JP2005235547A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable whether both connector housings are regularly connected or not to be certainly judged by utilizing an electrical wire covering. <P>SOLUTION: The electrical wire covering 60 is attached rotatably to a female housing 10, and locked to a male housing 40. Until both the housings 10, 40 are regularly connected, locking of the electrical wire covering 60 to the male housing 40 is regulated by disposing a locking part 61 and a part 49 to be locked at separate position from each other. A resin spring 78 is provided at the electrical wire covering 60. The spring begins to hit resiliently with the female housing 10 before both the housings 10, 40 are regularly connected, and stores the energy of the biasing force to the direction of return to the electrical wire covering 60 as both the housings 10, 40 are directed toward the position to be regularly connected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector to which an electric wire cover is assembled.

Conventionally, a connector described in Patent Document 1 below is known as this type of connector. This is configured to include a connector housing in which a terminal fitting fixed to an end of an electric wire is accommodated, and an electric wire cover that covers the electric wire led out from the rear surface of the connector housing. At the front edge of the wire cover, a bendable locking portion is projected, and by engaging this locking portion with a locking receiving portion provided on the outer surface of the connector housing, the wire cover can be connected to the connector housing. Can be assembled to. In addition, the lock portion provided on the outer surface of the connector housing engages with the lock receiving portion provided in the hood of the mating connector housing, so that both the connector housings are fitted and held in a state of being restricted. It is like that.
JP 2003-173843 A

  By the way, in the above case, the lock structure formed by the lock portion and the lock receiving portion is hidden in the hood and cannot be visually recognized from the outside, and therefore it cannot be accurately determined whether or not both connector housings are properly fitted. There is a circumstance. In such a case, since the wire cover is exposed and arranged outside, it can be said that it is desirable to detect the fitting state of both connector housings using this wire cover. Furthermore, it can be said that it is more desirable if a configuration capable of more clearly detecting the fitting state of both connector housings by complementing the fitting detection function is added.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and makes it possible to reliably determine whether or not both connector housings are properly fitted using an electric wire cover.

  As a means for achieving the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, one of the male and female connector housings that can be fitted to each other contains a terminal fitting that is crimped to the end of the electric wire. And an electric wire cover that covers the electric wire led out from the rear surface is assembled, the electric wire cover is formed with a locking portion, and the other connector housing is properly fitted with the two connector housings. A locked portion that engages with the locking portion and is allowed to be locked with the wire cover is formed, and until the two connector housings are properly fitted, the locking portion and the covered portion are formed. The locking of the electric wire cover with respect to the other connector housing is restricted by disposing the locking portion at a position apart from each other. Before the connector housing is properly fitted, the one connector housing starts to be elastically contacted, and the urging force in the return direction is stored in the electric wire cover as the two connector housings are moved to the positions where they are properly fitted. It is characterized in that the elastic piece is provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, one of the male and female connector housings that can be fitted to each other accommodates a terminal fitting that is crimped to the end of the electric wire. An electric wire cover that covers the electric wire led out from the rear surface is assembled, a lock receiving portion is formed in the other connector housing, and the one connector housing is in a state until the two connector housings are properly fitted. A lock arm is formed that is bent and deformed toward the bending space by the lock receiving portion, and elastically recovers when the two connector housings are properly fitted, and locks the lock receiving portion. Until the connector housing is properly fitted, the bending space is interfered with the lock arm located in the bending space. When the two connector housings are properly fitted, the lock arm is restored to form a protruding piece that is allowed to enter the bending space. The wire cover is allowed to be locked to the one connector housing or the other connector housing, and the wire cover is elastically contacted with the one connector housing before the two connector housings are properly fitted. Initially, the wire cover is provided with an elastic piece for storing an urging force in a returning direction as it goes to a position where both the connector housings are properly fitted.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the electric wire cover is rotatably assembled to the one connector housing at one end thereof, and the electric wire is predetermined on the inner surface thereof. It has a feature in that it has a correction surface defined in a direction and is guided to bend the electric wire along the correction surface by a rotation operation toward the closing position.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the wire cover according to the third aspect of the present invention is provided in a temporarily locked state in which the electric wire cover is retained on the way to the closed position to regulate the electric wire in a predetermined direction, and in the closed position. It is characterized in that it can move between the locked state and the locked state.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the elastic piece is separated to a position where it is not in contact with the one connector housing when the wire cover is in the temporarily locked state. It has the characteristic in being provided.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the method according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the elastic piece projects from the front end edge of the side wall of the electric wire cover in a cantilever manner within the thickness of the side wall. It is characterized by

<Invention of Claim 1>
When both connector housings are fitted, until the two connector housings are properly fitted, the locking portion and the locked portion are located apart from each other so that the wire cover is locked to the other connector housing. Thus, it can be seen that both connector housings are not properly fitted. On the other hand, in a state in which both connector housings are properly fitted, the locking portion engages with the locked portion, so that the lock of the wire cover to the other connector housing is allowed. It can be seen that they are fitted. That is, the fitting state of both connector housings can be detected by visually checking the open / closed state of the wire cover.

