Connectors and methods for manufacturing connectors

Abstract

The objective is to provide a connector and a method for manufacturing the connector that allows for more proper assembly of terminal-equipped wires to housing components. [Solution] The connector 1 comprises a wire with terminals 10, a terminal housing portion 21 that is open toward one end in the height direction Z and accommodates the terminals 12 of the wire with terminals 10, a terminal locking lock 22 provided on the side wall 21a of the terminal housing portion 21, and a terminal locking block 23 provided on the bottom wall 21b of the terminal housing portion 21, and a housing member 20 into which the terminals 12 are inserted along the height direction Z while bending the terminal locking lock 22 and the side wall 21a relative to the terminal housing portion 21, and the housing member 20 has a base portion 24 provided on the bottom wall 21b of the terminal housing portion 21 that partially abuts the covered joint portion 12c of the terminal 12 and suppresses the tilting of the covered joint portion 12c with respect to the electrical connection portion 12a.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector and a method for manufacturing the connector.

Background Art

[0002] As a technology related to conventional connectors, for example, in Patent Document 1, there is a housing member having a wire with a terminal, a terminal housing portion for housing the terminal of the wire with a terminal, a terminal locking lock provided on a side wall of the terminal housing portion for restricting movement along the height direction of the wire with a terminal by contacting the terminal, and a terminal locking block provided on a bottom wall of the terminal housing portion for restricting movement along the axial direction of the wire with a terminal by contacting the terminal, and a connector provided with the housing member is disclosed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in the connector described in Patent Document 1 mentioned above, for example, the terminal is inserted along the height direction while flexing the terminal locking lock and the side wall with respect to the terminal housing portion of the housing member, but there is room for further improvement in more appropriately assembling the wire with a terminal with respect to the housing member.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a connector and a method for manufacturing the connector that can more appropriately assemble a wire with a terminal with respect to a housing member.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above objective, the connector according to the present invention comprises: a wire with a terminal having a wire extending along the axial direction and a terminal provided at the end of the wire; a terminal housing portion that is open toward one end in the height direction intersecting the axial direction and houses the terminal of the wire with a terminal; a terminal locking lock provided on the side wall of the terminal housing portion that restricts the movement of the terminal housed in the terminal housing portion along the height direction by contact with the terminal; and a terminal locking block provided on the bottom wall of the terminal housing portion that restricts the movement of the terminal housed in the terminal housing portion along the axial direction by contact with the terminal. The device comprises a housing member having a terminal housing portion into which the terminal is inserted along the height direction while bending the terminal locking lock and the side wall, the terminal comprising an electrical connection portion that is locked to the terminal locking block and electrically connected to a mating terminal, and a covering connection portion provided at the end opposite to the electrical connection portion in the axial direction and joined to the insulating coating portion of the electric wire, the housing member having a base portion provided on the bottom wall of the terminal housing portion and partially contacting the covering connection portion of the terminal to suppress the tilting of the covering connection portion relative to the electrical connection portion.

