JP2011141976A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector enabling direct mounting of a lock member in such construction that a first housing is covered with a second housing of a soft resin. <P>SOLUTION: The first housing 11 has a mounting part 11f for the lock member 13, and the second housing 12 is formed so that at least the mounting part 11f of the first housing 11 is exposed to the outside. In such construction that the first housing 11 is covered with the second housing 12 of a soft resin, the lock member 13 can be mounted directly on the mounting part 11f of the first housing 11 of a harder resin than the second housing 12 and securely fixed to the mounting part 11f. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector that is provided at an end of a flexible flat cable (FFC), for example, and is used by being connected to a mating connector.

  Conventionally, this type of connector is provided at the end of a flat cable formed by covering a plurality of conductors arranged in the width direction with an insulating material, and inserted into the opening of the mating connector, A device in which a conductor and each terminal of a mating connector are connected is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In order to make the connector waterproof, a second housing that covers a portion other than the protruding portion of the first housing that holds the flat cable is formed by injection molding of a synthetic resin, and is flattened by the second housing. A gap between the cable and the first housing can be closed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2002-50441 A JP 2008-269858 A

  By the way, in the said connector, in order to prevent a connection state with the other party connector from being released carelessly, it is necessary to attach the metal locking member engaged with the housing of the other party connector. However, in the waterproof structure in which the first housing is covered with the synthetic resin second housing as described above, a softer resin than the first housing is used for the second housing. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to fix the lock member to the housing, and it is difficult to directly attach the lock member.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to directly attach the lock member even in the configuration in which the first housing is covered with the second housing made of soft resin. It is to provide a connector that can be used.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a connector for connecting a conductor to a terminal of a mating connector provided in an end portion of a cable covering a conductor, and a first housing for holding the cable. The first housing comprises a second housing made of a softer resin than the first housing and formed so as to cover a part of the first housing, and a lock member engaged with the mating connector. And a second housing is formed so that at least the mounting portion of the first housing is exposed to the outside.

  Thereby, since the second housing is formed so as to expose the mounting portion of the first housing to the outside, even in the configuration in which the first housing is covered with the second housing of the soft resin, The lock member can be directly attached to the attachment portion provided in the first housing made of a resin harder than the second housing.

  According to the present invention, even in a configuration in which the first housing is covered with the second housing made of soft resin, the first housing is locked to the mounting portion provided in the first housing made of resin harder than the second housing. Since the member can be directly attached, the lock member can be securely fixed to the attachment portion.

The perspective view of the connector which shows one Embodiment of this invention Side sectional view of connector A perspective view of the first housing Partial perspective view of flat cable Side view of connector manufacturing process Side sectional view showing the process of inserting into the mating connector Side sectional view showing the process of inserting into the mating connector Side sectional view showing the connection with the mating connector

  1 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention. The connector 10 shown in the figure is provided at the end of the flat cable 1 and is used by being connected to the mating connector 20.

  The connector 10 of the present embodiment is related to a first housing 11 that holds the flat cable 1, a second housing 12 that covers a part of the flat cable 1 and a part of the first housing 11, and a mating connector. And a locking member 13 to be joined.

  The flat cable 1 includes a plurality of strip-shaped conductors 2 arranged in the width direction, and an insulating coating 3 (for example, soft PVC (polyvinyl chloride)) that covers each of the conductors 2. The other part of the coating 3 is removed by the predetermined length L2 while leaving the coating 3 of the predetermined length L1 on the part 1a.

  The first housing 11 has a protruding portion 11a inserted into the mating connector 20 and a main body portion 11b formed on the rear end side of the protruding portion 11a, and is formed of a synthetic resin (for example, nylon) molded product. Is formed.

