JP2000260525A - Connector with locking function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely prevent careless separation of a connector, while being a simple structure to enhance connecting reliability. SOLUTION: A connector with a locking function is provided with a locking means for locking a connection state with a counterpart connector, such as a receptacle R. A connector main body 10 is provided with a locking flexible piece 28, which can be displaced between a locking position for engaging the counterpart connector and a lock releasing position for releasing this engagement, a slider 30 relatively movable in the direction substantially parallel to the connecting operation direction, and a compression coil spring 18 energizing the slider 30 in the direction separating from the counterpart connector. A lock releasing operation part 38 displacing the lock flexible piece 28 forcibly toward the lock releasing position is arranged in the slider 30.

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 lock function for locking a connection state with a mating connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the following connector is known as a connector having the above-described lock function.

A) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-273760: A cover 26 is attached to the outside of the connector main body 24, and the cover 26 is urged in a direction to approach the mating connector (connector connected to the connector main body 24). When the cover 26 is approaching the mating connector due to the urging force, the cover 26 presses the latch arm 30 inward, and the latch arm 30 engages with the mating connector to lock the connector coupling state. on the other hand,
When the cover 26 is slid in a direction away from the mating connector from this state, the cover 26 releases the latch arm 30 so that the locked state is released.

B) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-272797: Connector lock pieces 10 are provided on both outer sides of a connector housing. In a state where the lock pieces 10 for both connectors are not deformed,
While the projection 32 engages with the mating connector and locks the connector coupling state, when the connector lock pieces 10 are pressed and deformed from both left and right outer sides to the inner side in this state, the projections 32 are deformed. Disengage the mating connector from the mating connector.

[0005]

In the connector of A),
The same direction as the direction in which the cover 26 is separated from the connector main body 24 (the direction away from the mating connector)
, The connection lock is released by the relative movement, and the lock is released only by pulling the cover 26 while the connector main body 24 and the mating connector are connected, and the connector may be disconnected as it is. That is, there is a possibility that unlocking and disconnection of the connector may be simultaneously performed by a simple operation of simply grasping and pulling the cover 26 with one hand, so that the connector may be inadvertently disconnected against the operator's will. There is, in particular, unsuitable for application to places where connection reliability is required.

[0006] In the connector B), the release of the connection lock and the disconnection of the connector can be simultaneously performed by grasping and pulling the lock pieces 10 for both connectors from one side with one hand. May inadvertently come off.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has a simple structure, but can reliably prevent a connector from being inadvertently locked and disconnected by a connector, thereby improving the reliability of the connection. It is an object to provide a connector with a function.

[0008]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector with a lock function provided with a locking means for locking the coupled state in a state of being coupled to a mating connector. A connector body coupled to the mating connector, and a locked position in which the connector body is engaged with the engaging portion of the mating connector in a state where the connector body is coupled to the mating connector, and a lock release position in which the engagement is released. A locking member, a movable member attached to the connector main body so as to be movable in a direction substantially parallel to a connecting operation direction of the connector main body and the mating connector, and the movable member attached to the movable member with respect to the connector main body. Urging means for applying an urging force for relatively moving the moving member in a direction away from the mating connector. Unlocking in which the lock member is forcibly displaced from the lock position to the unlock position in a state where the moving member moves toward the counterpart connector side against the urging force of the urging means against the connector body. An operation unit is provided.

In this configuration, the lock is first released by moving the moving member relative to the connector main body in the direction opposite to the connector detaching direction (that is, the direction approaching the mating connector), and in this state, the moving member and the moving member are unlocked. On the contrary, by separating the connector main body from the mating connector, the disconnection of the connector is first realized. Therefore,
Despite the simple structure, in order to disconnect the connector, the connector body and the moving member are individually grasped, and the moving member is pushed into the mating connector side, and then the connector body is operated in the opposite direction. Must be performed in two stages. Therefore, in order to disconnect the connector, a clear intention of the user is required, and there is no possibility that the lock is inadvertently released.

Specifically, as the lock member, the lock member is constituted by an elastically deformable spring member, and the spring member is located at the lock position in an undeformed state. It is preferable that the spring member is disposed so as to be elastically deformed toward the unlock position.

In this case, if the lock member is provided on the moving member to cover the spring member from the outside, the spring member is plastically deformed, for example, by being hooked on another member outside the connector. Breakage) can be prevented.

