The present disclosure relates to a connector.
Conventionally, a connector is known from Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2010-170723. This connector is a connector including two first and second connector housings to be stacked and united with each other, the second connector housing is integrally formed with a connector front wall for closing the front ends of terminal accommodation chambers of the first connector housing, and terminal insertion openings open in that connector front wall are separated from the fronts of first terminals and located in front of first locking lances for locking the first terminals when the both connector housings are held at a partial locking position.
In the above connector, the position of the connector front wall relative to the terminal insertion openings when the both connector housings are held at the partial locking position and that when the both connector housings are held at full locking position are shifted. Thus, the first terminals cannot be accommodated inside the connector front wall. As a result, there has been a problem that a length of the connector is increased by the connector front wall.
The present disclosure was completed on the basis of the above situation and aims to reduce the size of a connector in a front-rear direction.
The present disclosure is directed to a connector with a connector housing formed with a first cavity extending in a front-rear direction, a first terminal accommodated in the first cavity, a front mask to be attached to a front end part of the connector housing, and a lid member to be mounted on an upper surface of the connector housing, wherein the front mask is attached to the connector housing from above, the lid member at least partially covers an upper surface of the front mask, the front mask includes a front cavity extending in the front-rear direction, and a front end part of the first terminal is accommodated in the front cavity.
According to the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the size of a connector in a front-rear direction.
First, embodiments of the present disclosure are listed and described.
(1) The connector of the present disclosure is provided with a connector housing formed with a first cavity extending in a front-rear direction, a first terminal accommodated in the first cavity, a front mask to be attached to a front end part of the connector housing, and a lid member to be mounted on an upper surface of the connector housing, wherein the front mask is attached to the connector housing from above, the lid member at least partially covers an upper surface of the front mask, the front mask includes a front cavity extending in the front-rear direction, and a front end part of the first terminal is accommodated in the front cavity.
Since the lid member at least partially covers the upper surface of the front mask, upward detachment of the front mask is suppressed.
Since the front end part of the first terminal is accommodated in the front cavity, a length in the front-rear direction of the connector housing can be shortened. In this way, the connector can be reduced in size in the front-rear direction.
(2) Preferably, a first terminal retainer insertion recess open upward and communicating with the first cavity is provided in an upper wall of the connector housing, the lid member is provided with a first terminal retainer portion projecting downward, and the first terminal retainer portion enters the first terminal retainer insertion recess and the first cavity to lock the first terminal accommodated in the first cavity with the lid member assembled with the connector housing.
Since the first terminal can be locked by the lid member, it is not necessary to provide a retainer for the first terminal. In this way, the number of components of the connector can be reduced.
(3) Preferably, the lid member is formed with a second cavity extending in the front-rear direction and a second terminal different from the first terminal is accommodated in the second cavity.
Since the second terminal can be accommodated in the lid member, the number of the terminals capable of being accommodated in the connector can be increased as a whole.
(4) Preferably, the lid member is provided with a second terminal retainer insertion recess open downward and communicating with the second cavity, a second terminal retainer portion projecting upward is provided on an upper wall of the connector housing, and the second terminal retainer portion enters the second terminal retainer insertion recess and the second cavity to lock the second terminal accommodated in the second cavity with the lid member assembled with the connector housing.
Since the second terminal can be locked by the second terminal retainer portion, it is not necessary to provide a retainer for the second terminal. In this way, the number of components of the connector can be reduced.
(5) Preferably, a lock portion to be engaged with a mating connector is provided on an upper surface of the lid member.
Since the lid member is provided with the lock portion, the connector and the mating connector can be engaged.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure are described. The present disclosure is not limited to these illustrations and is intended to be represented by claims and include all changes in the scope of claims and in the meaning and scope of equivalents.
A first embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to
[Connector Housing 11]
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The extending wall 20 is formed with a front engaging recess 23 recessed inwardly from a widthwise (lateral) outer side near a substantially vertical center. The front engaging recess 23 communicates with the engaging groove 21. An engaging claw 24 of the front mask 13 is engaged with an opening edge part of this front engaging recess 23 from below.
