Connector

A connector comprises a connector housing with a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers and a rear holder which to be inserted into and coupled with a rear end of the connector housing for restricting pulling-up of terminals inserted respectively into the terminal accommodating chambers. A stopper body which is coupled on a rear section of the rear holder through a hinge section and which is interchangeable between a laid-down condition extending along an inserting direction of the rear holder and a standing-up condition which intersects with the laid-down condition is engaged with the rear end of the connector housing in a tentative locking state when the stopper body is biased into the standing-up condition. The stopper body is brought to the laid-down condition in a complete locking state so as to be accommodated within the rear end of the connector housing. A plurality of indication marks are displayed on a rear face of the stopper body when the stopper body is in the standing-up condition to indicate accommodation of the terminals into the respective terminal accommodating chambers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a connector offered as connection of wire 
harnesses for vehicles, or the like. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
An example of a conventional connector of this kind, is a coupler 
connecting unit 1 as shown in FIG. 1 of the attached drawings, which is 
disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-111281. The coupler 
connecting unit 1 is used in wire harnesses for a two-wheeled vehicle, 
motor bicycle or the like, and is provided for connecting various electric 
equipment parts or elements, electric sources, and the like to one other. 
A coupler 3 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is mounted on electric wires 7. The 
coupler 3 is provided with a plurality of wire inserting holes 5. The 
wires 7 are inserted respectively into the wire inserting holes 5 from 
above. Metallic terminal parts or elements 9 are caulked and connected 
respectively to the wires 7 under a condition in which a forward end of 
each of the wires 7 is exposed downwardly of the coupler 3. When each of 
the terminal elements 9 is inserted into one of the corresponding the wire 
inserting holes 5 from beneath the coupler 3, the terminal element 9 is 
latched to or engaged with the coupler 3. 
In addition, when a vehicle or automobile car is up-graded, the number of 
wires to be wired increases accordingly, and the vehicle is brought to a 
so-called multipolarity. When multipolarity exists, the wires 7 to be 
inserted respectively into the plurality of inserting holes 5 are decided 
in kind or type. However, if there are no markings, there is fear that the 
wires 7 will be erroneously inserted into incorrect inserting holes 5. For 
this reason, as shown in FIG. 2, the coupler 3 is provided with a flange 
11 at its upper end. Numerals 13 are marked on the flange 11, to indicate 
the wire inserting holes 5 into which the wires 7 are to be inserted. 
However, in such a conventional arrangement, the bulging flange 11 must be 
provided at about the upper end of the coupler 3 in order to mark the 
numerals 13. This is extremely disadvantageous for miniaturization of the 
unit. Further, since the flange 11 is always exposed, dirt, dust, oil, and 
the like often adhere to an upper face of the flange 11, or the surface of 
the flange 11 is shaved off due to rubbing with other elements resulting 
in the disappearance of numerals 13. Thus, there is a fear that erroneous 
insertion of the wires 7 will result during disassembly, repair and the 
like. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to solve the 
aforementioned problems in the prior art through the introduction of a 
connector which is advantageous in miniaturization, and in which adhering 
of dust, dirt and oil, rubbing with respect to other elements, and the 
like are restrained so that inserting indication can be maintained for a 
long period of time. 
In order to solve the above-discussed problem, according to the present 
invention, there is provided a connector comprising: 
a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers respectively accommodating 
terminals therein; 
a connector housing having the plurality of terminal accommodating 
chambers; 
a rear holder provided so as to be inserted into and coupled with a rear 
end of the connector housing, for restricting pulling-up of the terminals 
inserted into the terminal accommodating chambers; 
a pair of tentative locking sections provided respectively on the connector 
housing and on the rear holder, for being tentatively locked on the rear 
holder when it is halfway inserted into and coupled with the connector 
housing; 
a pair of complete locking sections provided respectively on the connector 
housing and on the rear holder, for being completely locked at completion 
of insertion and coupling of the rear holder; 
a hinge section on the rear holder; 
a stopper body coupled to a rear section of the rear holder through the 
hinge section, the stopper body being interchangeable between a laid-down 
condition extending along an inserting direction of the rear holder and a 
standing-up condition which intersects with the laid-down condition, the 
stopper body being engaged with the rear end of the connector housing in a 
tentative locking state when the stopper body is biased into the 
standing-up condition, and the stopper body being brought to the laid-down 
condition when in a complete locking state so as to be accommodated within 
the rear end of the connector housing; and 
a plurality of indication marks displayed on a rear face of the stopper 
body when in the standing-up condition, to indicate accommodation of the 
terminals into the respective terminal accommodating chambers. 