  The protruding portion 11 a is formed in a flat plate shape extending in the width direction of the first housing 11, and engaging portions 11 c that engage with the mating connector 20 are provided on both sides in the width direction. The protrusion 11a is provided with a plurality of protrusions 11d extending in the thickness direction on both sides and the front end face, spaced apart from each other in the width direction, and the covering of the flat cable 1 is removed between the protrusions 11d. Part of each conductor 2 is arranged. In this case, the front end portion 1a of the flat cable 1 is disposed behind the projecting portion 11a, and the conductors 1a of the covering removal portion are disposed over both the thickness direction both sides and the front end surface of the projecting portion 11a, and The covering portion other than the tip portion 1a of the cable 1 is disposed behind the protruding portion 11a so as to face the tip portion 1a.

  The main body portion 11b is formed so as to extend in the width direction of the first housing 11, and on one side in the thickness direction of the protruding portion 11a so as to straddle a pair of side wall portions 11e extending rearward from each engaging portion 11c of the protruding portion 11a It is unevenly distributed. An attachment portion 11f to which the lock member 13 is attached is provided on the outer surface side of the main body portion 11b, and the attachment portion 11f fixes the lock member 13 between the pair of convex portions 11g in the width direction.

  The second housing 12 is formed so as to cover the main body portion 11b of the first housing 11 and the flat cable 1 except for the protruding portion 11a, the attachment portion 11f of the first housing 11, and the respective convex portions 11g, and is made of synthetic resin. (For example, it is formed in the outer side of the main-body part 11b by injection molding of soft PVC (polyvinyl chloride)). The second housing 12 is provided with an insertion portion 12a that is press-fitted into the mating connector 20, and the insertion portion 12a is formed to be located behind the protruding portion 11a. The outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 12a is provided with a plurality of elastically deformable seal portions 12b hermetically sealed with the inner peripheral surface of the mating connector. When the insertion portion 12a is inserted into the mating connector, each seal portion 12b is It comes into pressure contact with the inner peripheral surface of the mating connector. Each seal part 12b consists of the annular protrusion extended in the circumferential direction of the insertion part 12a, and is mutually arrange | positioned at intervals in the length direction of the insertion part 12a. In this case, each seal portion 12b is tapered so that the thickness dimension gradually decreases from the proximal end side toward the distal end side.

  The lock member 13 is fixed to an engagement piece 13 a that engages with the mating connector 20, an operation piece 13 b that displaces the engagement piece 13 a in the disengagement direction, and each convex portion 11 g of the first housing 11. It consists of a pair of fixing pieces 13c in the width direction, and is formed by bending a metal plate. The engaging piece 13a has an engaging hole 13d that engages with the mating connector, and is formed to be elastically deformable in the thickness direction. The operation piece 13b is formed so as to extend obliquely toward the outer side of the lock member 13, and the engagement piece 13a is displaced in the disengagement direction by being pressed toward the first housing 11 side. Each fixing piece 13c is formed to be elastically deformable in the width direction, and is fixed to the mounting portion 11f of the first housing 11 by being press-fitted between the respective convex portions 11g.

  Here, the manufacturing process of the connector 10 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the front end portion 1a of the flat cable 1 is disposed behind the protruding portion 11a of the first housing 11 so as to be located inside the main body portion 11b. Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), each conductor 2 of the coating removal portion of the flat cable 1 is folded back from one surface side in the thickness direction of the projecting portion 11a to the other surface side, and the tip portion of the flat cable 1 Superimpose on 1a. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5 (c), the main body portion 11b of the first housing 11 and the flat cable 1 are covered except for the protruding portion 11a, the mounting portion 11f, and the convex portions 11g of the first housing 11. After the second housing 12 is formed by injection molding, the connector 10 is completed by attaching the lock member 13 to the attachment portion 11f.

  The mating connector 20 to which the connector 10 is connected includes a housing 21 having an opening 20 a at one end and a plurality of terminals 22 held in the housing 21, and the connector 10 has an opening 20 a in the housing 21. The protruding portion 11a is inserted. A projection 21 a that engages with the lock member 13 of the connector 10 is provided on one side of the housing 21. One end of each terminal 22 is provided with a pair of elastic pieces 22a formed in a bifurcated shape, and each elastic piece 22a is provided with a contact portion 22b that contacts each conductor 2 of the connector 10. . Further, a connection portion 22 c connected to the substrate 30 is provided on the other end side of each terminal 22.

