JP3543621B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connector.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a connector for retaining a terminal fitting inserted into a connector housing with an elastic locking piece, there is a connector disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-131074. When recycling this type of connector, it is necessary to separate the metal terminal fitting from the resin connector housing.This separation work is performed by inserting the jig into the connector housing and attaching the elastic locking piece to the terminal fitting. This is performed in such a manner that the terminal fitting is pulled out of the connector housing while maintaining the state.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the method using a jig as described above has a drawback that the work is troublesome because the number of terminal fittings that can be removed by one jig operation is only one. In particular, in recent years, as the number of connectors has been increased, the complexity of operations has also increased, and there is a strong demand for improved operability.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to improve workability when removing a terminal fitting from a connector housing.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the inner wall of the cavity in the connector housing into which the terminal fitting can be inserted is provided with an elastic locking piece extending along the terminal insertion direction and having a terminal locking projection at the tip. When the terminal fitting is inserted into the connector housing, the elastic locking piece is elastically deformed into a deformation allowable space provided in the connector housing and then restored, and the terminal locking projection locks the terminal fitting in a state in which the terminal fitting cannot be removed. And a slide member that is mounted from the front of the connector housing at a standby position ahead of the elastic locking piece in the connector housing and that can be pushed from the standby position to a push-in position on the back side, In the process of sliding from the standby position to the pushing position, the sliding member obliquely contacts the tip of the elastic locking piece, and In the connector guide surface to elastically deform the locking pieces in the deformable space side is provided, wherein the slide member, the detection piece via a deformable connecting portion is provided integrally, the slide member is the When in the standby position, the sensing piece is housed in a recess formed in the front end surface of the connector housing, and in a process in which the slide member is pushed into the pushing position, the sensing piece hits the inner surface of the recess and is pushed down. In the state where the slide member is moved to the pushing position, the detection piece projects forward from the front end face of the connector housing from the concave portion, and the detection piece abuts on the mating connector, thereby causing the detection piece to come into contact with the mating connector. The configuration is such that fitting is regulated .
[0005]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the sliding member is provided integrally with the sliding member, and when the sliding member is at the standby position, the distal end side of the elastic locking piece in the deformation allowable space. And at the same time, restricts the elastic deformation of the elastic locking piece, and when the slide member moves to the pushing position, the corresponding portion of the deformation allowable space corresponding to the base end of the elastic locking piece. And a retainer portion for allowing the elastic locking piece to move elastically.
[0007]
Function and effect of the present invention
[Invention of claim 1]
When the sliding member is pushed from the standby position to the pushing position, the guide portion comes into contact with the elastic locking piece and elastically deforms it into the deformation allowable space. Then, the terminal locking projection of the elastic locking piece is disengaged from the terminal fitting, and the retaining of the terminal fitting by the elastic locking piece is released. Thereafter, the terminal fitting may be removed from the connector housing.
If a plurality of guide surfaces of the slide member are provided so as to correspond to all the elastic locking pieces, it is possible to simultaneously release the retaining states of all the terminal fittings, thereby improving workability. it can.
When the slide member is at the standby position, the detection piece is accommodated in the recess. When the slide member is moved to the pushing position, the detecting piece hits the inner surface of the concave portion and is pushed down, so that the detecting piece projects from the front surface of the connector housing. That is, the position of the slide member can be detected based on the state of the detection piece.
[0008]
[Invention of claim 2]
When the slide member is in the standby position, the retainer portion restricts the elastic deformation of the elastic locking piece, so that the elastic locking piece is locked to prevent the terminal fitting from being pulled out, and the terminal fitting is double locked. You.
[0009]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The connector of the present embodiment includes a connector housing 10 made of resin, a slide member 30 made of resin, and a terminal fitting 20.
