JP4075288B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connector.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, there is a connector having a fitting detection function for checking whether or not the male and female connector housings are correctly fitted, and various types of detection methods are known. Inside, a detection member is provided in the connector housing on the side provided with the lock arm, and whether or not the detection member can be pushed into the space between the lock arm and the outer surface of the connector housing properly fits both connector housings. Is known (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-7982, etc.). Specifically, when the connector housings are in a semi-fitted state, the lock arm is in the process of bending, so the space is narrow, and thus the lock arm itself obstructs the forward movement of the detection member, Since the lock arm returns from the bent state when the normal fitting is reached, the space is opened and the detection member can be advanced.
[0003]
In this way, when the connector housings are properly fitted, the detection member enters the bending space of the lock arm. In other words, the detection member also has a function of limiting the unlocking operation of the lock arm. It can be said that.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, even when the connector housings are in a properly fitted state, if a strong force in the unlocking direction acts on the lock arm, the lock arm is unlocked beyond the deflection control by the detection member described above. The possibility of deformation in the direction cannot be denied.
The present invention has been developed and devised in view of these conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector that can reliably hold the locked state of the connector housing.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, one of the pair of connector housings that can be fitted to each other is held in the fitted state when the two connector housings are properly fitted. And a lock operating portion provided with a lock portion that is displaceably disposed on the front side and is engaged with a lock receiving portion provided on the other connector housing. And a release operation part that is arranged on the rear side and can displace the lock operation part in a direction to release the locking between the lock receiving part and the lock part, and the release operation part performs the lock release. Therefore, an operation position that protrudes rearward of the lock operation portion and enables the lock portion to be unlocked with respect to the lock receiving portion, and advances toward the lock operation portion side to face the lock portion. Together has between pushed-in position to disable the unlatching operation can be displaced, the lock operation portion becomes capable of operation flexure is supported portions formed on the rear end portion as a fulcrum the support portion The release operation part does not protrude rearward from the support part when in the pushed-in position .
[0006]
Operation and effect of the invention
According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the two connector housings are fitted together, the entire lock arm bends. Then, when both connector housings are in the properly fitted state, the lock portion of the lock operation portion is locked to the lock receiving portion of the mating connector housing, and both the connector housings are brought into the locked state along with the return operation of the entire lock arm. Retained.
Thus, after the two connector housings are brought into the normal fitting state, if the release operation portion is advanced to reach the pushed-in position, the lock portion cannot be unlocked from the lock receiving portion. Therefore, a situation where the lock is released due to an erroneous operation of the lock arm is avoided. When the lock is normally released, if the release operation part is retracted and returned to the operation position, the lock part can be unlocked with respect to the lock receiving part.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the release operation portion is located at the push-in position, the lock operation portion is advanced between the lock operation portion and the housing wall. Therefore, the fitting state of the male and female connector housings is reliably maintained.
According to the invention of claim 3, when the two connector housings are half-fitted, the lock operating portion is bent toward the receiving wall. At this time, even if the release operation unit is accidentally pushed in, the distal end of the release operation unit interferes with the housing wall, making further push-in impossible. Therefore, the operator can know that both connector housings are in a half-fitted state.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows male and female connector housings 1 and 2 that can be fitted to each other. Among these, the male connector housing 1 is composed of a main body portion 4 to which the male terminal fitting 3 is attached and a cylindrical hood portion 5 so as to surround the front thereof. Further, a lock projection 6 (lock receiving portion) that can be locked to the lock arm 16 of the female connector housing 2 protrudes from the upper surface of the hood portion 5, and its front surface (surface facing the female connector housing 2). A taper surface 6A having an upward gradient as it goes rearward is formed. Furthermore, a pair of guide walls 7 having a length from the front end of the hood portion 5 to the rear end of the lock projection 6 are erected in parallel on both sides of the lock projection 6.
