Electrical connector and electrical connector laminate

Abstract

To provide an electrical connector capable of assembling a terminal to a housing even when a fine wire is connected to the terminal, and to provide an electrical connector laminate.SOLUTION: An electrical connector 1 includes a terminal 10 including a terminal portion 11 extending in a fitting direction z, and a wire joint portion 12 extending rearward from the terminal portion 11 and to which a wire 3 is joined, and a housing 20 that accommodates the terminal 10 and a part of the wire 3 and locks the terminal 10. The housing 20 includes a cavity 21 into which the terminal 10 is inserted from the front end 10F along the fitting direction z and accommodates the terminal, a wall 22 supporting the terminal 10 and the wire 3 housed in the cavity 21, a lance 24 as a locking portion projecting inside the cavity 21 and locking the terminal 10, and an opening region 26 present at a position facing the lance 24 in the projecting direction of the lance 24.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electrical connector including terminals and a connector housing that receives and locks the terminals, and to a laminate of electrical connectors. [Background technology]

[0002] Electrical connectors (see, for example, Patent Document 1) that include terminals connected to electric wires and a housing that receives and locks the terminals are used for various purposes. The terminals are inserted into cavities in the housing with the connected electric wires pulled out rearward, and are locked by lances provided in the housing. The lances protrude into the cavity like cantilevers, and when the terminals move forward while bending the lances, the terminals are locked by the lances. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-73531 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In order to assemble the terminal into the housing while inserting the wire pulled out from the terminal into the cavity, the buckling load of the wire must be large compared to the force required to insert the terminal while deflecting the lance (terminal insertion force). However, due to the increasing demand for lighter, smaller devices and higher density mounting, if thinner wires are used in connectors, it will be difficult to achieve the condition that terminal insertion force < wire buckling load. An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector and an electrical connector stack that allow terminals to be assembled into a housing even when thin electric wires are connected to the terminals. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The electrical connector of the present invention comprises a terminal including a terminal portion extending in a mating direction to be mated with a mating terminal, and a wire joining portion extending rearward of the terminal portion and to which an electric wire is joined, and a housing that accommodates the terminal and a portion of the electric wire and engages the terminal. The housing includes a cavity into which the terminal is inserted from the front end along the mating direction to accommodate the terminal, a wall that supports the terminal and electric wire accommodated in the cavity, a locking portion that protrudes inside the cavity and locks the terminal, and an opening area located opposite the locking portion in the direction in which the locking portion protrudes.

[0006] The electrical connector of the present invention preferably includes a lid that closes at least a portion of the open area.

[0007] In the electrical connector of the present invention, the opening region is preferably closed with a lid so that at least a portion of the opening region in the thickness direction of the wall is occupied by the lid.

[0008] In the electrical connector of the present invention, it is preferable that the housing comprises a front wall that forms the front end of the cavity and has a hole through which the mating terminal is inserted toward the front end of the terminal, and a support portion that supports the front end of the terminal together with the front wall and the locking portion forward of the opening area.

[0009] In the electrical connector of the present invention, the support portion preferably has a slope formed thereon for guiding the front end of the terminal to the front end of the cavity.

[0010] In the electrical connector of the present invention, the housing preferably includes a first housing including the locking portion, and a second housing that is separate from the first housing and includes the front end of the cavity.

[0011] In the electrical connector of the present invention, the locking portion is preferably a lance formed in a cantilever shape.

[0012] In the electrical connector of the present invention, the lance is preferably detachably fixed to the wall.

[0013] The electrical connector stack of the present invention includes two or more of the above-described electrical connectors, including a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector stacked on the first electrical connector and including a housing that closes at least a portion of the opening area of the first electrical connector.