[0012] In addition, if the housing of the connector main body is provided with a grip portion for gripping from the outside, and the movable member is formed with an exposed portion for exposing the grip portion to the outside, the connector can be unlocked when unlocking. The operation of individually gripping the main body and the moving member can be facilitated.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a connector C with a lock function according to the present invention and a receptacle R corresponding to a mating connector thereof.

The receptacle R is fixed at a predetermined installation location, for example, on a substrate. Engaging portions 4 projecting outward from both ends of the left and right side walls 2 of the receptacle R are formed at the front ends of the left and right side walls 2. And this receptacle R
The connector C with a lock function is attached to and detached from the connector.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the connector C with a lock function comprises a connector body 10 and a spring member 2.
0, a lower slider 30 and an upper slider 40.

The connector main body 10 comprises a conductor portion 12, a lower housing 14 and an upper housing 16 which cover the conductor portion 12.

The conductor portion 12 constitutes a connector terminal and a shield shell thereof.
It has a shape that can be fitted (combinable) with.

The lower housing 14 has a projection 14a at the rear thereof which projects to both left and right outer sides.
The projection 14b is formed on the front surface of the. A projection 14c is also formed on the front side surface of the lower housing 14. A spring member mounting portion 14d is provided at a middle portion of the side wall of the lower housing 14.
Are protruded laterally, and a coil spring support 14e extends rearward from the spring member mounting portion 14d. A grip portion 14f protrudes from the rear lower surface of the lower housing 14, and a semicircular cutout 14g is formed in the rear end wall.

The upper housing 16 also has a protruding portion 16a protruding to the left and right outer sides at a rear portion thereof.
A frame 16b protrudes downward from 6a. A frame 16c is also formed below the front side surface of the upper housing 16. The frames 16b and 16c engage with the projections 14b and 14c of the lower housing 14, respectively, so that the two housings 14 and 16 are connected to each other, that is, the conductors 12 are covered by the housings 14 and 16. The state is fixed.

A grip portion 16f is projected from the rear upper surface of the upper housing 16, and a semicircular notch 16g is formed in the rear end wall.
Are formed. In a state where the housings 14 and 16 are connected, the gripping portions 14f and 16f can be gripped by fingers or the like from above and below, and an electric wire (not shown) connected to the conductor portion 12 is inserted through the notches 14g and 16g. An electric wire insertion hole (see FIG. 2) is formed.

In this embodiment, the spring member 20 is formed by bending a single metal plate.
Specifically, a substrate 22 extending in the left-right direction and this substrate 2
And two right and left side plates 24 rising upward from both left and right ends. From these side plates 24, mounting portions 26
The mounting portions 26 are fixed to the spring member mounting portions 14d of the lower housing 14 with bolts. That is, the spring member 20
Are fixed to the connector body 10 side.

As shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), a bending lock piece 28 extends forward from the left and right side plates 24. This flexible lock piece 28 has a hypotenuse portion 28a extending obliquely inward from both side plates 24, and ear portions 28b projecting straight forward from both hypotenuse portions 28a.
From the non-deformed state shown in (a), it is possible to elastically deform to the left and right outer sides as shown in FIG.
A vertically long through hole 28c is formed in the ear 28b. 5 (a), the engaging portion 4 of the side wall 2 of the receptacle R fitted to the conductor portion 12 fits into the through hole 28c (that is, the side wall 2).
(The lock position is engaged) and the connector body 10 and the receptacle R are locked (locked position), while the state shown in FIG. As the piece 28 elastically deforms inward,
The engagement portion 4 is detached from the through hole 28c to release the lock in the connected state (lock release position).

Lower slider 30 and upper slider 4
Reference numeral 0 denotes a moving member that is attached to the outside of the connector body 10 in a state where the connector body 10 is overlapped with the connector body 10 in the attached state. It is possible to relatively slide in a direction parallel to the direction of the coupling operation with the R (up and down directions in FIGS. 5A and 5B).

A notch 3 is provided at the rear of the lower slider 30 to expose a grip 14f of the lower housing 14.
2, and a grip portion 31 (see FIG. 4B) for gripping from outside with a finger or the like is formed on the lower surface of the front portion. From the front end of the lower slider 30, a pair of left and right lock protection portions 34 that cover the lock flexures 28 from below (that is, cover from outside) extend forward, and the front ends of these lock protection portions 34 and the left and right rear ends of the lower slider 30. The connection pieces 35 and 36 project upward from the portions.

