Connector and Housing Assembly Method

Abstract

To provide a connector which is excellent in assembly workability and assembly reliability.SOLUTION: A connector includes: terminals 2 each including a terminal connection part and an electric wire crimp part 22; and a housing forming terminal housing chambers 30. The housing includes: a housing body 3 in which a rear portion 3b is open in an upward direction Y1 orthogonal to a terminal insertion direction; and a cover housing which covers the rear portion 3b of the housing body 3. The rear portion 3b of the housing body 3 is formed by a rear bottom wall part 37 which is open in the upward direction Y1. An upper surface 37a of the rear bottom wall part 37 includes: placement areas R1 on each of which the electric wire crimp part 22 is placed; and non-placement areas R2 each located adjacent to the side of the placement area R1. The electric wire crimp part 22 placed on the placement area R1 protrudes to the upper side relative to the non-placement area R2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 18A-18B

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector and a housing assembly method.

Background Art

[0002] When assembling a connector, when inserting the terminal at the end of the shield wire into the cavity of the connector, it is performed by pinching the shield wire with a finger and inserting it into the cavity while pushing the terminal through the shield wire. However, when inserting the terminal, the shield wire may be refracted due to being bent by the insertion resistance received by the terminal. In that case, there is a risk that the terminal cannot be inserted into the normal insertion position, and the assembly reliability decreases.

[0003] Therefore, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, a reinforcing agent such as solder is added and infiltrated in at least the range overlapping the end portion of the terminal from the root portion to which the terminal of the shield wire is attached. Thereby, the rigidity of the shield wire is increased to prevent the shield wire from being refracted by the insertion resistance.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in Patent Document 1, a complicated operation of infiltrating a reinforcing agent such as solder is required for each shield wire, and the assembly workability is poor. Therefore, an embodiment of the present invention provides a connector and a housing assembly method excellent in assembly workability and assembly reliability.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] (1) One embodiment of the present invention includes a terminal (2) including a terminal connection portion (21) and a wire crimping portion (22), and a housing (5) forming a terminal accommodation chamber (30) into which the terminal is inserted in a terminal insertion direction (X1) from the terminal connection portion. The housing includes a housing body (3) including a front portion (3a) and a rear portion (3b) in the terminal insertion direction, and the rear portion is open upward (Y1) perpendicular to the terminal insertion direction, and a cover housing (4) covering the rear portion of the housing body. The rear portion of the housing body is composed of a rear bottom wall portion (37) that is open upward, and an upper surface (37a) of the rear bottom wall portion includes a placement region (R1) on which the wire crimping portion is placed and a non-placement region (R2) adjacent to the side of the placement region. The wire crimping portion placed in the placement region protrudes upward more than the non-placement Region region, and the relative height between the placement region and the non-placement Region region is set and a vacant space is formed above the upper surface of the rear side bottom wall portion and laterally above the upper surface of the rear side bottom wall portion when the terminal is not mounted and the cover housing does not cover the rear side portion of the housing body to provide a connector (1).

[0007] According to this configuration, the upper surface of the rear bottom wall portion constituting the rear portion of the housing body is open upward and includes a placement region on which the wire crimping portion is placed and a non-placement region adjacent to the side of the placement region. Also, the wire crimping portion placed in the placement region protrudes upward more than the non-placement Region region. Therefore, it is possible to insert the terminal using the clamp of the robot hand, and excellent assembly workability and assembly reliability can be obtained. That is, when assembling the housing, with the portion of the wire crimping portion that is crimped to the end of the wire and protrudes upward more than the non-placement region in the placement region being clamped by the clamp of the robot hand, the terminal is moved in the terminal insertion direction along the placement region, and the terminal can be surely and easily inserted into the normal insertion position of the terminal accommodation chamber in the front portion of the housing body.

[0008] The alphanumeric characters in parentheses represent corresponding components and the like in the embodiments described later, but of course, this does not mean that the present invention should be limited to those embodiments. The same applies hereinafter in this section. (2) In one embodiment of the present invention, the non-placement area is flush with the placement area or is disposed lower than the placement area. According to this configuration, it is possible to surely suppress the non-placement area from interfering with the clamping operation by the robot hand.

[0009] (3) In one embodiment of the present invention, it further includes a lance (35) provided on either the front portion of the housing body or the terminal, and a terminal locking mechanism for locking the terminal at a normal insertion position in the terminal insertion direction in the terminal accommodation chamber. According to this configuration, by inserting the terminal using the robot hand, the terminal can be surely inserted into the normal insertion position against the insertion resistance by the lance. Therefore, it is excellent in assembly workability and assembly reliability.