[0014] In the electrical connector stack of the present invention, it is preferable that the terminal of at least one of the two or more electrical connectors has an engaged portion that engages with the engaging portion of the electrical connector in the same layer, and a second engaged portion that engages with a second engaging portion provided on the housing in the adjacent layer. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, during the process of accommodating the terminal and the electric wire into the cavity, it is possible to receive a portion of the terminal into the opening area located opposite the locking portion in the direction in which the locking portion protrudes. This increases the degree of freedom in the orientation of the terminal when assembled into the housing, and for example, by tilting the terminal with respect to the mating direction, the terminal can be retracted from the locking portion in the direction in which the locking portion protrudes. In this way, the terminal can be engaged with the locking portion while the electric wire connected to the terminal that abuts against the locking portion is inserted into the cavity with a force within the buckling load range, and the terminal can be assembled into the housing. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention from below, with the lid removed from the main body of the housing. [Figure 2] 2(a) is a perspective view showing from above the laminate of the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1, illustrating the shape of the electrical connector in the bottom layer of the laminate, and FIG. 2(b) is a perspective view showing the electrical connector in the middle layer. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the electrical connector shown in FIG. [Figure 4]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a terminal provided in each electrical connector. [Figure 5] 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the electrical connector of FIG. 3 from above. FIG. [Figure 6] 10(a) to 10(c) are diagrams showing an example of a process of inserting a terminal to which an electric wire is joined into a housing and assembling the terminal. [Figure 7] 10(a) and 10(b) are diagrams showing modified examples of a lid that closes the opening area of the housing, and FIG. 10(c) is a diagram showing modified examples of the opening area. [Figure 8] 1(a) and 1(b) are longitudinal cross-sectional views of an electrical connector according to a first modified example of the present invention, 1(b) is a diagram showing an assembly process of the electrical connector of 1(a), and 1(c) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an electrical connector according to a second modified example of the present invention. [Figure 9] 10(a) is a longitudinal sectional view of an electrical connector according to a third modified example of the present invention, and (b) is a longitudinal sectional view of an electrical connector according to a fourth modified example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The electrical connector 1 of this embodiment is used singly as shown in Fig. 1, or is used in a stacked configuration as shown in Fig. 2(a). Fig. 1 shows the electrical connector 1 from below, and Fig. 2(a) shows a stack 100 made up of multiple electrical connectors 1 from above. The electrical connectors 1 in each layer of the laminate 100 are all configured in approximately the same way.

[0018] 1 and 3, the electrical connector 1 includes a plurality of terminals 10 and a housing 20 that accommodates these terminals 10. The female terminals 10 of the electrical connector 1 are mated with male terminals of a mating connector (not shown).

[0019] The side of the terminal 10 that is mated with a mating terminal (not shown) is defined as the "front", and the opposite side, from which the electric wire 3 is drawn out from the terminal 10, is defined as the "rear". Furthermore, "upper" and "lower" refer to the upper and lower sides of the paper in FIG.

[0020] [Terminal] 3 and 4, the terminal 10 includes a terminal portion 11 that is fitted with a mating terminal, and an electric wire joining portion 12 to which the electric wire 3 is joined behind the terminal portion 11. The terminal 10 can be formed by punching and bending a plate made of a metal material such as an aluminum alloy.

[0021] The terminal portion 11 extends in a mating direction z in which it is mated with a mating terminal. A contact portion (not shown) that makes electrical contact with the mating terminal is provided inside the terminal portion 11. The mating direction z corresponds to the front-rear direction. The terminal portion 11 is formed, for example, in a box shape with a rectangular cross section. The terminal portion 11 receives and fits a mating terminal, for example, in the form of a tab or pin, inside.

[0022] The terminal portion 11 has a first locked portion 111 for primary locking and a second locked portion 112 for secondary locking. The primary locking and secondary locking prevent the terminal 10 from being removed rearward from the cavity 21. The secondary locking occurs when another electrical connector 1 or another component is placed above the electrical connector 1. The first locked portion 111 protrudes upward from the side wall 11S of the terminal portion 11 at the front end of the terminal portion 11. The second locked portion 112 protrudes upward from the side wall 11S behind the first locked portion 111. A wall 113 that is lower than the side wall 11S is formed on the rear side of the second locked portion 112.

[0023] The wire joint portion 12 continues rearward from the terminal portion 11 and extends along the fitting direction z. An electric wire 3, which is a thin wire with a small diameter, is joined to the wire joint portion 12 by crimping. The wire joint portion 12 includes a core wire joint portion 121 to which a core wire 3A of the electric wire 3 is crimped, and a coating joint portion 122 to which a coating 3B that covers the core wire 3A is crimped. Prior to assembling the terminal 10 into the housing 20, the electric wire 3 is joined to the wire joint portion 12 and is drawn rearward from the wire joint portion 12 along the fitting direction z.

[0024] 〔housing〕 The configuration of the housing 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. The housing 20 accommodates the terminal 10 and a part of the electric wire 3 joined to the terminal 10, and locks the terminal 10. The housing 20 can be formed by injection molding using an insulating resin material. The housing 20 has a plurality of cavities 21 that individually accommodate the terminals 10 to which the electric wires 3 are joined. The terminals 10 are inserted into each cavity 21, typically along the mating direction z, starting from the front end 10F. If a direction perpendicular to both the fitting direction z and the up-down direction y is referred to as the left-right direction x, the multiple cavities 21 in the housing 20 are aligned in the left-right direction x.

