JP2005327614A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent fitting from progressing more than a normal depth. <P>SOLUTION: A male housing 11 is provided with a hood part 14 allowing a female housing 21 to be fitted thereto; and its front end is equipped with a lock claw part 16. A lock arm 45 capable of keeping both the housings 11 and 21 at a fitted state by locking the female housing to the lock claw 16 when it is fitted up to the normal depth in the hood part 14 is formed on the upper surface of the peripheral surface of the female housing 21. Stopper parts 52 capable of restricting further progression of fitting by striking the hood part 14 when both the housings 11 and 21 are fitted to each other up to the normal depth are formed on the lower surface out of the peripheral surface of the female housing 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

Conventionally, what was described in following patent document 1 is known as an example of the connector which fitted the female housing in the food | hood part of the male housing. In this case, the male housing is provided with a cylindrical hood portion, and the front end portion thereof is provided with a lock portion protruding inward, whereas the female housing is properly fitted with the female housing in the hood portion. A cantilevered lock arm is provided that can hold both housings in a fitted state by engaging with the lock portion when fitted to a depth.
JP-A-9-153386

By the way, the length dimension of the normal hood portion is set to such a size that the fitting surfaces of both housings come into contact with each other when the female housing is fitted to the normal depth.
However, for example, when the manufacturers that manufacture the male housing side and the female housing side are different, the length dimension of the hood portion may be set longer than the above-described normal. In that case, there is a risk that the female housing will enter deeper from the normal depth during the mating operation, in which case the connection depth between the terminal fittings provided on both housings will be too deep and the terminal fitting will be deformed. Adverse effects such as
The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to prevent the fitting from proceeding beyond the normal depth.

  As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that, out of a pair of connector housings that can be fitted to each other, one connector housing is provided with a hood portion that can be fitted to the other connector housing. The two connector housings can be held in the fitted state by engaging with the lock portion provided in the hood portion when the other connector housing is fitted to the outer peripheral surface to the normal depth. A lock arm is provided, and when the two connector housings are fitted to a normal depth on the outer peripheral surface of the other connector housing, they are brought into contact with the hood portion, so that further fitting progresses. Is characterized in that a stopper portion capable of restricting is provided.