[0007] Furthermore, in order to achieve the above objective, the method for manufacturing a connector according to the present invention comprises: a first step in which the terminal of the wire with a terminal is inserted along the height direction into a terminal housing portion provided in a housing member and open toward one end in the height direction intersecting the axial direction of the wire with a terminal, while bending the side wall of the terminal housing portion and the terminal locking lock provided on the side wall; a second step in which the electrical connection portion of the terminal is locked along the axial direction to a terminal locking block provided on the bottom wall of the terminal housing portion; and a third step in which the covering joint portion provided on the end of the terminal opposite to the electrical connection portion in the axial direction partially abuts against a base portion provided on the bottom wall of the terminal housing portion, thereby suppressing the inclination of the covering joint portion relative to the electrical connection portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] In the connector and method for manufacturing the connector according to the present invention, the housing member has a base portion provided on the bottom wall of the terminal housing portion, which partially contacts the insulated joint portion of the terminal to suppress the tilting of the insulated joint portion relative to the electrical connection portion. With this configuration, the connector and method for manufacturing the connector can, for example, suppress the tilting of the insulated joint portion relative to the electrical connection portion by the base portion, and thereby correct and hold the wire with terminals in the proper position. As a result, the connector and method for manufacturing the connector have the effect of being able to assemble the wire with terminals to the housing member more properly. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is an illustrative perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is an illustrative exploded perspective view of a connector according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is an illustrative plan view of a housing member of a connector according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is an exemplary perspective view (partially a cross-sectional view) of a connector according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is an exemplary cross-sectional view of a connector according to an embodiment, showing the state before the terminals are inserted into the terminal housing. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is an exemplary perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment, showing the state in which the terminals are being inserted into the terminal housing. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is an exemplary perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment, showing the state after the terminals have been inserted into the terminal housing. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is an exemplary flowchart showing a method for manufacturing a connector according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is an illustrative diagram showing a method for manufacturing a connector according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is an illustrative perspective view of a modified connector. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is an illustrative diagram showing a modified example of a connector manufacturing method. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiments and modifications of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited by the embodiments and modifications described below. Furthermore, the components in the embodiments and modifications described below include those that are easily substituted or substantially identical to those that are easily substituted by those skilled in the art.

[0011] Furthermore, the embodiments and modifications disclosed below include similar components. Therefore, in the following, these similar components are given common reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted. In this specification, ordinal numbers are used solely to distinguish parts, components, parts, positions, directions, etc., and do not indicate order or priority.

[0012] [Embodiment] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a connector 1 according to an embodiment. The connector 1 of this embodiment shown in Figure 1 is incorporated into a wire harness routed in a vehicle such as an automobile. Here, the wire harness is a bundle of multiple electric wires 11 (electric wires with terminals 10) used for power supply and signal communication to connect various devices mounted on the vehicle, and the electric wires 11 are connected to each device using a connector 1 or the like. The connector 1 of this embodiment includes, for example, multiple electric wires with terminals 10 and a housing member 20 that holds the multiple electric wires with terminals 10. In addition, the connector 1 may also include various other components such as levers and fasteners.

[0013] In the following explanation, of the three intersecting directions, the first direction will be referred to as the "axial direction X," the second direction as the "width direction Y," and the third direction as the "height direction Z." Here, the axial direction X, the width direction Y, and the height direction Z are approximately orthogonal to each other. The axial direction X typically follows the direction of extension of the electric wire 11 (electric wire 10 with terminal), the longitudinal direction of the housing member 20, and the mating direction (insertion direction) between the connector 1 and the mating connector. The width direction Y typically follows the radial direction of the electric wire 11 and the width direction of the housing member 20 (connector 1). The height direction Z typically follows the radial direction of the electric wire 11 and the height direction (up and down direction) of the housing member 20 (connector 1). Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, each direction used in the following explanation refers to the direction when the connector 1 is assembled to the vehicle.

[0014] Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of connector 1, and Figure 3 is a plan view of the housing member 20 of connector 1. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the housing member 20 is, for example, a so-called KitKat plate that constitutes part of the inner housing of connector 1, and holds multiple terminal wires 10 etc. inside. In this embodiment, for example, several housing members 20 (KitKat plates) to which multiple terminal wires 10 are assembled are combined to form the inner housing of connector 1, and this inner housing is assembled to the outer housing to form connector 1. Note that in Figures 1 to 4 etc., only one of the multiple terminal wires 10 is shown for convenience.

[0015] The housing member 20 is composed of, for example, a terminal housing section 21, a plurality of terminal locking locks 22, and a terminal locking block 23 (see Figure 3), which will be described later. The terminal housing section 21 is the part in which the terminals 12 of the terminal-equipped electric wire 10 are housed, and is open toward one end (upper side) in the height direction Z. In this embodiment, for example, a plurality of housing members 20 are combined and arranged along the width direction Y to provide three terminal housing sections 21. The number of terminal housing sections 21 is not limited to this example, and for example, one, two, or four or more terminal housing sections 21 may be provided.

