JP2003059591A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid an interference of a foreign substance to a biasing spring. SOLUTION: A notched part 30, for the operation of releasing a lock arm 15 from locking, is formed to an upper surface wall 13a, constructing an operation space 14 which houses the biasing spring 29 used for the detection of incomplete fitting, so as to correspond to the biasing spring 29. A housing 10 is enabled to cover a part of the area of the notched part 30 corresponding to the biasing spring 29. As a cover 40, enabled to release a lock arm 15 from locking, is formed, an interference of a foreign substance to the biasing spring 29 at the notched part 30, is avoided without hindering the operation of releasing a lock arm 15 from locking.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector having a half-fitting detection function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The applicant of the present application filed Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-149894 as a connector having a half-fitting detection function. This is provided with a housing, a slider that can come into contact with the mating connector and that moves back and forth in parallel with the fitting direction, and a biasing spring that biases the slider forward. In the process of fitting with, the slider abutting on the mating connector retracts against the bias of the bias spring. When the fitting operation is interrupted, the slider is advanced by pushing back the mating connector by the biasing force stored in the biasing spring, and both connectors are forcibly separated. It is understood that the fitting operation of the connector was not completed, that is, the fitting operation was interrupted while the semi-engaged state was maintained because the forced disengagement operation was performed.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional connector, a working space is provided in the tubular fitting portion by projecting a part of the wall portion of the tubular fitting portion outward in a rectangular box shape. , The slider and the biasing spring as the half-fitting detection means are housed. In this operating space, in addition to the slider and the biasing spring, both connectors are locked by being locked to the mating connector. A lock arm for locking in a properly fitted state is also accommodated. Therefore, in order to perform the unlocking operation of the lock arm from the outside of the tubular fitting portion, the notch portion is formed in the wall portion forming the working space.

However, the opening range of the notch extends not only to the region corresponding to the lock arm but also to the region corresponding to the biasing spring located near the lock arm, and the biasing spring is located outside the notch. It was bare. Therefore, there is a concern that the foreign matter interferes with the biasing spring to prevent elastic deformation of the biasing spring, and as a result, the half-fitting detection function is impaired. The present invention has been devised in view of the above circumstances, and a notch for unlocking a lock arm is a biasing spring in a wall portion that constitutes an operating space for housing a biasing spring for half-fitting detection. The purpose of the connector is to avoid interference of the foreign matter with the biasing spring in the corresponding connector.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in a working space provided in a housing, a slider that moves back and forth in parallel with a mating direction with a mating connector, and the slider is biased forward. In the process of fitting with the mating connector, the slider abuts against the mating connector and retracts while accumulating the biasing force in the biasing spring. When the fitting is interrupted, the slider is configured to move forward while pushing back the mating connector by the urging force accumulated in the urging spring. In the mated state, a lock arm that locks in the mating connector to lock in the normal fitting state is accommodated, and a notch portion for unlocking the lock arm is provided in the wall portion forming the working space. ,Previous In a connector formed to open over a region corresponding to the lock arm and the biasing spring, the housing can cover a region of the cutout portion corresponding to the biasing spring. ,
In addition, a cover is provided to enable unlocking operation of the lock arm.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the cover has a cover cover position that covers a region of the cutout portion corresponding to the biasing spring, and the lock release operation portion of the lock arm. It is configured such that it can move between an operation permitting position where it is released to the outside of the working space. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the cover is formed of a bellows-like elastic member.

[0007]

[Advantageous Effects of the Invention] [Invention 1] Since the outer periphery of the cutout portion corresponding to the biasing spring can be covered with a cover, foreign matter may interfere with the biasing spring in the cutout portion. To be prevented. Further, since the cover does not prevent the lock arm from being unlocked, it does not hinder the work of unlocking and detaching from the mating connector.

