Side spacer structure in connector

The present invention is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-309934, which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a side spacer in a connector and more particularly to a side spacer structure in a connector, which structure is designed so that a connecting terminal can easily be fitted into a terminal receiving chamber when the connecting terminal is fitted into the chamber.

2. Description of the Related Art

As shown in

FIG. 6

, a conventional female connecting terminal

1

has a contact portion

1

a,

which is the one molded into the form of a case by bending a copper alloy sheet. As shown in

FIG. 7

, further, convex portions

1

b

formed by bending the respective end portions of the sheet are formed on the upper surface of the contact portion

1

a.

The female connecting terminal

1

is fitted into a terminal receiving chamber

2

a

formed in a housing body

2

. Then the front end projection

2

c

of a lance

2

b

formed in the terminal receiving chamber

2

a

is joined to the convex portions

1

b

whereby to hold the female connecting terminal

1

in the housing body

2

with the connecting terminal

1

prevented from slipping off.

However, with progress in reducing the size of equipment, there has developed a demand for reduction in the size of connectors themselves. In the case of the conventional connector as described above, it is hardly easy to manufacture such a housing body

2

and a female connecting terminal

1

that are smaller in size. Particularly as the lance

2

b

and the convex portions

1

b

are being rendered extremely small in size, a problem resulting from this arrangement is that molding the lance

2

b

as well as forming the convex portions

1

b

through bending work is difficult.

Further, as an area where the lance

2

b

and the convex portions

1

b

are joined together is on the decrease with a reduction in their size, the joining force tends to become deficient. In case where pulling-out force acts on the female connecting terminal

1

, the lance

2

b

made of synthetic resin having a small retaining margin is scraped with the convex portions

1

b

. Another problem resulting from the arrangement above is that the female connecting terminal

1

may incompletely be retained in the housing body

2

.

Still another problem resulting from the arrangement above is that it is difficult to ensure that a male connecting terminal is connected to the female connecting terminal

1

.

In order to provide sufficient joining force, moreover, though a proposal has been made to increase an area where the female connecting terminal

1

is joined to the lance

2

b

by forming a large projection on the female connecting terminal

1

, fitting the female connecting terminal

1

into the housing body

2

tends to become difficult because the projection constitutes an obstacle to the fitting operation, whereby it is hardly easy to form a sufficiently large projection on a small female connecting terminal

1

.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a side spacer structure in a connector so that a connecting terminal can easily be fitted into a housing body and that by securely retaining the connecting terminal inside, the connector is prevented from being fitted in halfway.

(1) A side spacer structure in a connector according to the invention, comprises

a connector housing having at least one of terminal receiving chambers in each of which a terminal is accommodated;

the terminal including a first corner portion which is located at a tip end on an upper surface of the terminal in an inserting direction thereof into the connector housing and a second corner portion which is located on an upper surface of a tentative retaining projection projecting from the upper surface of the terminal; and

a side spacer mounted in the connector housing from a side thereof;

the side spacer including

an outer member having a U-shape,

a branch plate projecting from the outer member in a direction in which the side spacer is inserted to the connector housing, the branch plate provided with a tentative retention lance for temporarily retaining the terminal inserted into the terminal receiving chambers from a fitting side of the connector housing, and

a securing portion for securing the terminal in a state for operation;

wherein an inclination angle of a side edge of the tentative retention lance is greater than an angle of formed between an imaginary line connecting the first corner portion and the second corner portion and the inserting direction of the terminal into the connector housing.

With the above arrangement of the side spacer structure in the connector, the first corner portion of the upper surface at the tip end of the connecting terminal invariably abuts the underside of the tentative retaining lance, which causes the tentative retention lance to be bent upward and fitted in against the generated resilient force when the connecting terminal is inserted into the housing body. The connecting terminal is fitted in while making the tentative retention lance slide on the flat upper surface of the connecting terminal.

