Connector assembly jig

Abstract

The present invention provides a connector assembly jig that enables reliable detection of terminal placement defects in connectors equipped with a terminal position guarantee section integrally formed in the housing. [Solution] This is used to move the terminal position guarantee portion 63, which is integrally formed on the housing 51 of the connector 50, to a locking position relative to the terminal housed in the housing 51. The connector assembly jig 10 comprises a pair of rail portions 12 that each extend along the rightward direction X1 (first direction), with a groove portion 20 formed between them. The groove portion 20 has a narrowing portion 23 in which the groove width gradually narrows as it moves toward the rightward direction X1. The connector assembly jig 10 is configured such that when the housing 51 with the terminal inserted is inserted into the groove portion 20 and slid toward the rightward direction X1, the narrowing portion 23 moves the terminal position guarantee portion to the locking position.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a connector assembling jig. [Background Art]

[0002] For example, the connector described in Patent Document 1 includes a housing and a terminal housed in the housing. A terminal position assurance portion that locks to the terminal is integrally formed on the housing of the connector. Since the terminal position assurance portion is integrally formed on the housing via, for example, a hinge portion, the terminal position assurance portion is configured to be movable between a locking position where it locks to the terminal and a non-locking position where it does not lock to the terminal. Moving the terminal position assurance portion to the locking position where it locks to the terminal ensures that the terminal is disposed at the correct position within the housing. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-147955 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] When assembling the connector as described above, it is difficult to check whether the terminal position assurance portion can be moved to the locking position, and there is still room for improvement in this respect. An object of the present disclosure is to provide a connector assembling jig capable of reliably detecting improper terminal arrangement for a connector including a terminal position assurance portion integrally formed on a housing. [Means for Solving the Problem]

[0005] The connector assembly jig of the present disclosure is used to move a terminal position guarantee portion, which is integrally formed with a connector housing, to a locking position relative to a terminal housed in the housing, and comprises a pair of rail portions that each extend along a first direction and have a groove portion formed between them, the groove portion having a narrowing portion in which the groove width gradually narrows as it moves toward the first direction, and is configured such that when the housing with the terminal inserted is inserted into the groove portion and slid in the first direction, the narrowing portion moves the terminal position guarantee portion to the locking position. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] The connector assembly jig of this disclosure makes it possible to reliably detect defects in the placement of terminals. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a connector assembly jig in one embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a side view showing a part of a connector using the connector assembly jig of the same embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a side view of the connector assembly jig in the same embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a perspective view showing how the connector assembly jig is used in the same embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] [Description of Embodiments in this Disclosure] First, the embodiments of this disclosure will be listed and described. [1] The connector assembly jig of the present disclosure is used to move a terminal position guarantee portion integrally formed with a connector housing to a locking position for terminals housed in the housing, and comprises a pair of rail portions each extending along a first direction and having a groove portion formed between them, the groove portion having a narrowing portion in which the groove width gradually narrows as it moves toward the first direction, and is configured such that when the housing with the terminals inserted is inserted into the groove portion and slid in the first direction, the narrowing portion moves the terminal position guarantee portion to the locking position.

[0009] With this configuration, the connector housing can be slid in a first direction within the groove of the connector assembly jig, passing through the constricted section, thereby moving the terminal position guarantee section to the locking position. When the terminals are positioned correctly within the housing, passing through the constricted section moves the terminal position guarantee section to the locking position. On the other hand, when the terminals are not positioned correctly and the terminal position guarantee section cannot move to the locking position, the housing can be prevented from passing through the constricted section by getting caught when it is slid in the first direction. Therefore, this connector assembly jig makes it possible to reliably detect terminal positioning defects.

[0010] [2] In the above [1], the groove portion has an outlet portion at the end of the groove portion in the first direction and an inlet portion at the end of the groove portion opposite to the outlet portion, and the constricted portion is provided between the inlet portion and the outlet portion of the groove portion, and the housing can be inserted into the inlet portion toward the first direction, and the housing that has passed through the constricted portion can be led out from the outlet portion toward the first direction.

[0011] With this configuration, the connector housing can be passed through the constricted section simply by sliding it in the first direction along the entire length of the groove, from the entrance to the exit. This improves the workability when moving the terminal position guarantee section to the locking position.

[0012] [Details of the embodiments of this disclosure] A specific example of the connector assembly jig described herein will be explained below with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, some parts of the configuration may be exaggerated or simplified for the sake of explanation. Also, the dimensional ratios of each part may differ in each drawing. The drawings show mutually orthogonal X, Y, and Z axes. The left-right direction of the connector assembly jig is along the X axis. Each drawing shows the rightward direction X1 (first direction) along the X axis and the leftward direction X2 in the opposite direction.

