connector

Abstract

To provide a connector comprising a housing which can be appropriately house a terminal having various forms and structures into the housing.SOLUTION: A connector 1 comprises: a housing 2 having a terminal housing chamber 12; and a terminal 3 (3A, 3B) housed in the terminal housing chamber 12. The housing 2 includes a pressing force part 17 which can be elastically deformed, extends toward an inner side of the terminal housing chamber 12 from an inner wall surface 16 of the terminal housing chamber 12, and comes into pressure-contact with the terminal 3. The terminal 3 is housed in the terminal housing chamber 12 in a state of being pressed by the pressing force part 17 and held in a pressing direction. The connector 1 comprises a front holder 4, and the front holder 4 includes a holding part 33(33b) arranged so as to keep the pressing force part 17 between the terminal 3 and itself when it is assembled to the housing 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector including a housing and a terminal accommodated in a terminal accommodating chamber of the housing. [Background technology]

[0002] Connectors have been proposed in which terminals are accommodated in terminal accommodating chambers of a housing. For example, one conventional connector is provided with a locking piece (so-called a lance) on the housing that locks the terminal inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber in a correct insertion position, and the terminal is fixed in the terminal accommodating chamber by locking the terminal with the locking piece (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3468351 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, the terminals accommodated in the housing of the connector have a shape and structure designed to ensure proper electrical connection with the mating terminals to be connected. In other words, the housing has a different shape and structure for each terminal to be used so that the terminals having such various shapes and structures can be properly accommodated. As an example, connectors used in wire harnesses for automobiles are generally designed to have housings with different dedicated shapes and structures for the specifications of the mating connectors and mating terminals to be connected, even if the connectors themselves have the same purpose. However, from the viewpoint of reducing the complexity of managing connectors and manufacturing costs, it is desirable to standardize the shape and structure of the housings as much as possible.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector having a housing that can properly accommodate terminals having a wide variety of shapes and structures in the housing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the connector according to the present invention comprises the following components [1] to [ 2 ] is one of its features. [1] A connector comprising a housing having a terminal accommodating chamber and a terminal accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber, The housing includes: a pressing portion that is elastically deformable and extends obliquely from a lower inner wall surface that defines the terminal accommodating chamber toward an upper side that is inside the terminal accommodating chamber and presses and contacts the terminal, The terminal is The terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber while being pressed against the pressing portion and held in the vertical direction. The terminals accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber include a first terminal and a second terminal having a larger vertical dimension than the first terminal, a downward elastic deformation amount of the pressing portion when the second terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber and pressed against the pressing portion to be held in the vertical direction is greater than a downward elastic deformation amount of the pressing portion when the first terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber and pressed against the pressing portion to be held in the vertical direction. Ku , The housing has a locking piece for locking the terminal in a normal insertion position, a front holder that allows the terminals to be assembled into the housing without interfering with the locking piece when the terminals are in the normal insertion position, and that interferes with the locking piece when the terminals are in an intermediate insertion position before the normal insertion position, preventing the terminals from being assembled into the housing; The housing has two terminal accommodating chambers arranged vertically side by side, In each of the two terminal accommodating chambers, the locking piece is provided so as to extend forward from a front end portion of an upper inner wall that defines the terminal accommodating chamber, and the pressing portion is provided so as to extend forward from a front end portion of a lower inner wall that defines the terminal accommodating chamber, The front holder includes: a holding portion disposed so as to enter a gap between the pressing portion provided in the upper terminal accommodating chamber and the locking piece provided in the lower terminal accommodating chamber when the terminal is assembled to the housing; It is a connector. [ 2 ] the above[ 1 In the connector according to the present invention, The front holder includes: a protrusion protruding from an inner wall surface of the front holder facing the pressing portion toward the terminal and contacting the terminal; It is a connector.

[0007] According to the connector having the configuration of [1] above, the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing is provided with an elastically deformable pressing portion that extends from the inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber toward the inside of the terminal accommodating chamber and presses and contacts the terminal. The terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber in a state where it is pressed by this pressing portion and held in the pressing direction. Therefore, even if terminals of various shapes (e.g., terminals having different dimensions in the direction sandwiched between one inner wall surface and the other inner wall surface) are inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, the pressing portion elastically deforms while pressing and contacting the terminal, thereby suppressing positional deviation (so-called rattling) of the terminal in the terminal accommodating chamber. In other words, the housing can be standardized regardless of the shape of the terminal. Therefore, the connector having this configuration can properly accommodate terminals of various shapes and structures in the housing.