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[Front Mask 13]
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[First Terminal 12]
As shown in
A tubular connecting tube portion 41 to be connected to an unillustrated mating terminal is provided in front of the wire barrel 40. A resiliently deformable resilient piece 42 is disposed inside the connecting tube portion 41. The mating terminal inserted into the connecting tube portion 41 from front is sandwiched between the resilient piece 42 and an inner wall of the connecting tube portion 41, whereby the mating terminal and the first terminal 12 are electrically connected.
The connecting tube portion 41 is in the form of a rectangular tube extending in the front-rear direction. The locking hole 18 penetrates through the upper wall of the connecting tube portion 41. A tip part of the first locking lance 17 is locked to a hole edge part of the locking hole 18 from behind, whereby the first terminal 12 is held in the first cavity 16 with a rearward movement restricted.
A front end part of the connecting tube portion 41 formed in the first terminal 12 is located in the front cavity 35 of the front mask 13 assembled with the connector housing 11.
[Lid Member 14]
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[First Terminal Retainer Portion 48]
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[Second Terminal 15]
As shown in
A tubular connecting tube portion 51 to be connected to an unillustrated mating terminal is provided in front of the wire barrel 50. A resiliently deformable resilient piece 52 is disposed inside the connecting tube portion 51. A mating terminal inserted into the connecting tube portion 51 from front is sandwiched between the resilient piece 52 and an inner wall of the connecting tube portion 51, whereby the mating terminal and the second terminal 15 are electrically connected.
The connecting tube portion 51 is in the form of a rectangular tube extending in the front-rear direction. The locking hole 46 penetrates through the lower wall of the connecting tube portion 51. A tip part of the second locking lance 45 is locked to a hole edge part of the locking hole 46 from behind, whereby the second terminal 15 is held in the second cavity 28 with a rearward movement restricted.
[Locking Pieces 34]
As shown in
The locking groove 33 is formed to extend forward from a rear end part of the locking piece 34 in the laterally inner surface of each locking piece 34. The locking groove 33 extends up to a position somewhat behind the front end of the locking piece 34. The inner shape of the locking groove 33 is formed such that the partial locking portion 31 and the full locking portion 32 formed in the connector housing 11 are fittable thereinto.
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[Assembling Process of Connector 10]
Next, an assembling process of the connector 10 according to this embodiment is described. First, the front mask 13 is assembled with the front end part of the connector housing 11. The side guide ribs 22 of the front mask 13 are inserted into the engaging grooves 21 of the connector housing 11 from above, and the rear guide ribs 26 of the front mask 13 are inserted into the guide grooves 25 of the connector housing 11 from above. The engaging claws 24 of the side guide ribs 22 are engaged with the opening edge parts of the front engaging recesses 23 of the connector housing 11 from below, whereby the front mask 13 is so assembled with the connector housing 11 as not to come off upward. The guide grooves 25 of the front mask 13 come into contact with the inner walls of the engaging grooves 21 from front or behind, whereby the front mask 13 is positioned in the front-rear direction with respect to the connector housing 11. The rear guide ribs 26 of the front mask 13 come into contact with the inner walls of the guide grooves 25 from left or right, whereby the front mask 13 is positioned in the lateral direction with respect to the connector housing 11.
Subsequently, the lid member 14 is assembled with the connector housing 11 from above. The locking pieces 34 of the lid member 14 are inserted into the insertion holes 30 of the connector housing 11 from above. By fitting the partial locking portions 31 into the locking grooves 33 of the locking pieces 34, the partial locking portions 31 are locked to the inner walls of the locking grooves 33. In this way, the lid member 14 is held at the partial locking position with respect to the connector housing 11 (see
With the lid member 14 held at the partial locking position with respect to the connector housing 11, the first terminals 12 are inserted into the first cavities 16 of the connector housing 11 from behind. With the lid member 14 held at the partial locking position with respect to the connector housing 11, the first terminal retainer portion 48 is located at a position not to interfere with the first terminals 12 being inserted into the first cavities 16 from behind.