[0010] (4) In one embodiment of the present invention, the cover housing includes a top wall portion (41), a pair of side wall portions (42), and a partition wall portion (43) disposed between the pair of side wall portions and partitioning between adjacent terminal accommodation chambers, and the lower end portions (42a) of the pair of side wall portions and the lower end portion (43a) of the partition wall portion are placed on the non-placement area on the upper surface of the rear bottom wall portion of the housing body and further includes a cover housing locking mechanism for locking the cover housing to the rear side bottom wall portion of the housing body 。

[0011] According to this configuration, in a state where the lower end portions of the pair of side wall portions and the partition wall portion of the cover housing are placed on the upper surface of the rear bottom wall portion of the housing body, a plurality of terminal accommodation chambers partitioned by the partition wall portion can be formed . Also , and the cover housing can be locked to the rear bottom wall portion of the housing body by the cover housing locking mechanism.

[0012] ( 5)In one embodiment of the present invention, the cover housing locking mechanism includes a pair of locking portions (38) respectively provided on a pair of side surfaces (37d) of the rear side bottom wall portion of the housing body, and a pair of elastic hooks (44) extending from each of the pair of side wall portions of the cover housing and respectively engaging and locking over the pair of locking portions. According to this configuration, when assembling the housing, when assembling the cover housing to the housing body so as to cover the open portion of the rear side portion of the housing body, the pair of elastic hooks of the cover housing are respectively engaged and locked over the pair of locking portions on both sides of the rear side bottom wall portion of the housing body, and the cover housing can be reliably locked to the housing body.

[0013] ( 6 )In one embodiment of the present invention, the elastic hook includes a ring hook, and the housing body includes a first position restricting portion (3ab; P1) and a second position restricting portion (39a; P2) that respectively restrict the position of the ring hook in the terminal insertion direction and the opposite direction (X2) of the terminal insertion direction with the ring hook sandwiched in the terminal insertion direction. According to this configuration, the first position restricting portion and the second position restricting portion of the housing body restrict the position of the cover housing in the terminal insertion direction and the opposite direction thereof via the ring hook. Therefore, the housing body and the cover housing can be strongly coupled.

[0014] ( 7 )In one embodiment of the present invention, the wire crimping portion is crimped to the terminal of the covered wire (11) of the shielded cable (10), and includes a shield shell (6) including a shield portion (62) that covers the housing and a barrel portion (63) that fixes the insulating outer skin (13) of the shielded cable. According to this configuration, a shield connector excellent in assembly workability and assembly reliability can be obtained.

[0015] ( 8In one embodiment of the present invention, the shield shell includes a shield shell body (60) having a shield portion and a barrel portion, with an opening portion (62g) formed in the shield portion, and a shield shell cover (61) that closes the opening portion of the shield shell body and covers the cover housing. According to this configuration, by using the shield shell cover that covers the cover housing and closes the opening portion of the shield shell body, the assembly workability can be improved.

[0016] ( 9 )A housing assembly method according to one embodiment of the present invention is provided, in which, with the wire crimping portion of the terminal crimped to the end of the wire being clamped by the clamp of the robot hand, the terminal is inserted into the normal insertion position of the terminal housing chamber in the front portion of the housing body along the placement area on the upper surface of the rear bottom wall portion that forms the rear portion of the housing body and is open upward, and with the terminal inserted into the normal insertion position, the cover housing is assembled to the housing body so as to cover the rear portion of the housing body.

[0017] According to this configuration, before assembling the cover housing to the housing body, with the wire crimping portion of the terminal crimped to the end of the wire being clamped by the clamp of the robot hand, the terminal is moved in the terminal insertion direction along the placement area on the upper surface that is open upward of the rear bottom wall portion of the housing body, and the terminal is inserted into the normal insertion position of the terminal housing chamber in the front portion of the housing body. By inserting the terminal using the clamp of the robot hand, excellent assembly workability and assembly reliability can be obtained.

Advantages of the Invention

[0018] In one embodiment of the present invention, a connector and a housing assembly method excellent in assembly workability and assembly reliability are provided.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019]

FIG. 1A-1B

FIG. 2

FIG. 3

FIG. 4A-4B

FIG. 5A-5B

FIG. 6A-6C

FIG. 7A-7B

FIG. 8A-8C

FIG. 9A-9B

FIG. 10A-10B

FIG. 11

FIG. 12

FIG. 13

FIG. 14

FIG. 15

FIG. 16

FIG. 17A-17B

FIG. 18A-18B

FIG. 19

FIG. 20A-20B

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views of a shield connector according to an embodiment of the present invention from different angles. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the shield connector. As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2, the shield connector 1 includes a terminal 2, an inner housing 5 formed by a housing body 3, a cover housing 4, a shield shell 6, an outer housing 7, and a fixing member 8. The shield connector 1 is connected to the terminal of the shield cable 10.