Therefore, the insertion resistance of the connecting terminal is set such that the connecting terminal can easily be fitted in with a constant sliding resistance until the tip end of the connecting terminal comes to contact the mating wall of the housing body upon completion of the insertion of the connecting terminal. The completion of the insertion can surely be decided by a sharp increase in the insertion resistance derived from the contact of the connecting terminal with the mating wall of the housing body, whereby the connecting terminal is prevented from being fitted in halfway.

(2) A side spacer structure in a connector according to the invention, the tentative lance may include a terminal abutting portion provided on the side edge thereof,

wherein the tip end of the connecting terminal comes to contact the terminal abutting portion when the connecting terminal is inserted.

With the above arrangement of the side spacer structure, the terminal abutting portion is provided in at least one side edge of the tentative retention lance. As the tip end of the connecting terminal invariably contacts the terminal abutting portion and makes the tentative retention lance bend upward when the connecting terminal is inserted, the tentative retaining projection formed on the upper surface of the connecting terminal can be inserted without contacting the tentative retention lance. Thus, the connecting terminal can easily be fitted in since the insertion resistance remains unchanged, so that terminal insertability is greatly improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a side spacer structure in a connector embodying the invention;

FIG. 2

is a perspective view of a connecting terminal retained securely with a side spacer of

FIG. 1

;

FIG. 3

is a partially exploded vertical sectional view of the side spacer of

FIG. 1

in a temporarily retained condition;

FIG. 4

is a partially exploded vertical sectional view of the side spacer of

FIG. 1

in a finally secured condition;

FIG. 5

is a diagram explanatory of a condition in which the side spacer and the connecting terminal are in contact with each other;

FIG. 6

is a vertical sectional view showing a conventional connector structure; and

FIG. 7

is a vertical sectional view of a connecting terminal in FIG.

6

.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A description will now be given of a side spacer structure in a connector embodying the invention with reference to

FIGS. 1

to

5

.

FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a side spacer structure in a connector embodying the invention;

FIG. 2

, a perspective view of a connecting terminal retained securely with a side spacer of

FIG. 1

;

FIG. 3

, a partially exploded vertical sectional view of the side spacer of

FIG. 1

in a temporarily retained condition;

FIG. 4

, a partially exploded vertical sectional view of the side spacer of

FIG. 1

in a finally secured condition; and

FIG. 5

, a diagram explanatory of a condition in which the side spacer and the connecting terminal are in contact with each other.

The connector applied according to this embodiment of the invention has a side spacer

30

, a housing body

40

and a female terminal

50

, the side spacer

30

being fitted into the housing body

40

from its side portion. More specifically, the side spacer

30

is attached by insertion to the temporary retaining position of the housing body

40

beforehand and the female terminal

50

is fitted into a terminal receiving chamber

41

and then the side spacer

30

is forced into the final retaining position. Thus, the female terminal

50

fitted into the terminal receiving chamber

41

is finally secured inside and prevented from slipping off the housing body

40

.

As shown in

FIG. 1

, the side spacer

30

is formed by injection-molding synthetic resin and two branch plates

32

are projected in parallel from the U-shaped base portion of an outer member

31

that is U-shaped in cross section toward the open end of the side spacer

30

. When the side spacer

30

is fitted into the housing body

40

, plate-like lances

35

for temporarily retaining terminals and block-like securing portions

36

for securing the terminals are alternately formed and projected from the respective branch plates

32

, the lances

35

being formed so as to gradually tilt downward toward the front end

42

of the housing body

40

.

When the lance

35

for temporarily retaining the terminal is fitted into the housing body

40

, the lance

35

is provided such that it is projected from the branch plate

32

on a side close to the front end

42

of the housing body

40

. The securing portion

36

for securing the terminal is formed on the rear end side of the housing body

40

, so that the lance

35

for temporarily retaining the terminal and the securing portion

36

for securing the terminal are disposed in a staggered manner.