[0016] The terminal accommodating portion 21 is configured to include, for example, a pair of side walls 21a and a bottom wall 21b. The bottom wall 21b is a portion that supports the lower surface of the terminal 12, and is formed in a flat surface shape extending along a direction (XY plane) intersecting the height direction Z. The pair of side walls 21a are portions that support the side surfaces of the terminal 12, project along the height direction Z from the bottom wall 21b, and extend along the axial direction X. In the present embodiment, for example, in two adjacent terminal accommodating portions 21 along the width direction Y, one of the pair of side walls 21a is shared. That is, in the present embodiment, a total of four side walls 21a are provided for the three terminal accommodating portions 21 arranged along the width direction Y. The pair of side walls 21a of the terminal accommodating portion 21 disposed at the central portion among the three terminal accommodating portions 21 also function as partition walls that partition the adjacent terminal accommodating portions 21 along the width direction Y.

[0017] The terminal locking lock 22 is provided on the side wall 21a of the terminal accommodating portion 21, and restricts the movement of the terminal 12 accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion 21 along the height direction Z by abutting against the terminal 12. The terminal locking lock 22 is formed, for example, in a claw shape at one end portion (upper end portion) in the height direction Z on the side wall 21a. In the present embodiment, for example, three terminal locking locks 22 are provided side by side along the axial direction X on one of the pair of side walls 21a in each terminal accommodating portion 21. The terminal locking lock 22 has a locking surface that is locked along the height direction Z with the upper surface of the terminal 12. In the present embodiment, for example, in a state where the terminal 12 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion 21, the locking surface of the terminal locking lock 22 and the upper surface of the terminal 12 are locked along the height direction Z, thereby suppressing the movement (removal) of the terminal 12 with respect to the terminal accommodating portion 21 along the height direction Z.

[0018] Figure 4 is a perspective view (partial cross-sectional view) of connector 1, and Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of connector 1 showing the state before the terminal 12 is inserted into the terminal housing 21. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the wire with terminal 10 is composed of a wire 11 and a terminal 12 provided at the end of the wire 11. The wire 11 is composed of a conductive linear conductor portion 11a (see Figure 5) and an insulating coating portion 11b that covers the outside of the conductor portion 11a. The wire 11 is an insulated wire in which the conductor portion 11a is covered with the insulating coating portion 11b. In this embodiment, the conductor portion 11a is a core wire made by bundling a plurality of conductive metal strands, but it may also be a stranded core wire made by twisting a plurality of metal strands together.

[0019] The electric wire 11 extends linearly along the axial direction X and is formed to extend with approximately the same diameter as the axial direction X (extension direction). For example, the electric wire 11 has a substantially circular cross-sectional shape at the conductor portion 11a (the cross-sectional shape intersecting the axial direction X) and a substantially annular cross-sectional shape at the insulating coating portion 11b, resulting in an overall substantially circular cross-sectional shape. At least one end of the electric wire 11 has the insulating coating portion 11b stripped off, and the terminal 12 is connected to the conductor portion 11a exposed from the insulating coating portion 11b.

[0020] Terminal 12 is a female terminal fitting made of, for example, a conductive metal material, and is electrically connected to the mating terminal of the mating connector. Terminal 12 is composed of, for example, an electrical connection portion 12a, a conductor connection portion 12b, and a covering connection portion 12c. The electrical connection portion 12a is locked to the locking surface 23a (see Figure 5) of the terminal locking block 23, which will be described later, and is electrically connected to the mating terminal. The electrical connection portion 12a is provided with, for example, a terminal insertion portion (contact portion) into which the mating terminal is inserted along the axial direction X.