On the other hand, at the rear of the upper slider 40,
A notch 42 for exposing the grip portion 16f of the upper housing 16 is formed, and a grip portion 41 for gripping from outside with a finger or the like is formed on the front upper surface. From the front end of the upper slider 40, the lock bending piece 2
A pair of left and right lock protection portions 44 are formed to cover the upper side (that is, cover from the outside) of the lock 8.
A concave portion 45 is formed at a front end of the upper slider 40, and an engagement hole 46 is formed at a left and right rear end portion of the upper slider 40. And
The connection pieces 35 and 36 are inserted into these recesses 45 and the engagement holes 46.
The upper ends of both sliders 3
The polymerization state of 0,40 is fixed.

As shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), one end of a compression coil spring (biasing means) 18 is externally fitted to the coil spring support 14e of the lower housing 14, and the other end is connected to the lower slider 30. Abuts on the connecting piece 36 of FIG. By the elastic force of the compression coil spring 18, an urging force for relatively moving the sliders 30 and 40 relative to the connector main body 10 in a direction away from the receptacle R (downward in FIGS. 7A and 7B). The slider is provided to both sliders 30 and 40. Normally, the urging force causes the rear end surface (lower end surface in the figure) of the lower slider 30 as shown in FIG.
The sliders 30 and 40 are held at a retracted position where the sliders 30 hit the frame 16 b of the upper housing 16.

Further, an unlocking operation portion 38 is provided on the left and right sides of the front end of the lower slider 30 so as to project upward. These unlocking operation sections 38 are, as shown in FIG.
It has a substantially right-angled triangular cross-sectional shape having a hypotenuse 38a on the outside. Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the sliders 30 and 40 are held at the retracted position, the oblique portion 38a is connected to the oblique portion 28 of the lock bending piece 28.
a, while the lock flexure 28 is not deformed, as shown in FIG.
When 0 and 40 advance a predetermined stroke from the retracted position, the outer corner portions 38b of the unlocking operation portion 38
Presses the hypotenuse portion 28a from the inside to the outside, and elastically deforms the entire lock flexure piece 28 to the lock release position in FIG.
Are set.

The upper slider 40 is provided with a fitting hole 48 into which the upper end of the unlocking operation portion 38 is fitted.

Next, the operation of the connector with lock function C will be described.

A) Coupling operation First, when no external force is applied to the sliders 30 and 40 in the sliding direction, the sliders 30 and 40 are resilient by the compression coil spring 18 as shown in FIG. At the retracted position with respect to the connector body 10, and the lock bending piece 28 of the spring member 20 is located at the non-deformed lock position. In this state, when the conductor portion 12 of the connector body 10 is connected to the receptacle R (specifically, the connector C with the lock function is connected to the receptacle R in FIG. 5).
(A), the engagement portion 4 of the side wall 2 on the receptacle R side is locked with the lock bending piece 2 as shown in FIG.
The fitting state between the receptacle R and the connector C with a lock function is locked by being fitted into the through hole 28c of FIG. Therefore, when the connector C with the lock function or the sliders 30 and 40 is simply pulled in the direction in which the connector C is separated from the receptacle R in this state, the connector C does not come off from the receptacle R.

B) Detachment operation From the connected state, while holding the holding portions 14f, 16f on the connector body 10 side with one hand, holding the holding portions 31, 41 on the slider 30, 40 side with the other hand, When the sliders 30, 40 are pushed in the direction approaching the receptacle R against the elastic force of the compression coil spring 18, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the outer corner portion 38b of the unlocking operation portion 38 provided on the lower slider 30 presses the oblique side portion 28a of the lock bending piece 28 from the inside, so that the entire lock bending piece 28 is in the outer unlocking position, that is, , Through hole 2
8c is elastically deformed and deformed to a position where the engagement between the engagement portion 4 and the engagement portion 4 is released. Thereby, the connection lock between the receptacle R and the connector C with a lock function is released. Therefore, from this state, the connector C with the lock function can be separated from the receptacle R by operating the connector main body 10 in the pulling-out direction opposite to the slider operating direction.

As described above, in the lockable connector C, the sliders 30 and 40 are slid relative to the connector body 10 in a direction opposite to the connector disconnecting direction, that is, in a direction approaching the receptacle R. Otherwise, the lock will not be released, so that the connector body 10 and the sliders 30, 40 must be separately gripped in order to separate the connector C with lock function from the receptacle R (usually two hands are required). In addition, the sliders 30, 40 and the connector body 10 must be individually operated in different directions. Therefore, the lock is not released unless the operator has a clear intention to disconnect the connector. That is, unlike a connector in which the lock can be easily released by grasping with one hand as in the related art, there is no possibility that the connector is inadvertently disconnected against the intention of the operator, and the connection reliability is improved. Will increase dramatically.

