JPH0495367A - electrical connectors - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electrical connector capable of detecting and correcting mid-insertion of a terminal and double-locking the terminal.

[Conventional technology]

As this kind of electrical connector, the applicant has previously proposed Fig. 5a,
proposed the one shown in b (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-2120
Publication No. 82).

In the figure, a is a connector housing, in which a window d facing the terminal accommodating chamber C is provided in the rear half of the outer wall thereof, and two flexible locking arms e are provided facing the window d. is provided through a slit (not shown), and the arm e
A protrusion f is protrudingly provided on the terminal g to engage with a corresponding hole (or recess) h of the terminal g inserted in the proper position. A lock cover i having a protrusion j that engages with the window d is provided on the side wall of the housing a so as to be openable and closable.

As shown in FIG. 5a, if the terminal g is not fully inserted, the locking arm e will ride on the back surface g1 of the terminal g, and the lock cover i will not be closed, so the operator cannot close the terminal g.
It is possible to determine at a glance whether the terminal is properly inserted or not, and it is possible to eliminate the need to insert the terminal halfway.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the electrical connector according to the above-mentioned conventional technology, when the terminal g is inserted halfway, the lock cover i does not have a terminal pushing action, so the operator has to manually push the -H terminal g. The work is troublesome, and if the lock cover i is inserted halfway, the lock cover i may be forcibly locked (k), which may result in defective products.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems.The lock cover is installed at the same time as the incomplete insertion of the terminal, and the terminal is double-locked to ensure reliable electrical connection. The object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector with high flexibility.

Means for Solving Problem C] In order to achieve the above problem, the electrical connector of the present invention has the following features:
As described in claim 1, the connector housing has a structure in which a locking protrusion that engages with a locking hole of a terminal inserted in a proper position is provided on the bottom wall of the terminal accommodating chamber to prevent the terminal from coming out later. In the electrical connector, incomplete insertion prevention pieces are erected on both sides of the terminal, and a flexible insertion detection arm that allows the prevention pieces to enter is provided on the ceiling wall of the terminal housing chamber, and a window facing the arm is provided. , a terminal locking tool is provided to be attached to the window, and the locking tool is provided with a stopper for a piece for preventing incomplete insertion, and when the terminal is in the halfway inserted state where it rides on the locking protrusion of the terminal accommodating chamber, The present invention is characterized in that by attaching the terminal locking tool to the window, the stopper engages with the incomplete insertion prevention piece to move the terminal to the normal position.

As claimed in claims 2 and 3, the lock cover is integrated with the insulating housing by an elongated hinge,
Further, it is preferable that an insert piece for engaging with the window edge is provided at one end of the terminal locking device.

[For production]

According to the present invention, if the terminal is incompletely inserted, the flexible insertion detection arm bends toward the window, making it easy to check from the outside.

However, even in this case, when the terminal locking tool is attached to the window in a predetermined inclined position, the stopper engages with the incomplete insertion prevention piece of the terminal and moves the terminal forward to the normal position.

Therefore, since the terminal locking tool that has a double locking effect on the terminal and the correction of the incompletely inserted state can be done at the same time, work efficiency is improved and the occurrence of defective products and their oversight can be prevented. be able to.

Hereinafter, the above configuration and operation will be specifically explained with reference to drawings showing examples.

〔Example〕

In FIGS. 1 to 4, A is a connector housing;
Reference numeral B designates a terminal locking tool, both of which are integrally formed of a synthetic resin insulating material. C is a male terminal, which is crimp-connected to the end of the electric wire W.

The connector housing A is formed as a female housing in which a hood 2 for receiving a mating connector housing (not shown) is formed at the front of a housing body 1.

Inside the housing body 1, a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 3, each open at both ends, are formed in two stages, upper and lower, with a partition wall 4 interposed therebetween. It is provided. In addition, the ceiling wall (housing outer peripheral wall) 6 of each accommodation chamber 3
is provided with a flexible insertion detection arm 7 for the male terminal C, and is provided with a window 8 facing the arm 7.

As shown in FIG. 4, an appropriate gap Q is provided between the insertion detection arm 7 and the hood 2. Note that the front end opening 3a of the terminal accommodating chamber 3 is formed to have a small diameter to prevent the male terminal C from slipping out from the front.

The insertion detection arm 7 rises from the ceiling wall 6 and extends forward through the board 7a with an appropriate distance P between it and the wall surface, and its tip reaches the rear end of the hood 2 (FIG. 2). window 8
is open from the rising base 7a of the arm 7 to the rear end of the hood 2 to communicate with a plurality of adjacent terminal accommodating chambers 3.

The terminal locking tool B connects the window 8 to a plate-shaped main body 9 of a cold size.
A plurality of insertion pieces 10 are provided at the front end of the terminal corresponding to each terminal accommodation chamber 3.
At the same time, a locking piece 11 is provided protruding from the rear end, and an incomplete insertion prevention piece 1 (to be described later) of the terminal C is provided on the lower surface of the main body 9.
It has a structure in which a pair of stoppers 12 protrudingly engage with the stoppers 5.

The male terminal C is integrally formed by punching and bending a thin sheet metal, and has a tab-shaped electrical contact portion C3 for a female terminal (not shown) at the front end of the substrate portion 13, a wire connection portion C2 at the rear end,
A rectangular cylindrical reinforcing portion C1 is achieved in the middle portion. In the reinforcing portion C3, a locking hole 14 is provided in the base plate portion 13, and incomplete insertion prevention pieces 15 are provided upright on both sides substantially above the hole 14.

