JPH0132299Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Purpose of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a terminal locking mechanism of a connector housing used for electrical wiring in automobiles and the like.

Prior Art Conventionally, there is a terminal locking mechanism of a generally known connector housing (hereinafter simply referred to as a housing) as shown in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 52-133991, as shown in Fig. 3. When the terminal A is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 11 of the housing 10 in the direction of the arrow, the protrusion 12 protruding from the bottom surface of the board of the terminal A becomes a lance protruding from the inner wall of the housing 10 into the terminal accommodating chamber 11. 13 is elastically bent, the lance 13 returns to its original state with the protrusion 12 engaged with the distal end locking step 14 of the lance 13, and the locking of the terminal A is completed. That's what it was.

However, in such conventional terminal locking mechanisms, the terminal is locked only by the lance 13, so the holding force of the terminal itself is generally weak, and incomplete locking may occur due to insufficient insertion force of the terminal. In addition, incomplete locking is likely to occur due to deformation of the lance 13 due to external force applied during insertion of a terminal or use of the connector.

Furthermore, when nylon 6 is used as the material for the housing, it was considered that the terminal holding force by the lance would become unstable due to water absorption.

Therefore, the applicant previously proposed a terminal locking mechanism as shown in Figures 4 to 7 (Japanese Patent Application No. 111714
issue).

That is, the housing H is integrally molded from a plastic material such as nylon 6, and includes an end plate 20, a side plate 21,
A plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 2 are provided in an outer shell consisting of a face plate 22.
3 are arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction with a partition wall 24 in between, and these terminal accommodating chambers 23 are formed as a pair of terminal accommodating chamber groups with a partition wall 25 in between. disposed within the housing.

The terminal accommodating chamber 23 is divided into a rectangular tube shape in the front half by a housing inner wall 26, a partition wall 25, and a partition wall (not shown), and the partition wall 25 is located in the middle of the opposing terminal accommodating chambers 23. It is supported by both end plates 20 of the housing H and the partition wall so that its rear end is terminated at a position aligned with the rear end of the electrical contact part of the terminal accommodated in the front half of the terminal accommodation chamber.

Further, in the rear half of the terminal accommodating chamber 23, there is no partition wall 25 in the middle part of the opposing terminal accommodating chambers, and the height of the partition wall 24 that partitions the adjacent terminal accommodating chambers is also smaller than that of the partition wall that partitions the front half of the terminal accommodating chamber. A communication hole 27 with an open rear end is formed between the opposing terminal housing chambers. That is, the communication hole 27 is provided from one end plate 20 of the housing H so as to be perpendicular to the insertion direction of the terminal, and facing the partition wall 25 between the upper and lower opposing terminal accommodating chambers 23 and 23 arranged in parallel. It will be done.

From the inner wall 26 of the housing H, there is a terminal accommodating chamber 23.
A lance 29 with a locking step 28 at its tip protrudes toward the front half of the lance 29 , and a guide piece 30 is protruded from the opposite side of the partition wall 24 facing the communication hole 27 . . This guide piece 30 is connected to the partition wall 2
In some cases, the housing may be provided so as to protrude directly from the inner wall 26 of the housing instead of from the side surface of the housing.

The terminal A accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 23 of the housing consists of an electrical contact part 31 formed in a U-shaped or spectacle-shaped cross section at the front, and an electric wire connection part 32 at the rear. A protrusion 33 is provided protrudingly, and an electric wire 34 is connected to the rear end of the terminal A.

In the terminal locking mechanism of the earlier application, the communication hole 27
A unique feature of this device is that the spacer 36 is inserted into the spacer 36. That is, as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 7, the spacer 36 has a substantially T-shaped cross section with locking protrusions 38 attached to the longitudinal direction of both upper and both edges of the plate-shaped rectangular member main body 37. A stopper 39 that engages with the end plate 20 in the insertion hole 35 is erected at one end of the locking protrusion 38, and a communication hole 27 is provided on both sides of the other end.
A tapered bevel 40 is provided to facilitate insertion into the tube. The spacer 36 has a locking protrusion 38 that is slidably inserted into an upper communication hole formed between the guide piece 30 and the rear end surface 41 of the front half of the terminal accommodating chamber 23 divided into the square tube shape. It will be done. Further, the plate-shaped rectangular member main body 37 of the spacer 36 hangs down in the middle part of the lower communication hole formed at the lower part of the guide piece 30,
It separates the rear half of the opposing terminal storage chambers.