<Invention of Claim 1>
The hood portion may be formed longer than the length adapted to the other connector housing, and in this case, the other connector housing may be allowed to enter deeper than the normal depth. However, according to the present invention, when the other connector housing reaches the normal depth, the stopper portion comes into contact with the hood portion, and further progress of the fitting is restricted. Moreover, since the stopper portion is provided not on the lock arm but on the outer peripheral surface of the other connector housing, it is possible to reliably prevent the other connector housing from excessively entering the hood portion.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, among the pair of connectors that can be fitted to each other, the male connector 10 is held in a state of penetrating through the opening CH provided on the wall surface of the box-shaped case C. While the female connector 20 is attached to the male connector 10 from outside the case C, the female connector 20 is attached to the board K accommodated in the case C. In the following, the fitting surface side of both connectors 10 and 20 is the front, and the vertical direction is based on FIGS. 1 and 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, the male connector 10 includes a male housing 11 made of synthetic resin and a plurality (six) of male terminal fittings 12 attached to the male housing 11. The male housing 11 includes a terminal holding portion 13 that holds the male terminal fitting 12 and a hood portion 14 that protrudes forward from the terminal holding portion 13. The terminal holding portion 13 is provided with terminal insertion holes 13a into which the male terminal fittings 12 can be inserted from the rear side by side in two stages, three in the width direction. The male terminal fitting 12 is formed in a generally L-shaped shape when viewed from the side, and an end protruding into the hood portion 14 in the horizontal portion can be electrically connected to the mating female terminal fitting 22. In contrast to the connector connecting portion 12a, the end portion in the vertical portion is inserted into the hole of the substrate K and is a substrate connecting portion 12b that is electrically connected to a conductive path (not shown) by soldering. The hood part 14 is formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape that opens forward, and the female connector 20 can be fitted into the hood part 14 from the front. The upper portion of the hood portion 14 is formed to be narrower than the other portions, and the upper wall 15 of the hood portion 14 is a receiving groove portion that can receive both protective walls 49 of the female connector 20 at both end positions on the inner surface thereof. Due to the fact that a pair of 15a is formed, the portion between both ends corresponding to both receiving groove portions 15a is formed lower than that between both end portions. Further, the upper wall 15 of the hood portion 14 is set such that the front end position is retracted to the rear side with respect to the other peripheral walls. A pair of guide groove portions 14 a that can receive the guide ribs 50 of the female connector 20 are formed at both end positions on the lower wall of the hood portion 14.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, the female connector 20 includes a female housing 21 made of synthetic resin, a plurality of (six) female terminal fittings 22 accommodated in the female housing 21, and the front surface of the female housing 21. The front retainer 23 is mounted on the side. The female housing 21 is formed in a substantially block shape, and is provided with cavities 24 into which the female terminal fittings 22 can be inserted from the rear, arranged in two upper and lower rows and three chambers in the width direction. A front wall 25 is provided at the front end of each cavity 24 so that the inserted female terminal fitting 22 can be stopped in front. A lance 26 that can be locked to the female terminal fitting 22 is provided on the lower surface side of each cavity 24. The lance 26 is formed in a cantilever shape and can be bent and deformed along the vertical direction (direction intersecting with the insertion / removal direction of the female terminal fitting 22). It has become. The female terminal fitting 22 includes a substantially box-shaped main body portion 22a and a barrel portion 22b connected to the end of the electric wire W. The lance 26 can enter the lower wall of the main body portion 22a. A small locking hole (not shown) is provided open, and the lance 26 can be locked to the hole edge. An elastic contact piece (not shown) capable of elastic contact with the male terminal fitting 12 is provided in the main body portion 22a.

  The front surface and both side surfaces of the female housing 21 are notched in a predetermined shape so that the front retainer 23 can be mounted from the front. Specifically, a cutout portion 28 is formed on the front surface of the female housing 21 so as to communicate with each cavity 24 and each bending space 27 while leaving a part of the front wall 25 of each cavity 24. By this cutout portion 28, the lower half of the front wall 25 of each cavity 24 on the upper stage side is removed and the upper half is left, and the front wall 25 of each cavity 24 on the lower stage side is out of the lower half and the upper half. The first half portion is removed and the latter half portion of the upper half is left, and the removed portion is provided on the front retainer 23 side. The remaining front wall 25 is provided with tab insertion openings 29 through which the male terminal fittings 12 can be inserted, penetrating in the front-rear direction. Among these, a tab guide surface 30 having a substantially bowl shape that can guide the insertion operation of the male terminal fitting 12 is provided around the front edge of the tab insertion opening 29 on the upper stage side. On the other hand, an auxiliary guide surface 31 that can guide the insertion operation of the male terminal fitting 12 following the tab guide surface 42 on the front retainer 23 side described below is provided around the front edge of the tab insertion port 29 on the lower stage side. Yes. Further, the notch 28 includes a guide recess 32 that is located between the upper and lower cavities 24 and into which the guide plate 39 of the front retainer 23 can be inserted. On the other hand, on both side surfaces of the female housing 21, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a recess 33 is formed over a predetermined height range, and the front retainer 23 is held in a predetermined position in the recess 33. The temporary locking position holding projections 34 and the final locking position holding projections 35 are provided at positions shifted forward and backward and vertically.

