JP2000268913A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To fit a connector with weak force without occupying a large space. SOLUTION: The connector has a plug connector 11, a cap connector fitting to the plug connector 11, and a slider 13 slidably mounted in the perpendicularly crossing direction to the fitting direction of both connectors on the cap connector. The plug connector 11 has projections 22, 23 on both sides. The cap connector 12 has a cut-out grooves 25, 26 for guiding in the fitting direction the projections 22, 23 from the front to the rear in the fitting to the plug connector 11 on both sides, the slider 13 has sidewalls 31, 32 covering the both sides of the cap connector 12, and guide grooves 34, 35 for moving the projections 22, 23 in the direction to let fit more deeply the both connectors when the slider 13 fit to the projections 22, 23 of the plug connector 11 is slid toward the cap connector 12 are formed in the sidewalls 31, 32.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector used for connecting a wiring harness to an automobile unit substrate, and more particularly to a connector having a low fitting force.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as the number of electrical components mounted on automobiles and the like has increased, the number of terminals of connectors for connecting electrical components has also increased. For this reason, the force required for fitting the connector tends to increase. Against this background, a lever connector that can be easily fitted has been proposed as this type of connector (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-213102). As shown in FIG. 5, the lever connector has a cylindrical projection 2 on the side surface of the plug connector 1.
And a lever member 6 having a notch groove 4 for guiding the projection 2 in the fitting direction and a guide groove 5 for engaging with the projection 2 is provided on the cap connector 3, and the lever member 6 is changed from FIG. By rotating about the shaft 7 as shown in b), the two connectors 1 and 3 are fitted with a small force by the principle of leverage.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional connector, since the rotating lever member 6 is used, a large space is required for the rotation as shown in FIG. In addition, since the lever member 6 becomes vertical and takes a large space even after the fitting, there is a problem that it is difficult to use the lever member 6 in a space-restricted portion such as a connector of a vehicle-mounted audio board.

An object of the present invention is to provide a connector which can be fitted with a small force without taking up a large space.

[0005]

A connector according to the present invention comprises a plug connector, a cap connector fitted with the plug connector, and slidably mounted on the cap connector in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction of the two connectors. The plug connector has projections on both side surfaces thereof, and the cap connector has a notch groove for guiding the projection in the fitting direction from the front to the back when fitting with the plug connector. The slider is formed on both side surfaces, the slider has side walls covering both side surfaces of the cap connector, and the side walls are fitted with projections on both side surfaces of the plug connector, and the slider is connected to the cap connector side. Guide grooves for moving the protrusions in a direction in which both connectors are fitted more deeply when slid. And butterflies.

According to the present invention, a slider that slides in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction of the connector is provided on the cap connector.
Since the guide groove formed in the slider moves the protrusion of the plug connector in the connector fitting direction, a fitting operation with a small force can be realized in a small space as compared with a rotating operation.
Moreover, at the time of fitting, the slider is slid so as to be in close contact with the cap connector, so that the space after fitting can be reduced.

A guide groove of the slider has a first portion extending in a fitting direction of the two connectors, and a second portion extending from the first portion at an angle slightly smaller than 90 ° with respect to the fitting direction.
And a third portion extending from the second portion at an angle between the first portion and the second portion, the terminal coupling start portion requiring the most load. A larger load is obtained, and thereafter, although the load is small, the stroke amount in the fitting direction with respect to the movement amount in the slide direction can be increased, and the overall slide amount can be reduced.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view. This connector includes a plug connector 11 and
Cap connector 1 fitted with this plug connector 11
2 and a slider 13 which is slidably mounted on the cap connector 12 in a direction orthogonal to the connector fitting direction.

The plug connector 11 has a plurality of cavities 21 extending in the connector fitting direction, and forms a housing accommodating a female terminal (not shown) in the cavities 21. Projection 2 protruding from
2, 23 are formed. The cap connector 12
A housing for accommodating a male terminal (not shown) is formed. The housing has an opening 24 for introducing the plug connector 11 on the front surface thereof. Grooves 25 and 26 are formed. The protrusions 22 and 23 of the plug connector 11 are
At the time of the fitting of 12, the guide 12 moves to the fitting position while being guided by the notch grooves 25 and 26, respectively. In the cap connector 12,
The sliders 1 are provided on both sides and the base end of the opening 24, respectively.
Guide members 27, 28, 29, 30 for guiding the third member 3 are provided. The slider 13 is connected to the cap connector 12.
Sidewalls 31 and 32 that cover both side surfaces of the
2 is formed integrally with a connecting portion 33 for connecting
The side wall 31 is guided by the guide members 27 and 29,
Are guided by the guide members 28 and 30 to slide in the vertical direction in the figure.

Guide grooves 34, 35 are formed on the inner surfaces of the side walls 31, 32, and the projections 22, 23 formed on the side surfaces of the plug connector 11 are formed by the guide grooves 34, 35.
Guided to 35. As shown also in FIG. 2, the guide grooves 34 and 35 extend in the first direction (the connector fitting direction).
Part 41, and from this part 41, 90
Second portion 42 rising at an angle slightly smaller than ゜
And a third portion 43 that rises from this portion 42 at an angle smaller than that of the second portion 42. Further, lock claws 44 and 45 and lock release members 46 and 47 are provided on the side walls 31 and 32 of the slider 13 in the sliding direction (up and down direction), respectively. The lock claws 44 and 45 of the slider 13 are provided with grooves 48 formed above and below the cutout grooves 25 and 26 on both side surfaces of the cap connector 11, respectively.
49, and are locked at two places in the sliding direction. When the connector is fitted, the connecting portion 33 of the slider 13 is
0 and the lock claws 44 and 45 are
Get stuck in 8. In this state, the unlocking members 46, 47
When the lock release members 46 and 47 are pushed inward, the lock release members 46 and 47 enter the holes 51 on the side surfaces of the cap connector 12, and the lock claws 44 and 45 come off the grooves 48.