[0025] As shown in Figures 3 and 5, the housing 20 of this embodiment includes a housing main body 201 (first housing) and a housing front portion 202 (second housing). In consideration of demolding during injection molding, the housing 20 of this embodiment is divided into the housing main body 201 and the housing front portion 202, which is separate from the housing main body 201. However, depending on the specific shape of the housing 20 and the configuration of the mold, this is not necessarily the case, and the housing main body 201 and the housing front portion 202 may be formed integrally. Alternatively, the housing 20 can be divided into three or more members. The electrical connector 1 shown in Figure 3 may be used alone or may be disposed on the bottom layer (1-3) of the laminate 100. The electrical connector 1 includes a housing body 201 and a lid 203 attached to a housing front portion 202.

[0026] The housing body 201, the housing front part 202, and the lid 203 as a whole comprise a cavity 21, a wall 22 that supports the terminal 10 and the electric wire 3 housed in the cavity 21, a front wall 23 that forms the front end 21F of the cavity 21, and a lance 24 that protrudes from the wall 22 into the inside of the cavity 21 and serves as a locking part that locks the terminal 10.

[0027] The cavity 21 accommodates the terminal 10 and the wire 3 from the front end 10F of the terminal 10 to at least the rear end of the wire joint portion 12. The cavity 21 of this embodiment is longer in the fitting direction z than the length of the terminal 10. Therefore, the cavity 21 also accommodates the coating 3B that is drawn out rearward from the wire joint portion 12.

[0028] The walls 22 forming the cavity 21 include an upper wall 221, a lower wall 222, and partition walls 223 that partition the cavity 21 into sections aligned in the left-right direction x. The upper wall 221, the lower wall 222, and the partition walls 223 generally surround the terminal 10 and the wire 3 on all sides. The upper wall 221 is continuous in the left-right direction x in which the cavities 21 are arranged. The same is true for the lower wall 222.

[0029] The lance 24 protrudes from a generally front region of the upper wall 221 toward the inside of each of the multiple cavities 21, and individually locks the terminal 10 in each cavity 21. The lance 24 protrudes downward from the upper wall 221 and extends forward in a cantilevered manner. When the terminal 10 is assembled into the housing 20, the lance 24 is pushed from behind by the terminal 10 and is elastically deformable. A free end 24F (front end) of the lance 24 locks the first locked portion 111 of the terminal 10 from behind.

[0030] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the upper wall 221 is formed with a secondary locking opening 221A penetrating the upper wall 221 in the up-down direction y behind the lance 24. This secondary locking opening 221A receives a second locking portion 25 (shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3) formed on the housing 20 of the electrical connector 1-2 (FIG. 2(b)) that is in a layer adjacent to the electrical connector 1-3 (FIG. 2(a)) in which the secondary locking opening 221A is formed, or a second locking portion formed on another member (not shown). The second locking portion 25 is inserted into the cavity 21 through the secondary locking opening 221A and, when positioned above the wall 113 of the terminal portion 11, locks the second locked portion 112 from the rear. A secondary locking opening 221A is formed individually for each of the multiple cavities 21. As long as the rigidity of the housing 20 allows, a single secondary locking opening may be formed extending across a range that crosses the plurality of cavities 21 in the left-right direction x. The upper wall 221 is formed with positioning recesses 221D (FIGS. 2 and 3) into which protrusions (not shown) of the electrical connector 1 to be stacked thereon are inserted. The upper wall 221 is preferably formed with a plurality of recesses 221D at positions corresponding to the plurality of cavities 21, respectively. Further, a hole 221C through which the electric wire 3 can be seen is formed on the rear end side of the upper wall 221.

[0031] 1 and 3, an opening region 26 penetrating in the up-down direction y is formed on the front side of the lower wall 222. The opening region 26 and the lance 24 face each other in the direction in which the lance 24 protrudes (the up-down direction y). The opening region 26 corresponds to a space where the lower wall 222 does not exist. The open area 26 preferably extends over at least a range corresponding to the length from the free end 24F of the lance 24 to the support end 24B. The opening region 26 allows the terminal 10, to which the thin electric wire 3 is connected, to be assembled into the housing 20. Before the opening region 26 is closed by the lid 203, the cavity 21 is open to the outside of the cavity 21 through the opening region 26. 6(b), the opening region 26 allows the terminal 10, which comes into contact with the inclined surface 24S of the lance 24 from behind, to be displaced in an inclined manner relative to the mating direction z. At this time, a part of the inclined terminal 10 is disposed in the opening region 26.

