Electrical connectors – With insulation other than conductor sheath – Plural-contact coupling part
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-30
2001-01-30
Nguyen, Khiem (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With insulation other than conductor sheath
Plural-contact coupling part
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179670
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector in which plural male sub-connectors are mounted to a holding member so as to be connected collectively.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-175161 is constituted so that plural male sub-connectors are mounted into a holding member.
The holding member is formed in a rectangular box shape, and the male sub-connectors are inserted into the holding member from its backward portion so as to be mounted. The male sub-connectors are arranged in two files in the vertical direction and in three ranks in the horizontal direction. Namely, the six male sub-connectors are mounted into the holding member. Moreover, tapered mating terminal insertion openings, into which mating terminals are inserted, are formed on a front surface of the holding member so as to form lines correspondingly to the male sub-connectors. This holding member is formed by injecting resin into a cavity of a metal mold.
The male sub-connector has a rectangular box-shaped connector housing whose back portion is opened. Two upper and lower terminal housing chambers for housing terminals are formed in the connector housing, and the terminals are inserted respectively into the terminal housing chambers from the back portion of the connector housing with the terminals being connected with electric wires. Terminal insertion openings, which are interconnected with the terminal insertion openings of the holding member, are formed on the front surface of the connector housing.
The terminals are formed by interconnecting caulking sections for caulking and fixing insulating coating of the electric wires, connection sections to be connected with conductors of the electric wires and contact sections which are electrically connected by contacting with mating terminals. The terminals are inserted into the terminal housing chambers of the male sub-connector from the contact sections. The contact sections have a tubular shape, and the mating terminals are inserted from openings at their points thereinto. For this reason, the openings are interconnected with the mating terminal insertion openings of the male sub-connectors and the mating terminal insertion openings of the holding member. Moreover, contact pieces, which elastically contact with the mating terminals inserted from the openings, are provided in the contact sections.
Such a connector is assembled so that the male sub-connectors through which the terminals were inserted are inserted into the holding member, and the connector in this assembled state is fitted into a mating connector. As a result, mating terminals of the mating connector are inserted through the mating terminal insertion openings and of the holding member and the male sub-connectors. The mating terminals are inserted from the openings of the terminals into the contact sections so as to contact with the contact pieces in the contact sections, and as a result, the terminals are connected with each other.
In the aforementioned connector, since the holding member which was injection-molded is rapped from a metal mold, it is necessary to provide a trimming taper on the inner surface of the holding member. Further, as the holding member becomes longer towards an insertion direction of the male sub-connector, namely, its depth becomes larger, and a taper angle &thgr; of the trimming taper should be set to a larger value.
However, when the trimming taper angle &thgr; becomes larger, the point of the male sub-connector is separated from the inner surface of the holding member. For this reason, the male sub-connector becomes unstable while in the holding member. Due to the unstable male sub-connector, the terminals in the male sub-connector are shifted from the holding member. As a result, since the wall of the terminals come into the mating terminal insertion openings of the holding member, the mating terminals to be inserted from the mating terminal insertion openings bump into the points of the walls in the terminals. For this reason, proper contact with the mating terminals cannot be obtained, namely, there arises a problem of improper contact.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a connector in which even if a trimming taper of a holding member becomes larger, male sub-connectors can be mounted stably, and as a result, the walls of terminals in the male sub-connectors do not come into mating terminal insertion openings in the male sub-connectors so that satisfactory contact with mating terminals can be obtained.
To achieve the above object of the present invention, there is provided a connector comprising:
a plurality of male sub-connectors in which terminal housing chambers for housing terminals are formed;
a holding member into which the male sub-connectors are inserted; and
position regulating means for regulating positions of the male sub-connectors and fixes the male sub-connectors so that mating terminal insertion openings of the male sub-connectors coincide with mating terminal insertion openings of the holding member, the position regulating means being provided on outer surfaces of the male sub-connectors and an inner surface of the holding member.
The position regulating means of the present invention regulates the positions of the male sub-connectors so that the mating terminal insertion openings of the male sub-connectors coincide with the mating terminal insertion openings of the holding member. The regulation eliminates the unstable state of the male sub-connectors, and the terminals in the male sub-connectors do not come into the diameter of the mating terminal insertion openings of the holding member. For this reason, the mating terminals are inserted into the terminals securely, and thus stable connection can be made.
In addition, since the position regulating means regulates and fixes the positions of the male sub-connectors, the plural sub-connectors can be securely housed in the prescribed positions in the holding member. For this reason, in the case where the male sub-connectors are piled in the vertical direction, it is not necessary to form partition walls for separating the upper and lower male sub-connectors in the holding member. Therefore, the structure of the holding member can be simplified.
Preferably, the position regulating means may be provided in positions which are shifted from a center of a thickness-wise direction of the male sub-connectors.
With this configuration, since the position regulating means is shifted from the center of the width-wise direction of the male sub-connector, the inverted male sub-connector cannot be inserted into the holding member. For this reason, the inverted sub-connector can be prevented from being inserted previously.
Preferably, the position regulating means is extended along a direction where the male sub-connectors are inserted, and comprises rib sections and groove sections into which the rib sections come, the rib sections and the groove sections being engaged with each other.
Since the position regulating means comprises the rib sections and the groove sections, the structure of the position regulating means can be simplified. Moreover, when the male sub-connector is inserted so that the rib sections come into the groove sections, the male sub-connector can be fixed. Therefore, the male sub-connector can be mounted easily.
Preferably, the connector further comprises latch locking means provided on the outer surfaces of the male sub-connectors and the inner surface of the holding member, and engaged with each other so as to prevent the male sub-connectors from slipping off.
With this configuration, since the latch locking means prevents the male sub-connectors from slipping off, they can be mounted stably.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4998889 (1991-03-01), Moly
patent: 5190476 (1993-03-01), Chaillot
patent: 6017250 (2000-01-01), Tsuji et al.
patent: 0 817 320 A2 (1997-07-01), None
patent: 10-21993 (1998-01-01), None
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Nguyen Khiem
Nguyen Son V.
Yazaki -Corporation
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