JP2008171748A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent certainly loosening of both connector housings in engagement or separation direction in a connector having a pair of male and female connector housings capable of engagement and separation mutually. <P>SOLUTION: A cover 60 is installed in a female side connector housing 10. A terminal housing part 11 and a lock arm 23 are installed in the female side connector housing 10 and a hood 41 to be engaged with the terminal housing part 11 from above and a locking projection 42 to be locked to the lock arm 23 are installed in the male connector housing 40. When the both connector housings 10, 40 are in a regular engagement state, the lock arm 23 and locking projection 42 are in abutment respectively in separation direction of the both connector housings 10, 40, and the hood 41 and a connector installation member are respectively in abutment in engagement direction of the both connector housings 10, 40, and the abutting portions form loosening tightening parts 44, 67. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  The connector described in Patent Document 1 includes a pair of male and female connector housings that can be fitted and detached from each other, and of these, the female connector housing is provided with a terminal housing portion and a fitting cylinder portion surrounding the terminal housing portion. The male connector housing is provided with a hood portion that is externally fitted to the terminal accommodating portion. A bendable lock arm is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion, and a lock protrusion that is elastically locked to the lock arm is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the hood portion. The male connector housing is directly connected to the device, and is displaced by vibration transmitted from the device side.

On the other hand, a clearance is formed between the connector housings in the fitting / removing direction between the two connector housings due to the fact that the lock arm draws a turning trajectory when locking the lock projection. Then, when vibration is applied from the device side, there is a concern that both connector housings are loose within the clearance range, and that terminals mounted on both connector housings slide on each other and wear each other.
Therefore, in this connector, when the two connector housings are heated in a properly fitted state, the male connector housing located on the inner side is more thermally expanded than the female connector housing located on the outer side. As a special setting, the backlash between the connector housings is prevented.
JP 2005-347094 A

  In the above case, the difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the two connector housings was used. However, as another approach for preventing backlash between the two connector housings, the inner surface of the hood portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion. In some cases, a rib was provided to close the clearance with the peripheral surface. However, according to this, it is possible to prevent rattling in the direction perpendicular to the fitting / removing direction of both connector housings, but it is possible to reliably prevent rattling of both connector housings in the fitting / detaching direction. There wasn't.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to reliably prevent backlash of both connector housings in the fitting / removing direction.

  As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 includes a pair of connector housings that can be fitted to and detached from each other, and a connector mounting member that is attached to one of the two connector housings. The one connector housing is provided with a terminal accommodating portion, and the other connector housing is provided with a hood portion fitted to the terminal accommodating portion, and both the connector housings are respectively provided with the two connector housings. The connector is provided with a lock portion for holding the connector in a fitted state, and when the two connector housings are in a properly fitted state, the two lock portions meet in the detaching direction of the two connector housings, respectively. The hood portion and the connector mounting member meet in the fitting direction of the two connector housings, respectively. It has a feature where the contact portion is to constitute the play elimination unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, at least one backlash filling portion of the hood portion and the connector mounting member can be crushed by contact with the other backlash filling portion. It has the feature that the allowance is provided.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the one connector housing is provided with a locking receiving portion, and the connector mounting member locks the locking receiving portion. Thus, a locking portion for preventing the connector mounting member from being detached is provided, and the backlashing portion on the connector mounting member side is set at a front end side of the locking portion, and the backlash packing at the locking portion is performed. The end surface on the side opposite to the portion is characterized in that it comes into contact with the latch receiving portion in the direction in which the connector mounting member is pulled out when the backlash portions are in contact.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the one according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the one connector housing is provided with a fitting tube portion surrounding the terminal accommodating portion with a gap, The fitting tube portion and the terminal accommodating portion are connected to each other by a radial connecting portion, and when the two connector housings are fitted, the hood portion enters the gap, The hood portion is provided with a protruding piece that protrudes toward the connector mounting member and has the back-filled portion at the protruding end, and the connecting portion has a through hole that allows the protruding piece to face the connector mounting member. It is characterized in that is provided.

