JP2002190358A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely edge separate from one connector holder, after a male connector and a female connector have been inserted surely. SOLUTION: It advances a female holder 16 toward a fixed male holder 14, in the process of inserting a male connector 10 and female connector 12, female connector locking release 34 cancels stop linking of female connector 12 by female side stop linking 28 via release intermediate 36 as well as the cancelled intermediation 36 and auxiliary locking 42 are connected and prevent female connector 12 from retreating in the female side holder 16. As both connectors 10, 12 complete insertion, the released intermediate 36 and auxiliary locking 42 cancel, to connect and proceed only the female holder 16. Because of this advance, a male connector locking cancellation 44 cancels fitting male connector 10 by male side locking 18 and both connectors 10, 12 inserted separates from male side holder 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector device mainly used for connecting electrical components of an automobile to a wire harness or connecting modules.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when assembling electrical components such as a meter on a vehicle body, an operator holds a connector on a wire harness side by hand, fits it into a connector on the electrical component side, and then connects the electrical component. It is common to take the procedure of fixing to the vehicle body.

On the other hand, recently, in order to improve the workability of assembling electrical components, a connector on a wire harness side is attached to a predetermined position on a vehicle body, and when assembling the electrical component on the vehicle body, the connector on the electrical component side is connected to the connector. A method of completing the fitting with the connector on the wire harness side has been proposed. In addition, for example, a method of attaching one connector to the door inner panel, attaching the other connector to the door trim, and completing the fitting of the two connectors when assembling the door trim to the door inner panel is also conceivable.

[0004]

However, as described above, one of the connectors is mounted on the fixed body in a standby state, and the other connector is mounted on the mounting member mounted on the fixed body, and is mounted on the fixed body. In the case where the two connectors are fitted together with the assembly of the members, the following problem occurs. That is, since the fixed body and the assembling member each have dimensional tolerance, if the dimensional tolerance in the connector fitting direction is large, the fitting of both connectors is completed even after the mounting of the assembling member to the fixed body. Connection may not be completed and the connection status may be incomplete. Also, when the vibration mode of the fixed body and the vibration mode of the assembly member are different, a load is applied to the terminal connection portions of both connectors due to a shift in the vibration mode,
The reliability of the connection may be reduced.

In order to avoid this problem, after fitting of both connectors is completed, one of the connectors is opened (cut) from the holder, and the mounting member is mounted on the fixed body. It is preferable that the fitting of both connectors be completed before completion. However, when assembling the mounting member to the fixed body, it is difficult to continuously perform mating of both connectors and trimming of one connector from the holder, and the trimming may occur before the mating of the connectors is completed. However, even when the connector is fitted, the case where the rim is incomplete is likely to occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector in which the fitting of a connector and the beveling of one connector from a holder can be reliably performed only by applying a force in a fitting direction. It is to provide a device.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve this object, a connector device according to the present invention comprises a first connector (for example, a male connector) and a second connector (for example, a female connector) fitted with the first connector. ), A first holder for holding the first connector, and a second holder for holding the second connector, wherein the first holder,
The first holder has a first locking piece for locking the first connector relatively not to retract, and the second holder is configured to prevent the second connector from relatively retracting therein. The first connector has a second locking piece that locks, and the first connector engages the second connector with the second locking piece during the process of fitting the first connector and the second connector. The first connector has a first unlocking portion for releasing the lock, and the second connector is configured such that when the first unlocking portion releases the locking of the second connector by the second locking piece, A release mediation piece that is interposed between the first unlocking portion and the second locking piece to mediate unlocking, and the second holder is configured such that the first unlocking portion is released. Unlock the second connector with the second locking piece via the intermediary piece, and wait until the mating between the first connector and the second connector is completed. An auxiliary locking portion that engages with the release mediation piece and locks the second connector so as not to retreat relatively in the second holder; and the second holder further includes the first holder. After the mating between the connector and the second connector is completed, the second holder has a second unlocking portion for unlocking the first connector by the first locking piece. When the first connector is relatively advanced toward the first holder, in the process of fitting the first connector and the second connector, the first unlocking portion is disengaged with the second connector via the release mediating piece. While releasing the locking of the second connector by the locking piece, the release mediating piece and the auxiliary locking portion are engaged to prevent the second connector from retreating in the second holder, and When the mating between the connector and the second connector is completed, the engagement between the release mediating piece and the auxiliary locking portion is released, and the second Only the holder advances relative to the first connector and the second connector, and with this advance, the second unlocking portion unlocks the first connector by the first locking piece. The two connectors in the fitted state are cut off from the first holder.