[0032] The opening region 26 in this embodiment extends in a range that crosses the multiple cavities 21 in the left-right direction x. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the opening region 26 may be formed individually in each of the multiple cavities 21.

[0033] The lid 203 closes at least a portion of the opening region 26. As shown in Figures 3 and 5, it is preferable that the lid 203 closes the entire opening region 26 at least in the planar direction. The entire opening region 26 does not necessarily have to be closed, and it is sufficient that at least the portion of the opening region 26 facing the free end 24F of the lance 24 is closed. In addition, it is preferable that the lid 203 is inserted into the opening region 26 from below and occupies at least a portion of the opening region 26 in the thickness direction. Therefore, the lid 203 is formed in an outer shape corresponding to the planar shape of the opening region 26, and has a portion that is placed in the space of the opening region 26. The lid 203 of this embodiment is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, similar to the opening region 26, and has a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the bottom wall 222. The lid 203 in this embodiment is disposed flush with the bottom wall 222 on both the upper and lower sides, but this is not limited thereto, and it may be disposed on the lower surface of the bottom wall 222 to close the opening region 26, as in the case of lid 203-1 shown in Fig. 7(a). Also, as shown in Fig. 7(b), it is possible to employ a lid 203-2 that is attached to the bottom wall 222 in a state where a portion of the opening region 26 in the planar direction remains, and that occupies only a portion of the opening region 26 in the plate thickness direction.

[0034] When the lid 203 is integrated with the housing body 201 and the housing front part 202 , the lid 203 forms a part of the bottom wall 222 . The lower wall 222, which includes the housing main body 201, the housing front part 202, and the lid 203 as a whole, has irregularities that follow the outer shape of the terminal 10 (see FIG. 5), but is generally flat overall. When the terminal 10 is inserted into the cavity 21 and locked by the lance 24, the terminal 10 is stably housed between the upper wall 221 and the lower wall 222. From the viewpoint of stably supporting the terminal 10 by the lower wall 222, it is preferable that the lid 203 does not protrude upward beyond the periphery of the lid 203. To achieve this, the plate thickness of the lid 203 is set such that the plate thickness of the lower wall 222 is the upper limit.

[0035] Assuming that the electrical connector 1 shown in FIG. 3 is the electrical connector 1-3 in the bottom layer of the laminate 100 (FIG. 2(a)), and another electrical connector 1-2 (FIG. 2(b)) is stacked on top of the electrical connector 1-3, the opening region 26 of the electrical connector 1-2 is blocked at least in the planar direction by the upper wall 221 of the lower electrical connector 1-3, as shown by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 3. The upper wall 221 may be provided with a blocking portion 221B that is inserted into the opening region 26 and occupies at least a portion of the opening region 26. In other words, it is not necessary to attach a lid 203 to the housing 20 of the electrical connector 1-2 in order to block the opening region 26 of the electrical connector 1-2. The blocking portion 221B is formed thick by increasing the thickness of the upper wall 221 of the electrical connector 1-1 by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the lower wall 222 of the electrical connector 1-2. This blocking portion 221B does not necessarily have to be formed integrally with the upper wall 221, but may be a plate-like spacer interposed between the upper wall 221 and the lower wall 222. When secondary locking is performed, a secondary locking opening 221A for inserting the second locking portion 25 (FIG. 3) is formed in the blocking portion 221B.

[0036] The position and length of the open region 26 can be determined appropriately so as to lock the terminal 10 in the lance 24 while inserting the wire 3 connected to the terminal 10 into the cavity 21 . The opening region 26 in this embodiment extends from near the front end of the lower wall 222 to roughly the position of the core joining portion 121 of the terminal 10 accommodated in the cavity 21. If the rear end 26B of the opening region 26 is set at the position of the core joining portion 121 or the insulation joining portion 122 when the front end 10F of the terminal 10 abuts against the lance 24 as shown in FIG. 6(b), when the front end 10F of the terminal 10 abuts against the lance 24, the terminal 10 is stably supported by the rear end 26B and its vicinity, and the wire 3 is stably supported by the rear end of the upper wall 221. This contributes to stabilizing the operation of locking the terminal 10 into the lance 24.

