JP2010244837A - Bulb socket - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bulb socket for enhancing a holding force of a wedge base bulb without increasing an inserting/removing force of the wedge base bulb. <P>SOLUTION: The bulb socket includes a lance 11 which locks elastically with a base 21 of a wedge base bulb 20 and holds the wedge base bulb 20 and a connector locking part 12B with which a counterpart connector 40 is locked, and the counterpart connector 40 includes a displacement regulating part 46 which locks with the lance 11 and regulates a displacement toward unlocking side with the base 21 of the lance 11 in engaging with the connector engaging part 12B. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a valve socket for a wedge base valve.

  As this type of valve socket, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known. The valve socket includes a pair of resin lances that elastically sandwich the base portion of the wedge base valve and hold the wedge base valve in a state of preventing the wedge base valve from coming off.

JP 11-354192 A

By the way, the wedge base valve may generate heat and become high temperature. In particular, when the wedge base bulb is used as a brake lamp, the lamp tends to become hot because it is lit for a relatively long time such as waiting for a signal. For this reason, there is a concern that the resin lance sandwiching the wedge base valve is softened by heat and the wedge base valve is detached under high vibration.
Therefore, if it is attempted to improve the holding force of the wedge base valve at a high temperature, the insertion / extraction force of the wedge base valve increases accordingly. Then, even though the wedge base valve is half-inserted, there is a risk that the operator will misunderstand that the insertion has been completed and the operation will be finished as it is. Therefore, there has been a demand for a valve socket capable of improving the holding force of the wedge base valve without increasing the insertion / extraction force of the wedge base valve.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and provides a valve socket capable of improving the holding force of the wedge base valve without increasing the insertion / extraction force of the wedge base valve. With the goal.

  The valve socket of the present invention includes a lance that elastically engages a base portion of a wedge base valve to hold the wedge base valve, and a connector fitting portion into which a mating connector is fitted, The side connector is provided with a displacement restricting portion for restricting the displacement to the side where the engagement with the base portion of the lance is released when the connector is fitted to the connector fitting portion. .

  According to such a configuration, when the mating connector is fitted into the connector fitting portion, the deformation of the lance to the side where the engagement with the base portion is released is restricted by the displacement restricting portion. The holding power can be increased. Further, when the wedge base valve is inserted / removed, by removing the mating connector from the connector fitting portion, the restriction by the displacement restricting portion can be released, so that the insertion / extraction force of the wedge base valve can be prevented from increasing. . That is, according to the configuration of the present invention, the holding force of the wedge base valve can be improved without increasing the insertion / extraction force of the wedge base valve.

  In addition, a communication hole that communicates between the elastic displacement allowable space allowing the elastic deformation of the lance and the connector fitting portion is formed, and the displacement restricting portion protrudes from the communication hole to the elastic displacement allowable space. It is good to do.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the valve socket which can improve the retention strength of a wedge base valve can be provided, without enlarging the insertion / extraction force of a wedge base valve.

Sectional drawing showing the state which attached the wedge base valve to the valve socket in this embodiment Top view of valve socket AA sectional view of FIG. Sectional view showing how the lance is elastically displaced when the wedge base valve is inserted and removed Sectional view showing the wedge base valve held by the lance Side view showing the state before mating connector is mated with valve socket

Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
The valve socket 10 in the present embodiment is a valve socket 10 for a wedge base valve, and includes a lance 11 that elastically engages the base portion 21 of the wedge base valve 20 and holds the wedge base valve 20. It is. Hereinafter, in each component member, the upper side in FIG. 1 will be described as the upper side, and the lower side as the lower side.

  The wedge base bulb 20 is made of glass and has a shape in which a flat base portion 21 is continuously provided on the lower end side of the hollow light emitting portion 22. A lead wire 23 connected to a filament (not shown) in the light emitting portion 22 is drawn from the bottom surface of the base portion 21 and folded back on both the front and back surfaces of the base portion 21 to constitute a contact. Protrusions 24 that are symmetrical on both the front and back surfaces are provided at substantially central height positions on the front and back surfaces of the base portion 21.

  The valve socket 10 has a socket body 12 made of synthetic resin. Inside the socket body 12, a valve fitting portion 12A into which the base portion 21 of the wedge base valve 20 is fitted and a connector fitting portion 12B into which the mating connector 40 is fitted are formed. The valve fitting portion 12A opens upward, and the connector fitting portion 12B opens downward.

  A wedge base valve 20 can be fitted from above into the valve fitting portion 12A, and a terminal fitting 30 is attached along the outer peripheral wall 13 surrounding the valve fitting portion 12A. The terminal fitting 30 is formed by pressing the metal plate a plurality of times. The terminal 31 extends along the inner surface of the outer peripheral wall 13, the contact piece 32 extending inwardly from the substrate 31, and the lower end of the substrate 31. And a tab 33 protruding downward. The tab 33 is inserted into the tab insertion hole 15 formed in the bottom wall 14 of the valve fitting portion 12A and protrudes into the connector fitting portion 12B. The contact piece 32 contacts the lead wire 23 of the base portion 21, and the tab 33 is electrically connected to the mating connector 40 fitted in the connector fitting portion 12B. In addition, the terminal fitting 30 is a valve fitting by latching the latching piece 34 which cantilevered from the board | substrate 31 to the outer side diagonally in the latching hole 16 formed in the outer peripheral wall 13. It is held in the part 12A.