[0021] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the inner housing 5 before being connected to the shield cable 10. FIG. 11 is a front view of the shield connector 1. FIG. 12 is a bottom view of the shield connector 1. FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of the shield connector 1, corresponding to the cross-sectional view taken along the line XIII-XIII of FIG. 11. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the shield connector 1, corresponding to the cross-sectional view taken along the line XIV-XIV of FIG. 11. FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of the shield connector 1, corresponding to the cross-sectional view taken along the line XV-XV of FIG. 12.

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 3, 14, and 15, the shielded cable 10 includes a plurality of coated electric wires 11, a shield layer 12 (outer conductor), and an insulating outer sheath 13 (outer insulator). Each coated electric wire 11 includes a core wire 14 (inner conductor) and an insulating inner sheath 15 (inner insulator) that covers the core wire 14. The shield layer 12 is formed of, for example, a conductive braided wire that collectively covers the periphery of the plurality of coated electric wires 11. The insulating outer sheath 13 covers the periphery of the shield layer 12.

[0023] Next, the terminal 2 will be described. The terminal 2 is, for example, a female terminal formed using a sheet metal material made of a copper alloy. As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal 2 includes a front portion 2a and a rear portion 2b that is rearward of the front portion 2a with respect to the terminal insertion direction X1 into the inner housing 5. The front portion 2a has a terminal connection portion 21. The rear portion 2b has an electric wire crimping portion 22 and a bridging portion 23. The electric wire crimping portion 22 is crimp-connected to the end of the coated electric wire 11 of the shielded cable 10. The bridging portion 23 connects the bottoms of the terminal connection portion 21 and the electric wire crimping portion 22.

[0024] The terminal connection portion 21 has a hollow box-shaped cross section and is connected to a mating terminal (male terminal) not shown. As shown in FIG. 13, an elastic contact piece 24 that elastically contacts a tab (not shown) of the mating terminal is formed inside the terminal connection portion 21. Further, a locking projection 25, which is an inclined outward projection that locks to the housing lance 35 of the housing body 3 of the inner housing 5, is formed on the terminal connection portion 21.

[0025] Next, the inner housing 5 will be described. FIGS. 4A and 4B are an exploded perspective view and an assembled view of the housing body 3 and the cover housing 4 with the terminal 2 at the end of the coated electric wire 11 set therein. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the inner housing 5 is formed by combining the housing body 3 and the cover housing 4. Each of the housing body 3 and the cover housing 4 is formed of an insulating synthetic resin material.

[0026] First, the housing body 3 of the inner housing 5 will be described. Figs. 5A and 5B are perspective views of the housing body 3 from different angles. Figs. 6A, 6B, and 6C are a side view, a plan view, and a rear view of the housing body 3, respectively. The housing body 3 may be formed of a single member (not shown) that forms a plurality of terminal accommodation chambers 30, or may be formed by combining a plurality of divided bodies DB (i.e., a plurality of divided bodies DB each having a single terminal accommodation chamber 30) that can be divided for each terminal accommodation chamber 30 as shown in Fig. 3. Before combining the divided bodies DB, by inserting the corresponding terminals 2 into the terminal accommodation chambers 30 of each divided body DB, there is an advantage that each terminal 2 can be surely inserted in a proper insertion state even if the crimping position of any one of the terminals 2 is displaced.

[0027] As shown in Figs. 5A to 6C, the housing body 3 includes a front portion 3a and a rear portion 3b disposed behind the front portion 3a with respect to the terminal insertion direction X1. The front portion 3a includes a front end face 3af, a rear end face 3ab (first position regulating portion P1), a top wall portion 31, a front bottom wall portion 32, a pair of side wall portions 33, a partition wall portion 34, a housing lance 35 for terminal locking (see Fig. 13), and a shell locking portion 36 (see Fig. 14). The partition wall portion 34 extends parallel to the pair of side wall portions 33 at an intermediate position between the pair of side wall portions 33.

[0028] As shown in Figs. 5A to 6C, each terminal accommodation chamber 30 of the front portion 3a is defined by a top wall portion 31, a front bottom wall portion 32, a corresponding side wall portion 33, and a partition wall portion 34. The terminal accommodation chamber 30 of the front portion 3a opens to the front (terminal insertion direction X1) at an opening 30f of the front end face 3af and opens to the rear (opposite direction X2 of the terminal insertion direction X1) at an opening 30b of the rear end face 3ab.