[Invention of Claim 2] By always holding the cover at the cover position, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from interfering with the biasing spring. Also, when unlocking the lock arm, it is sufficient to temporarily move the cover to the operation permitting position.When the unlocking operation is completed, return the cover to the cover position and keep the foreign matter interference prevention state. Good. [Invention of Claim 3] Since the cover is made of a bellows-like elastic member, the unlocking operation of the lock arm is performed while elastically deforming the cover while keeping the urging spring covered with the cover. be able to.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The mating connector M into which the connector F of the present embodiment is fitted has a hood portion Ma that projects forward, and the male terminal metal fitting Mb projects in the hood portion Ma, and the hood portion Ma On the upper surface of the outer periphery, a lock receiving portion Mc having a protrusion shape is formed. Connector F of this embodiment
Includes a housing 10 in which the female terminal fitting 19 is housed, a slider 20, a biasing spring 29, and a cover 40. The housing 10 is made of synthetic resin, and includes a housing body 11 that enters the hood Ma.
It has a tubular fitting portion 12 fitted onto the hood portion Ma.
An area of the cylindrical fitting portion 12 corresponding to the upper surface of the housing body 11 is a box portion 13 that is formed in a rectangular shape that protrudes upward, and the inside of the box portion 13 is the housing body 1.
The working space 14 faces the upper surface of the outer circumference of No. 1.

A lock arm 15 is formed on the outer peripheral upper surface of the housing 10 so as to be located at the center in the width direction (horizontal direction) of the housing 10 and to face the working space 14. The lock arm 15 is supported at the rear end thereof on the outer peripheral upper surface of the housing body 11, and the support portion 15
It can be elastically displaced in the vertical direction with a as a fulcrum. When the mating connector M is properly fitted, the downward locking projection 15b of the front end of the lock arm 15 is locked to the locking receiving portion Mc, and thus locked in the properly fitted state. Further, the lock arm 15 has a support portion 1
An unlocked operated portion 15c extending rearward from 5a
Are formed. Further, a trapezoidal projection-shaped pushed portion 15d is formed at a position near the front end on the upper surface of the lock arm 15.

The left and right side walls forming the box portion 13 (operating space 14) extend in the front-rear direction along the inner surface of the left and right side walls, and the guide groove 16 is provided with a front stop portion 16a at the front end.
Are formed. Further, at the rear end portions of the left and right side walls, a pair of retreat restricting portions 17 located above the guide groove 16 and protruding inward are formed. Further, a pair of left and right spring receiving portions 18 each having a substantially conical shape projecting forward are provided on a rear wall of the box portion 13 (operating space 14).

The slider 20 has a pair of left and right cylindrical spring accommodating portions 2 each having a front end closed and a rear end opened.
1 and a substantially horizontal plate-shaped connecting portion 22 that connects the upper ends of both spring housing portions 21 to each other, and the upper surface of the spring housing portion 21 and the upper surface of the connecting portion 22 are flush and continuous. Also,
A pair of circular guide pins 23 are formed on both the left and right outer surfaces of the slider 20. Such slider 20
Are housed in the working space 14, and both guide pins 23
By loosely fitting the guide groove 16 into the guide groove 16, it is possible to move in the front-back direction (that is, in the fitting / removing direction with respect to the mating connector M). Further, since the outer diameter of the guide pin 23 is smaller than the groove width (dimension in the vertical direction) of the guide groove 16, the slider 20 moves in the vertical direction regardless of the position of the slider 20 in the front-back movement region. It is allowed to displace.

A slider 20 housed in the working space 14
Are arranged so as to straddle the lock arm 15, a pair of left and right spring accommodating portions 21 are located on both sides of the lock arm 15, and a connecting portion 22 is located above the lock arm 15. And
In the spring accommodating portion 21, a substantially first half portion of the biasing spring 29 formed of a compression coil spring is accommodated. Slider 20
By contacting the outer side surfaces of the both spring accommodating portions 21 with the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls of the box portion 13 and the inner side surfaces of the both spring accommodating portions 21 with the left and right side surfaces of the lock arm 15. Left and right movement is restricted.

The rear end portion of the biasing spring 29 accommodated in the spring accommodating portion 21 is fitted in the spring receiving portion 18. Due to the elastic restoring force of the biasing spring 29, the slider 20 is always held at the front end position (see FIG. 6) where the guide pin 23 of the slider 20 is brought into contact with the front stop portion 16a of the guide groove 16. Therefore, as the slider 20 moves backward, the urging force is stored in the urging spring 29. Also,
The slider 20 held at the front end position is in a horizontal posture in which the front end of the connecting portion 22 is brought into contact with the upper surface wall 13a of the box portion 13 from below. In addition, the slider 20 has a biasing spring 29 at any position in the front-back movement region.
While being deformed so that its axis is curved, it can be displaced in any of the forward tilted posture and the backward tilted posture with respect to the horizontal posture.