[0008] In addition, the above-mentioned pressing portion may have, for example, a cantilever-like shape extending from one inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber, or a double-supported beam-like shape extending from that inner wall surface, or it may have another elastically deformable shape.

[0009] Furthermore, the above[ 1 According to a connector having the configuration of [1], when the front holder is assembled to the housing, the pressing portion is sandwiched between the holding portion of the front holder and the terminal. Therefore, for example, even if an unintended external force is applied to the terminal when the connector is in use (for example, when a peripheral component comes into contact with an electric wire extending from the terminal), the holding portion prevents the pressing portion from deforming in a direction away from the terminal. As a result, the terminal is kept properly accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber, and unintended positional displacement of the terminal is prevented.

[0010] the above[ 2According to the connector having the above configuration, a protrusion is provided on the inner wall surface of the front holder so as to protrude toward the pressing portion of the housing and contact the terminal accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber. This allows the terminal to contact the protrusion with a higher contact pressure than when the terminal simply makes surface contact with the inner wall surface of the front holder or the terminal accommodating chamber. As a result, the positional deviation of the terminal is more firmly suppressed. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a connector having a housing capable of properly accommodating terminals having a wide variety of shapes and structures in the housing.

[0012] The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the following description of the embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as "embodiment") with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention in the middle of being fitted to a mating connector. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connector shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] 3 is an exploded perspective view of the connector shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a main vertical sectional view of the housing shown in FIG. 3 in a state in which the front holder is in a provisionally retaining position and the first terminal is in the middle of being inserted. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4, showing a state in which the first terminal is in the normal insertion position. [Figure 6] 6 is a main vertical sectional view of the housing shown in FIG. 3 in a state in which the front holder is in a provisionally retaining position and the second terminal is in the middle of being inserted. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6, showing a state in which the second terminal is in the normal insertion position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] <Embodiment> A connector 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2 will be described below with reference to the drawings. For convenience of explanation, the following definitions are used as shown in Fig. 1: "front-rear direction", "width direction", "up-down direction", "front", "rear", "up" and "down". The "front-rear direction", "width direction" and "up-down direction" are perpendicular to each other. The front-rear direction coincides with the mating direction of the connector 1 and the mating connector 5 (see Fig. 1), and the front side (left side in Fig. 1) in the mating direction in which the mating connector 5 is mated is the front side, and the rear side (right side in Fig. 1) in the opposite mating direction is the rear side.

[0015] 3, the connector 1 includes a housing 2, terminals 3 accommodated in the housing 2 from the rear side, and a front holder 4 attached to the housing 2 from the front side. The configuration of each part constituting the connector 1 will be described below in order.

[0016] First, the terminal 3 will be described. As shown in Fig. 3, in this example, there are two types of metal terminals (female terminals), a first terminal 3A and a second terminal 3B, as the terminals 3 accommodated in the housing 2. Each of the first terminal 3A and the second terminal 3B has a shape extending in the front-rear direction, and integrally includes a rectangular box-shaped box portion 21 extending in the front-rear direction and a crimping portion 22 located at the rear side of the box portion 21. A mating terminal (male terminal) 43 (see Fig. 1) extending in the front-rear direction of the mating connector 5 is inserted into the box portion 21. An end of an electric wire (not shown) is crimped and fixed to the crimping portion 22.

[0017] The first terminal 3A and the second terminal 3B differ in overall shape, including the height of the box portion 21. The height of the box portion 21 is the vertical distance between the bottom surface (lower end surface, flat surface) of the box portion 21 and the uppermost position of the box portion 21 (the protruding end of the protrusion if there is a protrusion on the upper surface of the box portion 21). In this example, the height of the box portion 21 of the second terminal 3B is greater than the height of the box portion 21 of the first terminal 3A. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the first terminal 3A and the second terminal 3B, the first terminal 3A and the second terminal 3B will be collectively referred to as terminals 3.