  That is, when the connector 10 is inserted into the housing 21 of the mating connector 20, the protrusions 11a are inserted between the elastic pieces 22a of the terminals 22 as shown in FIG. The contact portions 22b of the elastic pieces 22a are in contact with the conductors 2, respectively. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8, the insertion portion 12 a located behind the protruding portion 11 a is inserted into the housing 21, and the seal portions 12 b of the insertion portion 12 a are pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the housing 21 while being elastically deformed. Thereby, between the outer peripheral surface of the insertion part 12a and the inner peripheral surface of the housing 21 is sealed by each seal part 12b. When the connector 10 is inserted into the mating connector 20, the engaging piece 13a of the lock member 13 gets over the protrusion 21a of the housing 21 while being elastically deformed, and the engaging hole 13d of the engaging piece 13a engages with the protrusion 21a. Then, the connector 10 and the mating connector 20 are locked by the lock member 13. When releasing the connection with the mating connector 20, when the operation piece 13b of the lock member 13 is pressed, the engagement piece 13a is displaced outward and the engagement with the protrusion 21a is released, and the connector 10 is released from the mating connector. 20 can be removed.

  In the connector 10, since the second housing 12 is formed so as to cover the first housing 11, the second housing 12 is provided between the second housing 12 and the first housing 11. Although the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are made of different kinds of resins, they cannot be completely adhered to each other as shown by the solid line arrows in FIG. There is a risk that water may enter between the first housing 11 and the second housing 12. However, in the connector 10 of this embodiment, when the insertion portion 12a is inserted into the housing 21 of the mating connector 20, the insertion portion 12a is inserted into the housing 21 by press-fitting each seal portion 21b as indicated by the black arrow in FIG. Since the coating 3 of the front end 1a of the flat cable 1 and the coating 3 of the other portion facing the flat cable 1 are in pressure contact with each other, the invading water overlaps the coating 3 It does not reach the respective conductors 2 side of the protrusion 11a through the portions.

  Thus, according to the connector of the present embodiment, the first housing 11 that holds the flat cable 1 and the resin that is softer than the first housing 11 cover a part of the first housing 11. And a locking member 13 that engages with the mating connector 20, the first housing 11 is provided with an attachment portion 11f of the locking member 13, and at least the second housing 12 is attached to the second housing 12. Since the first housing 11 is formed so as to be exposed to the outside, the first housing 11 is harder than the second housing 12 even in the configuration in which the first housing 11 is covered with the second housing 12 made of soft resin. The lock member 13 can be directly attached to the attachment portion 11f provided in the first housing 11 made of the above resin, and the lock member 13 is attached. It can be reliably fixed to 11f.

  In this case, since the lock member 13 is fixed to the mounting portion 11f by press-fitting the lock member 13 between the pair of convex portions 11g in the width direction, the lock member 13 can be easily fixed without using screwing or caulking. It can be attached and productivity can be improved.

  In the above embodiment, the connector 10 provided at the end of the flat cable 1 is shown. However, the present invention can also be applied to one using a plurality of single conductor cables.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Flat cable, 2 ... Conductor, 3 ... Cover | cover, 10 ... Connector, 11 ... 1st housing, 11f ... Mounting part, 11g ... Convex part, 12 ... 2nd housing, 13 ... Lock member, 20 ... Counterpart Side connector.

Claims (2)

In the connector that is provided at the end of the cable that covers the conductor, and connects the conductor to the terminal of the mating connector,
A first housing holding the cable;
A second housing made of a softer resin than the first housing and formed so as to cover a part of the first housing;
A locking member that engages with the mating connector;
An attachment portion for the lock member is provided in the first housing,
A connector characterized in that the second housing is formed such that at least a mounting portion of the first housing is exposed to the outside. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the attachment portion is formed so as to fix the lock member by press-fitting the lock member between the pair of convex portions in the width direction.

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