[0008] The release mediating piece in the connector device of the present invention is displaced by the first locking release part in the process of fitting the two connectors so that the second locking piece is displaced in the locking releasing direction. Is formed in the auxiliary locking portion,
It is preferable that the release mediation piece is formed so as to engage with the release mediation piece and prevent the second connector from retreating when the release mediation piece is pushed away by the first lock release part.

[0009]

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

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a connector device according to the present invention before fitting, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the connector device of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4B is a vertical sectional view of the connector device, and FIG. In the figure, 10 is a male connector having a male terminal (not shown) in a plastic housing, 12 is a female connector having a female terminal (not shown) in a plastic housing,
Reference numeral 14 denotes a male holder for holding the male connector 10, and 16 denotes a female holder for holding the female connector 12. Male holder 14
Is shown in FIG. 2 as being separated into two parts,
Actually, it is formed integrally with a fixing member on the vehicle body or equipment side.

The male holder 14 has a male locking piece 18 inside the both side walls for locking the male connector 10 so that the male connector 10 does not relatively retract. As shown in FIG. 2, the male locking piece 18 is connected to the distal end of the male holder 14 (female connector).
The elastic piece 12 has a free end on the free end and a fixed end on the rear end, and has a triangular inward projection 20 and an upward (or downward) engaging projection 22 on the free end. When the male connector 10 is mounted on the male holder 14 from the rear end side, the locking protrusion 22 and the male connector 10 side are positioned at a position where the stopper wall 24 at the rear end of the male connector 10 abuts against the rear end of the male holder 14. Is engaged, and the male connector 10 is held so as not to retreat (of course, it cannot advance).

The female holder 16 has a female locking piece 28 at the tip end of the upper and lower walls (on the male connector 10 side) for locking the female connector 12 so as not to relatively retreat therein. I have. The female locking piece 28 is an elastic piece having a fixed end on the front end side of the female side holder 16 and a free end on the rear end side, and has an inward locking projection 30 near the free end. When the female connector 12 is mounted on the female holder 14 from the distal end side, the locking projections 30 are formed in the first-stage locking holes 32 formed in the peripheral wall of the female connector 12 by the elasticity of the female locking pieces 28. When the female connector 12 falls, the female connector 12 is held at that position so that it cannot be advanced or retracted.

A second-stage locking hole 33 is formed on the peripheral wall of the female connector 12 at a position more distal than the first-stage locking hole 32. After the mating of the male connector 10 and the female connector 12 is completed, the second-stage locking hole 33 is provided with the locking projection 30 of the female locking piece 28.
Is a part that holds the female connector 12 so that it cannot fall back.

The male connector 10 is provided with a female connector unlocking portion 34 for unlocking the female connector 12 by the female locking piece 28 in the process of fitting the male connector 10 and the female connector 12.
have. The unlocking portion 34 is in the form of a triangular-shaped projection formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the male connector 10.

On the other hand, when the female connector unlocking portion 34 releases the female connector 12 from being locked by the female locking piece 28, the distal end of the female connector 12 There is a release mediating piece 36 that is interposed between the side locking pieces 28 and mediates the unlocking. This release mediating piece 36 is
Is a resilient piece having a free end on the distal end side and a fixed end on the rear end side, the distal end of which is formed so as to contact the inside of the distal end of the female locking piece 28. Further, the release mediating piece 36 has a substantially triangular inward convex portion 38 which is pushed away by the female connector lock releasing portion 34 at the tip thereof, and an outward concave portion is provided outside the inward convex portion 38. Forty are formed.

The female holder 16 has an inwardly projecting auxiliary locking portion 42 near the free end of the female locking piece 28. The auxiliary locking portion 42 is provided with the female connector unlocking portion 34.
The female connector by the female locking piece 28 via the release mediating piece 36
Unlock the female connector 12 by engaging the concave portion 40 of the release mediating piece 36 until the engagement of the male connector 10 and the female connector 12 is completed. It is. Between the auxiliary locking portion 42 and the free end of the female locking piece 42,
A slight gap is provided so as not to hinder the elastic deformation of the female locking piece 42.

Further, the female holder 16 is provided with the male connector 10.
After the mating of the female connector 12 with the male
A male connector unlocking piece 44 for unlocking the male connector 10 by 18 is provided on both sides. This lock release piece
Reference numeral 44 denotes an elastic piece having a free end on the leading end side of the female holder 16 and a fixed end on the rear end side. It has. On both side surfaces of the female connector 12, slits 50 through which the male connector unlocking pieces 44 pass are formed.

