JP2001167848A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector that prevents lowering of operation of the lock arm and an increase in the size of the connector housing in preventing excessive bending of a lock arm. SOLUTION: The excessive bending of a lock arm in separating direction from a connector housing 10 is prevented by contacting with an engaging portion 20 of an engaging protrusion 17. The engaging protrusion 17 is a means for preventing excessive bending of a lock arm 11 and has a form protruding to outside from the lock arm 11, and thus an upper surface of the lock arm 11 is not necessary to be narrow. When the lock arm 11 is operated with a finger at the top operation is not restricted. Rib 18 is formed in an area along the edge of the lock arm 11, therefore, there is prevented a larger sizing of the connector housing due to formation of the rib at a leading end of the lock arm.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector provided with a lock arm.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-112180 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-1128 disclose a connector having a lock arm.
No. 86 is disclosed. In these, a lock arm is integrally formed on the outer surface of the connector housing, and the lock arm is cantilevered so as to substantially extend along the outer surface of the connector housing from the base end rising from the outer surface of the connector housing. And an extending arm. In the process of mating with the mating connector, the lock arm elastically bends in the direction of coming into contact with the mating connector and approaching the outer surface of the connector housing, and when both connectors reach a normal mating state, the lock arm returns elastically. As a result, the two connectors are locked to the mating connector.

In these connectors, a flexure space for flexing the lock arm is secured between the lock arm and the outer surface of the connector housing, and the lock arm extends in a cantilever manner. The lock arm is configured so that foreign matter can enter the bending space from the extension end side of the lock arm. By the way, there is a situation that a connector is generally packed in a box in a state of being a wire harness and transported by inserting a terminal fitting fixed to an end of an electric wire into a connector housing.
The connector provided with the above-mentioned conventional lock arm is no exception. Therefore, when the connectors are taken out of the box one by one, the wires of the other connectors may enter the bending space and be caught by the lock arm. If the connector is forcibly taken out with the foreign matter caught on the lock arm in this way, the lock arm caught on the electric wire is excessively displaced in a direction away from the outer surface of the connector housing with its base end as a fulcrum. There is a possibility that the locking arm acts and the lock arm is broken at its base end.

Therefore, the following countermeasures are taken in the above-mentioned conventional connector. In the former, a pair of ribs are erected on the upper surface of the connector housing so as to be located on both sides of the lock arm, and both sides of the upper surface of the extension end of the lock arm are cut out to form a relief portion,
An eave portion is formed which protrudes inward (lock arm side) from the rising edge of the rib and advances to the relief portion.
When the lock arm is bent in a direction away from the upper surface of the connector housing due to the foreign matter being caught, further deformation of the lock arm is regulated by contact of the upper surface of the escape portion with the eaves portion, and thus the lock arm Excessive bending is prevented.

In the latter, a U-shaped rib is formed on the upper surface of the connector housing so as to surround the leading edge of the extended end of the lock arm and the left and right side edges.
If the extended end of the lock arm is surrounded from three sides in this way, entry of foreign matter into the bending space is reliably prevented,
As a result, excessive bending of the lock arm is also prevented.

[0006]

According to the former method of the above-mentioned conventional method for preventing excessive bending, the upper surface of the extended end of the lock arm is narrowed by the formation of a relief portion. There is a problem that the operability is not good when performing the release operation.

