JP2006324135A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely determine suitability of locking. <P>SOLUTION: A female housing 30 has an auxiliary elastic piece 50 arranged separately from a lock arm 40, which former 50 deforms in bending in interlocking with bending deformation of the lock arm 40 as a pressing part 46 presses a groove bottom of a pressed groove 54, deforms in restoration independently from the lock arm 40, and a second press-beating part 52 at the tip can press beat a second press-beaten part 26 fitted at the rear side of a top-face wall 19 of a counterpart male housing 10. The second press-beaten part 26 is provided at a position lower than a first press-beaten part 25 a first press-beating part 45 of the lock arm 40. When the both housings 10, 30 are regularly insertion-coupled with each other, the auxiliary elastic piece 50 and the lock arm 40 press beat the press-beaten parts 26, 25 of the male housing 10 with a time lag, so that two consecutive press-beating sounds are generated. Because of the characteristic press-beating sounds obtained, the sounds can be discerned even under a noisy environment. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector having a function of locking a pair of connector housings in a properly fitted state.

As a connector having a lock function, for example, a connector described in Patent Document 1 is known. In this structure, a lock arm provided with a protrusion is provided in one connector housing so as to be bent and deformed, and a lock hole into which the protrusion is fitted is opened on the inner wall surface of the other connector housing. In the process where both housings are fitted, the lock arm is bent and deformed by the protrusion running on the inner wall surface of the mating housing, and when both housings are properly fitted, the lock arm is restored and deformed to lock the protrusion. By fitting into the hole, both housings are locked in the normal fitting state.
Further, in such a connector, when the lock arm is restored and deformed, the inner wall surface of the counterpart housing is vigorously struck to generate a snapping sound, and the worker can know that the squeezing sound is locked. It can be done.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-322080

However, for example, in the case of a small connector, the restoring elasticity of the lock arm is small, and therefore the sound of striking sound is also small. Therefore, it is difficult to judge the locked state by relying on the sound of striking sound, especially in a working environment where noise is severe. There was a problem.
The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to more reliably determine whether or not the lock is appropriate.

  As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that one of the pair of connector housings fitted to each other is provided with an elastically deformable lock arm, In the process of fitting, the lock arm is elastically deformed, and when the normal fitting is achieved, the lock arm is elastically restored to apply pressure to the other connector housing and engage with a lock receiving portion provided on the other connector housing. In the connector locked and locked, the one connector housing is provided with an auxiliary elastic piece that is separate from the lock arm and elastically deformable in conjunction with the elastic deformation of the lock arm. The elastic piece is elastically restored together with the lock arm, and the lock arm strikes the other connector housing. Characterized in place where the structure has become possible Da圧 the second connector housing with a time difference.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the striking pressure portion to which the lock arm strikes and the striking pressure portion to which the auxiliary elastic piece strikes are provided from a wall surface of the other connector housing. It is characterized in that it is formed with different protrusion heights.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the auxiliary elastic piece is provided with a plurality of independent elastic pieces, and each of the auxiliary elastic pieces has a time difference with respect to the other connector housing. It is characterized in that it can be pressed.

<Invention of Claim 1>
When both the connector housings are properly fitted, the auxiliary elastic piece and the lock arm press the other connector housing with a time difference, and at least two continuous hitting sounds are generated. Since such a plurality of continuous striking sounds are characteristic as compared to a single striking sound, the operator can listen to this striking sound even in a noisy environment and determine whether or not the lock is appropriate. Judgment can be made reliably.

<Invention of Claim 2>
With a simple structure in which the height of the pressure-receiving portion on the lock arm side and the pressure-receiving portion on the auxiliary elastic piece side is changed, a difference in timing of the pressure can be applied.
<Invention of Claim 3>
Three or more continuous hammering sounds including the lock arm are emitted, and a more characteristic hammering sound can be obtained.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a male connector housing 10 (hereinafter referred to as a male housing 10) that can be fitted to each other and a female connector housing 30 (hereinafter referred to as a female housing 30) are provided. ing. In the following, in each of the housings 10 and 30, the fitting surface side will be described as the front side.

The male housing 10 is directly connected to the device, and as shown in FIG. 2, a shape in which a hood portion 12 having a slightly horizontal rectangular tube shape is integrally projected from a side wall 11 of a device case made of synthetic resin. It has become. From the lower region on the back surface of the hood part 12, 14 male terminals 14 in the form of tabs are arranged in two rows in an up and down direction so as to project.
A pair of left and right partition walls 15 are formed at a position close to the left and right ends of the ceiling surface of the hood portion 12, and both partition walls 15 extend over the entire depth of the hood portion 12, and the lower edge is the hood portion. Twelve approximate center height positions have been reached.