Also, the wire cover is provided with an elastic piece that accumulates the urging force in the return direction on the wire cover as it goes to the position where both the connector housings are properly fitted. When the fitting operation is stopped before the cable cover is moved, the electric wire cover is pushed back by the restoring elasticity of the elastic piece, so that it is understood that the two connector housings are not properly fitted. That is, since the wire cover is dynamically opened greatly, and it can be seen that the two connector housings are not properly fitted, the fitting state of the two connector housings can be detected more clearly.
Furthermore, even when the locking by the locking portion and the locked portion is released, the electric wire cover is largely opened by the elastic elasticity of the elastic piece. Visible clearly.

<Invention of Claim 2>
The projecting piece formed on the wire cover is restricted from entering the bending space by interference with the lock arm that is bent and deformed into the bending space until both connector housings are properly fitted. It can be seen that the housing is not properly fitted. On the other hand, the projecting piece is allowed to enter the bending space by restoring the lock arm when both the connector housings are properly fitted, and one of the connector housings of the electric wire cover is allowed to enter the bending space of the projecting piece. Alternatively, since the lock on the other connector housing is allowed, it can be seen that both connector housings are properly fitted. That is, it is possible to detect the fitting state of both connector housings by visually confirming whether or not the projecting piece has entered the bending space, and thus the open / closed state of the wire cover.

Also, the wire cover is provided with an elastic piece that accumulates the urging force in the return direction on the wire cover as it goes to the position where both the connector housings are properly fitted. When the fitting operation is stopped before the cable cover is moved, the electric wire cover is pushed back by the restoring elasticity of the elastic piece, so that it is understood that the two connector housings are not properly fitted. That is, since the wire cover is dynamically opened greatly, and it can be seen that the two connector housings are not properly fitted, the fitting state of the two connector housings can be detected more clearly.
Furthermore, even when the locking by the locking portion and the locked portion is released, the electric wire cover is largely opened by the elastic elasticity of the elastic piece. Visible clearly.

<Invention of Claim 3>
The electric wire cover is rotatably assembled to one connector housing at one end thereof, and has a correction surface that regulates the electric wire in a predetermined direction on its inner surface, and the electric wire is made into a correction surface by a rotation operation toward the closed position. Since the bending guidance is performed so that the connector housings fit together, if the mating operation is stopped before the two connector housings are properly mated, the restoring elasticity of the wire accompanying the bending and the restoring elasticity of the elastic piece are combined. The cover will be greatly repelled in the return direction. Therefore, it can be seen more clearly that both connector housings are not properly fitted.

<Invention of Claim 4>
The wire cover is movable between the temporarily locked state and the fully locked state, and the wire is defined in a predetermined direction in the temporarily locked state. Therefore, before the two connector housings are properly fitted, the wire cover By holding the wire in the temporarily locked state, the electric wires can be aligned and bundled in a predetermined direction, the handleability is improved, and the work load at the assembly site is reduced.

<Invention of Claim 5>
The elastic piece is held in a natural state when it is not needed because it is spaced apart from the one connector housing when the wire cover is in a temporarily locked state. Elasticity deterioration is prevented.

<Invention of Claim 6>
Since the elastic piece is formed in a cantilevered manner within the thickness of the side wall of the electric wire cover, when the connector housings are not properly fitted, the elastic piece has a resilient elasticity. The wire cover is quickly opened to the side wall without waste. Moreover, since the elastic piece is provided within the thickness of the side wall, the electric wire can be accommodated in the electric wire cover while avoiding interference with the elastic piece. Furthermore, since the thickness dimension of the side wall of the electric wire cover can be suppressed, the size can be reduced.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector according to the present embodiment includes both male and female housings 10 and 40 that can be fitted to each other, and an electric wire cover 60 that is rotatably attached to the female housing 10 (corresponding to one connector housing of the present invention). The lock arm 11 formed on the female housing 10 engages the lock receiving portion 41 formed on the male housing 40 (corresponding to the other connector housing of the present invention), so that both housings 10 and 40 are in a fitted state. It is supposed to be held at. In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the fitting surface side of both housings 10 and 40 is the front.

  First, the male housing 40 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 and 14, the male housing 40 is a vertical wall-shaped housing body 42 formed of a synthetic resin material, and is also formed of a synthetic resin material and forwards from the periphery of the housing body 42. A protruding hood portion 43 having a rectangular tube shape is provided. The male housing 40 is attached and fixed to the printed circuit board 80 via a metal fixing member (not shown), and in this state, the male housing 40 is inserted and held together with the printed circuit board 80 in a housing portion 82 of a case 81 such as an aluminum box.

  A terminal insertion hole 44 into which the male terminal fitting 83 can be inserted from the rear is formed in the housing main body 42. The terminal insertion holes 44 are arranged in two steps in the height direction and in a staggered manner in the width direction, and the male terminal fitting 83 is press-fitted inside. The male terminal fitting 83 protrudes into the hood 43 and protrudes rearward from the rear end surface of the housing main body 42, and is bent downward at a right angle once in the middle, and then the rear end portion is bent back at a right angle again. . A portion of the male terminal fitting 83 that protrudes into the hood portion 43 is in electrical contact with a female terminal fitting 90 (described later) housed in the female housing 10, and a rear end printed on the printed circuit board 80. To be connected by soldering.