If the first terminal 12 is inserted into the first cavity 16 from behind, the first locking lance 17 contacts the connecting tube portion 41 of the first terminal 12 and is resiliently deformed upward. If the first terminal 12 is further pushed forward, the first locking lance 17 is resiliently restored and locked to the hole edge part of the locking hole 18 of the first terminal 12 from behind. At this time, the front end part of the connecting tube portion 41 of the first terminal 12 is in the front cavity 35 of the front mask 13.
With the lid member 14 held at the partial locking position with respect to the connector housing 11, the second terminals 15 are inserted into the second cavities 28 of the lid member 14 from behind. With the lid member 14 held at the partial locking position with respect to the connector housing 11, the second terminal retainer portions 27 are located at positions not to interfere with the second terminals 15 being inserted into the second cavities 28 from behind.
If the second terminal 15 is inserted into the second cavity 28 from behind, the second locking lance 45 contacts the connecting tube portion 51 of the second terminal 15 and is resiliently deformed downward. If the second terminal 15 is further pushed forward, the second locking lance 45 is resiliently restored and locked to the hole edge part of the locking hole 46 of the second terminal 15 from behind.
The lid member 14 moves downward by being pressed downward. The locking pieces 34 of the lid member 14 come into contact with the full locking portions 32 of the connector housing 11 from above, thereby being resiliently deformed outward in the lateral direction. If the lid member 14 is further pushed down, the locking pieces 34 are resiliently restored and the full locking portions 32 are fit into the locking grooves 33 of the locking pieces 34. In this way, the full locking portions 32 are locked to the inner walls of the locking grooves 33 and the lid member 14 is held at the full locking position with respect to the connector housing 11 (see
With the lid member 14 held at the full locking position with respect to the connector housing 11, the first terminal retainer portion 48 enters the first cavities 16 and is disposed at a position rearward of the rear end parts of the connecting tube portions 41 of the first terminals 12. In this way, when the first terminal 12 is pulled rearward via the wire 36, the first terminal retainer portion 48 locks the rear end part of the connecting tube portion 41 of the first terminal 12 from behind, whereby the first terminal 12 is prevented from coming out rearward.
Further, with the lid member 14 held at the full locking position with respect to the connector housing 11, the second terminal retainer portions 27 enter the second cavities 28 and are disposed at positions rearward of the rear end parts of the connecting tube portions 51 of the second terminals 15. In this way, when the second terminal 15 is pulled rearward via the wire 36, the second terminal retainer portion 27 locks the rear end part of the connecting tube portion 51 of the second terminal 15 from behind, whereby the second terminal 15 is prevented from coming out rearward.
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[Functions and Effects of Embodiment]
Next, functions and effects of this embodiment are described. The connector 10 according to this embodiment includes the connector housing 11 formed with the first cavities 16 extending in the front-rear direction, the first terminals 12 accommodated in the first cavities 16, the front mask 13 to be attached to the front end part of the connector housing 11 and the lid member 14 to be mounted on the upper surface of the connector housing 11, the front mask 13 is attached to the connector housing 11 from above, the lid member 14 at least partially covers the upper surface of the front mask 13, the front mask 13 includes the front cavities 35 extending in the front-rear direction, and the front end parts of the first terminals 12 are accommodated in the front cavities 35.
Since the lid member 14 at least partially covers the upper surface of the front mask 13, upward detachment of the front mask 13 is suppressed.
Since the front end parts of the first terminals 12 are accommodated in the front cavities 35, a length in the front-rear direction of the connector housing 11 can be shortened. In this way, the connector 10 can be reduced in size in the front-rear direction.
