JP2008305599A - Connector housing and connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector housing and a connector of which thickness can be reduced. <P>SOLUTION: The connector 1 includes a connector housing 7 and a terminal fitting. The connector housing 7 is provided with a housing main body 10 and a lock arm 12. The housing main body 10 includes a plurality of terminal housing chambers 9a, 9b and two terminal housing chambers 9a are arranged on a same plane H. One terminal housing chamber 9b is arranged between the terminal housing chambers 9a and at a position separated from the plane H in a direction J. The lock arms 12 are connected to a portion 13a which goes in the direction J from the terminal housing chambers 9a out of the outer face of the housing main body 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector housing and a connector of a connector constituting a wire harness routed in an automobile or the like.

  A wide variety of electronic devices are mounted on a vehicle as a moving body. The automobile arranges a wire harness in order to transmit electric power, a control signal, and the like to the electronic device. The wire harness includes a plurality of electric wires and a connector (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The electric wire is a so-called covered electric wire including a conductive core wire and an insulating covering portion that covers the core wire.

  The connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above includes a connector housing and terminal fittings accommodated in the connector housing. The connector housing includes a housing body having a terminal housing chamber for housing the terminal fitting and formed in a cylindrical shape, and a lock arm having one end connected to the outer surface of the housing body.

The connector enters the connector housing of the mating connector, and the lock arm engages with the engaging portion provided in the connector housing of the mating connector, thereby fitting with the mating connector.
JP-A-11-307179

  When the connector shown in Patent Document 1 described above is released from the mating connector, the other end of the lock arm is brought closer to the housing body, and the lock arm is moved away from the engagement portion. Elastically deform. For this reason, the connector shown in Patent Document 1 described above requires a space that allows the lock arm to be elastically deformed in the connector housing in order to release the fitting with the mating connector. For this reason, the connector shown in Patent Document 1 described above tends to be difficult to reduce its thickness.

  Therefore, the objective of this invention is providing the connector housing and connector which can reduce thickness.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the connector housing of the present invention according to claim 1 is a connector housing having three or more terminal housing chambers for housing terminal fittings, which are arranged on the same plane. A housing body provided with two terminal housing chambers, and one terminal housing chamber disposed between the two terminal housing chambers and spaced apart from the plane in one direction, and the housing body And a lock arm that is connected to a portion located in the one direction from the two terminal accommodating chambers and that fits with the mating connector.

  The connector housing according to a second aspect of the present invention is the connector housing according to the first aspect, wherein the lock arm includes a pair of arm bodies whose one end is connected to the portion of the housing body, and the pair of arm bodies. It is characterized by comprising a lock beak that connects with each other and engages with the engaging portion of the mating connector.

  The connector housing according to a third aspect of the present invention is the connector housing according to the second aspect, wherein the lock arm connects the other ends of the arm main bodies and fits with the mating connector to the outside. It is characterized by having an exposed operation unit.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector according to the present invention, wherein the connector housing includes a connector housing having a terminal accommodating chamber and a terminal fitting accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber. The connector housing according to any one of the above is provided.

  According to the connector housing of the present invention as set forth in claim 1, one terminal provided between two terminal accommodating chambers arranged on the same plane and the two terminal accommodating chambers and spaced apart from the plane in one direction. A lock arm is provided in a portion of the outer surface of the housing body that is located in one direction from the two terminal storage chambers. Thus, the lock arm is connected to a portion closer to the two terminal accommodating chambers than the one terminal accommodating chamber described above on the outer surface of the housing body.

  According to the connector housing of the present invention as set forth in claim 2, the lock beak that connects the arm main bodies to the lock arm and engages with the engaging portion of the mating connector is provided. For this reason, in order to engage with the mating connector, there is no need to provide a projection or the like that protrudes outward from the arm body to the housing body.

  According to the connector housing of the present invention as set forth in claim 3, since the operating portion exposed to the outside when the lock arm is engaged with the mating connector is provided, the mating connector is pressed by pressing the operating portion. The engagement with can be released.

