JPH09330769A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To facilitate the fitting work of a connector having a misconnection preventing function. SOLUTION: A female housing 41 accommodating one of the male and female terminals and a male housing 25 accommodating the other are provided, and a misconnection preventing protrusion 29 for preventing misconnection provided on one of the male and female housings 41, 25 and the other. Both housings 41,2
5, a misconnection preventing passage 53 that allows the misconnection preventing projection 29 to move when properly fitted, a lock part 31 provided in one of the male and female housings 41 and 25 for flexible movement, and both housings 41 provided in the other. In the connector including the locking portion 51 that locks the lock portion 31 whose flexible movement is restored by the normal fitting of 25, the circular rotation of the inner peripheral surface protruding to the front end in the fitting direction in one of the male and female housings 41, 25. Inner peripheral surface part 5
5. A rotation guide end face portion 57 including the end opening 53a of the misconnection preventing passage 53 and oriented in the fitting direction is provided, and the other end is provided with a rotation portion 37 which is inscribed in the rotation guide inner peripheral surface portion 55 and is guided to rotate. It is characterized by being provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector having a misconnection preventing function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional connector of this type, for example, there is one as shown in FIGS.
61987).

First, referring to the example of FIG. 10, the connector 1 includes a female housing 5 accommodating a female terminal 3 and a male terminal 7.
And a male housing 9 accommodating therein. The male and female housings 5 and 9 have a cylindrical shape. The female housing 5 is provided with a misconnection preventing projection 11 on its inner peripheral surface for preventing misconnection, and a fitting locking claw portion 13 on its outer peripheral surface. The male housing 9 is provided with a slit-shaped misconnection preventing passage 15 that allows the misconnection preventing projection 11 to move when the both housings 5, 9 are properly fitted. On the outer peripheral side of the end portion of the male housing 9, an annular body 17 having a predetermined distance from the outer peripheral surface is provided. Therefore, misconnection prevention passage 1
The male and female housings 5, 9
Is properly fitted, the mis-connection preventing projection 11 moves in the mis-connection preventing passage 15 and the claw 13 moves over the annular body 17 by utilizing the bending of the tip of the female housing 5 or the like, whereby the claw 13 Engage the annular body 17. As a result, the male and female terminals 3 and 7 are electrically connected, the two housings 5 and 9 are completely fitted, and the claw portion 13 and the annular body 17 lock the completely fitted state.

FIG. 11 shows substantially the same structure as that of FIG. 10, except that the male and female housings 5 and 9 are formed in a rectangular tube shape, and the annular body 17 is formed in a shape corresponding to the rectangular tube shape. That is the point. Therefore, the conventional example of FIG. 11 can also achieve the same operation as that of FIG.

[0005]

However, in any of the examples, the operation of fitting the tips of the male and female housings 5 and 9 together and the misconnection preventing projection 11 to the misconnection preventing passage 1
5 must be performed at the same time, and there is a possibility that smooth work may be difficult, especially when working in a location that is hard to see, such as in the engine room of an automobile.

In the example of FIG. 11, male and female housings 5, 9
May be upside down, which may make work even more difficult.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector which can easily perform a fitting work even in a work which is difficult to see.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is provided in one of the female and male housings, and a female housing containing one of the male and female terminals and a male housing containing the other. The misconnection preventing projection for preventing misconnection and the misconnection preventing passage which is provided on the other side and allows the movement of the misconnection preventing projection when the housings are properly fitted; And a locking portion which is provided on the other side and which locks the locking portion which is restored to the flexible movement by the regular fitting of both housings, in a connector protruding toward the front end in the fitting direction in one of the male and female housings. A rotation guide inner peripheral surface portion having a circular peripheral surface and a rotation guide end surface portion including the end opening of the misconnection preventing passage and directed in the fitting direction are provided, and on the other side, rotation is guided by inscribed in the rotation guide inner peripheral surface portion. Done Characterized in that a rotating part.