[0029] The rear end face 3ab of the front portion 3a functions as a first position regulating portion P1 (see Fig. 19) that regulates the cover housing 4 in the front direction (terminal insertion direction X1) via the elastic hook 44 of the cover housing 4. The rear portion 3b is composed of a rear bottom wall portion 37 that extends rearward from the front bottom wall portion 32. The rear bottom wall portion 37 includes a flat surface F that constitutes the upper surface 37a, a bottom surface 37b, a rear surface 37c, a pair of side surfaces 37d, a pair of locking protrusions 38, and a pair of position regulating convex portions 39.

[0030] The flat surface F that constitutes the upper surface 37a of the rear bottom wall portion 37 is formed as a flat surface with a large area. Specifically, the flat surface F includes a placement region R1 on which at least the wire crimping portion 22 of the rear portion 2b of each terminal 2 is placed, and a non-placement region R2 (see FIG. 5B) adjacent to the placement region R1. The non-placement region R2 corresponds to the remaining region of the flat surface F excluding the placement region R1. As shown in FIGS. 5A to 6B, the pair of locking protrusions 38 are respectively formed to protrude from the middle portions of the pair of side surfaces 37d in the front-rear direction (terminal insertion direction X1). Each locking protrusion 38 has a cross-sectional right-angled triangular shape when viewed in the front-rear direction. Each locking protrusion 38 includes an upwardly inclined guide surface 38a and a locking surface 38b that is orthogonal to the side surface 37d. The pair of locking protrusions 38 ride over and lock the pair of elastic hooks 44 of the cover housing 4 (see FIG. 9A).

[0031] The pair of position regulating convex portions 39 are respectively formed to protrude from the rear end portions of the pair of side surfaces 37d. The front end surfaces 39a (second position regulating portions P2) of the pair of position regulating convex portions 39 function as second position regulating portions P2 that regulate the cover housing 4 in the rearward direction (opposite direction X2 of the terminal insertion direction X1) via the pair of elastic hooks 44 of the cover housing 4. As shown in FIG. 13, the housing lance 35 is an elastic tongue piece that protrudes in an inclined manner with respect to the terminal insertion direction X1 within the terminal accommodation chamber 30 of the front portion 3a of the housing body 3. The housing lance 35 functions to lock to the locking protrusion 25 of the terminal 2 inserted into the terminal accommodation chamber 30 and regulate the terminal 2 from coming out of the terminal accommodation chamber 30.

[0032] The housing lance 35 and the locking projection 25 of the terminal 2 constitute a terminal locking mechanism TK that locks the terminal 2 at the normal insertion position in the terminal insertion direction X1 within the terminal accommodation chamber 30. Although not shown, the terminal locking mechanism TK may be constituted by a lance provided on the terminal 2 and a locking portion provided on the front side portion 3a of the housing body 3. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the shell locking portion 36 is disposed at the bottom of a concave groove 33b formed to extend in the terminal insertion direction X1 on the outer wall surface 33a of the side wall portion 33, and is a cantilevered elastic tongue piece that protrudes in an inclined manner with respect to the terminal insertion direction X1 (see also FIG. 14). The shell locking portion 36 functions to lock the shield shell 6 by locking to the inward locking projection 62k of the shield shell 6.

[0033] Also, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, a pair of locking grooves 31b for shell locking are formed on the outer wall surface 31a of the top wall portion 31 of the housing body 3. Next, the cover housing 4 will be described. FIGS. 7A and 7B are perspective views of the cover housing 4 from different angles. FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are a side view, a bottom view, and a rear view of the cover housing 4, respectively.

[0034] As shown in FIGS. 7A to 8C, the cover housing 4 includes a cover housing body 40 including a top wall portion 41, a pair of side wall portions 42, and a partition wall portion 43, and a pair of elastic hooks 44. The partition wall portion 43 is disposed at an intermediate portion between the pair of side wall portions 42 and partitions between adjacent terminal accommodation chambers 30. The lower end portions 42a of the pair of side wall portions 42 and the lower end portion 43a of the partition wall portion 43 are placed on a non-placement region R2 of a flat surface F of a rear side bottom wall portion 37 in a rear side portion 3b of the housing body 3.

[0035] A pair of elastic hooks 44 extend downward from the lower end portions 42a of the respective side wall portions 42 of the pair of side wall portions 42. The pair of elastic hooks 44 respectively straddle and engage with a pair of locking protrusions 38 (locking portions) on a pair of side surfaces 37d of the rear side bottom wall portion 37 of the housing body 3. The elastic hook 44 and the locking protrusion 38 (locking portion) constitute a cover housing locking mechanism HK (see FIGS. 9A and 9B) for locking the cover housing 4 to the rear side bottom wall portion 37 of the housing body 3.