[0037] The front wall 23 faces the front end 10F of the terminal 10 from the front, and forms the front end 21F of the cavity 21. The front wall 23 faces a positioning protrusion 10A formed on the front end 10F. The front wall 23 is formed with an insertion hole 23A (FIGS. 1 and 3) into which a mating terminal is inserted toward the front end 10F of the terminal 10. The insertion hole 23A penetrates the front wall 23 in the fitting direction z.

[0038] Among the components of the housing 20, the lance 24 is provided in the housing main body 201, and the front wall 23 forming the front end 21F of the cavity 21 is provided in the housing front part 202. Since the housing 20 is divided into two parts, the housing main body 201 and the housing front part 202, the lower wall 222 is also divided into the front end 21F of the cavity 21 and a support part 27 located in the vicinity thereof, and the remaining part.

[0039] The support portion 27 supports the front end 10F of the terminal 10 together with the front wall 23 and the lance 24 forward of the opening region 26. The rear end of the support portion 27 is formed with a slope 27A that guides the front end 10F of the terminal 10 to the front end 21F of the cavity 21.

[0040] Not limited to this embodiment, the housing 20 can be divided at any appropriate position into the housing main body 201 and the housing front portion 202. For example, the support portion 27 may be provided on the housing main body 201.

[0041] [Assembly of Electrical Connector, Functions and Effects of This Embodiment] An example of the procedure for assembling the electrical connector 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, of the components that make up the housing 20, the housing main body 201 and the housing front part 202 are assembled. The housing main body 201 and the housing front part 202 are assembled by engaging the engaging parts 201A, 202A provided on the respective side walls. Separately, the electric wire 3 is crimped to the electric wire joint portion 12 of the terminal 10 .

[0042] 6(a), the terminal 10 to which the electric wire 3 is joined is inserted into the cavity 21 from the rear end of the housing main body 201, and assembly of the terminal 10 to the housing 20 begins. The terminal 10 and the electric wire 3 are assembled to the housing 20 by moving them forward relative to the housing 20 in the fitting direction z by an assembly machine (not shown) or by hand. Depending on the shape of the rear side of the cavity 21, the terminal 10 and the wire 3 may be inserted into the cavity 21 in a direction inclined with respect to the fitting direction z.

[0043] The terminal 10 is inserted into the cavity 21 in the mating direction z and moves forward through the cavity 21. Fig. 6(a) shows a state in which the terminal 10 is inserted into the cavity 21 until the front end 10F is positioned near the support end 24B of the lance 24. At this time, the front end 10F or the upper end of the first locked portion 111 nearby is in contact with or close to the lance 24, and the coating 3B of the wire 3 is exposed rearward from the cavity 21.

[0044] When the wire 3 is gripped at the rear of the housing 20 and moved toward the front of the cavity 21, the terminal 10 gradually tilts in the mating direction z following the shape of the lance 24, as shown in FIG. 6(b), for example. In the example shown in FIG. 6(b), when the front end 10F or the upper end of the first locked portion 111 near the front end 10F abuts against the lance 24, the terminal 10 and the wire 3 are supported by the wall 22, and the terminal 10 tilts in a direction such that the front end 10F is displaced downward and the rear end 10B is displaced upward relative to the reference position along the mating direction z. At this time, the wire 3 also tilts between the upper wall 221 and the lower wall 222 following the tilt of the terminal 10. When the terminal 10 and the wire 3 tilt in the mating direction z, a portion of the front end 10F of the terminal 10 passes below the upper surface of the lower wall 222 and is positioned in the opening region 26.

[0045] In other words, the presence of the opening region 26 in the lower wall 222 allows the terminal 10, which comes into contact with the lance 24 from behind, to be displaced in an inclined manner relative to the mating direction z. In the example shown in Fig. 6(b), at the front end 10F side of the terminal 10, a region 10L below an imaginary line L1 indicating the upper surface of the lower wall 222 is located in the opening region 26. A portion of the region 10L of the terminal 10 may extend downward beyond the opening region 26 and be located outside the cavity 21. 6(b), the terminal 10 contacts the lance 24 at a position closer to the free end 24F than the midpoint between the support end 24B and the free end 24F of the lance 24. At this time, the front end 10F of the terminal 10 is displaced toward the outside of the cavity 21 due to the presence of the opening region 26, so the lance 24 is in a substantially unloaded state and is not elastically deformed.

