female connector

Abstract

To extend the stroke of a front retainer from an allowable position to a restricted position in a female connector and to suppress rattle of the front retainer at the allowable position. [Solution] The female connector (11) includes a female housing (6) and a front retainer (5). The female housing (6) has a main body (60) and insertion guides (65b, 65c) extending forward from a front end face (60a) of the main body (60). The main body (60) has female terminal accommodating chambers that accommodate female terminals and lances that engage with the female terminals. The front retainer (5) is attached to the main body (60) so as to be movable back and forth between an allowable position that allows lance deflection and a restrictive position that restricts lance deflection. When the front retainer (5) is positioned in the allowable position, the insertion guides (65b, 65c) contact the inner surface of a peripheral wall (50) of the front retainer (5).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a female connector having a front retainer. [Background technology]

[0002] Female connectors in which female terminals are accommodated in a housing are known.

[0003] A female connector 510F shown in FIG. 9 includes a female housing 511F, a plurality of female terminals 520F, and a front retainer 525F (see Patent Document 1).

[0004] The female housing 511F is formed with a female terminal accommodating chamber 512F, a lance 513F engaged with the female terminal 520F, and a deflection space 514F for the lance 513F.

[0005] The front retainer 525F is attached to the female housing 511F from the front. The front retainer 525F restricts the bending of the lance 513F by positioning the detection portion 527F in the bending space 514F, thereby preventing the female terminal 520F from coming off.

[0006] In addition, the front retainer 525F is assembled to the female housing 511F so as to be movable back and forth between an allowance position where the detection portion 527F shown in FIG. 9 allows the lance 513F to bend and a restriction position where the detection portion 527F restricts the lance 513F from being bent. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-16402 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] In female connectors equipped with a front retainer, there has been a demand for an increased stroke of the front retainer from the allowable position to the restricted position, but this has been difficult to achieve because extending the stroke would cause rattle in the front retainer at the allowable position.

[0009] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a female connector having a front retainer, in which the stroke of the front retainer from the allowable position to the restricted position is extended and rattle of the front retainer at the allowable position is suppressed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The present invention is a female connector comprising a female terminal, a female housing, and a front retainer, wherein the female housing has a main body portion and an insertion guide portion extending forward from the front end face of the main body portion, the main body portion has a female terminal accommodating chamber that accommodates the female terminal, and a lance engaged with the female terminal, the front retainer has a front wall positioned in front of the front end face of the main body portion, a peripheral wall positioned on the outer periphery of the main body portion, and a regulating portion positioned inside the peripheral wall that regulates bending of the lance, the front retainer is attached to the main body portion so as to be movable back and forth between an allowable position where the regulating portion allows bending of the lance and a regulating position where the regulating portion regulates bending of the lance, and when the front retainer is positioned in the allowable position, the insertion guide portion is in contact with the inner surface of the peripheral wall. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, the stroke of the front retainer from the allowable position to the restricted position can be extended, and rattle of the front retainer at the allowable position can be suppressed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a female connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the female connector of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the female housing of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a front view of the female connector of FIG. 1. [Figure 5] 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 4, showing a state in which the front retainer is positioned at an allowable position. FIG. [Figure 6] 6 is a view showing a state in which the front retainer of FIG. 5 is separated from the female housing. FIG. [Figure 7] 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the front retainer of FIG. 5 is positioned at a restricting position. FIG. [Figure 8] 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 4, showing a state in which the front retainer is positioned at an allowable position. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a conventional female connector. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] A "female connector" according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0014] 1, 2, and 4 is mated with a male connector having a plurality of male terminals and a male housing. In this specification, the side of female connector 11 that faces the male connector in the mating direction with the male connector is referred to as the "front" and the opposite side as the "rear."

[0015] The female connector 11 includes a plurality of female terminals 15 (only one is shown in FIG. 2), a shorting terminal 4, a female housing 6, an outer housing 3, a spring 16, a packing 2, and a front retainer 5.

[0016] Each female terminal 15 is connected to an end of an electric wire 13. A rubber stopper 14 is attached to the end of the electric wire 13. The rubber stopper 14 seals the gap between the electric wire 13 and a wall that forms a female terminal accommodating chamber 61 (described later). Each female terminal 15 has a rectangular cylindrical portion that can receive a male terminal, and a spring piece provided inside the rectangular cylindrical portion.