The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the following mode can be adopted.

The grips 14f, 16f and the grip 3
The components 1 and 41 do not necessarily have to be specially provided, and may have any configuration as long as they can individually grip the connector body 10 and the sliders 30 and 40.

In the present invention, the specific engagement structure with the mating connector does not matter. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, an engaging portion 28d protruding inward from the tip of the lock bending piece 28.
And the engaging portion 28d and the receptacle-side engaging portion 4
The lock may be performed by contact with the lock flexure piece 28, as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b).
A slit 28e of an appropriate shape is formed in the ear portion 28b of the engaging portion 28b, and the inner portion thereof is bent and deformed so that the engaging piece 28
f may be formed, and the engaging piece 28f may be engaged with the receptacle-side engaging portion 4. Further, the shape of the engaging portion on the lock bending piece 28 side and the shape of the engaging portion on the receptacle R side may be reversed.

In the present invention, the connector body 10 and the lock member can be formed integrally.

In the present invention, the moving direction of the moving member may not be completely parallel to the connecting operation direction. For example, by attaching the moving member to the connector main body 10 so as to be slidable in an oblique direction slightly inclined from the connecting operation direction, the moving member is slightly displaced inward or outward with the sliding. Then, as a result, the lock may be released.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, the moving member is mounted on the connector body so as to be movable in a direction substantially parallel to the connecting operation direction, and the moving member is moved in the direction approaching the mating connector side. Since the connection is unlocked, the connector can be reliably prevented from being easily disconnected, and the connection reliability can be improved, despite the simple structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector with a lock function and a receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the receptacle side.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connector with lock function and the receptacle as viewed from the connector side with lock function.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the connector with a lock function.

FIG. 4A is a plan view of the connector with a lock function,
(B) is a side view.

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional plan view showing a state in which a lock bending piece of the connector with a lock function is at a lock position, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a state where the lock bending piece is at a lock release position.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the coupling lock structure between the connector with a lock function and the receptacle.

FIG. 7A is a front view showing a modification of the coupling lock structure between the connector with a lock function and the receptacle, and FIG.
Is a sectional view thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

 C Connector with lock function R Receptacle (mating connector) 4 Engagement part on receptacle side 10 Connector body 14f, 16f Grip part 20 Spring member 28 Lock flexure piece 30, 40 Slider (moving member) 34, 44 Lock protection part 38 Lock release Operation unit

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Jun Imazu 1-7-10 Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture Inside Harness Research Institute, Inc. (72) Inventor Yasuhiro Hiura 1, Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture 7-7-10 Harness Research Institute, Inc. (72) Inventor Chihiro Yoshioka 1-7-10 Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi F-term in Harness Research Institute, Inc. 5E021 FA05 FA09 FA09 FB02 FB07 FC09 FC21 FC36 HB15 HC13 HC14 HC31 HC37 LA09 LA15

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A connector with a lock function, comprising a lock means for locking the connected state in a state of being connected to a mating connector, wherein the connector main body is connected to the mating connector, and the connector main body is connected to the mating connector. A lock member capable of being displaced between a locked position where the mating connector engages with the engaging portion of the mating connector and a lock releasing position where the mating is released, and the connector main body and the mating connector being connected to the connector main body. A moving member mounted to be movable in a direction substantially parallel to the connecting operation direction, and an urging force applied to the moving member to move the moving member relative to the connector body in a direction away from the mating connector. Means, and the moving member has a moving member against the urging force of the urging means with respect to the connector body. A connector with a lock function, comprising: a lock release operation section for forcibly displacing the lock member from the lock position to the lock release position in a state where the lock member is moved in a direction approaching the mating connector side. 2. The connector with a lock function according to claim 1, wherein the lock member is formed of an elastically deformable spring member, and the spring member is located at the lock position in an undeformed state, and the lock member is locked. A connector with a lock function, wherein the spring member is arranged so as to be elastically deformed from a position toward the unlock position. 3. The connector with a lock function according to claim 2, wherein the movable member is provided with a lock protection portion for covering the spring member from outside. 4. The connector with a lock function according to claim 1, wherein a grip portion for gripping the housing of the connector body from outside is provided,
A connector with a lock function, wherein an exposed portion for exposing the grip portion to the outside is formed on the moving member.