Therefore, when fitting the male and female housings, first, the rotary portion is fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the rotary guide, and if the male and female housings cannot be fitted as they are, the male and female housings are relatively rotated and the rotary guides are rotated. The rotating part is rotated with respect to the peripheral surface part. By this rotation, the misconnection preventing protrusion slides on the end face of the rotation guide, and when the misconnection preventing protrusion faces the end opening of the misconnection preventing passage at a predetermined rotation position, the male and female housings can be fitted and moved. . When this normal mating,
The misconnection preventing protrusion moves through the misconnection preventing passage, and the lock part flexibly moves to overcome a predetermined distance, and is locked to the locking part when the flexible movement is restored. Then, the male and female terminals are electrically connected in the completely fitted state of the male and female housings, and the complete fitting is locked by the locking of the locking portion with respect to the locking portion. That is,
According to the first aspect of the invention, the operation of aligning the misconnection preventing protrusion with the misconnection preventing passage and the operation of fitting the ends of the male and female housings together are separated.

A second aspect of the present invention is the connector according to the first aspect, wherein the misconnection preventing protrusion is provided on the male housing, and the rotation guide inner peripheral surface portion and the rotation guide end surface portion are provided on the female housing. And a part of the rotating part is
The outer peripheral surface of the misconnection preventing protrusion is configured.

Therefore, in addition to the operation of the first aspect of the present invention, when the male and female housings are fitted together, the rotary portion of which the outer peripheral surface of the misconnection preventing projection of the male housing constitutes a part is formed with the inner peripheral surface portion of the rotary guide of the female housing. The male and female housings can be rotated relative to each other by the guide of the rotating portion with respect to the inner peripheral surface portion of the rotation guide to align the misconnection preventing protrusion with the end opening of the misconnection preventing passage. The housing can be completely fitted in the regular fitting state.

A third aspect of the present invention is the connector according to the first aspect, wherein the male housing has the misconnection preventing protrusion and the lock portion on an outer peripheral surface thereof, and the misconnection preventing protrusion and the locking portion. The end face of the portion in the fitting direction is formed to be substantially flush with the end face of the male housing, and the rotating portion includes a part of the outer peripheral surface of the male housing, the outer peripheral surface of the misconnection preventing protrusion, and the outer peripheral surface of the lock portion. The female housing includes an electrical connection portion of the one terminal, and has a lock guide passage for allowing the movement of the lock portion upon proper fitting of the misconnection preventing passage and both housings and a lock guide. A fitting hood having a lock opening as the locking portion is provided at a position on the rear side in the fitting direction of the passage, and a rotation guide tube portion having the rotation guide inner peripheral surface portion is integrated with the front end of the fitting hood. The rotation guide end face , Characterized in that it comprises an end opening of the error connection preventing passage and lock the guide path.

Therefore, in addition to the operation of the first aspect of the present invention, when the male and female housings are fitted together, the male housing is prevented from being erroneously connected to the inner peripheral surface portion of the rotary guide of the rotary guide tube portion integrally provided on the front end of the fitting hood. It is possible to fit and guide the rotating portion constituted by the protrusion, the lock portion, and the outer peripheral surface of the male housing. Therefore, if the male and female housings cannot be fitted as they are, the male and female housings are rotated relative to the inner peripheral surface of the rotary guide via the rotary guide of the rotary part. This time,
The mating prevention protrusion and the end face of the lock part in the fitting direction and the end face of the male housing are in sliding contact with the end face of the rotation guide, and the mating prevention protrusion faces the mating prevention passage and the lock part is locked. When facing the guide passage, the male and female housings can be fitted and moved. Therefore, at the time of normal fitting, the misconnection prevention protrusion moves in the misconnection prevention passage, and the lock part moves flexibly by the fitting hood while moving in the lock guide passage, so that the two housings are completely fitted. The flexible movement of the lock portion is restored and the lock portion is engaged with the lock opening. Therefore, as in the case of the first aspect, complete fitting is performed in a normal state, and the completely fitted state is locked by the engagement of the lock portion with the lock opening.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention (embodiments) will be described below.

