JP2024174345A - Connectors and Wire Harnesses - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a connector and a wire harness in which the unevenness between a female housing and a male housing can be suppressed more appropriately.SOLUTION: A connector 1 includes a female connector 10, a male connector 20, a lever 30, a housing lock part 45, and a lever lock part 40. A first gap G1 along the direction X of the axial line between a third latch part 41 and a fourth latch part 42 of the lever lock part 40 is smaller than a second gap G2 along the direction of the axial line between a first latch part 45a and a second latch part 45b of the housing lock part 45 while the female housing 11 of the female connector 10 is positioned in a second position P2 which corresponds to the full engagement state of the female connector 10 and the male connector 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

The present invention relates to a connector and a wire harness.

As an example of conventional connector technology, Patent Document 1 discloses a connector that includes a female connector having a female terminal and a female housing, a male connector having a male terminal and a male housing, and a lever that supports the female housing so that it can move relative to the male housing along the axial direction between a first position that corresponds to a provisionally mated state of the female housing and the male housing, and a second position that corresponds to a fully mated state of the female housing and the male housing.

JP 2019-91610 A

However, the connector described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 has room for further improvement, for example, in terms of suppressing rattle between the female housing and the male housing.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a connector and wire harness that can more appropriately suppress rattling between the female housing and the male housing.

In order to achieve the above object, the connector of the present invention comprises a female connector having a female terminal and a female housing that holds the female terminal therein; a male connector having a male terminal that is electrically connected to the female terminal and a male housing that holds the male terminal therein and is fitted with the female housing along the axial direction; a lever that supports the female housing so that it can move relative to the male housing along the axial direction between a first position that corresponds to a temporary mating state between the female housing and the male housing and a second position that corresponds to a complete mating state between the female housing and the male housing; a first locking portion provided on the male housing; and a housing locking part having a second locking part provided on the lever and locked in the axial direction with the first locking part when the female housing is positioned at the second position, and a lever locking part having a third locking part provided on the lever and a fourth locking part provided on the female housing and locked in the axial direction with the third locking part when the female housing is positioned at the second position, and when the female housing is positioned at the second position, a first gap along the axial direction between the third locking part and the fourth locking part of the lever locking part is smaller than a second gap along the axial direction between the first locking part and the second locking part of the housing locking part.

In the connector and wire harness according to the present invention, when the female housing is positioned in the second position corresponding to a completely mated state with the male housing, the first gap along the axial direction between the third and fourth locking portions of the lever lock is smaller than the second gap along the axial direction between the first and second locking portions of the housing lock. With this configuration, the connector and wire harness can, for example, suppress the rattle between the female housing and the male housing when the female housing is positioned in the second position (the amount of axial movement of the female housing relative to the male housing) to within a range approximately equal to the first gap, which is smaller than the second gap. As a result, the connector and wire harness have the effect of more appropriately suppressing rattle between the female housing and the male housing.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary perspective view of a wire harness to which a connector according to an embodiment is applied. FIG. 2 is an exemplary exploded perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is an exemplary perspective view of the connector according to the embodiment, showing a state in which the female housing is located in a first position. FIG. 4 is an exemplary perspective view of the connector according to the embodiment, showing a state in which the female housing is positioned at a first intermediate position between the first position and the second position. FIG. 5 is an exemplary perspective view of the connector according to the embodiment, showing a state in which the female housing is positioned at a second intermediate position between the first position and the second position. FIG. 6 is an exemplary perspective view of the connector according to the embodiment, showing a state in which the female housing is located in a second position. FIG. 7 is an exemplary plan view of a connector according to an embodiment, showing a state in which the female housing is located in a second position. FIG. 8 is an exemplary cross-sectional view of a housing locking portion and a lever locking portion of the connector according to the embodiment, showing a state in which the female housing is positioned in the second position.

The following describes in detail the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. The components in the following embodiments include those that are easily replaceable by a person skilled in the art, or those that are substantially the same. Note that in this specification, ordinal numbers are used only to distinguish between parts, members, parts, positions, directions, etc., and do not indicate order or priority.

[Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wire harness WH to which a connector 1 according to an embodiment is applied. The connector 1 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is incorporated into a wire harness WH arranged in a vehicle such as an automobile. Here, the wire harness WH is, for example, a bundle of a plurality of electric wires W used for power supply and signal communication for connecting each device mounted on a vehicle, and the plurality of electric wires W are connected to each device by a connector 1 or the like. The wire harness WH of the present embodiment includes, for example, a plurality of conductive electric wires W and a connector 1 provided at the terminals of the plurality of electric wires W. In addition, the wire harness WH may be configured to further include a protector, a fixing device, etc.

In the following description, the first direction is referred to as the "axial direction X", the second direction is referred to as the "width direction Y", and the third direction is referred to as the "height direction Z". Here, the axial direction X, the width direction Y, and the height direction Z are approximately perpendicular to each other. The axial direction X typically corresponds to the depth direction (front-back direction) of the connector 1, the insertion/removal direction (mating direction) of the female connector 10 and the male connector 20 of the connector 1, the extension direction of the electric wire W, the insertion direction of the electric wire W into the connector 1, etc. The height direction Z typically corresponds to the thickness direction (up-down direction) of the connector 1, etc. The width direction Y typically corresponds to the width direction (left-right direction) of the connector 1, etc. In addition, each direction used in the following description will be described as a direction in a state in which the electric wire W is assembled to the connector 1, unless otherwise specified.

The electric wire W is, for example, configured to include a conductive linear conductor portion W1 and an insulating coating W2 that has insulating properties and covers the outside of the conductor portion W1. The electric wire W is an insulated electric wire in which the conductor portion W1 is coated with the insulating coating W2. In this embodiment, the conductor portion W1 is a core wire in which multiple conductive metal wires are bundled together, but it may also be a twisted core wire in which the multiple metal wires are twisted together. The insulating coating W2 is an electric wire coating that covers the outer periphery of the conductor portion W1. The insulating coating W2 is formed, for example, by extrusion molding an insulating resin material (PP, PVC, cross-linked PE, etc., appropriately selected in consideration of abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, heat resistance, etc.).

The electric wires W are each formed to extend linearly along the axial direction X and extend with approximately the same diameter in the axial direction X (extension direction). In addition, the electric wires W are formed, for example, with the conductor portion W1 having an approximately circular cross-sectional shape (cross-sectional shape intersecting with the axial direction X) and the insulating coating W2 having an approximately annular cross-sectional shape, so that the electric wires W have an approximately circular cross-sectional shape overall. At least one end of the electric wire W has the insulating coating W2 stripped off, and a female terminal 12 (see FIG. 2), which will be described later, is crimped to the conductor portion W1 exposed from the insulating coating W2.

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the connector 1. As shown in Figure 2, the connector 1 includes, for example, a female connector 10, a male connector 20, a lever 30, a lever lock portion 40 and a housing lock portion 45 (see Figure 1) described below, a front mask 50, a packing 60, a spacer 70, a seal member 80, and a rear holder 90. The connector 1 is used, for example, in a wire harness WH having a power supply wire W that supplies power from an inverter to a motor in a vehicle such as a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle.

The female connector 10 has, for example, a female housing 11, a plurality of female terminals 12, and a short-circuit terminal 13. The female housing 11 is formed of an insulating synthetic resin material and holds the female terminals 12, the short-circuit terminals 13, the electric wires W, etc. inside. The female housing 11 is composed of, for example, a cylindrical portion 11a and a fitting portion 11b that protrudes from the cylindrical portion 11a along the axial direction X and fits into the male connector 20. The female housing 11 is formed integrally with the cylindrical portion 11a and the fitting portion 11b, and an insertion space portion 15 is provided inside the cylindrical portion 11a and the fitting portion 11b, through which the female terminals 12, the short-circuit terminals 13, the electric wires W, etc. are inserted. The insertion space 15 is open on both sides in the axial direction X, and the female terminal 12 and the electric wire W are inserted from one side in the axial direction X (the side opposite the male connector 20), while the shorting terminal 13 is inserted from the other side in the axial direction X (the male connector 20 side). In addition, the insertion space 15 into which the shorting terminal 13 is inserted is formed larger than the insertion space 15 into which the female terminal 12 and the electric wire W are inserted.

