Patent Publication Number: US-6666718-B2

Title: Side spacer structure in connector

Description:
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-309936, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a side spacer structure in a connector for retaining terminals respectively received into terminal receiving chambers of a connector housing and more particularly to a side spacer structure in a connector, which structure is designed to have members for temporarily retaining terminals and members for releasing the terminals from being retained. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In a conventional side spacer structure in a connector, lances for temporarily retaining terminals and slip-off blocking portions for securing terminals are provided in a projecting condition in a manner alternating with each other as shown in FIG. 7 (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. JP-A-04-22079). 
     In a conventional side spacer structure, temporary retaining lances  4  and slip-off blocking portions  7  are provided alternately with each other to branch plates  3  provided in proximity in a row arrangement to a base portion  2  so as to respectively correspond to a plurality of terminal receiving chambers  12  which will be described later. 
     The temporary retaining lance  4  has a retaining face  5  coplanar with the top surface  8  of the slip-off blocking portion  7  and when the retaining face  5  is brought into contact with the edge face  15  of a female terminal  14 , the female terminal  14  can temporarily be retained (see FIG.  8 ). Further, the temporary retaining lance  4  has a tapered face  6  tilting forward (upward in FIG. 7) from the retaining face  5 . 
     The slip-off blocking portion  7  has the top surface  8  as a plane substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the terminal is inserted, the top surface  8  being formed in a position where it comes in contact with the edge face  15  of the female terminal  14 . When the side spacer  1  is finally secured, the female terminal  14  can finally be retained by making the top surface  8  come in contact with the edge face  15  of the female terminal  14  (see FIG.  9 ). 
     A temporary retaining pawl  9  for temporarily retaining the side spacer  1  in a housing body  11  (see FIGS. 8 and 9) is provided at the front end of the base of the branch plate  3  and moreover a final retaining pawl  10  for securing the side spacer  1  in the housing body  11  is provided at both upper and lower ends of the base portion  2 . 
     The temporarily retained condition of the spacer is shown in FIG.  8 . When the side spacer  1  is inserted into the housing body  11  and temporarily retained, the temporary retaining lance  4  is disposed so that the retaining face  5  is positioned in the terminal receiving chamber  12 . When the female terminal  14  is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber  12  from behind (downward in FIG.  8 ), the temporary retaining lance  4  is brought into slidable contact with the side of the female terminal  14  and undergoes elastic deformation toward the outer side of the terminal receiving chamber  12 . On the arrival of the female terminal  14  in position in the terminal receiving chamber  12 , the temporary retaining lance  4  subjected to the elastic deformation is returned to the original position, whereby the retaining face  5  comes to contact the edge face  15  of the female terminal  14 . Thus, the female terminal  14  can temporarily be retained in position within the terminal receiving chamber  12 . 
     When the side spacer  1  is thrust into the housing body  11  after the female terminal  14  is temporarily retained, the side spacer  1  is finally secured in the housing body  11 . When the side spacer  1  is finally secured as shown in FIG. 9, the temporary retaining lance  4  (see FIG. 8) is released from the edge face  15  of the female terminal  14  whereby to make the top surface  8  of the slip-off blocking portion  7  retain the edge face  15  instead. As the slip-off blocking portion  7  is never released from the edge face  15  because of the elastic deformation, the female terminal  14  is finally secured in position within the terminal receiving chamber  12 . 
     When the female terminal  14  is pulled out of the housing body  11 , the side spacer  1  is returned to the temporary retaining condition as shown in FIG.  8 . Further, a jig (not shown) is inserted into a terminal releasing hole  13  and brought into contact with the tapered face  6  of the temporary retaining lance  4  whereby to make the temporary retaining lance  4  undergo the elastic deformation toward the outer side of the terminal receiving chamber  12 . In other words, the retaining face  5  and the edge face  15  are released from being retained together, so that the female terminal  14  is allowed to move backward. 
     However, as the size of the housing body decreases in size, the temporary retaining lance is also made smaller and thinner. In other words, the allowable stress of the temporary retaining lance against elastic deformation lowers. In case where the jig is used to displace the temporary retaining lance when the terminal is released from being retained, the problem is that there may occur elastic deformation or damage caused to the temporary retaining lance. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the invention intended to solve the foregoing problems is to provide a side spacer structure in a connector so devised as to prevent the deformation of and damage to temporary retaining lances when terminals are released from being retained. 
     In order to accomplish the object above, there is provided a side spacer structure in a connector comprising: 
     a connector housing having at least one of terminal receiving chambers in each of which a terminal is accommodated; 
     a side spacer mounted from a side face of the connector housing, the side spacer including 
     an outer member having a U-shape, and 
     a branch plate projecting from the outer member in a direction in which the side spacer is inserted to the connector housing, 
     the branch plate including a tentative retention lance for temporarily retaining the terminal inserted into the terminal receiving chambers from a fitting side of the connector housing, 
     a securing portion for securing the terminal in a state for operation, and 
     a terminal releasing lance provided in a side portion of the tentative retention lance; 
     wherein a front end of the terminal releasing lance is positioned backward than a front end of the tentative retention lance in a fitting direction of the connector housing. 
