abutting portion 19. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the formation region of the detection surface 20 in the front-rear direction is substantially the same position as the locking surface 18, that is, substantially the same position as the rear end of the jig abutting portion 19. The upper end edge of the detection surface 20 is directly connected to the lower end edge of the locking surface 18 at an obtuse angle close to 180 °. That is, both the locking surface 18 and the detection surface 20 are adjacent to each other in the vertical direction facing forward.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the formation region of the detection surface 20 in the width direction (left-right direction) is a range on the almost right half of the main body 16, that is, a range adjacent to the right side of the jig abutting portion 19. . The jig abutting portion 19 and the detection surface 20 are disposed so as to bisect the main body portion 16 to the left and right. The right edge of the detection surface 20 is located to the right of the right edge of the locking surface 18. That is, the right edge of the detection surface 20 protrudes to the right (outward in the width direction) from the right edge of the locking protrusion 17 (locking surface 18). And the right edge part of the detection surface 20 is distribute | arranged in the notch part 13 of the partition part 12 in the width direction. In other words, the right edge of the detection surface 20 is disposed within the thickness range of the partition wall 12 in the width direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, the front retainer 30 has a configuration in which a plurality of horizontal frames 31 extending in the left-right direction and a plurality of vertical frames 32 extending in the up-down direction are connected in a lattice pattern. The horizontal frame 31 is arranged so as to correspond to the partition walls that partition the terminal housing chambers 11 adjacent to each other vertically and the upper and lower outer walls of the housing 10. The vertical frame 32 is disposed so as to correspond to the partition wall portions 12 adjacent to the left and right and the left and right outer wall portions of the housing 10.

  In the horizontal frame 31, a detection unit 33 is formed so as to correspond to the bending space 15 located below each terminal accommodating chamber 11. The detection unit 33 is configured to protrude rearward in a cantilevered manner in parallel with the mounting direction of the front retainer 30 with respect to the housing 10. Similarly, the horizontal frame 31 is formed with a protruding wall portion 34 that protrudes upward from the detection portion 33. The protruding wall portion 34 is configured to enter the notch portion 13 of the partition wall portion 12 when the front retainer 30 is in the main locking position.

  The front retainer 30 is assembled to the housing 10 in a temporary locking position (see FIGS. 2, 3 and 12) and a final locking position (see FIGS. 1 and 11) behind the temporary locking position. It is like that. Further, at each locking position, the front retainer 30 is held at each locking position by known locking means (not shown).

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. In the state where the front retainer 30 is attached to the temporary locking position, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 12, the protruding end of the detection unit 33 is positioned forward of the lance 14 and the bending space 15. It is possible to bend elastically to the unlocking posture. Therefore, the operation of inserting the terminal fitting 21 into the terminal accommodating chamber 11 is performed in a state where the front retainer 30 is in the temporary locking position.

  When all the terminal fittings 21 are inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 11, the front retainer 30 is pushed from the temporary locking position to the final locking position. At this time, the lance 14 does not elastically bend and takes a locking posture and is retracted from the bending space 15, so that the detection unit 33 enters the bending space 15 as shown in FIGS. As a result, the lance 14 is restricted from being displaced to the unlocking posture and is held in a state of locking the terminal fitting 21.

  When any of the terminal fittings 21 is in a half-inserted state, as shown in FIG. 3, the lance 14 is elastically bent to the unlocking posture due to interference with the half-inserted terminal fitting 21 and bent. It will be in the state which advanced into the space 15. FIG. In this state, when the front retainer 30 is pushed into the final locking position, the protruding end (rear end) of the detection unit 33 abuts against the detection surface 20 of the lance 14. Due to this contact, the front retainer 30 cannot be pushed into the final locking position. Therefore, based on whether or not the front retainer 30 can be pushed into the main locking position, it can be detected whether the terminal fitting 21 is in the normal insertion state or the half insertion state.

  Further, when the normally inserted terminal fitting 21 is removed from the terminal accommodating chamber 11, the front retainer 30 is removed from the housing 10 and the front of the lance 14 is opened. Then, the jig is inserted from the front of the housing 10 and applied to the jig abutting portion 19 to push down. Then, since the lance 14 is displaced to the unlocking posture and the locking with the terminal fitting 21 is released, the terminal fitting 21 may be pulled backward while maintaining this state.

  The connector according to the first embodiment includes a housing 10 in which a terminal accommodating chamber 11 is formed, and a front retainer 30 that is assembled to the housing 10 from the front. A lance 14 having a locking surface 18 facing forward is formed in the terminal accommodating chamber 11 so as to extend forward in a cantilevered manner. In the process of inserting the terminal fitting 21 into the terminal accommodating chamber 11 from the rear of the housing 10, the lance 14 is elastically bent so as to advance into the bending space 15. When the terminal fitting 21 is properly inserted, the lance 14 is elastically restored and the locking surface 18 is locked to the terminal fitting 21 so that the terminal fitting 21 is prevented from being pulled out.