The female terminal 12 is a female-type terminal fitting made of a conductive metal material, and is electrically connected to the male terminal 22 of the male connector 20. The female terminal 12 is configured to include an electrical connection portion electrically connected to the male terminal 22, and an electric wire crimping portion electrically connected to the end of the electric wire W. The electric connection portion has, for example, a pair of fork terminal portions provided on both sides of the male terminal 22 in the width direction Y or height direction Z, and the male terminal 22 is fitted between the pair of fork terminal portions so as to be sandwiched and electrically connected to each other. The electric wire crimping portion is electrically connected to the electric wire W, for example, by being crimped and crimped to the conductor portion W1 of the electric wire W.

The short-circuit terminal 13 is a terminal fitting made of a conductive metal material, and is electrically connected to the mating detection terminal on the male connector 20 side. The short-circuit terminal 13 is connected to a short circuit (not shown), and when the short circuit occurs between the two terminals due to contact with the mating detection terminal, the short circuit is formed, thereby enabling the mating state of the female housing 11 (female connector 10) and the male housing 21 (male connector 20) to be detected. The short-circuit terminal 13 is a terminal separate from the female terminal 12 described above, and is positioned offset in the width direction Y or height direction Z relative to the female terminal 12.

The male connector 20 has, for example, a male housing 21, a plurality of male terminals 22, and the above-mentioned mating detection terminal (not shown). The male housing 21 is formed from an insulating synthetic resin material, and holds the male terminals 22 and the mating detection terminal inside. In addition, an accommodation space is provided inside the male housing 21 to accommodate the front mask 50, packing 60, spacer 70, mating portion 11b, etc. The accommodation space is open toward one side in the axial direction X (the female connector 10 side), and the front mask 50, etc. are inserted from that one side in the axial direction X.

The male terminal 22 is a male-type terminal fitting made of a conductive metal material, and is electrically connected to the female terminal 12 of the female connector 10. Inside the male housing 21, a plurality of male terminals 22 corresponding to the female terminals 12 are provided at intervals from each other in the width direction Y and height direction Z. The mating detection terminal is a terminal fitting made of a conductive metal material, and is electrically connected to the short-circuit terminal 13 of the female connector 10. The mating detection terminal is a terminal separate from the male terminal 22 described above, and is positioned offset from the male terminal 22 in the width direction Y or height direction Z.

The front mask 50 is, for example, a member that fits into the fitting portion 11b of the female housing 11 in the accommodation space of the male housing 21. The front mask 50 is formed in a generally cylindrical shape with one side in the axial direction X (the female connector 10 side) open and the other side in the axial direction X (the male connector 20 side) closed. The bottom of the front mask 50 is provided with a plurality of through holes 51 through which the male terminals 22 are inserted in the axial direction X. The front mask 50 is attached to the accommodation space 25 of the male housing 21 with the male terminals 22 protruding from each of the plurality of through holes 51 to one side in the axial direction X.

The packing 60 prevents foreign matter such as moisture and dust from entering the inside of the connector 1 through the annular gap between the male housing 21 and the mating portion 11b of the female housing 11. The packing 60 is made of an elastically deformable material such as rubber or resin. The packing 60 is formed, for example, in a rectangular ring shape that follows the outer circumferential surface of the mating portion 11b, and is interposed between the male housing 21 and the mating portion 11b.

The spacer 70 is for holding the female terminal 12 and the short-circuit terminal 13 that protrude from the mating portion 11b of the female housing 11 to the other side in the axial direction X (the male connector 20 side). The spacer 70 also functions as a member for detecting partial insertion of the female terminal 12, etc. The spacer 70 is provided with a plurality of insertion holes 71 through which the female terminals 12 and the short-circuit terminals 13 are inserted in the axial direction X. The insertion holes 71 through which the short-circuit terminals 13 are inserted are formed larger than the insertion holes 71 through which the female terminals 12 are inserted. The spacer 70 is interposed between the bottom of the front mask 50 and the mating portion 11b of the female housing 11 in the axial direction X.

The seal member 80, for example, holds a plurality of electric wires W inside and seals the periphery of the plurality of electric wires W to prevent moisture and the like from penetrating into the inside of the connector 1 from one side (the electric wire W side) in the axial direction X. The seal member 80 is formed of an elastically deformable material such as rubber or resin. The seal member 80 is provided with a plurality of electric wire insertion holes 81 through which the electric wires W are inserted in the axial direction X. The diameters of the plurality of electric wire insertion holes 81 are approximately the same as the diameters of the electric wires W. For example, the seal member 80 is attached in a compressed state between the female housing 11 and the rear holder 90, so that the diameters of the plurality of electric wire insertion holes 81 are reduced radially inward from the free state, and the inner surface of each electric wire insertion hole 81 and the electric wires W are in close contact with each other, thereby improving the sealing performance between them. The seal member 80 is also called a mat seal, etc.