  The front retainer 23 is made of synthetic resin. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the front plate 36, a pair of vertically long side plates 37 extending rearward from both side ends of the front plate 36, and the front plate 36, and a pair of horizontally long bending restricting portions 38 protruding rearward from the rear surface of the front plate 36, and a horizontally long guide plate 39 extending rearward from a position between the two bending restricting portions 38 of the rear surface of the front plate 36. Yes. The front plate 36 can be fitted to the cutout portion 28 of the female housing 21 and has a front wall 40 of each cavity 24 that can be aligned with the front wall 25 on the female housing 21 side. Specifically, the front wall 40 includes a lower half of the front wall 25 of each upper cavity 24 in the female housing 21, a lower half of the front wall 25 of each lower cavity 24, and a front half of the upper half. Consists of. Further, the front wall 40 is provided with a tab insertion opening 41 at a position where it can be aligned with the tab insertion opening 29 on the female housing 21 side. Around the front edge of each tab insertion opening 41, a substantially bowl-shaped tab guide surface 42 that can guide the insertion operation of the male terminal fitting 12 is provided around. Further, a jig insertion port 43 through which a jig (not shown) for releasing the lance 26 can be inserted from the front is communicated with the tab insertion port 41 at the lower part of the periphery of each tab insertion port 41. Is formed.

  The side plate 37 is inserted into recesses 33 provided on both side surfaces of the female housing 21, and the inner surface thereof (the surface facing the female housing 21) opens forward and has a temporary locking position holding projection. A locking groove 44 is provided through which the portion 34 and the main locking position holding projection 35 can enter. The rear edge portion of the locking groove 44 is locked to either the temporary locking position holding projection 34 or the main locking position holding projection 35 of the female housing 21, so that the front retainer 23 can be moved. It can be selectively held at two front and rear positions of a temporary locking position (FIG. 8) and a final locking position (FIG. 11) described below. Further, when the side plate 37 is inserted into the recess 33, the outer surface thereof is substantially flush with the outer surface of the female housing 21.

  The two bending restricting portions 38 are arranged at positions corresponding to the upper and lower bending spaces 27 in the female housing 21. Further, both end portions of the bending restricting portion 38 are connected to the inner surfaces of the both side plates 37 for reinforcement. Then, when the front retainer 23 is attached to the female housing 21 at the temporary locking position, the bending restricting portion 38 is retracted to the front of the bending space 27 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9. In the state where the front retainer 23 is mounted in the final locking position, as shown in FIG. The bending deformation of the lance 26 can be regulated by entering the position. In this full locking position, the front walls 25 and 40 on the front retainer 23 side and the female housing 21 side are aligned and matched in the front-rear direction. Even when the dimensional error generated between the female housing 21 and the front retainer 23, both of which are resin-molded, is the maximum value in the tolerance range, the lower auxiliary guide surface 31 has its front end at the front retainer 23. The tab guide surface 42 is arranged at substantially the same position in the radial direction as the rear end of the tab guide surface 42, and is formed in a range in which the guide function can be exhibited. Further, at the main locking position, the front end surface of the front retainer 23 and the front end surface of the female housing 21 are substantially flush with each other, and this is a fitting surface 20 a with the male connector 10. The guide plate 39 is inserted into the guide recess 32 of the female housing 21 so that the front / rear movement of the front retainer 23 can be guided.

  By the way, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 7, the housings 11, 21 are in a fitted state when fitted to the male housing 11, at the center in the width direction on the upper surface of the outer peripheral surface of the female housing 21. A lock arm 45 is provided for holding. The lock arm 45 includes a pair of arm portions 46 having a cantilever shape, a locking portion 47 for connecting intermediate portions of both arm portions 46, and an operation portion 48 for connecting rear end portions of both arm portions 46. Has been. Both arm portions 46 are formed substantially in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval in the width direction, and have a base end portion at the front end position of the female housing 21 and the vertical direction (fitting / It is possible to be elastically deformed along a direction that intersects the front-rear direction, which is the separation direction. A locking claw portion 16 of the female connector 20 described below can be locked to the locking portion 47, and the rear surface, which is the locking surface, is formed substantially straight along the vertical direction. The front surface of the portion 47 is formed in a tapered shape that forms an upward gradient toward the rear. The height positions of the upper and lower surfaces of the locking portion 47 are set so as to be substantially flush with that of the arm portion 46. Further, the operation unit 48 can be pressed from above, whereby the lock arm 45 can be forcibly elastically deformed. A pair of protective walls 49 protrude from the both sides of the lock arm 45 on the upper surface of the female housing 21. Both protective walls 49 are formed higher than the lock arm 45. Note that a pair of guide ribs 50 extending in the front-rear direction project from both side end positions on the lower surface of the female housing 21. Further, at the rear end position on the lower surface of the female housing 21, a finger hook portion 51 that protrudes along the width direction and is connected to both guide ribs 50 is provided.