[0018] Next, the housing 2 will be described. As shown in Fig. 3, the resin housing 2 includes a substantially rectangular tubular housing main body 11. The housing main body 11 is inserted into a rectangular tubular hood portion 42 (see Fig. 1) of a mating housing 41 of a mating connector 5, so that the housing 2 and the mating housing 41 (i.e., the connector 1 and the mating connector 5) are fitted together.

[0019] 3 and 4, a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 12 for accommodating terminals 3 are formed inside the housing body 11 and extend in the front-rear direction. In this example, the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 12 are arranged in two upper and lower stages and aligned in the width direction. Each terminal accommodating chamber 12 is a space that extends in the front-rear direction and has a generally rectangular cross section.

[0020] The terminal 3 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 12 from the rear side (see Figs. 4 and 6). When the connector 1 and the mating connector 5 are mated, the mating terminal 43 of the mating connector 5 is inserted into the box portion 21 of the terminal 3 accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 12, whereby the terminal 3 and the mating terminal 43 are electrically connected to each other.

[0021] 4, each terminal accommodating chamber 12 is provided with a lance 14, which is a cantilever-shaped locking piece, extending forward from the front end of an upper inner wall that defines the terminal accommodating chamber 12. The lance 14 extends obliquely from an upper inner wall surface 13 (a plane extending in the front-rear direction) of the terminal accommodating chamber 12 downward (toward the inside of the terminal accommodating chamber 12).

[0022] A gap 15 is provided above the lance 14. Therefore, the lance 14 is capable of elastically deforming upward from a normal position (the position shown in FIG. 4) in which it is not elastically deformed so as to narrow the gap 15. The lance 14 performs functions such as preventing the terminal 3 accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 12 from slipping out rearward (details will be described later).

[0023] 4, each terminal accommodating chamber 12 is further provided with a cantilever-shaped elastic piece 17 extending forward from a front end of a lower inner wall that defines the terminal accommodating chamber 12. The elastic piece 17 extends obliquely upward (to the inside of the terminal accommodating chamber 12) from a lower inner wall surface 16 (a plane extending in the front-rear direction) of the terminal accommodating chamber 12. In this example, the position of the base end of the elastic piece 17 (i.e., the position of the front end of the lower inner wall that defines the terminal accommodating chamber 12) approximately coincides with the position of the tip of the lance 14 in the front-rear direction.

[0024] The elastic piece 17 is capable of elastically deforming downward from a normal posture (the posture shown in FIG. 4) in which the elastic piece 17 is not elastically deformed. The elastic piece 17 exerts a function of pressing upward and holding the terminal 3 accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 12. The function of the elastic piece 17 will be described in detail later.

[0025] 3, a cantilever-shaped lock arm 18 is provided so as to extend rearward at the center in the width direction of the upper end surface of the housing body 11. A lock protrusion 19 is provided on the lock arm 18. When the connector 1 and the mating connector 5 are mated, the lock protrusion 19 engages with a lock portion (not shown) provided on the hood portion 42 of the mating housing 41, thereby maintaining the mated state between the connector 1 and the mating connector 5.

[0026] Next, the front holder 4 will be described. The front holder 4 is a member that is inserted into the housing main body 11 from the front side and performs functions such as detecting partial insertion of the terminal 3. As shown in Fig. 3, the resin front holder 4 integrally includes a substantially rectangular flat front wall portion 31 extending in the up-down and width directions, and a pair of substantially rectangular flat side wall portions 32 that extend rearward from both widthwise ends of the front wall portion 31 and face each other in the width direction.

[0027] The front holder 4 further includes two substantially rectangular flat plate-like detection portions 33 extending rearward from the front wall portion 31 so as to face each other with a gap therebetween in the vertical direction between the pair of side wall portions 32, as shown in Fig. 4, in correspondence with the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 12 arranged in two upper and lower stages in the width direction. Hereinafter, when it is necessary to distinguish between the upper and lower detection portions 33, the upper and lower detection portions 33 will be referred to as detection portion 33a and detection portion 33b, respectively.