The rear holder 90 is, for example, a member for holding the seal member 80 between the rear holder 90 and the female housing 11. That is, the rear holder 90 covers one side of the seal member 80 in the axial direction X, and prevents the seal member 80 from coming off the female housing 11 to one side in the axial direction X. The rear holder 90 is provided with a plurality of wire through holes 91 through which the electric wires W are inserted in the axial direction X. The rear holder 90 is integrated with the female housing 11 by claw engagement or the like while holding the seal member 80 between the rear holder 90 and the female housing 11.

Next, the lever 30 will be described. Figures 3 to 6 are perspective views of the connector 1, with Figure 3 showing the female housing 11 in the first position P1, Figure 4 showing the female housing 11 in the first intermediate position P3 between the first position P1 and the second position P2, Figure 5 showing the female housing 11 in the second intermediate position P4 between the first position P1 and the second position P2, and Figure 6 showing the female housing 11 in the second position P2.

As shown in Figures 3 to 6, the lever 30, for example, fits the male housing 21 into the female housing 11 with a low insertion force. The lever 30 is made of an insulating material such as synthetic resin. The lever 30 is provided with a lever lock portion 40 (described later) that maintains the fit between the female housing 11 and the male housing 21. The lever 30 is also configured to include, for example, a pair of arm portions 31 extending along the width direction Y and an operating portion 32 extending along the height direction Z and connecting the pair of arm portions 31, and is assembled to be rotatable relative to the female housing 11 and the male housing 21.

Specifically, each of the pair of arms 31 has a hole 31a (see FIG. 2) that functions as a bearing and penetrates along the height direction Z. A pair of protrusions 17 protruding from the female housing 11 on both sides in the height direction Z are fitted into this hole 31a. The pair of protrusions 17 function as a rotation axis of the lever 30, and the lever 30 can rotate around the rotation axis extending along the height direction Z of the pair of protrusions 17 relative to the female housing 11. In addition, each of the pair of arms 31 has an elongated groove 31b (see FIG. 2) that engages with a pair of protrusions 27 protruding from the male housing 21 on both sides in the height direction Z.

In this configuration, the lever 30 can move the male housing 21 relative to the female housing 11 along the axial direction X by rotating the operating part 32 to one side about a rotation axis extending along the height direction Z of the protrusion 17 with the protrusion 27 engaged in the slotted groove 31b. Specifically, in this embodiment, as the operating part 32 is rotated to one side, the female housing 11 moves relative to the male housing 21 along the axial direction X from a first position P1 (see FIG. 3) corresponding to a provisional mating state between the female housing 11 and the male housing 21 to a second position P2 (see FIG. 6) corresponding to a complete mating state between the female housing 11 and the male housing 21. As a result, the lever 30 can mate the female housing 11 with the male housing 21 with a low insertion force.

On the other hand, the lever 30 can move the male housing 21 relative to the female housing 11 along the axial direction X to the opposite side to the female housing 11 by rotating the operating part 32 to the other side about the rotation axis extending along the height direction Z of the protrusion 17 with the protrusion 27 engaged in the slotted groove 31b. Specifically, in this embodiment, as the operating part 32 is rotated to the other side, the female housing 11 moves relative to the male housing 21 along the axial direction X from the second position P2 (see FIG. 6) corresponding to the complete mating state of the female housing 11 and the male housing 21 to the first position P1 (see FIG. 3) corresponding to the provisional mating state of the female housing 11 and the male housing 21. As a result, the lever 30 can remove the female housing 11 from the male housing 21 with less force.

Figure 7 is a plan view of the connector 1 with the female housing 11 positioned in the second position P2, and Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the housing lock portion 45 and lever lock portion 40 of the connector 1 with the female housing 11 positioned in the second position P2. As shown in Figures 7 and 8, in this embodiment, the connector 1 is provided with a housing lock portion 45 for locking the female housing 11 in the second position P2 relative to the male housing 21. The housing lock portion 45 is configured to include, for example, a first lock portion 45a provided on the male housing 21 and a second lock portion 45b provided on the female housing 11.