     In the side spacer structure in the connector thus arranged, the terminal releasing lance is provided in the side portion of the tentative retention lance in a connected row arrangement, so that it is only needed to make the terminal releasing lance undergo elastic deformation when the terminal is released from being retained. At this time, since a front end of the terminal releasing lance is positioned backward than a front end of the tentative retention lance, the terminal releasing lance in the direction of inserting the terminal is set shorter in length than the lance for temporarily retaining the terminal. 
     Therefore, the displacement amount required to make the terminal releasing lance undergo the elastic deformation can be made smaller than the displacement amount required to directly make the lance for temporarily retaining the terminal undergo the elastic deformation, which results in decreasing the load applied to the lance for temporarily retaining the terminal. Thus, the lance for temporarily retaining the terminal is prevented from undergoing plastic deformation as well as being damaged when the terminal is released from being retained. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a side spacer structure in a connector embodying the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing the lengthwise profile of a terminal releasing lance in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of a side spacer temporarily retained in a connector housing as seen from the front in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a terminal received into a terminal receiving chamber in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the side spacer of FIG. 4 finally secured inside; 
     FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the terminal when it is released from being retained; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional side spacer structure in a connector; 
     FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view of a side spacer of FIG. 7 temporarily retained; and 
     FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view of the side spacer of FIG. 7 finally secured. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A description will now be given of a side spacer structure in a connector embodying the invention with reference to FIGS. 1 to  6 . FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a side spacer structure in a connector embodying the invention; FIG. 2, a vertical sectional view showing the lengthwise profile of a terminal releasing lance in FIG. 1; FIG. 3, a plan view of a side spacer temporarily retained in a connector housing as seen from the front in FIG. 1; FIG. 4, a vertical sectional view of a terminal received into a terminal receiving chamber in FIG. 3; FIG. 5, a vertical sectional view of the side spacer of FIG. 4 finally secured inside; and FIG. 6, a vertical sectional view of the terminal when it is released from being retained. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, according to this embodiment of the invention, a side spacer  30  made of synthetic resin material comprises an outer member  31  to be mated with a housing body  40  when the outer member  31  is attached thereto which will be described later and branch plates  32  inserted into a plurality of terminal receiving chambers  41  from the side portions of the housing body  40 , the branch plate  32  being projected from a side plate  31   a  to a position surrounded with the outer member  31 . 
     The outer member  31  is a plate-like member curved in U-shape and formed so that it is covered with a side plate  31   a , an upper plate  31   b  and a lower plate  31   c  when attached to the housing body  40 . 
     The branch plates  32  are projected sideways from the inside of the side plate  31   a  and respectively passed through the plurality of terminal receiving chambers  41  when attached to the housing body  40 , so that a female terminal  50  can be retained inside as described later. 
     A guide rib  33  extending in the direction in which the side spacer  30  is attached to the housing body  40  is provided beneath the underside of the upper plate  31   b  and mates with the guide groove  42  of the housing body  40  as described later. Further, a retaining projection  34  is provided on the underside of the upper plate  31   b  and the top surface of the lower plate  31   c  both. When the retaining projections  34  are temporarily retained inside the housing body  40 , the retaining projections  34  are retained in the respective temporary retaining holes  43  of the housing body  40  and when the retaining projections  34  are finally secured inside the housing body  40 , the retaining projections  34  are retained in the respective final retaining holes  44  of the housing body  40  (see FIG.  3 ). 
     The branch plate  32  is projected in two parallel places of the inside of the side plate  31   a  in conformity with the position of the terminal receiving chamber  41  of the housing body  40 . As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a tentative retention lances  35  for temporarily retaining the terminals are extended forward and a plurality of securing portions  36  for securing the terminals are formed in such a manner as to correspond to the plurality of terminal receiving chambers  41 . Moreover, terminal releasing lances  37  are provided in the respective side portions of the tentative retention lances  35  in a connected row arrangement. 
     The tentative retention lance  35  is extended forward further than the branch plate  32  with its front end tilted downward and can be subjected to elastic displacement vertically. The front  35   a  of the front end portion is a plane perpendicular to the direction into which the female terminal  50  is inserted and works to temporarily retain the female terminal  50  by coming in contact with the rear end of a temporary retaining projection  51 . 
     The securing portion  36  for securing the terminal is provided under and integrally with the branch plate  32  and the front end of the securing portion  36  for securing the terminal forms a plane perpendicular to the direction into which the female terminal  50  is inserted. As the securing portion  36  for securing the terminal is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped and highly rigid and used to finally secure the female terminal  50  by coming in contact with the rear end of a final retaining projection  52 . 
