JP2010257917A - Short terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a short terminal with an improved connection reliability. <P>SOLUTION: The short terminal 40 is provided with a pair of elastic contact pieces 45 of a cantilever shape which are housed in a first housing 10 and contact each with first terminal metal pieces 100 out of a pair of the first terminal metal pieces 100 housed likewise in the first housing 10. Each of the elastic contact pieces 45 is made to be elastically deflectable inward/outward with a base end side as a fulcrum and a contact part 47 is bending-formed to contact with the corresponding first terminal metal piece 100 from an inner side. The short terminal 40 is provided with an outer wall 55 which is arranged along the outside of the base 46 of each of the elastic contact piece 45 and covers an outside of each of the elastic contact pieces 45. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a short terminal.

  For example, in a connector used in an airbag circuit, a short terminal that short-circuits both terminal fittings is accommodated in the connector housing so that a potential difference does not occur between a pair of terminal fittings accommodated in the connector housing. For example, the short terminal described in Patent Document 1 includes a substrate portion and a pair of elastic contact pieces protruding in a cantilevered manner from the front end to the front end, and corresponding terminal fittings are provided at the tip portions of both elastic contact pieces. A mountain-shaped contact portion that abuts from the inside is bent.

JP 2008-97908 A

  By the way, when the short terminal is in a single product state before being accommodated in the connector housing, the entire elastic contact piece is exposed. For this reason, foreign matter may interfere with the elastic contact piece from the outside, which may cause the elastic contact piece to bend and deform excessively with the base end side as a fulcrum. As a result, the height position of the contact portion of the elastic contact piece may fluctuate or the elastic contact piece may be plastically deformed, which may reduce connection reliability.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a short terminal with improved connection reliability.

  As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is cantilevered in contact with each of a pair of terminal fittings housed in the connector housing and also among the plurality of terminal fittings housed in the connector housing. Equipped with a pair of beam-like elastic contact pieces, both elastic contact pieces can be bent and deformed inward and outward with the base end side as a fulcrum, and the contact part that abuts the corresponding terminal fitting from the inside is bent at the tip part The short terminal is provided along the outer side of the base portion of the both elastic contact pieces and has an outer wall covering the outer side of the both elastic contact pieces.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the apparatus according to claim 1, an inner wall is provided along the inside of the base portion of the both elastic contact pieces and covers the inside of the both elastic contact pieces. .

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a protective surface that covers the tips of the two elastic contact pieces is disposed ahead of the tips of the two elastic contact pieces. Has characteristics.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, further comprising a box-shaped outer shell portion that surrounds at least the outer sides of the base portions of the two elastic contact pieces. Has a feature in that a through hole is formed and the contact portion is arranged to protrude outward from the through hole.

<Invention of Claim 1>
An outer wall is provided along the outer side of the base portion of both elastic contact pieces, and the outer wall covers the outer side of both elastic contact pieces, so that the base portion of both elastic contact pieces is prevented from bending and deforming due to interference with foreign matter from the outside. Is done. As a result, fluctuations in the position of the contact portions of both elastic contact pieces are suppressed, and the connection reliability of the short terminals is improved.

<Invention of Claim 2>
Inner walls are provided along the inner sides of the bases of the two elastic contact pieces, and the inner walls cover the inner sides of the two elastic contact pieces. Therefore, the bases of the two elastic contact pieces interfere with foreign substances and bend and deform excessively inward. Is prevented. As a result, the connection reliability of the short terminal is further improved.

<Invention of Claim 3>
Since the tips of the two elastic contact pieces are covered and protected by the protective surface, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from interfering with the tips of the two elastic contact pieces and to prevent the two elastic contact pieces from being plastically deformed.

<Invention of Claim 4>
Since the box-shaped outer shell portion that surrounds at least the outer sides of the base portions of both elastic contact pieces is provided, the rigidity of the entire short terminal is increased and the base portions of both elastic contact pieces are more reliably protected. Further, since the contact portion is disposed so as to protrude outward from the through hole, the smoothness of the connection operation of the contact portion is not hindered by the outer shell portion.