<Invention of Claim 1>
When both the connector housings are in the normal fitting state, the movement of the two connector housings in the detaching direction is restricted by the two locking portions, and the movement of the two connector housings in the fitting direction is restricted by the two backlashing portions. By using a connector mounting member different from both the connector housings, it is possible to reliably prevent the two connector housings that have been normally fitted from rattling in the fitting / removing direction.

<Invention of Claim 2>
By crushing the crushing allowance when both the backlash portions meet, it is possible to more reliably suppress the backlash of both connector housings in the fitting / removing direction.
<Invention of Claim 3>
Since the locking force of the locking portion against the locking receiving portion is enhanced by the contact between the two backlash portions, it is possible to reliably prevent the connector mounting member from being accidentally dropped from one connector housing due to vibration. can do.

<Invention of Claim 4>
When the projecting piece comes into contact with the inner surface of the through-hole, it is possible to prevent the two connector housings from rattling in a direction perpendicular to the fitting / removing direction.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This connector includes a pair of male and female connector housings 10 and 40 that can be fitted to and detached from each other, and a cover 60 that is attached to the female connector housing 10 (one connector housing of the present invention) (the connector mounting member of the present invention). ). In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the fitting surface side of both connector housings 10 and 40 is assumed to be the front, and the cover 60 follows the front-rear reference of the female-side connector housing 10.

  The male connector housing 40 (the other connector housing of the present invention) is made of synthetic resin and is directly connected to the device. Specifically, the male connector housing 40 includes a tubular hood portion 41 as shown in FIG. 1, and a male tab 45 protruding into the hood portion 41 is attached to the back end of the hood portion 41. Yes. A lock projection 42 (the lock portion of the present invention) is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the hood portion 41, and the rear surface of the lock projection 42 is an inversely tapered lock surface 43 that retreats toward the distal end side. In the hood portion 41, a protruding piece 49 that protrudes one step forward from the periphery is provided at the tip of the peripheral wall opposite to the lock protrusion 42. The leading end of the protruding piece 49 constitutes the backlash filling portion 44 of the present invention, and can come into contact with a backlash filling portion 67 on the cover 60 side, which will be described later, in the front-rear direction.

  The female connector housing 10 is also made of synthetic resin, and has a terminal housing part 11 having a square cross section and rounded four corners, a fitting tube part 12 surrounding the outer periphery of the terminal housing part 11 with a space therebetween, A female terminal fitting 15 is inserted from the rear into a cavity 14 provided with two chambers arranged side by side in the terminal accommodating portion 11. The hood portion 41 enters the gap between the fitting cylinder portion 12 and the terminal accommodating portion 11 when the two connector housings 10 and 40 are fitted, and covers the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11. The female terminal fitting 15 is connected to the end of the electric wire 90 by caulking, and has a box portion 16 at the tip side thereof. The peripheral wall of the box portion 16 is provided on the inner wall of the cavity 14. A pair of lances 18 that are in contact with the stepped portion 17 in a retaining state are formed by cutting and raising. A rubber plug 19 is fitted to the electric wire 90, and the outer peripheral surface of the rubber plug 19 is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cavity 14, thereby waterproofing the cavity 14. The terminal accommodating portion 11 has an assembly space 21 into which the retainer 20 is inserted from the side. The retainer 20 holds the rear end of the box portion 16 of the female terminal fitting 15 together with the lance 18. The female terminal fitting 15 is prevented from coming off.

  The connecting portion 13 is extended in the radial direction so as to bridge between the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11 and the inner peripheral surface of the fitting cylinder portion 12 in the middle portion in the front-rear direction of the terminal accommodating portion 11, and in the circumferential direction. A plurality are formed at intervals. A rubber seal member 22 is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11, and the seal member 22 is disposed between the connecting portion 13 and the retainer 20 in the front-rear direction. When the two connector housings 10 and 40 are fitted, the seal member 22 is brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11 and the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion 41, so that the waterproof between the two connector housings 10 and 40 is achieved. Figured.