The female housing 10 is fitted into the hood portion 43 from the front, and the housings 10 and 40 are fitted and held by the engagement of the lock arm 11 and the lock receiving portion 41. In the central portion of the upper wall of the hood portion 43 in the width direction, an escape recess 45 is formed to open to the rear surface and to release a lock portion 12 (described later) of the lock arm 11, and protrudes downward at the front end portion thereof. Thus, a lock receiving portion 41 that can be locked to the lock portion 12 is formed. The front surface of the lock receiving portion 41 is a tapered surface 46 that is inclined upward and makes the engagement operation of the lock receiving portion 41 and the lock arm 11 smoothly. Guide grooves 47 that can receive the ribs 13 (described later) of the female housing 10 are formed at the upper and lower edge portions of the inner surface of the hood portion 43. Further, the hood portion 43 is provided with a fixing member mounting portion 48 for attaching the fixing member from the upper surface to both side surfaces.
And the to-be-latched part 49 which can be engaged with the latching | locking part 61 (after-mentioned) of the electric wire cover 60 is provided in the both sides | surfaces of the hood part 43. As shown in FIG. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the locked portion 49 is provided so as to protrude laterally from the four corners of the front end edge of the hood portion 43.

  Next, the female housing 10 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 14, the female housing 10 is formed in a horizontally long block shape by a synthetic resin material, and a cavity 14 into which the female terminal fitting 90 can be inserted from the rear is formed. A large number of electric wires W are led out from the rear end face 10A of the female housing 10 to the outside. As shown in FIG. 14, the female terminal fitting 90 includes a rectangular tube-shaped main body portion 91 that opens in the front-rear direction, and a barrel portion 92 that is provided behind and is crimped to the terminal of the electric wire W. A tongue piece 93 that can elastically contact the male terminal fitting 83 is formed in 91.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cavities 14 are arranged in two steps in the height direction and a large number of staggered arrangements in the width direction, and correspond to the terminal insertion holes 44. As shown in FIG. 3, lances 16 that are cantilevered between the slits 15 by forming a plurality of slits 15 having a predetermined shape are formed on the upper and lower walls of each cavity 14 for each cavity 14. The lance 16 can be elastically bent in the vertical direction, and holds the female terminal fitting 90 in a retaining state by locking the rear end jaw portion 94 in the main body 91 of the female terminal fitting 90. The outer surface of the lance 16 is exposed to the outside continuously with the upper and lower surfaces of the female housing 10 and protrudes outward from the outer surface of the female housing 10 by its own bending deformation operation. In other words, when the two housings 10 and 40 are to be fitted in this state, the fitting operation is further restricted by the lance 16 colliding with the front end edge of the male housing 40.

  Ribs 13 are provided on both the upper and lower surfaces of the female housing 10 to guide the fitting operation of the housings 10 and 40. Specifically, the ribs 13 are disposed at both ends in the width direction on both the upper and lower surfaces of the female housing 10, and the pair of ribs 13 on the upper and lower surfaces are disposed at positions shifted in the width direction so that they are asymmetrical in the vertical direction. Arranged. Further, on the upper and lower surfaces of the female housing 10, a support shaft 17 is erected on the rear side of the rib 13 so as to support the wire cover 60 so as to be rotatable. Each of the support shafts 17 has a substantially columnar shape and is substantially the same shape and size, and protrudes from the four corners of the rear end edge of the female housing 10 along the height direction. A bearing portion 62 (described later) provided on the electric wire cover 60 can be fitted onto a pair of support shafts 17 arranged in parallel in the height direction of the support shafts 17. Further, the peripheral edge portion of the protruding end of the support shaft 17 is a guide surface 17A cut out in a tapered shape so that the bearing portion 62 of the electric wire cover 60 can be easily fitted.

  At the rear end portion of the lower surface of the female housing 10, a finger hooking portion 18 is provided so as to be hooked by an operator's finger when the female housing 10 is fitted and detached. The finger hooking portion 18 is formed wide at the center in the width direction of the female housing 10 and contributes to improving the strength of the female housing 10.

  A recess 19 is formed over the entire length of the upper surface of the female housing 10 in the width direction, and the lock arm 11 is formed so as to protrude from the bottom surface of the recess 19. The lock arm 11 includes an arm portion 20 that extends along the front-rear direction and a pressing operation portion 21 that extends to the rear end portion and extends along the width direction. As shown in FIG. 14, the arm portion 21 has a base end portion connected to a front end portion on the bottom surface of the concave portion 19, and can be elastically bent in the vertical direction with the base end portion as a fulcrum. The upper surface of the arm portion 21 is aligned at substantially the same height as the upper surface of the female housing 10, and the upper-stage cavities 14 are located on the outer sides of both edges in the width direction of the arm portion 21. Are arranged in the same number on the left and right with the arm portion 21 in between. In addition, a lock portion that can be elastically locked to the lock receiving portion 41 of the male housing 40 when the two housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted to each other at the central portion in the length direction on the upper surface of the arm portion 21. 12 is provided protruding upward.

