connector

Abstract

To secure a terminal holding force while suppressing an increase in size of a scale.SOLUTION: A spacer 30 has: a main wall body 31 that can be flexibly deformed; a sub-wall body 32 that is flexibly deformed for forming a boundary part 33 from the main wall body along an insertion / extraction direction of an electric wire 10 with a terminal; a terminal engagement part 34 that is projected from an inner wall surface of the main wall body and the sub-wall body in one end in the insertion / extraction direction of the boundary part, engages a terminal metal fitting 12 at a main engagement position, and holds the electric wire with the terminal at a housing completion position; and a housing engagement part 35 that is projected from the other end side from the terminal engagement part in the insertion / extraction direction in the inner wall surface of the sub-wall body, is engaged with a temporal engagement part 22 of a housing 20 at a temporal engagement position, and is engaged with a main engagement part 23 of the housing at the main engagement position. The housing has a spacer holding part 24 that engages a come-off prevention locking part 32a of the one end of the sub-wall body when acting a force for separating the sub-wall body from a housing main body 21 at a spacer at the main engagement position, and keeps an engagement state of the main engagement part of the housing engagement part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a connector has been known that includes a spacer that allows insertion and removal of a terminal-attached electric wire into a receiving chamber at a temporary locking position relative to the housing body and holds the terminal-attached electric wire in a fully-received position relative to the housing body at a fully-received position relative to the housing body. This spacer has cantilevered flexible pieces arranged opposite each other at a distance from each other, and locking claws are provided on the inner walls of the free ends of the flexible pieces to lock the electric wire with the housing body at the temporary locking position and the fully-received position. When the locking claws pass over the temporary locking claws and the fully-received claws of the housing body, the pair of flexible pieces bend in an opening direction to widen the gap between them and then return to their original position, reaching the fully-received position. In the fully-received position, the spacer locks the terminal fittings with terminal locking portions connected to the pair of flexible pieces, thereby holding the electric wire with the terminal in the fully-received position. This type of connector is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1 listed below. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-207101 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in conventional spacers, if the terminal locking portion receives force from the terminal fittings in the full-locking position and the pair of flexible pieces are bent in the opening direction by that force, the locking claws are pulled away from the full-locking claws, making it impossible to stay in the full-locking position, and there is a risk that the terminal-attached electric wire will slip out of the accommodating chamber. For this reason, conventional spacers are formed with a highly rigid, non-deformable shape so that even if the terminal locking portion receives force from the terminal fittings in the full-locking position, the pair of flexible pieces will not be bent in the opening direction by that force. Therefore, in conventional connectors, the spacer becomes larger as it becomes more rigid, which may result in an increase in the overall size.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a connector that can ensure terminal holding force while preventing an increase in size. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention provides a housing that accommodates the end of the electric wire and the terminal fittings in a receiving chamber of a housing main body at a fully accommodated position and allows the electric wire to be drawn outward from a wire drawing-out port of the housing main body, and a spacer that allows the electric wire with terminal to be inserted into and removed from the receiving chamber at a temporary locking position with respect to the housing and holds the electric wire with terminal at the fully accommodated position with respect to the housing, the spacer comprising: a plate-like main wall body that is flexible and deformable in its thickness direction and has an inner wall surface that faces the housing main body; a plate-like sub-wall body that is flexible and deformable in its thickness direction and hangs down from the main wall body, has an inner wall surface that faces the housing main body and forms a boundary with the main wall body along the insertion / removal direction of the electric wire with terminal; and a terminal locking portion that protrudes from the inner wall surfaces of the main wall body and the sub-wall body at one end in the insertion / extraction direction and locks the movement of the terminal fittings toward the wire outlet at the full-locking position, thereby holding the terminal-attached wire at the completed accommodation position, and a housing locking portion that protrudes from the other end side of the inner wall surface of the sub-wall body in the insertion / extraction direction beyond the terminal locking portion and is locked with the temporary locking portion of the housing at the temporary locking position and with the full locking portion of the housing at the full locking position, and the housing has a spacer holding portion that locks the anti-detachment locking portion at one end of the sub-wall body in the insertion / extraction direction to maintain the locked state of the housing locking portion with the full locking portion when a force is applied to the terminal locking portion from the terminal fittings with the spacer at the full locking position, pulling the sub-wall body away from the housing main body. the terminal locking portion is provided so as to suppress the amount of deflection deformation of the sub-wall body at the one end in the insertion / removal direction more than at the other end in the insertion / removal direction where the housing locking portion is located. It is characterized by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] In the connector of the present invention, the sub-wall of the spacer is less likely to bend in the insertion / removal direction at one end where the terminal locking portion is located than at the other end in the insertion / removal direction where the housing locking portion is located. Furthermore, in the connector of the present invention, when a force is applied from the terminal locking portion to the spacer in the full-locking position, pulling the sub-wall away from the housing body, the anti-slip locking portion at one end of the sub-wall in the insertion / removal direction is locked by the spacer retaining portion of the housing, thereby maintaining the housing locking portion engaged with the full-locking portion. Therefore, even if a force is applied to pull the sub-wall away from the housing body in the full-locking position, the spacer is maintained in the full-locking position, so that the wire ends of the terminal-equipped electric wires and the terminal fittings can be retained in the receiving chambers in the fully-received position. In this way, the connector of the present invention can maintain the full-locking position without increasing the rigidity of the spacer, thereby ensuring terminal retention without increasing the overall size. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a connector according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the connector of the embodiment in which the spacer is in the full locking position. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a connector in an embodiment in which the spacer is in the full locking position. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line Y1-Y1 of FIG. 3 rotated by 90 degrees. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line Y2-Y2 of FIG. 3 rotated by 90 degrees. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the connector of the embodiment with the spacer in the provisionally locked position. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the connector of the embodiment with the spacer in the provisionally locked position. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line Y1-Y1 of FIG. 8 rotated by 90 degrees. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line Y2-Y2 of FIG. 8 rotated by 90 degrees. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment.

