JP2008016366A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve workability when a front retainer placed at a proper locking position is displaced to a temporary locking position. <P>SOLUTION: When a front retainer 30 placed at a proper locking position is displaced to a temporary locking position, an operation part 37 exposed on an outside surface of a connector housing 10 has only to be operated by a finger, a jig or the like. Since the operation part 37 can be visually checked, due to its exposure on the outside surface of the connector housing 10, the excellent workability is provided. And also, when the front retainer 30 is placed at a temporary locking position, the operation part 37 is retreated inside a hood part 12, therefore, the operation part 37 is free from being operated carelessly, or interfered by foreign matters. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector provided with a front retainer.

As a connector provided with a front retainer, there are connectors described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2. In these connectors, the hood part protrudes forward from the housing in which the terminal fitting is accommodated, and the front retainer is selectively assembled to the temporary locking position and the final locking position with respect to the front end part of the housing. is there. In the temporary locking position, the terminal fitting can be inserted into the housing, and when the front retainer is pushed into the full locking position, the inserted terminal fitting is prevented from being pulled out.
JP 2001-351717 A JP 2002-093507 A

  In this type of connector, the terminal fitting is removed from the housing during maintenance or the like. In this case, since the front retainer is once returned to the temporary locking position, it is necessary to release the locking state for the main locking.

In Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above, since the front retainer is housed in the housing and the hood portion, a jig is inserted into the hood portion, hooked on the front retainer, and the jig is operated to move the front retainer forward. Will pull back. However, since it is difficult to visually confirm the inside of the hood part, the operation with the jig is carried out by hand, and there is a problem that workability is poor.
The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to improve workability when the front retainer at the final locking position is moved to the temporary locking position.

  As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is directed to a connector housing in which a hood portion projects forward from a tower portion in which a terminal fitting is accommodated, and the hood portion from the front to the tower portion. A front retainer that is selectively assembled into the temporary locking position and the final locking position while being inserted into the terminal portion, and when the front retainer is in the temporary locking position, insertion of the terminal fitting into the tower portion is allowed, In the connector in which the terminal fitting inserted into the tower portion is prevented from being pulled out when the front retainer is in the fully locked position, the front retainer is in the fully locked position. In some cases, it is exposed to the outer surface of the connector housing and allows the operation of moving the front retainer to the temporary locking position side. Next, in a state where the front retainer is at the partial locking position with a characterized in that the operation unit is disposed at a position retracted inside the hood portion.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the operation portion is disposed so as to protrude from the outer surface of the connector housing in a state where the front retainer is in the final locking position. Have

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the rear wall constituting the hood portion protrudes from the outer surface of the tower portion, and the front retainer is connected to the main retainer. In the stop position, the operation portion is exposed on the outer surface of the protruding portion from the tower portion on the rear wall.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the front retainer and the connector housing are engaged with each other so that the front retainer is held in the final engagement position. An engaging portion is formed, and at least one of the engaging portion on the front retainer side and the engaging portion on the connector housing side is elastically deformable, and the engaging portion on the front retainer side It is characterized in that at least one of the locking portions on the connector housing side is formed with a guide slope inclined with respect to the moving direction from the main locking position to the temporary locking position of the front retainer.

<Invention of Claim 1>
When the front retainer at the main locking position is moved to the temporary locking position, the operation portion exposed on the outer surface of the connector housing may be operated with a finger or a jig. Since the operation part is exposed on the outer surface of the connector housing and can be visually confirmed, workability is good. In addition, when the front retainer is in the temporary locking position, the operation part is retracted inside the hood part, so there is a risk that the operation part will be inadvertently operated or foreign objects may interfere with the operation part. Absent.

<Invention of Claim 2>
Since the operation part protrudes from the outer surface of the connector housing, workability when operating the operation part is good.