[0021] The covering joint 12c is provided at the end opposite to the electrical connection 12a in the axial direction X, and is the part that is joined to the insulating coating 11b of the electric wire 11. The covering joint 12c is joined to the insulating coating 11b of the electric wire 11, for example, by crimping. The conductor joint 12b is provided between the electrical connection 12a and the covering joint 12c in the axial direction X, and is the part that is joined to the conductor portion 11a of the electric wire 11. The conductor joint 12b is joined to the conductor portion 11a of the electric wire 11, for example, by crimping. Note that the joining method of the conductor joint 12b and the covering joint 12c is not limited to this example, and for example, the conductor portion 11a and the insulating coating 11b of the electric wire 11 may be joined by laser welding, ultrasonic bonding, heat welding, etc.

[0022] Figure 6 is a perspective view of the connector 1 showing the state in which the terminal 12 is being inserted into the terminal housing 21, and Figure 7 is a perspective view of the connector 1 showing the state after the terminal 12 has been inserted into the terminal housing 21. As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the terminal locking block 23 is provided, for example, on the bottom wall 21b of the terminal housing 21, and restricts the movement of the terminal 12 housed in the terminal housing 21 along the axial direction X by contact with the terminal 12. In this embodiment, for example, a terminal locking block 23 is provided on the bottom wall 21b of each terminal housing 21, and these multiple terminal locking blocks 23 are arranged along the width direction Y.

[0023] The terminal locking block 23 is composed of, for example, a locking surface 23a, an inclined surface 23b, and a flat surface 23c. The locking surface 23a is the portion of the terminal locking block 23 that locks with the electrical connection portion 12a of the terminal 12 along the axial direction X, and extends along the height direction Z. In this embodiment, for example, the terminal locking block 23 is provided projecting along the height direction Z from the bottom wall 21b of the terminal housing portion 21, and the locking surface 23a is formed by the end face (side surface) of the terminal locking block 23 in the axial direction X. The terminal locking block 23 protrudes in a two-stage manner, for example, having a first protruding portion 23e having a locking surface 23a and a flat surface 23c, and a second protruding portion 23f having an inclined surface 23b and protruding along the height direction Z from the first protruding portion 23e.

[0024] The inclined surface 23b is the portion of the terminal locking block 23 that guides the electrical connection portion 12a of the terminal 12 toward the locking surface 23a. The inclined surface 23b is inclined such that, for example, it moves toward one end (upper side) in the height direction Z from the locking surface 23a of the first protruding portion 23e toward one end (upper side) in the axial direction X. The inclined surface 23b is formed, for example, by the end face (side surface) in the axial direction X of the second protruding portion 23f of the terminal locking block 23 described above. The second protruding portion 23f is formed in a substantially trapezoidal cross-section having, for example, the inclined surface 23b, a flat top surface extending from the inclined surface 23b along the axial direction X, and an inclined surface that is inclined symmetrically with respect to the inclined surface 23b from the top surface.

[0025] The flat surface 23c is formed, for example, by one end surface (upper surface) in the height direction Z of the first protruding portion 23e in the terminal locking block 23 described above, and extends along the axial direction X. In the terminal locking block 23, the flat surface 23c is a flat surface that is one step lower than the second protruding portion 23f on which the inclined surface 23b is formed, and is positioned offset from the second protruding portion 23f (electrical connection portion 12a) towards one end side in the axial direction X (towards the electric wire 11). The flat surface 23c is positioned spaced apart in the height direction Z from the conductor joint portion 12b when the locking surface 23a and the electrical connection portion 12a are locked together along the axial direction X (see Figure 7).