[0046] Therefore, if the wire 3 is moved further forward and the terminal 10 pushes the lance 24 from behind, elastically deforming the lance 24 upward by a small amount (ε1), the first locked portion 111 can move forward over the free end 24F, which is the lower end of the lance 24. The elastic deformation amount ε1 at this time is shown in Figure 6(b). The terminal insertion force required to make the lance 24 elastically deform by the amount ε1 is lower than the buckling load of the thin wire 3, so the wire 3 will not buckle. When the first locked portion 111 moves over the free end 24F, the front end 10F is guided by the inclined surface 27A of the support portion 27 toward the front end 21F of the cavity 21, and is accommodated in the front end 21F of the cavity 21, as shown in Fig. 6(c). At this time, the terminal 10 is arranged parallel to the mating direction z, and the first locked portion 111 is locked by the lance 24, which has restored to an unloaded or nearly unloaded state behind the first locked portion 111.

[0047] After the terminals 10 are accommodated up to the front end 21F of the cavities, the lid 203 is attached to the housing main body 201 and the housing front part 202, thereby closing the opening area 26. The lid 203 engages with the housing main body 201 and the housing front part 202 by engagement parts 203A (FIG. 5) provided on both ends of the lid 203 in the left-right direction x. This completes the assembly of the terminal 10 into the housing 20.

[0048] When at least the portion of opening region 26 facing free end 24F of lance 24, more preferably the range of opening region 26 facing from free end 24F of lance 24 to support end 24B, is covered with lid 203 or the like, displacement of terminal 10 in a direction (downward) that causes it to come off lance 24 is restricted by lid 203, making it difficult for external forces such as vibration and impact to cause terminal 10 to come off lance 24. Therefore, terminal 10 is stably supported in cavity 21, and the mating state of terminal 10 and the mating terminal is stabilized. In particular, if the space of the opening region 26 is occupied by the lid 203 or the like, even if the terminal 10 is displaced, the displacement will be limited to the position of the upper surface of the lid 203 (the position of the upper surface of the lower wall 222), making it more difficult for the terminal 10 to come off the lance 24, which is preferable.

[0049] If the opening region 26 were not formed in the bottom wall 222, as shown in Fig. 6(a), from the time when the terminal 10 contacts or approaches the lance 24, the terminal 10 would need to push the lance 24 from behind, causing the lance 24 to elastically deform upward, and the terminal 10 and the wire 3 would need to move forward in the fitting direction z along the bottom wall 222 until the first locked portion 111 moves over the free end 24F. In this case, the elastic deformation ε2 (shown in Fig. 6(a)) required for the lance 24 is greater than the elastic deformation ε1 when the opening region 26 is present. In this case, if the diameter of the electric wire 3 is small and the buckling strength of the electric wire 3 is less than the terminal insertion force corresponding to the elastic deformation amount ε2, even if the electric wire 3 is inserted into the cavity 21 in an attempt to obtain the elastic deformation amount ε2 in the lance 24, the electric wire 3 will simply buckle and the necessary terminal insertion force will not be transmitted from the electric wire 3 to the terminal 10, making it impossible to assemble the terminal 10 into the housing 20.

[0050] In this embodiment, when the opening region 26 that allows the terminal 10 to be displaced so as to tilt in a direction following the protruding direction of the lance 24 is formed in the housing 20, a portion of the terminal 10 can be received in the opening region 26 during the process of inserting the terminal 10 into the cavity 21, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in the orientation of the terminal 10. In this case, the terminal 10 can be locked by the lance 24 if a smaller elastic deformation ε1 is applied to the lance 24 than when the terminal 10 surrounded by the wall 22 is maintained in an orientation along the mating direction z throughout the insertion process. Therefore, the terminal 10 can be assembled to the housing 20 by applying a terminal insertion force to the terminal 10 that is necessary to deflect the lance 24 by the elastic deformation ε1 while inserting the wire 3 into the cavity 21 with a force within the buckling load range.

[0051] [Assembly of laminate] If necessary, two or more electrical connectors 1 are stacked together. As shown in Fig. 2(a), a stack 100 made up of three electrical connectors 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 can be assembled, for example, by the following procedure. First, the electrical connectors 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 are assembled by assembling the terminals 10 into the housing 20 using the opening areas 26 according to the above-described procedure.

