A connector housing

Abstract: [Object] To prevent the retainer from inadvertently moving from a partial locking position to a full locking position. [Solution] A connector housing 11 is provided with a retainer 15 which can be held in a partial locking position where the retainer 15 is located at a shallow insertion position in a hollow portion 14a and permits the insertion and withdrawal of terminal fittings T, and in a full locking position P3 where the retainer 15 is located at a deeper insertion position in the hollow portion 14a to lock the terminal fittings T so as not to come out of cavities. There are first and second partial locking positions P1 and P2 of the retainer 15 having different depths in an inserting direction. A holding force for partially locking the retainer 15 in the housing main body 12 is set larger in the first partial locking position P1 than in the second partial locking position P2 before the full locking position P3.

Description: The present invention relates to a connector housing and is particularly designed to prevent an inadvertent movement of a retainer for doubly locking terminal fittings to a full locking position before the terminal fittings are inserted. A connector housing 1 disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-50382 is known as a connector of this type. This connector housing 1 is constructed, as shown in FIGS. 8(A) and 8(B), such that terminal fittings T are engaged with a housing main body 2 provided with a plurality of cavities 3 by being inserted into the cavities 3, and a retainer 5 is inserted through a retainer insertion opening 4 formed in a surrounding wall of the housing main body 2 in such a manner as to cross the cavities 3. In the above construction, the retainer 5 is inserted and locked in the housing main body 2 in advance in view of an assembling efficiency. First, the retainer 5 is locked in a "partial locking position" where it does not hinder insertion and withdrawal of the terminal fittings T, and the connector housing 1 is conveyed to a location of an operation step for inserting the terminal fittings T mounted on ends of wires into the cavities 3. After all the terminal fittings T are inserted into the cavities 3 in this operation step, the retainer 5 is further pushed or inserted to a "full locking position", thereby fully preventing the withdrawal of the terminal fittings T. As described above, the retainer 5 is held in the partial locking position by a partially locking means 6 in the connector housing 1 before the terminal fittings T are inserted into the housing main body 2. However, the retainer 5 may be inadvertently pushed to the full locking position by collision of an other connector housings 1 or an external matter with this connector housing 1 while the connector housings 1 are packed in a case and transported to a location where the terminal fittings T are inserted into the housing main body 2. In such a case, the retainer 5 had to be pulled back to the partial locking position before the terminal fittings T are inserted. In order to prevent such an inadvertent movement of the retainer 5 to the full locking position, it may be considered to lock the retainer 5 in the partial locking position with a stronger force. This, on the other hand, causes a problem of an increased burden on an operator during an operation of pushing the retainer 5 to the full locking position by hands after the terminal fittings T are inserted. In view of the above problem, a protection wall 7 extending to a height substantially the same as a pushing portion of the retainer 5 when the retainer 5 is in the partial locking position in the connector housing 1 shown in FIGS. 8(A) and 8(B). Thus, a direct collision with the pushing portion of the retainer 5 can be avoided, thereby preventing the retainer 5 from inadvertently moving to the full locking position. However, even if the collision with the retainer 5 is less likely to occur by the presence of the protection wall 6, it has been difficult to prevent the retainer 5 from inadvertently moving to the full locking position in the case that a corner of an other connector housing 1 or a projected part of an other external matter directly strikes against the pushing portion of the retainer 5. A further connector according to the preamble of claim 1 is disclosed in EP 0 644 619. The present invention was developed to solve the above problem, and an object thereof is to provide a connector housing in which a retainer does not inadvertently move to a full locking position particularly even if an other connector housing or an other external matter strikes against the retainer e.g. during transportation of connector housings. This object is solved according to the invention by a connector housing according to claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are subject of the dependent claims. According to the invention, there is provided a connector housing, comprising: one or more cavities for at least partly accommodating terminal fittings, a housing main body having a hollow portion extending in a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the cavities, and a retainer which can be locked in a partial locking position where the retainer is located at a shallow insertion position in the hollow portion and permits the insertion and/or withdrawal of the terminal fittings, and in a full locking position where the retainer is located at a deeper insertion position in the hollow portion than in the partial locking position to substantially lock the terminal fittings so as not to come out of the cavities, wherein the partial locking position of the retainer comprises at least first and second partial locking positions having different depths in the hollow portion in an inserting direction, and a holding force for partially locking the retainer in the housing main body is larger in the first partial locking position than in the second partial locking position located before the full locking position. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the terminal fittings are to be inserted through a rear end surface of the connector housing. Preferably, the hollow portion extends from a surrounding wall of the housing main body. According to a further preferred embodiment, there is provided a connector housing, comprising: a plurality of cavities for accommodating terminal fittings to be inserted through a rear end surface of the connector housing, a housing main body having a hollow portion extending from a surrounding wall of the housing main body in a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the cavities, and a retainer which can be locked in a partial locking position where the retainer is located at a shallow insertion position in the hollow portion and permits the insertion and withdrawal of the terminal fittings, and in a full locking position where the retainer is located at a deeper insertion position in the hollow portion to lock the terminal fittings so as not to come out of the cavities, wherein the partial locking position of the retainer comprises at least first and second partial locking positions having different depths in the hollow portion in an inserting direction, and a holding force for partially locking the retainer in the housing main body is larger in the first partial locking position than in the second partial locking position located before the full locking position. Specifically, the holding force for holding the retainer in first partial locking position in the housing main body is set at such a strength that the retainer is not pushed to the second partial locking position by collision of an other connector housing or an other external matter with this connector housing during transportation of the connector housings. On the other hand, the holding force of the retainer in the second partial locking position is set at such a strength that the retainer can be easily pushed to the full locking position by hands. Accordingly, the retainer is prevented from inadvertently moving to the full locking position while the connector housing is transported to a location where a terminal fitting inserting operation is performed. The retainer in the first partial locking position is inserted to the second partial locking position by a pushing means of an automatic apparatus during assembling of a subassembly by the automatic apparatus, and is finally pushed to the full locking position by hands after the terminal fittings are inserted in remaining positions by hands. Preferably, the retainer is or can locked in the first partial locking position in the housing main body by a first locking means comprising one or more mutually engageable locking projections and locking holes preferably formed between the substantially opposite side walls of the retainer and those of the hollow portion or preferably formed on at least one side wall of the retainer and a corresponding wall of the hollow portion, and/or the retainer is or can be locked in the second partial locking position and the full locking position in the housing main body by a second locking means comprising one or more full and partial locking projections projecting from front and rear inner walls of the hollow portion in the housing main body and corresponding full and partial locking claws projecting from the retainer and selectively engageable with the full and partial locking projections in the full locking position and the second locking position. By preferably setting the first partial locking means in a position different from the second partial locking means, the holding force for the retainer can be set stronger in the first partial locking position while being set weaker in the second partial locking position. Further specifically, when the retainer is locked in the first partial locking position in the housing main body by the first locking means, the partial locking claw of the retainer preferably comes into contact with the partial locking projection of the housing main body to additionally create a holding force for preventing the movement of the retainer in its inserting direction. With such an arrangement, the holding force for the retainer in the first partial locking position can be set even stronger by the cooperation of the first and second locking means. Preferably, the first locking means removes a restriction on the movement of the retainer when the retainer is inserted to the second partial locking position. With such an arrangement, the holding force of the first locking means does not act after the retainer reaches the second partial locking position, with the result that the retainer can be easily and securely pushed from the second partial locking position to the full locking position. Further preferably, when the retainer is locked in the first partial locking position in the housing main body by the first locking means, the partial locking claw of the retainer comes substantially into contact with the partial locking projection of the housing main body to additionally create a supplemental holding force for preventing the movement of the retainer in its inserting direction. Still further preferably, the first locking means removes a restriction on the movement of the retainer when the retainer is inserted to the second partial locking position. Further preferably, when the retainer is locked in the first partial locking position in the housing main body by the first locking means, the full locking claw of the retainer comes substantially into contact with an additional projection of the housing main body to additionally create a supplemental holding force for preventing the movement of the retainer in its inserting direction. Most preferably, the holding force acting between the housing main body and the retainer to hold the retainer in the first partial locking position is set at a strength between about 50 and about 85 N, preferably between about 60 and about 75 N, while the holding force for the retainer in the second partial locking position is preferably set at a strength between about 15 and about 30 N. These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connector housing according to the present invention, FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B) are sections showing a state where a retainer is locked in a second partial locking position and a state where the retainer