Patent Publication Number: US-6340321-B2

Title: Electrical connector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a connector capable of accommodating terminals in its accommodating chamber, and more particularly to a connector which achieves improvement of insertion performance of each terminal into the terminal accommodating chamber, prevention of the terminal from being slipped out and improvement of mechanical strength of the connector. 
     In a substrate connector  101 , for example, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of terminals  103  are disposed in its connector housing  102  and the respective terminals  103  are inserted into through holes  105  formed in a printed wiring board  104 . A land portion of the wiring pattern is connected to the terminals  103  by soldering, so that the substrate connector  101  is mounted on the printed wiring board  104 . 
     In the substrate connector  101 , as shown in FIG. 2, a mating connector  106  is inserted into a terminal accommodating chamber  107  of the connector housing  102 . By coupling the mating connector  106  with the substrate connector  101 , a terminal (not shown) of the terminal connector  106  comes into contact with the terminal  103  in the substrate connector  101 . 
     The terminal  103  provided in the connector housing  102  may be protruded to the side of a rear face  104   b  opposite to a connector mounting face  104   a  of the printed wiring board  104  because of a contact load on the terminal when and after the mating connector  106  is coupled. 
     On the other hand, in a so-called wire connector in which a wire is connected, as shown in FIG. 3, wires  111 ,  112  are connected to a terminal  110  and another terminal (not shown) respectively in respective connector housings. By coupling a female connector  113  to a male connector  114 , the terminals are coupled with each other. 
     However, in case of the wire connector, after the connectors are coupled with each other, the terminal  110  may be slipped out of the connector housing  109  because of an unexpected external force. To prevent this phenomenon, it is necessary to provide the connector housing  109  with a double fixing member  115  for preventing the terminal  110  from being slipped out as shown in FIG.  3 . To provide with the double fixing member  115 , a hole needs to be formed in the connector housing  109 . Further, the double fixing member  115 , which is a small part, needs to be produced especially, thereby leading to increases of production cost and production steps. 
     As described above, in the substrate connector  101  and wire connector  113 , the terminals  103 ,  110  may be slipped out or the double fixing member  115  for preventing an escape of the terminal  110  is necessary, so that the increases of production cost and production steps cannot be avoided. 
     Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed to solve the above described problem and therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a connector having a high mechanical strength, capable of securing a smooth insertion of a terminal into a terminal accommodating chamber and preventing an escape of the terminal from the terminal accommodating chamber. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to a first aspect of the present invention, the connector comprises: a connector terminal constituted of a wire connecting portion, to which a wire is connected, a terminal contact portion, which a mating terminal contacts and a joint portion for joining the wire connecting portion to the terminal contact portion, the wire connecting portion and the terminal contact portion being joined to the joint portion through an end of each thereof while the other end of each thereof being disposed in the same direction; a first housing having a terminal accommodating chamber in which the connector terminal is inserted and disposed in the same direction in which the mating connector is inserted; and a second housing having a connector insertion hole, through which the mating connector is to be inserted and mounted integratedly with the terminal accommodating chamber of the first housing through a hinge portion. The second housing is provided with a terminal pressing member for pressing the joint portion of the connector terminal inserted into the terminal insertion hole when the second housing is coupled with the first housing. 
     Therefore, the connector housing is so constructed that it is divided to the first housing having the terminal accommodating chamber and the second housing having the connector insertion hole through which the mating connector is to be inserted and the second housing can be coupled with the first housing through the hinge portion. Thus, when the second housing is separated from the first housing, the connector terminal can be mounted in the terminal accommodating chamber easily. 
     When the second housing is coupled with the first housing, the terminal pressing member formed on the second housing presses the joint portion of the connector terminal disposed in the terminal insertion hole formed in the terminal accommodating chamber. Thus, the connector terminal is prevented from being slipped out of the terminal accommodating chamber. 
     Further, the wire connecting portion and the terminal contact portion of the connector terminal are not provided on the same line, but disposed on the joint portion by joining the proximal ends thereof to the joint portion, such that the other ends thereof are directed in the same direction. As a result, reduction of the size of the connector terminal can be achieved, thereby making it possible to reduce the size of the connector itself. 
     According to a second aspect of the present invention, a lock means for maintaining the coupling condition of the first housing and the second housing is provided. 
     Therefore, because the lock means for maintaining the coupling condition of the first housing and the second housing is provided, when the first and second housings are coupled with each other, the coupling condition can be maintained unless the lock means is released. Then, by releasing the lock means, the second housing can be separated from the first housing easily. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a condition in which a conventional substrate connector is mounted on a printed wiring board; 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a condition in which terminals are protruded from a connector housing when a mating connector is mounted on the substrate connector shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a condition in which a wire connector on which a double fixing member is produced is connected to a mate connector. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a connector of the embodiment, showing a condition in which the connector is disassembled; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a connector of the embodiment, showing a condition in which the connector is assembled; and 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a connector of the embodiment, showing a condition in which the mating connector is coupled therewith. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT. 
