JP2007134237A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector which can reduce force for fitting to a counterpart connector and prevent inclined fitting. <P>SOLUTION: On both sides of a first insulator 51 of a first female housing 5, a second insulator 71 of a second female housing 7 is placed and the second female housing 7 is made slidable against the first female housing 5. Since the second female housing 7 is locked in the condition that the front face in the fixing direction of the second insulator 71 is put forward of that of the first insulator 51, a latching part 58 of the first female housing 5 is engaged with a latching part 77 provided in the second female housing 7. A projected part 26h is formed in a slit 26e for catching the latching part 58 so that it is disengaged from the latching part 77 after a part of a male contact 24 of a male connector 22 is inserted into the second insulator 71 and the latching part 58 is disengaged from the latching part 77 by the inclined plane of the projected part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector capable of reducing a fitting force when fitting a connector to a mating connector.

  Conventionally, a female connector including an outer housing (first housing) and a movable terminal holder (second housing) is known (see Patent Document 1 below).

  The outer housing has a fixed terminal holder (first insulator portion) and an accommodation space. The fixed terminal holder holds a part of the plurality of female terminals. The accommodation space is formed side by side with the fixed terminal holder. A retaining claw and a locking step are formed on the inner surface of the housing space.

  The movable terminal holder is a (second) insulator portion and holds the remaining portions of the plurality of female terminals. The movable terminal holder is housed in the housing space of the outer housing so as to be movable in a direction parallel to the fitting / removing direction of the female connector. A stepped portion is formed on the upper surface of the movable terminal holder, and engagement concave portions are formed on both side surfaces and the lower surface of the movable terminal holder. The step portion engages with the locking step, and the engagement recess engages with the retaining claw, thereby restricting the movement of the movable terminal holder in the fitting / removing direction with respect to the outer housing.

  A plurality of locking claws (locking means) are formed on both side surfaces of the front end portion of the movable terminal holder. Auxiliary protrusions are integrally formed on both sides of the locking claw. The locking claw engages with the front surface of the outer housing when the movable terminal holder is inserted into the accommodation space and the front end of the movable terminal holder protrudes slightly from the accommodation space. Thereby, the front surface of the movable terminal holder and the front surface of the outer housing are maintained in a state shifted in the fitting direction.

  A male connector which is a mating connector of the female connector has a male connector housing and a plurality of male terminals.

  The male connector housing has a hood portion and a terminal holding portion. The hood portion accepts the outer housing. A plurality of locking release pieces are formed on the inner surface of the hood portion. The terminal holding part is integrally formed on the rear surface of the hood part.

  The plurality of male terminals are held by the terminal holding portion, and their tip portions protrude into the hood portion.

  Next, the fitting of both connectors will be described.

  First, as described above, the movable terminal holder is assembled to the outer housing. At this time, the front end portion of the movable terminal holder slightly protrudes from the accommodation space, and the locking claw of the movable terminal holder engages with the front surface of the outer housing.

  Next, the outer housing of the female connector is inserted into the hood portion of the male connector.

  In the middle, the female terminal provided on the movable terminal holder contacts a part of the male terminal of the male connector, but the movable claw holder is engaged with the front surface of the outer housing, so the movable terminal holder does not move. .

  When the outer housing further enters the hood portion of the male connector, the locking release piece presses the auxiliary projection and the engagement between the locking claw and the front surface of the outer housing is released. As a result, the outer housing reaches the back of the hood portion. At this time, the female terminal provided in the fixed terminal holder comes into contact with the remainder of the male terminal of the male connector.

As described above, when the connectors are fitted, the contact between the plurality of female terminals and the plurality of male terminals is performed twice, so that the plurality of female terminals and the plurality of male terminals are brought into contact at a time. Compared with the connector of the system, the fitting force between the female connector and the male connector can be reduced.
JP-A-6-111882 (see paragraphs 0012 to 0014, 0017, FIGS. 1 and 2)

  In the female connector described above, when the male connector is fitted, the plurality of female terminals provided in the movable terminal holder first come into contact with a part of the male terminal of the male connector. While it is difficult to push the holder side, it is easy to push the fixed terminal holder side. For this reason, the posture of the female connector tends to be inclined with respect to the male connector, and the female connector may be fitted into the male connector at an angle, and so-called galling may occur.