[0036] Each elastic hook 44 is formed of a rectangular ring hook. Each elastic hook 44 includes a pair of arm portions 45, 46 and a hook portion 47. The pair of arm portions 45, 46 are cantilevered arm portions that are spaced apart in the front-rear direction and extend downward in parallel from the lower end portion 42a of the side wall portion 42. The cross-sectional shape of the pair of arm portions 45, 46 is rectangular. The thickness of the pair of arm portions 45, 46 is thinner than the thickness of the side wall portion 42. Thereby, the arm portions 45, 46 of the pair of elastic hooks 44 are elastically deformable such that the lower end sides open outward.

[0037] The front end face 45a of the front arm portion 45 is flush with the front end face 40a of the cover housing body 40. The rear end face 46a of the rear arm portion 46 is disposed in front of the rear end face 40b of the cover housing body 40. The hook portion 47 is formed of a horizontal bar that connects between the lower end portions of the pair of arm portions 45, 46. The hook portion 47 straddles and engages with the corresponding locking protrusion 38 (locking portion) of the rear side bottom wall portion 37 of the housing body 3.

[0038] FIGS. 9A and 9B are perspective views of the inner housing 5 from different angles. FIGS. 10A and 10B are side views and rear views of the inner housing 5. As shown in FIGS. 9A, 9B and 10A, with the cover housing 4 assembled to the housing body 3 and the inner housing 5 assembled, that is, with each elastic hook 44 locked to the corresponding locking projection 38 (locking portion), the cover housing 4 is positionally restricted. That is, the front end face 40a of the cover housing main body 40 and the front end face 45a of the front arm portion 45 abut against the rear end face 3ab (first position restricting portion P1) of the front side portion 3a of the housing body 3, whereby the cover housing 4 is positionally restricted in the front side (terminal insertion direction X1). Further, the rear end face 46a of the arm portion 46 on the rear side of the elastic hook 44 of the cover housing 4 abuts against the front end face 39a (second position restricting portion P2) of the position restricting convex portion 39 of the rear side portion 3b of the housing body 3, whereby the cover housing 4 is positionally restricted in the rear side (opposite direction X2 of the terminal insertion direction X1).

[0039] Next, referring to FIG. 2, the shield shell 6 will be described. The shield shell 6 is formed by sheet metal working using a sheet metal material. The shield shell 6 is composed of a shield shell main body 60 and a shield shell cover 61. The shield shell main body 60 includes a shield portion 62 and a barrel portion 63. The shield portion 62 is formed in a hollow box shape that inserts and covers the inner housing 5 inwardly.

[0040] The shield portion 62 includes a top wall portion 62a, a bottom wall portion 62b, and a pair of side wall portions 62c. A locking projection 62d that protrudes outward and rearward is formed on the top wall portion 62a. The locking projection 62d on the top wall portion 62a locks to the housing lance 73 in the shell mounting space 71 of the outer housing 7 (see FIG. 13). As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of locking projections 62h that protrude inward and forward are formed on the top wall portion 62a. The pair of locking projections 62h lock to the pair of locking grooves 31b (see FIGS. 9A and 9B) on the top wall portion 31 of the housing body 3 of the inner housing 5.

[0041] 2, each side wall portion 62c is formed with an outwardly protruding locking projection 62e and a locking hole 62f. The locking projection 62e of each side wall portion 62c is locked to a fixing member 8 inserted and fitted into the outer housing 7 (see FIG. 14). 2, the barrel portion 63 is connected to the rear portion of the shield portion 62. The barrel portion 63 is crimped and fixed to the insulating outer sheath 13 (see FIG. 14). Specifically, the braided wire constituting the shield layer 12 is folded back onto the insulating outer sheath 13, and the barrel portion 63 is crimped to the insulating outer sheath 13 via the folded back braided wire.

[0042] 2, the shield portion 62 of the shield shell main body 60 has an opening 62g where the top wall portion 62a and a pair of side wall portions 62c are opened in a portion close to the barrel portion 63. The shield shell cover 61 includes a grooved portion 61a and a connection piece 61b. The grooved portion 61a includes a top wall portion 61c and a pair of side wall portions 61d, and covers the opening 62g of the shield portion 62 of the shield shell main body 60.

[0043] As shown in Figures 2 and 15, a pair of side wall portions 61d of the groove-shaped portion 61a have outward locking projections 61e that are inserted from the inside and locked into locking holes 62f of a pair of side wall portions 62c of the shield portion 62 of the shield shell main body 60. 2 and 13, the connection piece 61b is gutter-shaped and connected to the rear part of the grooved portion 61a. The connection piece 61b is clamped and fixed between the barrel portion 63 and the insulating sheath 13 in a state where the connection piece 61b contacts the braided wire folded back onto the insulating sheath 13.