The slider 20 has a pair of left and right abutting portions 2 projecting downward from the lower surfaces of the rear ends of the left and right spring accommodating portions 21.
4 are formed. The contact portion 24 is provided on the slider 20.
Has a height that abuts on the front end edge of the upper wall portion of the hood portion Ma in the horizontal posture. The front end edge of the connecting portion 22 of the slider 20 serves as a pushing portion 25. In this pushing portion 25, both connectors F are properly fitted and the lock arm 15 is disengaged from the lock receiving portion Mc. In a state in which the slider 20 disengaged from the hood portion Ma moves forward in a state in which the front end is elastically displaced in a posture in which the lock arm 1 is moved upward,
The pressed portion 15d of No. 5 is abutted from the rear. When the pushing portion 25 and the pushed portion 15d are in contact with each other, since the pushed portion 15d has a trapezoidal shape, the pushing force of the slider 20 to the front side is lower than the lock arm 15, that is, the lock arm 15. It is applied as a pushing force in the locking direction with respect to the use receiving portion Mc.

The slider 20 has a regulated portion 26 protruding outward from a rear end portion of an outer surface of the spring accommodating portion 21.
Are formed. The regulated portion 26 is provided on the slider 20.
When is horizontal, the height is substantially the same as that of the retreat restricting portion 17 of the box portion 13. Further, when the slider 20 is at the front end position, the regulated portion 26 is located in front of the backward regulation portion 17. Further, the slider 20 is formed with an unlocking operation portion 27 in which the connecting portion 22 is extended rearward in a plate shape. When the slider 20 is at the front end position, the lock release operating portion 27 is not locked by the lock arm 1.
Although it is located in front of the unlocking operated part 15c of FIG. 5, when the slider 20 moves backward, the unlocking operating part 27 comes to be located almost directly above the unlocking operated part 15c.

The upper wall 13a of the box 13 of the housing 10 (the wall forming the working space, which is a constituent of the present invention) has a rearward approximately 2/3 region in the front-rear direction. In the left-right direction (width direction), a rectangular notch 30 that opens the working space 14 upward is formed over almost the entire width region. The notch 30 is opened for unlocking the lock arm 15 housed in the working space 14 from the outside of the working space 14.

A rib-shaped guide wall 31 is formed on the upper surface wall 13a of the box portion 13 along the left and right edges thereof and extending in the front-rear direction over the entire length of the upper surface wall 13a.
A pair of left and right guide grooves 32 extending linearly in the front-rear direction are formed on the inner side surface of the guide wall 31, and the guide grooves 32 are formed.
A holding protrusion 33 is formed at the rear end portion. further,
On the upper surface of the upper surface wall 13a, a projection-shaped front end receiving portion 34 is formed.
Are formed. A cover 40 is attached to the guide groove 32 so as to be movable back and forth. The cover 40 has a rectangular plate shape, and rib-shaped guided portions 41 elongated in the front-rear direction are formed on both left and right edges of the cover 40. The guided portions 41 are fitted into the guide grooves 32. It is movable back and forth between a rear cover position and a front operation permitting position. Further, when the cover 40 is at the cover position, the holding recess 42 formed in the guided portion 41 is locked to the holding projection 33 of the guide groove 32, so that the cover 40 is restricted from moving in the front-rear direction. Held in a state. Further, when the cover 40 is moved to the operation allowance position, the front stop projection 43 formed on the lower surface of the cover 40 comes into contact with the front stop receiving portion 34 of the upper surface wall 13a from the rear side, so that the cover 40 moves forward. Is restricted, and the return to the cover position is permitted.

The front and rear dimensions of the cover 40 are notched 30
Is set to be smaller than the opening dimension in the front-back direction (almost 1/2 in the present embodiment). Therefore, when the cover 40 is at the cover position and the slider 20 is at the front end position, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, approximately the latter half of the opening region of the cutout 30, that is, the unlocking operation portion 27 of the slider 20. Also, only the region of the biasing spring 29 corresponding to the portion exposed rearward from the spring accommodating portion 21 is covered, and the notch 3
The first half of 0 remains open. Further, when the cover 40 is moved to the operation permitting position, most of the cover 40 has the upper surface wall 13a as shown in FIGS.
It is located so that it overlaps. In this state, only the front end portion of the cutout portion 30 is covered with the cover 40, and most of the cutout portion 30, that is, the entire slider 20 including the lock release operation portion 27 and the bias spring 29 are exposed from the spring accommodating portion 21. The opened portion is in a state of being opened above the box portion 13.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Normally, the cover 40 is held in the cover position and the cutout 3 is held.
The area corresponding to the biasing spring 29 at 0 is hidden. As a result, a foreign substance (not shown) is removed from the cutout 30.
And the interference with the biasing spring 29 is restricted.
Although the spring accommodating portion 21 and the connecting portion 22 of the slider 20 are exposed to the outside through the notch 30, the elastic deformation of the biasing spring 29 and the slider 20 even when a foreign matter hits the slider 20. It does not hinder the movement of the robot.