[0028] 3 and 4, the front wall 31 has a plurality of insertion holes 34 formed therethrough in the front-rear direction and aligned in two upper and lower rows in the width direction in correspondence with the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 12 arranged in two upper and lower rows in the width direction. When the connector 1 and the mating connector 5 are mated, mating terminals 43 (see FIG. 1) of the mating connector 5 are inserted into the insertion holes 34.

[0029] As shown in Fig. 3, a locking projection 35 is formed on each of the pair of side wall portions 32. The pair of locking projections 35 cooperate with a locking portion (not shown) of the housing body 11 to selectively lock the front holder 4 attached to the housing body 11 at a temporary locking position (see Figs. 4 to 7) and a full locking position (see Fig. 2) rearward of the temporary locking position. As shown in Fig. 4, a projection 36 that projects slightly downward is formed on the lower surface of each detection portion 33. The function of the projection 36 will be described later. The configuration of each component that constitutes the connector 1 has been described above.

[0030] Next, a description will be given of a procedure for assembling the connector 1. First, the front holder 4 is inserted into the housing body 11 from the front side through the front end opening of the housing body 11 of the housing 2, and is locked at the provisional locking position as shown in FIG.

[0031] When the front holder 4 is in the provisionally-retained position, the rear end of the detection portion 33a is located in front of the gap 15 corresponding to the lance 14 of the upper terminal accommodating chamber 12, and the rear end of the detection portion 33b is located in front of the gap 15 corresponding to the lance 14 of the lower terminal accommodating chamber 12. The detection portion 33b is located below the elastic piece 17 of the upper terminal accommodating chamber 12. The protrusion 36 of the detection portion 33a is arranged to face the elastic piece 17 of the upper terminal accommodating chamber 12 in the vertical direction, and the protrusion 36 of the detection portion 33b is arranged to face the elastic piece 17 of the lower terminal accommodating chamber 12 in the vertical direction. In this example, the vertical distance between the protrusion 36 and the tip of the elastic piece 17, which face each other in the vertical direction, is slightly smaller than the height of the box portion 21 of the first terminal 3A.

[0032] Next, the terminal 3 is accommodated in the housing 2. First, a case in which the first terminal 3A as the terminal 3 is accommodated in the upper terminal accommodating chamber 12 of the housing 2 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0033] As shown in Fig. 4, the first terminal 3A, with an electric wire (not shown) connected to the crimping portion 22, is inserted from the rear into the upper terminal accommodating chamber 12. The inserted first terminal 3A moves forward toward the correct insertion position while causing the bottom surface of the box portion 21 to rub against the lower inner wall surface 16 of the terminal accommodating chamber 12. When the first terminal 3A is at an intermediate insertion position before reaching the correct insertion position (specifically, when the box portion 21 is below the lance 14), the box portion 21 pushes the lance 14 upward, thereby maintaining the lance 14 in a position elastically deformed upward (i.e., a state in which the gap 15 is narrowed).

[0034] As shown in Fig. 5, when the first terminal 3A reaches the correct insertion position (when the box portion 21 passes under the lance 14), the lance 14 enters a corner of the first terminal 3A (specifically, the upper rear corner of the box portion 21), causing the lance 14 to elastically return downward and be maintained in the correct position (the position shown in Fig. 5). As a result, the lance 14 engages the corner of the first terminal 3A, thereby preventing the first terminal 3A from slipping out rearward.

[0035] In this manner, in the process in which the first terminal 3A moves from the half-insertion position to the normal insertion position, the first terminal 3A moves forward while pushing the elastic piece 17 downward. As a result, when the first terminal 3A is in the normal insertion position, as shown in Fig. 5, the elastic piece 17 is maintained in a state in which it is elastically deformed downward, and presses the box portion 21 of the first terminal 3A upward toward the protrusion 36 by its own elastic restoring force. Since the height of the box portion 21 of the first terminal 3A is smaller than that of the second terminal 3B, the amount of elastic deformation downward of the elastic piece 17 in this state is relatively small. In this example, the elastic piece 17 extends obliquely forward from the lower inner wall surface 16 of the terminal accommodating chamber 12 toward the upper side (inside the terminal accommodating chamber 12) (see Fig. 5).