  On the outside of the left and right partition walls 15, oppositely shaped guide grooves 16 having a cross-sectional shape are formed along the front-rear direction, and guide ribs 39 provided in the female housing 30 described later can enter almost tightly. ing. A region between the partition walls 15 is an entry space 17 into which the lock arm 40 and the auxiliary elastic piece 50 that are also provided in the female housing 30 enter.

  The female housing 30 is also made of synthetic resin, and can be tightly fitted in a region below the lower end of the partition wall 15 in the hood portion 12 of the male housing 10 as shown in FIGS. A housing main body 31 is formed in a block shape. In the housing main body 31, the 14 cavities 32 shown in the figure in the front-rear direction are formed in an array corresponding to the male terminal 14 described above in two upper and lower stages. A terminal insertion port 33 into which a mating male terminal 14 can be inserted is formed on the front surface of each cavity 32.

In each cavity 32, a female terminal 35 fixed to the end of the electric wire 34 is inserted from the rear, is primarily locked by a lance 37 provided on the bottom wall of the cavity 32, and is further inserted from the lower surface side. Due to this, it is double-stopped and accommodated.
Further, along the left and right side edges of the upper surface of the housing main body 31, guide ribs 39 having a cross-sectional saddle shape capable of closely entering the guide groove 16 on the male housing 10 side are provided.

Next, the lock structure between the housings 10 and 30 will be described.
A lock arm 40 is formed at the center position in the width direction on the upper surface of the housing body 31 of the female housing 30. The lock arm 40 has a width dimension that is a little less than one third of the entire width of the female housing 30, and rises at a position slightly retracted from the front end of the upper surface of the housing body 31, and then reaches the vicinity of the rear end of the upper surface of the housing body 31. It is formed in a cantilever shape that extends in a horizontal posture, and the extended end side can be bent and deformed in the vertical direction with the rising base end side as a fulcrum.

A protrusion 42 is formed at the center in the length direction on the upper surface of the lock arm 40. The protrusion 42 is a locked surface 42A whose rear surface side (extended end side) stands substantially vertically, and the front surface side is a guide surface 42B inclined downward toward the front. Further, the upper surface of the lock arm 40 is formed in a stepped shape in which the rear side (extended end side) is a higher level surface 43 that is one step higher than the front side (base end side) sandwiching the protrusion 42.
At the extended end of the lock arm 40, an operation portion 44 for unlocking that forcibly bends and deforms the lock arm 40 is formed.

  On the other hand, on the upper surface wall of the hood portion 12 in the male housing 10, specifically, on the inner surface of the upper surface wall 19 of the entry space 17, there is a lock groove 20 in which the projection 42 of the lock arm 40 is fitted at the center in the width direction. Is formed. The lock groove 20 is cut from the front end of the upper surface wall 19 toward the rear from a position having a predetermined dimension, and the front surface of the lock groove 20 becomes a reverse-tapered locking surface 20A so that the projection 42 is covered. The engaging surface 42A is opposed to the engaging surface 42A. In the upper surface wall 19, an inclined surface is formed at the lower corner portion of the front surface to serve as a guide surface 22.

  As will be described in detail later, when the female housing 30 is fitted into the hood portion 12 of the male housing 10, the guide surface 42B of the protrusion 42 hits the guide surface 42B on the front surface of the upper surface wall 19 during the fitting. Thus, the lock arm 40 is pushed in while being bent (see FIG. 6A), and when the female housing 30 is fitted to a predetermined position, the protrusion 42 passes through the lower surface of the front surface portion 23 of the lock groove 20. Thus, the lock arm 40 is deformed toward the original posture (see FIG. 8A), and the protrusion 42 is fitted and locked to the front end portion of the lock groove 20. At the same time, the portion of the upper surface 43 of the lock arm 40 near the protrusion 42 presses the lower surface of the front surface portion 23 of the lock groove 20. Therefore, a portion of the upper surface 43 of the lock arm 40 near the protrusion 42 is the first striking pressure portion 45, and a lower surface of the front surface portion 23 that is struck by this is the first striking pressure portion 25.