1 to 9 show a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 1 to 4 show a male side connector 21, and FIGS. 5 to 9 show a female side connector 23. FIG.
Is a perspective view showing the male connector 21 together with an imaginary view of the female connector 23, FIG. 2 is an end view seen from the front end in the fitting direction, FIG. 3 is a side view, and FIG. 4 is a plan view. 5 is a perspective view of the female connector 23, FIG. 6 is an end view as seen from the front end in the fitting direction, FIG. 7 is a side view, FIG. 8 is a plan view, and FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view.

First, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the outer peripheral surface of the male housing 25 of the male connector 21 is formed into a substantially circular shape.
A female terminal (not shown) is housed inside. At the end surface of the male housing 25, the insertion opening 2 facing each male terminal 43 is formed.
7 are provided. On the outer peripheral surface of the male housing 25, misconnection preventing projections 29 are provided on both sides of the male housing 25, and a lock portion 31 is provided on the upper portion.

The projection 29 for preventing the incorrect connection is the male housing 2
5, the end surface 29a is formed substantially flush with the end surface 25a of the male housing 29.

The lock portion 31 is provided on a flat portion 25b formed on the upper portion of the male housing 25, and the lock protrusion 3
3 and a flexible arm 35. Lock protrusion 33
Is an inclined initial sliding contact surface 33a and a flat overcoming sliding contact surface 3
3b and. The flexible arm 35 is bridged along the longitudinal direction of the male-side connector 21, and the front and rear ends 35a,
35b is integrally provided on the flat portion 25b of the male housing 25. The end face of the lock portion 31 in the fitting direction, in other words, the front end face 35c of the flexible arm 35 is substantially flush with the end face 25a of the male housing 25. However, the upper side of the front end face 35c is gradually curved and is gradually displaced from the end face 25a.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the outer peripheral surface 29b of the misconnection preventing protrusion 29, the outer peripheral surface of the lock portion 31, that is, the outer peripheral surface 35d at the front end 35a of the flexible arm 35, and the male housing 25 are particularly preferred. A part of the outer peripheral surface, that is, the lower outer surface 25c constitutes the rotating portion 37. The rotating portion 37 includes a lower outer surface 25c, an outer peripheral surface 29b, and an outer peripheral surface 35.
As shown in FIG. 2, d is inscribed in an imaginary circle 39, and the imaginary circle 39 is a female housing 4 described later.
1 corresponds to the inner peripheral surface portion 55 of the rotation guide.

The female connector 23 has a male terminal 43 housed in a female housing 41 as shown in FIGS. The electrical connection portion 43a of the male terminal 43 has a tab shape.
The female housing 41 is provided with a fitting hood 45 that encloses the electrical connection portion 43a, and a rotation guide cylinder portion 47 is integrally provided at the front end of the fitting hood 45 so as to project.

The inner peripheral surface 45a of the fitting hood 45 is formed in a circular shape corresponding to the circular shape of the outer peripheral surface of the male housing 25. The upper portion of the fitting hood 45 is gradually thickened, and a flat portion 41a corresponding to the flat portion 25b of the male housing 25 is provided on the upper portion. This flat portion 41
A groove-shaped lock guide passage 49 is formed in a. The lock guide passage 49 allows the movement of the lock portion 31 at the time of normal fitting, and communicates with a lock opening 51 as a locking portion formed on the rear side of the fitting hood 45. The lock opening 51 is provided in a flat upper surface portion 41b formed on the upper rear side of the female housing 41. Groove-shaped misconnection preventing passages 53 are provided on both sides of the inner peripheral surface 45a of the fitting hood 45. The misconnection preventing passage 53 may have a slit shape or the like depending on the form. The misconnection preventing passage 53 extends over substantially the entire length of the fitting hood 45.

