JP2008071529A - Connector structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector structure capable of easily releasing lock with no degradation of lock holding strength. <P>SOLUTION: The connector structure is equipped with a connector housing 10 which houses one terminal 15 and is engaged with a mating connector housing 30 that houses the other terminal 33. The connector housing 10 comprises a hood 13 in which the mating connector housing 30 is inserted. A flexible lock arm 14 is provided, at the position facing the hood 13, which is flexible in seesaw and is hooked by a hooking projection 32 that the mating connector housing 30 comprises. At least either the flexible lock arm 14 or the hood 13 is provided with lock releasing parts 22 and 25 that can release the flexible lock arm 14 from the hooking projection 32 as the hood 13 elastically deforms. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector structure including a connector housing that accommodates one terminal and is fitted to a mating connector housing that accommodates the other terminal.

  As an example of the connector structure, as shown in FIG. 4, by inserting a male connector housing (not shown) between the terminal accommodating portion 52 and the hood portion 53 of the female connector housing 51, the lock arm 54 of the female connector housing 51 is inserted. The front end portion of the motor vehicle rides on the locking projection of the male connector housing, and the front portion is displaced upward and the rear portion is displaced downward via the fulcrum portion 55. After that, there is known one in which the lock arm 54 gets over the lock protrusion and the lock hole 56 of the lock arm 54 is locked to the lock protrusion (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-329554 A (FIG. 17)

  However, in the connector structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to detach the female connector housing 51 from the male connector housing, the operating portion 57 of the lock arm 54 is pressed to forcibly elastically deform the lock arm 54. Thus, the locking of the lock hole 56 to the lock protrusion is released. Therefore, when the height of the female connector housing 51 including the male connector housing is lowered to reduce the height, the lock strength of the lock arm 54 to the lock protrusion is increased to prevent the lock holding force from being lowered. It will be. As a result, there is a problem that the pressing force to the operating portion 57 of the lock arm 54 at the time of detachment becomes large and cannot be easily released.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector structure that can be easily unlocked without lowering the lock holding force.

1) A connector structure according to the present invention is a connector structure including a connector housing that accommodates one terminal and is fitted to a mating connector housing that accommodates the other terminal,
The connector housing has a hood portion into which the mating connector housing is inserted, and is flexed in a seesaw manner at a position opposite to the hood portion, and is latched by an engaging protrusion of the mating connector housing. A flexible lock arm, and at least one of the flexible lock arm and the hood portion, a lock release portion capable of releasing the lock of the flexible lock arm from the engagement protrusion in accordance with elastic deformation of the hood portion. It is characterized by having.

  According to the invention described in 1) above, the connector housing is engaged with the flexible lock arm by being engaged with the engaging protrusion of the mating connector housing by inserting the mating connector housing into the hood portion. Locked. When releasing the lock, the lock release portion provided in at least one of the flexible lock arm and the hood portion releases the lock from the engagement protrusion by elastically deforming the hood portion. As a result, even if the lock strength of the flexible lock arm is increased due to the low profile, the lock can be released by elastically deforming the hood without directly operating the flexible lock arm. The lock can be easily released without causing a drop.

  2) Further, the connector structure according to the present invention is the connector structure described in 1) above, wherein the unlocking portion causes the flexible lock arm to be detached from the engaging protrusion in accordance with elastic deformation of the hood portion. It is an inclined surface that is displaced in the direction.

  According to the invention described in the above 2), the flexible lock arm can be displaced in the direction of separating from the engaging protrusion via the inclined surface in accordance with the elastic deformation of the hood portion. Since the inclined surface is formed with a simple structure, it is not necessary to drastically change the conventional mold, and the inclined surface can be advantageously manufactured in terms of cost without much capital investment.

  According to the connector structure of the present invention, it is possible to solve the problem that it is impossible to easily release a low profile, and thus it is possible to easily perform unlocking without causing a decrease in lock holding force. Is obtained.

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

  1 is an external perspective view of a female connector housing using a connector structure according to an embodiment of the present invention and a male connector housing before fitting, FIG. 2 is a front view of the female connector housing shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a front view explaining the cancellation | release operation | movement at the time of making a male connector housing fit to the female connector housing shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a female connector housing 10 using a connector structure according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an inner housing 11, a front cover 12, a hood portion 13, and a flexible lock arm 14. The connector housing is fitted into a male connector housing 30 which is a mating connector housing.