When the connector F of this embodiment in which the cover 40 is held at the cover position as described above is fitted to the mating connector M, the housing main body 11 is inserted into the hood portion Ma and is tubularly fitted. The part 12 is fitted onto the hood part Ma. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the lock arm 1
The lock protrusion 15b at the front end of No. 5 abuts on the lock receiving portion Mc of the hood Ma, and the abutment portion 24 of the slider 20 comes close to the front end of the hood Ma. When the fitting is further advanced from this state, as shown in FIG. 7, the lock protrusion 15b of the lock arm 15 starts to ride on the lock receiving portion Mc, and the contact portion 24 moves the hood portion Ma.
It comes into contact with the front end of the. When the fitting progresses from this state, the slider 20 that abuts the abutting portion 24 on the front end of the hood portion Ma resists the elastic force of the biasing spring 29, that is, the biasing spring 29 stores the biasing force. As the lock protrusion 15b of the lock arm 15 completely rides on the lock receiving portion Mc and the elastic displacement amount of the lock arm 15 is maximized as shown in FIG. At the same time, the regulated portion 26 of the slider 20 comes into contact with the retreat regulating portion 17 of the housing 10 (box portion 13) from the front. In this state, the upper end position at the rear end of the slider 20 cannot be displaced further rearward.

When the fitting is further advanced from this state, as shown in FIG. 9, the hood portion Ma pushes the abutting portion 24 at the lower end of the slider 20 rearward, whereby the slider 20 uses the guide pin as a fulcrum. It is tilted and displaced so as to lean forward. Due to this tilting, the contact portion 24 of the slider 20 is moved to the hood portion M.
It is slightly displaced with respect to a, but is displaced upward. In other words, as the mating of the connectors F and M and the tilting of the slider 20 proceed, the contact portion 24 and the hood portion Ma.
The locking margin with and decreases.

When both connectors F and M reach the normal fitting state, as shown in FIG. 10, the lock protrusion 15b of the lock arm 15 passes through the lock receiving portion Mc so that the lock arm 15 becomes horizontal. The connector elastically returns to its posture, and the lock projection 15b engages with the lock receiving portion Mc from the rear side thereof, so that both connectors F and M are locked in a non-separable manner. Further, when both connectors F and M are properly fitted, the contact portion 24 of the slider 20 is disengaged upward from the front end of the hood portion Ma. Then, due to the elastic restoring force stored in the urging spring 29, the slider 20 moves forward while sliding its abutting portion 24 on the upper surface of the hood portion Ma while keeping the forward tilted posture, and moves the guide pin 23 into the guide groove. 16 front stop 16a
To the front end position (see FIG. 10).

As shown in FIG. 9, in the state immediately before the normal fitting, the pushing portion 25 of the slider 20 is urged by the urging spring 29.
The elastic force of (2) causes the pushed portion 15d of the lock arm 15 in the state of being disengaged from the lock receiving portion Mc (in the state of riding on the lock receiving portion Mc) to be pressed from the rear side. Therefore, when both connectors F and M reach the normal fitting state, the lock arm 1
5 receives the lock receiving portion Mc by its own elastic restoring force.
Even if it is not possible to elastically return to the horizontal posture in which the lock arm 15 is locked to, the lock arm 15 is forcibly displaced downward, that is, in the direction in which it is locked to the lock receiving portion Mc.

Further, in the half-fitted state from FIG. 6 to FIG. 9, the slider 20 abuts on the hood portion Ma and the urging spring 2 is pressed.
Since it is in a retracted state while accumulating the urging force in 9, the mating work is interrupted in this half-fitted state,
The biasing force stored in the biasing spring 29 causes the slider 20 to move forward while pushing back the hood portion Ma.
Both connectors F and M are forcibly disconnected. It can be understood that both connectors F and M were in a semi-fitted state without being properly fitted due to the forced disengagement operation.