  A lock arm 23 (the lock portion of the present invention) is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11 so as to be elastically displaceable (oscillating and displaceable). The lock arm 23 includes a fulcrum part 24 provided at the same position as the connecting part 13 in the front-rear direction on the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating part 11, and an arm part 25 elongated in the front-rear direction tilting in a seesaw shape around the fulcrum part 24. Consists of. As shown in FIG. 5, the arm portion 25 has a lock groove 27 that extends in the front-rear direction while leaving the lock body 26 at the front end portion and opens at the rear end, and is pressed at the rear end portion when unlocked. The operation unit 28 is provided at a higher position. In the process in which both the connector housings 10 and 40 are fitted, the lock body 26 rides on the lock protrusion 42, so that the arm portion 25 takes a tilted posture in which the connector housings 10 and 40 are fitted. Then, when the lock main body 26 gets over the lock protrusion 42, the arm portion 25 returns to the natural state and takes a substantially horizontal posture, so that the lock protrusion 42 fits into the lock groove 27 and the lock surface 29 of the lock main body 26 is locked. The lock surface 43 of the protrusion 42 and the connector housings 10 and 40 are opposed to each other in the direction of detachment.

On the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11, a latch receiving portion 30 that is latched to the cover 60 is projected from the rear of the connecting portion 13. The latch receiving portion 30 is provided in a pair of symmetry on the surface on which the lock arm 23 is provided and on the opposite surface. The latch receiving portion 30 corresponding to the surface on which the lock arm 23 is provided faces the opening of the lock groove 27 as shown in FIG. Further, the protruding dimension of the latch receiving portion 30 is lower than the protruding dimension of the lock protrusion 42 and is about half of the protruding dimension of the lock protrusion 42.
The connecting portion 13 is formed with a through hole 31 at a position corresponding to the latch receiving portion 30 provided on the surface opposite to the surface on which the lock arm 23 is provided. As shown in FIG. 4, when the two connector housings 10 and 40 are fitted, the protruding piece 49 on the hood portion 41 side enters and can penetrate the through hole 31. The front end of the projecting piece 49 penetrated at a normal depth is arranged at substantially the same position as the rear end opening surface of the through hole 31 in the front-rear direction.

  An open space 32 is formed in the fitting cylinder portion 12 so as to open in a square shape at a position corresponding to the lock arm 23. A pair of left and right protective walls 33 are erected substantially vertically over the entire length of the lock arm 23 on both sides of the fitting cylinder 12 with the open space 32 interposed therebetween. 23 is placed in a protected state from both the left and right sides. A deflection regulating wall 34 that regulates excessive bending of the lock arm 23 is bridged between the protective walls 33 at the front end portion of the fitting cylinder portion 12.

  Next, the cover 60 will be described. The cover 60 is also made of a synthetic resin and has a cap shape separate from the connector housings 10 and 40, and is attached to the terminal accommodating portion 11 while entering the gap between the fitting cylinder portion 12 and the terminal accommodating portion 11 from the rear. The electric wire 90 drawn out from the rear surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11 is configured as an electric wire cover that leads out in a predetermined direction. Specifically, the cover 60 pulls out the electric wire 90 in a direction perpendicular to the insertion / extraction direction of the female terminal fitting 15 (the fitting / removal direction of the connector housings 10 and 40). As shown in FIG. A plate-like electric wire pulling-out restricting portion 61 that opposes the rear surface of the housing portion 11 and has one end entering the gap, and a plate-like locking portion 62 that protrudes from both side edges of the electric wire pull-out restricting portion 61 into the gap. The other end of the wire drawing restriction portion 61 is opened as a drawing outlet 63 of the wire 90 in a direction orthogonal to the insertion / extraction direction of the female terminal fitting 15. An electric wire 90 is accommodated in a bent state inside the electric wire drawing restriction portion 61. Both locking portions 62 have a locking body 64 at the front end (projecting end) thereof, and a locking groove 65 behind the locking body 64, and the locking groove 65 is formed at the rear end of the cover 60. Open up to. In the process of attaching the cover 60, when the locking main body 64 rides on the locking receiving portion 30 of the terminal accommodating portion 11 and the locking portion 62 is elastically deformed, and the cover 60 is normally attached, the locking groove 65 is obtained. The latch receiving portion 30 is fitted to the latch main body 64 and the latch receiving portion 30 faces each other in the direction in which the cover 60 is detached.

