Double retaining connector

[0002] This invention relates to a double retaining connector in which each terminal is retained in a double manner by a retaining lance, provided within a connector housing, and a retaining arm of a front holder.

[0003] One conventional double retaining connector is shown in FIGS. 14 to 16. The illustrated housing is a female one 102 of a pair of connector housings, and each female terminal 105, received in an associated terminal receiving chambers 102cin this female connector housing, is retained in a double manner by a retaining lance 102a, provided at an upper portion of the terminal receiving chamber 102c, and a front holder 103 attached to the female connector housing from the front side of the terminal receiving chambers 102.

[0004] Referring to the above double retaining construction in further detail, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the plurality of terminal receiving chambers 102care provided in two (upper and lower) rows in the female connector housing 102 made of a synthetic resin, and the retaining lance 102cis provided at an upper portion of each terminal receiving chamber 102c, and extends left (in the drawings) generally horizontally. With this construction, the female terminal 105, inserted and guided into the terminal receiving chamber 102cfrom the right side (FIG. 16), moves in the terminal receiving chamber 102c, with an upper surface 105bof its terminal portion 105aheld in sliding contact with a lower end portion 102a₁of the retaining lance 102a, and finally when a rear end 105b₁of the upper surface 105bof the terminal portion 105apasses past the lower end portion 102a₂of the retaining lance 102a, the retaining lance 102ais elastically restored to an initial position, thereby effecting a first-stage retaining of the female terminal 105.

[0005] The front holder 103, like the female connector housing 102, is molded of a synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the front holder 103 is attached to the female connector housing 102 from the front side of the terminal receiving chambers 102cof the female connector housing 102. When the front holder 103 is inserted into a front end portion of the female connector housing 102, with its insertion-side end 103edirected toward the female connector housing 102, a provisionally-retaining projection 103g, formed on an upper retaining arm 103f, first slides past an upper retaining projection 102dof the female connector housing 102, and the front holder 103 is provisionally retained on the female connector housing 102.

[0006] In this condition, when the front holder 103 is further inserted into the female connector housing 102, with a front end 103dof a retaining arm 103aof the front holder 103 lifted in a direction of arrow C (FIG. 15), a retaining projection 103c, formed on the retaining arm 103a, is engaged with a lower retaining projection 102bformed on the female connector housing 102, so that the front holder 103 is fixed relative to the female connector housing 102. As a result, a distal end portion of the retaining arm 103aof the front holder 103 contacts an upper surface 102a₃of the retaining lance 102a, thereby preventing the retaining lance 102afrom upward movement, and therefore the female terminal 105 is retained in a double manner relative to the female connector housing 102.

[0007] FIG. 15 shows a condition in which the female terminals 105 are retained in a double manner relative to the female connector housing 102. Right, left and lower slanting surfaces 102fare formed on a front end surface 102eof the lower terminal receiving chamber 102cof the female connector housing 102, and also a slanting surface 103bis formed on a front end surface 103hof the retaining arm 103aof the front holder 103, and these slanting surfaces 102fand 103bcooperate with one another to form a tapered guide portion 107 for an insertion port 106 through which a male terminal 104 is engaged with the female terminal 105.

[0008] In the above construction, as shown in FIG. 15, for engaging the male terminal 104, received in a male connector housing (not shown), with the female terminal 105, a front end portion 104aof the male terminal 104 is first guided into the insertion port 106 by the tapered guide portion 107, and is further moved into the terminal receiving chamber 102cin a direction of arrow D, and is engaged with the front end portion of the female terminal.

[0009] In the above conventional double retaining connector, however, when a distal end 104bof the front end metallic portion 104aof the male terminal 104 abuts against the upper slanting surface 103bduring the insertion of the male terminal 104 into the terminal receiving chamber 102cas shown in FIG. 16, the retaining arm 103acan be moved upward in a direction of arrow E. As a result, the front end metallic portion 104amoves into the terminal receiving chamber 102cwithout being guided by the slanting surface 103b, and the distal end 104bof the front end portion 104aimpinges on an upper portion of the front end surface of the front end portion (terminal portion) 105aof the female terminal 105, so that the male terminal 104 can not move further, and therefore the male terminal 104 can not be engaged with the female terminal 105.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the above conventional double retaining connector, and an object of the invention is to provide a double retaining connector in which a male terminal can be smoothly inserted into a terminal receiving chamber by a tapered guide portion.