  On the other hand, on the upper wall 15 of the hood portion 14 of the male housing 11, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, a lock claw portion 16 to which the lock arm 45 described above can be locked is provided. The lock claw portion 16 is disposed at a front end position of the upper wall 15 of the hood portion 14 and at a substantially central position in the width direction, and is formed to protrude inward from the inner surface of the upper wall 15. The front surface of the lock claw portion 16 has an upward slope toward the front, and is formed in a tapered shape along the front surface of the lock portion 47 of the lock arm 45, whereas the lock claw portion 16 is locked with the lock portion 47. The rear surface, which is a surface, is formed in a reverse taper shape (overhang shape) that forms an upward gradient toward the front. The width dimension of the lock claw portion 16 is set to be slightly smaller than the interval between both arm portions 46 of the lock arm 45. On the rear side of the lock claw portion 16, a lock entry space 17 into which the locking portion 47 of the lock arm 45 can enter is secured. The lock entry space 17 is located above the upper wall 15 of the hood portion 14, That is, it is formed in a hole shape that opens to the outside along a direction substantially orthogonal (crossing) to the front-rear direction. The lock entry space 17 is formed by a mold that is die-cut upward when the male housing 11 is resin-molded. Thus, the lock entry space 17 opens the hood portion 14 upward and is not configured to penetrate the terminal holding portion 13 in the front-rear direction, thereby preventing external water or the like from entering the case C. In addition, the appearance can be improved. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the lock entry space 17 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above.

  And the reinforcement rib 18 is provided in the rear side of the lock approach space 17 among the upper walls 15 of the food | hood part 14, as shown in FIG.10 and FIG.12. The reinforcing rib 18 protrudes inward from the inner surface of the upper wall 15 of the hood portion 14 and is formed to face the front locking claw portion 16. Further, the reinforcing rib 18 extends along the front-rear direction and the rear end thereof is connected to the front surface of the terminal holding portion 13 (the fitting surface 10a with the female connector 20). Further, the width dimension of the reinforcing rib 18 and the inward projecting dimension are substantially the same as those of the lock claw portion 16. The reinforcing rib 18 is formed by a mold whose both side surface shapes are die-cut forward when the male housing 11 is resin-molded, and a die whose front shape is die-cut upward, that is, the lock entry space 17. Molded by the mold to be molded.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 12, guide surfaces 19 that are chamfered and tapered at the corners on both sides of the front surface 18 a (the surface facing the lock claw portion 16) of the reinforcing rib 18 are formed. Is formed. When the guide surface 19 is fitted, the inner edge portions of the both arm portions 46 of the lock arm 45 can be slidably contacted, and thereby the fitting operation of the female connector 20 can be guided. The lock entry space 17 is formed so that the width dimension gradually increases as it goes to the rear end side, and both side surfaces 17 a are formed in a tapered shape that is gentler than the guide surface 19. The distance between the side surface 17a of the lock entry space 17 and the opposing guide surface 19 is wider than when the side surface 17a is straight along the front-rear direction. Therefore, among the molds that are punched upward at the time of resin molding, the portion entering between the side surface 17a of the lock entry space 17 and the guide surface 19 is secured with sufficient thickness to obtain the required strength. be able to.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 10, a stopper capable of regulating the fitting depth of the female housing 21 is provided on the lower surface (the surface different from the surface provided with the lock arm 45) of the outer peripheral surface of the female housing 21. The part 52 is provided protruding downward. A pair of stopper portions 52 are arranged at positions spaced apart from each other in the width direction, and the rear ends thereof are connected to the finger hook portion 51. The front surface of the stopper portion 52 is formed substantially straight along the vertical direction. The length of the stopper portion 52 is such that when the female housing 21 is fitted into the hood portion 14 and the fitting depth reaches a normal depth, the stopper portion 52 abuts against the front end surface of the lower portion of the hood portion 14. The size is set such that the female housing 21 is prevented from being pushed into the hood portion 14 beyond the normal depth.