[0017] The shorting terminal 4 comes into contact with two adjacent female terminals 15 when the male connector and female connector 11 are not mated, shorting these female terminals 15 together. As shown in Figures 2 and 8, the shorting terminal 4 has a base 41 and two spring contact portions 42 connected to the base 41. When the male connector and female connector 11 are mated, part of the male housing enters between the two spring contact portions 42 and the two female terminals 15, so that the shorting terminal 4 comes out of contact with the two female terminals 15. This releases the shorted state of the two female terminals 15.

[0018] The female housing 6 is made of insulating synthetic resin and integrally includes a main body 60, a spring accommodating chamber 66, an upper plate 67, and insertion guides 65a, 65b, 65c, and 65d, as shown in FIG.

[0019] The main body 60 has a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape and a rectangular shape when viewed from the front. As shown in Figures 4 and 8, the main body 60 has a female terminal accommodating chamber 61 that accommodates the female terminal 15, a lance 63, and a shorting terminal accommodating chamber 64 that accommodates the shorting terminal 4. Note that the female terminal 15 is not shown in Figure 8.

[0020] The lance 63 is cantilevered and connected to the wall that defines the female terminal accommodating chamber 61, and its free end engages with the rear end of the rectangular tube portion of the female terminal 15 to prevent the female terminal 15 from coming out. When the female terminal 15 is inserted into the female terminal accommodating chamber 61 from behind, the lance 63 is pushed by the female terminal 15 and bends into a bending space outside the insertion path of the female terminal 15. Then, when the female terminal 15 is inserted into the female terminal accommodating chamber 61 to the correct position, the lance 63 elastically returns to its original position and engages with the rear end of the rectangular tube portion of the female terminal 15.

[0021] 3 and 4, the shorting terminal accommodating chambers 64 are provided in two locations, on the left and right ends of the lower portion of the main body 60. In this example, due to specifications, the shorting terminal 4 is accommodated only in the shorting terminal accommodating chamber 64 on the left side in FIG. 4, and the shorting terminal accommodating chamber 64 on the right side is not used.

[0022] 8, the shorting terminal accommodating chamber 64 communicates with the female terminal accommodating chamber 61 above it, and is formed so that the spring contact portion 42 of the shorting terminal 4 can enter the female terminal accommodating chamber 61. As described above, until the female connector 11 is mated with the male connector, the spring contact portion 42 is positioned in the female terminal accommodating chamber 61 and in contact with the female terminal 15. When the male connector and female connector 11 are mated, a part of the male housing (the plate-shaped short-circuit release portion) enters between the female terminal 15 and the spring contact portion 42, and the spring contact portion 42 is positioned in the shorting terminal accommodating chamber 64.

[0023] The front end of the shorting terminal 4 protrudes from the front end surface 60a of the main body 60 and is positioned outside the main body 60. That is, the front end of the shorting terminal 4 is located in front of the front end of the female terminal 15. The front end of the shorting terminal 4 is covered by a protrusion 55c of the front retainer 5, which will be described later.

[0024] The spring accommodating chamber 66 accommodates the rear half of the spring 16. The spring accommodating chamber 66 is connected to both the left and right side surfaces of the main body 60.

[0025] The upper plate portion 67 is provided above the main body portion 60. The upper plate portion 67 is formed with a protrusion 68 positioned in a through-hole 38 (described later) of the outer housing 3, and a locking portion 69 that engages with the male housing.

[0026] The terms indicating directions, such as "the lower part of the main body 60," "the upper part of the main body 60," and "the left and right sides of the main body 60," are used for the convenience of explaining the structure of the invention and are based on the direction of the paper on which the drawings are drawn. Therefore, the terms indicating directions do not necessarily have to coincide with the directions when the female connector 11 is actually used.

[0027] The insertion guide portions 65a, 65b, 65c, and 65d contact the front retainer 5 to guide the front and rear movement of the front retainer 5 and suppress rattle of the front retainer 5. The insertion guide portions 65a, 65b, 65c, and 65d extend forward from the front end surface 60a of the main body 60 and from the four corners of the main body 60. The insertion guide portions 65a and 65b, which are provided on the upper and left and right ends of the main body 60, are formed in a rod shape. The insertion guide portions 65c and 65d, which are provided on the lower and left and right ends of the main body 60, are formed in a plate shape. As shown in FIG. 8, the front ends of these insertion guide portions 65a, 65b, 65c, and 65d are located forward of the front end of the shorting terminal 4.