[0026] In this embodiment, the bottom wall 21b of the terminal housing 21 is provided with a base portion 24 that partially abuts against the covered joint portion 12c of the terminal 12. The base portion 24 protrudes from the bottom wall 21b of the terminal housing 21 along the height direction Z. The base portion 24 is, for example, formed by one end face (upper surface) in the height direction Z and has a flat base surface 24a that extends along the axial direction X. By abutting the covered joint portion 12c, the base surface 24a can suppress the inclination of the conductor joint portion 12b and the covered joint portion 12c with respect to the electrical connection portion 12a. The base portion 24 is, for example, provided on the bottom wall 21b of the terminal housing 21, spaced apart from the terminal locking block 23 on the side of one end in the axial direction X (the side of the electric wire 11). Furthermore, at the bottom wall 21b of the terminal housing section 21, the amount of protrusion of the base section 24 along the height direction Z is less than the amount of protrusion of the terminal locking block 23 along the height direction Z.

[0027] Next, an example of a manufacturing method (assembly method) for the connector 1 having the above configuration will be described. Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the manufacturing method of the connector 1, and Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the manufacturing method of the connector 1. As shown in Figures 8 and 9, first, in the first step S1, the terminals 12 are inserted into the terminal housing portion 21 along the height direction Z while bending the side wall 21a and the terminal locking lock 22. In this case, the terminals 12 of multiple terminal-equipped electric wires 10 are inserted sequentially into multiple terminal housing portions 21 from one end to the other end in the width direction Y.

[0028] At this time, the multiple terminal-equipped wires 10 are inserted sequentially from the terminal housing 21 side (left side in Figure 9) that has a side wall 21a that does not have a terminal locking lock 22. This allows for elastic deformation of the terminal locking lock 22 and the side wall 21a provided with the terminal locking lock 22 along the width direction Y during the insertion process of the terminal-equipped wires 10 into the terminal housing 21, thereby improving the ease of assembling the multiple terminal-equipped wires 10 into the multiple terminal housing 21.

[0029] Next, in the second step S2, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, the electrical connection portion 12a of the terminal 12 is locked to the terminal locking block 23 along the axial direction X. In this case, one end of the electrical connection portion 12a in the axial direction X (the end on the conductor joint portion 12b side) comes into contact with the locking surface 23a of the terminal locking block 23, and the electrical connection portion 12a and the locking surface 23a are locked together along the axial direction X.

[0030] Next, in the third step S3, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, the insulated joint portion 12c of the terminal 12 partially contacts the base portion 24, suppressing the tilt of the insulated joint portion 12c relative to the electrical connection portion 12a. In this case, for example, the inclined (bent) of the terminal 12 with respect to the axial direction X is corrected when the insulated joint portion 12c, which is bent up during crimping, comes into contact with the base surface 24a of the base portion 24. Through these first steps S1 to the third steps S3, multiple terminal-equipped wires 10 can be assembled into multiple terminal housing portions 21 to manufacture the connector 1.

[0031] The manufacturing method of the connector 1 is not limited to this example, and may include, for example, a step of forming the inner housing of the connector 1 by combining several housing members 20 (KitKat plates) to which multiple terminal-equipped wires 10 are assembled. Furthermore, between the first step S1 and the second step S2, as shown in Figure 6, a step may be provided in which the terminal 12 is guided toward the locking surface 23a by the inclined surface 23b with respect to the terminal locking block 23.

[0032] As described above, in the connector 1 and the manufacturing method of the connector 1 of this embodiment, the housing member 20 has a base portion 24 provided on the bottom wall 21b of the terminal housing portion 21, which partially abuts the covered joint portion 12c of the terminal 12 to suppress the tilting of the covered joint portion 12c relative to the electrical connection portion 12a. With this configuration, the connector 1 and the manufacturing method of the connector 1 can, for example, suppress the tilting of the covered joint portion 12c relative to the electrical connection portion 12a by the base portion 24, and thereby correct and hold the wire with terminals 10 in the proper position. As a result, the connector 1 and the manufacturing method of the connector 1 can assemble the wire with terminals 10 to the housing member 20 more properly.