  By the way, the pressing operation portion 21 is formed in an arch shape as a whole by connecting the center portion in the width direction to the rear end portion of the arm portion 21 and connecting both end portions in the width direction to the upper surface of the female housing 10. A bending space Q is formed between the lower surface of the lock arm 11 and the upper surface of the female housing 10. By pressing the pressing operation portion 21, the entire lock arm 11 is bent toward the bending space Q (this embodiment). In the case of the form, it corresponds to the lower part of the lock arm 11), that is, it can be bent and deformed in the unlocking direction. Both end portions in the width direction of the pressing operation portion 21 are integrally connected to a protrusion 22 provided on the upper surface of the female housing 10, and the protruding height of the protrusion 22 is positioned higher than the pressing operation portion 21. By setting, the pressing operation unit 21 is protected. Further, a temporary locking projection 23 is formed between the projection 22 and the support shaft 17 on the upper surface of the female housing 10. The temporary locking protrusion 23 can be engaged with the temporary locking portion 63 of the electric wire cover 60, and prevents the electric wire cover 60 from returning backward.

  Next, the electric wire cover 60 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the wire cover 60 is formed in a substantially bowl shape from a synthetic resin material, and its front part is slightly larger than the rear part of the female housing 10. Cover. The electric wire cover 60 is opened at the front surface assembled to the female housing 10, and one of the four side surfaces is opened as an electric wire outlet 64 from which the electric wire W group is drawn. That is, the electric wire cover 60 is constituted by the three side walls 65 and the rear wall 66, and the electric wire W group is pulled out from the rear end surface 10 </ b> A of the female housing 10, and then the inner surface 66 </ b> A ( (Corresponding to the correction surface of the present invention) along the direction substantially perpendicular to the fitting direction, and is exposed to the outside from the electric wire outlet 64 in this state.

  The pair of side walls 65 facing each other is provided with an attachment portion 67 that protrudes forward at one end on the side opposite to the electric wire outlet 64, and a bearing portion is provided at substantially the center of the attachment portion 67. 62 is formed in a substantially circular opening. The opening diameter of the bearing portion 62 is substantially the same as or slightly larger than the diameter of the support shaft 17 of the female housing 10, and the electric wire cover 60 is rotatably supported by passing through the support shaft 17. . As described above, two pairs of support shafts 17 are arranged in the height direction on the rear end edge of the female housing 10, and one of them is an engagement partner of the bearing portion 62. Any one pair is appropriately selected according to the use situation or the like. In the case of the illustrated embodiment, the wire cover 60 is rotated clockwise, but the wire cover 60 is rotated counterclockwise by pivotally supporting the wire cover 60 on the other pair of support shafts 17. It can also be moved.

  Further, a groove 68 is provided at the other end of the side wall 65 on the side where the wire outlet 64 is located, and a wire holding piece 69 that is slightly bent inward and can be deformed below the groove 68. Is formed. The electric wire W group is pulled out from the electric wire outlet 64 while being held by the electric wire pressing piece 69. An uneven finger rest 70 that is picked up by the operator's fingers is formed at the rear end of the side wall 65. In front of the finger pad portion 70, a constricted portion 71 that restricts the movement of the electric wire W group in the electric wire cover 60 is formed narrow.

  Further, a pair of temporary locking portions 63 are formed on the front edge of the side wall 65 so as to protrude forward. The temporary locking portion 63 is formed with a temporary locking protrusion 72 that protrudes in an opposing manner from the protruding end. The temporary locking protrusion 72 locks the temporary locking protrusion 23 of the female housing 10, thereby The rotation of the cover 60 toward the open position is restricted. Note that the electric wire cover 60 has the rear wall 66 obliquely arranged with respect to the rear end surface 10A of the female housing 10 in the temporary locking position, while the rear wall 66 substantially extends from the rear end surface 10A of the female housing 10 in the main locking position. Arranged in parallel, the rear end face 10A of the female housing 10 is closed.

  A pair of locking portions 61 are formed on the front end edge of the side wall 65 so as to protrude forward. Specifically, the locking portion 61 is formed to be longer than the temporary locking portion 63 while being disposed substantially parallel to the temporary locking portion 63 at a position near the other end portion of the front edge of the side wall 65. The side wall 65 has the same thickness width as the side wall 65 and is disposed within the thickness of the side wall 65. The locking portion 61 is formed with a locking projection 73 that protrudes inward in the width direction from the protruding end. When the both housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted, the locking projection 73 is a male housing. 40 reaches the position corresponding to the locked portion 49, and the locked portion 49 is locked in the width direction, and the electric wire cover 60 is held at the full locking position. The front surface of the locking projection 73 is a tapered surface 73 </ b> A that induces engagement with the locked portion 49. In addition, since the to-be-latched part 49 used as the mating partner of the latching part 61 is provided for each of the both ends of the hood part 43 in the width direction, a total of two pairs, as described above, By appropriately selecting the support shaft 17 serving as the rotation fulcrum, it is possible to cope with the rotation direction of the wire cover 60 either clockwise or counterclockwise.

