Electrical connectors – Coupling part including flexing insulation – Hinged or flexed detent on insulation engaging to secure...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-07-30
2004-11-16
Paumen, Gary (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Coupling part including flexing insulation
Hinged or flexed detent on insulation engaging to secure...
C439S744000, C439S871000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06817900
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector having a terminal locking arm which is supported at each end thereof in a housing of the connector.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to an electrical connector combined with a front holder, in which the front holder is coupled to a connector housing to define a terminal accommodating chamber.
2. Related Art
FIG. 5
shows an example of a terminal locking structure of a conventional connector which is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open H. 2-110186.
The connector has a plug-type connector housing
51
made of a synthetic resin material, of which a terminal accommodating chamber
52
is formed with a resilient terminal locking arm
53
. The terminal locking arm
53
is joined to the connector housing
51
at each longitudinal end of the terminal locking arm
53
for supporting the terminal locking arm
53
. The terminal accommodating chamber
52
and the terminal locking arm
53
are provided both in upper and lower portions of the connector housing
51
.
The terminal locking arm
53
has a locking protrusion
54
formed in a forward half thereof. The terminal accommodating chamber
52
has a rear opening for inserting a receptacle terminal
55
connected to an electrical cable. The terminal is locked by the terminal locking arm
53
and abuts against a stopping wall
56
positioned in the terminal accommodating chamber
52
. The receptacle terminal
55
has a box-shaped electrical contact portion
57
in a fore half thereof and a cable crimping portion
58
in a rear half thereof. The electrical contact portion
57
has a bottom wall formed with an engagement hole
59
associated with a locking protrusion
54
of the terminal locking arm
53
.
The receptacle terminal
55
moves into the terminal accommodating chamber
52
while the receptacle terminal
55
deflects the terminal locking arm
53
downward. The complete insertion of the receptacle terminal
55
moves upward the terminal locking arm
53
to resiliently return the arm to its original position and causes the locking protrusion
54
to engage with the engagement hole
59
of the receptacle terminal
55
to lock the receptacle terminal
55
in the terminal accommodating chamber
52
. The receptacle terminal
55
and the connector housing
51
constitute a connector
60
. In this specification, the connector
60
is inserted into a connector engagement space of an associated female connector.
The terminal locking structure of the conventional connector has the locking protrusion
54
formed in the forward half of the terminal locking arm
53
of the connector housing
51
for engagement with the electrical contact portion
57
formed in the forward half of the receptacle terminal
55
. As illustrated in
FIG. 5
, the insertion of the receptacle terminal
55
deflects the terminal locking arm
53
such that the locking protrusion
54
moves not just downward but slightly diagonally forward as shown by an arrow A. Thus, the locking protrusion
54
does not completely engage with the engagement hole
59
so that the locking of the receptacle terminal
55
is insufficient when the locking protrusion
54
has an elongated length sufficiently longer than the engagement hole
59
of the receptacle terminal
55
. However, the elongated engagement hole
59
causes an undesired looseness in locking of the receptacle terminal
55
, so that a resilient contact piece provided in the electrical contact portion
57
of the receptacle terminal
55
suffers a friction wear due to vibration during an operating state of a motor vehicle in which the connector is provided.
Furthermore, since the terminal locking arm
53
deflects with an unstable bent, an arm deflecting space
61
should have a larger size, which disadvantageously requires a larger height of the connector housing
51
for deflection of the arm.
In view of the disadvantage of the conventional art, a first object of the invention is to provide an electrical connector having a terminal locking structure which eliminates a locking looseness of a terminal in the longitudinal direction of the terminal. This allows a reliable locking of the terminal and decreases a housing of the connector in size.
FIGS. 15
to
17
show an example of a conventional connector combined with a holder, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H. 11-224 713. The holder combined connector
181
(
FIG. 16
) is constituted by a connector housing
182
made of a synthetic resin material, a front holder
183
made of a synthetic resin material, and a terminal
185
having an electrical cable. The front holder
183
is inserted through a fore opening of the connector housing
182
to define a terminal accommodating chamber
184
. The terminal
185
is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber
184
from a rear opening of the connector housing
182
.
As illustrated in
FIG. 15
, the connector housing
182
includes a resilient terminal locking arm
186
extended therein, and a terminal insertion hole
187
is formed in a rear side of the terminal locking arm
186
to partially define a terminal accommodating chamber.
The front holder
183
has a front wall
188
, left and right side walls
189
, a top wall
190
, a short lower wall
191
, and an intermediate partition wall
192
. The front wall
188
is formed with an opposing connector inserting opening and an aperture for receiving a pushing rod for releasing the terminal from the locking of the arm.
As illustrated in
FIG. 16
, the front holder
183
has been completely received in the connector housing
182
to define the terminal accommodating chamber
184
surrounded by the intermediate wall
192
and the upper and lower walls
190
,
191
. In this state, the terminal
185
is inserted into the connector housing
182
and the terminal locking arm
186
abuts against a rear shoulder of a box-shaped electrical contact portion of the terminal
185
to lock the terminal.
As illustrated in
FIG. 17
which is a sectional view taken along line C—C of
FIG. 16
, the terminal locking arm
186
is molded together with the connector housing
182
from a resin material in an absence state of the front holder
183
. Thus, the terminal locking arm
186
can have a width extending close to the inner walls of the front holder
183
, improving the locking force of the terminal locking arm
186
and decreasing the holder combined connector
181
in its lateral dimension.
The conventional holder combined connector
181
can decease a lateral dimension of the connector but is disadvantageous for decreasing a height of the connector housing
182
. Because, the upper and lower walls
190
,
191
of the front holder
183
overlap with upper and lower walls
193
,
194
(
FIG. 15
) of the connector housing
182
. Furthermore, the terminal
185
should be double locked by the terminal locking arm
186
, which requires another member to increase the locking force, and the additional locking member tends to complicate the locking structure and mechanism of the terminal and to increase the size of the holder combined connector
181
.
In view of the aforementioned disadvantage of the conventional connector, a second object of the invention is to provide a holder combined connector which is decreased particularly in the height thereof (in a vertical direction of
FIG. 16
) with keeping a reliable electrical connection with an opposing connector. Furthermore, the connector can lock double a terminal surely with ease.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
For achieving the first object, an electrical connector has a terminal locking structure according to a first aspect of the present invention. The terminal locking structure includes a resilient terminal locking arm having a forward half and a rear half, the forward half defined by a wall for a terminal accommodating space of a housing of the connector, the rear being larger than the forward half in width, the rear half having a fore end to serve as a terminal stopping surfac
Machii Hisashi
Matsubara Kuninori
Yamawaki Takanori
Armstrong Kratz Quintos Hanson & Brooks, LLP
Leon Edwin A.
Paumen Gary
Yazaki -Corporation
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