JP2011090998A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce wear of contact portions and prevent poor contact in association with increased resistance by reducing the rattling of a connector in a direction in which the connector is fitted or separated, and suppressing sliding movement of terminals. <P>SOLUTION: A connector includes a flexible lock arm 15 that has a base end fixed to the front side of a connector housing 13, to which the other connector 11 is fitted, and a front end 53 that extends towards a rear portion 35 and serves as a depressable free end. There is provided a lock beak 59 having a locking surface 57 that faces the rear position 35 and locks a locking nail 55 of the other connector 11 between the base end and front end 53 of the lock arm 15. The upper end of the locking surface 57 is disposed on the underside of a line that passes through the rotation center and is parallel with a fitting direction in a cross section that is orthogonal to a central axis around which the lock arm 15 rotates. The locking surface 57 is preferably the chord of a rotating trajectory circle centering on a rotational axis on the upper end in the cross section. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector provided with a flexible lock arm having a proximal end fixed and a distal end a free end.

  In order to fix (lock) the mating connector containing the male and female terminals in the fitted state to the connector housing containing the male and female terminals, a connector having a flexible lock arm in the connector housing is known ( For example, see Patent Document 1). This type of connector 500 shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 has a distal end (operation part) in which the base end 507 is fixed to the front part 505 side of the connector housing 503 into which the mating connector 501 is fitted and extends toward the rear part 509 side. 511 includes a flexible lock arm 513 serving as a free end that can be pressed. Between the base end 507 and the front end 511 of the lock arm 513, there is a lock beak (projection) 519 having a locking surface 517 shown in FIG. 8 that locks the lock claw 515 of the mating connector 501 toward the rear portion 509. Provided.

  When the connector 500 starts to be fitted, as shown in FIG. 8A, after the lock claw 515 of the mating connector 501 approaches the lock beak 519 from the left, as shown in FIG. 8B. Then, it comes into contact with the lock beak 519 and depresses the lock arm 513. When the fitting further proceeds and the lock claw 515 passes through the lock beak 519, the lock arm 513 is elastically restored and the lock beak 519 and the lock claw 515 are engaged as shown in FIG. As a result, the connector housing 503 and the mating connector 501 are held in a fitted state, and the elastic contact piece 521a of the female terminal 521 and the tab 523a of the male terminal 523 shown in FIG. The

  In the conventional connector 500 of the cantilever lock arm 513 having the operation portion 511 at the rear portion 509, the height of the lock beak 519 is above the rotation center 531 of the lock arm 513 as shown in FIG. When the lock arm 513 is bent at the time of disengagement, the lock beak 519 is displaced by the distance d toward the rear portion 509 by the rotation of the lock arm 513 as shown in FIG. Therefore, a clearance C shown in FIG. 9B is provided in the lock portions of both connector housings so as to be able to be fitted and detached. In FIG. 9, 523 is a straight line passing through the rotation center 531 and parallel to the fitting direction a, 525 is the upper end of the locking surface 517, 527 is the rotation radius of the upper end 525, 529 is the arc of the rotation locus of the upper end 525, b indicates the direction of separation.

JP-A-10-199604

  However, when the connector 500 is subjected to vibration or the like, the terminals 521 and 523 shown in FIG. 7 slide due to rattling in the connector fitting / removing direction ab and the contact portions 521a and 523a wear, so that the contact resistance is low. It may rise and cause poor contact.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and its purpose is to suppress backlash in the fitting / removing direction and to suppress sliding of the terminal, thereby reducing wear of the contact portion and contact by increasing resistance. The object is to provide a connector capable of preventing defects.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following configuration.
(1) A flexible lock arm having a proximal end fixed to the front side of the connector housing to which the mating connector is fitted and a distal end extending toward the rear side being a depressible free end;
Between the base end and the distal end of the lock arm, a lock beak having a locking surface for locking the lock claw of the counterpart connector toward the rear is provided,
The connector is characterized in that an upper end of the locking surface is disposed below a straight line passing through the rotation center and parallel to the fitting direction in a cross section orthogonal to the rotation center of the lock arm.

  According to this connector, when the lock arm is pressed, the upper end of the locking surface is shifted to the front side moving downward on the arc of the fourth quadrant, and the shift to the rear side in the first quadrant is not performed. It does not occur, and the occurrence of clearance for the shift after locking is prevented. In addition, although the expression of a 1st quadrant and a 4th quadrant is mentioned later, each area | region of the quadrant centering on the rotation center is shown.

(2) The connector according to (1),
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the locking surface is a chord of a rotation locus circle centering on the rotation center at the upper end in the cross section.