[0028] The outer housing 3 is made of insulating synthetic resin and is formed in a cylindrical shape. The outer housing 3 integrally includes an outer housing main body 30 that houses the female housing 6 and a spring accommodating chamber 36.

[0029] The outer housing main body 30 positions the cylindrical wall of the male housing between itself and the main body 60. The outer housing main body 30 is formed with a through hole 38 in which the protrusion 68 of the female housing 6 is positioned.

[0030] The spring accommodating chamber 36 accommodates the front half of the spring 16. The spring 16, whose front half is accommodated in the spring accommodating chamber 36 of the outer housing 3 and whose rear half is accommodated in the spring accommodating chamber 66 of the female housing 6, biases the female housing 6 rearward relative to the outer housing 3.

[0031] 2, 5, and 8, the packing 2 has an annular portion 21 attached to the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 60, and a locking portion 22 connected to the annular portion 21 and locked to an opening 62 of the female housing 6. The annular portion 21 is compressed by the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 60 and the cylindrical wall of the male housing, causing elastic deformation, and forming a seal between the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 60 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical wall of the male housing. Such packing 2 is attached to the female housing 6 from the front of the main body portion 60 before the front retainer 5 is attached to the main body portion 60.

[0032] 2, 5 to 8, the front retainer 5 is made of insulating synthetic resin and integrally includes a front wall 51, a peripheral wall 50 positioned on the outer periphery of the main body 60, protruding portions 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d protruding forward from the front wall 51, a restricting portion 53, and a locking projection 58.

[0033] The front retainer 5 is attached to the main body 60 so as to be movable back and forth between an allowable position (FIGS. 5 and 8) where the restricting portion 53 allows the lance 63 to bend, and a restricting position (FIG. 7) where the restricting portion 53 restricts the lance 63 from beingnd. In FIG. 5, S indicates the stroke of the front retainer 5 from the allowable position to the restricting position. In the female connector 11, the stroke S of the front retainer 5 is larger than that of conventional products.

[0034] The locking protrusion 58 is provisionally locked in a locking recess 71 formed in the main body 60 at the permitted position, and is fully locked in a locking recess 72 formed in the main body 60 at the restricted position.

[0035] The front wall 51 is a wall positioned in front of the front end surface 60a of the main body 60. The front wall 51 has a plurality of openings 56 and 57 formed therein.

[0036] When the male connector and the female connector 11 are mated, the male terminals of the male connector are inserted through the openings 56 into the female terminal accommodating chambers 61. When the front retainer 5 is positioned in the restricted position, the insertion guide portions 65a, 65b are passed through the openings 56 and positioned forward of the front wall 51.

[0037] Openings 57 are formed directly below protruding portions 55c and 55d. When the front retainer 5 is positioned in the restricted position, the insertion guide portions 65c and 65d pass through the openings 57 and are positioned forward of the front wall 51.

[0038] The protrusions 55a and 55b protrude forward from the upper left and right corners of the front wall 51. The protrusions 55a and 55b have an L-shaped cross section. The protrusions 55c and 55d are positioned in front of the two shorting terminal accommodating chambers 64, respectively. The protrusions 55c and 55d cover the front end of the shorting terminal 4 when the front retainer 5 is positioned in the restricted position. In this example, due to specifications, only one shorting terminal accommodating chamber 64 accommodates a shorting terminal 4.

[0039] The restricting portion 53 is a plate disposed inside the peripheral wall 50, and when in the restricting position, is positioned in the deflection space of the lance 63 to restrict the deflection of the lance 63. This maintains the state in which the lance 63 is engaged with the female terminal 15, preventing the female terminal 15 from coming loose.

[0040] After the packing 2 is attached to the female housing 6, the front retainer 5 is attached to the allowable position of the main body 60. In this state, the female terminal 15 is inserted into the female terminal accommodating chamber 61, and after the lance 63 engages with the female terminal 15, the front retainer 5 is moved to the restricted position of the main body 60.

