JP2002231387A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide fitting resistance generating means which does not involve changes in the shape of another connector, without loosing a sense of clicking if a lock arm is operated to be unlocked. SOLUTION: A resistance arm 29 is provided separately from the lock arm 25. The resistance arm 29 generates fitting resistance, while involving a sense of clicking when engaging a rib 17 of another connector 10. The rib 17 is provided for protecting an engagement portion 14 with the lock arm 25. Even if the lock arm 25 is operated to be fitted as unlocked, the fitting resistance is positively generated by the resistance arm 29. Still, the rib 17, existing independently of the resistance arm 29, does not require changes in the shape of a mating connector, if the resistance arm 29 is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector which is locked by a lock arm in a mating state of a mating connector fitting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When mating connectors, when the mating resistance generated between the terminals in the mating process increases, the worker may mistakenly think that the mating operation has been completed. In this case, the connector is left in a half-fitted state. In order to prevent the connector from remaining half-fitted, a mechanism called an inertial lock is used. In this method, a fitting resistance generating means for temporarily generating a fitting resistance larger than the fitting resistance between terminals in a fitting process is provided, and the fitting resistance is overcome by overcoming the fitting resistance by the fitting resistance generating means. When passing through the resistance generating area, the fitting resistance is rapidly relaxed so that the worker can feel a sense of moderation, and the two connectors are brought into the normal fitting state by the momentum at the time of passing.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the fitting resistance generating means. This is a method in which the lock arm 2 of one connector 1 is engaged with the engagement portion 4 of the mating connector 3 to lock both connectors 1 and 3 in a fitted state. When the distal end of the lock arm 2 abuts on the engaging portion 4, the frictional force generated at the abutting portion due to the elasticity of the lock arm 2 is increased to make it difficult for the lock arm 2 to climb over the engaging portion 4. This causes a mating resistance.

[0004]

In such a structure in which the fitting resistance is increased, a large force is required for the fitting operation. A fitting operation may be performed. However, in this case, since the lock arm 2 does not abut against the engagement portion 4, a sense of moderation cannot be obtained, and it is difficult to determine the fitted state. On the other hand, as another mating resistance generating means, there is Japanese Utility Model No.
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 95174. As shown in FIG. 7, this is provided with a pair of lock arms 5 and a resistance arm 6 that can be elastically bent independently of the lock arms 5, and is provided on an engagement portion (not shown) on the other side. On the other hand, both arms 5 and 6 are engaged. In this structure, even if the lock arm 5 is in the unlocked position, the resistance arm 6 is hardly bent, so that there is no possibility that a sense of moderation may not be obtained. However, since the resistance arm 6 is provided so as to be interrupted between the lock arms 5, the position of the lock arm 5 is displaced outward by a space necessary for providing the resistance arm 6. Therefore, the position of the engaging portion of the mating connector must also be shifted outward, and the shape of the mating connector needs to be changed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and does not lose a sense of moderation even when the lock arm is unlocked, and does not require a change in the shape of the mating connector. It is intended to provide a means.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, one of a pair of housings that can be fitted with each other is provided with a lock arm that can be elastically bent, and the other housing has this lock arm. And a connector provided with an engaging portion that locks the two housings in a fitted state by engaging with the housing, one of the pair of housings constitutes a part of the housing. A resistance arm which is allowed to be elastically deformed independently of the lock arm and is provided with an abutting portion which can abut against the resistance arm in the other housing; In the above, when the resistance arm abuts against the abutting portion, a fitting resistance due to the elasticity of the resistance arm occurs, and , Characterized in was configured to the connection resistance is reduced by the resistance arms by fitting operation force to overcome the mating resistance is resiliently deformed to dissociate direction from the abutting portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the resistance arm is formed on a hood portion provided on the housing. A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the resistance arm is configured to elastically bend in a direction parallel to an outer surface of the housing. Claim 4
In the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the lock arm is disposed at a center position of the housing, and the resistance arm is symmetrically paired at both sides of the lock arm. It has a characteristic where it is arranged. A fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, a front end face of a rib arranged so as to sandwich the engaging portion from both sides is the abutting portion. Have. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, the resistance arm is configured to elastically return when the pair of housings are properly fitted.

