JP2006024458A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector provided with a structure capable of surely preventing looseness generated in a connector fitting direction and in a direction perpendicular to the connector fitting direction between a male connector housing and a female connector housing in a fitted state, and thereby capable of surely preventing wear and the like of an electric contact part between both male and female terminals. <P>SOLUTION: This connector 10 is provided with: a looseness restriction part 24 formed on a peripheral surface of an inner housing 13 and having an inclined surface 24a; a connector fitting chamber 44 formed in the female connector housing 42 for receiving the inner housing 13 in fitting the inner housing 13 to the female connector housing 42; a restriction surface 45 formed on the inside surface of the connector fitting chamber 44 and capable of coming into surface contact with the inclined surface 24a; and a metallic coil spring 16 disposed between the inner housing 13 and an outer housing 12 for biasing the inner housing 13 with repulsive force in the fitting direction to the female connector housing 42 so that the inclined surface 24a comes into surface contact with the restriction surface 45 in complete fitting of the inner housing 13 to the female connector housing 42 and presses the restriction surface 45. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector having an anti-rattle structure, and more particularly, to an anti-rattle structure between a male connector housing and a female connector housing in a fitted state, thereby providing a structure in both connector housings. The present invention relates to a connector in which wear between electrical contact portions of male and female terminals is reduced.

  7 and 8 show a conventional connector having a rattling prevention structure (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The connector 61 includes one connector 63 that accommodates the female terminal 62 and the other connector 65 that accommodates the male terminal 64, and the inner surface of the hood portion 66 outside the one connector housing made of synthetic resin is rattled. The restricting portion 67 is formed integrally, and the outer wall surface of the other connector housing 68 is brought into contact with the surface of the rattling restricting portion 67 without any gap, so that the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction of both the connectors 63 and 65 (that is, connector fitting) This is to prevent backlash in the (orthogonal direction).

  One connector housing has a male inner housing 64 and a rectangular cylindrical hood portion 66 on the outside thereof, and a female terminal 62 is accommodated in the inner housing 64. The female terminal 62 is double-locked by a synthetic resin front holder 69. A waterproof packing 71 is attached to the base of the inner housing 64. The backlash restricting portion 67 has a substantially rectangular shape.

The other connector housing 68 is inserted between the hood portion 66 and the inner housing 64. FIG. 8 shows a state immediately before complete fitting. Simultaneously with the fitting of both connector housings, both male and female terminals 62, 70 are connected, the tip of the other connector housing 68 is in close contact with the waterproof packing 71, and the lock arm 72 of the hood 66 is attached to the other connector housing 68. Engaging with the engaging protrusions, both connectors are locked, and at the same time, rattling in the connector fitting orthogonal direction between the hood portion 66 of one connector housing and the other connector housing 68 is prevented by the restricting protrusion 67. Further, the wear of the electrical contact portions of both the male and female terminals 62 and 70 due to vibration during traveling of the vehicle can be reduced.
JP 2002-198127 A (page 3-4, FIG. 4, FIG. 6)

  However, in the above conventional connector, although rattling in the connector fitting orthogonal direction is prevented, rattling in the connector fitting direction is not prevented. There has been a problem that the wear and the like of the male and female terminals 62 and 70 cannot be completely eliminated. In addition, the backlash between the hood portion 66 of one connector housing and the other connector housing 68 is prevented, but the backlash between the inner housing 64 which is an important terminal accommodating portion of the one connector housing and the other connector housing 68 is prevented. Since it is not directly prevented, there is a concern that the male and female terminals 62 and 70 are likely to rattle each other and the wear of both terminals 62 and 70 is not completely eliminated. Furthermore, when used for a long period of time, there is a concern that the backlash restricting portion 67 may be worn or compressed by vibration during traveling of the vehicle or the like, which may cause backlash in the connector fitting orthogonal direction.