Also, any one of the side walls 65 facing each other has a front end edge 65A set at a position retracted from the other, and a pair of resin springs 78 (corresponding to the elastic piece of the present invention) on the front end edge 65A. ) Is provided so as to be elastically deformable. Specifically, the resin spring 78 is provided in a cantilevered manner by connecting its root portion to a position near one end and a position near the other end of the front edge 65A, and is provided at a position near one end in the natural state. The formed resin spring 78A extends obliquely forward to one end side, and then extends substantially parallel to the front end edge 65A, and the extending end reaches the vicinity of the bearing portion 62. On the other hand, the resin spring 78B provided at a position near the other end in the natural state extends obliquely forward to the other end side, and then extends substantially parallel to the front end edge 65A. To the vicinity. That is, both the resin springs 78A and 78B are provided so as to extend toward the end so as to be separated from each other as they go from the base portion side to the free end side.
Further, the resin spring 78 is disposed within the plate thickness of the side wall 65 with the same thickness width as the side wall 65, and its bending deformation operation is also performed within the plate thickness of the side wall 65. The resin spring 78 is arranged away from the position where it is not in contact with the female housing 10 when the wire cover 60 is in the temporary locking position (see the solid line in FIG. 13). On the way to the position, it begins to hit the protrusion 22 of the female housing 10. Then, as the rotation of the electric wire cover 60 proceeds, the resin spring 78 is elastically tilted little by little by the protrusion 22 and accumulates the urging force in the return direction, that is, the open position side with respect to the electric wire cover 60. (See the two-dot chain line in FIG. 13). Therefore, if the hand is released from the electric wire cover 60 before the electric wire cover 60 reaches the final locking position, the electric wire cover 60 is repelled in the return direction by the urging force of the resin spring 78.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, the male housing 40 is fixed at a predetermined position of the printed circuit board 80, and the rear end portion of the male terminal fitting 83 is connected to the conductor path of the printed circuit board 80 by soldering. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the male housing 40 fixed to the printed circuit board 80 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 82 of the case 81 so that only the front surface of the hood portion 43 is exposed, and the male housing 40 is fitted to the female housing 10. It can be started.

  On the other hand, the electric wire cover 60 is assembled to the female housing 10 in advance. When assembling, first, the bearing portion 62 of the electric wire cover 60 is aligned with one end in the width direction of the female housing 10, and in this state, the attachment portion 67 is expanded and the bearing portion 62 is fitted to the corresponding support shaft 17. . When the electric wire cover 60 is attached to the female housing 10, as shown in FIG. 10, the electric wire cover 60 is rotated toward the temporary locking position. Then, the temporary locking protrusion 72 of the electric wire cover 60 interferes with the temporary locking protrusion 23 of the female housing 10 to temporarily restrict the rotating operation of the electric wire cover 60, but the electric wire cover 60 is further strongly rotated. Thus, the temporary locking protrusion 72 gets over the temporary locking protrusion 23 and locks the rear surface thereof. Along with this, the electric wire W group is bent and guided along the inner surface 66A of the rear wall 66 of the electric wire cover 60, and is extended in a direction substantially orthogonal to the fitting direction at the temporary locking position.

  Subsequently, an operation of fitting the female housing 10 to which the electric wire cover 60 is attached to the male housing 40 is performed, and the electric wire cover 60 is temporarily engaged until the fitting operation is performed and during the fitting operation. The wire W group is kept in a stopped state and aligned so as to be along the inner surface 66 </ b> A of the rear wall 66. Note that when the female housing 10 is turned upside down from the normal posture to be fitted to the male housing 40, the rib 13 abuts against the opening edge of the hood portion 43, thereby preventing erroneous fitting.

  Then, the female housing 10 in the normal posture is fitted into the hood portion 43 of the male housing along the direction of the arrow in FIG. 10, and the rib 13 is advanced into the corresponding guide groove 47 as shown in FIG. However, the fitting operation of the female housing 10 is advanced along the guide groove 47. When the female housing 10 is fitted at a predetermined depth, as shown in FIG. 15, the lock portion 12 and the lock receiving portion 41 of the lock arm 11 are slid, and the lock arm 11 is bent and deformed into the bending space Q. The After that, when the two housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted, the lock portion 12 escapes into the recess 45, the lock arm 11 is elastically restored, and the rear surface of the lock portion 12 is engaged with the rear surface of the lock receiving portion 41. The two housings 10 and 40 are fitted and held in a state where the detachment is restricted. In this regular fitting position, the tongue piece 93 of the female terminal fitting 90 is elastically contacted with the male terminal fitting 83 so as to be conductive.