[0008]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, in the process of fitting to the mating connector, the resistance arm is engaged with the abutting portion to generate fitting resistance, and this fitting is performed. When the fitting operation proceeds with the force overcoming the resistance, the resistance arm is elastically bent, and the fitting resistance is reduced. At this time, the worker can feel a sense of moderation by relaxing the fitting resistance, and a normal fitting state is reached by the strength of the fitting operation that has overcome the fitting resistance. Since the resistance arm is provided independently of the lock arm, even if the lock arm is bent in the disengagement direction from the engagement portion at the time of fitting, the resistance arm is engaged with the abutting portion. Mating resistance is generated reliably.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the elasticity of the resistance arm is increased by increasing the size of the resistance arm in the bending direction in order to increase the fitting resistance, the bending direction of the resistance arm is adjusted to the outer surface of the connector housing. Being parallel, the dimension of the resistance arm in the direction perpendicular to the outer surface of the connector housing does not need to be changed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the connector from becoming large due to an increase in the fitting resistance. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the resistance arm is provided symmetrically in a pair with the lock arm interposed therebetween, so that the resistance of the resistance arm is evenly generated on both sides of the lock arm. At the time of occurrence, the connector housing is prevented from being inclined with respect to the fitting direction. Claim 5
In the present invention, since the resistance arm engages with the ribs provided on both sides of the engagement portion of the mating connector, it is not necessary to separately provide a member for engaging the resistance arm.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. A mating connector 11 is provided in the housing 10 of the electric device by integral molding. The mating connector 11 has a tubular fitting portion 12 projecting from the housing 10 in a rectangular tubular shape, and in the tubular fitting portion 12, a male terminal 13 connected to a circuit in the electric equipment is provided. It is protruding. A female connector (a connector which is a component of the present invention) 20 is fitted into the tubular fitting portion 12.

The lock arm 2 of the female connector 20 is provided on the upper surface (the upper surface in FIGS. 1 and 5) of the cylindrical fitting portion 12.
5 is formed to protrude. The engaging portion 14 is disposed at a central position in the left-right direction perpendicular to the fitting direction of the connectors 11 and 20. The engaging portion 14 has an inclined guiding surface 15 for guiding the lock arm 25 to smoothly bend upward without causing a lock when the female connector 20 is fitted.
Are formed. On the opposite side of the guide surface 15 of the engaging portion 14, a locking surface 16 that is perpendicular to the fitting direction with the female connector 20 is formed.
When the female connector 20 and the female connector 20 are fitted, the lock arm 25 is locked on the locking surface 16 so that the connectors 11 and 20 are locked in the fitted state.

On the upper surface of the cylindrical fitting portion 12, a pair of ribs 17 symmetrically disposed on both left and right sides with the engaging portion 14 interposed therebetween.
Are formed. These ribs 17 are arranged relatively close to the engaging portion 14 and are parallel to the fitting direction of the connectors 11 and 20. The provision of the pair of ribs 17 enables the engagement portion 1
4 is prevented from interfering with other members from the left and right directions. It is a well-known configuration to provide a pair of ribs 17 on both sides to protect the engaging portion 14 in this manner.

Next, the female connector 20 according to the present embodiment
Will be described. The female connector 20 includes a connector housing 21 in which a female terminal 22 is housed, and a hood 23 surrounding a substantially front half area of the connector housing 21. The cylindrical fitting portion 12 of the mating connector 11 is fitted inside the hood portion 23. A central portion in the left-right direction of the upper surface of the hood portion 23 is raised upward, and the raised portion becomes an operating space 24 corresponding to the upper surface of the tubular fitting portion 12 in the fitted state. .

A lock arm 25 is provided in the working space 24 so as to be cantilevered from the upper surface of the connector housing 21 and to be elastically deformable in a vertical direction. The lock arm 25 is disposed at a central position in the left-right direction so as to face the engaging portion 14 of the mating connector 11. Mating connector 11 and female connector 20
Are properly fitted, the locking projections 26 at the distal ends of the lock arms 25 are engaged with the locking surfaces 16 of the engaging portions 14, so that the connectors 11, 20 are locked undetachably. When the operation portion 27 at the rear end of the lock arm 25 is pressed down, the lock arm 25 elastically bends and
The lock is released by disengaging 6 from locking surface 16.