  In addition, after the plurality of female terminals provided on the movable terminal holder come into contact with a part of the male terminal of the male connector, the plurality of female terminals provided on the fixed terminal holder are connected to the remainder of the male terminal of the male connector. Since the contact is made, the posture of the female connector tends to be inclined with respect to the male connector, and the female connector may be fitted into the male connector at an angle.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, The subject is providing the connector which can prevent diagonal fitting while reducing the fitting force with the other party connector.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the connector of the invention of claim 1 has at least one first insulator portion that holds a contact that can contact a part of the plurality of mating contacts of the mating connector. A first housing and a plurality of second insulators that are slidably assembled to the first housing and hold contacts that can contact the remaining contacts of the plurality of mating contacts of the mating connector A second housing having a portion, and a connector fitting direction front surface of the first insulator portion and a connector fitting direction of the second insulator portion when the second housing is assembled to the first housing. Lock means for maintaining a state in which the front surface is displaced in the connector fitting direction, and the mating connector is connected to the first and second connectors. When a predetermined amount is pushed into the housing, a part of the plurality of mating contacts of the mating connector is fitted with one of the first and second insulator portions, and the second housing And the first housing is released, and when the mating connector is further pushed in, the first and second insulator portions are connected to the first and second connectors in the connector fitting direction. Multi-stage fitting means for fitting one of the second housings relative to the other of the plurality of mating contacts of the mating connector with the other of the first and second insulators; And the first insulator portion and the second insulator portion are alternately arranged.

  Since the 1st insulator part and the 2nd insulator part are alternately arrange | positioned as mentioned above, when fitting a connector with the other party connector, a connector is easy to be inserted straight with respect to the other party connector. Become.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the connector according to the first aspect, the first insulator part of the first housing is one, and the second insulator part of the second housing is two. When the second housing is assembled to the first housing, the front surface of the second insulator portion in the connector fitting direction is more forward than the front surface of the first insulator portion in the connector fitting direction. It is characterized by being located.

  Reduction of the fitting force with the mating connector and prevention of oblique fitting can be realized more reliably.

  As described above, according to the connector of the present invention, the fitting force with the mating connector can be reduced, and oblique fitting can be prevented.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state before a female connector according to an embodiment of the present invention is fitted to a male connector, and FIG. 2 is a second female housing of the female connector shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state before the female housing is assembled, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the second female housing is assembled to the first female housing of the female connector shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4A is shown in FIG. FIG. 4B is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a state in which a part of the male contact of the male connector is inserted into the second insulator portion of the female connector, and FIG. 4B is the first and second insulators of the female connector shown in FIG. 5A is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a state in which all male contacts of the male connector have been inserted into the part, FIG. 5A is a plan view of a state in which the male connector is mounted on the guide part of the female connector, and FIG. Connector male contact to female connector FIG. 5C is a plan view showing a state in which the second female housing of the female connector shown in FIG. 1 is unlocked, and FIG. 5D is a female connector shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the state which the male connector fully engaged in.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a female connector (connector) 1 is fitted into a male connector (mating connector) 22 described later. The female connector 1 includes a female contact (contact) (not shown), a first female housing (first housing) 5, and a second female housing (second housing) 7.

  The female contact is a socket-type contact and has a socket portion. The socket portion receives and contacts the contact portion 24a of the pin contact 24 (see FIG. 4A) of the male connector 22.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first female housing 5 has a first insulator portion 51, a pair of guide portions 52, and a pair of coupling portions 54, which are insulative synthetic resin. It is integrally formed with.

  The first insulator 51 is substantially flat and has a plurality of first contact receiving holes 51a. The plurality of first contact accommodating holes 51 a are arranged in two rows along the width direction W <b> 1 of the first insulator portion 51. The plurality of first contact housing holes 51a extend in the fitting direction D1. A female contact is held in each first contact receiving hole 51a.

  The pair of guide portions 52 are disposed on both sides of the first insulator portion 51 with a space therebetween. The guide part 52 is substantially prismatic. A guide groove 52 a is formed on the surface of the guide portion 52 that faces the first insulator portion 51. The guide groove 52a extends in the fitting direction D1.

  Each of the pair of coupling portions 54 has a prismatic shape, extends in the width direction W <b> 1 of the first insulator portion 51, and couples the first insulator portion 51 and the pair of guide portions 52.

