Connector

Abstract

A connector includes a connector housing, and a cable assembly inserted into the connector housing. The cable assembly includes an outer housing and an inner housing. An inner surface of a cover body of the inner housing is provided with a receiving recess and an interference wall portion, the receiving recess receives a protrusion of an inner terminal when the inner terminal is inserted into a standard position of a terminal receiving chamber so that a closing operation of the cover body to a closed position can be performed, and the interference wall portion interferes with the protrusion of the inner terminal when the inner terminal is inserted into the standard position of the terminal receiving chamber. The interference wall portion interferes with the protrusion of the inner terminal so that the closing operation of the cover body toward the closed position cannot be performed when the inner terminal is located at a half-insertion position before the standard position of the terminal accommodating chamber.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector capable of detecting incomplete insertion of a terminal. Background Art

[0002] If the terminals of one connector are not correctly inserted to the standard position, when the connector is inserted into the mating connector, the terminals of the two connectors may fail to contact each other.

[0003] As a technology to prevent this situation, patent document 1 discloses a structure in which a spring portion is arranged on a terminal, an inclined wall portion is arranged on an inner wall of a terminal accommodating chamber, and the spring portion of the terminal in a semi-inserted position elastically contacts the inclined wall portion, thereby pushing the terminal to an appropriate position by spring force.

[0004] Citation List

[0005] Patent Literature

[0006] Patent Document 1: JP2013-152833A Summary of the invention

[0007] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is difficult to apply the technology to a small communication connector because a dedicated spring portion needs to be provided on the terminal, and the terminal tends to be large.

[0008] The present invention is made in view of the above situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of detecting incomplete insertion during assembly when an inner terminal is not inserted to a proper position relative to an inner housing.

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, the connector according to the present invention has the following features.

[0010] The connector includes a connector housing and a cable assembly inserted into the connector housing. The cable assembly includes: an outer housing; an inner housing having a terminal accommodating chamber extending in the front-to-back direction and being accommodated in the outer housing by the accommodating chamber; and an inner terminal, which is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber of the inner housing from the rear side to the front side in a state connected to the end of the electric wire. The inner housing includes an opening portion opening to the side of the insertion path of the inner terminal, and an openable and closable cover body closing the opening portion. The inner terminal includes a protrusion facing the opening portion when the inner terminal is inserted into the inner housing. The inner surface of the cover body in the inner housing is provided with a receiving recess and an interfering wall portion, the receiving recess receiving the protrusion of the inner terminal when the inner terminal is inserted into the standard position of the terminal accommodating chamber so that the closing operation of the cover body to the closed position can be performed, and the interfering wall portion interferes with the protrusion of the inner terminal when the inner terminal is located in a semi-inserted position before the standard position of the terminal accommodating chamber so that the closing operation of the cover body to the closed position cannot be performed.

[0011] According to the present invention, the half insertion of the terminal can be detected based on whether the cover of the inner housing is closed to the appropriate closed position. Therefore, there is no need to set an additional structure such as a spring portion on the terminal, and the present invention can be easily applied to a small communication connector.

[0012] The present invention is briefly described above. In addition, the details of the present invention can be further clarified by carrying out the reading mode of the present invention described below (hereinafter referred to as "embodiment") with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 is an external perspective view showing a state where a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention is embedded in a mating connector;

[0014] Figure 2 is a perspective view of the appearance of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 3 It is a stereoscopic view of the appearance of the cable assembly used in the connector;

[0016] Figure 4 is a perspective view of the inner housing for a cable assembly;

[0017] Figure 5 is a perspective view of an electric wire with an inner terminal for use in a cable assembly;

[0018] Figure 6 is a side sectional view showing a state where the inner terminal is inserted into the inner housing;

[0019] Figure 7is a side sectional view showing a state where the inner terminal is inserted to a standard position;

[0020] Figure 8 It is shown from Figure 7 A side sectional view of a state in which the cover is closed;

[0021] Fig. 9 yes Figure 8 A side view of the appearance of the state in;

[0022] Fig.10 is a side sectional view showing a state where the insertion of the inner terminal stops before the standard position; and

[0023] Fig.11 It shows that the cover is Fig.10 A side sectional view of a state in which the cover is being closed and not closed to the end position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0025] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a female connector 1 is embedded in a mating male connector 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the appearance of the female connector 1 according to this embodiment, Figure 3 is a perspective view of a cable assembly 10 for use with the female connector 1 .

[0026] Figure 4 is a perspective view of the inner housing 20 for the cable assembly 10, Figure 5 is a perspective view of a wire W with an inner terminal 30 used in a cable assembly 10, Figure 6 is a side sectional view showing a state where the inner terminal 30 is inserted into the inner housing 20, Figure 7 is a side sectional view showing a state where the inner terminal 30 is inserted to a standard position, Figure 8 It is shown from Figure 7 A side sectional view of a state in which the cover 25 is closed, and Fig. 9 yes Figure 8 Side view of the appearance of the state.