The first locking portion 45a is formed, for example, in a claw shape on the upper wall of the male housing 21. The first locking portion 45a protrudes from the upper wall of the male housing 21 to the other side (lower side) in the height direction Z. The first locking portion 45a is a portion that is locked with the second locking portion 45b on the female housing 11 side. The first locking portion 45a has a locking surface 45a1 (see FIG. 8) that faces the second locking portion 45b in the axial direction X, and the locking surface 45a1 and the second locking portion 45b are locked in the axial direction X, thereby restricting the movement of the female housing 11 along the axial direction X toward the first position P1 relative to the male housing 21, i.e., the movement of the male housing 21 to the other side (left side in FIG. 8) in the axial direction X relative to the female housing 11.

The second locking portion 45b is formed, for example, in the shape of a locking groove that opens along the height direction Z on the upper wall of the female housing 11. The second locking portion 45b is provided at a position corresponding to the first locking portion 45a on the upper wall of the female housing 11, and the first locking portion 45a is inserted and locked. The second locking portion 45b has an edge portion 45b1 located on the other side of the axial direction X, and the edge portion 45b1 faces the locking surface 45a1 of the first locking portion 45a in the axial direction X when the female housing 11 is located at the second position P2. In addition, the other side of the second locking portion 45b in the axial direction X of the female housing 11 is provided with an inclined surface 11e that abuts against the first locking portion 45a when the female housing 11 and the male housing 21 move relatively from the first position P1 to the second position P2.

The first locking portion 45a and the second locking portion 45b configured as described above are locked (engaged) from one side in the height direction Z with respect to the second locking portion 45b. At this time, the first locking portion 45a is pushed up to one side in the height direction Z by the inclined surface 11e of the female housing 11, and the first locking portion 45a returns to a free state by climbing over the inclined surface 11e, and the first locking portion 45a is inserted into the groove of the second locking portion 45b. Then, the locking surface 45a1 of the first locking portion 45a and the edge portion 45b1 of the second locking portion 45b are locked in the axial direction X, so that the female housing 11 is maintained in a state in which it is positioned at the second position P2. The first locking portion 45a is also referred to as a first housing locking portion, and the second locking portion 45b is also referred to as a second housing locking portion.

In this embodiment, the connector 1 is provided with a lever lock portion 40 for locking the lever 30 to the female housing 11 when the female housing 11 is positioned in the second position P2. The lever lock portion 40 is positioned, for example, offset to one side in the axial direction X (the right side in FIG. 8) with respect to the housing lock portion 45. The lever lock portion 40 is configured to include, for example, a third lock portion 41 provided on the lever 30 and a fourth lock portion 42 provided on the female housing 11. The third lock portion 41 is also referred to as a first lever lock lock portion, etc., and the fourth lock portion 42 is also referred to as a second lever lock lock portion, etc.

The fourth locking portion 42 is formed, for example, in a protrusion shape on the upper wall of the female housing 11. The fourth locking portion 42 protrudes from the upper wall of the female housing 11 to one side in the height direction Z. The fourth locking portion 42 is a portion that is locked with the third locking portion 41 on the lever 30 side. The fourth locking portion 42 has a pair of locking surfaces 42a positioned on both sides in the axial direction X, and the pair of locking surfaces 42a and the third locking portion 41 are locked in the axial direction X, thereby restricting the rotation of the lever 30 toward the first position P1 (see FIG. 3) side relative to the female housing 11. In addition, the pair of locking surfaces 42a are each inclined with respect to the axial direction X, and are formed in an approximately V-shape with the apex being approximately the center of the fourth locking portion 42 in the axial direction X.

The third locking portion 41 has, for example, a locking hole portion 41a penetrating the lever 30 along the height direction Z. The locking hole portion 41a is provided, for example, in the mounting piece portion 33 protruding from the arm portion 31 on one side of the lever 30 in the height direction Z to the other side in the axial direction X. The locking hole portion 41a is provided at a position corresponding to the fourth locking portion 42 in the mounting piece portion 33, and the fourth locking portion 42 is inserted and locked. The locking hole portion 41a has a pair of edge portions 41a1 positioned on both sides in the axial direction X, and the edge portions 41a1 are locked in the axial direction X with a pair of locking surfaces 42a of the fourth locking portion 42 when the female housing 11 is positioned at the second position P2. In this embodiment, when the female housing 11 is in the second position P2, the locking hole 41a exposes the fourth locking portion 42 to one side (upper side) in the height direction Z.