[0013] In this specification, “perpendicular” includes not only strictly perpendicular but also approximately perpendicular within the scope of the function and effect of this embodiment. In this specification, “opposing” means that faces or members are facing each other, including not only when they are completely facing each other but also when they are partially facing each other. Furthermore, in this specification, “opposing” includes both cases where another member is interposed between the two parts and cases where nothing is interposed between the two parts. The present invention is not limited to these examples and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims as shown, and within the meaning and scope of equivalence to the claims.

[0014] The connector assembly jig 10 shown in Figure 1 of this embodiment is used when assembling the connector 50 shown in Figure 2. (Configuration of connector 50) As shown in Figure 2, the connector 50 comprises a housing 51 including an inner member 60 and an outer member 70, and a terminal 52 housed in the inner member 60.

[0015] (Configuration of inner member 60) The inner member 60 includes a fitting portion 61 that is fitted toward a mating connector (not shown) in the fitting direction D1, and a locking portion 62. A plurality of terminals 52 are accommodated inside the fitting portion 61. The plurality of terminals 52 are arranged side by side, for example, in the height direction D2 of the connector 50 perpendicular to the fitting direction D1. The terminals 52 arranged side by side in the height direction D2 are provided in a state of being vertically inverted from each other. The outer member 70 is provided so as to cover a part of the inner member 60.

[0016] A terminal position assurance portion 63 is integrally formed on the fitting portion 61. The terminal position assurance portions 63 are respectively formed on both end faces of the fitting portion 61 in the height direction D2, for example. The terminal position assurance portion 63 is integrally formed on the fitting portion 61 via a hinge portion 64, for example. The terminal position assurance portion 63 extends from the hinge portion 64 and has a locking claw 65 at its distal end. The terminal position assurance portion 63 is rotatable about the hinge portion 64 between a locking position where it is locked to the locked portion 52a of the terminal 52 and an unlocking position where it is not locked to the terminal 52. In FIG. 2, the terminal position assurance portion 63 in the unlocking position is shown by a solid line, and the terminal position assurance portion 63 in the locking position is shown by a two-dot chain line. When the terminal position assurance portion 63 is in the locking position, the locking claw 65 is locked to the locking portion 62 of the inner member 60. When the locking claw 65 is locked to the locking portion 62, the terminal position assurance portion 63 is held at the locking position. The aforementioned connector assembling jig 10 is used when moving the terminal position assurance portion 63 integrally formed on the housing 51 to the locking position.

[0017] (Structure of Connector Assembling Jig 10) As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the connector assembling jig 10 includes a base portion 11 and a pair of rail portions 12 provided on the base portion 11.

[0018] The base portion 11 has an elongated shape long in the X-axis direction, for example. At both end portions of the base portion 11 in the X-axis direction, there are provided a pair of fixing portions 13 that are fixed to a fixing target (not shown) such as a work table, for example. Each fixing portion 13 is fixed to the fixing target by, for example, bolt fastening.

[0019] (Configuration of the pair of rail portions 12 and the groove portion 20) The pair of rail portions 12 are integrally formed on the base portion 11 so as to extend along the right direction X1 (the first direction). The pair of rail portions 12 each have inner side surfaces 14 facing each other in the Z-axis direction. Between the pair of rail portions 12, the groove portion 20 is formed by the respective inner side surfaces 14. In the present embodiment, the respective inner side surfaces 14 are symmetrical to each other.

[0020] The groove portion 20 is formed along the X-axis direction from the end portion of the rail portion 12 on the left direction X2 side to the end portion on the right direction X1 side. The groove portion 20 is a space between the inner side surfaces 14 of the respective rail portions 12.

[0021] The groove portion 20 includes an inlet portion 21, an outlet portion 22, and a narrowed portion 23. The inlet portion 21 is provided at an end portion of the groove portion 20 on the left direction X2 side, and is open toward the left direction X2. Accordingly, the fitting portion 61 of the housing 51 can be inserted into the inlet portion 21 toward the right direction X1. The outlet portion 22 is provided at an end portion of the groove portion 20 on the right direction X1 side, and is open toward the right direction X1. Accordingly, the fitting portion 61 of the housing 51 can be led out from the outlet portion 22 to the outside of the groove portion 20 toward the right direction X1.