A pair of left and right side walls 28 constituting the inside of the working space 24 of the hood 23 are respectively provided with the working space 2.
Resistance arm 29 extending cantilever forward in 4
Are formed. The resistance arm 29 is disposed near the left and right sides of the lock arm 25 and is symmetrical about the lock arm 25. When the connectors 11 and 20 are fitted together, the resistance arm 29 is The rib 17 of the mating connector 11 extends along the outer surface. The resistance arm 29 can elastically bend in the left-right direction, that is, in a direction parallel to the upper surface of the connector housing 21.

At the distal end of the resistance arm 29, an abutment projection 30 projecting inward (toward the lock arm 25) is formed. So that it hits the front end of the The contact surface 3 of the abutting projection 30 with the rib 17
1 is inclined at a tight angle close to a right angle to the fitting direction. Therefore, when the reaction force acting from the rib 17 side to the abutting projection 30 side due to the operation force at the time of fitting acts as a pressing force for elastically bending the resistance arm 29 outward, the pressing force in the bending direction is kept small. Can be Therefore, to deflect the resistance arm 29 outward against its elasticity,
A considerably large fitting operation force is required. In this manner, a large fitting resistance is generated by the resistance arm 29, and a so-called inertial lock is formed.

The magnitude of the mating resistance by the resistance arm 29 is larger than the mating resistance generated due to frictional resistance between the male terminal 13 and the female terminal 22 when the connectors 11 and 20 are mated. It is set to be a large value. Further, when the fitting resistance is generated by the resistance arm 29, the male terminal 13 and the female terminal 22 are not connected.
The dimensions of each member are set so that the members are not fitted. The surface of the abutment protrusion 30 opposite to the contact surface 31 is a guide surface 32 inclined at a relatively small angle with respect to the fitting direction. The guide surface 32 is
By engaging with the rear end edge, the resistance arm 29 functions to be smoothly bent outward.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. Hood portion 23 of female connector 20 is connected to mating connector 1
When the fitting operation is performed by pressing the female connector 20 against the mating connector 11 while externally fitting to the one cylindrical fitting portion 12, the female terminal 22 is fitted to the male terminal 13 in the fitting process. Previously, the abutting projection 30 of the resistance arm 29 abuts on the front end of the rib 17, and a large fitting resistance due to the elasticity of the resistance arm 29 is instantaneously generated. When the pressing force on the mating connector 11 is increased from this state,
When the pressing force exceeds the magnitude of the fitting resistance by the resistance arm 29, the resistance arm 29 elastically bends outward and the abutment projection 30 comes off the rib 17, whereby the fitting resistance by the resistance arm 29 sharply increases. To be relaxed. The operator can feel a sense of moderation due to the abrupt change in the fitting resistance, which indicates that the function of the inertial lock has been exhibited.

When the fitting resistance by the resistance arm 29 is suddenly reduced in this way, the fitting of the two connectors 11 and 20 progresses at once by the force of the pressing force, and a normal fitting state is reached. At this time, the male terminal 13 and the female terminal 22
Is generated due to friction between the arm 2 and the resistance arm 2.
Since the pressing force exceeding the mating resistance of No. 9 is larger than the mating resistance of the terminals, both terminals are properly mated without any trouble. In addition, the resistance arm 29 elastically bent outward is
After the abutting projection 30 is brought into sliding contact with the outer side surface of the rib 17, the abutting projection 30 is elastically restored in a properly fitted state, and is engaged with the rear end edge of the rib 17.

On the other hand, the lock arm 25 is
9 is not engaged with the engaging portion 14 of the mating connector 11 and the resistance arm 29
After the mating resistance of the connector is relaxed, the lock arm 25 moves over the engaging portion 14 while elastically bending upward, and the locking projection 26 is locked on the locking surface 16 at the same time as the normal fitting state is reached. 11 and 20 are locked irremovably.
In the state where the lock is performed by the lock arm 25, the locking function is also exhibited by the abutment projection 30 of the resistance arm 29 being engaged with the rear end edge of the rib 17. High reliability.