[0041] The front retainer 5 can move from the allowable position to the restricted position when the female terminal 15 is inserted to the correct position in the female terminal accommodating chamber 61, but cannot move to the restricted position when the female terminal 15 is partially inserted. This is because the restricting portion 53 hits the lance 63, which is pressed by the partially inserted female terminal 15 and positioned in the deflection space. In this way, the front retainer 5 detects the partially inserted female terminal 15.

[0042] 5 and 8, when the front retainer 5 is positioned in the allowable position, the outer peripheral surface of the main body 60 and the insertion guide portions 65a, 65b, 65c, and 65d are in contact with the inner surface of the peripheral wall 50. This prevents the front retainer 5 from rattling. In other words, the provision of the insertion guide portions 65a, 65b, 65c, and 65d increases the contact area with the inner surface of the peripheral wall 50 compared to when they are not provided, thereby preventing the front retainer 5 from rattling.

[0043] In addition, in this example, four insertion guide portions 65a, 65b, 65c, and 65d are provided extending forward from the four corners of the front end face 60a of the main body portion 60, so that the front retainer 5 in the allowable position can be supported more stably and rattle can be further suppressed.

[0044] Furthermore, when the front retainer 5 moves from the allowable position to the restricted position, it moves straight rearward along the insertion guide portions 65a, 65b, 65c, and 65d. As shown in Fig. 7, when the front retainer 5 is positioned at the restricted position, the insertion guide portions 65a and 65b are in contact with the protrusions 55a and 55b, and the insertion guide portions 65c and 65d are in contact with the protrusions 55c and 55d.

[0045] In this way, the female connector 11 can extend the stroke S of the front retainer 5 from the allowable position to the restricted position, and can also suppress rattle of the front retainer 5 at the allowable position.

[0046] The reason for extending the stroke S is that the front retainer 5 needs to be extended forward so that the restricting portion 53 of the front retainer 5 does not come into contact with the shorting terminal 4 when in the permitted position. Specifically, the restricting portion 53 shown in FIG. 8 is positioned in the deflection space of the lance 63, climbing over the spring contact portion 42 of the shorting terminal 4. However, if the restricting portion 53 is positioned further rearward than shown in the example, the restricting portion 53 will be pressed from below by the spring contact portion 42. If this pressing state continues for a long time, the restricting portion 53 will deform upward and become flexed, which may prevent the front retainer 5 from moving to the restricted position or prevent it from performing its intended function. In the female connector 11, the stroke S is extended to avoid this.

[0047] The above-described embodiment merely shows a typical form of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In other words, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications within the scope of the gist of the present invention. As long as such modifications still include the configuration of the present invention, they are of course included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 5 Front retainer 6 female housing 11 female connector 15 female terminal 50 Peripheral wall 51 Front wall 53 Regulatory Department 60 Main body 61 Female terminal housing 63 Lance 65a, 65b, 65c, 65d Insertion guide part

Claims

1. The connector includes a female terminal, a female housing, and a front retainer. the female housing has a main body portion and an insertion guide portion extending forward from a front end surface of the main body portion, The main body portion has a female terminal accommodating chamber that accommodates the female terminal and a lance that engages with the female terminal, the front retainer has a front wall positioned forward of a front end surface of the main body portion, a peripheral wall positioned on an outer periphery of the main body portion, and a restricting portion disposed inside the peripheral wall and restricting deflection of the lance, the front retainer is attached to the main body portion so as to be movable back and forth between an allowance position where the restriction portion allows the lance to bend and a restriction position where the restriction portion restricts the lance from being bent, When the front retainer is positioned at the allowable position, the insertion guide portion is in contact with the inner surface of the peripheral wall. A female connector characterized by:

2. The main body has a rectangular shape when viewed from the front, The insertion guide portions extend forward from the front end surface of the main body and from the four corners of the main body.

2. The female connector according to claim 1.

3. an opening is formed in the front wall of the front retainer; When the front retainer is positioned at the restricting position, the insertion guide portion is passed through the opening and positioned forward of the front wall.

2. The female connector according to claim 1.

4. the front retainer has a protruding portion that protrudes forward beyond the front wall, When the front retainer is positioned at the restricting position, the insertion guide portion is in contact with the protrusion.

4. The female connector according to claim 3.

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