[0011] Another object of the invention is to provide a double retaining connector in which a male terminal can be smoothly inserted into a terminal receiving chamber even when the male terminal to be inserted into an insertion portion abuts against any one of sides of a rectangular, tapered guide portion.

[0012] According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a double retaining connector comprising a connector housing; a terminal receiving chamber formed within the connector housing, a female terminal being inserted into the terminal receiving chamber through one insertion portion thereof while a male terminal is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber through the other insertion portion thereof, and is engaged with the female terminal; a retaining lance which extends from an inner surface of the terminal receiving chamber, and retains the female terminal, received in the terminal receiving chamber, by elastic deformation; a front holder which is attached to the connector housing from that side of the terminal receiving chamber, through which the male terminal is inserted into the chamber, and is fixed to the connector housing, thereby preventing deformation of the retaining lance so as to retain the female terminal relative to the connector housing in a double manner; a retaining arm which is formed integrally with the front holder, and retains the front holder on the connector housing by elastic deformation; and a tapered guide portion for guiding the male terminal into the terminal receiving chamber, the tapered guide portion being formed by a slanting surface, formed on the connector housing, and a slanting surface movable in unison with the retaining arm of the front holder; wherein the retaining arm is deformable in a direction perpendicular to a direction of deformation of the retaining lance.

[0013] According to a second aspect of the invention, in the double retaining connector of the first aspect of the invention, the insertion portion of the terminal receiving chamber, through which the male terminal is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber, has an opening of a generally rectangular cross-section, and the tapered guide portion is formed around the insertion portion in a generally rectangular shape, and at least part of sides of the tapered guide portion is formed by the slanting surface on the connector housing.

[0014] In the invention of the first aspect, the retaining arm, which retains the front holder on the connector housing by elastic deformation, is deformable in the direction perpendicular to the direction of deformation of the retaining lance which retains the female terminal, received in the terminal receiving chamber, by elastic deformation. Therefore, the ratio of the slanting surface on the front holder to the tapered guide portion can be kept to a minimum.

[0015] In the invention of the second aspect, at least part of the sides of the rectangular, tapered guide portion is formed by the slanting surface on the connector housing. Therefore, even when the male terminal to be inserted into the insertion portion abuts against any of the sides of the rectangular, tapered guide portion, the male terminal abuts against the slanting surface on the connector housing which surface is not elastically deformable.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a front-elevational view of a preferred embodiment of a double retaining connector of the present invention;

[0017] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the double retaining connector taken along line I—I of FIG. 1;

[0018] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the double retaining connector taken along line II—II of FIG. 1;

[0019] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to the cross-sectional view taken along line I—I of FIG. 1, showing a completely-retained condition of a connector housing and a front holder of the double retaining connector of FIG. 1;

[0020] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to the cross-sectional view taken along line II—II of FIG. 1, showing the completely-retained condition of the connector housing and the front holder of the double retaining connector of FIG. 1;

[0021] FIG. 6 is a front-elevational view showing the female connector housing used in the double retaining connector of FIG. 1;

[0022] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III—III of FIG. 6;

[0023] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV—IV of FIG. 6;

[0024] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V—V of FIG. 6;

[0025] FIG. 10 is a front-elevational view of the front holder used in the double retaining connector of FIG. 1;

[0026] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI—VI of FIG. 10;

[0027] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII—VII of FIG. 10;

[0028] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII—VIII of FIG. 10;

[0029] FIG. 14 is a front-elevational view of a conventional double retaining connector;

[0030] FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX—IX of FIG. 14; and

[0031] FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of a portion X of FIG. 15.

[0032] Preferred embodiments of a double retaining connector of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0033] FIGS. 1 to 3 show one preferred embodiment of the double retaining connector of the invention. The double retaining connector 1 of the present invention, like the above conventional double retaining connector 101, comprises a female connector housing 2 and a front holder 3, and further comprises a packing 14 forming a seal between the female connector housing 2 and the front holder 3. As in the conventional double retaining connector, each female terminal 5 is retained in a double manner relative to the female connector housing 2 by a retaining lance 2a, provided in a terminal receiving chamber 2cof the female connector housing 2, and the front holder 3 attached to the female connector housing 2 from the rear side of the terminal receiving chambers 2c.

