Female connector

Details Female connector Female connector

2000-09-26

2001-12-25

Paumen, Gary (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

With indicating or identifying provision

C439S595000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06332803

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a female electrical connector.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 7
of this specification shows a front view of a conventional female connector
100
. On the anterior face of this female connector
100
there are tab insertion holes
101
which allow the insertion of corresponding male terminal fittings (not shown). Guiding faces
102
which guide the male tabs are provided on the edge of the holes. A part of the wall face of these guiding faces
102
is cut away to form conducting checking holes
103
. Detecting pins (not shown) are inserted into these conducting checking holes
103
to confirm whether the female terminal fittings are correctly attached.
FIG. 8
shows a different type of conventional female connector
104
. In this type of connector there are tab insertion holes
105
provided on the anterior face and detecting pins are inserted directly into resilient members of the terminal fittings (members which resiliently clamp the male tabs; not shown) in order to confirm whether the female terminal fittings are correctly attached.
However, when the female connector
100
shown in
FIG. 7
is fitted together with a male connector, the anterior ends of the male tabs are sometimes accidentally caught in the conducting checking holes
103
, these male tabs changing shape or distorting as a result.
Moreover, in the female connector
104
shown in
FIG. 8
, the detecting pins are inserted into the resilient members which are required to be resilient. As a result, the resilient members become bent and their resilience decreases, which is a problem.
The present invention has been developed after taking problems into consideration, and aims to present a female connector with openings in the anterior face for the detecting pins, and which does not affect the male and female terminal fittings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a female electrical connector comprising a female terminal fitting having a connecting member connectable to a male tab of a corresponding terminal fitting, and a protruding member protruding in a sideways direction from the connecting member; and a connector housing having a terminal housing chamber for housing the female terminal fitting, and a tab through hole opened out at the anterior face thereof, the tab through hole allowing the male tab to be passed therethrough, the female connector being characterised in that the anterior face of the connector housing has a detecting hole opened out therein for allowing the insertion of a detecting pin, the detecting pin detecting the correct attachment of the female terminal fitting by making contact with the protruding member, the detecting hole being connected to the terminal housing chamber, and being opened out at a location at a distance from the hole edge of the tab through hole.
The female connector may include a lance so as to protrude in the terminal housing chamber for maintaining the female terminal fitting in an unremovable position, the lance preferably being bendable due to a bending space provided near the terminal housing chamber, the bending space preferably opening out towards the anterior face of the connector housing. A retainer may be attached from the anterior face so as to close off the bending space, the retainer preferably comprising a bending regulation member which may be inserted into the bending space to regulate the bending of the lance and perform a secondary holding of the female terminal fitting.
The female connector may be formed with a guiding face on a portion of the hole edge of the detecting hole, the guiding face guiding the insertion of the detecting pin.
Preferably detecting holes are formed on the anterior face of a connector housing. The openings of these detecting holes, which allow the insertion of a detecting pin, are preferably formed at a distance from those of tab insertion holes which allow the insertion of a corresponding terminal fitting. As a result, male tabs cannot be mistakenly inserted into the detecting holes when a male terminal fitting is inserted into the tab insertion holes, and consequently there is no change in the shape of the tabs.
A terminal fitting may be secondarily stopped by a retainer, and the retainer closes off the openings of the bending spaces. As a result, the anterior ends of the male tabs cannot be caught in the open section of the bending spaces.
When a detecting pin is inserted into the detecting hole it is preferably guided by a guiding face. As a result, the guiding face can correct the position of the detecting pin when it is inserted, even if the position of the detecting pin is initially incorrect.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4557542 (1985-12-01), Coller et al.
patent: 5256083 (1993-10-01), Yamamoto
patent: 5503570 (1996-04-01), Okada
patent: 5743771 (1998-04-01), Yamaguchi et al.
patent: 5769664 (1998-06-01), Saito et al.
patent: 5839914 (1998-11-01), Watanabe et al.
patent: 36 33 358 A (1988-04-01), None
patent: 0 740 367 A (1996-10-01), None

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