On the underside of the lance

35

for temporarily retaining the terminal, a rib-shaped terminal abutting portion

38

, having a forward inclination angle β (see

FIG. 5

) is formed in one side edge. A guide rib

33

directed inward is formed at both open ends, which guide rib

33

and the mating groove

43

of the housing body

40

are retained together as will be described later, and incorporated into the housing body

40

.

As shown in

FIG. 3

, the housing body

40

is formed by injection-molding synthetic resin and provided with a plurality of terminal receiving chambers

41

(four of them as shown in FIG.

3

according to this embodiment of the invention), so that the female terminal

50

can be fitted in the direction of an arrow A from the rear end side of each terminal receiving chamber

41

. Further, a through hole

45

for receiving a male terminal (not shown) therethrough is formed in a wall provided in the front end

42

of the terminal receiving chamber

41

.

The mating groove

43

is formed on the front end side of the vertical face of the housing body

40

and a hole (not shown) for receiving the branch plate

32

of the side spacer

30

is formed on the side thereof. Moreover, an arrangement is made to incorporate the side spacer

30

into the housing body

40

by holding down the side spacer

30

with the guide rib

33

of the side spacer

30

being fitted into the mating groove

43

.

As shown in

FIG. 2

, the female terminal

50

is formed by bending a copper alloy sheet and core wires

14

b

with removal of an insulating covering

14

a

in the front end portion are clamped by a core-wire clamping portion

50

b

and the insulating covering

14

a

is contact-bonded by a covering clamping portion

50

a

whereby to connect the core wires

14

b

to an electric wire

14

. A columnar joint

50

c

is provided ahead of the core-wire clamping portion

50

b

and moreover a tentative retaining projection

51

for preventing the female terminal

50

from being fitted into the housing body

40

in error is axially formed in the center of the rear end side on the upper surface of the joint

50

c.

A temporary retaining groove

53

is formed at the rear end of the tentative retaining projection

51

on the upper surface of the joint

50

c

and a final retaining projection

52

is formed at the rear end of the temporary retaining groove

53

. Moreover, a final securing groove

58

is formed at the rear end of the final retaining projection

52

. The front end

53

a

of the temporary retaining groove

53

is mated with the lance

35

for temporarily retaining the terminal, whereas the front end

54

of the final securing groove

58

is mated with the securing portion

36

for securing the terminal.

The operation of the side spacer according to this embodiment of the invention will be described next.

As shown in

FIG. 3

, the branch plate

32

of the side spacer

30

is fitted into the hole formed in the side portion of the housing body

40

with the guide rib

33

of the side spacer

30

being fitted into the mating groove

43

of the housing body

40

. In other words, the lance

35

for temporarily retaining the terminal is caused by holding down the side spacer

30

to proceed up to a temporary retaining position wherein the lance

35

for temporarily retaining the terminal is positioned in the terminal receiving chamber

41

.

When the female terminal

50

is fitted into the terminal receiving chamber

41

in the direction of the arrow A (in the leftwise direction in

FIG. 3

) from the rear end of the housing body

40

, the tip end

55

of the female terminal

50

comes to contact the terminal abutting portion

38

of the lance

35

for temporarily retaining the terminal.

As shown in

FIG. 5

, the inclination angle β of the terminal abutting portion

38

of the side spacer

30

according to this embodiment of the invention is set greater than an angle α formed between an imaginary line L which connects the corner portion

56

of the upper surface at the tip end of the female terminal

50

and the corner portion

57

of the upper surface of the tentative retaining projection

51

and the insertion direction of the female terminal

50

into the terminal receiving chamber

41

. Therefore, the tentative retaining projection

51

never comes to contact the terminal abutting portion

38

but invariably contacts the terminal abutting portion

38

.

When the female terminal

50

is held down in the direction of the arrow A as shown in

FIG. 4

, the lance

35

for temporarily retaining the terminal bends and escapes upward against the resilient force and the terminal abutting portion

38

slides on the upper surface of the joint

50

c

and the side portion of the tentative retaining projection

51

. When the female terminal

50

is fitted in the direction of the arrow A, further, the tip end

55

of the female terminal

50

contacts the wall of the front end

42

of the housing body

40

.