[0008]
On the other hand, the female connector housing 2 is provided with a terminal accommodating portion 8, in which a cavity 9 for accommodating a female terminal fitting (not shown) has four chambers arranged in parallel in the width direction, and each is front and rear. It is formed penetrating along the direction. A cantilever lance 10 having a free end at the front end is formed on the bottom surface of the tip of each cavity 9 so that it can be bent, and can be elastically locked to a female terminal fitting (not shown). In addition, an outer cylinder portion 11 is provided outside the terminal accommodating portion 8 so as to surround the entire circumference of the terminal accommodating portion 8, and a male connector housing is provided in the space between the outer cylinder portion 11 and the terminal accommodating portion 8. One hood part 5 can be fitted. Further, the central portion of the upper surface of the outer cylinder portion 11 bulges further upward while forming an arch shape, and serves as a housing wall 12 for housing the front side of the lock arm 16 described later. Furthermore, a rear locking recess 13 is arranged on the top of the rear opening edge of the storage wall 12, and a front locking recess 14 is coaxially arranged near the front end in the storage wall 12.
[0009]
On the other hand, each cavity 9 is formed with a cylindrical seal tube portion 15 extending coaxially to the rear, and a seal rubber plug fitted to an electric wire connected to each female terminal fitting is closely fitted therein. Can be combined. Although not shown in the figure, a rubber ring is also fitted to the inner wall surface of the terminal accommodating portion 8, and when the male and female connector housings 1 are fitted, they are in close contact with the inner surface of the hood portion 5 and between the connector housings 1 and 2. Sealing can be performed.
[0010]
On the upper surface of the female connector housing 2 and on the inner side of the housing wall 12, a lock operation member 18 (lock operation portion) that constitutes the lock arm 16 together with the release operation member 17 (release operation portion) is disposed. The lock operation member 18 has a support portion 19 at the boundary portion between the seal cylinder portion 15 and the terminal accommodating portion 8, and can bend in the vertical direction with the support portion 19 as a fulcrum. Further, the other three edges excluding the edge corresponding to the support portion 19 on the back surface of the lock operation member 18 are formed with side edges depending on the front edge, and the front edge thereof is formed on the lock projection 6 of the male connector housing 1. It becomes the latching edge 20 (lock part) to latch. The outer surface of the locking edge 20 is a taper surface 2A opposite to the taper surface 6A of the lock projection 6, and after both the taper surfaces 6A and 20A are in contact with each other during the mating of the male and female connector housings 1, By applying a strong fitting force (a force stronger than the force required for fitting the male and female terminal fittings 3), a so-called inertia lock of a so-called inertial lock that can automatically bend over the lock protrusion 6 is achieved. The method is adopted. On the contrary, the inner surface side of the locking edge 20 is a tapered surface 20B opposite to the outer surface side.
[0011]
Further, a locking step edge 21 for front stop with respect to the release operation member 17 is formed in a step shape along the width direction at a position near the support portion 19 on the upper surface of the lock operation member 18. Furthermore, a pair of guide edges 22 for guiding the slide operation of the release operation member 17 are horizontally extended over both sides of the outer surface of the lock operation member 18 over a predetermined length range. A claw portion 22A protrudes at a position near the rear end portion of the guide edge 22, and when the release operation member 17 is in the operation position, it engages with the release operation member 17 and plays a role of preventing backward removal. .
[0012]
Next, the release operation member 17 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the release operation member 17 is formed in a substantially channel shape opened downward in a front view, and has a pair of inner side surfaces along the length direction. A guide groove 23 is provided to be opposed and is fitted to the guide edge 22 so that the release operation member 17 is assembled to the lock operation member 18 so as to be able to advance and retract. As a result, the release operation member 17 overlaps the operation position protruding rearward of the lock operation member 18 as shown in FIG. 1 and the lock operation member 18 as shown in FIG. It is possible to move between the pushed-in positions accommodated. When the release operation member 17 is in the operation position, it is assembled in a state of projecting rearward of the lock operation member 18. Therefore, when the rear end portion is pushed down, the front end of the lock operation member 18 is lifted and deformed, and the lock projection 6 The lock of the locking edge 20 with respect to can be released. Further, when the release operation member 17 is in the pushed-in position, it enters between the lock operation member 18 and the inner surface of the receiving wall 12, that is, to release the lock between the lock projection 6 and the lock edge 20. In order to enter the required bending space of the locking member 18, the male and female connector housings 1 are held in a locked state.