  This embodiment has the structure as described above, and the operation thereof will be described subsequently. When assembling the female connector 20, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the front retainer 23 is attached to the female housing 21 at the temporary locking position, and then the female terminal fittings 22 are moved back into the cavities 24. Insert from. In the middle of insertion, the lance 26 is pressed by the female terminal fitting 22 and is bent and deformed while being retracted in the bending space 27. When the female terminal fitting 22 reaches the normal depth, as shown in FIG. 9, the lance 26 is restored and enters into the locking hole, and the female terminal fitting 22 is retained by being locked to the edge of the hole. Is done. Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, when the front retainer 23 is pushed into the final locking position, the bending restricting portion 38 enters the bending space 27 and the bending deformation of the lance 26 is restricted. The holding power of the terminal fitting 22 is increased.

  After the separately assembled male connector 10 is attached to the substrate K and the case C as shown in FIG. 10, an operation of fitting the female connector 20 from the outside of the case C is performed. When the female housing 21 is fitted into the hood part 14, both guide ribs 50 enter the both guide groove parts 14a, and both protective walls 49 enter the both receiving groove parts 15a to guide the fitting operation. In this process, after the locking claw portion 16 enters between the both arm portions 46, the reinforcing rib 18 enters as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, but at this time, it is formed at both end portions of the front surface 18a. The both guide surfaces 19 are in sliding contact with the inner edge portions of both arm portions 46, so that the female housing 21 is smoothly engaged without being caught by the reinforcing ribs 18. When the fitting proceeds to a predetermined depth, the front surface of the locking portion 47 slides against the front surface of the lock claw portion 16 and is pressed downward, and the lock arm 45 is once elastically deformed downward as shown in FIG. The

  When the housings 11 and 21 are fitted to the normal depth, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the lock arm 45 is restored and the locking portion 47 enters the lock entry space 17 and the rear surface thereof. By engaging with the rear surface of the lock claw portion 16, both the housings 11 and 21 are held so as not to be detached from the fitted state. When the normal depth is reached, the fitting surfaces 10a and 20a of both the connectors 10 and 20 can be brought into contact with each other, and the front surface of the stopper portion 52 is abutted against the front end surface of the hood portion 14. At this time, the male and female terminal fittings 12 and 22 are normally conductively connected. Further, the reinforcing rib 18 enters between the arm portions 46 over the entire length, and the front surface 18 a thereof is arranged to face the front surface of the locking portion 47. Further, in this regular fitting state, a predetermined gap is provided between the finger rest portion 51 and the front end surface of the hood portion 14 so that an operator can easily put his finger on the finger rest portion 51 at the time of detachment work.

  By the way, for example, when the manufacturers for the male connector 10 and the female connector 20 are different, as shown in FIG. 18, the length L ′ of the hood portion 14 is a length suitable for the female connector 20 as described above. In some cases, the dimension is not less than L (FIG. 10). In that case, even when both the connectors 10 and 20 are fitted to the normal depth, as shown in FIG. 19, the fitting surfaces 10a and 20a of both the connectors 10 and 20 are not in contact with each other and are spaced apart from each other. In addition, a predetermined gap S is formed between them. For this reason, there is a concern that the female housing 21 is further pushed in from the normal depth and the connected terminal fittings 12 and 22 are adversely affected. Note that since the operation portion 48 protrudes from the rear end portion of the lock arm 45, the operation portion 48 can be brought into contact with the hood portion 14, but the operation portion 48 is originally configured. It is for releasing the lock arm 45, and is not necessarily set to hit the hood portion 14 when reaching the normal depth. Since the lock arm 45 is elastically deformed by the acting force and the progress of the fitting is allowed, it is difficult to regulate the fitting depth of the connectors 10 and 20 to the normal depth anyway. It is.

