Connector terminal

Details Connector terminal Connector terminal

1998-06-04

2001-02-13

Bradley, Paula (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

With insulation other than conductor sheath

Metallic connector or contact secured to insulation

C439S746000, C439S872000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06186837

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connector terminal which is inserted into a connector housing and is retained in the connector housing.
2. Background
FIG. 5
shows a terminal
1
disclosed by Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 2-299176.
The terminal
1
includes: a contact section
2
having a pair of contact pieces
2
a
and
2
b
which are resiliently brought into contact with an end portion of a terminal of a mating connector from the above and below; a press-connecting section
3
to which a covered wire is press-connected to electrically connect; and a clamping section
4
adapted to clamp the covered wire to fix the covered wire. Thus, in the terminal
1
, the contact section
2
, the press-connecting section
3
, and the clamping section
4
are arranged in the stated order. The upper contact piece
2
a
has a resilient locking piece
5
which is formed by cutting and raising a part of the contact piece
2
a
. The resilient locking piece
5
is used to prevent the terminal
1
from coming off the connector housing.
FIGS. 6
a
to
6
c
show a process of mounting the terminal
1
onto a connector housing
6
.
The connector housing
6
includes an upper wall
7
, a lower wall
8
, a front end wall
9
, and side walls
10
. Those walls
7
through
10
form a terminal receiving chamber into which the terminal
1
is insertable. The upper wall
7
has a locking hole
12
which extends through the upper wall
7
in a thickness direction. The locking piece
5
is locked to the locking hole
12
. A diameter of the locking hole
12
is equal or slightly larger than the width of the locking piece
5
. Thus, the locking piece
5
engages with the locking hole
12
while being inserted in the locking hole
12
. The front end wall
9
has a terminal inserting hole
12
into which a terminal of a mating connector is insertable.
As shown in
FIG. 6
a
, the terminal
1
is placed in the connector housing
6
from a rear of the upper wall
7
. Then, as shown in
FIG. 6
b
, a jig
14
is used so that the terminal
1
is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber
11
while being slid on the upper surface of the lower wall
8
. This insertion causes the contact section
2
of the terminal to confront directly with the terminal inserting hole
13
. At this time, the resilient locking piece
5
engages with the locking hole
12
of the upper wall
7
so as to prevent a rearward withdrawal of the terminal
1
from the connector housing
6
.
Thereafter, as shown in
FIG. 6
c
, the covered wire
15
is pressed so that the press-connecting section
3
is electrically connected to the conductor of the covered wire
15
. Under this condition, the rear end portion of the connector housing
6
is covered with a cover plate
16
.
When it is required to remove the terminal
1
from the connector housing
6
, a jig is inserted into the locking hole
12
to push down the resilient locking piece
5
until that the resilient locking piece
5
can be disengaged from the locking hole
12
.
The terminal
1
, however, may be relatively readily disengaged from the connector housing
6
when the terminal
1
is pulled axially. This operation will now be described with reference to
FIGS. 7
a
and
7
b
. As shown in
FIG. 7
a
, when the terminal
1
is pulled in the direction of the arrow D, the resilient locking piece
5
is abutted against the inner surface of the locking hole
12
. When the terminal
1
is further pulled in the same direction, the resilient locking piece
5
is warped upwardly along the inner surface of the locking hole
12
as shown in
FIG. 7
b
. Accordingly, the terminal
1
is pulled out in the direction of tension. As described above, the terminal is not positively held in the connector housing sufficiently. Thus, the structure of the terminal is low in reliability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to eliminate the above problem, an object of the invention is to provide a terminal which is securely held in the connector housing without play.
To achieve the above object, there is provided a terminal insertable into a connector housing having a locking hole, which comprises: an electrically conductive body including a wire connecting section to which a wire is connectable, and an electric contact section with which another terminal is matable; a resilient locking piece protruded from an outer surface of the electrically conductive body; an engaging portion formed on the resilient locking piece, the engaging portion being engaged with the locking hole of the connector housing; and abutting portions formed on the resilient locking piece, the abutting portions abutting against a surface of the connector housing which is located at a periphery of the locking hole.
In the terminal, the engaging portion of the resilient locking piece is engaged with the locking hole of the connector housing, to prevent a rearward withdrawal of the terminal from the connector housing. By pushing the engaging portion downwardly with a jig inserted into the locking hole, the engaging portion is disengaged from the locking hole, so that the terminal may be pulled out of the connector housing.
The abutting portions of the resilient locking piece are not insertable into the locking hole, and abut against the surface located at the periphery of the locking-hole. Therefore, even if the terminal is pulled outwardly, the abutting portions will not go into the locking hole; that is, the abutting portions are kept abutting against the surface. Accordingly, since an upward movement of the resilient locking piece is prevented even if the terminal is pulled outwardly, the terminal is securely held by the connector housing without play.
Preferably, the engaging portion has a width which is substantially equal to a diameter of the locking hole, and the resilient locking piece has a width which is larger than the diameter of the locking hole. Furthermore, the abutting portions and the engaging portion are provided to form steps on the resilient locking piece.
In the terminal, the width of the engaging portion is substantially equal to the diameter of the locking hole, and therefore the engaging portion is inserted into the locking hole and is engaged with the locking hole. On the other hand, the width of the resilient locking piece is larger than the diameter of the locking hole. Therefore, all the resilient locking piece cannot go into the locking hole, and the abutting portions, which form steps with the engaging portion, are abutted against the surface located at the periphery of the locking-hole. This feature prevents the resilient locking piece from moving upwardly; that is, the terminal can be securely held in the connector housing. Since the abutting portions are provided to form the steps with the engaging portion, the engaging portion can be engaged with the locking hole without being interfered by the abutting portion.
Preferably, the abutting portions extends in a width direction of the engaging portion, respectively. The abutting portions and the engaging portion are formed stepwise on the resilient locking piece, the abutting portions are formed on opposite sides of the engaging portion, respectively.
In the terminal, the abutting portions are provided on the opposite sides of the engaging portion, and therefore they are abutted against the surface located at the periphery of the locking hole on both sides of the engaging portion when the engaging portion is engaged with the locking hole. Accordingly, the abutment of the abutting portions is stable, and the terminal is securely held in the connector housing.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4620766 (1986-11-01), Leonard
patent: 4726792 (1988-02-01), Shindo
patent: 4880401 (1989-11-01), Shima et al.
patent: 5609502 (1997-03-01), Thumma
patent: 5624273 (1997-04-01), Myer
patent: 5664969 (1997-09-01), Peterson et al.
patent: 5911603 (1999-06-01), Mansutti
patent: 2-299176 (1990-11-01), None

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