  According to this connector, when the locking surface is a tangent to the rotation locus circle at the upper end in the cross section, a shift toward the rear side does not occur, and the occurrence of a clearance corresponding to the shift after locking is prevented. In a structure in which a shift to the rear side occurs (for example, a structure in which the locking surface is a tangent to the rotation locus circle in the cross section), the pressed lock arm is completely elastically restored, and the clearance corresponding to this shift Is required.

(3) The connector according to (1) or (2),
The upper end of the locking surface is the locking tip of the locking claw at the relative position of both connector housings where the first fitting contact surface of the connector housing and the second fitting contact surface of the mating connector contact each other. The connector is characterized in that the lock arm is elastically restored in a direction opposite to the pressing direction.

  According to this connector, the approaching movement of the connector housings in the fitting direction stops at the contact between the first fitting contact surface and the second fitting contact surface. Further, the disengagement movement in the direction opposite to the fitting direction is stopped by the contact between the locking surface and the lock claw. This eliminates rattling in the mating release direction in both connector housings in the mating locked state.

  According to the connector of the present invention, the locking arm that is fixed to the connector housing and has a proximal end fixed to the rear side and the front end is depressible is provided with a locking surface facing the rear side, and the upper end of the locking surface is connected to the locking arm. Since it is arranged below the straight line that passes through the rotation center axis and parallel to the mating direction, it suppresses rattling in the mating release direction and reduces terminal wear, thereby reducing wear on the contact part. In addition, poor contact due to increased resistance can be prevented.

It is sectional drawing of the connector which concerns on this invention of a fitting state with the other party connector. It is a perspective view of the connector which concerns on this invention shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the other party connector shown in FIG. (A) is a cross-sectional view of the lock arm when the lock claw approaches, (b) is a cross-sectional view when the lock arm is flexible, and (c) is a cross-sectional view of the lock arm locked by the lock claw. (A) is principal part sectional drawing showing the displacement condition of a lock beak, (b) is sectional drawing of a lock beak when a lock nail | claw latches. It is a principal part enlarged view of Fig.5 (a). It is sectional drawing of the conventional connector in a fitting state with the other party connector. (A) is a cross-sectional view of the lock arm shown in FIG. 7 when the lock claw is approaching, (b) is a cross-sectional view when the lock arm is flexible, and (c) is a cross-sectional view of the lock arm locked by the lock claw. (A) is principal part sectional drawing showing the displacement condition of the lock beak shown in FIG. 8, (b) is sectional drawing when the lock beak which the lock claw latched is carried out.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a connector according to the present invention in a mated state with a counterpart connector.
The connector 100 includes a flexible lock arm 15 in a connector housing 13 into which the counterpart connector 11 is fitted. The connector housing 13 and the lock arm 15 are integrally formed of a resin material (for example, PBT; polybutylene terephthalate). In this specification, the connector 100 and the mating connector 11 have the respective mating side as the front and the opposite side as the rear.

  A plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 17 are formed inside the connector housing 13, and the terminal accommodating chamber 17 accommodates the female terminals 19. For this reason, the connector 100 can be referred to as a female connector. In the mating connector 11, a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 23 are formed in the connector housing 21, and the terminal accommodating chamber 23 accommodates the male terminals 25. For this reason, the counterpart connector 11 can be referred to as a male connector.

  Separation of the male and female terminals 19 and 25 is restricted by flexible locking pieces (lances) 27 and 29 provided in the terminal accommodating chambers 17 and 23, respectively. Electric wires 31 and 33 are crimped to the male and female terminals 19 and 25, respectively, and the electric wires 31 and 33 are led out from the rear portions 35 and 37 of the connector housings 13 and 21, respectively.

2 is a perspective view of the connector according to the present invention shown in FIG.
A plurality of male terminal receiving holes 41 for receiving the tabs 25 a of the male terminals 25 are opened in the front portion 39 of the connector housing 13. A front holder insertion space 44 into which the front holder 43 shown in FIG. 1 is inserted is formed in the vicinity of the male terminal receiving hole 41. The front holder 43 is mounted in the front holder insertion space 44, so that the restriction piece 43a is fitted into the retracting space of the flexible locking piece 27 and the female terminal 19 is double-locked.

  Similarly, a front holder insertion space 47 is also formed in the front rear wall 45 of the connector housing 21 of the mating connector 11 shown in FIG. 1, and the front holder 49 is mounted in the front holder insertion space 47. When the front holder 49 is mounted in the front holder insertion space 47, the restricting piece 49a is fitted into the retracting space of the flexible locking piece 29, and the male terminal 25 is double locked.