  The female connector housing 10 is formed of a resin that is not conductive and has some flexibility.

  In the inner housing 11, a plurality of terminal housing chambers (not shown) are formed along the fitting direction, and a female terminal 15 as one terminal is housed in the terminal housing portion. The inner housing 11 has a rubber ring member 16 fitted on the base end.

  The front cover 12 is assembled to the front end of the inner housing 11 so as to form a plurality of terminal guide holes 17 communicating with the terminal housing chamber of the inner housing 11.

  The hood portion 13 is formed in a rectangular tube shape, and is disposed on the outer side of the inner housing 11 with a predetermined male connector housing insertion portion 18 in a predetermined space. A pair of flexible lock arms 14 are vertically arranged through a pair of cutouts 19 cut out toward the side of the section. Therefore, the hood part 13 has a right hood part 20 and a left hood part 21 each having a U-shape in a pair of left and right with the flexible lock arm 14 disposed in the center. Since the right hood part 20 and the left hood part 21 are substantially separated from each other left and right via the flexible lock arm 14, the right hood part 20 and the left hood part 21 are pressed toward the flexible lock arm 14. By doing so, both the hood parts 20 and 21 are displaced so as to collide with the flexible lock arm 14. And the taper surface-like hood part side inclined surface 22 which comprises the hood part 13 side of a lock release part is formed in the fitting front-end part side of a pair of notch 19, respectively. The hood portion-side inclined surface 22 forms a surface that descends toward the inside of the pair of cutouts 19.

  The flexible lock arms 14 are formed in an H-shaped tongue-like shape and are formed in a pair on the front end of the hood 13 at the front end of the fitting, and the seesaw with the rear end of the hood 13 fitted as a fulcrum 23. It can be elastically deformed up and down in the formula. The flexible lock arm 14 has a lock portion 24 at the center. Then, on the side of the flexible lock arm 14 on the side of the notch 19, a taper-shaped flexible lock arm side inclined surface 25 that forms the flexible lock arm 14 side of the unlocking portion is formed. The flexible lock arm side inclined surface 25 forms a surface that rises toward the hood portion side inclined surface 21.

  In the female connector housing 10, the female terminals 15 are accommodated in the terminal accommodating portions of the inner housing 11, the ring member 16 is externally fitted, and then the front cover 12 is assembled to the inner housing 11. The electrically connected electric wire 26 is pulled out to the non-fitting side.

  On the other hand, the male connector housing 30 has a cylindrical hood portion 31 to be inserted into the male connector housing insertion portion 17 of the female connector housing 10, and has a pair of engaging protrusions 32 above and below the hood portion 31. The male connector housing 30 has a plurality of terminal housing chambers (not shown) formed in the fitting direction, and the male terminal 33 which is the other terminal is housed in the terminal housing portion.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the female connector housing 10 has a pair of flexible lock arms 14 arranged on the same surface as the hood portion 13 when the locking operation is not performed. Therefore, when the hood portion 31 of the male connector housing 30 is inserted into the male connector housing insertion portion 17, the flexible lock arm 14 is brought into contact with the surface of the hood portion 13 with the contact of the engagement protrusion 32 of the male connector housing 30. It is elastically deformed upward from the top. When the flexible lock arm 14 gets over the engagement protrusion 32, the lock portion 24 of the flexible lock arm 14 is engaged with the engagement projection 32 to form a fitting lock, and the female terminal 15 is connected to the male terminal 33. Each is electrically connected to form a circuit.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the female connector housing 10 is detached from the male connector housing 30, the right hood portion 20 and the left hood portion 21 are pressed toward the flexible lock arm 14. Then, the right hood portion 20 is displaced toward the flexible lock arm 14 and the left hood portion 21 is displaced toward the flexible lock arm 14, so that the hood portion side inclined surface 22 of the right hood portion 20. Is slidably contacted with the flexible lock arm side inclined surface 25 on the right side of the flexible lock arm 14. Further, the hood portion side inclined surface 22 of the left hood portion 21 is slidably contacted with the flexible lock arm side inclined surface 25 on the left side of the flexible lock arm 14, and the right hood is brought into contact with the both inclined surfaces 22 and 25. A component force orthogonal to the pressing force of the portion 20 and the left hood portion 21 is applied to the flexible lock arm 14. As a result, the flexible lock arm 14 is elastically deformed upward from the surface of the hood portion 13, and the lock portion 24 of the flexible lock arm 14 is disengaged from the engagement protrusion 32 of the male connector housing 30. The match is released.