According to this embodiment, the first terminal retainer insertion recess 19 open upward and communicating with the first cavities 16 is provided in the upper wall of the connector housing 11, the lid member 14 is provided with the first terminal retainer portion 48 projecting downward, and the first terminal retainer portion 48 enters the first terminal retainer insertion recess 19 and the first cavities 16 to lock the first terminals 12 accommodated in the first cavities 16 with the lid member 14 assembled with the connector housing 11.
Since the first terminals 12 can be locked by the lid member 14, it is not necessary to provide a retainer for the first terminals 12. In this way, the number of components of the connector 10 can be reduced.
According to this embodiment, the lid member 14 is formed with the second cavities 28 extending in the front-rear direction, and the second terminals 15 different from the first terminals 12 are accommodated in the second cavities 28.
Since the second terminals 15 can be accommodated in the lid member 14, the number of the terminals capable of being accommodated in the connector 10 can be increased as a whole.
According to this embodiment, the lid member 14 is provided with the second terminal retainer insertion recesses 47 open downward and communicating with the second cavities 28, the second terminal retainer portions 27 projecting upward are provided on the upper wall of the connector housing 11, and the second terminal retainer portions 27 enter the second terminal retainer insertion recesses 47 and the second cavities 28 to lock the second terminals 15 accommodated in the second cavities 28 with the lid member 14 assembled with the connector housing 11.
Since the second terminals 15 can be locked by the second terminal retainer portions 27, it is not necessary to provide a retainer for the second terminals 15. In this way, the number of components of the connector 10 can be reduced.
According to this embodiment, the lock portion 44 to be engaged with the mating connector is provided on the upper surface of the lid member 14.
Since the lid member 14 is provided with the lock portion 44, the connector 10 and the mating connector can be engaged.
Next, a connector 60 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to
[Connector Housing 61]
As shown in
As described above, the connector housing 61 is formed with the rows of the first cavities 16 arranged in the lateral direction in three upper, middle and lower stages. In this embodiment, twelve first cavities 16 are arranged in the lateral direction in each of the rows of the first cavities 16 in the middle and lower stages.
In this embodiment, six first cavities 16 are arranged in the upper stage. The six first cavities 16 include three first cavities 16 formed side by side in the housing side projecting portion 64 formed in the left end part of the connector housing 61 and three first cavities 16 formed side by side in the housing side projecting portion 64 formed in the right end part.
[Front Mask 62]
As shown in
Front cavities 66 are also formed at positions corresponding to the first cavities 16 formed in the middle and lower stages, out of the first cavities 16 formed in the connector housing 61, in a part of the front mask 62 below the front mask side projecting portions 65. Front end parts of connecting tube portions 41 of the first terminals 12 are located in these front cavities 66.
[Lid Member 63]
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Since the configuration other than the above is substantially similar to that of the first embodiment, the same members are denoted by the same reference signs and repeated description is omitted.
According to this embodiment, since the lid member 63 covers the upper surface of the front mask 62, upward detachment of the front mask 62 is suppressed.
Since front end parts of the first terminals 12 are accommodated in the front cavities 66, a length in the front-rear direction of the connector housing 61 can be shortened. In this way, the connector 60 can be reduced in size in the front-rear direction.
(1) The connector housing may be provided with a plurality of cavities arranged in a row in the lateral direction only in one stage, or rows of cavities in four or more stages may be provided to overlap in the vertical direction.
(2) Although the second cavities 28 are arranged laterally in a row in the lid member 14 according to the first embodiment, there is no limitation to this and the lid member 14 may be provided with second cavities 28 overlapping in two or more stages in the vertical direction.
(3) Although the lid member 14, 63 according to the first and second embodiments is configured to cover the upper surface of the front mask 13, 62, there is no limitation to this. A part of the upper surface of the front mask 13, 62 may be covered by the lid member 14, 63 and another part may be exposed.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2019-234543 | Dec 2019 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2020/045606 | 12/8/2020 | WO |