<Invention of Claim 3>
Since the operation portion is exposed on the rear wall of the hood portion, when the front retainer is moved to the temporary locking position, it is only necessary to push the operation portion from the rear. Since the pushing operation direction with respect to the operation portion is the same as the direction in which the front retainer is moved from the main locking position to the temporary locking position, the workability is excellent.

<Invention of Claim 4>
When a force for moving the front retainer to the temporary locking position is applied to the front retainer by operating the operation section, at least one of the locking sections is elastically bent due to the inclination of the guide inclined surface, and the locking sections are dissociated from each other. The retainer moves to the temporary locking position. In the present invention, it is only necessary to operate the operation part without performing the work of disengaging the locking parts, so that the workability is excellent.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector according to this embodiment includes a connector housing 10 made of synthetic resin, a terminal fitting 25 assembled to the connector housing 10, and a front retainer 30 made of synthetic resin.
The connector housing 10 includes a tower portion 11 having a horizontally long block shape, and a square hood portion 12 protruding forward from the tower portion 11. A pair of left and right cavities 13 for inserting the terminal fittings 25 from the rear are formed in the tower portion 11 so as to penetrate from the front end surface of the tower portion 11 (the rear end surface of the hood portion 12) to the rear end surface. A male terminal fitting 25 is inserted into each cavity 13 from the rear (left side in FIGS. 1 to 3). A lance 14 is formed along the inner wall of the cavity 13, and the terminal fitting 25 inserted into the cavity 13 is retained by being locked to the lance 14. The lance 14 is elastically bent downward so as to be separated from the terminal fitting 25 while the terminal fitting 25 is being inserted, and the bending space 15 for allowing the elastic deformation of the lance 14 is the tower portion 11. Opened on the front of the. A recess 16 for accommodating the front wall 31 of the front retainer 30 is formed on the front surface of the tower portion 11. The concave portion 16 is formed over a range including the formation region of the lance 14 and the formation region of the bending space 15, and has a horizontally long substantially square shape as a whole.

  A pair of guide grooves 17 extending in the front-rear direction (a direction parallel to the moving direction between the temporary locking position and the main locking position of the front retainer 30) are formed on the left and right outer surfaces of the tower portion 11. Yes. The front end portion of the guide groove 17 communicates with the internal space of the hood portion 12 through a through hole 21 in the rear wall 20 of the hood portion 12 described later. On the bottom surfaces of the left and right guide grooves 17, a temporary locking protrusion 18 that protrudes outward from a position close to the hood portion 12, and a common protrusion that protrudes outward from a position behind the temporary locking protrusion 18. 19 (corresponding to a locking portion on the connector housing 10 side). On the rear surface of the common protrusion 19, a guide slope 19 </ b> S that is inclined with respect to the moving direction of the front retainer 30 is formed.

The width dimension of the hood part 12 is larger than that of the tower part 11, and a pair of left and right rear surface walls 20 constituting the hood part 12 protrude from the left and right outer side surfaces of the tower part 11. The rear wall 20 has a flat plate shape perpendicular to the moving direction between a temporary locking position and a final locking position of a front retainer 30 described later. In addition, the height dimension of the hood part 12 is the same as the height dimension of the tower part 11, and the upper and lower surfaces of the tower part 11 and the upper surface both surfaces of the hood part 12 are flush with each other.
The left and right rear wall 20 of the hood part 12 is formed with a through hole 21 penetrating between an outer surface (rear face) and an inner face (front face facing the hood part 12). The through hole 21 is opened in a substantially rectangular shape so as to be along the outer surface of the tower portion 11, and the front end portion of the guide groove 17 communicates with the through hole 21.

  The front retainer 30 includes a front wall 31 assembled so as to overlap the front surface of the tower portion 11, a pair of left and right symmetrical locking arms 32 protruding in a cantilevered manner from both left and right edges of the front wall 31, A bottom wall 33 projecting backward from the lower edge of the front wall 31 is integrally formed. The front retainer 30 is assembled to the tower portion 11 so as to be inserted into the hood portion 12 from the front, and is selectively held at the temporary locking position and the main locking position.