It is sectional drawing which shows the fitting state of the connector of Embodiment 1. It is sectional drawing which shows the state immediately after the press surface contact | abutted to the to-be-pressed surface. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which the press surface pressed the to-be-pressed surface and the short terminal retracted | retreated. It is a principal part fracture perspective view which shows the state immediately after the latch cancellation | release part contact | abutted to the latching piece. It is a principal part fracture perspective view which shows the state which the press surface pressed the to-be-pressed surface and the short terminal retracted | retreated. It is sectional drawing which shows the state before a latch release part contact | abuts to the latching piece of a short terminal. It is sectional drawing which shows a state immediately after a latch release part contact | abuts to a latching piece and the latching state is cancelled | released. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which the short terminal moved backward and reached the short circuit cancellation | release position. It is a perspective view of a 1st sub housing. It is a principal part fracture perspective view which shows the state in which the short terminal was accommodated in the short terminal accommodating chamber. It is a perspective view of a short terminal. It is sectional drawing of a short terminal. It is sectional drawing of the short terminal cut | disconnected in the direction different from FIG. It is an expanded view of a short terminal. It is a disassembled perspective view of a 2nd housing. It is a disassembled perspective view of a 1st housing. 10 is a perspective view of a second sub-housing in the connector of Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state by which the 2nd subhousing was fitted by the moving plate. In the connector of Embodiment 3, it is sectional drawing which shows the state in which a short terminal is inserted in a short terminal accommodating chamber. It is a rear view which shows the state in which a short terminal is inserted in a short terminal storage chamber.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The connector includes first and second housings 10 and 60 that can be fitted to each other, a first terminal fitting 100 and a short terminal 40 that are accommodated in the first housing 10, and a second terminal fitting that is accommodated in the second housing 60. 200. In the following description, with respect to the front-rear direction, the mating surface side of both housings 10 and 60 is the front.

  The second housing 60 is made of synthetic resin. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 15, a vertically long and substantially rectangular tube-shaped holder 61, a second sub-housing 62 and a moving plate 63 accommodated in the holder 61 are provided. Have. A substantially front half portion of the holder 61 is a fitting portion 64 that can fit the first housing 10. The fitting portion 64 has a fitting space 65 that opens forward. A pair of columnar cam followers 66 project from the inner surfaces of both side walls of the fitting portion 64, and lock holes 67 for the moving plate 63 are recessed at both sides of the cam follower 66.

  A substantially rear half portion of the holder 61 is a housing accommodating portion 68 capable of accommodating the second sub-housing 62. The housing accommodating portion 68 has a pair of second housing accommodating chambers 69 defined in the height direction. Positioning that guides the fitting of the two housings 10 and 60 and prevents erroneous fitting of the two housings 10 and 60 from between the second housing housing chambers 69 at the substantially central portion in the height direction of the housing housing 68. Ribs 70 are formed to protrude into the fitting space 65.

  The second sub-housing 62 has a vertically long rectangular block shape, in which a plurality of cavities 71 are formed in two rows in the width direction and in the height direction. In each cavity 71, the second terminal fitting 200, which is a male terminal fitting, is inserted from the rear, and the tab 201 of the inserted second terminal fitting 200 protrudes into the fitting space 65.

  The moving plate 63 is inserted into the fitting space 65 of the holder 61, and has a plate-like plate body 72 having a size corresponding to the opening area of the fitting space 65, and a front protrusion that protrudes forward from the outer peripheral edge of the plate body 72. It comprises a strip 73 and a rear projection 74 projecting rearward from the outer peripheral edge of the plate body 72. The moving plate 63 is movable between an initial position separated from the front surface of the housing accommodating portion 68 and a fitting position close to the front surface of the second housing accommodating chamber 69. Along with this, the first housing 10 is pushed and retracted to displace from the initial position to the fitting position.