The lance 11 is made of a synthetic resin and is formed integrally with the socket body 12. A pair of lances 11 is provided so as to face the front and back surfaces of the base portion 21 in the valve fitting portion 12A. Each of the pair of lances 11 has a cantilever shape that rises upward from the bottom wall 14 of the valve fitting portion 12A, and can be elastically displaced inward and outward of the valve fitting portion 12A. The pair of lances 11 are substantially parallel to the outer peripheral wall 13 in the natural state. The thickness dimension (inside / outside dimension) and width dimension of each lance 11 are substantially constant in the vertical direction, and the rising dimension, thickness dimension, and width dimension of the pair of lances 11 are equal.
A space between the lance 11 and the outer peripheral wall 13 in the valve fitting portion 12 </ b> A is an elastic displacement allowable space S that allows elastic displacement to the outside of the lance 11.

  An engaging portion 11 </ b> A that protrudes inward is provided at the upper end portion of the lance 11. The upper and lower surfaces of the engaging portion 11A are inclined toward each other toward the protruding end, and the gradient with respect to the vertical direction is set to be gentler on the upper surface side than on the lower surface side.

  A communication hole 17 is formed in the bottom wall 14 of the valve fitting portion 12A to communicate between the elastic displacement allowable space S and the connector fitting portion 12B. The communication hole 17 is formed on the outer side of each lance 11 in the bottom wall 14 of the valve fitting portion 12A, and penetrates the bottom wall 14 in the wall thickness direction (vertical direction). The communication hole 17 has a rectangular shape that is long in the width direction of the lance 11, and its longitudinal dimension is equivalent to the width dimension of the lance 11, and the short dimension is the outer edge of the lance 11 and the inner side of the outer peripheral wall 13. It is equivalent to the distance between the edges.

  The mating connector 40 can be fitted to the connector fitting portion 12B from below. On the hood portion 18 that surrounds the entire circumference of the connector fitting portion 12B, a lock convex portion 19 that engages with the lock arm 44 of the mating connector 40 is formed.

  The mating connector 40 has a synthetic resin housing 41 that can be fitted into the connector fitting portion 12B. The housing 41 is formed with cavities 42 in which mating terminal fittings (not shown) that can be connected to the tabs 33 are accommodated. Each of the cavities 42 is engaged with the mating terminal fitting and is pulled out. A lance 43 is provided for holding it in a stopped state. In addition, the housing 41 is provided with a lock arm 44 that extends in a cantilevered manner downward (rear in the fitting direction to the connector fitting portion 12B). The lock arm 44 is formed with a lock concave portion 45 that engages with the lock convex portion 19 provided in the connector fitting portion 12B.

  Further, the mating connector 40 is a displacement regulation that is locked to the lance 11 when fitted to the connector fitting portion 12B and regulates the displacement to the outside of the lance 11 (the side where the engagement with the base portion 21 is released). A portion 46 is provided. A pair of displacement restricting portions 46 are provided at the upper end of the housing 41 (the front end in the fitting direction to the connector fitting portion 12B), and each has a cantilever shape protruding upward from the upper end of the housing 41. The pair of displacement restricting portions 46 are provided on the upper end of the housing 41 on the side where the lock arm 44 is provided and on the opposite side. The pair of displacement restricting portions 46 has a rod shape that can be inserted into the communication hole 17 from below. The pair of displacement restricting portions 46 enter the elastic displacement allowable space S from the communication hole 17 when the mating connector 40 is fitted to the connector fitting portion 12B, and the lance 11 and the outer peripheral wall 13 are located at the base side portion of the lance 11. It fits with almost no gap. The displacement restricting portion 46 is set to a projecting dimension that reaches a position slightly below the center position of the lance 11 in the vertical direction.

Next, a procedure for attaching the wedge base valve 20 to the valve socket 10 and removing it from the valve socket 10 will be described.
When attaching the wedge base valve 20 to the valve socket 10, first, the mating connector 40 is removed. Thereby, the lance 11 will be in the state in which the elastic deformation to the elastic displacement allowable space S side was accept | permitted. When the base portion 21 of the wedge base valve 20 is pushed toward the valve fitting portion 12 </ b> A, the lower end portion of the base portion 21 is inserted between the pair of lances 11, and the projection 24 of the base portion 21 eventually becomes the protrusion of the lance 11. The engaging portion 11A comes into contact with the engaging portion 11A, whereby the engaging portion 11A is pressed outward, and the lance 11 is elastically displaced toward the elastic displacement allowable space S side (see FIG. 4).

  When the wedge base valve 20 is further pushed downward, the entire protrusion 24 of the base portion 21 reaches below the engaging portion 11A, the lance 11 returns to the natural state, and the engaging portion 11A and the protrusion 24 move vertically. The wedge base valve 20 is engaged and held in a state of being prevented from being detached from the valve socket 10 (see FIG. 5).