  The lower surface wall 33 is connected to the front wall 31 at a right angle, and enters the bending space 15 of the tower portion 11 when the front retainer 30 is in the final locking position. The inner surface of the lower surface wall 33 is in contact with the lance 14 when the front retainer 30 is in the final locking position, thereby restricting elastic deformation of the lance 14 toward the bending space 15 (in the direction of disengaging from the terminal fitting 25). A rib-shaped retaining function portion 34 is formed. Since the retaining function portion 34 does not interfere with the lance 14 when the front retainer 30 is in the temporarily locked position, elastic deformation of the lance 14 toward the bending space 15, that is, insertion of the terminal fitting 25 into the cavity 13 is allowed. The Further, the left and right side edges of the lower surface wall 33 are connected at right angles to the side edges of the left and right locking arms 32.

  The locking arm 32 as a whole has a plate shape perpendicular to the front wall 31 and the lower wall 33, and the rear end portion (free end) of the locking arm 32 is further than the rear end of the lower wall 33. Projects backward. The protruding portion of the locking arm 32 has a bent portion 35 (front portion) that can be elastically bent in the left-right direction (the thickness direction of the locking arm 32) with its front end portion (portion connected to the rear end of the lower surface wall 33) as a fulcrum. It corresponds to a retaining portion on the retainer 30 side). Locking projections 36 are formed on the inner surfaces of the left and right bent portions 35 (the surfaces facing the other side bent portions 35 and facing the outer surface of the tower portion 11). A guide slope 36 </ b> S is formed on the front surface of the locking projection 36.

  In addition, a pair of left and right operation portions 37 projecting in a rib shape outward in the left-right direction is formed on the left and right side edges of the front wall 31. The pair of operation portions 37 are arranged at intervals in the direction in which the cavities 13 (terminal fittings 25) are arranged. The operation portion 37 protrudes outward from the outer surface of the locking arm 32. Further, the formation region in the vertical direction of the operation portion 37 extends from the upper end of the locking arm 32 to a range further below the lower end of the locking arm 32. That is, the lower end portion of the operation portion 37 protrudes downward from the lower end surfaces of the locking arm 32 and the front wall 31. The front surface of the operation unit 37 is continuous with the front wall 31 in a flush manner. Furthermore, the thickness dimension of the operation part 37 in the front-rear direction is larger than the thickness dimension of the rear wall 20 of the hood part 12.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
When inserting the terminal fitting 25 into the tower portion 11, first, the front retainer 30 is first inserted into the hood portion 12 from the front, and the front wall 31 is pushed by a finger inserted into the hood portion 12, whereby the front retainer 30 is inserted. Is assembled to the connector housing 10 at a temporary locking position. At the time of assembly, the rear end portions of the left and right locking arms 32 are inserted into the through holes 21 and fitted into the guide grooves 17 outside the connector housing 10. By fitting into the guide groove 17, the front retainer 30 is positioned in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. When the front retainer 30 is pushed along the guide groove 17, the locking projection 36 interferes with the temporary locking projection 18 in the middle so that the bent portion 35 of the locking arm 32 is separated from the tower portion 11. Elastically bends. When the locking arm 32 is elastically bent, the locking projection 36 rides on the temporary locking protrusion 18. When the front retainer 30 reaches the temporary locking position, the locking projection 36 passes through the temporary locking projection 18, so that the bending portion 35 is elastically restored, and the locking projection 36 is moved to the temporary locking projection 18. On the other hand, the latching protrusion 36 is latched from the front with respect to the common projection 19 and the front retainer 30 is held at the temporary latching position with respect to the tower 11 by this latching action. The In this state, the terminal fitting 25 is inserted into the cavity 13. Further, in a state where the front retainer 30 is held at the temporary locking position, the front wall 31 and the operation unit 37 are in a position separated forward from the back end surface of the hood unit 12 (the front surface of the tower unit 11).