  The rear ridge piece 74 is fitted into a slit hole 75 that opens to the front surface of the housing accommodating portion 68. When the moving plate 63 moves, the rear ridge piece 74 slides in the slit hole 75, thereby moving the moving plate 63. I will guide you to move. The first housing 10 is fitted inside the front ridge piece 73, thereby restricting the movement of the first housing 10. Further, the front strip 73 includes a bendable lock piece 76 that holds the moving plate 63 in the initial position by fitting into the lock hole 67 of the fitting portion 64.

  The plate main body 72 is provided with a plurality of positioning holes 77 at positions corresponding to the cavities 71 of the second sub-housing 62. The distal end portion of the tab 201 is inserted into the positioning hole 77 in a positioning state, and the deformation of the tab 201 is thereby prevented. In addition, a rib through hole 78 through which the positioning rib 70 passes is formed in the plate main body 72 between regions corresponding to both the second sub housings 62. A release portion 79 is provided on the front surface of the plate body 72 in a region corresponding to the second sub housing 62 on one side. The release part 79 engages with the short terminal 40 when the two housings 10 and 60 are fitted, and serves to release the short-circuit state between the pair of first terminal fittings 100 connected via the short terminal 40. Fulfill.

  Specifically, the release portion 79 includes a prismatic release main body portion 80 that protrudes forward from the front surface of the plate main body 72, and a sharp locking release portion 81 that protrudes forward from the distal end surface of the release main body portion 80. The unlocking portion 81 is formed at a substantially central portion in the height direction of the distal end surface of the releasing main body portion 80, and the front surface of the unlocking portion 81 is a tapered guide inclined forward as shown in FIG. A slope 82 is provided. Flat pressing surfaces 83 along the height direction are formed on both sides of the front end surface of the release main body 80 with the locking release portion 81 interposed therebetween. The unlocking portion 81 plays a role of releasing the locked state of the short terminal 40 with respect to the first housing 10, and the pressing surface 83 plays a role of pressing and retracting the short terminal 40 released from the locked state.

  The first housing 10 is made of synthetic resin. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 16, the case 11 is a vertically long and substantially rectangular frame shape, the first sub-housing 12 accommodated in the case 11, and the case 11. A cover 13 to be attached and a lever 14 to be assembled to the cover 13 are provided.

  A pair of support shafts 15 are formed to protrude from both outer surfaces of the cover 13. The lever 14 has a gate shape as a whole with the operation portion 16 and a pair of arm portions 17 protruding from both ends of the operation portion 16, and the arm portion 17 is formed with a bearing hole 18 into which the support shaft 15 is fitted. In addition, a cam groove 19 that engages with the cam follower 66 on the second housing 60 side is formed to extend. The lever 14 is rotatable about the support shaft 15, and the cam follower 66 enters the cam groove 19 at the initial rotation position, and the cam follower 66 slides on the groove surface of the cam groove 19 during the rotation. As a result, the two housings 10 and 60 are attracted to each other by the cam action exerted between the lever 14 and the second housing 60, and the cam follower 66 reaches the back end side of the cam groove 19 at the rotation completion position. 10 and 60 are held in a properly fitted state.

  The case 11 is formed with a pair of first housing accommodation chambers 20 penetrating in the front-rear direction in the height direction, and the first sub-housing 12 is inserted into each of the first housing accommodation chambers 20 from the rear. On the outer surface of the case 11, a plurality of mounting protrusions 21 on which a cover 13 and a rubber grommet (not shown) are hooked are formed so as to protrude.