As shown in FIG.
The lead 52 of the male terminal protrudes downward from the lower surface on the base end side of the connector 53. When the lead 52 is inserted into the hole of the board 53 of the audio equipment or the like, the cap connector 12
And the cap connector 12 further including the substrate 53
Is housed inside a housing 54 of an audio device or the like.

FIG. 3 shows a connector 1 constructed as described above.
FIG. 2 is a time-series diagram showing states of the couplings 1 and 12 when they are combined, and shows a cross section taken along the line AA in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1A, in a state before the connectors 11 and 12 are connected,
The slider 13 is at the highest position with respect to the cap connector 12, and the lock claw 44 (45) is engaged with the groove 49 above the cutout groove 25 (26). When the plug connector 11 is pushed into the cap connector 12 in this state, the projections 22 (23) of the plug connector 11 become notched grooves 25 (26) of the cap connector 12 and the slider 13 as shown in FIG. It moves to the back along the guide groove 34. The projection 22 (23) is the guide groove 34
When reaching the second portion 42 of (35), the protrusion 22 (2
3) abuts on that part. In this state, when the slider 13 is pushed in the direction (downward) indicated by the arrow in FIG. 9C, the projection 22 (23) is moved forward by the second portion of the guide groove 34 (35) of the slider 13 by the principle of leverage. Extruded. Since the second portion 42 rises at an angle slightly smaller than 90 ° with respect to the horizontal direction, the plug connector 11 can be reliably pushed forward with a small sliding force.

The projection 22 (23) is a guide groove 34 (35).
When the slider 13 approaches the third portion 43, the inclination of the portion in the horizontal direction is gentler than the inclination of the second portion 42.
3) can be reliably pushed forward. Connector 1
In the final connection state of the sliders 1 and 12, the connecting portion 33 of the slider 13 fits into the concave portion 50 of the cap connector 12 and the locking claws 44 and 45 are locked in the grooves 48 as shown in FIG. Becomes

As described above, according to this embodiment, as the slider 13 is slid, the protrusions 22 (23) move along the guide grooves 34, 35 in a direction to make the connectors 11, 12 deeper. Then, the connectors 11 and 12 are completely connected. In order to achieve a connection with a lower fitting force, it is necessary to generate a large pushing force in the fitting direction of the connectors 11 and 12, and for that purpose, the rising angle of the guide grooves 34 and 35 with respect to the horizontal direction is required. Is preferably close to 90 °. However, when the rising angle approaches 90 °, a large stroke amount of the slider 13 is required, resulting in an increase in the size of the connector. In order to avoid this problem, in this embodiment, the portion where the tip of the male terminal (not shown) crosses the spring piece of the female terminal, that is, the portion requiring the largest fitting force corresponds to the second portion 42,
In this part, since it rises at an angle close to 90 °, a high pushing force can be achieved with a slight sliding force. In addition, since a portion that does not require a large pushing force rises at a smaller angle than that, a stroke amount required to reach a completely fastened state can be further reduced. FIG. 4 shows this, and it can be seen that the fitting force of the connector can be further reduced by adopting the structure of this embodiment.

Conversely, when the connector is to be detached, when the push portions protruding outside the lock pieces 46 and 47 of the slider 13 are pushed inward, the lock claws 44 and 45 are disengaged from the groove 48. When raised in the direction opposite to the arrow direction of FIG. 3C, the projections 22 and 23 move in the separating direction along the guide grooves 34 and 35 by the principle of leverage. be able to.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A slider that slides in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction of the connector is provided on the cap connector, and a guide groove formed in the slider moves the projection of the plug connector in the connector fitting direction with the sliding operation of the slider. In addition, it is possible to realize a fitting operation with a small force in a small space as compared with the rotating operation, and it is possible to reduce the space after the fitting.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure of a connector according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the connector.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state at the time of connection of the connectors in a time-series manner.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between a stroke and a fitting force at the time of coupling of the connector in comparison with a comparative example.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a configuration of a conventional lever connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,11 ... plug connector, 2, 22, 23 ... projection,
3, 12 ... cap connector, 4, 25, 26 ... notch groove, 5, 34, 35 ... guide groove, 6 ... lever member, 13
…Slider.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plug connector comprising: a plug connector; a cap connector fitted with the plug connector; and a slider slidably mounted on the cap connector in a direction orthogonal to a fitting direction of the two connectors. Has projections on both sides thereof, and the cap connector has cutout grooves formed on both sides thereof to guide the projections in the fitting direction from the front to the back when fitting with the plug connector. The slider has a side wall that covers both side surfaces of the cap connector. On this side wall, when the protrusions on both side surfaces of the plug connector are fitted and the slider is slid toward the cap connector side, both connectors are deeper. A connector in which a guide groove for moving the projection in a fitting direction is formed. 2. The guide groove of the slider has a first portion extending in a fitting direction of the two connectors, and extends from the first portion at an angle slightly smaller than 90 ° with respect to the fitting direction. A second part and the first part from the second part;
2. The connector of claim 1 further comprising a third portion extending at an angle between said portion and said second portion.