  By the way, the lock arm 15 has a base end 51 fixed to the front portion 39 side of the connector housing 13, and a distal end (operation portion) 53 extending toward the rear portion 35 side becomes a free end that can be pressed. In the example shown in the figure, a pair of parallel lock arms 15 and 15 are provided and connected at the tip 53 thereof, but one lock arm 15 may be provided. A lock having a locking surface 57 (see FIG. 4) between the proximal end 51 and the distal end 53 of the lock arm 15 to which the locking claw 55 (see FIG. 1) of the mating connector 11 is locked toward the rear portion 35. A beak 59 is provided.

  In the configuration of the illustrated example in which the distal ends 53 of the pair of parallel lock arms 15 and 15 are connected, the lock beak 59 is provided so as to be bridged to both the lock arms 15 and 15.

3 is a perspective view of the mating connector shown in FIG.
The mating connector 11 has a hood portion 61 for inserting the connector housing 13 of the connector 100 inward on the front rear wall 45 side of the connector housing 21. In the front opening 63 of the hood portion 61, a back pressing portion 55a of the lock claw 55 is disposed. Arm receiving grooves 65 and 65 into which the lock arms 15 and 15 are inserted are formed on the left and right sides of the back pressing portion 55a. Guide grooves 69 and 69 for inserting guide walls 67 and 67 projecting to the left and right of the connector housing 13 are formed on the left and right of the front opening 63. Further, a receiving groove 73 into which the protruding wall 71 of the connector housing 13 is inserted is formed between one arm receiving groove 65 and the guide groove 69 (right side in FIG. 3). A convex portion 77 that fits into the holding space 75 of the connector housing 13 is formed between the arm receiving groove 65 and the guide groove 69 on the other side (left side in FIG. 3).

Next, a more detailed configuration of the main part of the connector 100 will be described together with the operation.
4A is a cross-sectional view of the lock arm when the lock claw is approaching, FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view when the lock arm is flexible, and FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of the lock arm locked by the lock claw.
When the connector 100 starts to be fitted, as shown in FIG. 4A, after the lock claw 55 of the mating connector 11 approaches the lock beak 59 from the left, as shown in FIG. Then, it comes into contact with the lock beak 59 and depresses the lock arm 15.

  When the fitting further proceeds and the lock claw 55 coincides with the locking surface 57 of the lock beak 59, the lock arm 15 is elastically restored and the lock beak 59 and the lock claw 55 are locked as shown in FIG. To do.

  The connector 100 and the mating connector 11 are in a relative position where the first mating contact surface of the connector housing 13 and the second mating contact surface of the mating connector 11 abut, and the upper end 83 of the locking surface 57 is the locking claw 55. It coincides with the locking tip 55b. Thereby, the lock arm 15 is elastically restored in the direction opposite to the pressing direction. As a result, the connector housing 13 and the mating connector 11 are held in a fitted state, and the elastic contact piece 19 a of the female terminal 19 shown in FIG. 1 accommodated in the connector housing 13 and the male terminal 25 accommodated in the connector housing 21. Tab 25a is maintained in contact.

  The first fitting contact surface can be, for example, the front end surface 79 of the connector housing 13. The second fitting contact surface can be, for example, the front end surface 81 of the connector housing 21. Of course, the first fitting contact surface and the second fitting contact surface may be other parts.

  The upper end 83 of the locking surface 57 includes a straight line 87 passing through the rotation center 85 and parallel to the fitting direction a in a cross section (paper surface in FIG. 4) orthogonal to the rotation center (axis) 85 of the lock arm 15. It is arranged on the lower side. Preferably, the upper end 83 is disposed below the straight line 87.

  The rotation center 85 referred to here is an assumed rotation center. The lock arm 15 has a base end 51 that is thinner than the arm support block 93 and protrudes from the side surface 93 a of the arm support block 93. The lock arm 15 bends from the base end 51 to the lock beak 59. If the cross section of the arm flexible portion 15a is uniform during this time, when a bending moment is applied to the lock beak 59, the upper side of the arm flexible portion 15a is stretched due to tensile stress and the lower side is compressed due to compressive stress. . Near the center is a neutral surface that does not stretch (no stress is generated). This neutral plane is approximately a straight line 87 in the cross section. The flexible boundary surface of the base end 51 is a boundary line 95 between the base end 51 and the arm support block 93 in the cross section. Therefore, the rotation center 85 is assumed to be the intersection of the straight line 87 and the boundary line 95. Viewed three-dimensionally, the straight line 87 is the neutral surface and the boundary line 95 is the side surface 93a. Therefore, the line (axis) where the neutral surface and the side surface 93a intersect serves as the rotation center axis. More simply, the rotation center 85 can be said to be the central portion of the base of the lock arm 15 (the central portion of the base end 51 in the thickness direction).