  The first sub-housing 12 has a vertically long rectangular block shape, and a plurality of cavities 22 are formed in the height direction in two rows in the width direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the first terminal fitting 100 is inserted from the rear into each cavity 22, and the inserted first terminal fitting 100 is elastically engaged with a lance 23 protruding from the inner surface of the cavity 22. Stopped and temporarily prevented. The first terminal fitting 100 is a female terminal fitting, and as shown in FIG. 4, a rectangular tube-shaped main body 101 that is on the front side and receives the tab 201 and is connected to the second terminal fitting 200, and the main body 101. And a barrel portion 102 connected to the end of the electric wire 110. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the second sub-housing 62 is a hinge-type that latches the first terminal fitting 100 inserted into the cavity 22 and secondarily prevents the first terminal fitting 100 from coming off. A retainer 24 is provided.

  The first sub-housing 12 on one side of the first sub-housings 12 is a short terminal in which a short terminal 40 is accommodated between the cavities 22 that are substantially in the height direction and adjacent to each other in the height direction. A storage chamber 25 is defined. The short terminal accommodating chamber 25 has a shape penetrating in both the front and rear directions, and the short terminal 40 is inserted from the rear surface in a state in which play in the height direction and the width direction is restricted. On the front surface of the short terminal housing chamber 25, a stepped portion 26 that stops the short terminal 40 is formed in the circumferential direction. An introduction port 33 into which the release portion 79 can be introduced is formed in a tapered shape on the front surface of the step portion 26.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a substantially rectangular locking receiving hole 27 communicating with the short terminal accommodating chamber 25 is formed through one side surface of the first sub housing 12 on one side. A locking piece 38 of a short terminal 40 described later is elastically locked to the rear surface of the locking receiving hole 27. Further, on the inner surface of the short terminal accommodating chamber 25, an entrance groove 28 extending in the front-rear direction and opening to the front surface is formed on the side opposite to the opening surface of the locking receiving hole 27, and at the rear end of the entrance groove 28 A receiving portion 29 is formed. A retaining piece 44 of a short terminal 40 described later enters the entering groove 28, and the entering retaining piece 44 can be brought into contact with the receiving portion 29 by the movement of the short terminal 40. On the inner surface of the short terminal accommodating chamber 25, an escape groove 30 that allows the retaining piece 44 to escape in the process of assembling the short terminal 40 is formed extending in the front-rear direction and opened to the rear surface.

  As shown in FIG. 2, openings 31 are formed on both sides of the inner surface of the short terminal accommodating chamber 25 so as to communicate and open between the short terminal accommodating chamber 25 and the adjacent cavity 22. On the rear side, a wall portion 32 that partitions between the short terminal accommodating chamber 25 and the adjacent cavity 22 is formed to extend in the front-rear direction.

  Next, the short terminal 40 will be described. The short terminal 40 is made of a conductive metal plate, and is formed by bending or the like from the developed state shown in FIG. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the short terminal 40 includes a flat box-shaped outer shell portion 41, and the outer appearance is defined by the outer shell portion 41. The outer shell portion 41 has a quadrangular cross section, and has first and second substrate portions 42 and 43 that face each other in the width direction, as shown in FIG.

  A retaining piece 44 is cut and raised at a substantially central portion in the height direction on the front end side of the first substrate portion 42. The retaining piece 44 has a shape extending like a cantilever toward the outer rear side, and can be bent and deformed inward and outward.

  As shown in FIG. 13, a pair of elastic contact pieces 45 are formed on both sides of the first substrate portion 42 by bending at a substantially right angle. Both elastic contact pieces 45 include a base portion 46 that extends straight in a cantilever shape from the rear side of the first substrate portion 42 toward the front, and a pair of contact portions that are bent in a mountain shape outward from the front end of the base portion 46. 47, and can be bent and deformed in the inner and outer directions facing each other. As shown in FIG. 10, the top portions 48 of the two contact portions 47 are disposed so as to face the adjacent cavities 22 through the openings 31, so that the corresponding main body portions 101 of the first terminal fittings 100 can be seen from the inside. Abuts elastically. A pair of first hooking pieces 50 arranged opposite to each other between the rear ends of both elastic contact pieces 45 via the slits 49 are bent at substantially right angles at the rear end portions on both sides of the first substrate portion 42. Is formed. Both first retaining pieces 50 are formed with substantially rectangular retaining holes 51 therethrough.