The inner peripheral surface of the rotary guide cylinder portion 47 is provided as a rotary guide inner peripheral surface portion 55. The size of the circle of the inner peripheral surface portion 55 of the rotation guide corresponds to the virtual circle 39 on the male housing 25 side, so that the rotation portion 37 can be rotated and guided. A rotation guide end surface portion 57 is provided on the inner side of the rotation guide inner peripheral surface portion 55, and a distance T is provided between the rotation guide end surface portion 57 and the electrical connection portion 43a. The rotation guide end face portion 57 is located at the tip end portion of the fitting hood 45, and the end portion opening 49 of the lock guide passage 49.
a and an end opening 53a of the misconnection preventing passage 53 are included.

In fitting the male and female connectors 23, 21 having the above-described structure, first, the rotating portion 37 of the male housing 25 is fitted to the inner peripheral surface portion 55 of the rotation guide of the female housing 41. At this time, if the misconnection preventing protrusion 29 faces the misconnection preventing passage 53, the male and female housings 41 and 25 can be fitted and moved as they are. When the misconnection preventing protrusion 29 and the misconnection preventing passage 53 do not face each other, the end surface 29a of the misconnection preventing projection 29, the front end surface 35c of the flexible arm 35, a part of the end surface 25a of the male housing 25, etc. Female housing 4
It abuts against the rotation guide end face portion 57 on the first side. In this state,
The male and female housings 41 and 25 are rotated relative to each other. The relative rotation is guided by the guide of the rotating portion 37 with respect to the inner peripheral surface portion 55 of the rotating guide. Therefore, the relative rotation operation of the male and female housings 41 and 25 can be performed extremely easily. By the distance T, the electrical connection portion 43a does not come into contact with the male housing 25 during relative rotation of the male and female housings 41 and 25, and the relative rotation of the male and female housings 41 and 25 can be smoothly performed. When the misconnection preventing protrusion 29 faces the misconnection preventing passage 53 due to such relative rotation, the lock portion 31
Also faces the lock guide passage 49, and the male and female housings 4
1, 25 can be fitted and moved. At the time of this normal fitting, the misconnection preventing protrusion 29 is allowed to move by the misconnection preventing passage 53.

During the fitting movement, the lock projection 33 of the lock portion 31 abuts against the end of the rotary guide tube portion 47 by the initial sliding contact surface 33a, and the further sliding movement causes the initial sliding contact surface 33a to tilt. As a result, the lock protrusion 33 enters the inner peripheral surface of the rotation guide cylinder portion 47 through the bending of the flexible arm 35, and the overpass sliding contact surface 33b is formed on the rotation guide cylinder portion 4.
The inner peripheral surface portion 55 of the rotation guide 7 is slidably contacted. When the male and female housings 41 and 25 are further fitted and moved, the lock projection 3
3 moves in the lock guide passage 49, and the flexible arm 35 elastically returns to the position where it reaches the lock opening 51.
The flexible movement of 3 is restored. By this return, the lock protrusion 33 engages with the lock opening 51.

Therefore, the male and female connectors 23, 21 are completely fitted in the normal fitted state, and the electrical connection portion of the female connector of the male housing 25 and the electrical connection portion 43a of the male terminal 43 of the female housing 41 are securely connected. It is electrically connected, and this completely fitted state is locked by the lock protrusion 33 and the lock opening 51.

As described above, when the male and female housings 41 and 25 are first fitted together, the operation of aligning the relative position of the misconnection preventing projection 29 and the misconnection preventing passage 53 is not necessary, and the inner peripheral surface portion 55 of the rotation guide is fitted. Since the positioning is performed after the rotating portion 37 is fitted, the work is extremely easy, and even when the work is performed in a recessed position such as in the engine room, the fitting is completed in the normal fitting state. Can be performed extremely easily.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, it can be applied to a connector having a configuration as shown in FIG. That is, in FIG. 10, the rotation guide cylinder portion is integrally provided at the front end of the annular body 17, the inner peripheral surface thereof is the rotation guide inner peripheral surface portion, and the front end portion of the male housing 9 is the rotation guide end surface portion. Further, the front end of the female housing 5 is projected forward as it is to form a rotating portion. In this case, the misconnection preventing protrusion 11 is provided at the front end side of the rotating portion with the position shifted. With such a configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effects as the above.