[0036] As a result, the box portion 21 of the first terminal 3A is held in a state of being sandwiched vertically between the elastic piece 17 and the protrusion 36 of the detection portion 33a, so that it is possible to suppress misalignment (so-called rattling) of the first terminal 3A within the terminal accommodating chamber 12. Furthermore, compared to when the protrusion 36 is not present on the lower surface of the detection portion 33a (i.e., when the upper surface of the box portion 21 of the first terminal 3A is simply in surface contact with the lower surface (flat surface) of the detection portion 33a), the contact pressure acting on the contact point between the box portion 21 and the protrusion 36 is higher. As a result, misalignment of the first terminal 3A is more firmly suppressed.

[0037] 5, the detection portion 33b is disposed so as to sandwich the elastic piece 17 between the box portion 21 of the first terminal 3A and the detection portion 33b. As a result, even if an unintended external force is applied to the first terminal 3A (for example, if a peripheral component comes into contact with an electric wire extending from the first terminal 3A), the detection portion 33b prevents the elastic piece 17 from deforming downward (away from the first terminal 3A). As a result, the first terminal 3A is maintained in a state in which it is properly accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 12.

[0038] In this way, when the first terminal 3A is accommodated in the normal insertion position of the upper terminal accommodating chamber 12, the first terminal 3A is held in a state of being sandwiched in the vertical direction between the upper elastic piece 17 and the protrusion 36 of the detection portion 33a. Similarly, when the first terminal 3A is accommodated in the normal insertion position of the lower terminal accommodating chamber 12, the first terminal 3A is held in a state of being sandwiched in the vertical direction between the lower elastic piece 17 and the protrusion 36 of the detection portion 33b. As a result, similar to the case where the first terminal 3A is accommodated in the upper terminal accommodating chamber 12, the positional deviation of the first terminal 3A in the lower terminal accommodating chamber 12 can be suppressed.

[0039] 4 and 5, a case where the first terminal 3A is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 12 as the terminal 3 has been described above. Next, a case where the second terminal 3B is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 12 of the housing 2 as the terminal 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

[0040] Similar to the first terminal 3A, the second terminal 3B is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 12 from the rear side as shown in FIG. 6, and in the normal insertion position, as shown in FIG. 7, is held in a state in which it is clamped in the vertical direction between the elastic piece 17 and the protrusion 36 of the detection portion 33.

[0041] The second terminal 3B has a greater height of the box portion 21 than the first terminal 3A. Therefore, the amount of downward elastic deformation of the elastic piece 17 when the second terminal 3B is accommodated (see FIG. 7) is greater than the amount of downward elastic deformation of the elastic piece 17 when the first terminal 3A is accommodated (see FIG. 5). In this example, the elastic piece 17 extends forward approximately parallel to the front-rear direction along the lower inner wall surface 16 of the terminal accommodating chamber 12 (see FIG. 7).

[0042] In this way, regardless of whether one of the two types of terminals 3 having box portions 21 with different heights is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 12, the amount of downward elastic deformation of the elastic piece 17 is automatically adjusted according to the height of the box portion 21, so that the terminal 3 can be held in a state in which it is clamped in the vertical direction between the elastic piece 17 and the protrusion portion 36 of the detection portion 33.

[0043] In this manner, the desired number of terminals 3 (first terminals 3A or second terminals 3B) are inserted in sequence into the corresponding terminal accommodating chambers 12 of the housing 2 and accommodated in the correct insertion positions. When the desired number of terminals 3 have been accommodated in the correct insertion positions, the front holder 4, which is in the temporary locking position, is pushed backward with respect to the housing 2 toward the final locking position.

[0044] Here, when all the terminals 3 inserted into the terminal accommodating chambers 12 are normally in the correct insertion position, all the lances 14 of the terminal accommodating chambers 12 are maintained in the correct posture (the posture shown in Figs. 5 and 7). Therefore, the rear ends of the two upper and lower detection parts 33 of the front holder 4 can enter the upper and lower two-stage gaps 15 without interfering with the upper and lower two-stage lances 14. Therefore, in this case, when the rear ends of the two upper and lower detection parts 33 enter the upper and lower two-stage gaps 15, the front holder 4 moves from the provisional locking position to the final locking position and is locked at the final locking position (see Fig. 2). This completes the assembly of the connector 1.