[0052] Next, the electrical connectors 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 are stacked in this order. The electrical connectors 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 are assembled together by engaging the locking claws 28 (FIG. 3) provided on the housings 20 with the unillustrated locking portions provided on the housings 20 of the adjacent layers. The open area 26 of the electrical connector 1-2 is blocked by the blocking portion 221B of the upper wall 221 of the electrical connector 1-3. Similarly, the open area 26 of the electrical connector 1-1 is blocked by the blocking portion 221B of the upper wall 221 of the electrical connector 1-2. The terminals 10 of the electrical connector 1-3 are locked from behind by the second locking portions 25 provided on the lower wall 222 of the electrical connector 1-2, and the terminals 10 of the electrical connector 1-2 are locked from behind by the second locking portions 25 provided on the lower wall 222 of the electrical connector 1-1. The terminals 10 of the electrical connector 1-1 in the top layer are locked from behind by second locking portions 25 provided on a member (not shown) that is placed on top of the electrical connector 1-1. This completes the assembly of the laminate 100.

[0053] The procedure is not limited to the above, and the terminals 10 can also be assembled to the housing main body 201 before the housing front part 202 is assembled. After that, the housing main body 201 to which the terminals 10 are assembled and the housing front part 202 can be assembled.

[0054] The electrical connector 1 does not necessarily have to have a secondary locking structure. If the electrical connector 1 does not have a secondary locking portion 25 that is inserted into the cavity 21 of an adjacent layer to secondarily lock the terminal 10, the electrical connectors 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 may be stacked, and then the terminal 10 may be assembled to the connector 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 of each layer. In this case, even if the opening region 26 is closed in plan view by the upper wall 221 of the lower layer located directly below the opening region 26, as long as there is remaining space in at least a portion of the opening region 26 in the thickness direction that can receive the terminal 10, the terminal 10 can be engaged with the lance 24 and assembled to the housing 20 without buckling the electric wire 3.

[0055] [Modification] Modified examples of the electrical connector of the present invention will be described below. Components similar to those in the above embodiment are given the same reference numerals. The above embodiment and the following modified examples can be combined as appropriate. The housing 20 of the electrical connector shown in Figure 8(a) includes a first housing 201 corresponding to the housing main body 201 of the above embodiment, and a second housing 204 formed by integrating the housing front portion 202 and lid 203 of the above embodiment.

[0056] When the second housing 204 is not attached to the first housing 201, the area forward of the front end 222A of the bottom wall 222 of the first housing 201 corresponds to an opening area 29 located opposite the lance 24 in the direction in which the lance 24 protrudes. The opening area 29 extends forward from the front end 222A, which is set at the position of the core wire joining portion 121 when the terminal 10 is accommodated in the housing 20.

[0057] When the second housing 204 is not attached to the first housing 201, a part of the terminal 10 that contacts the lance 24 from behind can be received in the opening area 29, so that the terminal insertion force can be reduced and even a thin wire 3 can be attached to the first housing 201. After the terminal 10 is assembled to the first housing 201, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the second housing 204 is assembled to the first housing 201 from the front of the first housing 201, whereby the opening area 29 is closed by the lid portion 204A of the second housing 204.

[0058] 8(c) shows an example in which only the minimum necessary range in the opening region 29 to prevent the terminal 10 from coming off the lance 24 due to vibration or impact, i.e., only the portion facing the free end 24F of the lance 24, is covered by the second housing 205. The bottom wall 205L of the second housing 205 extends rearward relative to the support portion 27 (FIG. 3) of the above embodiment, and therefore also serves as the lid 203. Before assembling the second housing 205 to the first housing 201, the terminal 10 may be assembled to the first housing 201 with the opening region 29 open to the outside of the cavity 21.

[0059] 7(c) shows an opening region 26-1 that does not penetrate the lower wall 222 in the plate thickness direction. The opening region 26-1 is formed in a thin portion 222B of the lower wall 222. The thin portion 222B is recessed downward from the upper surface of the surrounding region of the lower wall 222. The opening region 26-1 exists between the upper surface of the surrounding region and the upper surface of the thin portion 222B. This opening region 26-1 also makes it possible to receive a portion of the terminal 10 when the terminal 10 attempts to climb over the lance 24, and to lock the terminal 10 into the lance 24 with a terminal insertion force that is less than the buckling load of the wire 3.

[0060] The configuration shown in Fig. 9(a) makes it possible to adjust the terminal insertion force according to the dimensions and shape of the lance member 44. Note that Fig. 9(a) shows an electrical connector that does not have a secondary locking structure. The lance member 44 is separate from the housing 20 and is detachably fixed to the upper wall 221. In addition to the lance member 44, an appropriate lance member having rigidity that satisfies the condition (wire buckling strength > terminal insertion force) can be selected and fixed to the housing 20 based on, for example, dimensions such as length, thickness, and width in the fitting direction z, or material, shape, etc. For example, the lance 44A of the lance member 44 is longer in the mating direction z than the lance 24 of the above embodiment (Figure 3), so the terminal insertion force required to obtain the same elastic deformation amount ε1 can be reduced compared to when the lance 24 is bent to engage the terminal 10 with the lance 24. By selecting the lance member fixed to the housing 20, wires 3 of various diameters and materials can be used in the electrical connector.