As described above, the female connector housing 10 can be used without being directly operated by the operator by hand or the like when the male connector housing 30 is fitted or detached from the male connector housing 30. You can work easily without the need for.
In addition, in order to prevent unintentional lock release, the hood part 13 or the flexible lock arm 14 may be provided with a regulating member that prevents the hood part 13 from being bent, and a known fitting detection member that detects a halfway fitting state. It may be.

  As described above, according to the connector structure, the female connector housing 10 is configured such that the hood portion 31 of the male connector housing 30 is inserted into the male connector housing insertion portion 18 inside the hood portion 13, so that the flexible lock arm 14. Is engaged with the engaging protrusion 32 of the male connector housing 30 to lock the fitting. When the latch is released, the right hood portion 20 and the left hood portion 21 of the female connector housing 10 are pressed and elastically deformed so that the hood portion-side inclined surface 22 of the right hood portion 20 is flexibly locked. And the hood portion side inclined surface 22 of the left hood portion 21 is slidably contacted with the right side flexible lock arm side inclined surface 25 of the flexible lock arm 14. The flexible lock arm 14 is unlocked from the engagement protrusion 32 by being in sliding contact with the engagement protrusion 32. As a result, even if the lock strength of the flexible lock arm 14 is increased due to the low profile, the lock can be released by elastically deforming the hood portion 13 without directly operating the flexible lock arm 14. Even if it is intended to make it easier, the lock can be easily released without lowering the lock holding force.

  Further, according to the connector structure, the flexible lock arm 14 is detached from the engagement protrusion 32 through the hood portion side inclined surface 22 and the flexible lock arm side inclined surface 25 with the elastic deformation of the hood portion 13. Can be displaced in the direction. Since the hood portion side inclined surface 22 and the flexible lock arm side inclined surface 25 are respectively formed in the hood portion 13 and the flexible lock arm 14 with a simple structure, the conventional mold is significantly changed. It is not necessary and can be manufactured advantageously in terms of cost without large capital investment.

  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, as the lock release portion provided in at least one of the flexible lock arm and the hood portion, the flexible lock arm side inclined surface may be omitted and only the hood portion side inclined surface may be provided. Then, since the shape of the flexible lock arm can be made equivalent to that of the conventional one, it is possible to omit the creation of a new mold.

  Moreover, you may provide the press operation part for clarifying a press location in a right side hood part and a left side hood part.

  Furthermore, the hood portion of the female connector housing is not limited to the illustrated rectangular tube shape, but may be a cylindrical shape.

It is an external appearance perspective view before the fitting of the female connector housing and male connector housing using the connector structure concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the female connector housing shown in FIG. It is a front view explaining the releasing operation at the time of fitting a male connector housing to the female connector housing shown in FIG. It is the schematic of the female connector housing using the conventional connector structure.

Explanation of symbols

10 Female connector housing (connector housing)
13 Hood part 14 Flexible lock arm 15 Female terminal (one terminal)
22 Hood side slope (lock release part) (slope)
25 Flexible lock arm side inclined surface (lock release part) (inclined surface)
30 Male connector housing (mating connector housing)
32 engaging protrusion 33 male terminal (the other terminal)

Claims (2)

A connector structure including a connector housing that accommodates one terminal and is fitted to a mating connector housing that accommodates the other terminal,
The connector housing has a hood portion into which the mating connector housing is inserted, and is flexed in a seesaw manner at a position opposite to the hood portion, and is latched by an engaging protrusion of the mating connector housing. A flexible lock arm, and at least one of the flexible lock arm and the hood portion, a lock release portion capable of releasing the lock of the flexible lock arm from the engagement protrusion in accordance with elastic deformation of the hood portion. A connector structure characterized by comprising.   2. The connector structure according to claim 1, wherein the lock release portion is an inclined surface that displaces the flexible lock arm in a direction in which the flexible lock arm is detached from the engagement protrusion with elastic deformation of the hood portion.

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