  Further, a protrusion 66 extending along the entire width of the front edge is formed on the front end of both locking bodies 64 so as to project outward, and among these, the protrusion 66 facing the protruding piece 49 of the hood portion 41 is formed. This is configured as the backlash filling portion 67 of the present invention. The backlash filling portion 67 is provided with a rib-like (small protrusion-like) crushing allowance 68 that can be crushed by the backlash filling portion 44 on the hood portion 41 side. The crushing allowance 68 is located at the substantially center in the width direction of the front end of the locking main body 64 and is disposed to face the locking groove 65 with the locking main body 64 interposed therebetween. When the cover 60 is properly attached to the terminal accommodating portion 11, substantially the entire crushing margin 68 is in a positional relationship with the through-hole 31 of the connecting portion 13 and wraps in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 1, the thickness width before and after the locking body 64 is substantially equal to the distance L from the rear end opening surface (the rear end surface of the connecting portion 13) of the through hole 31 to the front end surface of the locking receiving portion 30. .

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, the seal member 22 and the retainer 20 are assembled to the terminal accommodating portion 11, and the female terminal fitting 15 with the electric wire 90 and the rubber plug 19 is inserted into the cavity 14 from the rear in this state. The side terminal fitting 15 is retained and locked.

  Then, the female connector housing 10 is fitted into the male connector housing 40 directly connected to the device. In the fitting process of both the connector housings 10 and 40, the hood portion 41 enters the gap between the fitting cylinder portion 12 and the terminal accommodating portion 11 while fitting the terminal accommodating portion 11 on the outside. When both the connector housings 10 and 40 are in the fitted state, the lock arm 23 elastically locks the lock projection 42 and the seal between the terminal accommodating portion 11 and the hood portion 41 is taken via the seal member 22. At this time, there is a clearance between the lock arm 23 and the lock projection 42 due to the lock arm 23 drawing a rotation trajectory, and there is no backlash within this clearance range.

  Subsequently, the cover 60 is attached to the terminal accommodating portion 11 from the rear while the electric wire 90 is bent at a substantially right angle by the electric wire drawing restriction portion 61. When the locking portion 62 elastically locks the locking receiving portion 30, the backlash portion 67 on the cover 60 side comes into contact with the rear end of the connecting portion 13 as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, as the cover 60 is properly attached, the above-described clearance is filled, and as shown in FIG. 1, the lock body 26 and the lock projection 42 bring both the lock surfaces 29 and 43 into surface contact with each other and the connector housings 10. 40 in the direction in which the connector housings 10 and 40 are engaged, and the backlash portion 44 of the protruding piece 49 and the backlash portion 67 of the locking portion 62 meet in the fitting direction of the connector housings 10 and 40. Further, the crushing allowance 68 is crushed by the abutment of the backlash filling portions 44 and 67. At this time, even if an overlap margin in the front-rear direction is formed between the locking portion 62 and the protruding piece 49, the backlash portion 44 of the protruding piece 49 projects outward at the front end of the locking portion 62. Since the contact is made with the backlash filling portion 67 of the form, the backlash displacement of the backlash filling portion 67 on the cover 60 side is allowed at the end, and the overlap allowance is absorbed. Thus, the two connector housings 10 and 40 in the normal fitting state are tightly held in the loosely regulated state in the front-rear direction, and the backlash in the front-rear direction against the vibration on the device side is suppressed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects are obtained.
When both the connector housings 10 and 40 are in the normal fitting state, the lock arm 23 and the lock projection 42 are brought into contact with each other, and the hood portion 41 and the cover 60 are brought into contact with each other. Since movement in the detaching direction is restricted, it is possible to reliably prevent the two connector housings 10 and 40 from rattling in the fitting / detaching direction due to vibration from the device side.
Further, the crushing allowance 68 is crushed when the backlash filling portions 44 and 67 come into contact with each other, so that the connector housings 10 and 40 can be more reliably prevented from rattling in the fitting / removing direction.