is locked in a full locking position, respectively, FIG. 3 is a plan view of a housing main body, FIGS. 4(A), 4(B) and 4(C) are a plan view, a front view and a side view of the retainer, FIGS. 5(A) and 5(B) are a section of the connector housing when the retainer is in a first partial locking position, and a section of the connector housing taken along a direction normal to a direction along which FIG. 5(A) is taken, respectively, FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B) are a section of the connector housing when the retainer is in the second partial locking position, and a section of the connector housing taken along a direction normal to a direction along which FIG. 6(A) is taken, respectively, FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B) are a section of the connector housing when the retainer is in the full partial locking position, and a section of the connector housing taken along a direction normal to a direction along which FIG. 7(A) is taken, respectively, and FIGS. 8(A) and 8(B) are diagrams showing a prior art connector housing. Hereinafter, one preferred embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a connector housing 11, which is made e.g. of a synthetic resin and is provided with a housing main body 12 formed with one or more cavities 13 for at least partly accommodating a corresponding number of terminal fittings T to be inserted preferably from the back side, and a separately formed retainer 15 which is made e.g. of a synthetic resin and is to be mounted in the housing main body 12 to substantially lock the terminal fittings T so as not to come out of the cavities 13. The housing main body 12 is preferably formed substantially into a box-shape, terminal insertion holes 12a for at least partly receiving terminals (not shown) of a mating connector are open preferably in the front surface thereof, and larger terminal insertion holes 12b used to at least partly insert the terminal fittings T are open preferably in the rear surface thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, a locking portion 13a for locking the terminal fitting T obliquely extend to the front preferably in a substantially middle position of the bottom wall of each cavity 13. A leading end portion of each locking portion 13a is so formed as to be deformable downward or away from the cavity 13, and is elastically engageable with a locking hole Ta formed in the corresponding terminal fitting T. A locked state by the locking portion 13a is referred to as partial locking; a locked state of the retainer 15 by the engagement of stepped portions Tb of the terminal fitting T with full locking projections 15f is referred to as full locking; and a connector having these two locked states is referred to as a double locking connector. As shown in FIG. 3, a retainer insertion opening 14 is open preferably in one surface of a surrounding wall of the housing main body 12, and a hollow portion 14a extends in a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the cavities 13 so as to substantially communicate with the cavities 13. The retainer 15 is, as shown in FIGS. 4(A) to 4(C), formed of a lattice-shaped frame provided with terminal insertion paths 15g substantially corresponding to the respective cavities 13 of the housing main body 12, and is at least partly inserted into the hollow portion 14a through the retainer insertion opening 14 of the housing main body 12. The retainer 15 can be locked in three positions having different depths of insertions: a first partial locking position P1 (see FIG. 5), a second partial locking position P2 (see FIG. 6) and a full locking position P3 (see FIG. 7) which is a completely inserted position. In the full locking position P3, a pushing surface 15a as a pushing portion of the retainer 15 preferably is substantially in flush with the outer surface of the housing main body 12. The retainer 15 is held in the first partial locking position P1 in the housing main by a first locking means A comprised of locking projections 15b projecting from the opposite side walls of the retainer 15 and locking holes 12c formed in the side walls of the housing main body 12 corresponding to the opposite sides of the hollow portion 14a and engageable with the locking projections 15b. In side walls of the housing main body 12 are formed escape holes 12d for avoiding the interference with the locking projections 15b when the retainer 15 is inserted to the second partial locking position P2 or the full locking position P3, thereby removing a restriction on the movement of the retainer 15 in these positions. The upper and lower surfaces of the locking projections 15b are preferably slanted. On the other hand, the retainer 15 is held in the second partial locking position P2 and the full locking position P3 in the housing main body 12 by a second locking means B, which is comprised of a partial locking projection 12e and a full locking projection 12f projecting at different depths on the inner front and rear wall surfaces of the hollow portion 14a, and a partial locking claw 15c1 and a full locking claw 15d1 which project from the leading ends of flexible arms 15c, 15d extending in an inserting direction at the front and back positions of the opposite side walls of the retainer 15 and are to substantially face the locking projections 12e, 12f. The partial and full locking projections 12e, 12f preferably have a flat lower surface and a slanted upper surface or surfaces coming mutually into contact with each other, whereas the partial and full locking claws 15c1, 15d1 preferably have a slanted lower surface and a flat upper surface or surfaces coming mutually into contact with each other. As shown in FIG. 6(A), the flat surface of the partial locking claw 15c1 is or can be engaged with the flat surface of the partial locking projection 12e in the second partial locking position P2 to restrict the movement of the retainer 15 in its withdrawing direction. Further, as shown in FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B), the flat surfaces of the full locking claw 15d1 and the full locking projection 12f are engaged to restrict the movement of the retainer 15 in its withdrawing