With regard to the operation of the invention, when the terminals are 
accommodated in the connector housing, the rear holder is first inserted 
halfway into the rear end of the connector housing, and the rear holder is 
tentatively locked to the connector housing by the tentative locking 
sections. Under the tentative locking, the stopper body under the 
standing-up condition is engaged with the rear end of the connector 
housing in order to restrict the further insertion of the rear holder. 
Thus, further insertion exceeding a location of the tentative locking is 
restricted. Under this condition, the terminals with respective wires are 
inserted through the rear end of the rear holder, and are accommodated 
respectively in the terminal accommodating chambers in the connector 
housing. Under this condition, correct insertion of each terminal into a 
corresponding terminal accommodating chamber may be executed by viewing 
the indication marks on the stopper body. Subsequently, the stopper body 
is brought to the laid-down condition in order to further execute 
insertion of the rear holder so that the rear holder may be completely 
locked with the connector housing by the complete locking sections.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
An embodiment of the invention will be described hereinafter. 
Referring first to FIGS. 3 and 4, a connector which comprises a connector 
housing A and a rear holder B is shown. 
The connector housing A is formed or molded integrally of synthetic resin, 
and comprises a terminal receiving or accommodating housing section 21 and 
a hood section 23. A terminal receiving or accommodating body section 27, 
within which a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 25a and 25b 
are arranged, is provided within the terminal accommodating housing 
section 21. The terminal accommodating chambers 25a and 25b are formed 
respectively by U-shaped walls 23a and 23b each having U-shaped 
cross-section, and are arranged in an upper and lower, two stage manner. A 
center of the upper stage is so formed as to be surrounded by the terminal 
accommodating chambers 25a on both sides, and left- and right-hand 
surfaces (only one shown in FIG. 3) of the center are provided 
respectively with temporal or tentative locking projections 29a which form 
one of a pair of tentative locking portions 29. The tentative locking 
portions 29 are arranged in the connector housing A and the rear holder B, 
and are in the ones which are tentatively locked on the rear holder B when 
it is halfway inserted into the connector housing A. 
A space between the upper and lower two-stage terminal accommodating 
chambers 25a and 25b forms a guide groove 30 for insertion of the rear 
holder B as illustrated in FIG. 4. Furthermore, flexible engaging pieces 
31 are provided respectively within the terminal accommodating chambers 
25a and 25b which are arranged in an upper and lower, two stage manner. 
Each of the flexible engaging pieces 31 is provided with an engaging 
projection 31a. Moreover, an intermediate wall 33 is provided at a 
location in front of the terminal accommodating chambers 25a and 25b. The 
intermediate wall 33 is provided therein with communicating openings 33a 
which communicate with the hood section 23. The intermediate wall 3 has a 
rear face which is provided at its upper and lower portions with a pair of 
presser walls 34. 
The terminal accommodating housing section 21 has a rear end on which both 
upper and lower walls are provided respectively with a pair of complete or 
perfect locking holes 37a which form one of a pair of complete locking 
sections 35. The complete locking sections 35 are arranged between the 
connector housing A and the rear holder B, and execute a complete locking 
state when insertion of the rear holder B into the connector housing A has 
been completed. 
As shown in FIG. 3, an inserting space portion 39 is arranged between the 
terminal accommodating body section 27 and an inner surface of the 
terminal accommodating housing section 21 of the connector housing A. This 
inserting space portion 39 opens at the rear end of the connector housing 
A and is provided for insertion into and connection with the rear holder 
B. The terminal accommodating housing section 21 has an upper face which 
is provided with a window 41, so that the terminal accommodating chambers 
25a at the upper stage are partially exposed. 