The connector housing 10 is formed with a plurality of chambers (four chambers in this embodiment) cavities 11 that are individually opened on the rear surface (the right surface in FIG. 1), and are formed in parallel in a horizontal row. The terminal fitting 20 is inserted from behind. A part of the upper wall portion of each cavity 11 is an elastic locking piece 12 protruding forward in a cantilever manner. A stop projection 12A is formed. Above the elastic locking piece 12, a deformation allowable space 13 for allowing upward elastic deformation is formed so as to be elongated in the front-rear direction along the upper surface of the elastic locking piece 12. In addition, the deformation allowable space 13 may be either a form in which the elastic locking pieces 12 are individually partitioned or a form in which all the elastic locking pieces 12 communicate with each other in the horizontal direction.
[0010]
The terminal fitting 20 has a box-shaped fitting part 21 at the front part and a crimping part 22 with the electric wire 25 at the rear part, and is individually inserted into each cavity 11 from the rear of the connector housing 10. . In the process of insertion, the upper edge of the front end of the fitting portion 21 is elastically deformed so as to engage with the terminal locking projection 12A to push the elastic locking piece 12 into the deformation allowable space 13 so that the upper surface of the fitting portion 21 is deformed. Insertion proceeds while slidingly contacting the terminal locking projection 12A. When the terminal fitting 20 reaches the regular insertion position, the terminal locking projection 12A is disengaged from the upper surface of the fitting portion 21 and the elastic locking piece 12 is elastically restored. The terminal fitting 20 is engaged with the locking receiving portion 23 on the upper edge of the rear end from the rear side, whereby the terminal fitting 20 is retained and retained by the elastic locking piece 12.
On the front end face of the connector housing 10, a tab receiving port 14 communicating with the front end of each cavity 11 is formed. Through this tab receiving port 14, a tab (not shown) of a mating male terminal fitting is fitted to the fitting section 21. It is designed to fit into.
[0011]
An accommodation space 15 for accommodating the slide member 30 is formed on the front end surface of the connector housing 10. The accommodation space 15 is located in front of the elastic locking piece 12, and has a large horizontally wide opening so as to communicate with the upper surfaces of the front ends of all the cavities 11. The back end of the housing space 15 communicates with the front end of the deformation allowable space 13 so that the ceiling surface is flush. A recess 16 having a small depth is formed on the front end surface of the connector housing 10 so as to communicate with the upper edge of the housing space 15.
[0012]
The slide member 30 includes a horizontally long plate-shaped main body 31 that can be accommodated in the accommodation space 15, and four guide portions 32 that extend rearward from the main body 31 so as to correspond to the respective elastic locking pieces 12. Similarly, it comprises four deformation restricting portions 33 extending rearward from the main body portion 31 so as to correspond to the elastic locking pieces 12, and a horizontally long plate-shaped detection piece 34 extending upward from the main body portion 31.
The upper and lower surfaces of the guide portion 32 are flush with the upper and lower surfaces of the main body portion 31, the upper surface thereof is along the ceiling surface of the housing space 15, and the lower surface is the upper surface of the fitting portion 21 of the terminal fitting 20. I'm getting along. The extended end surface (the right end surface in FIG. 1) of the guide portion 32 is a guide surface 35 that is inclined obliquely upward, and the guide surface 35 faces the tip of the elastic locking piece 12. I have.
[0013]
The deformation restricting portion 33 has a horizontal plate shape, and the upper surface thereof is flush with the upper surface of the main body portion 31 and the upper surface of the guide portion 32, and is along the ceiling surface of the housing space 15 and the deformation allowable space 13. . On the other hand, the lower surface of the deformation restricting portion 33 extends along the upper surface of the elastic locking piece 12. That is, the deformation restricting portion 33 is inserted almost tightly into the deformation allowable space 13. The extension end of the deformation restricting portion 33 is a retainer portion 36 that can restrict elastic deformation of the elastic locking piece 12 into the deformation allowable space 13. Further, a clearance hole 37 is provided between the retainer portion 36 and the guide portion 32 to enable the elastic locking piece 12 to be elastically deformed toward the deformation allowable space 13 side by avoiding interference with the elastic locking piece 12. Is open.