[0061] 9(b) shows an electrical connector in which a locking portion 54 is used instead of the lance 24. Like the lance 24, the locking portion 54 protrudes from the upper wall 221 into the cavity 21 and locks the first locked portion 111 of the terminal 10. Because there is an opening region 26 that allows the terminal 10 to be displaced inclined relative to the mating direction z, the terminal 10 can be retracted from the locking portion 54 and locked to the locking portion 54 without necessarily bending the locking portion 54 in the protruding direction.

[0062] In addition to the above, the configurations given in the above embodiments can be selected or changed as appropriate to other configurations without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The lid 203 does not necessarily have to be separate from the first and second housings. For example, the lid 203 may be attached to the housing body 201 by a hinge or the like.

[0063] Walls 22 defining cavity 21 may be of any suitable shape capable of supporting terminal 10. For example, if terminal 10 has a circular cross section, walls 22 may also have a circular cross section. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 1,1-1,1-2,1-3 Electrical Connectors 3 electric wire 3A core wire 3B Coating 10 terminals 10A protrusion 10B rear end 10F front end 10L area 11 Terminal section 11S side wall 12 Wire joint 20. Housing 21 Cavity 21F front end 22 Wall 23 Front wall 23A Insertion hole 24,44A Lance (locking part) 24B Support end 24F free end 24S Slope 25 Second locking part 26,29 aperture area 26B rear end 27 Support part 27A slope 28 Locking claw 44 Lance member (locking portion) 54 Locking part 100 laminate 111 First locked part 112 Second locked part 113 Wall 121 Core wire joint 122 Coated joint 201 Housing body (first housing) 202 Front of housing (second housing) 201A,202A Engagement part 203 Lid 203A Engagement part 204,205 Second Housing 204A Lid 205L lower wall 221 Upper Wall 221A Secondary locking opening 221B Occlusion site 221C hole 221D Depression 222 Lower Wall 222A front end 223 Division wall L1 line x left / right direction y vertical direction z Mating direction ε1, ε2 elastic deformation

Claims

1. a terminal including a terminal portion extending in a mating direction to be mated with a mating terminal, and an electric wire joining portion extending rearward from the terminal portion and to which an electric wire is joined; a housing that accommodates the terminal and a portion of the electric wire and locks the terminal, The housing includes: a cavity into which the terminal is inserted from a front end along the mating direction and which accommodates the terminal; a wall that supports the terminal and the wire housed in the cavity; a locking portion formed of a cantilevered lance that protrudes into the cavity and locks the terminal; an opening region that is located at a position facing the locking portion in the protruding direction of the locking portion, the opening region is configured to receive at least a front portion of the terminal; An electrical connector in which at least a front portion of the terminal is received in the opening area by contacting the locking portion from behind and displacing at an angle, and when it overcomes the free end of the locking portion, it is accommodated in the front end of the cavity.

2. a lid that covers at least a portion of the opening area; 2. The electrical connector of claim 1.

3. The opening region is closed by the lid in a state where at least a portion of the opening region in the thickness direction of the wall is occupied by the lid.

3. The electrical connector of claim 2.

4. The housing includes: a front wall that forms a front end of the cavity and has a hole through which the mating terminal is inserted toward the front end of the terminal; a support portion that supports a front end of the terminal together with the front wall and the locking portion forward of the opening region, 3. The electrical connector according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The support portion has a slope formed thereon to guide the front end of the terminal to the front end of the cavity.

5. The electrical connector according to claim 4.

6. The housing includes a first housing including the locking portion, and a second housing separate from the first housing and including a front end of the cavity.

6. The electrical connector according to claim 1.

7. The lance is removably secured to the wall.

7. The electrical connector according to claim 1.

8. Two or more electrical connectors according to any one of claims 1 to 7 are provided, The two or more electrical connectors include: a first electrical connector; a second electrical connector including the housing stacked on the first electrical connector and blocking at least a portion of the open area of the first electrical connector; Electrical connector laminate.

9. The terminal of at least one of the two or more electrical connectors includes: a second locked portion that is engaged with the second locking portion provided on the housing of an adjacent layer; 9. The electrical connector laminate of claim 8.

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