[0010] [Embodiment] One embodiment of a connector according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0011] 1 to 10, reference numeral 1 denotes a connector of this embodiment. The connector 1 includes a terminal-fitted wire 10, a housing 20 that accommodates the terminal-fitted wire 10 in a fully accommodated position, and a spacer 30 that holds the terminal-fitted wire 10 in the fully accommodated position (FIGS. 1 to 10).

[0012] The electric wire with terminal 10 includes an electric wire 11 and a terminal fitting 12 that is physically and electrically connected to the end of the electric wire 11 (FIGS. 1 and 4).

[0013] The terminal fitting 12 is made of a conductive material such as metal. The terminal fitting 12 has a terminal connection portion 12a that is physically and electrically connected to a mating terminal fitting, and a wire connection portion 12b that is physically and electrically connected to the end of the electric wire 11 (FIG. 1). In the terminal fitting 12, the terminal connection portion 12a and the wire connection portion 12b are aligned in a straight line, and the alignment direction corresponds to the insertion / removal direction with respect to the mating terminal fitting. The terminal connection portion 12a is formed in the shape of either a male or female terminal. The terminal connection portion 12a shown here is formed in the shape of a female terminal with a cylindrical outer wall, and an axial mating terminal fitting is fitted and connected along the cylindrical axis direction.

[0014] The housing 20 is molded from an insulating material such as synthetic resin. The housing 20 is provided with a housing main body 21 that accommodates the terminal-fitted electric wire 10 in the accommodation complete position (FIGS. 1 to 10). The housing main body 21 is formed with an accommodation chamber 21a that accommodates the end of the electric wire 11 and the terminal fitting 12 in the accommodation complete position, and an electric wire outlet 21b through which the electric wire 11 is drawn out (FIG. 4). In the housing main body 21 shown here, four pairs of accommodation chambers 21a and electric wire outlets 21b are arranged in a lattice pattern, and each of the accommodation chambers 21a accommodates one electric wire with terminal 10.

[0015] The spacer 30 is molded from an insulating material such as synthetic resin. The spacer 30 is engaged with the housing 20 at a temporary engagement position and a full engagement position. The spacer 30 allows the terminal-attached electric wire 10 to be inserted into and removed from the accommodating chamber 21a at the temporary engagement position, and holds the terminal-attached electric wire 10 in the fully accommodated position at the full engagement position. Figures 2 to 6 show the spacer 30 assembled to the housing 20 at the full engagement position. Figures 7 to 10 show the spacer 30 assembled to the housing 20 at the temporary engagement position.