Next, a fitting process of the connector device will be described. The male holder 14 is fixed to, for example, a vehicle body or a device, and the male connector 10 is held by the male holder 14 as shown in FIGS. The female-side holder 16 is fixed to an electric component or the like assembled to the vehicle body or the device, and the female connector 12 is held by the female-side holder 16 as shown in FIGS. This is the initial state. From this state, when the female holder 16 is advanced toward the male holder 14, first, the fitting between the male connector 10 and the female connector 12 proceeds as shown in FIG.
On the way, the inward convex portion 38 of the release mediation piece 36 abuts against the female connector locking release portion 34. During this time, the male connector unlocking piece 44 of the female holder 16 passes through the groove 52 on the outer peripheral surface of the male connector 10 while its tip is slightly pushed open.

When the female side holder 16 is further pushed in the direction of the arrow, as shown in FIG.
The female connector 38 is pushed outward by the female connector unlocking portion 34 and rides on the female connector unlocking portion 34. For this reason, the tip of the release mediating piece 36 elastically deforms the female locking piece 28 outward, and the locking projection 30 of the female locking piece 28 comes out of the first-stage locking hole 32. In parallel with this, the concave portion 42 of the release mediation piece 36 (FIG. 4)
) Engages with the auxiliary locking portion 42. At this stage, the locking of the female connector 12 by the female locking piece 28 is released, but since the concave portion of the release mediation piece 36 and the auxiliary locking portion 42 are engaged, the female connector 12 is held in the female holder 16. The fitting with the male connector 10 proceeds without retreating.

When the fitting advances a little more than in FIG. 5, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the inward convex portion 38 of the release mediation piece 36 passes through the top of the female connector locking release portion 34, and the locking projection 30 of the female side locking piece 28 slides on the outer peripheral wall surface of the female connector 12. I do.

When the fitting is further advanced and the fitting between the male connector 10 and the female connector 12 is completed, the inward convex portion 38 of the release mediation piece 36 gets over the female connector locking release portion 34 as shown in FIG. . Therefore, the release mediating piece 36 returns to its original state due to its elasticity, and the engagement between the concave portion 40 and the auxiliary locking portion 42 is released. At this stage, the male connector 10 is still held by the male holder 14 and the female connector 12 cannot advance any further, after which only the female holder 16 advances.

Only the female holder 16 moves forward, and FIG.
As shown in (A), when the locking projection 30 of the female side locking piece 28 comes to a position where it enters the second-stage locking hole 33 of the female connector 12, as shown in FIG. , Male connector unlocking piece 44
The inward projection 46 at the tip of the male connector 10 falls into the concave portion 54 of the male connector 10, and the outward projection 48 abuts against the inward projection 20 of the male locking piece 18.

When the female holder 16 further moves forward, as shown in FIG. 9A, the locking projection 30 of the female locking piece 28
The female holder 16 cannot move forward relative to the female connector 12 because the female holder 16 falls into the locking hole 33 of the step. At this stage, the step 56 on the inner surface of the female holder 16 contacts the rear end surface of the female connector 12, and the female holder 16 is
Press 12 On the other hand, the locking projection 30 of the female locking piece 28
As shown in FIG. 4B, the outward projection 48 of the male connector unlocking piece 44 is connected to the inward projection of the male locking piece 18 as shown in FIG. 20 is pushed outward, the locking projection 22 (see FIG. 2) of the male locking piece 18 is disengaged from the locking projection 26 of the male connector 10 (the locking of the male connector 10 by the male locking piece 18 is stopped). Will be released).

As a result, the female-side holder 16 can be further pushed in the direction of the arrow, and as shown in FIG.
Together with the male holder 14. In other words, after the mating of the connectors 10 and 12 is completed, the female holder 16 can move forward relative to the male holder 14, and accordingly, the member to which the female holder 16 is attached and the male holder 14 It is possible to absorb the variation in the dimension of the member to which the is attached in the connector fitting direction. The mated connectors 10 and 12 are connected to the male holder 14
Because the vibration of the connector side is not affected, even if there is a difference in the vibration mode between the member to which the female holder 16 is attached and the member to which the male holder 14 is attached, a load is applied to the terminal connection parts of both connectors. Is no longer required.

In order to release the mating between the male connector 10 and the female connector 12, the reverse operation may be performed.

In the above embodiment, the case where the first connector is a male connector and the second connector is a female connector has been described. On the contrary, the first connector is a female connector and the second connector is a second connector. The connector may be a male connector.