  However, when both the connectors 10 and 20 reach the normal depth, the front surfaces of both stopper portions 52 provided on the female housing 21 abut against the front end surface of the lower portion of the hood portion 14, thereby further fitting. Progress is regulated. Since the stopper portion 52 is provided not on the lock arm 45 that is elastically deformed but on the lower surface that is the outer peripheral surface of the female housing 21, it is possible to reliably prevent the female housing 21 from excessively entering the hood portion 14. it can. Thereby, the situation where the connection depth of both the terminal metal fittings 12 and 22 becomes too deep and deform | transforms is reliably prevented.

<Embodiment 2>
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the second embodiment, the reinforcing ribs in the male housing 11 are removed and the lock entry space 17A is opened rearward, and the structure of the lock arm 45A is changed. In the second embodiment, redundant description of the same structure, operation, and effects as those in the first embodiment will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 20, the lock entry space 17 </ b> A is configured to open rearward from the rear surface of the lock claw portion 16, and is formed through the upper end portion of the terminal holding portion 13 in the front-rear direction. The lock entry space 17A is formed by a mold that is die-cut backward when the male housing 11 is resin-molded. The lock entry space 17A has a ceiling surface formed to a depth that is substantially flush with the inner surface 15b of the upper wall 15. The height position of the inner surface 15b of the upper wall 15 is a lock that is in a natural state. It is set to be substantially the same as the upper surface position of the arm portion 46A of the arm 45A.

  The lock arm 45 </ b> A includes a single wide arm portion 46 </ b> A that protrudes from the front end portion of the upper surface of the female housing 21, and is engaged with the lock claw portion 16 in the middle of the arm portion 46 </ b> A. A stop portion 47A that can be stopped is provided. The locking portion 47A is disposed at a substantially central position in the width direction of the arm portion 46A. On the upper surface of the arm portion 46A, there are die-cutting grooves 53 and 54 that are open in the front-rear direction for convenience of die-cutting the mold for forming the locking portion 47A when the female housing 21 is resin-molded. The arm part 46A is partially formed in a thin shape by these die-cutting grooves 53 and 54. The arm portion 46A is substantially horizontal in the natural state. An operation portion 48A that protrudes upward is provided at the rear end of the arm portion 46A. The locking portion 47A is formed such that its upper end surface 47Aa protrudes upward from the upper surface position of the arm portion 46A. Accordingly, the height position of the upper end surface 47Aa of the locking portion 47A is set to be higher than the inner surface 15b of the upper wall 15 of the hood portion 14. Further, the front and rear surfaces of the locking portion 47A have the same shape as that of the first embodiment described above.

  When the female housing 21 is fitted into the hood portion 14 from the state shown in FIG. 20, the front surface of the locking portion 47A is brought into sliding contact with the front surface of the lock claw portion 16, so that the lock arm as shown in FIG. 45A is elastically deformed downward. When the female housing 21 is fitted to the normal depth, as shown in FIG. 22, the locking portion 47A reaches the rear position of the lock claw portion 16 and enters the lock entry space 17A, and the lock arm 45A. Will return. At this time, since the upper end surface 47Aa of the locking portion 47A abuts against the inner surface 15b of the upper wall 15 of the hood portion 14 (the ceiling surface of the lock entry space 17A), a large striking sound is generated. The situation where the connectors 10 and 20 are fitted to the normal depth can be surely notified. At this time, the lock arm 45 </ b> A does not completely return to the natural state but is slightly elastically deformed with the posture in which the rear end side is slightly lowered. At this time, the lock claw portion 16 is not in contact with the upper surface of the arm portion 46A, and a predetermined gap is left.