[0016] Specifically, the spacer 30 has a plate-like main wall 31 that is flexible in its thickness direction and has an inner wall surface facing the housing main body 21, and a plate-like sub-wall 32 that is flexible in its thickness direction, hangs down from the main wall 31, and has an inner wall surface facing the housing main body 21 ( FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 to 10 ). The sub-wall 32 has a fixed end on the main wall 31 side and a free end on the hanging side. The sub-wall 32 forms a boundary 33 with the main wall 31 that is aligned with the insertion / removal direction of the terminal-fitted electric wire 10 ( FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 to 10 ). The free end of the sub-wall 32 also aligns with the insertion / removal direction of the terminal-fitted electric wire 10. Note that hereinafter, when the term "insertion / removal direction" is simply used, it refers to the insertion / removal direction of the terminal-fitted electric wire 10.

[0017] The spacer 30 also has a terminal locking portion 34 that, at the full-locking position, prevents the terminal fitting 12 from moving toward the wire outlet 21b, thereby holding the terminal-attached wire 10 in the fully accommodated position (FIGS. 1, 6, and 10). The terminal locking portion 34 protrudes from the inner wall surfaces of the main wall 31 and the sub-wall 32 at one end of the boundary portion 33 in the insertion / removal direction. The terminal locking portion 34 shown here extends from the fixed end on the boundary portion 33 side to the free end of the sub-wall 32, and the wall surface 34a on the protruding side is formed as an arc-shaped wall surface (FIGS. 1, 6, and 10). The terminal connection portion 12a shown here has a concentric, annular fitting groove 12c formed on its cylindrical outer wall, into which the terminal locking portion 34 is fitted at the full-locking position (FIGS. 1, 4, 6, and 10). The bottom of the fitting groove 12c is opposed to the arc-shaped wall surface 34a of the terminal locking portion 34. When the terminal locking portion 34 is fitted into the fitting groove 12c of the terminal fitting 12, the terminal locking portion 34 locks the terminal connecting portion 12a against movement in the axial direction of the cylinder.

[0018] The spacer 30 also has a housing locking portion 35 that is locked with the temporary locking portion 22 of the housing 20 at the temporary locking position and locked with the full locking portion 23 of the housing 20 at the full locking position (FIGS. 1, 5, and 9). The housing locking portion 35 is formed in a claw shape that protrudes from the other end side of the terminal locking portion 34 in the insertion / extraction direction on the inner wall surface of the sub-wall 32. The housing locking portion 35 shown here protrudes from the free end on the other end side of the terminal locking portion 34 in the insertion / extraction direction on the inner wall surface of the sub-wall 32. In the housing 20, the temporary locking portion 22 and the full locking portion 23 are formed in a claw shape that protrudes from the housing main body 21 along the insertion / extraction direction.

[0019] When assembling the spacer 30 to the housing 20, for example, by pressing the main wall 31, the housing locking portion 35 receives force from the temporary locking portion 22, bending the other end of the sub-wall 32 in the insertion / removal direction, and when the housing locking portion 35 passes over the temporary locking portion 22, the bending of the sub-wall 32 is released. As a result, the spacer 30 is held in the housing 20 at the temporary locking position. Furthermore, by pressing the main wall 31 further, the housing locking portion 35 receives force from the full locking portion 23, bending the other end of the sub-wall 32 in the insertion / removal direction, and when the housing locking portion 35 passes over the full locking portion 23, the bending of the sub-wall 32 is released. As a result, the spacer 30 is held in the housing 20 at the full locking position.

[0020] In this spacer 30, a terminal locking portion 34 is provided at one end in the insertion / removal direction of a boundary 33 between the main wall 31 and the sub-wall 32, making the one end of the sub-wall 32 less likely to bend in the insertion / removal direction than the other end of the sub-wall 32. In particular, in this spacer 30, the terminal locking portion 34 extends from the fixed end on the boundary 33 side to the free end at one end of the sub-wall 32 in the insertion / removal direction, making the one end of the sub-wall 32 less likely to bend than the other end. Therefore, in this spacer 30, when the housing locking portion 35 at the other end of the sub-wall 32 in the insertion / removal direction passes over the temporary locking portion 22 and the full locking portion 23 during the series of movements when assembling the spacer 30 to the housing 20, the amount of bending deformation at the one end of the sub-wall 32 is kept smaller than the amount of bending deformation at the other end. In this way, the terminal locking portion 34 is provided so as to suppress the amount of flexural deformation of the sub-wall body 32 at one end in the insertion / removal direction more than at the other end in the insertion / removal direction where the housing locking portion 35 is located.