[0044] Next, the outer housing 7 will be described. 1A and 1B, the outer housing 7 is made of an insulating synthetic resin material and has a rectangular cylindrical shape. As shown in Fig. 15, the outer housing 7 has a shell mounting space 71 and a fixing member mounting hole 72 communicating with the shell mounting space 71 formed therein. In the shell mounting space 71, the inner housing 5 covered by the shield shell 6 is inserted. The shell mounting space 71 is provided with a housing lance 73 (see FIG. 13) that engages with the locking projection 62d of the shield shell 6. As shown in FIG. 15, a fixing member 8 is inserted and fitted into the fixing member mounting hole 72. The fixing member 8 is composed of a groove-shaped member (see FIG. 2) including a bottom wall portion 81 and a pair of side wall portions 82.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 15, the fixing member 8 mounted in the fixing member mounting hole 72 is locked to the inner housing 5 with the shield shell 6 housed in the shell mounting space 71, thereby restricting the removal of the inner housing 5 with the shield shell 6 from the outer housing 7. Next, the assembly procedure of the shield connector 1 will be described.

[0046] First, as shown in FIG. 3, terminals 2 are crimp-connected to the terminals of the plurality of covered electric wires 11 of the shield cable 10, respectively. Next, as shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B corresponding to the XVII-XVII cross section of FIG. 16 which is a front view of the housing body 3, with the wire crimping portion 22 of the terminal 2 clamped by the clamp CL of the robot hand RH, the terminal 2 is moved in the terminal insertion direction X1 along the flat surface F which is the upper surface of the rear bottom wall portion 37 of the housing body 3, and each terminal 2 is inserted into the corresponding terminal housing chamber 30 of the front portion 3a of the housing body 3.

[0047] Note that as shown in FIG. 3, when the housing body 3 is divided into divided bodies DB for each terminal housing chamber 30, although not shown, after inserting the terminals 2 into each divided body DB, the divided bodies DB are combined with each other to form the housing body 3 as shown in FIG. 4A. FIG. 18A is a schematic plan view of the housing body after insertion of the terminal 2. FIG. 18B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XVIIIB-XVIIIB of FIG. 18A. As shown in FIG. 18B, in the state after insertion of the terminal 2, the wire crimping portion 22 of the terminal 2 is placed on the placement region R1 on the flat surface F which is the upper surface 37a of the rear bottom wall portion 37, while the non-placement region R2 adjacent to the placement region R1 remains open upward in the Y1 direction.

[0048] Next, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 19, the cover housing 4 is put on from above the open portion of the rear side portion 3b of the housing body 3, whereby the cover housing 4 is assembled to the housing body 3 to form the inner housing 5. At this time, a pair of elastic hooks 44 of the cover housing 4 straddle and engage with a pair of locking projections 38 of the housing body 3. Further, the lower end portions 42a of the pair of side wall portions 42 and the lower end portion 43a of the partition wall portion 43 (see FIG. 8C) of the cover housing 4 are placed on the non-placement region R2 (see FIG. 18B) of the upper surface 37a (flat surface F) of the rear bottom wall portion 37 of the housing body 3.

[0049] Next, the inner housing 5 is attached to the shield portion 62 of the shield shell 6. Next, the insulating outer skin 13 of the shield cable 10 is fixed by the barrel portion 63 of the shield shell 6. At this time, the connection piece 61b of the shield shell cover 61 is sandwiched between the barrel portion 63 and the insulating outer skin 13 in a state of being in contact with the braided wire (shield layer 12) folded back on the insulating outer skin 13.

[0050] Next, the inner housing 5 covered by the shield shell 6 is inserted into the shell mounting space 71 of the outer housing 7. Then, the fixing member 8 (see FIG. 15) inserted and fitted into the fixing member mounting hole 72 of the outer housing 7 restricts the detachment of the inner housing 5 and the shield shell 6. According to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 18B, on the upper surface 37a of the rear bottom wall portion 37 that constitutes the rear portion 3b of the housing body 3 and is open upward in the Y1 direction, the wire crimping portion 22 placed in the placement region R1 protrudes above the Y1 direction more than the non-placement region R2. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, it becomes possible to insert the terminal using the clamp CL of the robot hand RH, and excellent assembly workability and assembly reliability can be obtained.