  A pair of restricting pieces 57 are integrally formed on the rear surfaces of both ends of the pair of coupling portions 54. The restricting piece 57 has a cantilever shape and is elastically deformable in the thickness direction T of the first insulator portion 51. The restricting piece 57 has a locking claw 57a.

  A pair of locking pieces 58 are integrally formed on the front surfaces of both ends of the pair of coupling portions 54. The locking piece 58 has an engaging portion 58a and a spring portion 58b (see FIG. 4B). The engaging portion 58a has a substantially triangular plate shape, and includes a recess 58c, a first inclined surface (multi-stage fitting means) 58d, and a second inclined surface 58e. The spring portion 58b has a cantilever shape and is elastically deformable in the thickness direction T of the first insulator portion 51.

  Two spaces surrounded by the pair of coupling portions 54, the first insulator portion 51, and the guide portion 52 are insertion holes 59. A second insulator portion 71 described later is inserted into the insertion hole 59.

  The second female housing 7 has two second insulator parts 71, a pair of slide pieces 73, and a pair of coupling parts 75, which are integrally formed of an insulating synthetic resin.

  The two second insulator portions 71 are each substantially flat and have a plurality of second contact accommodating holes 71a. The thickness of the second insulator portion 71 is equal to the thickness of the first insulator portion 51. The plurality of second contact receiving holes 71 a are arranged in two rows along the width direction W <b> 2 of the second insulator portion 71. The plurality of second contact receiving holes 71a extends in the fitting direction D1. A female contact is held in each second contact receiving hole 71a.

  Engagement pieces 77 are formed on both end surfaces in the thickness direction of the second insulator 71. The engaging piece 77 has an inclined surface 77a (see FIG. 4A). The engaging piece 77 engages with the engaging portion 58 a of the locking piece 58 of the first female housing 5. The engaging piece 77 and the recess 58c constitute a locking means.

  Each of the pair of slide pieces 73 has a prism shape and is formed in the second insulator portion 71. A concave portion 73 a is formed at the rear portion of the slide piece 73 on the insulator portion 71 side. The portion of the slide piece 73 opposite to the insulator portion 71 side portion is slidably inserted into the guide groove 52a of the guide portion 52 of the first female housing 5, and the insulator piece 71 side portion of the slide piece 73 is a pair of regulation. Arranged between the pieces 57. The recess 73 a engages with the locking claw 57 a of the restriction piece 57. As a result, the movement of the second female housing 7 with respect to the first female housing 5 in the detaching direction (the direction opposite to the fitting direction D1) D2 is limited.

  Each of the pair of coupling portions 75 has a prismatic shape, extends in the width direction W2 of the second insulator portion 71, and couples the two second insulator portions 71 with a space therebetween. This interval is slightly larger than the width of the first insulator portion 51.

  A space surrounded by the pair of coupling portions 75 and the two second insulator portions 71 is an insertion hole 78. The first insulator portion 51 is inserted into the insertion hole 78.

  Next, the male connector 22 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the male connector 22 includes a plurality of male contacts (mating contacts) 24 and a male housing 26 and is mounted on the printed circuit board 9.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the male contact 24 is a pin contact bent in an approximately L shape. The male contact 24 has a contact portion 24a, a holding portion 24b, a press fit portion 24c, and a bent portion 24d. The contact portion 24a contacts the female contact. The holding portion 24 b is held by the male housing 26. The press-fit portion 24 c is press-fitted into the through hole 9 a of the printed board 9. The bent portion 24d connects the holding portion 24b and the press-fit portion 24c. The holding portion 24b is bent at a right angle.

  The male housing 26 includes a housing body 26a and a slide piece 26b (see FIG. 1).

  The housing body 26a has a housing shape, and includes a receiving recess 26c, a plurality of contact insertion holes 26d, and four slits 26e. The receiving recess 26 c receives the fitting side portions of the first and second insulator portions 51 and 71. The contact insertion holes 26d are formed in two rows on the bottom portion 26f of the housing body 26a, and hold the holding portion 24b of the male contact 24. The slit 26e is formed in the side wall 26g of the housing body 26a. The slit 26e extends in the fitting direction D1. The slit 26 e receives the locking piece 58 of the first female housing 5 of the female connector 1.

  A protrusion 26h is formed in the slit 26e. The protrusion 26h includes a first inclined surface 26i, a second inclined surface 26j, a flat surface 26k, and a groove 26m.

  Next, the assembly of the first female housing 5 and the second female housing 7 of the female connector 1 will be described.