  Until both housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted, as shown in FIG. 11, even if the wire cover 60 is forcibly rotated to the closed position, the locking protrusion in the locking portion 61 of the wire cover 60. Since 73 is located away from the locked portion 49 of the male housing 10, the locking protrusion 73 does not engage with the locked portion 49. Therefore, the electric wire cover 60 is not locked with respect to the male housing 40. If this state is visually confirmed, it can be determined that the two housings 10 and 40 are not properly fitted. Then, the female housing 10 is further pushed into the male housing 40 from this state, and both the housings 10 and 40 are brought to the proper fitting positions.

  When the two housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted, as shown in FIG. 12, the locking projection 73 in the locking portion 61 of the wire cover 60 reaches a position where it can engage with the locked portion 49 of the male housing 40. To do. Then, the locking projection 73 is brought into sliding contact with the locked portion 49 and the locking portion 61 is bent and deformed. Further, the locking projection 73 passes through the locked portion 49 and the locking portion 61 is restored. The stop protrusion 73 locks the rear surface of the locked portion 49 in a hooked state. The wire cover 60 in this fully locked state is locked with respect to the male housing 40 and closes the rear end face 10A of the female housing 10.

  Here, the resin spring 78 functions as a means for making the situation where both the housings 10 and 40 are not properly fitted fit more clearly visible. The resin spring 78 is arranged at a position away from the female housing 10 without being in contact with the female housing 10 until both the housings 10 and 40 reach the normal fitting position, and is maintained in a natural state. On the other hand, if the resin spring 78 is allowed to move to the main locking position of the wire cover 60 with the normal fitting of the housings 10 and 40, the resin spring 78 applies a biasing force in the return direction to the wire cover 60 with this movement. It is elastically deformed while accumulating. At this time, if the fitting operation is stopped before the two housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted due to misunderstanding of the operator or the like, the lock of the wire cover 60 with respect to the male housing 40 is restricted. The resin spring 78 is dynamically released by the restoring elasticity.

  Further, at this stage, the electric wire W group is bent along the inner surface 66A of the rear wall 66 of the electric wire cover 60. Therefore, the restoring elasticity accompanying the bending of the electric wire W group assists the restoring elasticity of the resin spring 78. Thus, the electric wire cover 60 is opened with a larger operation. Since the opening operation of the wire cover 60 reveals that the two housings 10 and 40 are not properly fitted, the fitting operation is further continued to bring the two housings 10 and 40 to the normal fitting position. The cover 60 is locked with respect to the male housing 40. Then, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 13, the resin spring 70 is bent and deformed into a gently inclined mountain shape, and is elastically in contact with the pressing operation portion 21 of the female housing 10 at the peak portion of the mountain. Held in.

  Thereafter, when the female housing 10 is detached from the male housing 40 due to maintenance or the like, the engagement between the locking protrusion 73 of the locking portion 61 and the locked portion 49 of the male housing 40 is released, and the wire cover 60 is rotated in the return direction, that is, toward the open position. When the engagement between the locking projection 73 and the locked portion 49 is released, the electric wire cover 60 is dynamically opened largely by the restoring elasticity of the resin spring 78 and the electric wire W group. Subsequently, the pressing operation unit 21 is bent from above with a finger and pressed toward the space Q, so that the lock arm 11 is forcibly elastically deformed (see FIG. 15). Then, the pressing operation portion 21 is displaced into the bending space Q with the width direction both end portions as the base ends, and the lock portion 12 comes out of the escape recess 45, so that the female housing 10 is pulled rearward in this state, so that the male housing The female housing 10 is detached from 40.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the housings 10 and 40 are fitted, the locking protrusions of the locking portion 61 of the wire cover 60 until both the housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted. 73 and the locked portion 49 of the male housing 40 are located at positions separated from each other, so that the lock of the electric wire cover 60 with respect to the male housing 40 is regulated. You can see that they are not. On the other hand, in a state where both the housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted, the locking portion 61 engages with the locked portion 49 so that the lock of the electric wire cover 60 with respect to the male housing 40 is allowed. It can be seen that the housings 10, 40 are properly fitted. Therefore, the fitting state of both the housings 10 and 40 can be detected by visually recognizing whether the electric wire cover 60 is locked or not.

  Further, since the electric wire cover 60 is provided with a resin spring 78 that accumulates an urging force in the returning direction toward the electric wire cover 60 toward the position where both the housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted, both the housings 10 and 40 are provided. , 40 is stopped before the fitting is normally fitted, the electric wire cover 60 is pushed back by the restoring elasticity of the resin spring 78, so that the housings 10, 40 are not properly fitted. Is clearly understood. That is, it can be seen that the wire cover 60 is dynamically opened widely, and thus the two housings 10 and 40 are not properly fitted.

  Also, when the locking by the locking portion 61 and the locked portion 49 is released, the electric wire cover 60 is largely opened by the restoring elasticity of the resin spring 78, so that the two housings 10, 40 can be locked. You can clearly see that has been lifted. In particular, when a large number of connectors are arranged side by side and the electric wire cover 60 that is unlocked is included therein, the open state is particularly noticeable, so that the visibility is improved.