[0034] FIGS. 6 to 9 show the female connector housing 2. The female connector housing 2 is made of a synthetic resin, and has the plurality of terminal receiving chambers 2cprovided within a tubular hood portion 2bfor receiving the female terminals 5, respectively. Each terminal receiving chamber 2chas an insertion port 2jfor the insertion of the female terminal 5 therethrough, and an insertion port 2kthrough which a male terminal 4 is inserted to be engaged with the female terminal 5. The retaining lance 2aextends left (in the drawings) generally horizontally from a lower surface of each terminal receiving chamber 2c, and a retaining end 2a₂for engagement with a terminal metallic portion 5aof the female terminal 5 is formed on an upper end surface 2a₁of the retaining lance 2a.

[0035] A slanting surface 2hfor guiding the insertion of the male terminal 4 into the terminal receiving chamber 2cis formed around the male terminal insertion port 2kof each terminal receiving chamber 2c. Because of the necessity of molding the retaining lance 2a, this slanting surface 2hcan not be formed continuously over the entire periphery of the insertion port 2k, and cooperates with a slanting surface 3f(described later), formed on the front holder 3, to form a tapered guide portion 7 (FIG. 1).

[0036] As shown in FIG. 7, in the female connector housing 2, a provisionally-retaining projection 2efor engagement with a provisionally-retaining projection 3con the front holder 3 is formed on a side wall. As shown in FIG. 9, part of the side wall of the intermediate terminal receiving chamber 2cis notched to form an engagement portion 2fwhich is adapted to be engaged with a completely-retaining projection 3i(described later) of the front holder 3 to thereby fix the front holder 3 relative to the female connector housing 2. An elastic retaining arm 2dis formed on the female connector housing 2, and the female connector housing 2 is retained relative to a mating male connector housing (not shown) by this elastic retaining arm 2d. A packing insertion hole 2mfor the insertion of the packing 14 therethrough is formed through a vertical wall 2n.

[0037] Next, the front holder 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13. The front holder 3, like the in female connector housing 2, is molded of a synthetic resin, and an internal space of a frame 3jis partitioned by side walls 3kinto spaces 3gwhich communicate respectively with the terminal receiving chambers 2cof the female connector housing 2 when the front holder 3 is attached to the female connector housing 2. A completely-retaining arm 3a, formed integrally with a bottom portion 3mat a front end portion thereof, is in the form of a vertically-extending flat plate, and the completely-retaining projection 3ifor engagement with the engagement portion 2fof the female connector housing 2 is formed on an upper edge of the completely-retaining arm 3a. A projection 3his formed at a free end of the completely-retaining arm 3a, and the completely-retaining arm 3ais elastically deformed left (that is, in a direction of arrow B in FIG. 13) by this projection 3h. The slanting surface 3fis formed at the free end of the completely-retaining arm 3a, and cooperates with the slanting surface 2hof the female connector housing 2 to form the tapered guide portion 7.

[0038] As clearly shown in FIG. 11, a provisionally-retaining arm 3bextends above the bottom plate 3m, and the provisionally-retaining projection 3cis formed on the provisionally-retaining arm 3b. This provisionally-retaining projection 3cperforms its function when the front holder 3 is provisionally retained on the female connector housing 2. An end portion 3eis formed on a lower extension portion 3dof the completely-retaining arm 3a, and functions to cause the female terminal 5 to be retained relative to the female connector housing 2 in a double manner when the front holder 3 is completely retained on the female connector housing 2.

[0039] As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the packing 14 is first attached to the female connector housing 2 through the packing insertion hole 2m, and then forms a seal between the female connector housing 2 and the front holder 3 to prevent water or the like from intruding from the exterior into the terminal receiving chambers 2cwhen the front holder 3 is attached to the female connector housing 2.

[0040] The operation of the double retaining connector 1 of the above construction will now be described.

[0041] First, the female terminal 5 is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber 2cof the female connector housing 2, and is fixed therein. More specifically, the female terminal 5, inserted through the female terminal insertion port 2j, moves in the terminal receiving chamber 2c, with a lower surface 5bof the terminal metallic portion 5aheld in sliding contact with the upper end surface 2a₁of the retaining lance 2a, and finally when an engagement end 5bof a retaining hole in the lower surface 5bof the terminal metallic portion 5apasses past the retaining end 2a₂of the retaining arm 2a, the retaining lance 2ais elastically restored to its initial position, thereby effecting a first-stage retaining of the female terminal 5 by the retaining lance 2a.