Now, an auxiliary elastic piece 50 is provided in the female housing 30 provided with the lock arm 40. The auxiliary elastic piece 50 is formed in a planar portal shape in which the distal ends of a pair of left and right arm portions 51 are connected by a second striking pressure portion 52. More specifically, the left and right arm portions 51 rise from both the left and right sides of the lock arm 40 at the rear end portion of the upper surface of the housing body 31 and then extend along the left and right side edges of the lock arm 40. Thus, the front end position of the upper surface of the housing body 31, that is, a position extending beyond the base end of the lock arm 40, is formed in a cantilever shape. As shown in FIG.
The total width of the auxiliary elastic piece 50 is a dimension that can be inserted between the partition walls 15 on the male housing 10 side.

  In the auxiliary elastic piece 50, the second striking pressure part 52 can be bent and deformed in the vertical direction with the base end sides of both arm parts 51 as a fulcrum, but in conjunction with the bending deformation of the lock arm 40 described above. It is designed to bend and deform. For this reason, the pressing portions 46 are formed on both the left and right side surfaces in the vicinity of the position where the protrusion 42 is formed in the lock arm 40, while the pressing portions 46 described above are formed on the inner surface sides of the both arm portions 51 of the auxiliary elastic piece 50. Is pressed, and the pressing portion 46 can press the groove bottom of the pressed groove 54. Therefore, when the lock arm 40 is bent and deformed as described above, the pressing portion 46 presses the groove bottom of the pressed groove 54, so that the auxiliary elastic piece 50 is bent and deformed in the direction in which the second hitting portion 52 is lowered. (See FIG. 6B).

On the other hand, as the lock arm 40 is restored and deformed toward the original posture, the auxiliary elastic piece 50 is also restored and deformed toward the original posture, and the second striking portion 52 of the auxiliary elastic piece 50 enters the male housing 10. An attempt is made to strike the inner surface on the back side of the upper surface wall 19 of the space 17.
In this embodiment, in particular, the timing at which the second striking pressure part 52 of the auxiliary elastic piece 50 strikes the opponent striking pressure part is determined by the first striking pressure part 45 of the lock arm 40 striking the first striking pressure part 25. It is set to be a predetermined time earlier than the timing of pressing.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of second striking pressure portions 26 are formed on the inner surface on the back side of the upper surface wall 19 of the entry space 17 on both the left and right sides of the lock groove 20. Projectingly formed. The bottom surfaces of both the second striking pressure portions 26 are striking pressure surfaces 26A on which the left and right ends of the second striking pressure portion 52 of the auxiliary elastic piece 50 are struck. 1 A position lower by a predetermined dimension than the pressed portion 25, for example, a position that is about 1.5 times as deep as the depth of the lock groove 20 from the inner surface of the upper surface wall 19. Further, as will be described later, when the second striking pressure portion 52 of the auxiliary elastic piece 50 is struck by the second striking pressure portion 26, the second striking portion 26 takes a slightly downward posture before returning to the original posture. The pressed surface 26A is formed in a slanted shape so as to be slightly recessed so that the pressure portion 52 can come into contact with the surface.
In addition, the front side of both the second striking pressure parts 26 is formed with a notch 27 in the inner region so as to escape the proximal end side of the lock arm 40, and the outer region is an auxiliary before bending deformation. In order to avoid interference with the second striking pressure part 52 of the elastic piece 50, the tapered surface 28 is used.

  An arch-shaped protective wall 56 is formed at the rear end of the upper surface of the housing body 31 in the female housing 30 so as to cover the operation portion 44 of the lock arm 40 and the base end of the auxiliary elastic piece 50. Primarily, foreign matter is prevented from inadvertently hitting the operation portion 44 of the lock arm 40 and the electric wire 34 is prevented from entering the lower surface of the operation portion 44. However, an opening 57 for pressing operation of the operation portion 44 is cut out on the upper surface of the protective wall 56.

The operation of this embodiment will be described.
When the female housing 30 is fitted into the hood portion 12 of the male housing 10 from the state shown in FIG. 1, the lock arm 40 and the auxiliary elastic piece 50 are guided by the guide rib 39 and the guide groove 16. It enters straight into the 12 entry spaces 17. At the same time, the male terminal 14 is inserted into the cavity 32 from the terminal insertion port 33 and the connection with the corresponding female terminal 35 is advanced.