According to the above configuration, first, the terminal A is inserted from the open end of the rear half of the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing H, and the protrusion 33 of the terminal is engaged with the locking step 28 of the lance 29 protruding from the inner wall of the housing. After primary locking is performed, the locking protrusion 38 of the spacer 36 is inserted into the vertical communication hole, thereby locking the spacer 3
The stopper 39 at the 6th end is inserted into the insertion hole 35 of the end plate 20.
The secondary locking of the terminal is completed when the terminal is locked.
That is, the locking protrusion 38 of the spacer 36 comes into contact with the rear end surface 41 of the front half of the terminal accommodating chamber and locks the rear end of the electrical contact part 31 of the terminal A accommodated in the front half of the terminal accommodating chamber.

That is, according to the invention of the prior application, in addition to the conventional terminal locking mechanism, the terminal accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing is locked by a double locking mechanism by inserting a spacer. The force is significantly improved, and by inserting the spacer, incompletely inserted terminals can be fully inserted at the same time and easily for a large number of terminals that are arranged facing each other in parallel, and further, the spacer body is shown in Fig. 6. When the terminal is assembled into the housing, the wire 34' is twisted and connected.
This has the effect of correcting the wiring and maintaining orderly wiring without entanglement.

However, the terminals A inserted into the terminal storage chamber 23 are not necessarily of the same standard, and especially in the case of fuse terminals, the crimp height may be changed when crimping the wire connection portion 32 depending on the wire size. Since the crimping is performed with different angles, there is a drawback that a gap V is created between the locking protrusion 38 of the spacer 36 and the electrical connection part 32 of the terminal A, which causes the fuse terminal to wobble within the housing. This may cause abnormal noise.

Problems to be solved by the invention This invention solves two terminals using spacers as described above.
The purpose is to reliably suppress the rattling of the terminal caused by the heavy locking mechanism and prevent the generation of abnormal noise.

[Structure of the idea]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides a flexible locking projection that corresponds to the spacing between adjacent terminal accommodating chambers, that is, the insertion pitch of the terminal, and that engages the wire connection portion of the terminal. By forming it as a stop arm, rattling can be suppressed regardless of the terminal standard or crimp height.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. A horizontal member 3 is attached to the horizontal member 3 in a T-shaped cross section, and a stopper 4 that engages with the housing end face 20 is erected at one end of the horizontal member 3, and the communication hole 27 and In order to facilitate insertion into the insertion hole 35, the tapered slope 5
is attached.

On both side edges of the horizontal member 3, a plurality of flexible locking arms 6 extending from the slope 5 at the tip toward the stopper 4 at the rear end correspond to the terminal accommodating chamber 23, that is, the insertion pitch of the terminal. It is provided. Each flexible locking arm 6 normally expands outward, and is bent toward the inner recessed portion 7 when pressed by engagement with a terminal.

Operation When the stopper 1 is inserted into the communication hole 27 of the housing H, it comes into contact with the rear end surface 41 of the front half, and the rear end of the electrical contact part 31 of the terminal A accommodated in the front half of the terminal accommodating chamber. 2, the flexible locking arm 6 has a crimp height h,
The wire connecting portions 32, 32' of different terminals h' are engaged so as to be pressed.

That is, the degree of outward expansion θ of the flexible locking arm 6 is
If the expected crimp height h' is set sufficiently large to match the terminal with the minimum, the wire connection part of the terminal can be made to a suitable size regardless of the terminal standard or the crimp height when crimping the wire connection part. It can be pressed with such force that it can suppress rattling.

[Effect of idea]

Since the present invention is as described above, even if the standard of the terminal or the clamp height changes, the terminal can be held in the correct position, the looseness between the terminal and the cavity can be eliminated, and the generation of abnormal noise can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 A, B, and C show the spacer in the terminal locking mechanism of the present invention, A is a plan view thereof, B is a front view thereof, C is a side view thereof, and Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of its working mechanism. , FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional terminal locking mechanism, FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of a housing equipped with a conventional terminal locking mechanism, FIG. 5 is a schematic front view thereof, and FIG. - line sectional view of figure 7
The figure is a perspective view of the spacer. A...terminal, H...housing, 1...spacer, 2...rectangular member body, 3...horizontal member, 4...
... Stopper, 5 ... Incline, 6 ... Flexible locking arm, 7 ... Recessed part, 23 ... Terminal accommodation chamber, 25 ...
...Partition wall, 27...Communication hole, 35...Insertion hole.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A communication hole is provided from a side wall of a connector housing in which a pair of terminal accommodating chambers facing each other with a partition wall in between are arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction, perpendicular to the terminal insertion direction and facing the rear end of each partition wall of the terminal accommodating chamber. A spacer having a substantially T-shaped cross section is inserted into the communication hole, and the locking protrusions formed on both sides of the upper part of the spacer are engaged with the electrical contact portion (and/) or the wire connection portion of the terminal to lock the terminal. In the terminal of the connector housing, the locking protrusion of the spacer is formed as a flexible locking arm that corresponds to the insertion pitch of the terminal and engages with the wire connection portion of the terminal. Locking mechanism.