[0045] When the front holder 4 is in the full locking position, the detection portion 33 enters the gap 15, restricting the lance 14 from moving upward (away from the terminal 3). This achieves a so-called double lock between the lance 14 and the terminal 3, more reliably preventing the terminal 3 from slipping out rearward. Even when the front holder 4 is in the full locking position, the terminal 3 accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 12 at the correct insertion position is still held in a state of being clamped in the vertical direction by the elastic piece 17 and the protrusion 36 of the detection portion 33.

[0046] On the other hand, when some of the terminals 3 inserted into the terminal accommodating chambers 12 are in the half-insertion position, the lances 14 of the terminal accommodating chambers 12 (hereinafter referred to as half-inserted terminal accommodating chambers 12) accommodating the terminals 3 in the half-insertion position are maintained in an upwardly elastically deformed posture (with the gaps 15 narrowed). Therefore, the front ends of the lances 14 of the half-inserted terminal accommodating chambers 12 interfere with the rear ends of the corresponding detection portions 33, and the corresponding detection portions 33 cannot enter the gaps 15 corresponding to the lances 14 of the half-inserted terminal accommodating chambers 12. As a result, the front holder 4 cannot move from the temporary locking position to the full locking position. In this way, the half-insertion of the terminals 3 can be detected because the front holder 4 cannot move from the temporary locking position to the full locking position.

[0047] The connector 1 after assembly is completed is mated with the mating connector 5 as shown in Fig. 1. When the mating between the connector 1 and the mating connector 5 is completed, the locking protrusion 19 of the housing 2 engages with a locking portion (not shown) of the mating housing 41, thereby maintaining the mated state between the connector 1 and the mating connector 5. In addition, the mating terminal 43 of the mating connector 5 is inserted into the box portion 21 of the terminal 3 accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 12, thereby electrically connecting the terminal 3 and the mating terminal 43.

[0048] <Actions and Effects> As described above, according to the connector 1 of the present embodiment, the terminal accommodating chamber 12 of the housing 2 is provided with an elastically deformable elastic piece 17 that extends from the lower inner wall surface 16 of the terminal accommodating chamber 12 toward the inside of the terminal accommodating chamber 12 and presses against the terminal 3. The terminal 3 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 12 in a state where it is pressed against the elastic piece 17 and held in the vertical direction (pressing direction). Therefore, even if two types of terminals 3 (first terminals 3A and second terminals 3B) having different heights of the box portions 21 are inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 12, the elastic piece 17 elastically deforms while pressing against the terminals 3, thereby suppressing misalignment (so-called rattling) of the terminals 3 in the terminal accommodating chamber 12. That is, the housing 2 can be made common regardless of the shape of the terminals 3. Therefore, the connector 1 of the present embodiment can properly accommodate terminals 3 having various shapes and structures in the housing 2.

[0049] Furthermore, according to the connector 1 of this embodiment, when the front holder 4 is assembled to the housing 2, the elastic piece 17 is sandwiched between the detection portion 33 of the front holder 4 and the terminal 3. Therefore, for example, even if an unintended external force is applied to the terminal 3 during use of the connector 1 (for example, when a peripheral component comes into contact with an electric wire extending from the terminal 3), the detection portion 33 suppresses the elastic piece 17 from deforming in a direction away from the terminal 3 (upward). As a result, the terminal 3 is maintained in a state where it is properly accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 12, and unintended positional displacement of the terminal 3 is suppressed.

[0050] Furthermore, according to the connector 1 of this embodiment, a protrusion 36 is provided on the lower surface of the detection portion 33 of the front holder 4 so as to protrude toward the elastic piece 17 of the housing 2 and to come into contact with the terminal 3 accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 12. This increases the contact pressure acting on the contact point between the terminal 3 and the protrusion 36 compared to when the terminal 3 simply comes into surface contact with the inner wall surface of the front holder 4 or the terminal accommodating chamber 12. As a result, positional deviation of the terminal 3 is more firmly suppressed.

[0051] <Other forms> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be adopted within the scope of the present invention. For example, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate modifications, improvements, etc. are possible. In addition, the material, shape, size, number, arrangement location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiments are arbitrary as long as the present invention can be achieved, and are not limited.