[0013]
Further, the guide groove 23 is formed so as to open to the rear end side, but the front end is formed with a stopper claw 24 and is engaged with the claw portion 22A when the release operation member 17 is in the operation position. Thus, the release operation member 17 is prevented from coming off backward.
Further, a locking projection 25 is formed on the ceiling surface in the release operation member 17 and at a position near the tip, and when the release operation member 17 is in the operation position, it strikes against the locking step edge 21 of the lock operation member 18. This prevents the release operation member 17 from being inadvertently pushed. However, if the release operation member 17 is pushed in with a slightly higher operating force, the release operation member 17 is allowed to move over the locking projection 25 and advance. can do. Further, when the release operation member 17 is in the pushed-in position, the locking projection 25 is locked with the front end surface of the locking operation member 18 so that the rearward movement is restricted. The operation member 17 can be released by the action of a predetermined pulling force. .
Note that a plurality of anti-slip step portions 26 are formed in a stepped manner at the rear end of the upper surface of the release operation member 17 as anti-slip at the time of pull-out operation from the push-in position.
[0014]
Next, the effect of this embodiment comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated concretely. In a state where the terminal fittings are mounted in both the male and female connector housings 1 and 2, the terminal accommodating portion 8 of the female connector housing 2 is fitted and pushed into the hood portion 5 of the male connector housing 1.
[0015]
Then, the front surface (tapered surface 20 </ b> A) of the locking edge 20 in the locking operation member 18 contacts the tapered surface 6 </ b> A of the locking projection 6. After this, when the fitting operation force of the male and female connector housing 1 further acts and an operation force higher than the fitting resistance force between the male and female terminal fittings 3 is applied, the lock operation member 18 is lifted at the tip side, and the locking edge 20 is moved. Get over the lock protrusion 6. Then, the male and female connector housings 1 are brought into a normal fitting state at a stretch. As a result, the locking operation member 18 is elastically restored and the locking edge 20 is locked to the locking projection 6 to prevent the connector housings 1 and 2 from coming off. It becomes a state.
[0016]
When the male and female connector housings 1 are in the normal fitting state as described above, the release operation member 17 is pushed forward. Then, since the stopper claw 24 gets over the claw portion 22A of the lock operation member 18, the release operation member 17 is moved into the receiving wall 12 while the advance operation is guided through the fitting between the guide groove 23 and the guide edge 22. It is pushed in.
[0017]
When the release operation member 17 reaches the push-in position as shown in FIG. 11, the locking projection 25 is locked with the front end surface of the lock operation member 18 to restrict the rearward movement, and at the same time, the front end surface of the release operation member 17. Is locked in the front locking recess 14 and the front stop is made, so that the release operation member 17 is held in the pushing position. In this pushed-in position, the member constituting the lock arm 16 does not exist behind the support portion 19 of the lock operation member 18, so that the operation for displacing the lock operation member 18 in the unlocking direction can be completely prevented. There will be no. In addition, since it is concealed by the storage wall 12, a situation in which an external force is inadvertently applied can be avoided. Further, even if the lock operation member 18 is forced to be pulled out and deformed in the six release directions in order to forcibly pull out the connector housings 1 and 2, the release operation member 17 enters between the lock operation member 18 and the receiving wall 12, and this is applied. Since the deformation is in a restricted state, unlocking is almost completely prevented.
[0018]
Further, when both the connector housings 1 and 2 are in the process of fitting, the locking operation member 18 is in the process of getting over the lock projection 6 and the front end side is in a lifted state. In this state, even if the release operation member 17 is erroneously moved forward, the distal end of the release operation member 17 abuts against the rear locking recess 13 of the storage wall 12 and further advance operation is restricted. By restricting the forward movement, the operator can know that the connector housings 1 and 2 are in the half-fitted state.