  A pair of second latching pieces 52 are formed at the rear end portions on both sides of the second substrate portion 43 so as to be bent and raised substantially at right angles so as to cover both the first latching pieces 50 from the outside. A latching protrusion 53 that fits into the latching hole 51 is formed on both the second latching pieces 52 by being cut and raised inward. By fitting the latching protrusion 53 into the latching hole 51, the outer shell portion 41 is prevented from being opened and deformed.

  On both sides of the second substrate portion 43, a pair of inner walls 54 are formed to be bent at a substantially right angle in front of the second latching pieces 52, and in front of the inner walls 54 and of the inner walls 54. A pair of outer walls 55 are formed on the outside by bending and raising substantially at a right angle. Between the inner wall 54 and the second retaining piece 52 and between the inner wall 54 and the outer wall 55, slits 56 that are deeply cut along the plate width direction are provided. The first hook piece 50, the second hook piece 52, the inner wall 54, and the outer wall 55 constitute a side wall portion of the outer shell portion 41.

  The rear side of the base 46 of the elastic contact piece 45 is disposed along the outer surface of the inner wall 54, and the front side of the base 46 of the elastic contact piece 45 is disposed along the inner surface of the outer wall 55. When the elastic contact piece 45 is in a natural state, the rear inner surface of the base portion 46 is disposed in contact with the outer surface of the inner wall 54 in a surface contact state, and the front side of the base portion 46 is slightly between the inner surface of the outer wall 55. Are arranged in parallel with a gap. The front end of the outer wall 55 is located at substantially the same front-rear position as the front end of the base portion 46 and is disposed so as to face the slope on the rear side of the contact portion 47.

  Both front ends of the first and second substrate portions 42 and 43 are connected to each other by a front plate portion 57 along the height direction. A pair of inner spaces defined by the first and second substrate portions 42 and 43, the front plate portion 57, and the outer wall 55 are formed with through holes 58 that enter the contact portion 47 and project outward. Yes. The part exposed to the outside on both sides of the outer shell part 41 is only the both contact parts 47 protruding from the through hole 58. As shown in FIG. 14, a substantially U-shaped cut 39 is made from the rear portion to the front plate portion 57 at the substantially central portion in the height direction of the second substrate portion 43, and the locking piece 38 is placed inside the cut 39. Is formed to be able to bend and deform. As shown in FIG. 11, the locking piece 38 is bent inward from the locking main body 37 that extends straight from the rear portion of the second substrate portion 43 forward in a cantilevered manner, and the front end of the locking main body 37. And an unlocking receiving portion 36. As shown in FIG. 12, the front surface of the unlocking receiving portion 36 is a guide receiving inclined surface 35 that inclines forward while facing the notch 39 of the front plate portion 57. When the guide slope 82 of the lock release portion 81 slides on the guide receiving slope 35, the lock piece 38 is bent and deformed with the base end side as a fulcrum. At this time, the lock release portion 81 is fitted and fitted into the notch 39 of the front plate portion 57 from the front.

  At the front end portion of the locking body 37 of the locking piece 38, a locking projection 59 that fits into the locking receiving hole 27 is formed by cutting outward. The locking protrusion 59 has a shape that protrudes obliquely rearward in a cantilever shape. When the front end of the locking projection 59 is abutted against the rear surface of the locking receiving hole 27, the backward displacement of the short terminal 40 is restricted.