[0014]
The detecting piece 34 is connected to the upper end edge of the main body 31 by a thin and relatively easily deformable connecting portion 38 and can be accommodated in the recess 16 of the connector housing 10. Normally, the detection piece 34 is maintained in a state of rising from the main body 31 upward. However, when a pressing force from the rear acts on the detection piece 34, the detection piece 34 It can fall down. The thickness of the detecting piece 34 is equal to or smaller than the depth dimension of the recess 16, and the height of the detecting piece 34 (dimension in the front-rear direction when it falls forward) is larger than the depth of the recess 16. Is set to Further, the connecting portion 38 is continuous along the front edge of the bottom surface of the detecting piece 34.
[0015]
The slide member 30 is attached to the connector housing 10 from the front thereof, is mounted at a predetermined standby position (see FIG. 1), and is pushed from the standby position to the rear side (rear side). A push operation is performed to the position (see FIG. 2). Note that the connector housing 10 and the slide member 30 are provided with locking means (not shown) for holding them at the standby position and the pushing position, respectively.
When the slide member 30 is in the standby position, the main body 31 is housed in the housing space 15 flush with the front surface of the connector housing 10, and the detection piece 34 is flush with the front end surface of the connector housing 10. The guide portion 32 is located forward (forward) of the elastic locking piece 12, and the guide surface 35 is not interfered with the elastic locking piece 12, and is accommodated in the deformation allowable space 13. The deformation restricting portion 33 is inserted, and the retainer portion 36 at the distal end thereof is located at a portion corresponding to the distal end side of the elastic locking piece 12.
When the slide member 30 is pushed into the pushing position, the guide surface 35 of the guide portion 32 comes into contact with the tip of the elastic locking piece 12, and the elastic locking piece 12 fits into the escape hole 37 so that the deformation allowable space 13 is formed. It is designed to be elastically deformed inward. Further, the retainer portion 36 is displaced from a position corresponding to the distal end side of the elastic locking piece 12 to a portion corresponding to the base end of the elastic locking piece 12. Further, the detection piece 34 is relatively pressed by the inner surface of the recess 16 and falls forward, and the tip of the detection piece 34 projects from the front surface of the connector housing 10.
[0016]
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.
When inserting the terminal fitting 20 into the cavity 11, the slide member 30 is detached from the connector housing 10. In this state, there is nothing that restricts the elastic deformation of the elastic locking piece 12, so that the terminal fitting 20 can be inserted while the elastic locking piece 12 is elastically deformed into the deformation allowable space 13. After the terminal fitting 20 is inserted and stopped by the elastic locking piece 12, the slide member 30 is mounted on the connector housing 10 and temporarily locked at the standby position (see FIG. 1). In this state, since the retainer portion 36 is at a position on the distal end side of the elastic locking piece 12 and regulates the elastic deformation of the elastic locking piece 12, the terminal fitting 20 is in the double locking state. The connector of the present embodiment is used in a state where the slide member 30 is at the standby position, and is fitted with the mating connector.
[0017]
When the terminal fitting 20 is separated from the connector housing 10 for recycling after use of the connector, the front surface of the main body 31 of the slide member 30 is pushed to displace the slide member 30 from the standby position to the pushed position. Then, the deformation of the elastic locking piece 12 is released by the displacement of the retainer portion 36 toward the base end side of the elastic locking piece 12, and the guide surface 35 abuts on the distal end of the elastic locking piece 12 and its elasticity is reduced. The locking piece 12 is elastically deformed so as to be pushed up. As a result, the retaining of the terminal fitting 20 by the elastic locking piece 12 is released, so that the terminal fitting 20 may be pulled backward from the cavity 11.
At this time, since the slide member 30 is held at the pushed-in position by the not-shown locking means, the work of extracting the terminal fitting 20 becomes easy. Note that the displacement of the slide member 30 to the pushed-in position is detected when the detection piece 34 has fallen forward and protruded from the front surface of the connector housing 10.
Further, since the lower end of the fallen detection piece 34 is hooked on the inner surface of the lower end of the concave portion, further pushing of the slide member is regulated, and an excessive pushing operation is prevented.