When the fitting operation approaches the final stage, as shown in FIG. 6A, the guide surface 42 </ b> B of the protrusion 42 of the lock arm 40 hits the guide surface 22 on the front surface of the upper surface wall 19 of the male housing 10 and is further fitted. Then, as the protrusion 42 rides on the lower surface of the front surface portion 23 of the lock groove 20, the lock arm 40 is pushed in while the operation portion 44 side is bent and deformed downward.
When the lock arm 40 is bent and deformed as described above, both the pressing portions 46 of the lock arm 40 are formed in the pressed grooves 54 formed in each arm portion 51 of the auxiliary elastic piece 50 as shown in FIG. By pressing the groove bottom, the auxiliary elastic piece 50 is bent and deformed in the direction in which the second striking pressure portion 52 is lowered.

When the housing main body 31 of the female housing 30 reaches the back surface of the hood portion 12, that is, when the corresponding male terminal 14 and female terminal 35 are properly connected to each other, the protrusion 42 of the lock arm 40 is moved to the front surface. In order to pass through the lower surface of the portion 23, the lock arm 40 and the auxiliary elastic piece 50 are integrally restored and deformed toward the original posture.
Then, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, first, the second striking pressure portion 52 of the auxiliary elastic piece 50 strikes the striking pressure surface 26A of the second striking pressure portion 26 at a low position, The first striking sound is emitted.
Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, only the lock arm 40 is restored and restored to its original posture while leaving the auxiliary elastic piece 50, and accordingly, the first striking pressure portion 45 of the lock arm 40 is changed. The first striking pressure portion 25 is struck and a second striking sound is emitted with a predetermined time difference. At the same time, the protrusion 42 of the lock arm 40 fits into the lock groove 20 and is locked.

That is, according to the present embodiment, when the two housings 10 and 30 are properly fitted, the auxiliary elastic piece 50 and the lock arm 40 have a time difference between the second pressed portion 26 and the first pressed portion, respectively. 25, and two consecutive striking sounds are generated. Since such two consecutive striking sounds are characteristic as compared to a single striking sound, the operator can listen to this striking sound even in a noisy environment and determine whether or not the lock is appropriate. Judgment can be made reliably.
In addition, as a means for obtaining the time difference between the striking pressures, a structure is adopted in which the height positions of the first striking pressure part 25 and the second striking pressure part 26 are changed.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the second embodiment, the three hitting sounds are continuously emitted with a time difference, and the following description will mainly focus on the differences from the first embodiment. About the site | part which has the same function as Embodiment 1, description is simplified or abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

  In the second embodiment, in the auxiliary elastic piece 60 provided in the female housing 30A, the extending ends of the left and right arm portions 61L and 61R are not connected, that is, the arm portions 61L and 61R are flexibly deformed independently. In addition, restoration deformation can be performed. The extension end of the left arm portion 61L viewed from the front is the second impact pressure portion 62, and the extension end of the right arm portion 61R is the third impact pressure portion 63.

  On the other hand, on the male housing 10 </ b> A side, on the inner surface on the back side of the upper surface wall 19 of the entry space 17, on the right side as viewed from the front across the lock groove 20, On the left side of the pressure part 65, a third hit pressure part 66 to be pressed by the third hit pressure part 63 is formed to protrude. Both the striking pressure surfaces 65A, 66A of both the striking pressure portions 65, 66 are set at positions lower than the first striking pressure portion 25, but the striking pressure surface 65A of the second striking pressure portion 65 is: It is set at a position that is about the depth of the lock groove 20 from the inner surface of the upper surface wall 19, and the hitting pressure surface 66 </ b> A of the third hitting pressure part 66 is 1 It is set at a lower position, such as a position that is about 5 times smaller.

  It should be noted that the pressed surfaces 65A and 66A of the second pressed part 65 and the third pressed part 66 are slightly in the back so that the second pressed part 62 and the third pressed part 63 can come into contact with each other. A notched portion 27 is formed on the front side of the two striking pressure portions 65 and 66 so as to allow the base end side of the lock arm 40 to escape on the front side of both the hitting pressure portions 65 and 66. Further, the outer region is formed as the tapered surface 28 in order to avoid interference with the second striking pressure part 62 or the third striking pressure part 63 of the auxiliary elastic piece 60 before being bent and deformed. Same as 1.

The operation of the second embodiment is as follows.
When the female housing 30A is fitted into the hood portion 12 of the male housing 10A from the state shown in FIG. 9 and the fitting operation approaches the final stage, as shown in FIG. 12, the protrusion 42 of the lock arm 40 becomes the lock groove. 20, the lock arm 40 is pushed in while the operation portion 44 side is bent and deformed downward, and accordingly, both pressing portions 46 of the lock arm 40 are moved to the arm portions of the auxiliary elastic piece 60. By pressing the groove bottom of the pressed groove 54 formed in 61L and 61R, both arm portions 61L and 61R are bent and deformed in a downward direction together.