direction. The movement of the retainer 15 in its pushing direction is restricted by the contact of stepped portions 14b, 15e of the hollow portion 14a and the retainer 15. Further, at the substantially same time the locking projections 15b of the first locking means A are engaged with the locking holes 12c to lock the retainer 15 in the first partial locking position P1, the slanted surface of the partial locking claw 15c1 of the second locking means B comes into contact with the slanted surface of the partial locking projection 12e (FIG. 5), thereby creating a holding force acting in a direction to prevent the retainer 15 from moving in its inserting direction. By additionally creating the holding force to restrict the movement of the retainer 15 in the inserting direction in the first partial locking position P1, the holding force of the retainer 15 in the first partial locking position P1 is larger than the one in the second partial locking position P2. Additionally or alternatively, at the same time the locking projections 15b of the first locking means A are engaged with the locking holes 12c to lock the retainer 15 in the first partial locking position P1, the slanted surface of the full locking claw 15d1 of the second locking means B may come into contact with the slanted surface of an additional projection (not shown) provided on the housing main body 12 in the hollow portion 14a in a position before the full locking projection 12f when seen in the insertion direction of the retainer 15, thereby creating a holding force acting in a direction to prevent the retainer 15 from moving in its inserting direction. The holding force of the retainer 15 in the first partial locking position may be increased by, e.g. increasing the projecting height of the locking projections 15b of the first locking means A or flattening the inclination of the slanted upper surfaces thereof. The holding force acting between the housing main body 12 and the retainer 15 to hold the retainer 15 in the first partial locking position P1 is set at such a strength (60 to 75N) that the retainer 15 is not inadvertently pushed to the second partial locking position P2 e.g. by collision of an other connector housing or an other external matter with this connector housing 11 in particular during transportation of the connector housings 11. On the other hand, the holding force for the retainer 15 in the second partial locking position P2 is set at such a strength (15 to 30 N) that the retainer 5 can be easily pushed to the full locking position P3 by hands. Next, a process of inserting the retainer 15 into the housing main body 12 and holding the retainer 15 in three locking positions in the connector housing 11 thus constructed is described. First, in an assembling process of the connector housing 11, the retainer 15 is mechanically at least partly inserted into the hollow portion 14a through the retainer insertion opening 14 to be held in the first partial locking position P1 as shown in FIGS. 5(A) and 5(B). The connector housings 11 are packed in a box to be transported to a location of a wiring harness assembling process. In the first partial locking position P1, at the substantially same time the locking projections 15b are engaged with the locking holes 12c, the partial locking claw 15c1 comes into contact with the partial locking projection 12e to restrict the movement of the retainer 15 in the inserting direction by a strong holding force. The connector housing 11 in which the retainer 15 is held in the first partial locking position P1 by a strong holding force as described above can be suitably supplied to a production process including an automatic assembling operation of assembling a subassembly by automatically inserting terminal fittings T connected with ends of wires. For example, when the connector housings 11 aligned on a palette M2 are gripped by a holder M1 and set at specified positions during the operation of inserting the terminal fittings T by an automatic assembling apparatus, the retainer 15 is or can be mechanically pushed from the first partial locking position P1 to the second partial locking position P2 by being pushed by a pushing portion M3 of the holder M1. A pushing stroke is set at a distance between the first and second partial locking positions P1 and P2 so as to prevent the retainer 15 from being pushed straight to the full locking position P3. By this pushing operation, the flexible arm 15c is so deformed that the partial locking claw 15c1 moves over the partial locking projection 12 to reach the second partial locking position and the flexible arm 15d comes into contact with the full locking projection 12f as shown in FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B) substantially to restrictively position the retainer 15. The terminal fittings T are inserted into the corresponding cavities 13 of the connector housing 11 set at the specified position by the holder M1 by the automatic assembling apparatus (not shown) to form a subassembly. The subassembly formed by the automatic assembling apparatus is arranged on a harness assembling table by hands and is bundled together with a subassembly formed in an other process. At this stage, the terminal fittings T mounted on ends of wires of the other subassembly are inserted by hands. Since an operation of inserting the other terminal fittings T by hands is often performed after the terminal fittings T are inserted into the connector housings 11 by the automatic assembling apparatus in the assembling process of an automotive wiring harness, the retainer 15 needs to be held in the second partial locking position P2. After all the necessary terminal fittings T are inserted, the retainer 15 is pushed to the full locking position by hands. Similar to the conventional double locking connectors, the retainer 15 can be lightly pushed from the second partial locking position P2 to the full locking position P3 with the terminal fittings T accommodated in the cavities 13. In other words, as shown in FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B), the flexible arm 15d is deformed to cause the full locking claw 15d1 to move over the full locking projection 