  In addition, the electric wire cover 60 is rotatably assembled with respect to the female housing 10 at one end thereof, and is set so as to define the electric wire W group in a predetermined direction on the inner surface 66A of the rear wall 66, and is rotated toward the closed position. Since the wire W group is bent and guided along the inner surface 66A of the rear wall 66 by the moving operation, if the fitting operation is stopped before the two housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted, the wire W group accompanying the bending. The restoring elasticity of the resin spring 78 and the restoring elasticity of the resin spring 78 are combined so that the electric wire cover 60 is greatly repelled in the return direction. As a result, it can be seen more clearly that both housings 10, 40 are not properly fitted.

  Further, the wire cover 60 is movable between the temporarily locked state and the fully locked state, and the wire cover 60 is held in the temporarily locked state before both the housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted. Thus, the electric wire W group can be aligned and bundled in a predetermined direction, so that the handleability is improved and the work load at the assembly site is reduced. Further, the resin spring 78 is provided in a natural state when it is not needed because it is provided at a position where it is not in contact with the female housing 10 when the wire cover 60 is in a temporarily locked state. Therefore, elastic deterioration is prevented.

Further, since the resin spring 78 is formed in a cantilevered manner within the thickness of the side wall 65 at the front edge of the side wall 65 of the wire cover 60, when the housings 10, 40 are not properly fitted. In addition, the restoring elasticity of the resin spring 78 is transmitted to the side wall 65 without waste, and the wire cover 65 is quickly opened. Since the resin spring 78 is provided within the thickness of the side wall 65, the electric wire W group can be accommodated in the electric wire cover 60 while avoiding interference with the resin spring 78, and the thickness dimension of the side wall 65 of the electric wire cover 60 can be reduced. It can be suppressed and downsizing can be achieved.
Furthermore, when the electric wire cover 60 is in the final locking position, the rattling between the electric wire cover 60 and the female housing 10 can be prevented by the resin spring 78.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the electric wire cover 60 is locked to the female housing 10, and the fitting detection of both the housings 10 and 40 is performed between the electric wire cover 60 and the female housing 10. However, since the second embodiment has many parts that are structurally common to the first embodiment, the same structural parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

In the case of the second embodiment, a lock structure for the electric wire cover 60 is provided on the female housing 10 side. In other words, the female housing 10 is provided with a pair of locked portions 49 so as to protrude laterally from both ends in the height direction at the rear end edge of one side surface thereof.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 16, the locking portion 61 is provided so as to protrude forward from a position near the other end of the front end edge of the wire cover 60, and is narrower and shorter than the temporary locking portion 63. It is arranged in parallel with the locking part 63. Moreover, the latching | locking part 61 is provided with the latching protrusion 73 which protrudes inward at the protrusion end.

  A protruding piece 77 is formed to protrude forward at a position slightly closer to the other end portion than the central portion of the front end edge of the side wall 65 of the electric wire cover 60. The protruding piece 77 is wider than the temporary locking portion 63 and shorter than the locking portion 61. When the electric wire cover 60 reaches the final locking position, the female housing 10 enters the bending space Q. Is made possible. One resin spring 78 is provided at a position near one end of the front end edge 65A of the side wall 65 of the electric wire cover 60, and the shape thereof is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment.

  The operation of the second embodiment will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 16, the wire cover 60 is retained at the temporary locking position, and the female housing 10 is fitted to the male housing 40 in this state. In the middle of fitting the two housings 10 and 40, as shown in FIG. 18, the lock portion 12 of the lock arm 11 of the female housing 10 is in sliding contact with the lock receiving portion 41 of the male housing 40, so that the lock arm 11 is bent. It bends and deforms to the side. Accordingly, even if the electric wire cover 60 is to be rotated to the main locking position side in this state, since the protruding piece 77 abuts against the pressing operation portion 21 of the lock arm 11, further rotating operation is restricted. The cover 60 cannot be brought to the final locking position. Further, since the resin spring 78 elastically contacts the pressing operation portion 21 before the protruding piece 77 hits the pressing operation portion 21, the urging force in the return direction is stored in the electric wire cover 60. When the rotation operation is stopped when it hits the pressing operation portion 21, the electric wire cover 60 is opened by the restoring elasticity of the resin spring 78.

  When the fitting of the two housings 10 and 40 proceeds and the lock portion 12 of the lock arm 11 passes the lock receiving portion 41, the lock portion 12 engages the rear surface of the lock receiving portion 41, whereby both the housings 10 and 40 are engaged. Is properly fitted. As shown in FIG. 19, the lock arm 11 is elastically restored to the original posture and comes out of the bending space Q at this regular fitting position, so that when the wire cover 60 is rotated toward the main locking position in this state, The protrusion 77 is allowed to enter the bending space Q, and the wire cover 60 can be brought to the final locking position. In this way, the wire cover 60 is locked in a state in which the locking portion 61 is locked to the locked portion 49 of the female housing 10 so that the rotation is restricted to the female housing 10, and the rear end surface 10 </ b> A of the female housing 10 is locked. Close.

