Patent ID: 7556539
Filing Date: 2009-07-07
Classification: H01R

Abstract:
1. A connector, comprising: a female metal terminal having a box-like portion; a housing including a terminal receiving hole and a terminal retaining member-receiving portion; and a terminal retaining member which can be provisionally and completely retained in said terminal retaining member-receiving portion; wherein said box-like portion of said metal terminal has a lance hole formed in a wall thereof opposed to an upper surface of said terminal receiving hole, and an end portion of said box-like portion including a rear end of a wall thereof opposed to a lower surface of said terminal receiving hole serves as a terminal-side retaining portion; and said terminal receiving hole of said housing extends from a rear end of said housing toward a front end of said housing, and is so sized as to prevent said metal terminal received in said terminal receiving hole from moving in forward, upward, downward, left and right directions; and said terminal retaining member-receiving portion of said housing is open to a lower surface of said housing, and communicates with said terminal receiving hole, and extends to the vicinity of an upper surface of said housing or extends through said upper surface of said housing; and said terminal retaining member includes a retaining member-side terminal receiving hole formed therethrough in the forward-rearward direction and communicating with said terminal receiving hole, a terminal primarily-retaining arm of an elastic nature formed at an upper side of said retaining member-side terminal receiving hole, and a terminal secondarily-retaining projection formed at a lower side of said retaining member-side terminal receiving hole; and when said terminal retaining member is disposed in the provisionally-retained condition relative to said housing, a retaining portion of said terminal primarily-retaining arm of said terminal retaining member is inserted deep in said lance hole of said metal terminal; when said terminal retaining member is moved upward into the completely-retained condition relative to said housing, the amount of engagement of said retaining portion of said terminal primarily-retaining arm with said metal terminal is reduced in accordance with the upward movement of said terminal retaining member, whereas said terminal secondarily-retaining projection is engaged with said terminal-side retaining portion of said metal terminal; and when trying to shift said terminal retaining member into said completely-retained condition in a half-inserted condition of said metal terminal, said terminal secondarily-retaining projection of said terminal retaining member abuts against the wall of said box-like portion of said metal terminal, thereby preventing the upward movement of said terminal retaining member.