The rear holder B has a generally rectangular cross-section, and is formed 
by a frame body 43 which is capable of being inserted into the inserting 
space portion 39. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a pair of stopper bodies 47a 
and 47b are provided respectively at upper and lower locations of the 
frame body 43 through integral hinge portions 45 as viewed in an inserting 
direction. Each of the stopper bodies 47a and 47b is interchangeable 
between a laid-down condition extending along the inserting direction of 
the rear holder B and a standing-up condition which intersects with the 
laid-down condition by the hinge portions 45. Further, each of the stopper 
bodies 47a and 47b is biased toward the standing-up condition by 
elasticity of the hinge portions 45 illustrated in FIG. 3. Each of the 
stopper bodies 47a and 47b is formed into a rectangular plate-like a part 
of each of the stopper bodies 47a and 47b can be received within a 
corresponding pair of recesses 43a in the frame body 43 when in the 
laid-down condition. Both the stopper bodies 47a and 47b include side 
faces thereof which are provided respectively with projections 48 which 
are to be engaged with corresponding recesses 43a provided in the frame 
body 43. Furthermore, when in the laid-down condition, both the stopper 
bodies 47a and 47b have respective lengths (in a lateral direction) and 
widths which are capable of being inserted into the inserting space 
portion 39 within the terminal accommodating housing section 21. Moreover, 
when in the standing-up condition, the stopper bodies 47a and 47b have 
respective rear faces thereof which are provided with indication marks 49 
which indicates accommodation of the terminals into the respective 
terminal accommodating chambers 25a and 25b. With regard to the indication 
marks 49 in which numerals are marked in this embodiment, for example, 
1.about.4 are marked in the upper-stage stopper body 47a while 5.about.10 
are marked on the lower-stage stopper body 47b. These numerals correspond 
respectively to positions and numbers of the terminal accommodating 
chambers 25a and 25b. Further, the stopper bodies 47a and 47b have 
respective front surfaces thereof when in the standing-up condition, 
which, as illustrated in FIG. 5, are provided respectively with a pair of 
complete locking projections 37b forming the other members of the complete 
locking sections 35. 
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inside of the frame body 43 of the rear 
holder B is provided with a slide stopper wall 53 which is slidingly 
fitted in the guide groove 30. The frame body 43 has an interior thereof 
which is divided into upper and lower two-stage spaces which correspond to 
the terminal accommodating chambers 25a and 25b, respectively. The slide 
stopper wall 53 is provided with a fitting portion 57 which is located in 
a center portion of said upper-stage space and which is fitted into a 
space between a left-hand space section and a right-hand space section of 
the upper-stage terminal accommodating chamber 25a. The fitting portion 57 
has tentative locking recesses 29b forming the other members of the 
tentative locking portion 29 on both the left and right sides thereof. 
These tentative locking recesses 29b and tentative locking portion 29 
create a tentative locking state while the rear holder B is on the 
terminal which is halfway inserted into the connector housing A. 
Furthermore, the frame body 43 is provided with guide plates 59a and 59b 
which can be inserted into the inserting space portion 39 on the upper and 
lower parts thereof. 
In connection with the above, the slide stopper wall 53 and the guide 
plates 59a and 59b may be formed into a comb-teeth-like configuration or 
the like. 
Next, the assembly procedure will be described. Operation of the indication 
marks 49 will first be described using FIG. 6, and operation from the 
tentative locking to the complete locking will subsequently be described 
using FIGS. 7 through 12. 
First, at assembly, the rear holder B is inserted into the inserting space 
portion 39 at the rear end of the connector housing A, so that the 
connector is brought to a condition illustrated in FIG. 6. Under this 
condition, the guide plates 59a and 59b of the rear holder B are fitted in 
the inserting space portion 39; the slide stopper wall 53 is slidingly 
fitted in the guide groove 30 in the terminal accommodating body section 
27; the fitting portion 57 of the rear holder B is fitted in the 
upper-stage center of the terminal accommodating body section 27; the 
tentative recesses 29b are so engaged as to be clamped respectively by 
both the tentative locking projections 29a; and the rear holder B is 
brought to a tentative locking condition with respect to the connector 
housing A. At this time, the stopper bodies 47a and 47b being biased by 
the hinge portion 45 are in the standing-up condition. The indication 
marks 49 are directed or oriented rearwardly so that an operator can 
easily view the indication marks 49. Accordingly, the operator can easily 
insert a terminal 63 into any of the terminal accommodating chambers 25a 
and 25b while viewing the indication marks 49. Thus, it is possible to 
prevent erroneous or incorrect insertion from occurring. In this 
connection, the indication marks may be enlarged in order to improve 
visibility further. 