[0042] Then, the front holder 3 is attached to the female connector housing 2 from the front side of the terminal receiving chambers 2cof the female connector housing 2. More specifically, when the front holder 3 is inserted into the front end portion of the female connector housing 2, with its insertion-side end 3efirst introduced into the female connector housing 2, the provisionally-retaining projection 3c, formed on the provisionally-retaining arm 3b, first slides past the provisionally-retaining projection 2eon the female connector housing 2, so that the front holder 3 is provisionally retained on the female connector housing 2.

[0043] In this condition, as shown in FIG. 3, the front end portion 3hof the completely-retaining arm 3aof the front holder 3 is urged and elastically deformed left (that is, in the direction of arrow A), and in this condition, when the front holder 3 is further inserted into the female connector housing 2, the completely-retaining projection 3i, formed on the completely-retaining arm 3a, slides past the engagement portion 2fof the terminal receiving chamber 2cof the female connector housing 2, so that the retaining arm 3ais elastically restored, thereby fixing the front holder relative to the female connector housing 2. This condition is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and the end portion 3eof the lower extension portion 3dof the front holder 3 is engaged with a lower surface 2a₃of the retaining lance 2ato prevent the downward movement of the retaining lance 2a, and therefore the double retaining of the female terminal 5 relative to the female connector 2 is achieved.

[0044] FIG. 4 shows the condition in which the female terminal 5 is retained relative to the female connector housing 2 in a double manner, and in this condition, the male terminal 4, received in the male connector housing (not shown) passes through an insertion port 6, formed in the front holder 3, and is brought into engagement with the female terminal 5. At this time, a front metallic end portion 4aof the male terminal 4 is guided into the insertion port 6 by the tapered guide portion 7 (FIG. 1), and is further inserted into the terminal receiving chamber 2cto be engaged with the front metallic end portion of the female terminal 5.

[0045] In the conventional double retaining connector, when the distal end 104bof the front end portion 104aof the male terminal 104 abuts against the upper tapered guide portion 103b, the retaining arm 103acan be moved upward (that is, in the direction of arrow E) as shown in FIG. 16, and as a result, the front metallic end portion 104amoves into the terminal receiving chamber 102cwithout being guided by the tapered guide portion 103b, and the distal end 104bof the front end portion 104aimpinges on the upper portion of the front end surface of the front end portion (terminal portion) 105aof the female terminal 105, so that the male terminal 104 can not move further, and therefore the male terminal 104 can not be engaged with the female terminal 105.

[0046] In the double retaining connector of the present invention, however, even when a distal end 4bof the front metallic end portion 4aof the male terminal 4 abuts against the upper slanting surface 2has shown in FIG. 4, an upper wall 2iof the terminal receiving chamber, on which the slanting surface 2his formed, will not move upward, and the front metallic end portion 4ais suitably guided into the terminal receiving chamber 2cby the slanting surface 2h. As a result, the male terminal 4 can be engaged with the female terminal 5 without impingement of the distal end 4bof the front metallic end portion upon the front upper end portion of the terminal portion 5aof the female terminal 5.

[0047] In this embodiment, the completely-retaining arm 3ais movable left (FIG. 5), that is, in the direction of arrow F, and therefore when the distal end 4bof the front metallic end portion 4aof the male terminal 4 abuts against the slanting surface 3fformed on the completely-retaining arm 3a, this slanting surface 3fis moved left, and therefore the front end portion 4amoves toward the insertion port 6 without being guided by the slanting surface 3f. However, since the immovable slanting surface 2hon the housing is present in the vicinity of the slanting surface 3fon the front holder, the front metallic end portion 4aof the male terminal 4 is guided by this slanting surface 2hon the housing, so that the male terminal 4 can be engaged with the female terminal 5 without impingement of the distal end 4bof the front metallic end portion 4aupon the side wall of the female terminal 5 at the front end thereof.

[0048] As described above, in the invention of the first apect, the ratio of the slanting surface on the front holder to the tapered guide portion for guiding the male terminal into the terminal receiving chamber can be kept to a minimum, and therefore the male terminal can be smoothly inserted into the terminal receiving chamber by the tapered guide portion.

[0049] Further, in the invention of the second aspect, even when the male terminal to be inserted into the insertion portion abuts against any of the sides of the rectangular, tapered guide portion, the male terminal abuts against the slanting surface on the connector housing which surface is not elastically deformable, and therefore the male terminal can be smoothly inserted into the terminal receiving chamber by the tapered guide portion.