[0033] Furthermore, in the connector 1 of this embodiment, the terminal locking block 23 has a locking surface 23a that locks with the electrical connection portion 12a along the axial direction X, and an inclined surface 23b that is inclined toward one end in the axial direction X as it moves toward one end in the height direction Z from the locking surface 23a, guiding the electrical connection portion 12a toward the locking surface 23a. With this configuration, the connector 1 can, for example, guide the electrical connection portion 12a toward the locking surface 23a by the inclined surface 23b, and thereby absorb any misalignment of the electrical connection portion 12a along the axial direction X relative to the locking surface 23a. As a result, the connector 1 can assemble the wire 10 with terminals to the housing member 20 more appropriately.

[0034] Furthermore, in the connector 1 of this embodiment, the housing member 20 has a plurality of terminal locking locks 22, and the plurality of terminal locking locks 22 are provided on one of a pair of side walls 21a of the terminal housing portion 21, arranged along the axial direction X. With this configuration, the connector 1 can, for example, lock the terminal 12 with the plurality of terminal locking locks 22, and when a plurality of terminal housing portions 21 are provided arranged along the width direction Y, the side wall 21a on which the plurality of terminal locking locks 22 are provided can bend along the width direction Y toward the adjacent terminal housing portion 21, thereby further improving the ease of assembling the wire with terminals 10 to the housing member 20.

[0035] [Differentiation] Figure 10 is a perspective view of a modified connector 1A. The connector 1A shown in Figure 10 has the same configuration as connector 1 in the above embodiment. Therefore, connector 1A can obtain the same operation and effects as the above embodiment based on the same configuration.

[0036] However, this modified example differs from the above embodiment in that, as shown in Figure 10, the housing member 20 is provided with one terminal housing portion 21, and the terminal locking lock 22 is provided on each of the pair of side walls 21a of the terminal housing portion 21. That is, in this modified example, the terminal locking lock 22 is configured to include a first terminal locking lock 22A provided on one of the pair of side walls 21a, and a second terminal locking lock 22B provided on the other of the pair of side walls 21a.

[0037] In this modified example, for instance, the first terminal lock 22A is provided in a pair on one of the pair of side walls 21a, spaced apart from each other along the axial direction X. On the other hand, the second terminal lock 22B is provided on the other of the pair of side walls 21a, positioned between the pair of first terminal locks 22A. That is, the first terminal lock 22A and the second terminal lock 22B are provided on each of the pair of side walls 21a, offset from each other along the axial direction X.

[0038] Next, an example of a manufacturing method (assembly method) for the connector 1A having the above configuration will be described. Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a modified example of a manufacturing method for the connector 1A. As shown in Figure 11, first, in the first step S1, the terminal 12 is inserted into the terminal housing portion 21 along the height direction Z while bending the side wall 21a and the terminal locking lock 22. In this case, as the terminal 12 is inserted into the terminal housing portion 21, the first terminal locking lock 22A and the second terminal locking lock 22B and the pair of side walls 21a elastically deform toward the sides that are separated from each other along the width direction Y.

[0039] Next, in the second step S2, as shown in Figure 7, the electrical connection portion 12a of the terminal 12 is locked to the terminal locking block 23 along the axial direction X. Then, in the third step S3, the insulated joint portion 12c of the terminal 12 partially contacts the base portion 24, suppressing the tilt of the insulated joint portion 12c relative to the electrical connection portion 12a. Through these first steps S1 to third steps S3, the wire with terminals 10 can be assembled to the terminal housing portion 21 and the connector 1A can be manufactured. Note that the manufacturing method of the connector 1A is not limited to this example, and may include, for example, a step of combining several housing members 20 (KitKat plates) to which the wire with terminals 10 is assembled to form the inner housing of the connector 1A.

[0040] As described above, in the modified connector 1A, the housing member 20 has a plurality of terminal locking locks 22, and the plurality of terminal locking locks 22 are provided on each of the pair of side walls 21a of the terminal housing portion 21, offset from each other along the axial direction X. With this configuration, the connector 1A can lock the terminal 12 by the plurality of terminal locking locks 22, and the movement (dislodgement) of the terminal 12 along the height direction Z relative to the terminal housing portion 21 can be further suppressed by the terminal locking locks 22 provided alternately.