  The front plate portion 57 is formed with a pair of pressed surfaces 34 that are flat along the height direction on both sides of the locking release receiving portion 36 of the locking piece 38. In the process of fitting the two housings 10, 60, the pressing surface 83 of the release main body 80 comes into contact with the pressed surface 34 in a surface contact state, and the release main body 80 is moved by the progress of the fitting of the two housings 10, 60. Pushes the short terminal 40 to retract the short terminal 40. The tip of the elastic contact piece 45 is behind the front plate portion 57 and is concealed and protected by the pressed surface 34 when viewed from the front. That is, the pressed surface 34 of the front plate portion 57 also functions as a protective surface that protects the tip of the elastic contact piece 45.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
In the single product state before the short terminal 40 is attached to the first housing 10, the outer wall 55 prevents foreign matter from interfering with the front side of the base 46 of the elastic contact piece 45, and the elastic contact piece 45 is excessively bent and deformed. Or plastic deformation is prevented. In addition, when a force that induces an inward bending operation is applied to the elastic contact piece 45, the elastic contact piece 45 is moved to the inner side because the rear side of the base 46 of the elastic contact piece 45 is in contact with the inner wall 54. It is possible to prevent excessive deformation and deformation. Further, since the interference of foreign matter with the tip of the elastic contact piece 45 is also avoided by the pressed surface 34 of the front plate portion 57, the elastic contact piece 45 may be excessively bent or deformed due to this. Is prevented.

  In assembling, the short terminal 40 and the first terminal fitting 100 are attached to the first sub housing 12, and the second terminal fitting 200 is attached to the second sub housing 62. When the short terminal 40 is mounted, the short terminal 40 is slid into the short terminal accommodating chamber 25 from behind. In the sliding process, the top portion 48 of the contact portion 47 slides on the inner surface of the wall portion 32 and the elastic contact piece 45 is bent and deformed. On the other hand, the retaining piece 44 enters the escape groove 30 and the entry groove 28 to receive the slide. The natural state is maintained except during the ride on the portion 29, and the assembly resistance is prevented from increasing. When the short terminal 40 is properly attached, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 10, the locking projection 59 is elastically restored to fit into the locking receiving hole 27, and the pressed surface 34 of the front plate portion 57 is stepped. The short terminal 40 is held in a state in which the movement in the front-rear direction is restricted by being stopped by the portion 26. Further, the contact portion 47 passes through the wall portion 32 and the elastic contact piece 45 is elastically restored, so that the top portion 48 of the contact portion 47 faces the adjacent cavity 22 through the opening portion 31 and is located there. The main body 101 of 100 is elastically contacted from the inside. Thereby, the short terminal 40 is held at a short-circuit position where the first terminal fittings 100 inserted into the adjacent cavities 22 are short-circuited.

  After assembling the first and second housings 10 and 60, the two housings 10 and 60 are shallowly fitted, and in this state, the lever 14 is rotated toward the rotation completion position while grasping the operation portion 16. In the process of fitting, as shown in FIG. 7, the guide slope 82 of the unlocking portion 81 of the moving plate 63 slides on the unlocking receiving portion 36 of the short terminal 40 and the locking piece 38 faces inward. Due to the bending deformation, the locking projection 59 is disengaged from the locking receiving hole 27 and the backward displacement of the short terminal 40 is allowed. Immediately thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2, the pressing surface 83 of the release main body 80 of the moving plate 63 comes into contact with the pressed surface 34 of the front plate portion 57 of the short terminal 40, and further fitting progresses, so that FIG. As shown, the entire short terminal 40 is pushed into the release portion 79 and is retracted. At this time, the slope on the rear side of the contact portion 47 slides on the front end of the wall portion 32, and the elastic contact piece 45 bends inwardly with the base end side as a fulcrum, so that the top portion 48 of the contact portion 47 corresponds. The first terminal fitting 100 is dissociated from the first terminal fitting 100 and the short-circuit state of both the first terminal fittings 100 is released. At this time, the moving plate 63 is in the middle of the displacement from the initial position to the fitting position, and the tab 201 of the second terminal fitting 200 starts to enter the main body 101 of the first terminal fitting 100.