     &lt;Structure of Connector&gt; 
     As shown in FIGS. 4 to  6 , the connector of this embodiment comprises a connector terminal  1 , a first housing  4  having a terminal accommodating chamber  3  in which the connector terminals  1  are disposed in a direction in which a mating connector  2  is inserted, and a second housing  7  having a connector insertion hole  5  allowing the mating connector to be inserted and engaged and mounted on the side of the terminal accommodating chamber  3  of the first housing  4  through a hinge portion  6  such that it is combined. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, the connector terminal  1  comprises a wire connecting portion  9 , a terminal contact portion  10  which a mating terminal (not shown) is to contact, and a joint portion  11  for joining the wire connecting portion  9  to the terminal contact portion  10 . The connector terminal  1  is formed integratedly by punching and bending a metal sheet. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, the wire connecting portion  9  is comprised of a wire crimping portion  12  for crimping an insulated covering portion of the wire  8  and a core crimping/connecting portion  13  for crimping a core of the wire  8 . In this wire connecting portion  9 , a proximal end of the core crimping/connecting portion  13 , which is an end thereof, is joined to the joint portion  11 , which will be described later, and the wire crimping portion  12 , which is the other end, is directed upward. 
     The terminal contact portion  10  is a contact portion which is a rod-like tab in contact with a female terminal as a mating terminal. A proximal end of this terminal contact portion  10  is joined to the joint portion  11  and a front end thereof, which is the other end, is directed upward in the same direction as the wire connecting portion  9 . 
     The joint portion  11  is formed in the form of a substantially L-shaped flat sheet and inserted into a terminal insertion hole  14  formed in the terminal accommodating chamber  3 , which will be described later, with its short side direction (Z) as an insertion direction. 
     Although, the wire connecting portion  9  may be directed in any direction relative to the terminal contact portion  10 , according to this embodiment, they are directed in the same direction in order to achieve reduction of the connector size. The wire connecting portion  9  and the terminal contact portion  10  are provided in the same upward (Z−) direction such that they are substantially parallel, on both ends in the length direction of the joint portion  11 . As a result, the connector terminal  1  is formed in a substantially U-shape as viewed in plan. 
     As shown in FIGS. 4,  5 , the first housing  4  is comprised of a housing coupling portion  15  with which the second housing  7  is to be coupled and a wire introducing portion  16  for introducing the wire  8  connected to the connector terminal  1  disposed in the terminal accommodating chamber  3  out of the housing. When the first housing  4  is coupled with the second housing  7 , a rectangular solid is formed. 
     As shown in FIG. 6, a connector mounting concave portion  17 , on which a front end portion  2   a  of the mating connector  2  is to be mounted, is formed in the housing coupling portion  15 . The terminal insertion hole  14 , in which the joint portion  11  of the connector terminal  1  is to be inserted, is formed in a bottom of the connector mounting concave portion  17 . As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal insertion hole  14  is formed by cutting out part of a surrounding wall  18  composing the connector mounting concave portion  17 , such that it extends between the connector mounting concave portion  17  and the wire introducing portion  16 . If the joint portion  11  is engaged with this connector mounting concave portion  17 , the right/left direction and the back/forth direction of the connector terminal  1  are determined. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, the wire introducing portion  16  is comprised of a pair of side walls  16   a,    16   a  formed on a rear of the housing coupling portion  15  such that they rise up to a rear wall  16   b.  If the first housing  5  and the second housing  7  are coupled with each other, a rectangular space portion is formed as shown in FIGS. 5,  6 . Section walls  19  are formed on a bottom of this wire introducing portion  16  so that they section the terminal accommodating chamber  3 . This section wall  19  is provided substantially at right angle relative to the surrounding wall so that it joins the surrounding wall  18  to the rear wall  16   b.    
     A lock pawl  20 , which is a locking means for maintaining coupling condition of the first housing  4  and the second housing  7  is formed on a top end corner of each of both the side walls  16   a,    16   a  constituting the wire introducing portion  16 . As shown in FIG. 5, when the housings are coupled with each other, the lock pawl  20  is engaged with a top end face  7   a  of the second housing  7  so as to lock the coupling condition between the first housing  4  and the second housing  7 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 4 to  6 , the second housing  7  is formed as hood of a rectangular solid having the connector insertion hole  5  with which the mating connector is to be engaged. This second housing  7  can be coupled with the first housing  4  in a direction toward the terminal accommodating chamber  3  through the hinge portion  6 . The second housing  7  is coupled with the first housing  4  such that a bottom end face  7   b  thereof is in contact with a top end face  18   a  of the surrounding wall  18  of the housing coupling portion  15 . The hinge portion is composed of structure and material allowing coupling action and separating action for the first housing  4  and the second housing  7 . 