[0041] In this modified example and the above embodiment, an example is given in which three terminal locking locks 22 are provided on a pair of side walls 21a of the terminal housing 21. However, the invention is not limited to this example, and for example, one, two, or four or more terminal locking locks 22 may be provided on a pair of side walls 21a of the terminal housing 21. Also, in this modified example and the above embodiment, an example is given in which a base portion 24 (base surface 24a) is provided on the bottom wall 21b of the terminal housing 21. However, the invention is not limited to this example, and for example, a base portion 24 (base surface 24a) may be provided on the terminal locking block 23.

[0042] Although embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been illustrated above, these embodiments and modifications are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The above embodiments and modifications can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, combinations, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, each configuration, shape, and other specifications (structure, type, direction, form, size, length, width, thickness, height, number, arrangement, position, material, etc.) can be modified as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1. 1A connector 10 wires with terminals 11 Electric wire 12 terminals 12a Electrical connection 12b Conductor joint 20 Housing components 21 Terminal housing section 21a side wall 21b Bottom wall 22 Terminal locking mechanism 23 Terminal locking block 23a Locking surface 23b Slope 24 Base S1 Step 1 S2 Step 2 S3 Step 3 X-axis direction Y width direction Z (height direction)

Claims

1. A wire with a terminal, having a wire extending along the axial direction and a terminal provided at the end of the wire, A housing member comprising: a terminal housing portion that is open toward one end in the height direction intersecting the axial direction and houses the terminal of the terminal-equipped electric wire; a terminal lock provided on the side wall of the terminal housing portion that restricts the movement of the terminal housed in the terminal housing portion along the height direction by contact with the terminal; and a terminal lock provided on the bottom wall of the terminal housing portion that restricts the movement of the terminal housed in the terminal housing portion along the axial direction by contact with the terminal, wherein the terminal is inserted into the terminal housing portion along the height direction while bending the terminal lock and the side wall, The terminal is configured to include an electrical connection portion that is locked to the terminal locking block and electrically connected to a mating terminal, and a coating connection portion provided at the end opposite to the electrical connection portion in the axial direction and joined to the insulating coating portion of the electric wire. The housing member has a base portion provided on the bottom wall of the terminal housing portion, which partially contacts the covering joint portion of the terminal to suppress the tilting of the covering joint portion relative to the electrical connection portion. connector.

2. The terminal locking block has a locking surface that locks with the electrical connection portion along the axial direction, and an inclined surface that is inclined toward the one end in the axial direction as it moves from the locking surface toward the one end in the height direction, and guides the electrical connection portion toward the locking surface. The connector according to claim 1.

3. The housing member has a plurality of terminal locking locks, Multiple terminal locking mechanisms are provided on one of the pair of side walls of the terminal housing portion, aligned along the axial direction. The connector according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The housing member has a plurality of terminal locking locks, Multiple terminal locking mechanisms are provided on each of the pair of side walls of the terminal housing portion, offset from each other along the axial direction. The connector according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The first step involves inserting the terminal of the electric wire into a terminal housing portion provided in a housing member, which is open toward one end in the height direction intersecting the axial direction of the electric wire with a terminal, while bending the side wall of the terminal housing portion and the terminal locking lock provided on the side wall, along the height direction. The second step involves the electrical connection portion of the terminal being locked along the axial direction to a terminal locking block provided on the bottom wall of the terminal housing, A third step is that the covering joint portion of the terminal, which is provided at the end of the terminal opposite to the electrical connection portion in the axial direction, partially contacts the base portion provided on the bottom wall of the terminal housing portion, thereby suppressing the inclination of the covering joint portion relative to the electrical connection portion. A method for manufacturing a connector, comprising the features described above.

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