The third locking portion 41 and the fourth locking portion 42 configured as described above are locked (engaged) with the fourth locking portion 42 from one side in the axial direction X. At this time, the third locking portion 41 (mounting piece portion 33) is pushed up to one side in the height direction Z by the locking surface 42a (inclined surface) on one side in the axial direction X of the fourth locking portion 42, and the third locking portion 41 returns to a free state by climbing over the locking surface 42a, and the fourth locking portion 42 is inserted into the locking hole portion 41a of the third locking portion 41. Then, the pair of edge portions 41a1 of the third locking portion 41 and the pair of locking surfaces 42a of the fourth locking portion 42 are locked in the axial direction X, so that the female housing 11 is held in the second position P2 (fully fitted state).

Here, in this embodiment, when the female housing 11 is positioned at the second position P2, the first gap G1 along the axial direction X between the third locking portion 41 and the fourth locking portion 42 of the lever lock portion 40 is configured to be smaller than the second gap G2 along the axial direction X between the first locking portion 45a and the second locking portion 45b of the housing lock portion 45. This reduces the rattle between the female housing 11 and the male housing 21 when the female housing 11 is positioned at the second position P2 (the amount of movement of the female housing 11 in the axial direction X relative to the male housing 21), thereby suppressing the inconvenience caused by the rattle. The first gap G1 is the gap between the locking surface 42a of the fourth locking portion 42 and the edge portion 41a1 of the third locking portion 41, and the second gap G2 is the gap between the locking surface 45a1 of the first locking portion 45a and the edge portion 45b1 of the second locking portion 45b.

Next, the operation of the housing locking portion 45 and the lever locking portion 40 associated with the relative movement of the female housing 11 from the first position P1 to the second position P2 with respect to the male housing 21 will be described. First, in this embodiment, when the female housing 11 is positioned at the first position P1 (see FIG. 3) and when the female housing 11 is positioned at the first intermediate position P3 between the first position P1 and the second position P2 (see FIG. 4), the first and second locking portions 45a and 45b of the housing locking portion 45 are spaced apart in the axial direction X, and the third and fourth locking portions 41 and 42 of the lever locking portion 40 are spaced apart in the axial direction X.

Next, when the female housing 11 is positioned at the second intermediate position P4 between the first position P1 and the second position P2 (see FIG. 5), the third locking portion 41 and the fourth locking portion 42 of the lever lock portion 40 are spaced apart in the axial direction X, while the first locking portion 45a of the housing lock portion 45 is inserted into the groove of the second locking portion 45b, locking the female housing 11 and the male housing 21. Then, when the female housing 11 is positioned at the second position P2 (see FIG. 6), in addition to the housing lock portion 45, the fourth locking portion 42 of the lever lock portion 40 is inserted into the locking hole portion 41a of the third locking portion 41 (see FIGS. 7 and 8), locking the lever 30 and the female housing 11.

As described above, in the connector 1 and wire harness WH of this embodiment, when the female housing 11 is positioned at the second position P2 corresponding to the complete engagement state with the male housing 21, the first gap G1 along the axial direction X between the third locking portion 41 and the fourth locking portion 42 of the lever lock portion 40 is smaller than the second gap G2 along the axial direction X between the first locking portion 45a and the second locking portion 45b of the housing lock portion 45. With this configuration, the connector 1 and wire harness WH can suppress, for example, the rattle between the female housing 11 and the male housing 21 when the female housing 11 is positioned at the second position P2 (the amount of movement of the female housing 11 in the axial direction X relative to the male housing 21) within a range approximately equal to the first gap G1, which is smaller than the second gap G2. As a result, the connector 1 and wire harness WH can more appropriately suppress the rattle between the female housing 11 and the male housing 21.

