Patent Application
20080009186
A connector in accordance with the invention is described with reference to
The male housing 60 is made e.g. of a synthetic resin and, although not shown in detail, includes a substantially tubular receptacle 61, as shown in
The female housing 10 is made e.g. of a synthetic resin and has a tower 11 capable of accommodating female terminal fittings (not shown). A fitting tube 12 surrounds the tower 11, as shown in
A pivotally displaceable resilient lock arm 15 is coupled to the upper wall of the tower 11 via a support 16. As shown in
A bulge 18 extends up and out on the upper wall of the fitting tube 2 and an accommodation space for the lock arm 15 is defined inside the bulge 18. A rearwardly open escaping recess 19 is formed in the bulge 18, and the lock arm 15 is exposed through the escaping recess 19. Receiving grooves 21 extend in forward and backward directions FBD in the inner surface of the fitting tube 12 and receive the guide ribs 64 of the receptacle 61.
Locks 22 extend substantially along inner walls of the cavities 14 in the tower 11. Each lock 22 is cantilevered forward from a rear end that is connected with the inner wall of the cavity 14, and is resiliently deformable up and down in a direction intersecting an insertion direction of the terminal fittings into the cavities 14. A locking projection 23 is formed near the free front end of the lock 22 and projects towards the cavity 14. Mold removal spaces 24 are left in the front wall of the tower 11 as the locks 22 are formed, and front-stop walls 25 for the terminal fittings are formed for the respective cavities 14 adjacent to the mold removal spaces 24. Upper parts of the terminal fittings contact the rear surfaces of the front-stop walls 25. Each front-stop wall 25 has a tab insertion opening 26, and a slanted surface 27 is formed at the front surface of the opening edge for guiding the male tab.
The outer peripheral surface of the tower 11 is recessed slightly to form a facing surface to be covered by the surrounding wall 32 of the front holder 13, and a seal (not shown) made of resilient material (such as rubber or gelatinous material) is mounted to a rear part of the facing surface. The seal is sandwiched in forward and backward directions FBD between the rear end of the front holder 13 and a step formed in the tower 11. The seal 15 closely contacts the inner peripheral surface of the receptacle 61 and the outer peripheral surface of the tower 11 when the housings 10, 60 are connected to provide fluid- or watertight sealing between the housings 10, 60.
The front holder 13 is made e.g. of a synthetic resin and has a front wall 31 for covering the front of the tower 11 to form at least part of front ends of the cavities 14. The surrounding wall 32 projects back from the peripheral edge of the front wall 31 and covers the outer peripheral surface of the tower 11, as shown in
The tab insertion openings 26 of the front holder 13 and of the front-stop walls 25 become substantially continuous in the circumferential direction, as shown in
A deformation preventing portion 35 projects back from the rear surface of the front wall 31 of the front holder 13 at a position below the respective window holes 33 and extends substantially in a width direction WD. The deformation preventing portion 35 projects at least partly into the mold removal spaces 24 of the tower 11 and enters deformation spaces for the locks 22 to hinder deformation of the locks 22 when the front holder 13 is mounted properly. Accordingly, the properly inserted terminal fittings are locked primarily in the cavities 14 by the locks 22 and are locked secondarily by the deformation preventing portion 35 to achieve double locking.
The surrounding wall 32 of the front holder 13 has two opposed wide planar panels 36 and two opposed arcuate panels 37 that extend between opposite sides of the planar panels 36. The planar panels 36 have a thickness substantially equal to the height of the step of the tower 11 and extend straight in the width direction WD. Two locking arms 38 project in at intermediate height positions of the arcuate panels 37. The locking arms 38 are resiliently deformable in and out, and hold the front holder 13 at a partial locking position and a full locking position on the tower portion 11 by engaging locking areas of the tower 11. The front wall 31 is spaced forward from the front surface of the tower 11 when the front holder 13 is at the partial locking position and the deformation preventing portion 35 is retracted from the deformation spaces for the locks 22. Thus, the locks 22 can deform and the terminal fittings can be inserted into the cavities 14. On the other hand, the front wall 31 contacts the front surface of the tower 11 and the deformation preventing portion 35 enters the deformation spaces for the locks 22 from the front when the front holder 13 is pushed from the partial locking position to the full locking position. Thus, the locks 22 cannot deform and the terminal fittings are locked doubly. In other words, the front holder 13 also functions as a retainer.
Inner projections 43 project in from spaced apart positions on the inner peripheral surface of the surrounding wall 32 of the front holder 13. Outer projections 45 project out from spaced apart positions on the outer peripheral surface of the surrounding wall 32 of the front holder 13. The inner and outer projections 43, 45 are substantially flat trapezoidal ribs that extend in forward and backward directions FBD over substantially the entire length of the surrounding wall 32, as shown in
Two upper inner projections 43 and two lower inner projections 43 are arranged substantially symmetrically on the planar panels 36 of the surrounding wall 32 at opposite sides of the widthwise centers, and left and right inner projections 43 are arranged substantially in the centers of the arcuate panels 37 of the surrounding wall 32 in height direction. The outer projections 45 are arranged similar to the inner projections 43 and have a substantially back-to-back relationship with the inner projections 43 with the surrounding wall 32 therebetween. The inner and outer projections 43, 45 provided on the wide planar panels 36 are arranged at substantially the same positions as the widthwise centers of the inner two cavities 14 with respect to the width direction WD when the front holder 13 is in its mounted state. Thus, the inner projections 43 on the wide planar panels 36 can be seen through the windows 33 from the front.