[0051] In particular, the upper surface 37a of the rear bottom wall portion 37 is composed of a flat surface F that is open upward, and the flat surface F has a large area including a placement region R1 for placing the wire crimping portion 22 of the terminal 2 and a non-placement region R2 that is flush with the placement region R1 and adjacent to the side of the placement region R1. Therefore, it is more suitable for inserting the terminal using the clamp CL of the robot hand RH. That is, when assembling the inner housing 5, with the wire crimping portion 22 crimped to the end of the covered wire 11 clamped by the clamp CL of the robot hand RH, the terminal 2 is moved in the terminal insertion direction X1 along the flat surface F that is the upper surface 37a of the rear bottom wall portion 37 of the housing body 3 and is open upward, and the terminal 2 can be surely and with good workability inserted into the normal insertion position of the terminal housing chamber 30 in the front portion 3a of the housing body 3.

[0052] Further, a terminal locking mechanism TK (see FIG. 13) that locks the terminal 2 in the normal insertion position in the terminal insertion direction X1 within the terminal housing chamber 30 includes a housing lance 35 in the front portion 3a of the housing body 3 and a locking projection 25 (locking portion) of the terminal 2. Therefore, when inserting the terminal, the terminal 2 receives an insertion resistance from the housing lance 35. According to this embodiment, by inserting the terminal using the robot hand RH, the terminal 2 can be surely inserted into the normal insertion position against the insertion resistance by the housing lance 35. Therefore, the assembly workability and assembly reliability are excellent.

[0053] Also, in a non-placement region R2 (see FIG. 18B) of a flat surface F which is an upper surface 37a of a rear-side bottom wall portion 37 of the housing body 3, a plurality of terminal accommodation chambers 30 partitioned by a partition wall portion 43 can be formed in a state where lower end portions 42a of a pair of side wall portions 42 of the cover housing 4 and a lower end portion 43a of the partition wall portion 43 (see FIG. 8C) are placed. Also, when assembling the inner housing 5, when the cover housing 4 is assembled to the housing body 3 so as to cover an open portion of a rear-side portion 3b of the housing body 3, the cover housing 4 is surely locked to the housing body 3 by a cover housing locking mechanism HK (see FIGS. 9A and 9B). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10A, a pair of elastic hooks 44 of the cover housing 4 are respectively overridden and locked to a pair of locking protrusions 38 on both sides of a rear-side bottom wall portion 37 of the housing body 3, so that the cover housing 4 can be surely locked to the housing body 3.

[0054] Also, the elastic hook 44 is formed of a square ring hook. A rear end face 3ab (first position regulating portion P1) of a front-side portion 3a of the housing body 3 and a front end face 39a (second position regulating portion P2) of a position regulating convex portion 39 regulate the position of the cover housing 4 in a terminal insertion direction X1 and an opposite direction X2, respectively, via the elastic hook 44 which is a square ring hook (particularly arm portions 45, 46). Therefore, the housing body 3 and the cover housing 4 can be strongly coupled. Also, as the elastic hook 44, a known elastic hook other than a ring hook may be used.

[0055] Also, by providing a shield shell 6 (see FIG. 2) including a shield portion 62 covering the inner housing 5 and a barrel portion 63 fixing an insulating outer skin 13 of the shield cable 10, a shield connector 1 excellent in assembly workability and assembly reliability can be realized. Also, the shield shell 6 includes a shield shell main body 60 in which an opening portion 62g is formed in the shield portion 62, and a shield shell cover 61 covering the cover housing 4 by closing the opening portion 62g. Thereby, the assembly workability can be improved.

[0056] Also, according to the method for assembling the housing according to one embodiment, before assembling the cover housing 4 to the housing body 3, as shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, with the wire crimping portion 22 crimped to the terminal of the covered wire 11 clamped by the clamp CL of the robot hand RH, the terminal 2 is moved along the placement region R1 (the placement region R1 whose relative height with respect to the non-placement region R2 is adjusted) on the upper surface 37a of the rear bottom wall portion 37 opened upward of the housing body 3 in the terminal insertion direction X1, and the terminal 2 is inserted into the normal insertion position of the terminal housing chamber 30 in the front portion 3a of the housing body 3. By inserting the terminal using the clamp CL of the robot hand RH, an assembling method capable of obtaining excellent assembling workability and assembling reliability can be provided.

[0057] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the placement region R1 and the non-placement region R2 on the upper surface 37a of the rear bottom wall portion 37 do not have to be flush. That is, as shown in FIG. 20A, in the upper surface 37a of the rear bottom wall portion 37, the non-placement region R2 may be disposed at a lower position than the placement region R1. Further, as shown in FIG. 20B, even when the non-placement region R2 is disposed at a higher position than the placement region R1, as long as the wire crimping portion 22 of the terminal 2 placed in the placement region R1 protrudes above the non-placement region R2 and the wire crimping portion 22 can be clamped by the clamp CL of the robot hand RH.