In addition, in the connector 1 and wire harness WH of this embodiment, the third locking portion 41 is a locking hole portion 41a that penetrates the lever 30 along the height direction Z, and exposes the fourth locking portion 42 to one side in the height direction Z when the female housing 11 is positioned in the second position P2. With this configuration, the connector 1 and wire harness WH can visually confirm the complete mating state between the female housing 11 and the male housing 21, for example, by using the locking hole portion 41a without providing a mating assurance member in the connector 1. As a result, the connector 1 and wire harness WH can reduce the effort, cost, number of parts, etc. required for manufacturing the connector 1 and wire harness WH.

In this embodiment, the lever lock section 40 is exemplified as a case where the third locking section 41 on the lever 30 side is configured as a locking hole section 41a, and the fourth locking section 42 on the female housing 11 side is configured as a locking protrusion, but this is not limited to this example. For example, the third locking section 41 on the lever 30 side may be configured as a locking protrusion, and the fourth locking section 42 on the female housing 11 side may be configured as a locking hole section. Similarly, in this embodiment, the housing lock section 45 is exemplified as a case where the first locking section 45a on the male housing 21 side is configured as a locking claw section, and the second locking section 45b on the female housing 11 side is configured as a locking groove section, but this is not limited to this example. For example, the first locking section 45a on the male housing 21 side may be configured as a locking groove section, and the second locking section 45b on the female housing 11 side may be configured as a locking claw section.

Although the above is an example of an embodiment of the present invention, the above embodiment is merely an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The above embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, combinations, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the specifications of each configuration, shape, etc. (structure, type, direction, format, size, length, width, thickness, height, number, arrangement, position, material, etc.) can be modified as appropriate.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Connector 10 Female connector 11 Female housing 12 Female terminal 20 Male connector 21 Male housing 22 Male terminal 30 Lever 40 Lever lock portion 41 Third locking portion 41a Locking hole portion 42 Fourth locking portion 45 Housing lock portion 45a First locking portion 45b Second locking portion G1 First gap G2 Second gap P1 First position P2 Second position W Electric wire WH Wire harness X Axial direction Z Height direction

Claims (3)

a female connector having a female terminal and a female housing that holds the female terminal therein;
a male connector including a male terminal electrically connected to the female terminal, and a male housing that holds the male terminal therein and is fitted with the female housing along an axial direction;
a lever that supports the female housing so as to be movable relative to the male housing along the axial direction between a first position corresponding to a temporary mated state between the female housing and the male housing and a second position corresponding to a complete mated state between the female housing and the male housing;
a housing locking portion including a first locking portion provided on the male housing and a second locking portion provided on the female housing and locked to the first locking portion in the axial direction when the female housing is positioned at the second position;
a lever lock portion including a third locking portion provided on the lever and a fourth locking portion provided on the female housing and locked to the third locking portion in the axial direction when the female housing is positioned at the second position;
Equipped with
When the female housing is positioned at the second position, a first gap along the axial direction between the third locking portion and the fourth locking portion of the lever lock portion is smaller than a second gap along the axial direction between the first locking portion and the second locking portion of the housing lock portion.
connector. the third locking portion is a locking hole portion penetrating the lever along a height direction intersecting with the axial direction, and exposes the fourth locking portion to one side in the height direction when the female housing is positioned at the second position;
The connector of claim 1 . A conductive wire;
A connector provided at an end of the electric wire,
The connector comprises:
a female connector having a female terminal and a female housing that holds the female terminal therein;
a male connector including a male terminal electrically connected to the female terminal, and a male housing that holds the male terminal therein and is fitted with the female housing along an axial direction;
a lever that supports the female housing so as to be movable relative to the male housing along the axial direction between a first position corresponding to a temporary mated state between the female housing and the male housing and a second position corresponding to a complete mated state between the female housing and the male housing;
a housing locking portion including a first locking portion provided on the male housing and a second locking portion provided on the female housing and locked to the first locking portion in the axial direction when the female housing is positioned at the second position;
a lever lock portion including a third locking portion provided on the lever and a fourth locking portion provided on the female housing and locked to the third locking portion in the axial direction when the female housing is positioned at the second position;
Equipped with
When the female housing is positioned at the second position, a first gap along the axial direction between the third locking portion and the fourth locking portion of the lever lock portion is smaller than a second gap along the axial direction between the first locking portion and the second locking portion of the housing lock portion.
Wire harness.

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