  First, the second insulator 71 of the second female housing 7 is passed through the insertion hole 59 of the first female housing 5 from the state shown in FIG.

  Next, the slide piece 73 of the second female housing 7 is inserted into the groove 52 a of the guide portion 52 of the first female housing 5 and pushed between the locking claws 57 a of the restriction piece 57. At this time, the restriction piece 57 is elastically deformed, the interval between the locking claws 57a is widened, the slide piece 73 is inserted between the locking claws 57a, and the locking claw 57a is engaged with the recess 73a.

  Further, the first insulator 51 of the first female housing 5 is passed through the insertion hole 78 of the second female housing 7.

  When the slide piece 73 is further pushed in, the locking claw 57a is disengaged from the recess 73a, the regulating piece 57 returns to the original position, and the interval between the locking claw 57a is reduced.

  Thus, as shown in FIG. 3, the assembly of the first female housing 5 and the second female housing 7 is completed.

  After the assembly, when the second female housing 7 moves in the detaching direction D2, the concave portion 73a of the slide piece 73 and the locking claw 57a are engaged, and the slide piece 73 is locked by the regulating piece 57. As a result, the second female housing 7 is prevented from being detached from the first female housing 5.

  Next, the fitting between the female connector 1 and the male connector will be described.

  First, the second female housing 7 is pushed in along the fitting direction D1 until the coupling piece 75 of the second female housing 7 contacts the coupling piece 54 of the first female housing 5.

  At this time, the inclined surface 77a of the engaging piece 77 contacts the second inclined surface 58e of the engaging portion 58a of the engaging piece 58, and the engaging piece 77 resists the spring force of the spring portion 58b. Jump up 58. Thereafter, the engaging piece 77 engages with the recess 58c of the locking piece 58, and the locking piece 58 returns to its original state by the spring force of the spring portion 58b, and becomes the state shown in FIG. 4A.

  In this state, since the engagement piece 77 is engaged with the recess 58c, it does not move even if the second female housing 7 is pushed in the detaching direction D2. At this time, the front surface in the fitting direction of the second insulator portion 71 is positioned in front of the front surface in the fitting direction of the first insulator portion 51 in the fitting direction D1 (see FIG. 3).

  Next, the slide piece 26b of the male connector 22 is inserted into the guide groove 52a of the guide portion 52 of the female connector 1 (see FIG. 5A).

  Thereafter, the male connector 22 is pushed toward the second female housing 7, and the receiving portion 26 c of the male connector 22 is fitted to the second insulator portion 71 of the female connector 1. As a result, the contact portion of the female contact provided in the second insulator portion 71 comes into contact with the contact portion 24a of the male contact 24 of the male connector 22 (see FIG. 5B).

  At this time, the second female housing 7 of the female connector 1 is pushed by the frictional force between the female contact and the male contact 24, but the engaging piece 77 is engaged with the recess 58c of the locking piece 58. The second female housing 7 does not move.

  When the male connector 22 is further pushed toward the female connector 1, the first inclined surface 26 i of the projection 26 h of the male connector 22 and the engagement portion 58 a of the locking piece 58 of the first female housing 5 are inserted. The first inclined surface 58d is engaged with the first inclined surface 58d, and then the protrusion 26h springs up the locking piece 58. As a result, the recess 58c of the locking piece 58 is disengaged from the engagement piece 77, and the second female housing 7 moves with the male connector 22 (see FIG. 5C). At this time, the engaging portion 58a relatively moves on the flat surface 26k of the protruding portion 26h, and the engaging piece 77 relatively enters the groove 26m of the protruding portion 26h. Finally, the second inclined surface 58e of the engaging portion 58a engages with the second inclined surface 26j of the protrusion 26h, and the locking piece 58 returns to the original state (see FIGS. 4B and 5D).

  As described above, the male contact 24 of the male connector 22 contacts the female contact of the first insulator portion 51 of the first female housing 5, and the male connector 22 is completely fitted to the female connector 1. The

  To detach the male connector 22 from the female connector 1, the male connector 22 may be pulled away from the female connector 1.

  At this time, an operation opposite to the operation for fitting the male connector 22 to the female connector 1 is performed. Finally, the engaging piece 77 is engaged with the concave portion 58c of the locking piece 58, and the second operation is performed. The female housing 7 is locked to the first female housing 3, and the front surface in the fitting direction of the second insulator portion 71 is located in front of the front surface in the fitting direction of the first insulator portion 51 in the fitting direction D 1. become.

