1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are two types of prior art connectors provided with a retainer, namely, a side retainer type (see Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 6-5870) and a front retainer type (see Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 5-23455 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-250215).
A prior art side retainer connector is shown in FIG. 40, and has a retainer 3 mounted in a direction normal to the insertion direction of terminal fittings 2 into a connector housing 1. Accordingly, a retainer insertion hole 4 is open in one side surface of the connector housing 1. This type of retainer has an advantage of retaining the terminal fittings 2 with a large force since the retainer 3 directly locks the terminal fittings 2 as shown in FIG. 41. On the other hand, a prior art front retainer type connector is shown in FIG. 42 and has a retainer 5 inserted into a connector housing 6 along the insertion direction of terminal fittings 2, and a retainer insertion hole 7 is accordingly open in an engaging surface with a mating connector. This type has an advantage that the retainer insertion hole 7 is not exposed by being covered by the mating connector.
There have been no prior art connectors provided with a retainer which have advantages of both types of prior art connectors described above. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector provided with a retainer in which a retainer insertion hole is substantially covered and terminal fittings are substantially retained with a large force.