The terminal fittings are inserted into the cavities 14 of the tower 11 from behind with the front holder 13 held at the partial locking position. As a result, the locks 22 engage and hold the terminal fittings that have been inserted properly. The front holder 13 then is pushed to the full locking position. As a result, the deformation preventing portion 35 of the front holder 13 prevents deformation of the locks 22 to lock the terminal fittings redundantly. The leading end surfaces of the inner projections 43 of the surrounding wall 32 contact the outer peripheral surface of the tower 11 (contact state is shown in
The tower 11 having the front holder 13 mounted thereon can be fit into the mating receptacle 61 to a proper depth. As a result, the male tabs in the receptacle 61 enter the cavities 14 through the tab insertion openings 26 and connect electrically with the terminal fittings in the cavities 14. At this time, the terminal fittings and the mating male tabs have their contact positions substantially in the widthwise centers of the respective cavities 14, and these widthwise centers of the cavities 14 are at substantially the same positions as the widthwise centers of the locks 22 with respect to the width direction WD. The leading end surfaces of the outer projections 45 of the surrounding wall 32 contact the inner peripheral surface of the receptacle 61 (contact state is shown in
The terminal fittings and the male tabs could slide against each other and displace their connection positions within the range of a clearance between the receptacle 61 and the tower 11, if the entire connector is vibrated while the housings 10, 60 are connected. This sliding movement could result in an unreliable connection between the terminal fittings and male tabs. However, the front holder 13 is interposed between the receptacle 61 and the tower 11, and clearances to the outer peripheral surface of the tower 11 are filled by the inner projections 43 on the inner peripheral surface of the surrounding wall 32 of the front holder 13. Similarly, clearances to the inner peripheral surface of the receptacle 61 are filled by the outer projections 45 on the outer peripheral surface of the surrounding wall 32 of the front holder 13. Thus, loose movements of the front holder 13 and the tower 11 in the receptacle 61 are prevented, and relative positions of the receptacle 61 and the tower 11 are kept constant to avoid sliding movements of the terminal fittings.
The inner and outer projections 43 and 45 on the front holder 13 prevent the front holder 13 and the tower 11 from shaking in the receptacle 61. More particularly, the front holder 13 is interposed between the receptacle 61 and the tower 11 and the clearances between the receptacle 61 and the tower 11 are filled substantially by the inner and outer projections 43 and 45 projecting from the inner and outer peripheral surfaces of the front holder 13. Thus, as compared to the case where shake preventing projections project from only one of the receptacle 61 and the tower 11 toward the other, the projecting distances of the inner and outer projections 43 and 45 are reduced remarkably. As a result, the inner and outer projections 43 and 45 are stronger and surface sinks or the like during the molding can be prevented.
The inner and outer projections 43 and 45 are arranged to have a substantially back-to-back relationship (e.g. radial alignment) with the surrounding wall 32 therebetween. Thus, rigidity is improved in these parts of the surrounding wall 32, and the surrounding wall 32 is less likely to deform plastically upon the exertion of an external force.
The inner and outer projections 43, 45 on the wide planar panels 36 of the surrounding wall 32 of the front holder 13 are arranged at substantially the same positions as the widthwise centers of the cavities 14 with respect to the width direction WD and substantially at the contact positions of the terminal fittings. Thus, loose movements of the tower 11 in the receptacle 16 can be suppressed at positions close to the contact positions of the both terminal fittings to maintain the connection reliability of the both terminal fittings.
The invention is not limited to the above described and illustrated embodiment. For example, the following embodiments are also embraced by the technical scope of the present invention as defined by the claims. Beside the following embodiments, various changes can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the claims.
The front holder has the deformation preventing portion in the foregoing embodiment and functions as a retainer. However, the front holder may only function to form part of the front surface portions of the cavities without including the deformation preventing portion.
The inner and outer projections are ribs that extend substantially over the length of the surrounding wall of the front holder in the foregoing embodiment. However, the inner and outer projection may have short lengths in forward and backward directions FBD according to the invention.
The inner and outer projections are in back-to-back relationship in the foregoing embodiment. However, they may be displaced in the width direction WD with the surrounding wall therebetween.
Inner and outer projections are arranged substantially at the contact positions of the terminal fittings with respect to the width direction WD in the foregoing embodiment. However, only the inner or the outer projections may be arranged at the contact positions of the both terminal fittings with respect to the width direction according to the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-184706 | Jul 2006 | JP | national |
