Connector

Abstract

Connector (1) comprising: a connector housing (2) with a terminal receiving chamber (21) and a retainer insertion hole (22) open to the terminal receiving chamber (21), a terminal (3) inserted into a terminal receiving chamber (21), the terminal (3) comprising a first connecting part (31) for a mating terminal to be connected to a mating terminal, a power cable connecting part (32) connected to a power cable (6), and a second connecting part (33) arranged between the first connecting part (31) for the mating terminal and the power cable connecting part (32), and a retainer (4) inserted into the retainer insertion hole (22), which has a terminal locking projection (47) and is designed to be moved between a position allowing insertion of the terminal (3) and a terminal fitting position.wherein the connection locking projection (47) is arranged outside the connection receiving chamber (21) in the position that allows the insertion of the connection (3) in order to allow the insertion of the connection (3) into the connection receiving chamber (21), wherein the connection locking projection (47) projects into the connection receiving chamber (21) in the connection fitting position and is engaged with a rear wall (31b) of the first connecting part (31) for the opposite connection of the connection (3) in order to prevent movement of the connection (3) in a direction opposite to an insertion direction of the connection (3), and wherein the connection locking projection (47) has a base projection (45) designed to come into contact with a rear wall (31b) of the first connecting part (31) for the opposite connection of the connection (3) when the retainer (4) is in the connection fitting position, and a pointed end section (46).which is provided on an entry-side surface of the base projection (45) and which is designed to penetrate into a space within the second connecting part (33) of the connection (3) when the retainer (4) is in the connection fitting position.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELDThe present invention relates to a connector having terminals inserted into and doubly engaged with a connector housing.PRIOR ARTA connector in which the terminals are doubly snapped is proposed in JP 3804489 B1.As such, a connector shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A and 2B is known. As shown in FIG. 1, a connector 100 includes a connector housing 120 and a retainer 130. The connector housing 120 includes terminal receiving chambers 121 that receive a plurality of terminals 110, and a retainer insertion hole 122 that is open into the terminal receiving chambers 121. The retainer 130 is inserted into the retainer insertion hole 122 in a direction perpendicular to the terminal receiving chambers 121. Each of the terminals 110 includes an opposite terminal connection part 111 connected to an opposite terminal (not illustrated), a power cable connection part 112 connected to a power cable (not illustrated), and a connection part 113 connecting the opposite terminal connection part 111 and the power cable connection part 112 to each other. Each of the terminal accommodating chambers 121 has a flexible lance 123 formed integrally with and protruding from the bottom wall thereof. The flexible lance is engaged with a locking claw 111 aof the terminal 110 to prevent the movement of the terminal 110 in a direction opposite to an insertion direction (falling rearward). In addition, the retainer 113 is snapped with a rear wall 111B of the opposite terminal connection part 111 to prevent the movement (falling rearward) of the terminal 110 in the direction opposite to the insertion direction.Next, a method of assembling the terminal of the connector 100 will be described. First, the retainer 130 is placed in a position allowing insertion of a terminal (position in FIGS. 2A and 2B ). In the terminal insertion allowing position, a terminal engaging protrusion 131 of the retainer 130 is disposed outside the terminal receiving chamber 121. Subsequently, the terminal 110 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 121. When the terminal 110 is inserted into its terminal fitting position, the flexible lance 123 locks to the rear wall 111B of the opposite terminal connecting part 111 of the terminal 110, as shown in FIG. 1. Then, the retainer 110 is moved from the terminal inserting position to the terminal fitting position. In the terminal fitting position of the retainer 130, the bottom surface of the retainer abuts substantially flush with that of the connector housing 120. The connector 110 is then doubly snapped by the flexible snap lance 123 and the retainer 130.In addition, when the terminal 110 is inserted only in the half-fitted position of the connector housing 120 (the position shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B ), the movement of the retainer 130 from the terminal insertion allowing position to the terminal fitting position is not possible, and thus the terminal insertion allowing position is maintained. That is, in this case, the bottom surface of the retainer 130 protrudes outward from the connector housing 120.In