When the terminal fitting 25 has been inserted into the cavity 13, the front retainer 30 is moved to the final locking position. This movement may be achieved by inserting a finger into the hood portion 12 and pressing the front wall 31. In the middle of the movement of the front retainer 30, the locking projection 36 interferes with the common projection 19, whereby the bending portion 35 is elastically bent, and the locking projection 36 rides on the common projection 19.
When the front retainer 30 reaches the full locking position, the locking projection 36 passes through the common projection 19, so that the flexure 35 is elastically restored and the guide slope 36 </ b> S of the locking projection 36 is The guide slope 19S comes into contact with the rear side to be locked, and the locking action restricts the movement of the front retainer 30 in the direction of returning to the front. Since the guide slopes 19S and 36S form an obtuse angle with respect to the moving direction of the front retainer 30 (an acute angle with respect to a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the front retainer 30), a sufficient locking action is exhibited. Further, when the front retainer 30 reaches the final locking position, the front wall 31 is fitted into the recess 16 and abuts against the back end surface of the recess 16, so that further rearward movement of the front retainer 30 is restricted. . Thereby, the front retainer 30 is hold | maintained in this lock position. In this state, the bending of the lance 14 toward the bending space 15 is restricted, so that the terminal fitting 25 is reliably held in the inserted state by the double locking by the lance 14 and the front retainer 30.
In the state where the front retainer 30 is in the final locking position, the operation portion 37 is fitted into the through hole 21, and the rear surface portion of the operation portion 37 is rearward from the rear end surface (outer surface) of the rear wall 20 of the hood portion 12. It is exposed in the state of protruding to. That is, the operation unit 37 is exposed on the outer surface of the connector housing 10.

  When pulling out the terminal fitting 25 for maintenance or the like, the operating portion 37 is pushed from the rear to move the front retainer 30 at the final locking position to the temporary locking position. At this time, the pressing force applied to the operation portion 37 acts as a force that elastically deflects the bending portion 35 due to the inclination of the guide slopes 19S and 36S. Then, due to the elastic bending of the bending portion 35, the locking projection 36 is disengaged from the common projection 19, and the front retainer 30 is pushed toward the temporary locking position. When the front retainer 30 moves to the temporary locking position, the locking protrusion 36 is locked between the temporary locking protrusion 18 and the common protrusion 19 and the front retainer 30 is held at the temporary locking position. .

  In this embodiment, when the front retainer 30 is in the final locking position, the front retainer 30 is exposed to the outer surface of the connector housing 10 and is allowed to move the front retainer 30 toward the temporary locking position. In a state where the retainer 30 is in the temporary locking position, an operation portion 37 is formed that is disposed at a position retracted inside the hood portion 12. Therefore, when the front retainer 30 at the final locking position is moved to the temporary locking position, it can be operated with a finger or a jig while visually confirming the operation portion 37 exposed on the outer surface of the connector housing 10. Good workability.

  Further, when the front retainer 30 is in the temporary locking position, since the operation unit 37 is retracted inside the hood unit 12, the operation unit 37 is inadvertently operated or foreign matter interferes with the operation unit 37. There is no fear of doing it.

  Further, in the state where the front retainer 30 is in the final locking position, since the operation portion 37 is arranged so as to protrude from the outer surface of the connector housing 10, workability when operating the operation portion 37 is good.

  Further, the rear wall 20 constituting the hood part 12 has a form protruding from the outer surface of the tower part 11, and in the state where the front retainer 30 is in the main locking position, the protruding part from the tower part 11 on the rear wall 20. The operation unit 37 is exposed on the outer surface of the. Thus, since the operation part 37 was exposed to the rear surface wall 20 of the food | hood part 12, when moving the front retainer 30 to a temporary latching position, it is only necessary to push the operation part 37 from back. Since the pushing operation direction with respect to the operation unit 37 is the same as the direction in which the front retainer 30 is moved from the main locking position to the temporary locking position, the workability is excellent.