  In addition, it is conceivable that a ring-shaped backlash restricting member is interposed between the connector housings to control backlash in at least one of the connector fitting direction and the connector fitting orthogonal direction. If the member is provided, the rattling between the connector housings is not directly regulated and the vibration resistance performance becomes insufficient, the vibration resistance performance is not stable due to variations in the dimensional accuracy of the rattling regulation member, There has been a problem that the fitting load of the connector increases due to the sliding resistance between the rattling regulating member and both connector housings.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to loosen the connector fitting direction and the connector fitting orthogonal direction generated between the male connector housing and the female connector housing in the fitted state. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector having a structure capable of reliably preventing the wear and the like, and thereby preventing wear and the like of electrical contact portions of both male and female terminals.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the connector according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5).
(1) a female connector housing holding a male terminal;
A male inner housing that holds a female terminal electrically connectable to the male terminal and is matable with the female connector housing to connect the female terminal to the male terminal;
An outer housing that holds the inner housing movably in a fitting direction between the inner housing and the female connector housing;
A rattling regulating portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner housing and having an inclined surface;
A connector fitting chamber formed in the female connector housing for receiving the inner housing when the inner housing and the female connector housing are fitted;
A regulation surface formed on the inner peripheral surface of the connector fitting chamber and capable of surface contact with the inclined surface,
The inclined surface is disposed between the inner housing and the outer housing, and the inclined surface is in surface contact with and presses the restriction surface when the inner housing and the female connector housing are completely fitted. A metal coil spring that urges the inner housing with an elastic repulsive force in the fitting direction to the female connector housing;
Having provided.
(2) The connector having the configuration according to (1) further includes a front disconnection prevention mechanism provided between the inner housing and the outer housing, and the front disconnection prevention mechanism is configured to be connected to the outer housing by the coil spring. To prevent the inner housing from being pulled out in the fitting direction.
(3) The connector having the above-described configuration (1) or (2) supports the fitting operation between the inner housing and the female connector housing, and further the complete fitting between the inner housing and the female connector housing. A connector insertion / removal operation support mechanism that can maintain the combined state is further provided.
(4) The connector insertion / removal operation support mechanism for the connector having the configuration of (3) above is provided.
A pair of engagement lock protrusions formed on both sides of the female connector housing so as to be arranged in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction on the outer peripheral surface of the female connector housing;
A pair of pivots formed on both sides of the outer housing so as to be arranged in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction on the outer peripheral surface of the outer housing;
A rotation lock lever attached to the pivot so as to be rotatable about the pivot;
With
The rotation lock lever has a pair of arc-shaped lock grooves for receiving and guiding the engagement lock protrusions, respectively, and the engagement lock protrusions are turned into the lock grooves by rotating the rotation lock lever. And the inner housing and the female connector housing are fitted or detached.
(5) Slits extending in the fitting direction are spaced apart in the circumferential direction in the backlash regulating portion so as to divide the inclined surface of the connector having any one of the configurations of (1) to (4) into a plurality. There must be more than one.

According to the connector configured as described in (1) above, when the inner housing, which is a male connector housing, and the female connector housing are completely fitted together, the restricting surface and the inclined surface of the rattling restricting portion cause the elastic repulsion force of the coil spring ( In other words, since the elastic contact force is received and the surface comes into firm contact, not only rattling in the connector fitting orthogonal direction but also rattling in the connector fitting direction is prevented. Therefore, wear and the like of the electrical contact portions of both the male and female terminals are reliably prevented. In addition, the connector having the configuration (1) is a metal that is less susceptible to secular change and property change due to heat or the like, and has less amount of sag than an elastic member formed from synthetic rubber, elastomer resin, or the like. It is excellent because it has a coil spring.
According to the connector having the above configuration (2), the front disconnection in the fitting direction of the inner housing from the outer housing by the coil spring having a high elastic repulsive force is prevented by providing the front disconnection preventing mechanism.
According to the connector having the configuration (3), the connector fitting / removing operation support mechanism facilitates particularly complete fitting between the female connector housing and the inner housing biased by the coil spring toward the female connector housing. Can be done.
According to the connector having the configuration (4), it is possible to support the fitting operation between the inner housing and the female connector housing with a simple configuration, and furthermore, it is possible to maintain a completely fitted state between the inner housing and the female connector housing. So it is preferable.
According to the connector having the above configuration (5), the inclined surfaces of the divided rattling regulating portions are in surface contact with the regulating surfaces of the female connector housing. For example, in the case where the rattling regulating portion has an integral inclined surface, if it is not formed smoothly and accurately over the entire circumference of the inclined surface, it cannot adhere well to the regulating surface, and gaps are created in some places. Thus, there is a high possibility that an inclination or the like occurs in these gaps. However, when the inclined surfaces of the divided rattling restriction portions are respectively brought into contact with the restriction surfaces of the female connector housing, even if there is a dimensional error, the dimensions are caused by the deformation generated in each portion of the divided rattling restriction portions. The error is absorbed and good surface contact is obtained, and the inner housing and the female connector housing are strongly coupled to each other by the good surface contact.