[0019]
When the two connector housings 1 and 2 are separated from each other, if the release operation member 17 is pulled out strongly, the engagement of the engagement projection 25 can be forcibly released. Return to position. After that, if the release operation member 17 is pressed, the locking operation member 18 is lifted on the distal end side with the support portion 19 as a fulcrum, so that the engagement between the engagement edge 20 and the lock projection 6 is released and the male and female connector housings 1 are separated. Can be made.
[0020]
As described above, according to this embodiment, the lock arm 16 is divided into the lock operation member 18 and the release operation member 17, and the release operation member 17 can be advanced and retracted with respect to the lock operation member 18. It moves forward and backward between the push-in positions. Thus, if the release operating member 17 is pushed in and moved to the pushed-in position after the male and female connector housings 1 are fitted, the locking operation member 18 cannot be released from the locking projection 6, so the connector housing The fitting state between each other can be reliably maintained. Further, when both the connector housings 1 and 2 are in the half-fitted state, the advancement of the release operation member 17 is restricted by abutment with the rear side locking recess 13, so that the half-fitted state can also be detected. .
[0021]
The present invention can be modified in various ways, and the following modifications are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) In this embodiment, the release operation member 17 is displaced to a position almost passing through the fulcrum portion to make the lock release impossible. Instead, the release operation member 17 is moved forward to be integrated with, for example, the connector housing. It is also possible to make the unlocking operation impossible by entering the cover portion provided in the cover and concealing the release operation member 17 thereby.
(2) In this embodiment, when both the connector housings 1 and 2 are in the half-fitted state, the half-fitting is detected by restricting the advancement of the release operation member 17 by interference with the housing wall 12. However, the fitting detection function can be omitted.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an initial mating state of a male and female connector housing. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a female connector housing alone. FIG. 3 is a front view. FIG. 4 is a rear view. Fig. 6 is a plan view showing the release operation member. Fig. 7 is a front view of the release operation member. Fig. 8 is a side sectional view of the release operation member. FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view showing a mating state of the male and female connector housings. FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view showing the state when the release operation member is advanced to the pushing position. [Fig. 12] Cross-sectional side view showing the half-fitted state detection
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Male connector housing 2 ... Female connector housing 12 ... Housing wall 16 ... Lock arm 17 ... Release operation member 18 ... Locking operation member

Claims (3)

One of the pair of connector housings that can be fitted to each other is provided with a deflectable lock arm for holding both connector housings in a fitted state when the two connector housings are properly fitted together. The arm is disposed on the front side so as to be displaceable, and has a lock operation part having a lock part that engages with a lock receiving part provided on the other connector housing, and is arranged on the rear side, the lock receiving part and the lock part, A release operation portion that can displace the lock operation portion in a direction to release the lock, and the release operation portion protrudes rearward of the lock operation portion to perform the lock release, and is a lock portion for the lock receiving portion. Between the operation position that enables the lock release and the push-in position that advances to the lock operation part side and disables the lock release operation on the lock part. With it has become a possible displacement,
The lock operation part is formed with a support part at a rear end part and can be bent with the support part as a fulcrum, and when the release operation part is in the push-in position, A connector that does not protrude rearward .   The lock operation portion is surrounded by a storage wall, and the release operation portion is located between the lock operation portion and the storage wall at the push-in position, and the lock operation portion is unlocked. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is configured to be able to regulate bending of the connector.   The release operation unit is slidably assembled along the front-rear direction with respect to the lock operation unit, and the lock operation unit performs a bending operation toward the receiving wall in the course of fitting of the two connector housings. When the release operation part performs a push-in operation during the fitting of the two connector housings, the release operation part is pushed by the front end of the release operation part being locked with the receiving wall. The connector according to claim 2, wherein the connector is regulated.

Images