Further, a contact portion (backlash portion 67) with respect to the loosely packed portion 44 on the hood portion 41 side is set on the front end surface of the locking main body 64, and a contact portion with respect to the locking receiving portion 30 on the rear end surface of the locking main body 64. Is set, the locking force of the locking body 64 with respect to the locking receiving portion 30 is increased by the contact between the backlash filling portions 44 and 67. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the cover 60 from inadvertently dropping from the female connector housing 10 due to vibration from the device side.
Furthermore, when the protruding piece 49 comes into contact with the inner surface of the through hole 31 of the connecting portion 13, both the connector housings 10, 40 are in the radial direction (a direction orthogonal to the fitting / removing direction of the both connector housings 10, 40). It is also possible to suppress backlash.

<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.
(1) The crushing allowance may be provided in the backpacking portion on the hood portion side.
(2) There is no need for the crushing margin as long as the two backlash filling portions are in a positional relationship where they meet.
(3) A lock projection may be provided on the female connector housing, and a lock arm may be provided on the male connector housing.
(4) The member provided with the backlash filling portion may not be the cover in the above embodiment as long as it is attached to the connector housing, and may be, for example, a frame, a retainer, a fitting detection member, or the like.
(5) If the hood portion can fit the terminal accommodating portion, the female connector housing may not have the fitting cylinder portion and the connecting portion.
(6) The cover (connector attachment member) may be attached to the male connector housing, and the hood may be provided in the female connector housing.

Sectional drawing when both connector housings are in a normal fitting state in the first embodiment The plan view Bottom view Back view Perspective view of female connector housing Perspective view of cover

Explanation of symbols

10. Female connector housing (one connector housing)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Terminal accommodating part 12 ... Fitting cylinder part 13 ... Connection part 15 ... Female side terminal metal fitting 23 ... Lock arm (lock part)
26 ... Lock body 30 ... Locking receiving portion 31 ... Through hole 40 ... Male connector housing (the other connector housing)
41 ... Hood part 42 ... Lock protrusion (lock part)
44 ... Backlash 49 ... Projection piece 60 ... Cover (connector mounting member)
64 ... Locking body 65 ... Locking groove 67 ... Backlash filling part 90 ... Electric wire

Claims (4)

A pair of connector housings that can be fitted and detached from each other, and a connector mounting member that is attached to one of the two connector housings;
The one connector housing is provided with a terminal accommodating portion, and the other connector housing is provided with a hood portion that is externally fitted to the terminal accommodating portion. The two connector housings are fitted with the two connector housings, respectively. It is a connector provided with a lock part to hold in a combined state,
When both the connector housings are in a properly fitted state,
The both lock portions meet in the detaching direction of the two connector housings,
The connector, wherein the hood portion and the connector mounting member abut each other in a fitting direction of the two connector housings, and a contact portion thereof constitutes a backlash filling portion. The at least one backlash filling portion of the hood portion and the connector mounting member is provided with a crushing allowance that can be crushed by contact with the other backlash filling portion. Connector. The one connector housing is provided with a lock receiving portion, and the connector mounting member is provided with a lock portion for locking the connector mounting member by locking the lock receiving portion. The backlash portion on the mounting member side is set at the front end side of the locking portion, and the end surface of the locking portion opposite to the backlash portion is in contact with both backlash portions. 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the latch receiving portion abuts in the direction in which the connector mounting member is pulled out. The one connector housing is provided with a fitting cylinder part surrounding the terminal accommodating part with a gap, and the fitting cylinder part and the terminal accommodating part are connected to each other by a radial connecting part, When the two connector housings are fitted, the hood portion enters the gap,
The hood portion is provided with a protruding piece that protrudes toward the connector mounting member and has the back-filled portion at the protruding end, and the connecting portion has a through hole that allows the protruding piece to face the connector mounting member. The connector according to claim 1, wherein a connector is provided.

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