Next, both connectors F, which are normally fitted,
The work of leaving M will be described. In the detaching work, first, from the state shown in FIG. 10, the slider 20 is slid backward while the biasing spring 29 stores the biasing force while keeping the forward tilted posture, but at this time, it is in the cover position. The cover 40 serves as an unlocking operation portion 27 of the slider 20.
Also, since the area behind the slider 20 is covered from above, the slider 20 cannot be moved rearward as it is. Therefore, the cover 40 is temporarily moved to the operation permitting position in the front so that most of the notch 30 is opened to the outside. When the cover 40 is moved, the cover 40 may be pushed with a force exceeding the locking force between the holding projection 33 and the holding recess 42. After the cover 40 is moved to the operation permitting position in this way, a finger is inserted into the cutout portion 30 to move the slider 20 rearward, and the slider 2 is moved.
The controlled portion 26 of 0 is brought into contact with the backward movement regulating portion 17 of the housing 10.

From this state, the slider 20 is provided so that the regulated portion 26 can get over the backward movement regulating portion 17.
While tilting forward, move backward. Then, the regulated portion 26
After passing over the retreat restricting portion 17, the slider 20 is slightly returned to the forward tilting posture, that is, the lock arm 15
Is set to a lock-permitting attitude that allows the lock receiving portion Mc to be locked, and the regulated portion 26 is positioned behind the backward movement regulating portion 17 (see FIG. 11).

From this state, without moving the slider 20 forward, the lock releasing operation portion 27 at the rear end is pushed down to displace the slider 20 to the backward tilted posture, that is, the lock released posture with the guide pin 23 as a fulcrum. Slider 20
When the lock is displaced to the unlocked position, the unlocking operation unit 2
Reference numeral 7 denotes an unlocked operated portion 1 at the rear end of the lock arm 15.
5c is forcibly pushed down, which causes the lock arm 1
5 displaces the lock projection 15b upward from the lock receiving portion Mc to the unlocked posture.

After that, the unlocked state (slider 2
Both connectors F and M may be separated while keeping 0 in the unlocked posture and keeping the lock arm 15 disengaged from the lock receiving portion Mc). After detaching both connectors F and M in this way, when the slider 20 is released, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the slider 20 elastically returns to the horizontal posture and returns to the front end position. The lock arm 15 elastically returns to the horizontal posture.

When the slider 20 is displaced to the unlocked position, the abutment portion 24 of the slider 20 is displaced downward and abuts against the front end of the hood portion Ma, and the urging force stored in the urging spring 29 is applied. While being provided to the hood portion Ma via the slider 20, the regulated portion 26 is displaced downward from the retreat regulating portion 17 to allow the slider 20 to move forward (see FIG. 12). Therefore, if the detaching work is interrupted in this state, the slider 20 is pushed forward and the hood portion Ma is pushed back by the urging force stored in the urging spring 29, and both connectors F and M are forced. To leave. It can be seen that this forcible disengagement operation interrupted the disengagement work while the connectors F and M were in the half-fitted state.

As described above, the connector F of this embodiment is
A notch 30 for unlocking the lock arm 15 is formed in the upper surface wall 13a forming the operating space 14 for accommodating the biasing spring 29 for detecting the half-fitting so as to correspond to the biasing spring 29. Therefore, there is a concern that foreign matter may interfere with the biasing spring 29 in the cutout portion 30, but as a countermeasure against this, the housing 10 has a region corresponding to the biasing spring 29 in the cutout portion 30. Since the cover 40 capable of covering the above is provided, foreign matter is prevented from interfering with the biasing spring 29 in the cutout portion 30.

Further, since the cover 40 moves between the cover position for restricting foreign matter interference with the biasing spring 29 and the operation permitting position for permitting the unlocking operation for the lock arm 15, The operation of releasing the lock by the lock arm 15 and detaching it from the mating connector M can be performed smoothly without hindering the lock release operation of the lock arm 15 due to the provision of the cover 40. . [Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Second embodiment
The cover 50 has a configuration different from that of the first embodiment. Since the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same configurations, and the description of the structure, operation, and effect is omitted.