  According to this embodiment, first, the female contact of the second insulator portion 71 is brought into contact with a part of the male contact 24, and thereafter, the female contact of the first insulator portion 51 is brought into contact with the remaining male contacts 24. Therefore, the fitting force is reduced as compared with the method in which all the female contacts are brought into contact with the male contact 24 at a time.

  Moreover, since the 2nd insulator part 71 is arrange | positioned at the both sides of the 1st insulator part 51, the inclination of the 1st, 2nd female housings 5 and 7 is prevented.

  In this embodiment, there is one first insulator portion 51 and two second insulator portions 71, but the number of the first and second insulator portions 51 and 71 is not limited to this, The number of the 1st insulator parts 51 should just be one or more, and the 2nd insulator part 71 should just be one more than the 1st insulator part 51. FIG. In short, the 1st insulator part 51 and the 2nd insulator part 71 should just be alternately arrange | positioned in the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction D1.

  Further, when the second female housing 7 is locked to the first female housing 3, the fitting direction front surface of the second insulator portion 71 is more fitted than the fitting direction front surface of the first insulator portion 51. However, it is not always necessary to have such a configuration. When the second female housing 7 is locked to the first female housing 3, the front surface of the first insulator portion 51 in the fitting direction is provided. May be positioned in front of the fitting direction D1 with respect to the front surface of the second insulator portion 71 in the fitting direction.

  In addition, although the combination of the recessed part 58c and the engagement piece 77 was employ | adopted as a locking means, a locking means is not restricted to this.

  Moreover, although the 1st inclined surface 58d engaged with the 1st inclined surface 26i was employ | adopted as a multistage fitting means, a multistage fitting means is not restricted to this.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state before a female connector according to an embodiment of the present invention is fitted to a male connector. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state before the second female housing is assembled to the first female housing of the female connector shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the second female housing is assembled to the first female housing of the female connector shown in FIG. 4A is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a state in which a part of the male contact of the male connector is inserted into the second insulator portion of the female connector shown in FIG. 4B is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a state in which all male contacts of the male connector are inserted into the first and second insulator portions of the female connector shown in FIG. FIG. 5A is a plan view of a state in which the male connector is mounted on the guide portion of the female connector. FIG. 5B is a plan view showing a state where the male contact of the male connector is inserted into the second insulator portion of the female connector. FIG. 5C is a plan view showing a state in which the lock of the second female housing of the female connector shown in FIG. 1 is released. FIG. 5D is a plan view showing a state in which the male connector is completely fitted to the female connector shown in FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

1 Female connector (connector)
3 Female contact (contact)
5 First female housing (first housing)
51 1st insulator part 58c Recessed part 58d 1st inclined surface (multistage fitting means)
7 Second female housing (second housing)
71 Second insulator portion 77 Engagement piece 22 Female connector 24 Male contact

Claims (2)

A first housing having at least one first insulator portion for holding a contact that can contact a part of contacts of the plurality of mating contacts of the mating connector;
A second assembly having a plurality of second insulator portions that are slidably assembled to the first housing and hold contacts that can contact the remaining contacts of the plurality of mating contacts of the mating connector. A housing;
When the second housing is assembled to the first housing, the front surface in the connector fitting direction of the first insulator portion and the front surface in the connector fitting direction of the second insulator portion are displaced in the connector fitting direction. Locking means for maintaining
When the mating connector is pushed into the first and second housings by a predetermined amount, a part of the plurality of mating contacts of the mating connector is connected to the first and second insulator portions. When the second housing and the first housing are released from the locked state, and when the mating connector is further pushed in, the first and second insulator portions are connected in front of the connector in the connector fitting direction. One of the first and second housings moves relative to a position where the first and second insulator portions are substantially flush with each other, and the remaining contacts of the plurality of mating contacts of the mating connector are moved to the first and second insulator portions. A multi-stage fitting means for fitting with the other of
The connector, wherein the first insulator portion and the second insulator portion are alternately arranged. The first insulator portion of the first housing is one, the second insulator portion of the second housing is two,
When the second housing is assembled to the first housing, the front surface of the second insulator portion in the connector fitting direction is positioned in front of the front surface of the first insulator portion in the connector fitting direction. The connector according to claim 1.

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