When the connectors 11 and 20 are separated from each other, the lock by the lock arm 25 may be released to separate the connectors 11 and 20. At this time, since the abutting projection 30 is formed with the guide surface 32 inclined with respect to the pull-out direction, the resistance arm 29 can elastically bend outward without generating a large resistance. Engagement with the ribs 17 does not greatly hinder the detachment operation of the connectors 11 and 20.

As described above, the inertial lock function in the present embodiment is not provided by the engagement between the lock arm 25 and the engagement portion 14, but is provided separately from the lock arm 25. If the lock arm 2 is used,
Even if the fitting operation is performed in a state where the elastic member 5 is elastically bent in the unlocking direction (upward), the function of the inertial lock is not affected at all, and the reliability of the inertial lock function is high.

The rib 17 of the mating connector 11 is
Regardless of the provision of the resistance arm 29 on the female connector 20, the mating connector 11
It is a well-known thing which is already established in. Therefore, when the female connector 20 of the present embodiment is applied, it is not necessary to change the shape of the mating connector 11 and the electric device integrally formed with the mating connector 11, which is advantageous in terms of cost. Further, in this embodiment, the lock arm 25 is connected to the female connector 2.
Since the resistance arm 29 is disposed symmetrically about the lock arm 25 at the center position of the lock arm 25, the fitting resistance by the resistance arm 29 acts on the left and right sides evenly. Therefore, the posture of the female connector 20 is prevented from tilting left and right due to the action of the fitting resistance by the resistance arm 29, and the operability is excellent. Moreover, the resistance arm 2
The fitting resistance is twice as large as that of the case where only one piece is provided at 9.

In order to increase the fitting resistance of the resistance arm 29, it is conceivable to increase the width of the resistance arm 29 in the left-right direction, which is the direction in which the resistance arm 29 bends. Since the direction is parallel to the upper surface of the connector housing 21, the height of the connector housing 21 does not increase. Moreover, in the plane parallel to the upper surface of the connector housing 21, there is a wide space outside the resistance arm 29, so there is no possibility that the dimension of the left and right width of the connector housing 21 becomes large. That is, even if the size of the resistance arm 29 is changed for the purpose of increasing the fitting resistance, the connector housing 21 does not need to be enlarged.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and described with reference to 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) The resistance arm may be provided only on one of the left and right sides of the lock arm. (2) The resistance arm may be elastically bent inward (lock arm side) with respect to the rib.

(3) The elastic bending direction of the resistance arm may be perpendicular to the upper surface of the connector housing. (4) In the present embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a female connector has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to a male connector.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state where a mating connector and a female connector are not fitted in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state where the mating connector and the female connector are not fitted.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a mating process between a mating connector and a female connector.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which the mating connector and the female connector are locked.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the mating connector and the female connector are locked.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a state in which connectors are not fitted to each other in a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Mate connector 14 ... Engagement part 17 ... Rib 20 ... Female connector (connector) 21 ... Connector housing 25 ... Lock arm 29 ... Resistance arm

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A resiliently lockable lock arm is provided on one of a pair of housings that can be fitted together, and the other housing is fitted on the other housing by engaging with the lock arm. A connector provided with an engagement portion that locks in a mating state, wherein one of the pair of housings has a resilient structure that forms a part of the housing and is independent of the lock arm. A resistance arm which is allowed to bend is provided, and another housing is provided with an abutting portion capable of abutting on the resistance arm, and the resistance arm abuts on the abutting portion during the fitting process of the two housings. This causes a mating resistance due to the elasticity of the resistance arm, and a mating operation that overcomes the mating resistance. Connector being characterized in that a configuration in which the connection resistance is reduced by the resistance arm is resiliently deformed to dissociate direction from the abutting portion by the force. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the resistance arm is formed on a hood provided on the housing. 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the resistance arm is elastically bent in a direction parallel to an outer surface of the housing. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein said lock arm is disposed at a center position of said housing, and said resistance arm is disposed symmetrically in a pair on both sides of said lock arm. The connector according to claim 3. 5. The connector according to claim 1, wherein a front end surface of a rib arranged so as to sandwich the engaging portion from both sides is the abutting portion. 6. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the resistance arm is resiliently restored when the pair of housings are properly fitted.