  According to the connector of the present invention as set forth in claim 4, the lock arm of the connector housing is connected to a portion closer to the two terminal accommodating chambers than the one terminal accommodating chamber described above on the outer surface of the housing body.

  As described above, in the present invention according to claim 1, the lock arm is connected to the portion closer to the two terminal accommodating chambers than the one terminal accommodating chamber described above on the outer surface of the housing body. As a space for elastically deforming the lock arm, a step provided between one terminal accommodating chamber and two terminal accommodating chambers on the outer surface of the housing body can be used, so that the lock arm can be elastically deformed. The thickness can be reduced while securing the space.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since it is not necessary to provide a protrusion or the like protruding outward from the arm body to engage the mating connector, the thickness of the lock arm itself can be suppressed, and the connector The thickness of the housing can also be reliably suppressed.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the engagement with the mating connector can be reliably released by pressing the operation portion of the lock arm.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the connector housing described above is provided, the thickness can be reduced.

  A connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The connector 1 is fitted to the mating connector 2 shown in FIGS. The mating connector 2 includes a connector housing 3 made of an insulating synthetic resin and a terminal fitting (not shown) housed in the connector housing 3.

  The connector housing 3 is integrally provided with a cylindrical housing body 4 having a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers for accommodating terminal fittings, and a cylindrical shell portion 5 connected to the housing body 4. The sleeve portion 5 is configured to be continuous with the outer surface of the housing body 4. A lock projection 6 is provided as a convex engaging portion from the inner surface of the sleeve portion 5 at a position near the edge of the sleeve portion 5 in the inner surface of the sleeve portion 5. In FIG. 3, the terminal accommodating chamber is omitted.

  The terminal fitting is obtained by punching or bending a conductive sheet metal. The terminal fitting is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing body 4. The terminal fitting is provided with a wire connecting portion to which a terminal of the electric wire is attached and electrically connected to the core wire of the electric wire, and an electric contact portion to be electrically connected to a terminal fitting 8 described later of the connector 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the connector 1 includes a connector housing 7 made of an insulating synthetic resin, and terminal fittings 8 (shown in FIGS. 6 and 7) accommodated in the connector housing 7. It has.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 6, and 7, the connector housing 7 includes a cylindrical housing body 10 having three or more terminal accommodating chambers 9 for accommodating the terminal fittings 8, a pair of guide ribs 11, and a single guide rib 11. And a lock arm 12. The housing body 10 is formed in a box shape and includes three terminal accommodating chambers 9 in the illustrated example. These three terminal accommodating chambers 9 are each formed in a linearly extending hole shape and are arranged in parallel to each other. In FIG. 3, the terminal accommodating chamber 9 is omitted.

  Of the three terminal accommodating chambers 9, two terminal accommodating chambers 9 (hereinafter denoted by reference numeral 9a) are arranged on the same plane H (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 and the like) with a space therebetween. Has been. That is, the axis of the terminal accommodating chamber 9 a is included in the plane H. Thus, the two terminal accommodating chambers 9a described above are arranged on the same plane H.

  The remaining one terminal accommodating chamber 9 (hereinafter denoted by reference numeral 9b) is a linear one direction between the two terminal accommodating chambers 9a described above and intersecting the plane H from the plane H (orthogonal in the illustrated example). They are arranged at positions separated along J (indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1 and the like).

  The outer shape of the housing body 10 is formed in the same shape as (in line with) the outer shape of the three terminal accommodating chambers 9a and 9b. Therefore, a step 14 is formed on the outer surface 13 of the housing body 10 between the one terminal accommodating chamber 9b and the two terminal accommodating chambers 9a.

  The pair of guide ribs 11 are integrally formed with the housing body 10 so as to stand from both edges in the width direction of the housing body 10. The guide ribs 11 are disposed at positions where the step 14 and the lock arm 12 are positioned between each other. The guide rib 11 extends linearly along the fitting direction of the connector 1, that is, the connector 2 of the connector housing 3 (direction approaching each other when mating).