In the latter means, a space for forming the rib not only on both sides of the lock arm but also on the front end side of the extending end must be secured on the connector housing. There is a problem that The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to prevent the lock arm from being excessively bent and to prevent the lock arm from decreasing in operability and increasing the size of the connector housing.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector housing, and a lock arm configured to protrude in a cantilever manner along the outer surface of the connector housing, wherein the outer surface of the connector housing and the lock arm are provided. A bending space for elastically bending the lock arm at the time of fitting / removing with a mating connector is secured between the inner surface of the arm and the arm. A locking projection is formed, and on the outer surface of the connector housing, a rib having a relief portion for loosely fitting the locking projection is provided upright along with a side surface of the lock arm, and the rib is provided upright. The relief portion is configured to contact the locking projection with a space that allows displacement of the locking projection due to elastic bending of the lock arm toward the bending space. In the a configuration and an engaging portion which prevents the locking arm flexes in a direction away from the connector housing beyond its elastic limit.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the lock arm is excessively deflected in a direction away from the connector housing, the locking projection comes into contact with the locking portion of the rib, so that the locking arm is brought into contact with the locking arm. Of the lock arm is prevented, thereby preventing excessive flexing beyond the elastic limit of the lock arm. Since the excessive bending prevention means on the lock arm side is a locking projection projecting outward from the lock arm, the outer surface of the lock arm does not have to be narrow,
The operability when the finger is operated on the outer surface of the lock arm is not impaired. In addition, since the ribs need only be formed in a region along the side edge of the lock arm, an increase in the size of the connector housing due to the formation of the ribs at the ends of the extending ends of the lock arms is avoided.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The connector of the present embodiment is an outer surface 10A of a synthetic resin connector housing 10 (the upper surface in FIGS. 1 and 3).
And the lock arm 11 is integrally formed. The lock arm 11 has a base end 12 that rises from a center position in the front-rear direction on the outer surface 10A of the connector housing 10;
A lock portion 13 that cantileverly projects forward (leftward in FIGS. 2 and 3) from a rising end (upper end in FIG. 3) of the base end portion 12 so as to substantially extend along the outer surface 10 </ b> A of the connector housing 10. The operating portion 1 that protrudes from the rising end of the end portion 12 in a cantilever manner substantially along the outer surface 10A of the connector housing 10 to the rear opposite to the lock portion 13.
4 The lock arm 11 has a base end 12.
The operating portion 14 can be elastically bent downward (in a direction in which the operating portion 14 approaches the outer surface 10A of the connector housing 10) in a seesaw shape with the rising end as a fulcrum. Therefore, between the inner surface of the operation unit 14 (the lower surface in FIG. 3) and the outer surface 10A of the connector housing 10, a bending space 15 for elastically displacing the operation unit 14 within its elastic limit is secured. .

In the process of mating with the mating connector (not shown), the protruding end of the lock portion 13 of the lock arm 11 comes into contact with a projection formed on the outer surface of the hood portion of the mating connector, so that the lock arm 11 is engaged. When the two connectors are elastically bent and the two connectors reach a normal fitting state, the lock arm 11 is elastically restored, and the locking hole 16 is locked to the projection on the other side, so that both connectors are locked in the fitted state. You. In the connector of the present embodiment, a terminal fitting (not shown) fixed to an end of an electric wire forming a wire harness is inserted into the cavity 22 in the connector housing 10 from the rear, and is packed in a box in that state. The connector is taken out of the box at the wire harness assembly site. At this time, if the electric wire of the other wire harness sneaks into the bending space 15 between the connector housing 10 and the lock arm 11 and is forcibly taken out of the connector while being caught by the operation unit 14, the electric wire is caught on the electric wire. There is a possibility that the lock arm 11 is forcibly bent in a direction away from the outer surface 10A of the connector housing 10 (a direction opposite to a normal elastic bending) to break the operating part 14 in the worst case.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a countermeasure is taken. Hereinafter, the structure will be described. Lock arm 1
The one operating portion 14 is formed with a pair of locking projections 17 protruding outward from both left and right outer surfaces. On the other hand, a pair of plate-like ribs 18 that stand on both left and right sides of the lock arm 11 are formed on the outer surface 10 </ b> A of the connector housing 10. The ribs 18 are arranged so as to correspond to the left and right side edges of the operation section 14 of the lock arm 11 with a slight gap therebetween, and are configured to close the bending space 15 from the side. The ribs 18 have relief portions 19 for loosely fitting the locking projections 17 of the lock arm 11. The relief portion 19 has a hole shape penetrating between the inner surface and the outer surface of the rib 18, and the projecting end of the locking projection 17 protrudes into the space of the relief portion 19.