[0027] like Figure 1 As shown, the female connector 1 according to this embodiment is embedded in the mating male connector. Figure 2 As shown, the female connector 1 includes a connector housing 5 and a plurality of cable assemblies 10 inserted into the connector housing 5. Figures 3 to 5 As shown, the cable assembly 10 includes the wires W, the outer housing 11 , the inner housing 20 received in the outer housing 11 , and the inner terminal 30 received in the inner housing 20 in a state of being connected to the end of the wires W.

[0028] like Figures 6 to 8 As shown, a terminal accommodation chamber 24 extending in the front-to-back direction is provided on the main body 21 of the inner housing 20, and the inner terminal 30 is inserted into the terminal accommodation chamber 24 of the inner housing 20 from back to front in a state of being connected to the end of the wire W. An insertion hole 24a for receiving the terminal of the mating male connector 2 is provided in the front end wall of the terminal accommodation chamber 24.

[0029] The main body 21 of the inner housing 20 is provided with an opening 22 opening toward the upper side (side) of the terminal accommodation chamber 24 as the insertion path of the inner terminal 30 , and the inner housing 20 is integrally provided with an openable and closable cover 25 closing the opening 22 .

[0030] The cover 25 is integrally connected to the main body 21 of the inner housing 20 by a hinge 26 provided at the front end of the opening 22. By using the flexibility of the hinge 26, the hinge 26 can be rotated between a position (closed position) where the opening 22 is reliably closed and a position where the opening 22 is opened. Figure 8 and Fig. 9 As shown, the cover 25 is implemented so that the upper surface of the cover 25 and the upper surface of the main body 21 of the inner shell 20 are flush with each other by tilting the cover 25 to a position where the cover 25 completely closes the opening 22. Therefore, since the cover 25 is integrally connected to the front edge of the opening 22 of the main body 21 of the inner shell 20 via the hinge 26, the main body 21 and the cover 25 in the inner shell 20 can be easily manufactured by integral molding of resin.

[0031] On the other hand, Figures 6 to 8 As shown, the inner terminal 30 is provided with a protrusion 31 facing the opening portion 22 when the inner terminal 30 is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber 24 of the inner housing 20. Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, the inner surface of the cover body 25 of the inner housing 20 is provided with a receiving recess 25a, and when the inner terminal 30 is inserted into the standard position of the terminal accommodating chamber 24, the receiving recess 25a receives the protrusion 31 of the inner terminal 30 so that the cover body 25 can be closed to the closed position.

[0032] Fig.10 is a side sectional view showing a state where the insertion of the inner terminal 30 stops before the standard position, Fig.11 The cover 25 is shown in Fig.10 A side sectional view of a state in which the device is being closed and not closed to the end position.

[0033] like Fig.10 and Fig.11As shown, the inner surface of the cover body 25 of the inner housing 20 is provided with an interfering wall portion 25b adjacent to the receiving recess 25a of the protrusion 31 of the inner terminal 30, and when the inner terminal 30 stays in a semi-inserted position before the standard position of the terminal accommodating chamber 24, the interfering wall portion 25b interferes with the protrusion 31 of the inner terminal 30 so that the cover body 25 cannot be closed to the closed position.

[0034] Next, the operation will be described. When the connector 1 is assembled, first, the inner terminal 30 connected to the end of the wire W is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber 24 of the inner housing 20 from the back to the front. Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, when the inner terminal 30 is inserted into the standard position of the terminal receiving chamber 24 of the inner housing 20, the cover 25 in the inner housing 20 can be closed to the closed position where the cover 25 completely closes the opening 22. That is, the protrusion 31 of the inner terminal 30 inserted into the appropriate position is located at the front position in the insertion direction, and is received in the receiving recess 25a on the inner surface of the cover 25 without interfering with the interfering wall 25b on the inner surface of the cover 25, so that the cover 25 can be closed to the appropriate closed position. Therefore, since the upper surface of the closed cover 25 is flush with the upper surface of the main body 21 of the inner housing 20, it can be known that the inner terminal 30 is inserted into the appropriate position. In addition, since the cover 25 does not protrude to the outside of the inner housing 20, the inner housing 20 can be accommodated in the outer housing 11 without difficulty.

[0035] On the other hand, when the inner terminal 30 is not inserted to the standard position in the terminal receiving chamber 24 of the inner housing 20, as shown in FIG. Fig.10 As shown, the position of the protrusion 31 of the inner terminal 30 is moved to the rear side of the standard position (with Figure 7 Therefore, if Fig.11 As shown, the protrusion 31 interferes with the interference wall portion 25b of the cover 25 of the inner housing 20, and the cover 25 is not closed to the closed position. That is, since the cover 25 is not closed, the cover 25 protrudes to the outside of the inner housing 20, and it is possible to detect that the inner terminal 30 is in a semi-inserted state based on the deformation of the appearance of the inner terminal 30. In addition, even if the user is not aware of the deformation of the appearance, the inner housing 20 cannot be accommodated in the outer housing 11 because the cover 25 protruding outward becomes an obstacle in its shape. This also makes it possible to detect that the inner terminal 30 is in a semi-inserted state.