Next, the tentative locking state and the complete locking state will be 
described. The condition illustrated in FIG. 6 corresponds to the 
condition illustrated in FIG. 8 while FIGS. 7 through 12 show the 
operation sequence. The tentative locking condition of the rear holder B 
is shown in FIG. 8 in transition from the condition shown in FIG. 7. Under 
this condition, since the stopper bodies 47a and 47b are engaged with the 
rear end of the housing section 21 which is under the standing-up 
condition, there is no case where the rear holder B is carelessly or 
inadvertently pushed into the housing section 21. Thus, it is possible to 
securely maintain that the tentative locking state. Under this tentative 
locking state, each terminal 63 is inserted into one of the terminal 
accommodating chambers 25a and 25b as shown in FIG. 9. 
In FIG. 9, each of the terminals 63 is abutted against the intermediate 
wall 33 and is perfectly inserted. Under this condition, the engaging 
projections 31a of the respective flexible engaging pieces 31 are engaged 
respectively with engaging holes 63a in the respective terminals 63. 
Further, the forward ends of the respective terminals 63 are contained 
inside the hood section 23, protruding from the respective communicating 
openings 33a of the intermediate wall 33. 
The stopper bodies 47a and 47b are then moved angularly so as to be brought 
to the laid-down condition as illustrated in FIG. 10. At this time, the 
projections 48 on the stopper bodies 47a and 47b are engaged respectively 
with the sides of the recesses 43a so that the laid-down condition is 
provisionally fastened. 
If the terminal 63 is inserted completely like the terminal 63 in the 
upper-stage of the connector housing 63 illustrated in FIG. 11, the 
engaging projection 31a of the flexible engaging piece 31 is remains at a 
location ahead of the engaging bore 63a in the terminal 63 so that the 
flexible engaging piece 31 is flexed or bent. Under this condition, if an 
attempt is made to lay down the stopper bodies 47a and 47b to insert the 
rear holder B further into the terminal accommodating housing section 21, 
the slide stopper wall 53 is abutted against the flexible engaging piece 
31 so that the slide stopper wall 53 cannot be inserted further. Thus, the 
operator can easily judge whether the terminal 63 is halfway inserted and 
is incapable of being engaged. Therefore, the operator may further push 
the terminal 63 in the upper-stage, so that the engaging projection 31a of 
the flexible engaging piece 31 can engage with the engaging bore 63a in 
the terminal 63. 
While the rear holder B is further inserted, the forward ends of the 
respective guide plates 59a and 59b of the rear holder B get respectively 
into the inward sides of the respective presser walls 34 of the housing 
section 21 so that vertical movement of the guide plates 59a and 59b is 
restricted as shown in FIG. 12. The slide stopper wall 53 passes through 
the guide groove 30 and is interposed between the flexible engaging pieces 
31. Therefore, flexure of the flexible engaging pieces 31 is restricted so 
that it may be ensured that the terminals 63 are prevented from being 
disengaged from the respective engaging projections 31. Furthermore, under 
this condition, the rear holder B is completely locked by the fact that 
the complete locking projections 37b are engaged respectively with the 
complete locking holes 37a on the side of the housing section 21. 
As shown in FIG. 12, since the stopper bodies 47a and 47b are received into 
the inserting space portion 39 in the terminal accommodating housing 
section 21, there is no case where the indication marks 49 on the stopper 
bodies 47a and 47b illustrated in FIG. 6 are exposed to the outside. 
Accordingly, there is no case where the indication marks 49 are exposed to 
adhesion of dust, dirt or oil or shaving off by rubbing of other elements 
of components. Thus, it is possible to maintain the indicating function of 
the indication marks 49 for a long period of time. Moreover, reception of 
the stopper bodies 47a and 47b is substantially advantageous in 
miniaturization of the unit. 
In connection with the above, during the drawing-out or pulling-out 
operation of the terminals 63, the rear holder B is pulled out of the 
housing section 21, and retention or pressing-down of the flexible plate 
arms 59a and 59b by the respective presser walls 34 is released. By doing 
so, it is possible to execute pulling-out of the terminals 63. 
In connection with the above, the indication marks are not limited to 
actual numerals. Any other signs or marks may be used as the indication 
marks. Further, the indicating marks are not limited to marking, but 
various means such as printing and the like are possible.