  According to the second embodiment, until the two housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted, the protrusion 77 of the electric wire cover 60 enters the bending space Q by interference with the lock arm 11 which is bent and deformed into the bending space Q. Therefore, it can be determined that both housings 10 and 40 are not properly fitted. Moreover, the entry restriction of the protrusion 77 into the bending space Q can be clearly recognized by the electric wire cover 60 being repelled in the return direction by the restoring elasticity of the resin spring 78.

  On the other hand, when the two housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted, the lock arm 11 is pulled out of the bending space Q, so that the protrusion 77 is allowed to enter the bending space Q. Since 60 is locked to the female housing 10, it can be determined that both the housings 10, 40 are properly fitted. As a result, it is possible to detect the fitting state of both housings 10 and 40 by visually confirming whether or not the protruding piece 77 is allowed to enter the bending space Q, that is, the open / closed state of the wire cover 60.

<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, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
(1) In the said embodiment, although the male housing was fixed to the circuit board, in this invention, the male housing may be connected to the terminal of the electric wire. In this case, the electric wire cover may be assembled so as to cover the electric wire drawn from the rear end surface of the male housing.
(2) In the above embodiment, the electric wire cover is rotatably assembled to the female housing. However, in the present invention, the electric wire cover may be assembled along the fitting direction from the rear of the female housing.
(3) In the above embodiment, the bending space is formed below the lock arm, but in the present invention, the bending space may be formed above or on the side of the lock arm.
(4) Although the wire cover in the second embodiment is locked with respect to the female housing, it may be locked with respect to the male housing as in the first embodiment.

The front view of the female housing of the connector concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Rear view of female housing Top view of female housing Front view of male housing Top view of male housing Side view of male housing Top view of the wire cover Side view of the wire cover Front view of the wire cover Exploded cross-sectional view showing the state before both housings are mated Cross-sectional view showing a state where both housings are engaged Cross-sectional view showing a state in which both housings are fitted The principal part enlarged plan view which shows the resin spring when an electric wire cover exists in a temporary latching state Exploded side sectional view showing a state before both housings are fitted together Side sectional view showing a state where both housings are engaged The cross-sectional view which shows the state in the middle of the both housings of the connector which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention fitting Cross-sectional view showing a state in which both housings are fitted Side sectional view showing a state where both housings are engaged Side sectional view showing a state in which both housings are fitted

Explanation of symbols

W ... Electric wire 10 ... Female housing 11 ... Lock arm 17 ... Spindle 40 ... Male housing 43 ... Hood part 49 ... Locked part 60 ... Electric wire cover 61 ... Locking part 73 ... Locking protrusion 78 ... Resin spring 83 ... Male Terminal fitting

Claims (6)

One connector housing of both male and female connector housings that can be fitted to each other is assembled with a wire cover that covers the electric wire that is led out from its rear surface while accommodating a terminal fitting crimped to the end of the electric wire, The electric wire cover is formed with an engaging portion, and the other connector housing is engaged with the engaging portion when the two connector housings are properly fitted to allow locking with the electric wire cover. Until the two connector housings are properly fitted with each other, the locking portion and the locked portion are arranged at positions separated from each other until the connector housing is properly fitted. In which the lock on the other connector housing is restricted,
The electric wire cover starts to elastically contact with the one connector housing before both the connector housings are properly fitted, and returns to the electric wire cover toward the position where the two connector housings are properly fitted. An elastic piece for accumulating an urging force to the connector is provided. One connector housing of both male and female connector housings that can be fitted to each other is assembled with a wire cover that covers the electric wire that is led out from its rear surface while accommodating a terminal fitting crimped to the end of the electric wire, A lock receiving portion is formed in the other connector housing, and the one connector housing is bent and deformed toward the bending space by the lock receiving portion until both the connector housings are properly fitted, When the connector is properly fitted, a lock arm that elastically restores and locks the lock receiving portion is formed, and the wire cover is positioned in the bending space until both the connector housings are properly fitted. Entry into the bending space is restricted by interfering with the lock arm, and both the connector housings are properly connected. When the lock arm is restored, the lock arm is restored to form a protruding piece that is allowed to enter the bending space, and the protrusion of the protruding piece allows the one connector housing or the other of the wire cover to enter. In those where locking to the connector housing is allowed,
The electric wire cover starts to elastically contact with the one connector housing before both the connector housings are properly fitted, and returns to the electric wire cover toward the position where the two connector housings are properly fitted. An elastic piece for accumulating an urging force to the connector is provided. The electric wire cover is rotatably attached to the one connector housing at one end portion thereof, and has a correction surface for defining the electric wire in a predetermined direction on an inner surface thereof, and the electric wire cover is moved by a rotating operation toward a closed position. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is bent and guided along the correction surface. The wire cover can be moved between a temporary locking state in which the electric wire cover is retained on the way to the closed position and the electric wire is defined in a predetermined direction and a final locked state in which the electric wire cover is retained in the closed position. The connector according to claim 3. The said elastic piece is spaced apart and provided in the position used as a non-contact with said one connector housing, when the said wire cover is in the said temporary latching state. Connector. 6. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the elastic piece is provided in a cantilevered manner within a thickness of the side wall of the front end edge of the side wall of the electric wire cover.

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