  The lock arm 12 includes a pair of arm main bodies 15, one lock beak 16, and one operation unit 17. The arm body 15 is formed in a rod shape. The arm body 15 is connected at one end in the longitudinal direction to one end in the longitudinal direction of the housing body 10. The arm body 15 has one end portion in the longitudinal direction of the outer surface 13 of the housing body 10 positioned between the two terminal accommodating chambers 9 in the one direction J, that is, between the step 14 and the guide rib 11 described above. It is connected to. The arm body 15 has a longitudinal direction arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the terminal accommodating chambers 9a and 9b of the housing body 10, and the other end portion in the longitudinal direction is formed in a cantilever shape with a free end. For this reason, the arm main body 15, that is, the lock arm 12 is elastically deformable so that the other end of the arm main body 15 contacts and separates from the outer surface 13 of the housing main body 10.

  The lock beak 16 is formed in a rod shape, and connects the central portions of the pair of lock arms 12 in the longitudinal direction. The longitudinal direction of the lock beak 16 intersects with the longitudinal direction of the arm body 15, that is, the terminal accommodating chamber 9 (orthogonal in the illustrated example). The surface of the lock beak 16 is formed flush with the outer surface of the arm body 15. The operation part 17 is formed in a flat plate shape and is connected to an outer surface located outside the connector housing 7 at the other end of the arm body 15 to connect the pair of arm bodies 15 to each other.

  The above-described lock arm 12 has the sleeve portion 5 of the connector housing 3 of the mating connector 2 riding on the outer surface thereof, and the lock projection 6 is formed between the lock beak 16, the operation portion 17, and the pair of arm bodies 15. By entering, the lock beak 16 is engaged with the lock protrusion 6 as shown in FIG. The lock arm 12 engages the connector housings 3 and 7 of the connectors 1 and 2 when the lock beak 16 is engaged with the lock protrusion 6. As described above, the lock arm 12 is used for the connector 1 to be fitted to the mating connector 2.

  The lock arm 12 is exposed to the outside when engaged with the lock protrusion 6, that is, when engaged with the mating connector 2. Further, in the neutral state where the lock arm 12 is not elastically deformed, as shown in FIG. 4, the other end portion of the arm body 15 approaches the outer surface 13 of the housing body 10, and the engagement with the lock protrusion 6 is released. A gap S necessary to be formed is formed between the outer surface 13 of the housing body 10.

  The terminal fitting 8 is obtained by punching or bending a conductive sheet metal. The terminal fitting 8 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 9 of the housing body 10. The terminal fitting 8 has an electric wire connecting portion 19 to which the terminal of the electric wire 18 is attached and electrically connected to the core wire of the electric wire 18, and an electric contact portion 20 electrically connected to the terminal fitting of the mating connector 2. I have. In the illustrated example, the terminal fitting 8 is a so-called female terminal fitting (female terminal) in which the electrical contact portion 20 is formed in a cylindrical shape. Further, in the illustrated example, a waterproof plug 21 is attached to the end of the electric wire 18 attached to the terminal fitting 8 to keep watertight between the inner surfaces of the terminal accommodating chambers 9a and 9b.

  The connector 1 described above is assembled by accommodating the terminal fitting 8 having the electric wire 18 attached in the terminal accommodating chamber 9. Then, the connector 1 is inserted into the body portion 5 of the connector housing 3 of the mating connector 2, and the lock beak 16 of the lock arm 12 is engaged with the lock projection 6, thereby fitting with the mating connector 2. To do. The connector 1 constitutes a wire harness that is routed to an automobile, for example, by fitting with the counterpart connector 2. Further, when the connector 1 is released from the mating connector 2, the operation portion 17 is pressed toward the housing body 10, and the engagement with the lock projection 6 of the lock arm 12 is released. The

  According to this embodiment, two terminal accommodating chambers 9a arranged on the same plane H and one terminal accommodating chamber 9b provided between the two terminal accommodating chambers 9a and spaced apart from the plane H in one direction J. The lock arm 12 is provided on a portion 13a of the outer surface 13 of the housing body 10 which is located in the one direction J from the two terminal accommodating chambers 9. Thus, the lock arm 12 has a portion 13a closer to the two terminal accommodating chambers 9a than the one terminal accommodating chamber 9b described above on the outer surface 13 of the housing body 10 (in the illustrated example, the two terminal accommodating chambers 9a on the outer surface 13 It is connected to the upper part).