  According to the present invention, when the male connector housing and the female connector housing are completely fitted together, the inclined surface of the backlash restricting portion due to the elastic repulsion force (in other words, elastic restoring force) of the coil spring and the restricting surface are firmly Surface contact prevents rattling in the connector mating direction and the orthogonal direction of mating during vibration, so wear of the electrical contact parts of the male and female terminals in both connector housings is reliably prevented, and the electrical connection is reliable. improves.

  In addition, according to the present invention, each of the inclined surfaces of the divided rattling regulating portion and the regulating surface of the female connector housing are in surface contact with each other, so that the rattle regulating effect is enhanced and the two connector housings are strongly coupled to each other. .

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through the best mode for carrying out the invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the connector according to the present invention (connector 10 in which a male connector 11 and a female connector 41 are fitted), and FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the male connector 11 of FIG. (The position of the rotation lock lever 17 is shown when the connector 10 is in a fully fitted state.) FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the male connector 11 of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is the male of FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a mold connector 11. FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the connector 10 includes a male connector 11, a female connector 41 that can be fitted to the male connector 11, and a male connector that can be engaged with the female connector 41. A rotation lock lever 17 rotatably supported by pivots 20 and 20 of the mold connector 11. The rotation lock lever 17 can be easily fitted and engaged with the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 with a small force in cooperation with the pivots 20 and 20 and the engagement lock protrusions 46 and 46 of the female connector 41. The male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are supported so that they can be detached, and the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 can be locked so that their fully fitted state is maintained. It is a certain connector insertion / removal operation supporting member.

  The male connector 11 includes, as its male connector housing, an outer housing 12, a male inner housing 13 supported by the outer housing 12 so as to be movable in the connector fitting direction within the outer housing 12, Is provided. The inner housing 13 functions as a terminal accommodating portion of the male connector 11, and has two terminal accommodating chambers 13d for accommodating two female terminals 50 therein. Each female terminal 50 is temporarily locked by an elastic locking lance (not shown) and held in the terminal accommodating chamber 13d. The male connector 11 further includes an annular waterproof packing 14, a front holder 15 for permanently locking the female terminal 50 to the terminal accommodating chamber 13d of the inner housing 13, a pair of metal coil springs 16 and 16, And the rotation lock lever 17 described above. On the other hand, the female connector 41 includes a female connector housing 42 that holds two (only one is shown) male terminals 51 (more specifically, integrally formed with the two male terminals 51). Have.

  Here, for convenience of explanation, definitions of front and rear, top and bottom, and left and right are defined as follows. The front-rear direction is defined as the connector fitting direction, “front” is the front end of the male connector 11 and female connector 41, and the opposite side is “rear”. The vertical direction is defined as the alignment direction of the two female terminals 50 and the alignment direction of the two male terminals 51 to be electrically connected to each other, and “up” is the side where the operation portion 17a of the rotation lock lever 17 is located (for example, FIG. 1 on the back side, the upper side in FIG. 2 and the upper side in FIG. 4), and the opposite side is “lower”. The left-right direction is defined as the alignment direction of the pivots 20 and the alignment direction of the engagement lock protrusions 46.

  The outer housing 12 and the inner housing 13 are each formed by injection molding a synthetic resin material. The outer housing 12 is formed in a hollow, generally elliptical cylinder shape whose front surface 12a is open, and an inner housing 13 is movably disposed in the hollow portion along the connector fitting direction. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inner housing 13 has a pair of engaging protrusions formed in a cantilever shape so as to extend rearward from the upper and lower portions of the rear part of the substantially elliptical cylindrical peripheral wall 13 a. 13b. The engaging protrusions 13b have engaging protrusions 13c that protrude from the plate-like main bodies in the vertical direction. On the other hand, the outer housing 12 has a pair of locking projections 12b formed in a cantilever shape so as to extend rearward from the upper and lower portions of the inner peripheral wall surface of the housing mounting portion 18 at the rear thereof. The locking protrusions 12b have locking protrusions 12c that protrude in the vertical direction from the plate-like main bodies.