  Thereafter, the mating connector 40 is fitted into the connector fitting portion 12B. When the mating connector 40 is pushed into the connector fitting portion 12B from below, the pair of displacement restricting portions 46 are inserted into the corresponding communication holes 17 and protrude into the elastic displacement allowable space S. Here, when the wedge base valve 20 is held in the valve socket 10 in a half-inserted state, the lance 11 does not return to the natural state and remains in the elastic displacement allowable space S. . For this reason, when trying to fit the mating connector 40 into the connector fitting portion 12B, the displacement restricting portion 46 comes into contact with the lance 11 located in the elastic displacement allowable space S and further fitting is prevented. . Thereby, the operator can notice that the wedge base valve 20 is in a half-inserted state with respect to the valve socket 10, and can reliably prevent the wedge base valve 20 from being left in a half-inserted state. it can.

  When the wedge base valve 20 is inserted to the normal position, the mating connector 40 pushed into the connector fitting portion 12B reaches the normal fitting position, and the entire displacement restricting portion 46 is the valve fitting portion. It enters into the 12A side and it will be in the state which controlled the displacement to the outer side of the lance 11. FIG. Further, the lock arm 44 is engaged with the lock convex portion 19, and the mating connector 40 and the valve socket 10 are locked in a proper fitting state. Thus, the mounting of the wedge base valve 20 to the valve socket 10 is completed.

  When removing the wedge base valve 20 from the valve socket 10, first, the mating connector 40 is removed as in the case of mounting. The lock arm 44 of the mating connector 40 in the proper fitting state is pressed in the unlocking direction to release the lock with the valve socket 10, and the mating connector 40 is pulled downward from the connector fitting portion 12B. Then, the displacement restricting portion 46 arranged in the elastic displacement allowable space S is pulled out from the communication hole 17, and the lance 11 is allowed to be elastically displaced toward the elastic displacement allowable space S.

  After removing the mating connector 40, when the base portion 21 of the wedge base valve 20 is pulled upward from the valve fitting portion 12A, the protrusion 24 of the base portion 21 comes into contact with the engaging portion 11A of the lance 11, and the engaging portion 11A is pressed outward, and the lance 11 is elastically deformed toward the elastic displacement allowable space S side (see FIG. 4).

  When the wedge base valve 20 is further pulled upward, the entire protrusion 24 of the base portion 21 reaches above the engaging portion 11A, the engagement between the engaging portion 11A and the protrusion 24 is released, and the wedge base valve 20 is It is removed from the socket 10.

Next, the operation and effect of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.
For example, when the wedge base bulb 20 is used as a brake lamp, if the wedge base bulb 20 is turned on for a relatively long time due to a signal or the like and becomes extremely hot, the lance 11 may be softened by the heat. . At this time, according to the valve socket 10 of the present embodiment, when the mating connector 40 is fitted to the connector fitting portion 12B, the displacement regulating portion 46 causes the engagement with the base portion 21 of the lance 11 to be disengaged. Therefore, the wedge base valve 20 is held in a retaining state. Therefore, the holding force of the wedge base valve 20 at a high temperature can be improved. Further, when the wedge base valve 20 is inserted / removed, the displacement restriction of the lance 11 by the displacement restricting portion 46 can be released by removing the mating connector 40 from the connector fitting portion 12B. Can be prevented. That is, according to the valve socket 10 of the present embodiment, the holding force of the wedge base valve 20 can be improved without increasing the insertion / extraction force of the wedge base valve 20.

  Further, since the displacement restricting portion 46 is provided in the mating connector 40, for example, the displacement restricting portion is formed in a separate part different from the mating connector, and this separate part is fitted in the connector fitting portion. Thus, it is possible to obtain an effect that the number of parts does not need to be increased.

<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) In the above embodiment, the lance 11 is made of a synthetic resin. However, the lance is not limited thereto, and the lance may be made of, for example, a metal.
(2) In the above embodiment, the lance 11 has a cantilever shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the lance has one end protruding toward the valve fitting portion and the other end protruding toward the connector fitting portion. It may be tilted like a seesaw with the position as a fulcrum.In this case, the displacement restricting portion of the mating connector may be locked to the end of the lance on the connector fitting portion side to restrict the tilt of the lance. Good.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS S ... Elastic displacement tolerance space 10 ... Valve socket 11 ... Lance 12B ... Connector fitting part 17 ... Communication hole 20 ... Wedge base valve 21 ... Base part 40 ... Counterpart connector 46 ... Displacement restriction part

Claims (2)

A lance that elastically engages the base portion of the wedge base valve to hold the wedge base valve, and a connector fitting portion into which the mating connector is fitted,
The mating connector is provided with a displacement restricting portion that restricts the displacement to the side where the engagement with the base portion of the lance is released when the mating connector is fitted to the connector fitting portion. socket. Forming a communication hole for communicating between the elastic displacement allowable space allowing the elastic deformation of the lance and the connector fitting portion;
The valve socket according to claim 1, wherein the displacement restricting portion protrudes from the communication hole into the elastic displacement allowable space.

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