As shown in FIG. 3, the outer diameter D0 of the insertion detection arm 7
is smaller than the inner radius between the pair of incomplete insertion prevention pieces 15 and 15, so that the terminal C can freely move forward and backward even with the presence of the arm 7. In addition, the stopper 12 of the terminal locking tool B is located at the normal position of the male terminal C, which will be described later.
It is provided at a position in contact with the incomplete insertion prevention piece 15.

Next, the operation of completely inserting the male terminal C by the terminal locking tool B will be explained.

In FIG. 4a, the male terminal C is completely inserted into the upper terminal housing chamber 3 and is in the normal position, and the locking protrusion 5 on the bottom wall 4 of the housing chamber is engaged with the locking hole 14. It is primarily locked.

In this state, insert the insertion piece 10 at the tip of the terminal locking tool B in a downwardly inclined position from slightly behind the window 8 into the gap Q between the insertion detection arm 7 and the hood 2, and use it as a fulcrum to move it downward. When pressed so as to rotate, the lock piece 11 at the rear end rides over the rear edge 8a of the window 8 by its tapered guide lla and reaches the lower surface of the window 8, and is locked as shown in FIG. 4.

In this locked state, the stopper 12 of the terminal locking tool B comes into contact with the rear end of the incomplete insertion prevention piece 15, so that the terminal C is secondarily locked against backward withdrawal.

In FIG. 4a, as shown in the lower terminal housing chamber 3, if the terminal C is not fully inserted, the bottom surface of the terminal C (
Since the board portion 3) rides on the locking protrusion 5, the terminal C is tilted toward the window 8 side. As a result, the flexible insertion detection arm 7 also tilts toward the window 8, making the gap Q cold and easily discernable from the outside.

In this case, since it is noticed that the insertion piece 10 does not fit into the gap Q, the terminal locking tool B is placed in a predetermined inclined position (R), that is, the insertion detection arm 7 is placed on the bottom wall 4 side with the tip of the insertion piece 10. When inserted while pressing, the stopper 12 abuts against the rear end of the incomplete insertion prevention piece 15, and the male terminal C is advanced. As a result, when the male terminal C reaches the normal position, the 1
Since it will be locked next, the terminal locking tool B will also be locked.

In this way, even if the male terminal C is incompletely inserted, the insertion state can be corrected to the normal position by attaching the terminal locking tool B to the window 8, and the work can be done in one operation. Enough.

It is preferable that the terminal locking tool B is integrally connected to the connector housing A by an elongated hinge 16, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG.

Although an example of a female connector housing that accommodates a male terminal C has been described above, the terminal locking tool B can be similarly applied to a female connector housing that accommodates a female terminal.

Further, the locking means of the terminal locking tool B with respect to the connector housing A is not limited to the structure of locking with the lock piece 11 or the rear edge 8a of the window. Known means such as providing lock grooves on both side walls of the housing body 1 to engage with the lock pieces can be adopted for the lock pieces.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, by attaching the terminal locking tool for double locking the terminal to the window of the connector housing, incomplete insertion of the terminal is automatically corrected and the terminal is completely inserted. It can be placed in the inserted state. As a result, work efficiency is greatly improved compared to conventional products, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of defective products due to oversight or the like.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the electrical connector according to the present invention with the terminal locking tool removed; Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the insertion detection arm seen from the back side; Fig. 3 is the same insertion detection arm; An enlarged perspective view showing the mutual relationship between the stopper of the terminal locking device and the piece for preventing incomplete insertion of the male terminal; Figures 4a and 4b are cross-sectional views showing the operating state of the electrical connector in Figure 1; Figure 5a , b are sectional views each showing the operating state of a conventional electrical connector. A... Connector housing, B... Terminal locking tool, C
... Male terminal, 3 ... Terminal accommodation chamber, 5 ... Locking projection, 7 ... Insertion detection arm, 8 ... Window, 10 ... Insertion piece, 11 ... Lock piece, 12...Stopper, 1
4... Locking hole, 15... Incomplete insertion prevention piece, 16.
...Hinge. 7- Insertion rhythm mam 2nd

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) An electrical connector having a structure in which a locking protrusion that engages with a locking hole of a terminal inserted in a proper position is provided on the bottom wall of a terminal accommodating chamber of a connector housing to prevent the terminal from coming out later, the terminal Incomplete insertion prevention pieces are erected on both sides of the terminal storage chamber, and a flexible insertion detection arm that allows the entry of the prevention pieces is provided on the ceiling wall of the terminal storage chamber, and a window facing the arm is provided, and a window that faces the arm is installed. A terminal locking tool is provided, and the locking tool is provided with a stopper for an incomplete insertion prevention piece, and when the terminal is in a halfway inserted state where it rides on the locking protrusion of the terminal accommodating chamber, the terminal locking tool is inserted into the window. 1. An electrical connector characterized in that when the terminal is attached to the terminal, the stopper engages with an incomplete insertion prevention piece to move the terminal to a normal position. (2) The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the terminal locking device has a plug-in piece at one end that engages with one side edge of the window. (3) The electrical connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the terminal locking device is connected to the connector housing by an elongated hinge band.