[0028]

As is apparent from the above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the rotating portion is first fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the rotation guide, and then the misconnection preventing projection and the misconnection preventing passage are formed. If the positions do not match, the positions can be adjusted by rotating the male and female housings relative to each other. Therefore, the fitting operation of the male and female housings and the operation of aligning the misconnection preventing protrusion and the misconnection preventing passage can be performed separately. It is possible and the work is extremely easy. Therefore, it is possible to extremely easily perform work even in a recessed position such as in the engine room.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the inner peripheral surface portion of the rotation guide and the end surface portion of the rotation guide provided in the female housing, and the rotating portion which is partly formed by the outer peripheral surface of the misconnection preventing protrusion provided in the male housing, are provided. Thus, the same effect as that of the first aspect can be obtained.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, the rotation guide end face portion includes the misconnection preventing projection, the end face in the fitting direction of the lock portion, and a part of the end face of the male housing. Since it is slidably contacted with, the rotation guide between the inner peripheral surface portion of the rotation guide and the rotation portion can be further smoothly performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a male connector according to an embodiment of the present invention together with an imaginary view of a female connector.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the male connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the male connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the male connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the female connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an end view of the female connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the female connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the female connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a connector according to a conventional example.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a connector according to another conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 25 Male Housing 25a End Surface 29 Misconnection Prevention Projection 29a End Surface 29b Outer Surface 31 Lock Part 35c Front End Surface 35d Outer Surface 37 Rotating Part 41 Female Housing 43 Male Terminal 43a Electrical Connection Part 45 Fitting Hood 47 Rotating Guide Tube Part 49 Lock Guide Passage 49a End opening 51 Lock opening 53 Misconnection prevention passage 53a End opening 55 Rotation guide inner peripheral surface 57 Rotation guide end surface

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 24, 1997

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A male housing containing one of the male and female terminals and a male housing containing the other of the male and female terminals, and a misconnection preventing projection provided on one of the female and male housings for preventing misconnection and both housings provided on the other. A misconnection preventing passage that allows movement of the misconnection preventing protrusion during normal fitting, a lock part provided on one of the male and female housings for flexible movement, and a lock part provided on the other side for normal fitting of both housings for flexible movement. A connector having a locking portion for locking the restored locking portion, wherein a circular inner circumferential surface of the inner circumferential surface of the male and female housings projecting to the front end in the fitting direction, and an end of the misconnection preventing passage. A connector comprising: a rotation guide end face portion that includes a part opening and is oriented in the fitting direction; and a rotation portion that is inscribed in the rotation guide inner peripheral surface portion and is guided to rotate on the other side. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the misconnection preventing protrusion is provided on the male housing, and the rotation guide inner peripheral surface portion and the rotation guide end surface portion are provided on the female housing. The connector is characterized in that a part of the portion is constituted by an outer peripheral surface of the misconnection preventing protrusion. 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the male housing has the misconnection preventing protrusion and the lock portion on an outer peripheral surface, and the fitting direction of the misconnection preventing protrusion and the lock portion. The end surface is formed to be substantially flush with the end surface of the male housing, and the rotating portion includes a part of an outer peripheral surface of the male housing, an outer peripheral surface of the misconnection preventing protrusion, and an outer peripheral surface of the lock portion, The female housing includes an electrical connection portion of the one terminal and has a lock guide passage for allowing the lock portion to move when the misconnection preventing passage and the two housings are properly fitted, and a fitting direction of the lock guide passage. A fitting hood having a lock opening as the locking portion at a position on the back side is provided, and a rotation guide cylinder portion having the rotation guide inner peripheral surface portion is integrally provided at a front end of the fitting hood, The rotation guide end face part is Connector characterized in that it comprises an end opening of the passage and the locking guide path.