The front retainer 30 is formed with a detection unit 33 that enters the bending space 15 when the lance 14 is not elastically bent. On the other hand, the lance 14 is formed with a detection surface 20 that is adjacent to the locking surface 18 and that contacts the detection unit 33 only when the lance 14 is elastically bent. Further, a space between the terminal accommodating chambers 11 adjacent to each other in the width direction intersecting with the bending direction of the lance 14 is partitioned by a partition wall portion 12, and the partition wall portion 12 has a notch portion 13. The cutout portion 13 has a shape in which a region corresponding to the detection surface 20 in the bending direction (vertical direction) of the lance 14 is cut out over the entire width of the partition wall portion 12. And the formation area of the detection surface 20 in the width direction covers a range including the terminal accommodating chamber 11 and the notch 13.

  According to this configuration, in the state where the terminal fitting 21 is not properly inserted and the lance 14 is elastically bent, when the front retainer 30 is to be assembled, the detection unit 33 abuts against the detection surface 20. It is possible to detect the half-inserted state. The detection surface 20 against which the detection unit 33 abuts is not directly disposed at the tip of the protruding portion, but is directly adjacent to the locking surface 18 facing forward. Accordingly, even when the entire housing 10 including the lance 14 is downsized and the strength of the lance 14 is low, the lance 14 is not easily deformed. In addition, since the region where the detection surface 20 is formed in the width direction is extended not only within the width range of the terminal accommodating chamber 11 but also within the thickness range of the partition wall portion 12, unauthorized deformation of the lance 14 is more reliable. To be prevented. Therefore, the connector of the first embodiment is excellent in the reliability of the function of detecting the insertion state of the terminal fitting 21.

Further, the front end of the lance 14, a form that it protrudes from the detection surface 20 to the front, the jig abutting portion 19 for abutting the jig for bending the lance 14 into the deflection space 15 side, detection It is formed so as to be aligned with the surface 20 in the width direction. The detection surface 20 is formed only in a region of the main body portion 16 of the lance 14 that is biased to one side in the width direction. According to this configuration, the width dimension of one detection surface 20 can be sufficiently ensured as compared with the case where the detection surface 20 is formed at two locations separated in the width direction.

  Further, the front retainer 30 is formed with a protruding wall portion 34 that can enter the notch portion 13. According to this configuration, a short circuit between the terminal fittings 21 inserted in the terminal accommodating chambers 11 adjacent in the width direction can be prevented by the partition wall portion 12 and the protruding wall portion 34.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the first embodiment 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 first embodiment, the notch is formed over the entire width of the partition wall, but the notch may have a shape in which only a part in the width direction of the partition wall is recessed.
(2) In the first embodiment, the jig abutting portion aligned in the width direction with the detection surface is formed at the front end portion of the lance, but the jig abutting portion is not formed and the detection surface is the full width of the lance. It may be formed over.
(3) In the first embodiment, the detection surface is formed only in a region that is biased to one side in the width direction. However, the detection surface may be formed only in the central portion in the width direction. It may be formed in two places with a gap.
(4) In the first embodiment, the protruding wall portion formed on the front retainer enters the notch portion of the partition wall portion, but the protruding wall portion that enters the notch portion is not formed on the front retainer. May be.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Housing 11 ... Terminal accommodating chamber 12 ... Partition part 13 ... Notch part 14 ... Lance 15 ... Deflection space 18 ... Locking surface 19 ... Jig rest part 20 ... Detection surface 21 ... Terminal metal fitting 30 ... Front retainer 33 ... Detection part 34 ... Projection wall

Claims (3)

A housing in which a terminal accommodating chamber is formed;
It is formed in a form that cantilevered forward in the terminal receiving chamber, and in the process of inserting the terminal fitting into the terminal receiving chamber, the terminal fitting is elastically bent so as to advance into the bending space, and the terminal fitting is properly inserted. Then, a lance that elastically recovers and locks to the terminal fitting,
A front retainer assembled from the front with respect to the housing;
A detection unit that is formed on the front retainer and enters the bending space when the lance is not elastically bent;
An engagement surface formed on the lance and engaged with the terminal fitting, and formed on the lance, adjacent to the engagement surface, and abuts the detection portion only when the lance is elastically bent. A sensing surface;
A partition wall partitioning the terminal accommodating chambers adjacent to each other in the width direction intersecting with the bending direction of the lance;
Of the partition wall portion, provided with a notch portion in the form of notching a region corresponding to the detection surface in the bending direction of the lance,
The connector is characterized in that a region where the detection surface is formed in the width direction extends over a range including the terminal accommodating chamber and the notch. A front end portion of the lance protrudes forward from the detection surface, and a jig abutting portion for bending the lance toward the bending space is formed so as to be aligned with the detection surface in the width direction. Has been
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the detection surface is formed only in a region biased to one side in the width direction.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the front retainer is formed with a protruding wall part that can enter the notch part.

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