[0018]
As described above, in the present embodiment, as the means for releasing the retaining of the terminal fitting 20 by the elastic locking pieces 12, the slide member 30 capable of simultaneously deforming all the elastic locking pieces 12 to the release position is used. Therefore, the operability is better than the case where a jig (not shown) is inserted into each terminal fitting 20 and the elastic locking pieces 12 are individually displaced to the release position.
Further, in the present embodiment, since the retainer portion 36 is provided to restrict the deformation of the elastic locking piece 12 in the releasing direction, the terminal fitting 20 can be in the double locking state, so that the retaining Excellent reliability.
[0019]
When the connector of the present embodiment is mated with a mating connector (not shown), if the slide member 30 is at the pushed-in position, the retaining of the terminal fitting 20 is released. 20 is pushed by a male terminal fitting (not shown) on the other side and retreats to cause a connection failure. In the present embodiment, a detection piece 34 is provided as a countermeasure. That is, when the slide member 30 is displaced to the pushed-in position, the detection piece 34 falls down and protrudes from the front surface of the connector housing 10, so that the worker can visually check the state of the detection piece 34 at the time of fitting. The position of the slide member 30 can be grasped. Further, even if the fitting operation is performed without visual confirmation, since the detection piece 34 protrudes from the connector housing 10, the detection piece 34 collides with the mating connector, and both connectors are properly fitted. It does not become a congruence state. In this manner, the two connectors are prevented from being fitted together with the slide member 30 in the pushed-in position.
[0020]
[Other embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above with reference to the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Can be implemented with various modifications.
(1) In the above embodiment, the slide member is provided with the retainer portion. However, according to the present invention, the configuration may be such that the retainer portion is not provided.
[0021]
(2) In the above-described embodiment, the cavities are formed in a row in a row, but according to the present invention, the cavities may be divided into a plurality of upper and lower stages and may be arranged in a row in a row for each stage.
(3) In the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a female connector having a female terminal fitting has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a male connector having a male terminal fitting.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a slide member is at a standby position in Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the slide member is moved to a pushing position. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the slide member. ]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector housing 11 ... Cavity 12 ... Elastic locking piece 12A ... Terminal locking protrusion 13 ... Deformation permissible space 16 ... Depression 20 ... Terminal fitting 30 ... Sliding member 34 ... Detection piece 35 ... Guide surface 36 ... Retainer 38 ... Connection Department

Claims (2)

On the inner wall of the cavity in which the terminal fitting can be inserted in the connector housing, an elastic locking piece extending along the terminal insertion direction and having a terminal locking projection at the tip is provided, and when the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity, A connector in which the elastic locking piece is elastically deformed into a deformation allowable space provided in the connector housing and then restored, and the terminal locking projection locks the terminal fitting in a retaining state ,
A slide member that is mounted from the front of the connector housing at a standby position ahead of the elastic locking piece in the connector housing and that can be pushed from the standby position to a push position on the back side is provided,
The slide member has a guide surface that obliquely abuts on the tip of the elastic locking piece in the process of sliding from the standby position to the pushing position and elastically deforms the elastic locking piece toward the deformation-permitted space. In the connector provided with
The slide member is provided with a detection piece integrally via a deformable connecting portion,
When the slide member is at the standby position, the detection piece is housed in a recess formed in a front end surface of the connector housing,
In the process in which the slide member is pushed into the pushing position, the detection piece abuts against the inner surface of the recess and is pushed down,
In a state where the slide member is moved to the pushing position, the detecting piece projects forward from the front end face of the connector housing from the concave portion, and the detecting piece abuts on the mating connector, thereby fitting with the mating connector. Wherein the connector is regulated . When the slide member is at the standby position, the elastic member is provided integrally with the slide member and located in a portion of the deformation allowable space corresponding to the distal end side of the elastic lock piece. In addition to restricting the deformation, when the slide member moves to the pushed-in position, it moves to a portion of the deformation allowable space corresponding to the base end of the elastic locking piece to allow the elastic deformation of the elastic locking piece. The connector according to claim 1, further comprising a retainer portion.

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