  By the way, in order to obtain a loud striking sound without completely moving the lock arm 45A backward, for example, the amount of protrusion of the lock claw portion 16 downward is increased, and the lock claw portion 16 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the arm portion 46A. It is possible to combine them. However, in this case, the lock arm 45A is greatly elastically deformed during the fitting process, and accordingly, there arises a problem that an operation force necessary for fitting, that is, a fitting force increases. Conversely, the thickness dimension of the arm portion 46A (groove depth of the die-cutting grooves 53 and 54) is changed before and after the locking portion 47A, and the rear portion of the arm portion 46A with respect to the locking portion 47A is made to be more than the front portion. Although it is conceivable that the thickness is set to increase, there is a concern that stress is concentrated at the time of elastic deformation at the boundary position where the thickness of the arm portion 46A is changed. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the height dimension of the engaging portion 47A is increased, and the upper end surface 47Aa is brought into contact with the inner surface 15b of the upper wall 15 of the hood portion 14 so that a loud striking sound is obtained. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which such a problem that the fitting force is increased or stress concentration occurs in the arm portion 46A.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
(1) About the arrangement | positioning position of a stopper part, you may change to an upper surface or a side surface besides the lower surface among the outer peripheral surfaces of a female housing. Further, the number and shape of the stopper portions can be arbitrarily changed.

(2) About Embodiment 2 mentioned above, what made the structure of the lock arm the same structure as Embodiment 1 is also contained in this invention. As a modification of the second embodiment, the height position of the locking portion may not be changed from that of the first embodiment, and the locking portion may be abutted by setting the ceiling surface of the lock entry space low.
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the male connector is attached to the board and the case. However, the present invention can be applied to a type of connector that is not attached to the board or the case.
(4) The number of male and female terminal fittings can be arbitrarily changed. The shape of the lock arm can be arbitrarily changed.

The front view of the male housing which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention Top view of male housing Front view of female housing Top view of female housing Side view of female housing Front view of front retainer Side sectional view showing a state before the female terminal fitting is inserted into the female housing with the front retainer mounted in the temporary locking position. Side view of female housing with front retainer in temporary locking position Side sectional view showing a state in which the female terminal fitting is inserted into the female housing in which the front retainer is mounted at the temporary locking position. Side sectional view showing a state before the male housing is fitted to the female housing with the front retainer in the final locking position. Side view of female housing with front retainer in full locking position Plan sectional view showing the state before fitting both housings Plan sectional view showing a state in the middle of fitting both housings Partial front sectional view showing the relationship between the reinforcing rib and the lock arm during fitting Side sectional view showing a state in the middle of fitting both housings Side sectional view showing the state where both housings are fitted to the normal depth Plan sectional view showing both housings mated to normal depth Side sectional view showing the state before the two housings are fitted when the hood is longer than the length suitable for the female connector. Side sectional view showing the state where both housings are fitted to the normal depth Side sectional view which shows the state before fitting both the housings concerning Embodiment 2 of this invention Side sectional view showing a state in the middle of fitting both housings Side sectional view showing the state where both housings are fitted to the normal depth

Explanation of symbols

11 ... Male housing (one connector housing)
14 ... Hood part 16 ... Lock claw part (lock part)
21 ... Female housing (the other connector housing)
45 ... Lock arm 52 ... Stopper

Claims (1)

Of the pair of connector housings that can be fitted to each other, one connector housing is provided with a hood portion that can be fitted to the other connector housing, and the outer peripheral surface of the other connector housing is fitted to a normal depth. A lock arm that can hold both connector housings in a fitted state is provided by engaging with the lock portion provided in the hood portion when
On the outer peripheral surface of the other connector housing, there is provided a stopper portion that can restrict the progress of further fitting by abutting against the hood portion when both the connector housings are fitted to a normal depth. A connector characterized by that.

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