  The engaging protrusion 13b of the inner housing 13 is locked by the locking protrusion 12b in the outer housing 12, but more specifically, the front surface of the engaging protrusion 13c is directed to the front side of the inner housing 13 with respect to the outer housing 12. It engages (contacts) with the rear surface of the locking projection 12c so as to restrict the movement. As described above, the male connector 11 includes the front disconnection prevention mechanism (that is, the engagement protrusion 13b and the locking protrusion 12b) that prevents the inner housing 13 from being disconnected from the outer housing 12 in the connector fitting direction. ing.

  An outer peripheral wall of the outer housing 12 that extends forward from the housing mounting portion 18 while surrounding the inner housing 13 is a female connector of a female connector 41 that is fitted into an annular gap formed between the inner housing 13 and the outer housing 12. It functions as a hood for guiding the peripheral wall 43 of the housing 42.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, lock projection receiving portions 19 each formed in a slit shape along the connector fitting direction are provided at the left and right opposing portions of the outer peripheral wall of the outer housing 12. Further, a pivot 20 is formed integrally with the outer peripheral wall of the outer housing 12 on the extended line of each of the lock projection receiving portions 19 on the outer peripheral wall of the outer housing 12. Each pivot 20 is provided with an inclined surface 20a that is inclined so as to gradually approach the inner side as it goes rearward. On the left and right portions of the inner surface of the rear wall of the housing mounting portion 18 of the outer housing 12, spring accommodation holes 23 for accommodating the rear end portions of the pair of coil springs 16 and 16 are formed.

  The front surface 21 of the inner housing 13 is formed with a receiving chamber opening 21a aligned with the male terminal insertion hole 15a of the front holder 15 and an insertion hole 21b into which the insertion portion 15b of the front holder 15 is inserted and locked. Has been. The housing chamber opening 21a of the inner housing 13 communicates with the terminal housing chamber 13d, and the electrical contact portion of the male terminal 51 of the female connector 41 is a front holder when the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are fitted. 15 through the male terminal insertion hole 15a and the accommodating chamber opening 21a of the inner housing 13, and is guided into the terminal accommodating chamber 13d, and comes into contact with the electrical contact portion of the female terminal 50 disposed in the terminal accommodating chamber 13d. And electrically connected.

  On the outer peripheral surface of the front portion of the peripheral wall 13a of the inner housing 13, a backlash restricting portion 24 is formed integrally with the peripheral wall 13a continuously in the circumferential direction. The backlash restricting part 24 is a ring body having an outer shape close to a substantially quadrangular pyramid with four rounded corners, and projects from the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 13a of the inner housing 13. More specifically, the rattling regulating portion 24 includes an inclined surface 24a that is inclined so as to gradually approach the axial center line of the inner housing 13 from the rear side toward the front side, and a connector fitting direction from the rear peripheral end of the inclined surface 24a. And a vertical surface 24b extending toward the peripheral wall 13a of the inner housing 13 in a direction perpendicular to the inner wall 13. As shown in FIG. 1, the inclined surface 24 a is a surface and a regulating surface 45 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 43 of the female connector housing 42 when the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are completely fitted. Contact.

  In the rear portion of the peripheral wall 13 a of the inner housing 13, spring accommodating holes 25 are formed so as to face the spring accommodating holes 23 of the outer housing 12 in order to accommodate the front end portions of the pair of coil springs 16, 16, respectively. Has been. In addition, as FIG. 3 shows, since the spring accommodation hole 25 is formed in each inside, the center of the both sides | surfaces of the rear part of the surrounding wall 13a of the inner housing 13 protrudes.

  The waterproof packing 14 is formed by using synthetic rubber, elastomer resin, or the like as a constituent material, and is formed in a hollow, substantially elliptical cylindrical shape. The waterproof packing 14 is attached to the front peripheral wall 13 a of the backlash restricting portion 24 in the inner housing 13 and is prevented from being removed by the front holder 15.