  Furthermore, when a force is applied to the front retainer 30 to move to the temporary locking position side by pushing the operating portion 37, the bending portion 35 of the front retainer 30 is elastically bent due to the inclination of the guide inclined surfaces 19S and 36S, and the engaging portion is engaged. The stop protrusion 36 is disengaged from the common protrusion 19 and the front retainer 30 moves to the temporary locking position side. In the present invention, it is only necessary to operate the operation portion 37 without performing the operation of disengaging the locking portions, so that the workability is excellent.

<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) According to the present invention, the operation part may be exposed not on the rear wall of the hood part but on the side wall of the hood part, or may be exposed on the outer surface of the tower part.
(2) In the above embodiment, the pair of operation parts are arranged with a space in the arrangement direction of the cavities (terminal fittings). However, according to the present invention, the pair of operation parts are in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the housings. You may arrange | position at intervals.
(3) According to the present invention, the number of operation units is not limited to two, and may be one or three or more.
(4) According to the present invention, when the front retainer is in the final locking position, the operation portion is flush with the outer surface of the rear surface wall of the hood portion or at a position deeper than the outer surface of the rear wall. Good.

(5) According to the present invention, the locking portion for holding the front retainer in the temporary locking position and the main locking position is not exposed to the outside of the connector housing, but is locked to each other inside the hood portion. Also good.
(6) In the above embodiment, only the locking portion on the front retainer side can be elastically bent. However, according to the present invention, only the locking portion on the connector housing side may be elastically bent. Both the locking portion and the locking portion on the front retainer side may be elastically deflectable.
(7) In the above embodiment, the guide inclined surface is formed on both the front retainer side locking portion and the connector housing side locking portion. However, according to the present invention, the guide inclined surface is the connector housing side locking portion. It may be formed only on the locking portion on the front retainer side.

Sectional drawing showing the state in the middle of the assembly | attachment of the front retainer in the temporary latching position in Embodiment 1. Sectional view showing the state where the front retainer is held in the temporary locking position Sectional view showing the state in which the front retainer is held in the fully engaged position Front view of connector housing Side view of connector housing Front view of front retainer Top view of the front retainer Front retainer side view

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector housing 11 ... Tower part 12 ... Hood part 19 ... Common protrusion (locking part)
19A ... Guide slope 20 ... Rear wall 25 ... Terminal fitting 30 ... Front retainer 35 ... Flexible part (locking part)
36S ... Guide slope 37 ... Operation part

Claims (4)

A connector housing in which the hood portion protrudes forward from the tower portion in which the terminal fitting is accommodated;
A front retainer that is selectively assembled to the temporary locking position and the final locking position while being inserted into the hood section from the front with respect to the tower section,
When the front retainer is in the temporary locking position, insertion of the terminal fitting into the tower portion is allowed,
When the front retainer is in the main locking position, in the connector adapted to prevent the terminal fitting inserted into the tower portion from being removed,
The front retainer is exposed to the outer surface of the connector housing when the front retainer is in the final locking position and allows the front retainer to be moved to the temporary locking position. The front retainer is temporarily moved. A connector characterized in that an operating portion is formed in a position retracted inside the hood portion when in the locked position. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein in a state in which the front retainer is in the final locking position, the operation portion is disposed so as to protrude from an outer surface of the connector housing. The rear wall constituting the hood part has a form protruding from the outer surface of the tower part,
The said operation part is exposed to the outer surface of the protrusion part from the said tower part in the said rear wall in the state in which the said front retainer exists in a full latching position, The Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Connector. The front retainer and the connector housing are formed with a locking portion that allows the front retainer to be held at the final locking position by locking each other.
At least one of the locking part on the front retainer side and the locking part on the connector housing side is capable of elastic bending,
At least one of the front retainer side locking portion and the connector housing side locking portion is formed with a guide slope inclined with respect to the movement direction of the front retainer from the main locking position to the temporary locking position. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is provided.

Images