     The terminal releasing lance  37  is extended forward from the branch plate  32  and formed in the way linked with the side portion of the tentative retention lance  35 . Moreover, the front end of the terminal releasing lance  37  is set further back from the front end of the tentative retention lance  35 . Consequently, the terminal releasing lance  37  in the direction of inserting the terminal is set shorter in length than the tentative retention lance  35 . 
     When the operation of releasing the female terminal  50  is performed, the terminal releasing lance  37  is subjected to upward elastic displacement by a releasing jig  60  (see FIG.  6 ). Thus, the tentative retention lance  35  also undergoes the upward elastic displacement with the elastic displacement of the terminal releasing lance  37  so as to release the female terminal  50  from being retained. Therefore, a space is provided under the terminal releasing lance  37  so that the releasing jig  60  is insertable. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the guide rib  33  is mated with the guide groove  42  (see FIG. 4) when the side spacer  30  is attached to the housing body  40  and the branch plate  32  is laterally inserted into the through-hole  45  passing through the plurality of terminal receiving chambers  41  from one side portion of the housing body  40 . When the pair of retaining projections  34  provided in a manner opposite to the upper plate  31   b  and the lower plate  31   c  of the outer member  31  are mated with the respective temporary retaining holes  43  formed in the upper and lower portions of the housing body  40 , the side spacer  30  is temporarily retained. 
     When the side spacer  30  is thrust in, further, the engagement of the retaining projections  34  with the temporary retaining holes  43  are released and the retaining projections  34  are mated with the respective final retaining holes  44  formed in the upper and lower portions of the housing body  40 , so that the side spacer  40  is finally secured. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, while the side spacer  30  is temporarily retained, the female terminal  50  is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber  41  from behind. Then the top surface of the female terminal  50  is brought into slidable contact with the tentative retention lance  35  and when the female terminal  50  is received in position in the terminal receiving chamber  41  with the tentative retention lance  35  being bent upward, the front  35   a  of the tentative retention lance  35  comes in contact with the rear end of the temporary retaining projection  51  provided above the forward portion of the female terminal  50  so as to have the female terminal  50  temporarily retained. 
     As shown in FIG. 5, the branch plate  32  is slidably moved deep in the through-hole  45  and the tentative retention lance  35  is released from the temporary retaining projection  51  when the side spacer  30  is finally secured and the front end of the securing portion  36  for securing the terminal comes in contact with the rear end of the final retaining projection  52  of the female terminal  50 . As the securing portion  36  for securing the terminal is prevented from being released from the final retaining projection  52  because of the elastic deformation, the female terminal  50  is finally secured in position in the terminal receiving chamber  41 . 
     When the female terminal  50  is pulled out of the housing body  40 , the side spacer  30  is returned to the temporary retaining position first as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. As shown in FIG. 6, further, the jig  60  having a tapered face  61  in the upper portion at its front end is inserted from the front of the terminal releasing hole  46  and brought into slidable contact with the underside of the terminal releasing lance  37  whereby to make the terminal releasing lance  37  undergo the upward elastic deformation toward the through-hole  45 . More specifically, the tentative retention lance  35  connected to the terminal releasing lance  37  in a connective arrangement is also displaced upward and the tentative retention lance  35  and the temporary retaining projection  51  are released from being retained together, so that the female terminal  50  is allowed to move backward. 
     In this case, the front end of the terminal releasing lance  37  is positioned backward further than the front end of the tentative retention lance  35 , that is, the terminal releasing lance  37  in the direction of inserting the terminal is set shorter in length than the tentative retention lance  35 . 
     Therefore, the displacement amount of the terminal releasing lance  37  required for the tentative retention lance  35  and the temporary retaining projection  51  to be released from being retained together is reducible, which results in decreasing the load applied to the tentative retention lance  35 . Thus, the tentative retention lance  35  is prevented from undergoing plastic deformation as well as being damaged. 
     As set forth above, in the side spacer structure in the connector thus arranged, the terminal releasing lances are provided in the respective side portions of the tentative retention lances in a connected row arrangement, so that it is only needed to make the terminal releasing lance undergo the elastic deformation when the terminal is released from being retained. At this time, since the front end of the terminal releasing lance is positioned backward further than the front end of a tentative retention lance for temporarily retaining the terminal, the terminal releasing lance in the direction of inserting the terminal is set shorter in length than the tentative retention lance. 
     Therefore, the displacement amount required to make the terminal releasing lance undergo the elastic deformation can be made smaller than the displacement amount required to directly make the tentative retention lance undergo the elastic deformation, which results in decreasing the load applied to the tentative retention lance. Thus, the tentative retention lance is prevented from undergoing plastic deformation as well as being damaged when the terminal is released from being retained.