When the two housings 10A and 30A are properly fitted, the protrusion 42 of the lock arm 40 passes through the lower surface of the front surface portion 23, so that both the arm portions 61L and 61R of the lock arm 40 and the auxiliary elastic piece 60 are in the original posture. It is restored and deformed integrally.
Then, first, as shown in FIG. 13A, the third striking pressure portion 63 of the arm portion 61R on the right side (front side in the figure) of the auxiliary elastic piece 60 is the lowest third striking pressure portion 66. The striking surface 66A is struck and a first striking sound is emitted. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6B, the left arm 61L and the lock arm 40 are restored and deformed while leaving the right arm 61R, and this time the left arm The second striking pressure part 62 of the portion 61L strikes the striking pressure surface 65A of the second lowest striking pressure part 65, and a second striking sound is generated with a time difference.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 13C, only the lock arm 40 is restored and deformed to the original posture while leaving both the arm portions 61L and 61R of the auxiliary elastic piece 60, and the first striking pressure of the lock arm 40 accordingly. The portion 45 presses the first pressed portion 25, and a third hitting sound is generated with a time difference. At the same time, the protrusion 42 of the lock arm 40 fits into the lock groove 20 and is locked.
That is, according to the second embodiment, three consecutive hitting sounds including the lock arm 40 are emitted, and a more characteristic hitting sound can be obtained.

<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) It is possible to continuously generate four or more striking sounds by increasing the number of arm portions in the auxiliary elastic piece.
(2) Contrary to the above embodiment, the lock arm and the auxiliary elastic piece may be provided on the male housing side.
(3) The present invention can be similarly applied to a lock arm that employs a so-called seesaw type that swings around a fulcrum at the center in the length direction.
(4) In the above-described embodiment, the male housing is directly connected to the device. However, the housing may be connected to the end of the wire harness.

The longitudinal cross-sectional view before the fitting of the male and female housing which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention Front view of male housing Female housing partially cutaway front view Plan view Same vertical section Longitudinal section during fitting of both housings Longitudinal sectional view showing the state when the first striking sound is generated Longitudinal sectional view showing the state when the second striking sound is generated The longitudinal cross-sectional view before the fitting of the male and female housing which concerns on Embodiment 2 Front view of male housing Plan view Longitudinal section during fitting of both housings Longitudinal sectional view showing the process of generating impact sound

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Male housing (the other connector housing)
12 ... Hood part 19 ... Top wall 20 ... Lock groove (lock receiving part)
23 ... Front portion (of lock groove 20) 25 ... First hit pressure portion 26 ... Second hit pressure portion 26A ... Hit pressure surface 30 ... Female housing (one connector housing)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 31 ... Housing main body 40 ... Lock arm 42 ... Protrusion 45 ... 1st striking part 46 ... Pressing part 50 ... Auxiliary elastic piece 51 ... Arm part 52 ... 2nd striking part 54 ... Pressed groove 10A ... Male housing (other side Connector housing)
30A ... Female housing (one connector housing)
60 ... auxiliary elastic piece 61L, 61R ... arm part 62 ... second impact pressure part 63 ... third impact pressure part 65 ... second impact pressure part 66 ... third impact pressure part

Claims (3)

One of the pair of connector housings to be fitted to each other is provided with a lock arm that can be elastically deformed, and the lock arm is elastically deformed in the process of fitting both the connector housings so that the normal fitting is achieved. In the connector in which the lock arm is elastically restored and the other connector housing is pressed and locked to the lock receiving portion provided in the other connector housing,
The one connector housing is provided with an auxiliary elastic piece that is separate from the lock arm and elastically deformable in conjunction with elastic deformation of the lock arm, and the auxiliary elastic piece elastically recovers together with the lock arm, The connector, wherein the lock arm is capable of pressing the other connector housing with a time difference from the pressing of the other connector housing. The hitting pressure part to be hit by the lock arm and the hitting pressure part to be hit by the auxiliary elastic piece are formed with different projecting heights from the wall surface of the other connector housing. The connector according to claim 1. The auxiliary elastic piece is provided with a plurality of independent elastic pieces, and each auxiliary elastic piece is capable of pressing the other connector housing with a time difference from each other. The connector described.

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