[0022] (Configuration of the narrowed portion 23) The narrowed portion 23 of the groove portion 20 is provided between the inlet portion 21 and the outlet portion 22 in the groove portion 20. In the present embodiment, the narrowed portion 23 is provided, for example, at a central portion of the groove portion 20 in the X-axis direction. The narrowed portion 23 is formed such that the groove width (the width of the groove portion 20 in the Z-axis direction) gradually decreases toward the right direction X1. The narrowed portion 23 is formed by inclined surfaces 14a respectively formed on the inner side surfaces 14 of the pair of rail portions 12. The respective inclined surfaces 14a are inclined so as to approach each other as going toward the right direction X1.

[0023] In this embodiment, the groove 20 is formed to widen towards the open end in the Y-axis direction in the portion between the inlet portion 21 and the constricted portion 23, and in a portion of the constricted portion 23 on the inlet portion 21 side. In addition, the groove 20 in this embodiment is formed to gradually narrow towards the open end in the Y-axis direction in a portion of the constricted portion 23 on the outlet portion 22 side, and in the portion between the constricted portion 23 and the outlet portion 22.

[0024] When the mating portion 61 of the housing 51 is slid to the right X1 within the groove portion 20, each terminal position guarantee portion 63 contacts each inclined surface 14a in the constricted portion 23 and moves inward along each inclined surface 14a (i.e., toward the locking position). As a result, if each terminal 52 is positioned correctly, each terminal position guarantee portion 63 moves to the locking position, and the locking claws 65 of each terminal position guarantee portion 63 are locked to each locking portion 62. One of the pair of rail portions 12 is provided with an indicator portion 24 that shows the direction (right X1) in which the connector 50 is slid during operation.

[0025] (Operation of this embodiment) The operation of this embodiment will be described below. When rotating each terminal position guarantee portion 63 from the unlocked position to the locked position, as shown in Figure 4, the fitting portion 61 of the housing 51 (inner member 60) is inserted into the groove portion 20 of the connector assembly jig 10 from the entrance portion 21 toward the right X1. Then, the fitting portion 61 is slid toward the right X1 within the groove portion 20 to pass through the constricted portion 23. At this time, if the terminals 52 are positioned correctly in the connector 50, each terminal position guarantee portion 63 is rotated to the locked position by contacting each inclined surface 14a in the constricted portion 23, and the locking claws 65 of each terminal position guarantee portion 63 are locked to each locking portion 62. In this embodiment, for example, the upper and lower terminal position guarantee portions 63 are locked to each terminal 52 simultaneously. After that, the fitting portion 61 of the housing 51 is removed from the groove portion 20 toward the right X1 from the exit portion 22. On the other hand, if the terminal 52 is not positioned correctly (i.e., in a so-called half-inserted state), the terminal position guarantee part 63 cannot rotate to the locking position, preventing the mating part 61 from passing through the constricted part 23. When the mating part 61 cannot pass through the constricted part 23, the connector 50 is removed from the groove 20 to check the position of the terminal 52 relative to the housing 51. In this way, it is possible to reliably detect positional defects such as the terminal 52 being only partially inserted.

[0026] (Effects of this embodiment) The effects of this embodiment will be described below. (1) The connector assembly jig 10 comprises a pair of rail sections 12, each extending along the rightward direction X1 (first direction), with a groove section 20 formed between them. The groove section 20 has a constricted section 23, the groove width of which gradually narrows as it moves toward the rightward direction X1. The connector assembly jig 10 is configured such that when the housing 51 with the terminals 52 inserted is inserted into the groove section 20 and slid toward the rightward direction X1, the constricted section 23 moves the terminal position guarantee section 63 to the locking position. With this configuration, by sliding the housing 51 of the connector 50 toward the rightward direction X1 within the groove section 20 of the connector assembly jig 10 and passing through the constricted section 23, the terminal position guarantee section 63 can be moved to the locking position. At this time, when the terminals 52 are positioned correctly within the housing 51, passing through the constricted section 23 moves the terminal position guarantee section 63 to the locking position. On the other hand, if the terminal 52 is not positioned correctly and the terminal position guarantee part 63 cannot move to the locking position, when the housing 51 is slid to the right in direction X1, it becomes possible to prevent the housing 51 from passing through the constricted part 23 by causing it to get caught. Therefore, by using this connector assembly jig 10, it is possible to reliably detect positional defects such as the terminal 52 being only partially inserted.