  The rotation lock lever 17 is a member constituting a connector fitting / removing operation support mechanism together with the pivot shafts 20 and 20 and the engagement lock protrusions 46 and 46, and is formed of metal, synthetic resin, or the like. The rotation lock lever 17 includes an operation portion 17a and side plate portions 17b and 17b bent substantially at right angles from the left and right sides of the operation portion 17a, and has a substantially U-shaped cross section. The outer housing 12 is disposed between the side plate portions 17 b and 17 b of the rotation lock lever 17. Each side plate portion 17b includes a mounting hole 26 that is rotatably engaged with the pivot 20 of the outer housing 12, a spring plate portion 27 that is in spring contact with the side surface of the outer housing 12, an arc-shaped lock groove 28, Have The locking grooves 28 are open at one end in the extending direction so that the engaging lock protrusions 46 formed on the left and right side surfaces of the peripheral wall 43 of the female connector housing 42 can be easily entered. More specifically, in order to allow the engagement lock protrusion 46 to be easily received in the lock groove 28, the lock protrusion introduction port formed by bulging the portions 17c, 17c of the side plate portion 17b outward. 29 is connected to the opening of the lock groove 28 described above.

  The female connector 41 has a bottomed cylindrical connector fitting chamber 44 whose front surface is open inside the peripheral wall 43 of the female connector housing 42. The inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 43 of the connector fitting chamber 44 has a tapered regulation surface 45 that is inclined so as to gradually approach the axial center line of the female connector housing 42 from the front side toward the rear side. The restriction surface 45 is a surface that comes into contact with the inclined surface 24a of the backlash restricting portion 24 of the male connector 11 when the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are fitted, and has the same inclination angle as the inclined surface 24a. It is formed on the peripheral wall 43 of the connector fitting chamber 44.

  Next, a method for assembling the male connector 11 will be described. Since the female connector 41 can be formed by insert-molding the female connector housing 42 and the male terminal 51, detailed description of the assembling method is omitted. A storage chamber may be provided, and the male terminal 51 may be held by appropriate locking means such as an elastic locking lance in the terminal storage chamber.

  The male connector 11 is assembled as follows. The waterproof packing 14 is attached to the front portion of the peripheral wall 13a of the inner housing 13 in which the female terminal 50 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 13d, and the insertion portion 15b of the front holder 15 is inserted into the insertion hole 21b of the inner housing 13. The front holder 15 is attached to the inner housing 13. By attaching the front holder 15 to the inner housing 13, the female terminal 50 is double-locked in the terminal accommodating chamber 13 d, and the waterproof packing 14 is prevented from being removed from the inner housing 13.

  Next, the front end portions of the coil springs 16 are respectively installed in the spring accommodating holes 25 from the rear side of the inner housing 13, and the coil springs 16 are protruded from the spring accommodating holes 25, respectively. The inner housing 13 is fitted into the housing mounting portion 18 of the outer housing 12 while the rear end portion is mounted in the spring accommodating hole 23 of the outer housing 12.

  Then, while resisting the elastic repulsion force (in other words, elastic restoring force) of the coil spring 16, the inner housing 13 is pushed deeply into the inner side of the housing mounting portion 18, and the engagement protrusion 13 b of the inner housing 13 is moved to the outer side. When engaged with the locking projection 12 b of the housing 12, the state in which the coil spring 16 is sandwiched between the inner housing 13 and the outer housing 12 is maintained. In this way, the inner housing 13 is assembled to the outer housing 12. The coil spring 16 in a state where the assembly of the inner housing 13 and the outer housing 12 is completed may be either compressed by the inner housing 13 and the outer housing 12 or not.

  Next, the rotation lock lever 17 is brought closer to the rear side of the outer housing 12, and the outer housing 12 is sandwiched between the pair of side plate portions 17b, 17b of the rotation lock lever 17, and the outer lock member 17 is interposed between the side plate portions 17b, 17b. As the housing 12 is inserted, the end edges of the side plate portions 17b and 17b abut against the inclined surfaces 20a and 20a of the pivots 20 and 20, respectively, and the side plate portions 17b and 17b are temporarily pushed outward. When the mounting holes 26 and 26 come to positions where they are located on the left and right of the pivots 20 and 20, respectively, the pivots 20 and 20 are engaged in the mounting holes 26 and 26, respectively. Thus, the rotation lock lever 17 is attached to the outer housing 12, and the assembly of the male connector 11 is completed.