  In the process of retracting the short terminal 40, the retaining piece 44 is kept in the natural state in the entrance groove 28. Further, in the process of retracting the short terminal 40, as shown in FIG. 5, the top portion 48 of the contact portion 47 rides on the inner surface of the wall portion 32 with the bending operation of the elastic contact piece 45, and the adjacent first terminal. The space between the metal fitting 100 is kept in a non-contact state. When the short terminal 40 reaches the short-circuit release position, the retaining piece 44 is disposed so as to be able to contact the front end of the receiving portion 29, thereby preventing the short terminal 40 from coming off backward. In addition, the forward contact of the short terminal 40 is restricted by maintaining the contact state between the pressing surface 83 and the pressed surface 34. At this time, the lever 14 has reached the rotation completion position, the housings 10 and 60 are properly fitted, and the terminal fittings 100 and 200 are electrically connected to each other at a normal depth.

  As is clear from the above description, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. With respect to the short terminal 40, an outer wall 55 is provided along the outside of the base 46 of both elastic contact pieces 45, and the outer sides of both elastic contact pieces 45 are partially covered by the outer wall 55. It is possible to prevent the base 46 from being bent and deformed by interfering with foreign matter from the outside. As a result, fluctuations in the position of the contact portion 47 of both elastic contact pieces 45 are suppressed, and the connection reliability of the short terminal 40 is improved.

  Further, since the inner wall 54 is provided along the inside of the base 46 of the both elastic contact pieces 45 and the inner side of the both elastic contact pieces 45 is partially covered by the inner wall 54, the base 46 of the both elastic contact pieces 45 is It is prevented from excessively bending and deforming inward due to interference with foreign matter. As a result, the connection reliability of the short terminal 40 is further improved. Furthermore, since the tips of the two elastic contact pieces 45 are covered and protected by the pressed surface 34, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from interfering with the tips of the two elastic contact pieces 45, and the two elastic contact pieces 45 can be plastically deformed or the like. Is prevented.

  In addition, since the short terminal 40 includes the box-shaped outer shell portion 41 that surrounds the outside of the base portion 46 of the both elastic contact pieces 45, the overall rigidity is enhanced. In this case, since the contact portion 47 of the elastic contact piece 45 is disposed so as to protrude outward from the through hole 58, the smoothness of the connecting operation of the contact portion 47 is not hindered by the outer shell portion 41.

  On the other hand, when the short terminal 40 is pushed into the release portion 79 and retracted in the process of fitting the two housings 10 and 60, the contact portion 47 rides on the wall portion 32, thereby short-circuiting the first terminal fittings 100. Therefore, when releasing the short-circuit state of both the first terminal fittings 100, it is not necessary for the release part 79 to push in a limited part such as the elastic contact piece 45 of the short terminal 40, and the shape of the release part 79 And the degree of freedom in size is increased. Therefore, increasing the rigidity of the release portion 79 improves the reliability of the release operation. In this case, since the short terminal 40 is pressed in a state where the pressing surface 83 and the pressed surface 34 are in surface contact along the height direction, smoothness of the moving operation of the short terminal 40 is ensured.

In addition, when the release portion 79 presses the short terminal 40 in the process of fitting the two housings 10 and 60, the lock release portion 81 bends and deforms the lock piece 38 in the lock release direction accordingly. 40 can be moved to the short-circuit release position, so that it is not necessary to separately perform the fitting operation of the housings 10 and 60 and the operation of releasing the locking state of the locking piece 38, thereby improving workability. Excellent.
In addition, the pressing surfaces 83 are disposed on both sides of the front end of the release portion 79 with the locking release portion 81 interposed therebetween, and the pressed surfaces 34 are disposed on both sides of the front end of the short terminal 40 with the locking piece 38 interposed therebetween. After the locked state of the short terminal 40 is released, the moving operation of the short terminal 40 is smoothly performed with a good balance.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, the release portion 79 is formed so as to protrude from the front surface of the second sub housing 62 </ b> A. The release portion 79 is disposed between the cavities 71 adjacent to each other in the height direction at substantially the center in the height direction of the second sub-housing 62A. As shown in FIG. 18, the moving plate 63A has a hole 99 through which the release portion 79 passes. However, in the second embodiment, the moving plate 63A can be omitted. Note that the shape of the release unit 79 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a duplicate description is omitted.