[0027] (2) The groove 20 has an exit portion 22 at the end of the groove 20 in the right direction X1 (first direction) and an entrance portion 21 at the end of the groove 20 opposite to the exit portion 22. The constricted portion 23 is provided between the entrance portion 21 and the exit portion 22 of the groove 20. The connector assembly jig 10 can insert the housing 51 into the entrance portion 21 toward the right direction X1, and can lead out the housing 51 that has passed through the constricted portion 23 toward the right direction X1 from the exit portion 22. With this configuration, the housing 51 of the connector 50 can be passed through the constricted portion 23 simply by sliding the housing 51 of the connector 50 toward the right direction X1 along the entire length of the groove 20 from the entrance portion 21 to the exit portion 22. This makes it possible to improve the workability when moving the terminal position guarantee portion 63 to the locking position.

[0028] (Other embodiments) The above embodiment can be implemented with the following modifications. The above embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that they do not contradict each other technically.

[0029] The method of fixing the connector assembly jig 10 to the object to be fixed is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be done by means other than bolt fastening, such as adhesive bonding. In the connector assembly jig 10 of the above embodiment, each fixing part 13 may be omitted.

[0030] The extent to which the constricted portion 23 occupies the groove portion 20 in the X-axis direction is not limited to the above embodiment, and the constricted portion 23 may be formed over the entire length of the groove portion 20 in the X-axis direction.

[0031] In the above embodiment, inclined surfaces 14a are formed on the inner surfaces 14 of each of the pair of rail sections 12, but the invention is not limited to this, and the inclined surfaces 14a may be formed on only one of the pair of rail sections 12. In other words, the narrowed portion 23 of the groove section 20 is not limited to a configuration formed by a pair of inclined surfaces 14a, and one of the inclined surfaces 14a may be omitted, and the narrowed portion 23 may be formed by a single inclined surface 14a.

[0032] In the above embodiment, the groove 20 may be configured such that the entrance portion 21 is open only in the Y-axis direction and not in the left direction X2. In this case, the fitting portion 61 of the housing 51 is inserted into the entrance portion 21 along the Y-axis direction, and then the housing 51 is slid to the right X1 toward the constricted portion 23.

[0033] In the groove 20 of the above embodiment, the outlet portion 22 may be configured to be open only in the Y-axis direction and not open in the rightward direction X1. In this case, the fitting portion 61 of the housing 51 can be led out from the outlet portion 22 along the Y-axis direction.

[0034] In the connector assembly jig 10 of the above embodiment, for example, a locking wall that can be locked to, for example, the outer member 70 of the housing 51 is provided at the open end of the groove 20 in the Y-axis direction so that the housing 51 does not fall out of the groove 20 in the Y-axis direction.

[0035] The shape of the groove portion 20 is not limited to the above embodiment and can be appropriately changed depending on the configuration of the connector 50, etc. The configuration of the connector 50, including the terminals 52 and the housing 51, is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified as appropriate. For example, the terminals 52 may not be arranged side by side in the height direction D2, and the terminal position guarantee portion 63 corresponding to the terminals 52 may be provided on only one side of the mating portion 61 in the height direction D2.

[0036] The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects, and the present invention is not limited to these examples. That is, the scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, and all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims are intended to be included. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0037] 10 Connector assembly jig 11 Base section 12 Rail section 13 Fixed part 14 Inner surface 14a Slope 20 grooves 21 Entrance 22 Exit section 23 Stenosis 24 Display 50 connectors 51 Housing 52 terminals 52a Locked part 60 Inner component 61 Fitting part 62 Locking part 63 Terminal position guarantee section 64 Hinge section 65 Locking claws 70 Outer components D1 Fitting direction D2 Height direction X1 Rightward (First direction) X2 Left direction

Claims

1. A connector assembly jig used to move a terminal position guarantee portion, which is integrally formed on the housing of a connector, to a locking position relative to the terminal housed in the housing, It comprises a pair of rail sections, each extending along a first direction, with a groove formed between them, The groove portion has a narrowing portion in which the groove width gradually narrows as it moves toward the first direction. When the housing with the terminals inserted is inserted into the groove and slid in the first direction, the constricted portion is configured to move the terminal position guarantee portion to the locking position. Connector assembly jig.

2. The groove portion has an exit portion at the end of the groove portion in the first direction, and an entrance portion at the end of the groove portion opposite to the exit portion. The constricted portion is provided between the inlet portion and the outlet portion of the groove portion, The housing can be inserted into the inlet in the first direction, and the housing that has passed through the constricted portion can be led out from the outlet in the first direction. The connector assembly jig according to claim 1.

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