  In this way, the rotation lock lever 17 is attached to the outer housing 12 so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction around the pivot 20. In particular, the operation portion 17 a of the rotation lock lever 17 has the outer housing 12. The unlocking position shown in FIG. 5A, which is arranged along the direction substantially perpendicular to the upper surface of the outer surface of the outer housing 12, and the operation portion 17a is substantially horizontal with respect to the upper surface of the outer housing 12. 1, 2, 4, and 5 (b), which can be switched to the locked position shown in FIG.

  5 (a) and 5 (b) show the connector insertion / removal operation support mechanism (that is, the rotation lock lever 17, the pivots 20, 20, and the engagement lock protrusions 46, 46) of the connector shown in FIG. It is lock operation explanatory drawing. As is clear from FIG. 5A, when the rotary lock lever 17 is disposed at the unlocked position in which the rotary lock lever 17 is raised, the lock protrusion introduction port 29 is located on the front side, that is, between the male connector 11 and the female connector 41. At the start of the fitting operation, the female connector housing 42 is open.

  Next, a method for fitting the connector 10 will be described.

  In a state where the rotation lock lever 17 of the male connector 11 is in the unlocked position, that is, as shown in FIG. 5A, the female connector housing 42 is placed in the annular space between the outer housing 12 and the inner housing 13. When the peripheral wall 43 is inserted, the inner housing 13 is also inserted into the connector fitting chamber 44 of the female connector housing 42. At that time, after the engaging lock protrusion 46 of the female connector housing 42 enters the lock protrusion receiving portion 19 of the outer housing 12, it is disposed in the opening at one end of the lock groove 28 through the lock protrusion introduction port 29. FIG. 5A shows the state at this time, and the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are in a half-fitted state.

  Next, when the operation portion 17a is pushed rearward to rotate the rotation lock lever 17 around the pivot 20, and when it is tilted from the unlock position shown in FIG. Moves along the lock groove 28 while being guided by the lock groove 28 from one end to the other end of the lock groove 28, whereby the fitting operation between the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 proceeds. At this time, the inner restricting surface 45 of the connector fitting chamber 44 contacts the inclined surface 24 a of the rattle restricting portion 24 of the inner housing 13. From this state, the operation portion 17a is further pushed backward to rotate the rotation lock lever 17, and when the rotation lock lever 17 is disposed at the lock position shown in FIG. 5B, the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are arranged. And the inclined surface 24a is pushed by the restricting surface 45, and the coil spring 16 is compressed.

  In this connector fully fitted state, the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are locked so as not to be detached by the connector fitting / removing operation supporting mechanism such as the rotation lock lever 17 and the fitted state is maintained. The restriction surface 45 of the mold connector housing 42 is urged by the elastic restoring force of the coil spring 16 through the inclined surface 24a of the backlash restricting portion 24, and is maintained in close contact with the inclined surface 24a (in other words, The state in which the inclined surface 24a presses the regulating surface 45 by the elastic restoring force of the coil spring 16 while being in surface contact with the regulating surface 45 is also maintained). Further, in this connector fully engaged state, as shown in FIG. 1, the flat electrical contact portion of the male terminal 51 is inserted into the box-shaped electrical contact portion of the female terminal 50, and the electrical The contact portion and the electrical contact portion of the male terminal 51 are electrically connected. Further, in this connector fully engaged state, the waterproof packing 14 is formed by the inner peripheral surface of the connector fitting chamber 44 of the female connector housing 42 and the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 13a of the inner housing 13 as shown in FIG. It is pinched and seals between the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface in a liquid-tight manner. Needless to say, the detachment operation of the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 is performed by a rotation operation in the opposite direction to the rotation operation of the rotation lock lever 17 described above.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably. In addition, the material, shape, dimension, numerical value, form, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

  For example, the rattling regulating portion 24 of the inner housing 13 described above may be modified like an inner housing 30 shown in FIG. That is, a plurality of slits 31 extending in the connector fitting direction may be provided in the backlash regulating portion 24 at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction so as to divide the inclined surface 24a into a plurality.