In this case, the lance

35

for temporarily retaining the terminal returns from the bent condition to the original one and steps into the temporary retaining groove

53

and the female terminal

50

is temporarily retained as the front end

53

a

of the temporary retaining groove

53

joins the lance

35

for temporarily retaining the terminal.

More specifically, the terminal abutting portion

38

never contacts the tentative retaining projection

51

but is fitted in while sliding on the side portion of the tentative retaining projection during the whole process of fitting the female terminal

50

in and as constant resistance force against the insertion acts on the female terminal

50

then, so that the female terminal

50

is readily fitted into the terminal receiving chamber

41

.

When the female terminal

50

is fitted in up to the final position, moreover, the tip end

55

of the female terminal

50

comes to contact the wall of the front end

42

of the housing body

40

, thus causing resistance against the insertion to increase sharply to ensure that the completion of the fitting work is sensed.

Then the side spacer

30

is held down further to make the securing portion

36

for securing the terminal proceed up to the final retaining position where the securing portion

36

for securing the terminal is fitted into the final securing groove

58

. The female terminal

50

can thus be retained finally by joining the securing portion

36

for securing the terminal and the front end

54

of the final securing groove

58

.

Unless the female terminal

50

is not fitted in up to the final retaining position, the securing portion

36

for securing the terminal is not allowed to proceed into the final securing groove

58

. Consequently, as the side spacer

30

is sticking out of the housing body

40

sideways, it is easily and visually detectable that the female terminal

50

is fitted in incompletely, whereby the female terminal

50

is prevented from being fitted in halfway.

Moreover, as there is formed a large area where the securing portion

36

for securing the terminal is mated with the final securing groove

58

, the female terminal

50

is retained in the housing body

40

for certain even though pull-out force acts on the female terminal

50

.

Although a description has been given of the side spacer structure applied to the form of employing four female terminals

50

by way of example according to this embodiment of the invention, the structure may also be applied to a multi-female-terminal

50

.

As set forth above, with the side spacer structure in the connector according to the invention, the tip end of the connecting terminal invariably contacts the underside of the tentative retention lance, which causes the tentative retention lance to be bent upward and fitted in against the generated resilient force when the connecting terminal is fitted into the housing body. The connecting terminal is fitted in while making the tentative retention lance slide on the flat upper surface of the connecting terminal.

Therefore, the insertion resistance of the connecting terminal is set such that the connecting terminal can easily be fitted in with constant sliding resistance until the connecting terminal comes to contact the mating wall of the housing body upon completion of the insertion of the connecting terminal. The completion of the insertion can surely be decided by a sharp increase in the insertion resistance derived from the contact of the connecting terminal with the mating wall of the housing body, whereby the connecting terminal is prevented from being fitted in halfway without mistaking an increase in the insertion resistance during the process of fitting the connecting terminal in for the completion of the insertion.

With the side spacer structure in the connector according to the invention, the terminal abutting portion is provided in at least one side edge of the tentative retention lance, and the tip end of the connecting terminal invariably contacts the terminal abutting portion and makes the tentative retention lance bend upward when the connecting terminal is fitted in. Accordingly, as the tentative retaining projection formed on the upper surface of the connecting terminal is fitted in without contacting the tentative retention lance, the connecting terminal can easily be fitted, so that terminal insertability is greatly improved.

Number	Name	Date	Kind
5830013	Saito et al.	Nov 1998	A
5931707	Ito	Aug 1999	A
6066008	Brantingham et al.	May 2000	A

Number	Date	Country
6-215821	Aug 1994	JP
10-289746	Oct 1998	JP

Side spacer structure in connector

Information

Patent Number

Date Filed

Date Issued

Inventors

Original Assignees

Examiners

Agents

CPC

US Classifications

Field of Search

US

International Classifications

Abstract

Description

Claims

Priority Claims (1)

US Referenced Citations (3)

Foreign Referenced Citations (2)