[0027]

According to the present invention as described above,
Only by continuously applying force in the connector fitting direction to the first holder and the second holder, the first connector and the second connector are securely fitted, and then both connectors in the fitted state are brought into the first state. Can be reliably cut off from the holder. Therefore, even if the members to which the first holder is attached and the members to which the second holder is attached have variations in the dimensions in the connector fitting direction, the variations can be absorbed and a proper connection state can be reliably obtained. Further, since there is no possibility that a load is applied to the terminal connection portions of the two connectors due to the shift of the vibration mode, a highly reliable connection state can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a connector device according to the present invention.
The perspective view shown in the state before fitting.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the connector device of FIG.

3A is a vertical sectional view and FIG. 3B is a horizontal sectional view of the connector device of FIG.

FIG. 4A is a vertical sectional view, and FIG. 4B is a horizontal sectional view, showing a state in which the female side holder is advanced from the state of FIG.

5 (A) is a vertical sectional view, and FIG. 5 (B) is a horizontal sectional view, showing a state where the fitting is slightly advanced from the state of FIG.

6 (A) is a vertical sectional view, and FIG. 6 (B) is a horizontal sectional view, showing a state where the fitting has progressed slightly from the state of FIG.

FIG. 7 shows a state in which the fitting has progressed a little from the state of FIG. 6 and the fitting of both connectors has been completed, (A) is a vertical sectional view,
(B) is a horizontal sectional view.

8 (A) is a vertical sectional view, and FIG. 8 (B) is a horizontal sectional view, showing a state in which the female holder is slightly advanced from the state of FIG.

FIG. 9 shows that the female holder slightly advances from the state of FIG.
FIG. 6A is a vertical sectional view, and FIG. 6B is a horizontal sectional view, showing a state in which the locking of the male connector is released.

10 shows a state in which the female holder is further advanced from the state of FIG. 9 and both connectors are cut off from the male holder, (A) is a vertical sectional view, and (B) is a horizontal sectional view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10: Male connector 12: Female connector 14: Male side holder 16: Female side holder 18: Male side locking piece 20: Inward projection 22: Male side holder 14 side locking projection 26: Male connector 10 side locking Projection 28: Female side locking piece 30: Locking projection 32: First-stage locking hole 33: Second-stage locking hole 34: Female connector locking release part (first locking release part) 36: Release mediation piece 38: Inward convex part 40: Outward concave part 42: Auxiliary lock part 44: Male connector lock release part (second lock release part) 46: Inward protrusion 48: Outward protrusion

Claims (2)

[Claims] A first connector (10), a second connector (12) fitted with the first connector, a first holder (14) for holding the first connector, A second holder (16) for holding a second connector, wherein the first holder (14) locks the first connector (10) so that the first connector (10) does not relatively retract. A second locking piece (18) for locking the second connector (12) so that the second connector (12) does not relatively retract. 28), wherein the first connector (10) is a second connector (12) by the second locking piece (28) during the process of fitting the first connector and the second connector. A first unlocking portion (34) for unlocking the first connector, and the second connector (12) includes the first unlocking portion (3).
4) When the second locking piece (28) releases the locking of the second connector (12), the first locking release portion (34) and the second locking piece (28) The second holder (16) includes a release mediation piece (36) that mediates the release of the lock between the first holder and the first lock release part (34) via the release mediation piece (36). And the second locking piece (28)
Until the first connector (10) and the second connector (12) are completely engaged with the release mediating piece (36). And an auxiliary locking portion (42) for locking the second connector (12) so as not to retreat relatively within the second holder (16), and further comprising the second holder (16). A second unlocking mechanism for unlocking the first connector (10) by the first locking piece (18) after the fitting of the first connector and the second connector is completed. Part (44), and when the second holder (16) is relatively advanced toward the first holder (14), the first connector (10)
In the process of fitting the second connector (12) and the second connector (12), the first locking release portion (34) is connected to the second connector (28) by the second locking piece (28) via the release mediating piece (36). At the same time as releasing the lock of 12), it is necessary to prevent the release intermediate piece (36) and the auxiliary locking portion (42) from engaging and the second connector (12) retreating in the second holder (16). When the first connector and the second connector are mated,
The engagement between the release mediating piece (36) and the auxiliary locking portion (42) is released, and only the second holder (16) advances relatively to the first connector and the second connector. By forward movement, the second unlocking portion (44) unlocks the first connector (10) by the first locking piece (18), and the connectors (10, 12) in the fitted state The connector from the first holder (14). 2. The release mediating piece (36) is connected to both connectors (10, 10).
12) is formed so as to be displaced in the unlocking direction by being pushed away by the first unlocking portion (34) in the process of fitting. Stop (4
2) engages with the release mediation piece (36) to prevent the second connector (12) from retreating when the release mediation piece (36) is pushed away by the first lock release part (34). The connector device according to claim 1, wherein the connector device is formed so as to make a connection.