The characteristics of the connector 10 will be briefly described as follows.
That is, the connector 10 is
A female connector housing 42 holding a male terminal 51;
A male inner housing 13 that holds a female terminal 50 that can be electrically connected to the male terminal 51 and can be fitted to the female connector housing 42 so as to connect the female terminal 50 to the male terminal 51;
An outer housing 12 that holds the inner housing 13 movably in the fitting direction between the inner housing 13 and the female connector housing 42;
A rattling control portion 24 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner housing 13 and having an inclined surface 24a;
A connector fitting chamber 44 formed in the female connector housing 42 for receiving the inner housing 13 when the inner housing 13 and the female connector housing 42 are fitted;
A regulating surface 45 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the connector fitting chamber 44 and capable of surface contact with the inclined surface 24a;
The inclined surface 24a is disposed between the inner housing 13 and the outer housing 12, and the inclined surface 24a comes into surface contact with and presses the regulating surface 45 when the inner housing 13 and the female connector housing 42 are completely fitted. A metal coil spring 16 for urging the inner housing 13 with an elastic repulsive force in the fitting direction to the female connector housing 42;
It has.
The connector 10 further includes a front disconnection prevention mechanism provided between the inner housing 13 and the outer housing 12, and the front disconnection prevention mechanism is connected to the inner housing 13 from the outer housing 12 by the coil spring 16. To prevent the front slipping.
In addition, the connector 10 supports the fitting operation between the inner housing 13 and the female connector housing 42, and further supports the connector fitting / removing operation that can maintain the completely fitted state between the inner housing 13 and the female connector housing 42. A mechanism is further provided.
The connector insertion / removal operation support mechanism of the connector 10 is
A pair of engagement lock protrusions 46 formed on both sides of the female connector housing 42 so as to be arranged in a direction orthogonal to the connector fitting direction on the outer peripheral surface of the female connector housing 42;
A pair of pivots 20 formed on both sides of the outer housing 12 so as to be aligned on the outer peripheral surface of the outer housing 12 in a direction orthogonal to the connector fitting direction;
A rotation lock lever 17 attached to the pivot 20 so as to be rotatable about the pivot 20,
With
The rotation lock lever 17 has a pair of arc-shaped lock grooves 28 for receiving and guiding the engagement lock protrusions 46, respectively. When the rotation lock lever 17 is rotated, the engagement lock protrusions 46 are locked. 28, the inner housing 13 and the female connector housing 42 are fitted or detached.
In addition, the connector 10 is provided with a plurality of slits 31 extending in the connector fitting direction at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction so as to divide the inclined surface 24a into a plurality of the inner housing (30). ing.

As described above, according to the connector 10, when the inner housing 13 that is a part of the male connector housing and the female connector housing 42 are completely fitted together, the regulating surface 45 and the inclined surface 24 a of the rattling regulating portion 24. However, since it receives the elastic repulsive force (in other words, elastic restoring force) of the coil spring 16 and makes a strong surface contact, not only rattling in the connector fitting orthogonal direction but also rattling in the connector fitting direction is prevented. Therefore, wear and the like of the electrical contact portions of both male and female terminals 51 and 50 are reliably prevented. The connector 10 includes a metal coil spring 16 that is less susceptible to secular change and characteristic change due to heat or the like and has a small amount of sag compared to an elastic member formed of synthetic rubber, elastomer resin, or the like as a constituent material. So it is excellent.
Further, according to the connector 10, the front disconnection in the fitting direction of the inner housing 13 from the outer housing 12 by the coil spring 16 having a high elastic repulsive force is prevented by providing the front disconnection preventing mechanism.
Further, according to the connector 10, the female connector housing 42 and the inner housing 13 urged by the coil spring 16 toward the female connector housing 42 side can be particularly easily fitted by the connector fitting / removing operation support mechanism. Can be done.
Further, according to the connector 10, the fitting operation between the inner housing 13 and the female connector housing 42 can be supported with a simple configuration, and furthermore, the complete fitting state between the inner housing 13 and the female connector housing 42 can be maintained. So it is preferable.
Further, according to the connector 10, the inclined surfaces 24 a of the divided rattling regulating portion 24 are in surface contact with the regulating surface 45 of the female connector housing 42. For example, when the backlash restricting portion 24 has an integral inclined surface 24a, it cannot be satisfactorily adhered to the restricting surface 45 unless it is formed accurately and smoothly over the entire circumference of the inclined surface 24a. There is a high possibility that a gap is formed in the gap, and an inclination or the like is generated in the gap. However, if the inclined surface 24a of the divided rattling restriction portion 24 is brought into contact with the restriction surface 45 of the female connector housing 42, each part of the divided rattling restriction portion 24 is obtained even if there is a dimensional error. Due to the deformations generated in this, the dimensional error is absorbed and good surface contact is obtained, and the inner housing 30 and the female connector housing 42 are strongly coupled to each other by this good surface contact.