The movable range of the locking projection 17 in the escape portion 19 is set as follows. When the lock arm 11 elastically flexes in the direction in which the lock arm 11 advances into the flexure space 15 (downward in FIG. 3) with the fitting / removal with the mating connector,
The locking projection 17 is provided at the escape portion 19 over the entire bending area.
Therefore, the ordinary elastic bending of the lock arm 11 accompanying the fitting / removal with the mating connector can be freely performed. On the other hand, with respect to the bending of the lock arm 11 in the direction away from the connector housing 10 (upward in FIG. 3), the lock arm 11 is slightly bent (the bending amount of the lock arm 11 is within the elastic limit). (2) When bent, the locking projection 17 comes into contact with the locking portion 20 at the upper edge of the opening edge of the escape portion 19,
This abutment prevents further bending of the lock arm 11.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. Even if the electric wire approaches the lock arm 11 from the rear while facing in the left-right direction that intersects the length direction of the lock arm 11, the electric wire abuts on the rear end surface of the rib 18 when it rises, so that the bending space is formed. Intrusion into the inside is prevented. In addition, the folded portion of the electric wire bent into a U-shape enters the gap between the lock arm 11 and the rib 18 while flexing the space 1.
5 and lock arm 11 and rib 1
Since the locking projection 17 is provided so as to be inserted between the wire 8 and the wire 8, there is no possibility that the electric wire enters the bending space 15.

In the unlikely event that an electric wire enters the bending space 15 and is caught by the operating portion 14 of the lock arm 11, the lock arm 11 is forcibly displaced in a direction away from the connector housing 10.
Is slightly displaced, the locking projection 17 is released
And the lock arm 11 is prevented from further displacing in the direction away from the connector housing 10. In this way, the lock arm 11 is reliably prevented from being flexed excessively beyond its elastic limit in the opposite direction.

As described above, the means for preventing excessive bending on the lock arm 11 side is provided by the operating section 14 of the lock arm 11.
The projection 17 is formed so as to protrude outward from the side edge thereof, so that the upper surface of the operation unit does not have to be narrowed as in the case where the eaves are protruded inward from the rib side. . Therefore, the operability at the time of performing the unlocking operation by directing a finger on the upper surface of the operation unit 14 is not impaired. Further, the rib 18 which is a means for preventing excessive bending on the connector housing 10 side is arranged only on the side of the lock arm 11, but the connector housing 10 has a width 22 because the cavities 22 are formed in the width direction. The dimensions are inherently large, so the side area of the lock arm 11 is considered dead space. Therefore, there is no possibility that the connector housing 10 is enlarged by arranging the rib 18 on the side of the lock arm 11.

On the other hand, in the front-rear direction, when the size of the terminal fitting is small, the rear end of the lock arm may be located at substantially the same position as the rear end of the connector housing. In order to form the rib further rearward, it is necessary to extend the connector housing rearward, which leads to an increase in the size of the connector housing. In this regard, in the present embodiment, the ribs 18 need only be arranged on the side of the lock arm 11, so that the size of the connector housing 10 does not need to be increased.

[Other Embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the above embodiment, the relief portion is formed as a hole penetrating between the inner and outer surfaces of the rib. However, according to the present invention, the inner surface may be recessed. (2) In the above embodiment, the locking projections and the ribs are provided on both the left and right sides, but according to the present invention, they may be provided on only one of the left and right sides.

(3) In the above embodiment, the case where the lock arm is of a type that is elastically deformed into a seesaw shape has been described. However, the present invention is also applicable to a case where the lock arm has a single beam shape. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector housing 11 ... Lock arm 15 ... Flexure space 17 ... Locking projection 18 ... Rib 19 ... Release part 20 ... Locking part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A connector housing comprising: a connector housing; and a lock arm configured to protrude in a cantilever manner along an outer surface of the connector housing. A mating side is provided between an outer surface of the connector housing and an inner surface of the lock arm. A locking space that elastically bends the lock arm at the time of fitting / removing with the connector is secured. A locking projection protruding outward is formed on a side edge of the lock arm. On the outer surface, a rib is formed along a side surface of the lock arm and formed with a relief portion for loosely fitting the locking projection. The relief portion is provided in the bending space of the lock arm. A space allowing the displacement of the locking projection due to the elastic bending to the side, and the locking arm being brought into contact with the locking projection so that the lock arm has its elastic limit. A connector that prevents the connector housing from flexing in a direction away from the connector housing beyond a certain degree.