  For this reason, as the space for elastically deforming the lock arm 12, the step 14 provided between the one terminal accommodating chamber 9b and the two terminal accommodating chambers 9a on the outer surface 13 of the housing body 10 can be used. The thickness of the connector housing 7 can be reduced while securing a space for elastically deforming the lock arm 12.

  A lock beak 16 that engages the lock protrusion 6 of the mating connector 2 by connecting the arm main bodies 15 to the lock arm 12 is provided. For this reason, in order to engage with the mating connector 2, it is not necessary to provide a protrusion or the like that protrudes outward from the arm body 15 to the housing body 10. Therefore, the thickness of the lock arm 12 itself can be suppressed, and the thickness of the connector housing 7 can be reliably suppressed.

  Since the lock arm 12 is provided with an operation portion 17 exposed to the outside when the mating connector 2 is engaged, the engagement with the mating connector 2 can be released by pressing the operation portion 17 or the like. . Therefore, the engagement with the mating connector 2 can be easily and reliably released.

  Since the connector 1 includes the connector housing 7 described above, the thickness thereof can be reduced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the connector 1, that is, the connector housing 7 includes three terminal accommodating chambers 9a and 9b. However, in the present invention, the connector 1, that is, the connector housing 7 may include four or more terminal accommodating chambers 9. In short, in the present invention, the connector 1, that is, the connector housing 7, is provided with three or more terminal accommodating chambers 9, and the step 13 provided between these terminal accommodating chambers 9 is formed in a portion 13 a that is recessed inside the connector housing 7. What is necessary is just to form so that the arm main body 15 of the lock arm 12 may be continued. In the present invention, the terminal fitting 8 and the connector housing 7 may have various configurations.

  In short, the above-described embodiments are merely representative forms of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a perspective view of the connector housing of the connector concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the connector shown by FIG. 1 fitted with the other party connector. It is sectional drawing which follows the III-III line | wire in FIG. It is a rear view which expands and shows the lock arm of the connector housing shown by FIG. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the V section in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the VI-VI line in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the VII-VII line in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Connector 2 Connector 6 Lock projection (engagement part)
7 connector housing 8 terminal fitting 9 terminal accommodating chamber 9a two terminal accommodating chambers 9b one terminal accommodating chamber 10 housing main body 12 lock arm 13 outer surface 13a part 15 arm main body 16 lock beak 17 operation portion H plane J one direction

Claims (4)

In a connector housing having three or more terminal accommodating chambers for accommodating terminal fittings,
A housing provided with two terminal accommodating chambers disposed on the same plane and one terminal accommodating chamber disposed between the two terminal accommodating chambers and spaced apart from the plane in one direction. The body,
A lock arm that is connected to a portion located on the outer surface of the housing main body and located in the one direction from the two terminal accommodating chambers, and is fitted with a mating connector;
A connector housing comprising:   The lock arm includes a pair of arm bodies whose one end is connected to the portion of the housing body, and a lock beak that connects the pair of arm bodies and engages with an engaging portion of the mating connector. The connector housing according to claim 1.   The connector housing according to claim 2, wherein the lock arm includes an operation portion that connects the other end portions of the arm main body and is exposed to the outside when the lock arm is fitted to the mating connector. A connector housing with a terminal accommodating chamber;
In a connector provided with a terminal fitting accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber,
A connector comprising the connector housing according to any one of claims 1 to 3 as the connector housing.

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