[0058] Also, the covered wire 11 of the shield cable 10 may be three or more. Further, the inner housing 5 may be formed of a single member, or may be formed by combining a plurality of divided bodies DB. Further, the terminal 2 may be a male terminal (not shown) connected to a mating terminal (female terminal). In addition, the present invention can be variously modified within the scope described in the claims.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0059] 1 Shield connector 2 Terminal 3 Housing body 3a Front portion 3ab Rear end face (first position regulating part) 3b Rear side portion 4 Cover housing 5 Inner housing 6 Shield shell 10 Shield cable 11 Covered electric wire 13 Insulating outer sheath 21 Terminal connection part 22 Electric wire crimping part 25 Locking projection (locking part) 30 Terminal accommodation chamber 31 Top wall part 31a Outer wall surface 31b Locking groove 35 Housing lance 37 Rear bottom wall part 37a Upper surface 37d Side surface 38 Locking projection (locking part) 39 Position regulating convex part 39a Front end face (second position regulating part) 40 Cover housing body 40a Front end face 41 Top wall part 42 Side wall part 42a Lower end part 43 Partition wall part 43a Lower end part 44 Elastic hook 45, 46 Arm part 47 Hook part 60 Shield shell body 61 Shield shell cover 62 Shield part 63 Barrel part CL Clamp F Flat surface HK Cover housing locking mechanism P1 First position regulating part P2 Second position regulating part R1 Mounting region R2 Non - mounting region RH Robot hand TK Terminal locking mechanism X1 Terminal insertion direction Opposite direction of X2 Above Y1 Side of Z

Claims

1. A terminal including a terminal connection part and a wire crimping part, A housing that forms a terminal accommodation chamber into which the terminal is inserted in the terminal insertion direction from the terminal connection part side, the housing including a front part and a rear part in the terminal insertion direction, and the rear part being open upward and orthogonal to the terminal insertion direction, and a cover housing that covers the rear part of the housing body, The rear part of the housing body is constituted by a rear bottom wall part that is open upward, The upper surface of the rear bottom wall part includes a placement area on which the wire crimping part is placed and a non-placement area adjacent to the side of the placement area, The relative height between the placement area and the non-placement area is set such that the wire crimping part placed in the placement area protrudes above the non-placement area, A connector configured such that when the terminal is not mounted and the cover housing does not cover the rear part of the housing body, a free space is formed above the upper surface of the rear bottom wall part and laterally above the upper surface of the rear bottom wall part.

2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the non-placement area is flush with the placement area or is disposed lower than the placement area.

3. The connector according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a lance provided on either the front part of the housing body or the terminal, and a terminal locking mechanism for locking the terminal at a normal insertion position in the terminal insertion direction in the terminal accommodation chamber.

4. The cover housing includes a top wall part, a pair of side wall parts, and a partition wall part disposed between the pair of side wall parts and partitioning between adjacent terminal accommodation chambers, and lower ends of the pair of side wall parts and a lower end of the partition wall part are placed on the non-placement area of the upper surface of the rear bottom wall part of the housing body, The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a cover housing locking mechanism for locking the cover housing to the rear bottom wall part of the housing body.

5. The cover housing locking mechanism according to claim 4 includes a pair of locking parts respectively provided on a pair of side surfaces of the rear bottom wall part of the housing body, and a pair of elastic hooks respectively extending from the pair of side wall parts of the cover housing and engaging over the pair of locking parts respectively.

6. The elastic hook includes a ring hook, The connector according to claim 5, wherein the housing body includes a first position restricting portion and a second position restricting portion that sandwich the ring hook in the terminal insertion direction and restrict the position in the terminal insertion direction and the direction opposite to the terminal insertion direction, respectively.

7. The wire crimping portion is crimped to the end of the covered wire of the shielded cable, The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a shield shell including a shield portion covering the housing and a barrel portion fixing the insulating outer skin of the shielded cable.

8. The connector according to claim 7, wherein the shield shell has the shield portion and the barrel portion, and includes a shield shell body having an opening formed in the shield portion, and a shield shell cover covering the cover housing by closing the opening of the shield shell body.

9. A housing assembling method for assembling the housing of the connector according to any one of claims 1 to 8, With the wire crimping portion of the terminal crimped to the end of the wire held by the clamp of the robot hand, the terminal is inserted along the placement area on the upper surface of the rear bottom wall portion that is open upward and constitutes the rear portion of the housing body into the normal insertion position of the terminal accommodation chamber in the front portion of the housing body, A housing assembling method of assembling the cover housing to the housing body so as to cover the rear portion of the housing body in a state where the terminal is inserted into the normal insertion position.

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