[0052] In the above embodiment, the components of the connector 1 include the front holder 4. Alternatively, the front holder 4 may be omitted. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, two types of terminals 3 (first terminals 3A and second terminals 3B) having box portions 21 with different heights are inserted into the terminal accommodating chambers 12. Alternatively, three or more types of terminals 3 having box portions 21 with different heights may be inserted into the terminal accommodating chambers 12.

[0053] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the "pressing portion" of the present invention is formed by the elastic piece 17 having a cantilever shape extending from one inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 12. Alternatively, the "pressing portion" of the present invention may be formed by an elastic piece having a double-supported beam shape extending from one inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 12.

[0054] Here, the features of the above-described embodiment of the connector 1 according to the present invention will be briefly summarized and listed in the following [1] to [3]. [1] A connector (1) comprising a housing (2) having a terminal accommodating chamber (12) and terminals (3, 3A, 3B) accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber (12), The housing (2) is a pressing portion (17) that is elastically deformable and extends from an inner wall surface (16) of the terminal accommodating chamber (12) toward the inside of the terminal accommodating chamber (12) and presses and contacts the terminal (3); The terminal (3) is The terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber (12) in a state in which the terminal is pressed by the pressing portion (17) and held in the pressing direction. Connector(1). [2] The connector (1) according to the above [1], The housing (2) has a locking piece (14) for locking the terminal (3) in a correct insertion position, a front holder (4) which allows the terminals (3) to be assembled into the housing (2) without interfering with the locking pieces (14) when the terminals (3) are in the normal insertion position, and which prevents the terminals (3) from being assembled into the housing (2) by interfering with the locking pieces (14) when the terminals (3) are in an intermediate insertion position before the normal insertion position; The front holder (4) is a holding portion (33, 33b) disposed so as to sandwich the pressing portion (17) between the terminal (3) when the terminal is assembled to the housing (2); Connector(1). [3] In the connector (1) described in [2] above, The front holder (4) is a protrusion (36) protruding from an inner wall surface of the front holder (4) facing the pressing portion (17) toward the terminal (3) and coming into contact with the terminal (3); Connector(1). [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 1 Connector 2. Housing 3 Terminal 3A 1st terminal (terminal) 3B 2nd terminal (terminal) 4 Front Holder 12 Terminal chamber 14 Lance (locking piece) 16 Lower inner wall surface (inner wall surface) 17 Elastic piece (pressure part) 33 Detection unit (holding unit) 36 Protrusion

Claims

1. A connector comprising a housing having a terminal accommodating chamber and a terminal accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber, The housing includes: a pressing portion that is elastically deformable and extends obliquely from a lower inner wall surface that defines the terminal accommodating chamber toward an upper side that is inside the terminal accommodating chamber and presses and contacts the terminal, The terminal is The terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber while being pressed against the pressing portion and held in the vertical direction. The terminals accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber include a first terminal and a second terminal having a larger vertical dimension than the first terminal, a downward elastic deformation amount of the pressing portion when the second terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber and pressed against the pressing portion to be held in the vertical direction is greater than a downward elastic deformation amount of the pressing portion when the first terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber and pressed against the pressing portion to be held in the vertical direction, The housing has a locking piece for locking the terminal in a normal insertion position, a front holder that allows the terminals to be assembled into the housing without interfering with the locking piece when the terminals are in the normal insertion position, and that interferes with the locking piece when the terminals are in an intermediate insertion position before the normal insertion position, preventing the terminals from being assembled into the housing; The housing has two terminal accommodating chambers arranged vertically side by side, In each of the two terminal accommodating chambers, the locking piece is provided so as to extend forward from a front end portion of an upper inner wall that defines the terminal accommodating chamber, and the pressing portion is provided so as to extend forward from a front end portion of a lower inner wall that defines the terminal accommodating chamber, The front holder includes: a holding portion disposed so as to enter a gap between the pressing portion provided in the upper terminal accommodating chamber and the locking piece provided in the lower terminal accommodating chamber when the terminal is assembled to the housing; connector.

2. 2. The connector according to claim 1, The front holder includes: a protrusion protruding from an inner wall surface of the front holder facing the pressing portion toward the terminal and contacting the terminal; connector.

Images