  Note that the cross-sectional shape of the arm flexible portion 15a changes as it bends. Along with this, the position of the neutral plane also changes. That is, the rotation center 85 also changes as the arm flexible portion 15a bends. However, in this specification, in order to clarify the configuration (the position of the lock beak 59), the rotation center 85 is the central portion in the thickness direction of the base end 51 that is assumed to be the approximate position.

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a displacement state of the lock beak, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the lock beak when the lock claw is engaged.
As shown in FIG. 5A, when the lock arm 15 is pressed, the upper end 83 of the locking surface 57 is shifted to the front 39 side that moves downward on the arc of the fourth quadrant. As a result, a shift toward the rear portion 35 in the first quadrant shown in FIG. 9A does not occur, and as shown in FIG. 5B, the clearance C (FIG. 9 ( The occurrence of b) is prevented. The quadrant is defined as each of the first, second, third, and fourth areas divided counterclockwise from the upper right of the quadrant with the rotation center 85 as the center.

  The locking claw 55 provided in the mating connector 11 is formed at the lower end of the inclined surface with the locking tip 55 b protruding toward the lock beak 59. Thereby, the lock arm 15 can be pushed without the upper end 83 of the lock beak 59 interfering with the lock claw 55.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG.
The locking surface 57 is a chord 91 of a rotation locus circle 89 centering on the rotation center 85 of the upper end 83 in the cross section. Thereby, when the locking surface 57 is the tangent line 93 in the rotation locus circle 89 of the upper end 83 in the cross section, the shift S toward the rear portion 35 does not occur, and the occurrence of the clearance corresponding to the shift S after locking is prevented. Is done. In the structure in which the shift S toward the rear portion 35 occurs (for example, the structure in which the locking surface 57 is the tangent 93 of the rotation locus circle 89 in the cross section), the pressed lock arm 15 can be completely elastically restored. In order to achieve this, a clearance corresponding to this shift S is required.

  Thus, in the connector 100, the movement of the connector housing 13 in the fitting direction a is stopped by the contact between the first fitting contact surface and the second fitting contact surface, and the movement in the detaching direction b is stopped. And the lock pawl 55 abuts. Thereby, in both connector housings 13 and 21 in the fitting locked state, rattling in the fitting / removing ab direction is eliminated.

  Therefore, according to the connector 100 according to the present embodiment, the base end 51 is fixed to the connector housing 13 and the front end 53 extending to the rear portion 35 side can be pressed down to the locking arm 15 that faces the rear portion 35 side. And the upper end 83 of the locking surface 57 is arranged below the straight line 87 that passes through the rotation center 85 of the lock arm 15 and is parallel to the fitting direction a. By suppressing the sliding of the female terminal 19, it is possible to reduce wear of the elastic contact piece 19a which is a contact portion, and to prevent poor contact due to an increase in resistance.

11 mating connector 13 connector housing 15 lock arm 35 rear portion 39 front portion 51 proximal end 53 distal end 55 lock claw 55b lock claw engagement distal end 57 engagement surface 59 lock beak 79 front end surface (first fitting contact surface)
81 Front end surface (2nd mating contact surface)
83 Upper end of locking surface 85 Rotation center 87 Straight line 89 passing through the rotation center and parallel to the fitting direction 89 Rotating locus circle 91 String 100 Connector a Fitting direction ab Fitting release direction b Release direction

Claims (3)

A flexible lock arm having a proximal end fixed to the front side of the connector housing to which the mating connector is fitted and a distal end extending toward the rear side being a depressible free end;
Between the base end and the distal end of the lock arm, a lock beak having a locking surface for locking the lock claw of the counterpart connector toward the rear is provided,
The connector is characterized in that an upper end of the locking surface is disposed below a straight line passing through the rotation center and parallel to the fitting direction in a cross section orthogonal to the rotation center of the lock arm. The connector according to claim 1,
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the locking surface is a chord of a rotation locus circle centering on the rotation center at the upper end in the cross section. The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
The upper end of the locking surface is the locking tip of the locking claw at the relative position of both connector housings where the first fitting contact surface of the connector housing and the second fitting contact surface of the mating connector contact each other. The connector is characterized in that the lock arm is elastically restored in a direction opposite to the pressing direction.

Images