[0036] Therefore, by placing the inner terminal 30 in a half-inserted state, a contact failure between the terminals when connected to the mating male connector 2 can be avoided. Therefore, it is possible to detect whether the inner terminal 30 is not fully inserted based on the position of the cover 25 of the inner housing 20 interfering with the protrusion 31 of the inner terminal 30. Therefore, assembly failures can be prevented by a simple configuration, and contact failures between the terminals when assembling the connector can be avoided. Therefore, the present invention can be easily applied to small communication connectors.

[0037] Here, the features of the connector according to the above-mentioned embodiment of the present invention are briefly summarized and listed in the following [1] and [2].

[0038] [1] A connector (1), comprising:

[0039] A connector housing (5); and

[0040] A cable assembly (10) is inserted into the connector housing, wherein:

[0041] The cable assembly comprises an outer housing (11), an inner housing (20) having a terminal accommodating chamber (24) extending in the front-rear direction and accommodated in the outer housing, and an inner terminal (30) inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber of the inner housing from the rear side to the front side in a state of being connected to the end of an electric wire (W).

[0042] The inner housing includes an opening portion (22) opening to the side of the insertion path of the inner terminal, and an openable and closable cover (25) closing the opening portion.

[0043] The inner terminal includes a protrusion (31) facing the opening portion when the inner terminal is inserted into the inner housing, and

[0044] The inner surface of the cover body in the inner housing is provided with a receiving recess (25a) and an interfering wall portion (25b), wherein the receiving recess (25a) receives the protrusion of the inner terminal when the inner terminal is inserted into the standard position of the terminal accommodating chamber, so that the cover body can be closed to the closed position, and the interfering wall portion (25b) interferes with the protrusion of the inner terminal when the inner terminal is located in a semi-inserted position before the standard position of the terminal accommodating chamber, so that the cover body cannot be closed to the closed position.

[0045] According to the connector (1) having the structure of [1], when the inner terminal (30) is inserted into the standard position of the terminal accommodating chamber (24) of the inner housing (20), the cover (25) of the inner housing is closed to the closed position, in which the cover (25) completely closes the opening (22). On the other hand, when the inner terminal is not inserted into the standard position, the protrusion (31) of the inner terminal interferes with the cover (25) of the inner housing so that the cover is not closed to the closed position. That is, since the cover is not closed, the cover protrudes to the outside of the inner housing, and based on the deformation of its appearance or based on the fact that the cover becomes an obstacle in shape and the inner housing cannot be accommodated in the outer housing, it is detected that the inner terminal is in a half-inserted state. Thus, by avoiding the half-inserted state, contact failure between the terminals when connected to the mating connector can be avoided.

[0046] [2] In the connector according to [1],

[0047] The cover body is integrally and rotatably connected to the front edge portion of the opening portion of the main body of the inner shell through a hinge (26).

[0048] According to the connector having the structure of [2], since the cover body is integrally connected to the front edge of the opening portion of the main body of the inner shell via the hinge (26), the main body and the cover body of the inner shell can be easily manufactured by integral molding of resin.

[0049] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be appropriately modified, improved, etc. In addition, the materials, shapes, sizes, numbers, arrangement positions, etc. of the components in the above-described embodiments are freely selectable and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

Claims

1. A connector, comprising: Connector housing; as well as The cable assembly is inserted into the connector housing, wherein The cable assembly comprises Outer shell, an inner housing having a terminal accommodation chamber extending in the front-rear direction and accommodated in the outer housing, and The inner terminal is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber of the inner housing from the rear side to the front side in a state of being connected to the end of the electric wire. The inner housing includes an opening portion that opens toward the side of the insertion path of the inner terminal, and an openable and closable cover that closes the opening portion. The inner terminal includes a protrusion toward the opening portion when the inner terminal is inserted into the inner housing, and The inner surface of the cover body in the inner housing is provided with a receiving recess and an interfering wall portion, wherein the receiving recess receives the protrusion of the inner terminal when the inner terminal is inserted into the standard position of the terminal accommodating chamber so as to enable the closing operation of the cover body to the closed position, and the interfering wall portion interferes with the protrusion of the inner terminal when the inner terminal is located in a semi-inserted position before the standard position of the terminal accommodating chamber so as to prevent the closing operation of the cover body to the closed position.

2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein: The cover body is integrally and rotatably coupled to a front edge portion of the opening portion of the main body of the inner case through a hinge.

Images