<Embodiment 3>
19 and 20 show Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In the third embodiment, a substantially hemispherical embossed portion 48 </ b> A protruding outward is formed at the top 48 of the contact portion 47 of the short terminal 40. The embossed portion 48A comes into contact with the body portion 101 of the first terminal fitting 100 inserted into the adjacent cavity 22 from the inside. On both sides of the inner surface of the short terminal accommodating chamber 25, contact relief grooves 95 that allow only the embossed portion 48A to escape are formed. The contact relief groove 95 extends straight in the front-rear direction, and has a shape that opens at the rear end of the short terminal accommodating chamber 25, that is, the rear end of the first sub-housing 12 and opens at the opening 31. When the short terminal 40 is inserted into the short terminal accommodating chamber 25 from the rear at the time of assembly, the outer surface of the contact portion 47 except the embossed portion 48A slides on the inner surface of the wall portion 32, while the embossed portion 48A is free to play in the contact relief groove 95. Fitted. For this reason, it is avoided that the plating formed on the surface of the embossed portion 48A is peeled off due to sliding wear with the wall portion 32, and the connection reliability between the embossed portion 48A and the first terminal fitting 100 is improved. To do.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) The two elastic contact pieces may be arranged side by side with their bending directions parallel to each other.
(2) The resin lance may be flexibly formed on the inner surface of the short terminal accommodating chamber, and the resin lance may be configured to lock the short terminal as a locking piece.
(3) The inner wall of the short terminal may be omitted.
(4) The outer shell portion of the short terminal may be omitted except for the outer wall.
(5) The locking release portion and the pressing surface may be provided separately without being integrally provided as the release portion.
(6) The outer wall may be configured to cover the entire outside of the base portion of the elastic contact piece.
(7) The inner wall may be configured to cover the entire inside of the base portion of the elastic contact piece.
(8) In the state where the short terminal is pushed into the short-circuit release position, a hook portion is formed between the short terminal and the release portion, and when the two housings are detached, the short terminal is inserted through the hook portion. It may be configured to follow the two housings and be pulled back to the short-circuit position.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... 1st housing 12 ... 1st subhousing 31 ... Opening part 32 ... Wall part 34 ... Pressed surface (protective surface)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 38 ... Locking piece 40 ... Short terminal 41 ... Outer shell part 45 ... Elastic contact piece 46 ... Base part 47 ... Contact part 54 ... Inner wall 55 ... Outer wall 58 ... Through-hole 60 ... Second housing 62 ... Second subhousing 79 ... Release Part 81: Unlocking part 83 ... Pressing surface 100 ... First terminal fitting 200 ... Second terminal fitting

Claims (4)

Among the plurality of terminal fittings housed in the connector housing and also housed in the connector housing, it is provided with a pair of cantilevered elastic contact pieces that come into contact with each pair of terminal fittings. It is a short terminal that is bent and deformable inward and outward with the end side as a fulcrum, and a contact portion that is in contact with the corresponding terminal fitting from the inside is bent at the tip,
A short terminal comprising an outer wall disposed along an outer side of a base portion of the both elastic contact pieces and covering an outer side of the both elastic contact pieces.   The short terminal according to claim 1, further comprising an inner wall disposed along an inner side of a base portion of the both elastic contact pieces and covering an inner side of the both elastic contact pieces.   The short terminal according to claim 1, wherein a protective surface that covers the tips of the two elastic contact pieces is disposed ahead of the tips of the two elastic contact pieces.   A box-shaped outer shell portion surrounding at least the outer sides of the base portions of the two elastic contact pieces is provided, a through hole is formed in the outer shell portion, and the contact portion is disposed to protrude outward from the through hole. 4. The short terminal according to claim 1, wherein the short terminal is formed.

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