The cover 50 of the second embodiment has a rectangular thin film shape as a whole, and is made of an elastic member such as elastomer synthetic resin or rubber. The width dimension of the cover 50 is a dimension over the entire width region of the cutout portion 30. The rear edge of the cover 50 is the rear wall 1 that constitutes the working space 14.
It is fixed to the outer surface of the upper end of 4a by adhesion. The front edge of the cover 50 is fixed to the connecting portion 22 of the slider 20 and the upper rear edge 20a of the spring accommodating portion 21 by adhesion or the like. Furthermore, even when the slider 20 is at the front end position, that is, the cover 50 is extended to the front and rear,
The cover 50 has a bellows shape (waveform) when viewed from the side. Further, although the slider 20 is always at the front end position, the height of the upper end of the wave of the cover 50 at this time is the same as the upper surface of the upper surface wall 13a in which the cutout portion 30 is formed. The cover 50 covers the exposed portion of the biasing spring 29 from the spring accommodating portion 21 in the opening area of the cutout portion 30 and the unlocking operation portion 27 of the slider 20.

In the process of fitting with the mating connector M, the cover 50 elastically deforms so as to wrinkle, that is, contracts back and forth as the slider 20 retracts. Further, when the lock arm 15 is unlocked, the slider 20 is retracted, and the cover 50 is elastically deformed so as to be depressed from above, while the lock release operation portion 27 is indirectly pushed down to lock the lock arm 15. Elastically displace in the unlocking direction. In the cover 50 of the second embodiment, regardless of the position of the slider 20, the cover 50 is always the bias spring 2.
Since the exposed portion of 9 is covered, foreign matter interference with the biasing spring 29 can be reliably prevented. Further, since the cover 50 has a bellows shape, the cover 50 is not forced to be stretched during the unlocking operation. Moreover, during the unlocking operation, the cover 50 is deformed so as to be wrinkled as the slider 20 retracts, so that the elastic bending amount of the cover 50 when the cover 50 is recessed from above is increased. It's done less.

[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 to the above, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the first embodiment, the cutout portion is left partially open when the cover is in the cover position, but according to the present invention, when the cover is in the cover position, the cutout portion is entirely opened. You may make it cover over.

(2) In the second embodiment, the cover is left open in a part of the cutout portion. However, according to the present invention, the cover covers the cutout portion as a whole. Good. (3) In the above embodiment, the slider is pushed to indirectly unlock the lock arm. However, according to the present invention, the lock arm may be directly pushed to unlock the lock arm.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a connector according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the connector.

[Figure 3] Rear view of the connector

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the connector.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the connector.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a state immediately after starting mating with a mating connector

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the lock arm has started to ride on the lock receiving portion as the mating with the mating connector progresses.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the lock arm has climbed over the lock receiving portion.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a state where the slider tilts and abuts on the lock arm.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a state in which the fitting is properly performed.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the slider is retracted from the normal fitting state.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which a slider is tilted to an unlocked posture and a lock arm is disengaged from a lock receiving portion.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

F ... Connector M ... Mating connector 13a ... Upper surface wall (wall portion) 14 ... Working space 15 ... Lock arm 20 ... Slider 29 ... biasing spring 30 ... Notch 40 ... Cover 50 ... Cover

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kei Yanagisawa             Sumitomo Den 1-14 Nishi-Suehiro-cho, Yokkaichi-shi, Mie Prefecture             Sozo Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5E021 FA04 FA09 FB07 FC06 FC36                       FC38 HC09 KA06 KA15

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An operating space provided in a housing accommodates a slider that moves back and forth in parallel with a mating direction with a mating connector, and a biasing spring that biases the slider forward. In the process of fitting with the side connector, the slider abuts against the mating connector and retracts while storing the biasing force in the biasing spring, and when the fitting is interrupted in the half-fitted state, the biasing spring The slider is configured to move forward while pushing back the mating connector by the urging force stored in the mating connector. The slider is locked to the mating connector in the working space in the normal fitting state. Thus, a lock arm that locks in a properly fitted state is accommodated, and a notch portion for unlocking the lock arm is provided in the wall portion that forms the working space, with the lock arm and the biasing spring. In a connector formed to open over a corresponding region, the housing can cover a region of the cutout portion corresponding to the biasing spring, and unlocks the lock arm. A connector provided with a cover that enables operation. 2. The cover has a cover position for covering a region of the notch corresponding to the biasing spring, and an operation permitting position for releasing the lock release operation part of the lock arm to the outside of the working space. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is movable between them. 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the cover is made of a bellows-shaped elastic member.