[0021] In the connector 1 shown here, this spacer 30 is provided for each of two terminal-equipped electric wires 10. Therefore, this spacer 30 has two sub-walls 32 arranged opposite to each other with a gap between them. This spacer 30 has one terminal locking portion 34 protruding from a boundary portion 33 between the main wall 31 and one of the sub-walls 32, the other terminal locking portion 34 protruding from the boundary portion 33 between the main wall 31 and the other sub-wall 32, one housing locking portion 35 provided on one of the sub-walls 32, and the other housing locking portion 35 provided on the other sub-wall 32. The housing 20 has a temporary locking portion 22 and a full locking portion 23 that lock one of the housing locking portions 35, and a temporary locking portion 22 and a full locking portion 23 that lock the other housing locking portion 35.

[0022] Furthermore, the spacer 30 shown here has a terminal locking portion (hereinafter referred to as the "central terminal locking portion") 36 between one terminal locking portion 34 and the other terminal locking portion 34, which is fitted into the fitting groove 12c of one of the terminal fittings 12 of the two electric wires with terminals 10 together with one terminal locking portion 34 at the full locking position, and which is fitted into the fitting groove 12c of the other of the two electric wires with terminals 10 together with the other terminal locking portion 34 at the full locking position (FIGS. 1, 6 and 10). This central terminal locking portion 36 protrudes from the inner wall surface of the main wall body 31. The central terminal locking portion 36 is provided with an arc-shaped wall surface 36a which, in combination with the arc-shaped wall surface 34a of one terminal locking portion 34, forms a semicircular wall surface and is disposed opposite the groove bottom of the fitting groove 12c of the terminal fitting 12 of one electric wire with terminal 10, and an arc-shaped wall surface 36b which, in combination with the arc-shaped wall surface of the other terminal locking portion 34, forms a semicircular wall surface and is disposed opposite the groove bottom of the fitting groove 12c of the terminal fitting 12 of the other electric wire with terminal 10 (FIGS. 1, 6, and 10). In the spacer 30, gaps are provided between the central terminal locking portion 36 and one terminal locking portion 34, and between the central terminal locking portion 36 and the other terminal locking portion 34.

[0023] Here, when the terminal fitting 12 receives a force from the mating terminal fitting during mating connection, or receives a force from the drawn-out electric wire 11 toward the electric wire outlet 21b, the force is transmitted from the side wall of the fitting groove 12c to the terminal locking portion 34 and the central terminal locking portion 36 in the full locking position. With the spacer 30 in the full locking position, if the main wall 31 is deflected in the gap between the terminal locking portion 34 and the central terminal locking portion 36 due to the force received from the terminal fitting 12 by the terminal locking portion 34 or the central terminal locking portion 36, the sub-wall 32 may be pulled away from the housing body 21, and the locked state of the housing locking portion 35 with the full locking portion 23 may be released. Therefore, the housing 20 has a spacer holding portion 24 that locks the anti-slip locking portion 32a at one end of the sub-wall 32 in the insertion / removal direction, thereby maintaining the locking state of the housing locking portion 35 with the main locking portion 23, when a force is acting on the terminal locking portion 34 from the terminal fitting 12 with the spacer 30 in the main locking position, pulling the sub-wall 32 away from the housing main body 21 (Figures 1 to 10).

[0024] The spacer retaining portion 24 protrudes from the housing main body 21. The spacer retaining portion 24 shown here protrudes in an L-shape from the housing main body 21 and is positioned opposite the outer wall surface of the retaining locking portion 32a of the sub-wall 32. The housing 20 has a gap G between the housing main body 21 and the spacer retaining portion 24, which allows one end of the sub-wall 32 in the insertion / removal direction to enter from the free end on the vertical direction side to the fixed end on the boundary portion 33 side (FIG. 1). A spacer retaining portion 24 is provided for each sub-wall 32. Therefore, the housing 20 has one spacer retaining portion 24 that engages the retaining locking portion 32a provided on one sub-wall 32, and the other spacer retaining portion 24 that engages the retaining locking portion 32a provided on the other sub-wall 32. The housing 20 shown here has four spacer retaining portions 24.