order to confirm whether the terminal 110 is in its half-fitted state, the presence or absence of protrusion of the retainer 130 is detected after the assembly of the connector 100.EP 0 723 312 A2 relates to a connector having a connector housing having a terminal receiving chamber and a retaining insertion opening open to the terminal receiving chamber. The connector further includes a terminal in the terminal accommodating chamber, which includes an opposing terminal connection part, a power cable connection part, and a connection part disposed between the opposing terminal connection part and the power cable connection part. The connector finally includes a retainer that is inserted into the retainer insertion hole and includes a terminal latching protrusion, and is configured to be slid between a position that allows insertion of the terminal and a terminal fitting position. In the terminal insertion allowing position, the terminal engaging protrusion is disposed outside the terminal receiving chamber, and in the terminal fitting position, protrudes into the terminal receiving chamber and is engaged with a rear wall of the opposite terminal connecting part. Finally, the terminal latching protrusion includes a base protrusion configured to contact a rear wall of the connector when the retainer is in the terminal fitting position.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONHowever, in the above-described related art, an amount of protrusion L 2 of the retainer 130 is comparatively small and becomes almost equal to the thickness of the rear wall 111 bof the opposite terminal connection part 111. This is because when the protruding amount of the retainer 130 becomes larger than the rear wall 111 bof the opposite terminal connection part 111, the bottom surface of the retainer 130 protrudes from that of the connector housing 20 in the terminal fitting position of the retainer 130. Accordingly, it is difficult to reliably confirm whether the terminal 110 is in the half-fitted state.It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector which makes it possible to reliably confirm whether the terminals inserted into a connector housing are in their half-fitted state.A connector according to some embodiments includes a connector housing having a terminal receiving chamber and a retainer insertion hole opening into the terminal receiving chamber, a terminal received into a terminal receiving chamber by insertion, the terminal including an opposing terminal connection part connected to an opposing terminal, a power cable connection part connected to a power cable, and a connection part disposed between the opposing terminal connection part and the power cable connection part, and a retainer inserted into the retainer insertion hole having a terminal latching protrusion and configured to be slid between a position allowing insertion of a terminal and a terminal fitting position. The terminal latching protrusion is disposed outside the terminal receiving chamber at the position allowing insertion of the terminal to allow insertion of the terminal into the terminal receiving chamber. The terminal engaging protrusion protrudes into the terminal receiving chamber at the terminal fitting position and is engaged with a rear wall of the opposite terminal connecting part to prevent movement of the terminal in a direction opposite to an insertion direction of the terminal. The terminal latching protrusion includes a base protrusion configured to come into contact with the rear wall of the connection part for the opposite terminal when the retainer is in the terminal fitting position, and a tip end protrusion provided on an entrance-side surface of the base protrusion and configured to enter the space inside the connection part of the terminal when the retainer is in the terminal fitting position.According to the above configuration, in a state where the terminal is in its fitted state, the base protrusion of the retainer is snapped to the rear wall of the connection part for the opposite terminal, and the tip end protrusion of the retainer enters the space inside the connection part. Thus, the bottom surface of the retainer becomes flush with that of the connector housing. In addition, in a state where the terminal is in its half-fitted state, the tip end protrusion of the terminal latching protrusion of the retainer is outside the terminal receiving chamber. Thus, the projection of the retainer is increased by a projection amount corresponding to the height of the tip end projection of the retainer as compared with the prior art, whereby a check of the half-fitted state of the terminal can be accurately made based on the position of the retainer. It is thus possible to reliably confirm whether the terminal inserted into the connector housing is in the half-fitted state.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFIG. 1 illustrates a related art and is a cross-sectional view of a connector when a terminal is in its fitted state. FIG. 2A illustrates the prior art and is a cross-sectional view of the connector when the terminal is in its half-fitted state. FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of a substantial part of FIG. 2A. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a connector according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the connector when a terminal is in its half-fitted state according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A is an enlarged view of a substantial part of FIG. 5. FIG. 6B is a vertical cross-sectional view of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the connector when the terminal is in its fitted state according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8A is an enlarged view of a substantial part of FIG. 7. FIG. 8B is a vertical cross-sectional view of FIG. 7.DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTSHereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.Figs. 3 to 8A and 8B show the embodiment of the invention. A connector 1 according to the embodiment includes a connector housing 2 having a plurality of terminal receiving chambers 21 and a retainer insertion hole 22 opened in the terminal receiving chambers 21, a plurality of terminals 3 inserted and received in the respective terminal receiving chambers 21, and a retainer 4 inserted into the retainer insertion hole 22 of the connector housing 2 in a direction orthogonal to the terminal receiving chambers 21.The connector housing 2 is substantially shaped like a box with a synthetic resin material. A base plate 23 of the connector housing 2 has a retainer insertion hole 22 that crosses the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 21 and that is continuous in the width direction of the connector housing 2. In addition, end parts 22 aextending to a rear end side along the side plates 25 of the connector housing 2 are respectively provided at both right and left ends of the retainer insertion hole 22. On the front end side of the retainer insertion hole 22, a flexible lance 24 penetrating into the terminal accommodating chambers 21 is formed integrally with and protruding from the base plate 23 of the connector housing 2. The flexible lance 24 is engaged with engaging pieces 31 aof the opposite terminal connection parts 31 of the terminals 3 described later to prevent the movement of the terminals 3 in a direction opposite to the insertion direction, that is, the dropping of the terminals in a rearward direction.Each of the terminals 3 includes the opposite terminal connection part 31 connected to a composite terminal 5 serving as an opposite terminal, a power cable connection part 32 connected to a power cable 6, and a connection part 33 connecting the opposite terminal connection part 31 and the power cable connection part 32 to each other. The connecting part 33 has a base wall 34 and a pair of side surface walls 35 extending upward from both ends of the base wall 34. A tip end protrusion 46 of the terminal latching protrusion 47, which will be described later, enters the space inside the pair of side surface walls 35. A width W 1 of the tip end protrusion 46 is smaller than a width W 2 between the inner surfaces of the pair of side surface walls 35.The retainer 4 is made of a synthetic resin material. The retainer 4 includes a base part 41, a pair of side wall parts 42 and partition wall parts 43. The base part 41 has a cross section similar to that of the retainer insertion hole 22, and is formed long. The pair of side wall parts 42 are provided at both ends of the base part 41 in the longitudinal direction and are disposed inside the side plates 25 of the connector housing 2. The partition wall parts 43 protrude from the base part 41 toward the insertion direction (upward direction in FIG. 4 ) of the retainer 4, and are provided between the pair of side wall parts 42 at predetermined intervals.Each of the respective partition wall parts 43 extends in the insertion direction of the terminal 3, between adjacent partition wall parts 43, terminal accommodation spaces 44 are formed that are connected to each of the terminal accommodation chambers 21 in a state in which the retainer 4 is inserted into the retainer insertion hole 22 of the connector housing 2.In the terminal accommodating space 44, there is the terminal latching protrusion 47 protruding from the base 41 toward the insertion direction of the retainer 4 and having a base protrusion 45 and a tip end protrusion 46. The base protrusion 45 comes into contact with a rear wall 31 bof the connection part 31 for the opposite terminal of the terminal 3 at a terminal fitting position. The tip end protrusion 46 is provided on the entry side surface of the base protrusion 45 and enters the space inside the connection part 33 of the terminal 3 in the terminal fitting position. The retainer 4 is inserted in the direction orthogonal to the terminal receiving chamber 21 within the retainer insertion hole 22 of the connector housing 2, and the terminal latching protrusion 47 of the retainer 4 contacts the rear wall 31 bof the opposite terminal connection part 31 of the terminal 3 accommodated in the terminal receiving chamber 21 to prevent the movement of the terminal 3 in the direction opposite to the direction upon insertion, that