12f, thereby effecting full locking. Although the first locking means A is set in a separate position as the locking means for the retainer 15 in the first partial locking position P1 in the foregoing embodiment, it may be constructed by providing a projection substantially in the same position as the second partial locking means B, i.e. in a position where the partial locking projection 12e and the full locking projection 12f are formed. As is clear from the above description, the holding force for partially locking the retainer in the housing main body is set larger in the first partial locking position than in the second partial locking position before the full locking position. This securely prevents the retainer from inadvertently moving to the full locking position by collision of an other connector housing or an other external matter with this connector housing during the transportation of the connector housings. Therefore, a cumbersome operation of pulling the retainer inadvertently pushed to the full locking portion back to the partial locking position needs not be performed in the wiring harness assembling process. LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 11 connector housing 12 housing main body 12c locking hole 12d escape hole 12e partial locking projection 12f full locking projection 13 cavity 14a hollow portion 15 retainer 15b locking projection 15c1 partial locking claw 15d1 full locking claw T terminal fitting P1 first partial locking position P2 second partial locking position P3 full locking position A first locking means B second locking means

Claims: A connector housing (11), comprising: one or more cavities (13) for at least partly accommodating terminal fittings (T), a housing main body (12) having a hollow portion (14a) extending in a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the cavities (13), and a retainer (15) which can be locked in a partial locking position (P1, P2) where the retainer (15) is located at a shallow insertion position in the hollow portion (14a) and permits the insertion and/or withdrawal of the terminal fittings (T), and in a full locking position (P3) where the retainer (15) is located at a deeper insertion position in the hollow portion (14a) than in the partial locking position (P1, P2) to substantially lock the terminal fittings (T) so as not to come out of the cavities (13), wherein the partial locking position (P1, P2) of the retainer (15) comprises at least first and second partial locking positions (P1, P2) having different depths in the hollow portion (14a) in an inserting direction, characterised in that a holding force for partially locking the retainer (15) in the housing main body (12) is larger in the first partial locking position (P1) than in the second partial locking position (P2) located before the full locking position (P3). A connector housing according to claim 1, wherein the terminal fittings (T) are to be inserted through a rear end surface of the connector housing (11). A connector housing according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the hollow portion (14a) extends from a surrounding wall of the housing main body (12). A connector housing according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the retainer (15) is or can be locked in the first partial locking position (P1) in the housing main body (12) by a first locking means (A) comprising one or more mutually engageable locking projections (15b) and locking holes (12c) preferably formed on at least one side wall of the retainer (15) and a corresponding wall of the hollow portion (14a) . A connector housing according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the retainer (15) is or can be locked in the second partial locking position (P2) and the full locking position (P3) in the housing main body (12) by a second locking means (B) comprising one or more full and partial locking projections (12e, 12f) projecting from front and rear inner walls of the hollow portion (14a) in the housing main body (12) and corresponding full and partial locking claws (15c1, 15d1) projecting from the retainer (15) and selectively engageable with the full and partial locking projections (12e, 12f) in the full locking position (P3) and the second locking position (P2). A connector housing according to claim 4 and 5, wherein, when the retainer (15) is locked in the first partial locking position (P1) in the housing main body (12) by the first locking means (A), the partial locking claw (15c1) of the retainer (15) comes substantially into contact with the partial locking projection (12e) of the housing main body (12) to additionally create a supplemental holding force for preventing the movement of the retainer (15) in its inserting direction. A connector housing according to claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein the first locking means (A) removes a restriction on the movement of the retainer (15) when the retainer (15) is inserted to the second partial locking position (P2). A connector housing according to one or more of the preceding claims 4 to 7, wherein, when the retainer (15) is locked in the first partial locking position (P1) in the housing main body (12) by the first locking means (A), the full locking claw (15d1) of the retainer (15) comes substantially into contact with an additional projection of the housing main body (12) to additionally create a supplemental holding force for preventing the movement of the retainer (15) in its inserting direction. A connector housing according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the holding force acting between the housing main body (12) and the retainer (15) to hold the retainer (15) in the first partial locking position (P1) is set at a strength between about 50 and about 85 N, preferably between about 60 and about 75 N, while the holding force for the retainer (15) in the second partial locking position (P2) is preferably set at a strength between about 15 and about 30 N.

Inventors: FURUTANI MITSUGU, FURUTANI, MITSUGU
Applicants: SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, LTD.
Application year: 2001
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01R13