Double retaining connector

Details Double retaining connector Double retaining connector

1997-02-24

2001-02-13

Vu, Hien (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

With sealing element or material for cooperation with...

C439S595000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06186813

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a double retaining connector in which each terminal is retained in a double manner by a retaining lance, provided within a connector housing, and a retaining arm of a front holder.
One conventional double retaining connector is shown in
FIGS. 14
to
16
. The illustrated housing is a female one
102
of a pair of connector housings, and each female terminal
105
, received in an associated terminal receiving chambers
102
c
in this female connector housing, is retained in a double manner by a retaining lance
102
a
, provided at an upper portion of the terminal receiving chamber
102
c
, and a front holder
103
attached to the female connector housing from the front side of the terminal receiving chambers
102
.
Referring to the above double retaining construction in further detail, as shown in
FIGS. 14 and 15
, the plurality of terminal receiving chambers
102
c
are provided in two (upper and lower) rows in the female connector housing
102
made of a synthetic resin, and the retaining lance
102
c
is provided at an upper portion of each terminal receiving chamber
102
c
, and extends left (in the drawings) generally horizontally. With this construction, the female terminal
105
, inserted and guided into the terminal receiving chamber
102
c
from the right side (FIG.
16
), moves in the terminal receiving chamber
102
c
, with an upper surface
105
b
of its terminal portion
105
a
held in sliding contact with a lower end portion
102
a
1
of the retaining lance
102
a
, and finally when a rear end
105
b
1
of the upper surface
105
b
of the terminal portion
105
a
passes past the lower end portion
102
a
2
of the retaining lance
102
a
, the retaining lance
102
a
is elastically restored to an initial position, thereby effecting a first-stage retaining of the female terminal
105
.
The front holder
103
, like the female connector housing
102
, is molded of a synthetic resin, and as shown in
FIGS. 14 and 15
, the front holder
103
is attached to the female connector housing
102
from the front side of the terminal receiving chambers
102
c
of the female connector housing
102
. When the front holder
103
is inserted into a front end portion of the female connector housing
102
, with its insertion-side end
103
e
directed toward the female connector housing
102
, a provisionally-retaining projection
103
g
, formed on an upper retaining arm
103
f
, first slides past an upper retaining projection
102
d
of the female connector housing
102
, and the front holder
103
is provisionally retained on the female connector housing
102
.
In this condition, when the front holder
103
is further inserted into the female connector housing
102
, with a front end
103
d
of a retaining arm
103
a
of the front holder
103
lifted in a direction of arrow C (FIG.
15
), a retaining projection
103
c
, formed on the retaining arm
103
a
, is engaged with a lower retaining projection
102
b
formed on the female connector housing
102
, so that the front holder
103
is fixed relative to the female connector housing
102
. As a result, a distal end portion of the retaining arm
103
a
of the front holder
103
contacts an upper surface
102
a
3
of the retaining lance
102
a
, thereby preventing the retaining lance
102
a
from upward movement, and therefore the female terminal
105
is retained in a double manner relative to the female connector housing
102
.
FIG. 15
shows a condition in which the female terminals
105
are retained in a double manner relative to the female connector housing
102
. Right, left and lower slanting surfaces
102
f
are formed on a front end surface
102
e
of the lower terminal receiving chamber
102
c
of the female connector housing
102
, and also a slanting surface
103
b
is formed on a front end surface
103
h
of the retaining arm
103
a
of the front holder
103
, and these slanting surfaces
102
f
and
103
b
cooperate with one another to form a tapered guide portion
107
for an insertion port
106
through which a male terminal
104
is engaged with the female terminal
105
.
In the above construction, as shown in
FIG. 15
, for engaging the male terminal
104
, received in a male connector housing (not shown), with the female terminal
105
, a front end portion
104
a
of the male terminal
104
is first guided into the insertion port
106
by the tapered guide portion
107
, and is further moved into the terminal receiving chamber
102
c
in a direction of arrow D, and is engaged with the front end portion of the female terminal.
In the above conventional double retaining connector, however, when a distal end
104
b
of the front end metallic portion
104
a
of the male terminal
104
abuts against the upper slanting surface
103
b
during the insertion of the male terminal
104
into the terminal receiving chamber
102
c
as shown in
FIG. 16
, the retaining arm
103
a
can be moved upward in a direction of arrow E. As a result, the front end metallic portion
104
a
moves into the terminal receiving chamber
102
c
without being guided by the slanting surface
103
b
, and the distal end
104
b
of the front end portion
104
a
impinges on an upper portion of the front end surface of the front end portion (terminal portion)
105
a
of the female terminal
105
, so that the male terminal
104
can not move further, and therefore the male terminal
104
can not be engaged with the female terminal
105
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the above conventional double retaining connector, and an object of the invention is to provide a double retaining connector in which a male terminal can be smoothly inserted into a terminal receiving chamber by a tapered guide portion.
Another object of the invention is to provide a double retaining connector in which a male terminal can be smoothly inserted into a terminal receiving chamber even when the male terminal to be inserted into an insertion portion abuts against any one of sides of a rectangular, tapered guide portion.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a double retaining connector comprising a connector housing; a terminal receiving chamber formed within the connector housing, a female terminal being inserted into the terminal receiving chamber through one insertion portion thereof while a male terminal is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber through the other insertion portion thereof, and is engaged with the female terminal; a retaining lance which extends from an inner surface of the terminal receiving chamber, and retains the female terminal, received in the terminal receiving chamber, by elastic deformation; a front holder which is attached to the connector housing from that side of the terminal receiving chamber, through which the male terminal is inserted into the chamber, and is fixed to the connector housing, thereby preventing deformation of the retaining lance so as to retain the female terminal relative to the connector housing in a double manner; a retaining arm which is formed integrally with the front holder, and retains the front holder on the connector housing by elastic deformation; and a tapered guide portion for guiding the male terminal into the terminal receiving chamber, the tapered guide portion being formed by a slanting surface, formed on the connector housing, and a slanting surface movable in unison with the retaining arm of the front holder; wherein the retaining arm is deformable in a direction perpendicular to a direction of deformation of the retaining lance.
According to a second aspect of the invention, in the double retaining connector of the first aspect of the invention, the insertion portion of the terminal receiving chamber, through which the male terminal is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber, has an opening of a generally rectangular cross-section, and the tapered guide portion is formed around the insertion portion in a generally rectangular shape, and at least part of sides of t

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