is, the dropping of the terminal 3 in the rearward direction.Next, a method of assembling the connector 1 will be described. First, the retainer 4 is placed in a position allowing insertion of the terminal (position in FIGS. 5 and 6A and 6B ). In the terminal insertion allowing position, the terminal engaging protrusion 47 of the retainer 4 is disposed outside the terminal receiving chamber 21. Subsequently, the terminal 3 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 21. When the terminal 3 is inserted into the terminal fitting position, the flexible lance 24 locks with the connecting part 31 for the opposite terminal of the terminal 3 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8A and 8B. Then, the retainer 4 is moved from the position allowing insertion of the terminal to the terminal fitting position. In the terminal fitting position of the retainer 4, the base surface of the retainer 4 is substantially flush with the base surface 23 of the connector housing 2 and thus does not protrude from the base surface 23 of the connector housing 2. Thus, the terminal 3 is doubly engaged by the flexible lance 24 and the retainer 4.When the terminal 3 is inserted only in the half-fitted terminal position for the connector housing 2 in the above assembling method, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6A and 6B, the movement of the retainer 4 from the terminal insertion allowing position to the terminal fitting position is not possible, and thus the bottom surface of the retainer 4 protrudes outward from the connector housing 2.By detecting the presence or absence of protrusion of the retainer 4 after the assembly of the connector 1, a half-fitted state of the terminal 3 can be checked.Here, in the terminal fitting position, the terminal latching protrusion 47 of the retainer 4 having the base protrusion 45 comes into contact with the rear wall 31 bof the connection part 31 for the opposite terminal of the terminal 3 and the tip end protrusion 46 provided on the entry-side surface of the base protrusion 45 and penetrating into the space inside the connection part 33 of the terminal 3. Thus, checking the half-fitted state of the terminal 3 reveals that the protrusion of the retainer 4 is increased by a protruding amount L 1 corresponding to the height of the tip end protrusion 46 of the retainer 4 as compared with the prior art. Thus, the determination of the half-fitted state of the terminal can be accurately performed based on the position of the retainer 4.For example, even in a case where the end of the retainer 4 is rounded, the protruding amount of the retainer 4 from the connector housing 2 is increased as described above. Thus, the determination of the half-fitted state of the terminal 3 can be accurately made. It is thus possible to reliably determine whether the terminal 3 inserted into the connector housing 2 is in the half-fitted state.Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible.The present invention is based on and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-171928 filed on Aug. 2, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

A connector (1) comprising: a connector housing (2) having a terminal receiving chamber (21) and a retainer insertion hole (22) open to the terminal receiving chamber (21); a terminal (3) that is received in a terminal receiving chamber (21) by insertion, wherein the terminal (3) includes a first opposite terminal connection part (31) to be connected to an opposite terminal; a power cable connection part (32) connected to a power cable (6) and a second connection part (33) disposed between the first opposite terminal connection part (31) and the power cable connection part (32); and a retainer (4) that is inserted in the retainer insertion hole (22), that includes a terminal latching protrusion (47) and that is configured to be interposed between a position that enables insertion of the terminal (3), and a terminal fitting position, wherein the terminal engaging protrusion (47) is disposed outside the terminal receiving chamber (21) at the terminal fitting position allowing insertion of the terminal (3) to allow insertion of the terminal (3) into the terminal receiving chamber (21), wherein the terminal engaging protrusion (47) protrudes into the terminal receiving chamber (21) at the terminal fitting position and is engaged with a rear wall (31b) of the first connection part (31) for the opposite terminal of the terminal (3) to prevent movement of the terminal (3) in a direction opposite to an insertion direction of the terminal (3), and wherein the terminal engaging protrusion (47) includes a base protrusion (45) configured to:, a rear wall (31b) of the first connection part (31) for the opposite terminal from the terminal (3) when the retainer (4) is in the terminal fitting position, and having a tip end portion (46) which is provided on an entrance side surface of the base protrusion (45) and which is configured to enter a space inside the second connection part (33) of the terminal (3) when the retainer (4) is in the terminal fitting position.

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