It is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the connector according to the present invention (a connector in which a male connector and a female connector are fitted). FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the male connector of FIG. 1 (the position of the rotation lock lever is shown when the connector is in a fully fitted state). FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the male connector of FIG. 2. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the male connector of FIG. (A) And (b) is locking operation explanatory drawing of the connector insertion / detachment operation assistance mechanism of the connector shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of the inner housing in the connector of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the connector of the perfect fitting state which shows an example of the conventional connector. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state just before the perfect fitting of the connector of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Connector 11 Male connector 12 Outer housing 12b Locking protrusion 12c Locking protrusion 13 Inner housing 13a Perimeter wall 13b Engaging protrusion 13c Engaging protrusion 13d Terminal accommodating chamber 14 Waterproof packing 15 Front holder 16 Coil spring 17 Rotation lock lever 18 Housing Mounting portion 19 Lock projection receiving portion 20 Pivoting shaft 23 Spring accommodating hole 24 Roughness restricting portion 24a Inclined surface 25 Spring accommodating hole 26 Mounting hole 27 Spring plate portion 28 Lock groove 29 Lock projection introduction port 30 Inner housing 31 Slit 41 Female connector 42 Female Type connector housing 43 peripheral wall 44 connector fitting chamber 45 regulating surface 46 engagement lock projection 50 female terminal 51 male terminal

Claims (5)

A female connector housing holding a male terminal;
A male inner housing that holds a female terminal electrically connectable to the male terminal and is matable with the female connector housing to connect the female terminal to the male terminal;
An outer housing that holds the inner housing movably in a fitting direction between the inner housing and the female connector housing;
A rattling regulating portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner housing and having an inclined surface;
A connector fitting chamber formed in the female connector housing for receiving the inner housing when the inner housing and the female connector housing are fitted;
A regulation surface formed on the inner peripheral surface of the connector fitting chamber and capable of surface contact with the inclined surface,
The inclined surface is disposed between the inner housing and the outer housing, and the inclined surface is in surface contact with and presses the restriction surface when the inner housing and the female connector housing are completely fitted. A metal coil spring that urges the inner housing with an elastic repulsive force in the fitting direction to the female connector housing;
A connector comprising:   It further includes a front disconnection prevention mechanism provided between the inner housing and the outer housing, and the front disconnection prevention mechanism prevents the inner housing from coming forward in the fitting direction from the outer housing by the coil spring. The connector according to claim 1.   A connector insertion / removal operation support mechanism capable of supporting a fitting operation between the inner housing and the female connector housing and further maintaining a completely fitted state between the inner housing and the female connector housing is further provided. The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The connector insertion / removal operation support mechanism,
A pair of engagement lock protrusions formed on both sides of the female connector housing so as to be arranged in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction on the outer peripheral surface of the female connector housing;
A pair of pivots formed on both sides of the outer housing so as to be arranged in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction on the outer peripheral surface of the outer housing;
A rotation lock lever attached to the pivot so as to be rotatable about the pivot;
With
The rotation lock lever has a pair of arc-shaped lock grooves for receiving and guiding the engagement lock protrusions, respectively, and the engagement lock protrusions are turned into the lock grooves by rotating the rotation lock lever. 4. The connector according to claim 3, wherein the inner housing and the female connector housing are fitted or detached by being guided by the guide.   5. The slit according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of slits extending in the fitting direction are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction so as to divide the inclined surface into a plurality of portions. The connector described in one.

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