     The second housing  7  has a terminal pressing member  21  for pressing the joint portion  11  of the connector terminal  1  to the terminal insertion hole  14  when the second housing  7  is coupled with the first housing  4 . The terminal pressing members  21  are formed as protruded pieces, which are disposed near a bottom end of an outer side face  7   c  to be disposed on the side of the wire introducing portion  16  and invade into the cutout portions  22  formed in part of the surrounding wall  18 . 
     As shown in FIG. 6, a bottom end face  21   a  of the terminal pressing member  21  comes into contact with a top end portion of the joint portion  11  of the connector terminal  1 . That is, the terminal pressing member  21  presses a top end  11   a  of the joint portion  11  inserted into the cutout portion  22  and engaged in the terminal insertion hole  14  with its bottom end face  21   a,  so as to prevent the connector terminal  1  from escaping from the terminal insertion hole  14 . 
     &lt;Operations for Mounting a Connector Terminal and for Coupling the Mating Connector&gt; 
     An operation for mounting the connector terminal  1  into the housing in the division type connector having the above described structure will be described. First of all, as shown in FIG. 4, the connector terminal  1  is mounted in each terminal accommodating chamber  3  in the separated first housing  4  in the same direction that the mating connector  2  is inserted. Then, the joint portion  11  of the connector terminal  1  is embedded in the terminal insertion hole  14  formed in each terminal accommodating chamber  3 . If the connector terminal  1  is embedded in the terminal insertion hole  14 , the connector terminal  1  is positioned in the back/forth direction (X) and right/left direction (Y). 
     By turning the second housing  7  in a direction indicated by an arrow T of FIG. 4, the second housing  7  is coupled with the first housing  4 . Consequently, as shown in FIG. 5, the second housing  7  rides on the housing coupling portion  15  of the housing  4 , so that the lock pawls  20  hold the top end face  7   a  of the second housing  7 . As a result, coupling condition between the first housing  4  and the second housing  7  is locked. 
     The terminal pressing member  21  provided on the second housing  7  invades into the cutout portion  22 , so that the bottom end face  21   a  presses the top end face  11   a  of the joint portion  11  of the connector terminal  1  from above (Z+). Consequently, the connector terminal  1  is prevented from being slipped out of the terminal accommodating chamber  3 . 
     In this coupling condition, as shown in FIGS. 5,  6 , the terminal contact portions  10  is located in the connector insertion hole  5  formed in the second housing  7  and the wire connecting portion  9  is located in the wire introducing portion  16 . 
     Then, the mating connector  2  is inserted into the connector Insertion hole  5  in the second housing  7  locked with respect to the first housing  4 . Then, a mating terminal of the mating connector  2  comes into contact with the terminal contact portion  10  in the connector insertion hole  5  and then the coupling operation is ended. 
     When the mating connector  2  is removed, a force in the removing direction (Z−) is applied to the second housing  7 . However, because the second housing  7  is kept in the coupling condition by the lock pawls  20 , the force for removing the mating connector never releases the locking condition. Because the connector terminal  1  can be mounted in the terminal accommodating chamber  3  under a condition in which the first housing  4  is separated from the second housing  7 , installation of the connector terminal  1  into the terminal accommodating chamber  3  can be carried out easily. Further, because the connector terminal  1  is pressed by the terminal pressing member  21 , the connector terminal  1  can be prevented from being removed from the terminal accommodating chamber  3  by the removing force for the mating connector  2 . Further, because this connector is composed of the first housing  4  and the second housing  7 , mechanical strength of the same connector is increased. 
     A specific embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not restricted to the above described embodiment, but may be modified in various ways. The connector of the above described embodiment may be applied to connectors used in every field, for example, a connector for use in connecting a wire to a device contained in a sun visor mounted on a top end of a front window of automobile. 
     According to a first aspect of the present invention, the connector housing is comprised of the first housing having the terminal accommodating chamber and the second housing having the connector insertion hole which the mating connector is to be inserted through and engaged with. The second housing can be coupled with the first housing through the hinge portion. Thus, the connector terminal can be mounted easily into the terminal accommodating chamber under a condition in which the second housing is separated from the first housing, thereby making it possible to improve efficiency of a procedure for installing the connector terminal. 
     When the second housing is coupled with the first housing, the terminal pressing member formed on the second housing presses the joint portion of the connector terminal disposed in the terminal insertion hole formed in the terminal accommodating chamber, thereby making it possible to prevent the connector terminal from being slipped out of the terminal accommodating chamber. 
     According to a second aspect of the present invention, the lock means for holding the coupling condition between the first housing and the second housing is provided. When the first and second housing are coupled with each other, the coupling condition can be maintained until the lock means is released. Then, by releasing the lock means, the second housing can be separated from the first housing easily.