[0025] As described above, in the connector 1 of this embodiment, the sub-wall 32 of the spacer 30 is less likely to bend in the insertion / removal direction at one end where the terminal locking portion 34 is located than at the other end in the insertion / removal direction where the housing locking portion 35 is located. In the connector 1 of this embodiment, when the terminal locking portion 34 of the spacer 30 is in the full-locking position and a force is applied from the terminal fitting 12 to the spacer 30 to pull the sub-wall 32 away from the housing main body 21, the anti-detachment locking portion 32a at one end of the sub-wall 32 in the insertion / removal direction is locked by the spacer holding portion 24 of the housing 20, thereby maintaining the locking state of the housing locking portion 35 with the full-locking portion 23. Therefore, in this connector 1, even if a force is applied to pull the sub-wall 32 away from the housing main body 21 at the full-locking position, the spacer 30 is maintained in the full-locking position, so that the end of the electric wire 11 of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 and the terminal fitting 12 can be kept in the accommodating chamber 21a in the fully-accommodated position. In this way, in the connector 1 of this embodiment, the spacer 30 can be kept in the full locking position without increasing its rigidity, so that the terminal holding force can be ensured while preventing the connector from becoming large in size. [Explanation of symbols]

[0026] 1 connector 10 Wires with terminals 11 Electric wire 12 Terminal fittings 20. Housing 21 Housing body Containment Cell 21a 21b Wire outlet 22 Temporary locking portion 23 Main locking part 24 Spacer holder 30 spacer 31 Main wall 32 Sub wall 32a Anti-slip latch 33 Boundary 34 Terminal locking portion 35 Housing locking part G Gap

Claims

1. a terminal-attached electric wire having a terminal fitting physically and electrically connected to an end of the electric wire; a housing that accommodates the end of the electric wire and the terminal fitting in an accommodating chamber of a housing main body at a fully accommodated position and draws the electric wire outward from an electric wire drawing port of the housing main body; a spacer that allows insertion and removal of the electric wire with terminal into and from the accommodating chamber at a temporary locking position relative to the housing and holds the electric wire with terminal in the fully-accommodated position at a full locking position relative to the housing; Equipped with the spacer comprises: a plate-like main wall body capable of flexibly deforming in a thickness direction and having an inner wall surface opposed to the housing main body; a plate-like sub-wall body capable of flexibly deforming in a thickness direction, hanging down from the main wall body, having an inner wall surface opposed to the housing main body, and forming a boundary with the main wall body along the insertion / removal direction of the electric wire with terminal; a terminal locking portion that protrudes from the inner wall surfaces of the main wall body and the sub-wall body at one end of the boundary in the insertion / removal direction and locks the movement of the terminal fitting toward the electric wire outlet at the full-locking position, thereby holding the electric wire with terminal at the full-accommodation position; and a housing locking portion that protrudes from the other end side of the terminal locking portion on the inner wall surface of the sub-wall body in the insertion / removal direction, and is locked with the temporary-locking portion of the housing at the temporary-locking position and with the full-locking portion of the housing at the full-locking position. the housing has a spacer holding portion that holds the anti-detachment locking portion at the one end of the sub-wall body in the insertion / removal direction to maintain the locking state of the housing locking portion with the main locking portion when a force is acting on the terminal locking portion of the spacer in the main locking position by the force from the terminal fitting to separate the sub-wall body from the housing main body, A connector characterized in that the terminal locking portion is arranged to suppress the amount of flexural deformation of the sub-wall body at one end in the insertion / removal direction more than at the other end in the insertion / removal direction where the housing locking portion is located.

2. the spacer holding portion protrudes from the housing body, The connector of claim 1, characterized in that the housing has a gap between the housing main body and the spacer holding portion that allows the one end of the sub-wall body in the insertion / removal direction to penetrate from the free end on the vertical direction side to the fixed end on the boundary side.

3. The spacer includes two sub-walls arranged opposite to each other with a gap therebetween, one of the terminal locking portions protruding from the boundary between the main wall and one of the sub-walls, the other of the terminal locking portions protruding from the boundary between the main wall and the other of the sub-walls, one of the housing locking portions provided on one of the sub-walls, and the other of the housing locking portions provided on the other of the sub-walls, 2. The connector of claim 1, wherein the housing has the temporary locking portion and the full locking portion that lock one of the housing locking portions, the temporary locking portion and the full locking portion that lock the other housing locking portion, one spacer holding portion that locks the anti-slip locking portion provided on one of the sub-walls, and the other spacer holding portion that locks the anti-slip locking portion provided on the other sub-wall.

Images