JP2014072011A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve workability when fitting and separating a connector.SOLUTION: A connector includes a housing 10 which can be fitted to a mating housing 60, and an attachment member 80 being attached to the housing 10. A lock arm 17 capable of holding both housings 10, 60 in fitted state is formed in the housing 10. The lock arm 17 is normally held while being energized at an unlock position separated from the lock position for the mating housing 60. The attachment member 80 is movable to a retreat position retreated from the lock arm 17, and a push-in position where the lock arm 17 is pushed in the lock position from the unlock position.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

The connector described in Patent Literature 1 includes a housing that can be fitted into a mating housing, and an operation member that is attached to the mating housing so as to be movable between a lock position and a lock release position. The housing is formed with a deflectable lock arm, and the mating housing is formed with a lock portion protruding therefrom.
In the fitting process of the two housings, the lock arm rides on the lock portion and is bent and deformed. As the two housings are normally fitted, the lock arm passes through the lock portion and returns elastically. Then, the housings are held in the fitted state by the lock arm that has returned elastically engaging the lock portion. On the other hand, when the operation member is moved from the lock position to the lock release position, the lock arm slides on the release surface of the operation member to move away from the lock portion, thereby releasing the lock arm from being locked. It has become.

JP 2011-40180 A

  By the way, in the fitting process of both housings, frictional resistance is generated due to interference between the lock arm and the lock portion. In this case, if the locking allowance between the lock arm and the lock portion is increased in order to increase the lock strength, there is a situation that the frictional resistance increases and the work load increases.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to ensure good workability.

  The connector of the present invention includes a housing that can be fitted with a mating housing, and a mounting member that is attached to the housing, and the housing can be engaged with the mating housing by locking the mating housing. A lock arm is formed, and the lock arm is always biased and held at a lock release position separated from a lock position with respect to the mating housing, and the mounting member is retracted from the lock arm. It is characterized in that it can be moved between a retracted position and a pushing position for pushing the lock arm from the locking release position to the locking position.

  With the mounting member in the retracted position and the lock arm in the unlocked position, the fitting operation of both housings is advanced, so that the lock arm does not interfere with the mating housing during the fitting process, or friction occurs even if it interferes. Since the resistance does not need to be increased, the work load is reduced and good workability is ensured. Further, after the two housings are fitted, the mounting member is moved to the pushing position, so that the housing reaches the locking position, and the two housings are held in the fitted state.

In the connector of Example 1 of this invention, it is sectional drawing showing the state by which the attachment member was temporarily hold | maintained in the retracted position, and the lock arm was urged-held at the latch release position. It is sectional drawing showing the state to which the attachment member was moved to the pushing position, and the lock arm reached the latching position. It is a side view showing the state where the attachment member was held in the retracted position. FIG. 6 is a partially broken plan view showing a state in which the mounting member is held at the retracted position. It is a partially broken top view showing the state where the attachment member was hold | maintained at the pushing position. It is a side view of an attachment member. It is a front view of an attachment member.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown below.
The mounting member reduces the amount of protrusion from the housing as it goes from the retracted position to the pushed-in position. Therefore, the positions of the mounting member and the lock arm can be known by looking at the protruding amount of the mounting member.

  The lock arm is held at the unlocking position where it does not come into contact with the mating housing during the fitting of the two housings. Thereby, the work burden is further reduced.

  The lock arm has an arm body extending in an oblique direction intersecting with a fitting direction, and the arm body is inclined so that a distal end portion thereof is largely separated from the housing at the unlocking position, A pair of protective walls are formed on both sides of the lock arm so as to be able to cover the entire arm body at the unlocking position from the side. At the unlocking position, the tip of the arm main body is far away from the housing, so that there is a situation that the arm main body is easily damaged when a foreign object interferes with the arm main body. However, according to the above configuration, since the entire arm body is covered from both sides by the protective walls, it is difficult for foreign matter to interfere with the arm body, and a situation in which the arm body is damaged can be avoided.

<Example 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector of this embodiment includes a housing 10 and an attachment member 80 attached to the housing 10. The housing 10 can be fitted with the mating housing 60.

  The mating housing 60 is made of synthetic resin and has a cylindrical hood portion 61 as shown in FIG. Inside the hood portion 61, a tab 71 of the mating terminal fitting 70 is disposed so as to protrude. Further, a lock portion 62 is formed on the upper surface of the hood portion 61 so as to protrude.

  The housing 10 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 1, a block-shaped housing main body 11, a fitting cylinder portion 12 surrounding the housing main body 11, and the housing main body 11 and the fitting cylinder at the rear end thereof. And a connecting portion 13 for connecting the portion 12. Between the housing main body 11 and the fitting cylinder part 12, and the front of the connection part 13 is open | released as the fitting space 14 in which the other party food | hood part 61 can be fitted. A seal ring 50 is fitted in front of the connecting portion 13 on the outer peripheral surface of the housing body 11. As shown in FIG. 2, when the two housings 10 and 60 are fitted, the seal ring 50 is elastically sandwiched between the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion 61 and the outer peripheral surface of the housing body 11, thereby 60 are sealed in a liquid-tight manner. A front member 55 is attached to the housing body 11 so as to cover the front surface thereof, and the seal member 50 is prevented from coming off by the attached front member 55.

  A plurality of cavities 15 are formed inside the housing body 11. A deflectable lance 16 is formed on the inner surface of each cavity 15 so as to protrude. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal fittings 40 are inserted into the cavities 15 from the rear, and the normally inserted terminal fittings 40 are elastically prevented from coming off by the lances 16.

  The terminal fitting 40 is crimped and connected to a core wire exposed at the terminal portion of the electric wire 30 and is crimped to a rubber plug 35 fitted to the covering of the terminal portion of the electric wire 30, and in front of the barrel portion 41. And a box-shaped main body 42 into which the mating tab 71 is inserted and connected.

  A lock arm 17 is connected to the upper surface of the housing body 11. As shown in FIG. 1, the lock arm 17 includes a fulcrum portion 18 that rises from the upper surface of the housing body 11 and an arm body 19 that extends from the upper end of the fulcrum portion 18 to the front and rear sides, and is tilted and displaced with the fulcrum portion 18 as a fulcrum. It is possible to bend and deform. A lock hole 20 is formed through the front end portion (tip portion) of the arm body 19.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the arm body 19 is configured to extend in an oblique direction intersecting with the front-rear direction. Specifically, the arm main body 19 always takes a forwardly inclined posture such that it moves away from the upper surface of the housing main body 11 as it goes forward. That is, in the process of fitting the two housings 10 and 60, the arm body 19 is biased and held at the locking release position that takes the above-described upwardly rising inclination posture so as to be separated from the lock portion 62. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, after the housings 10 and 60 are fitted together, the arm body 19 is guided to a substantially horizontal posture by a mounting member 80 to be described later so that the lock portion 62 can be fitted into the lock hole 20. It comes to the stop position. Further, an entry space 21 into which the attachment member 80 can enter is formed between the rear end of the arm body 19 and the upper surface of the housing body 11 and behind the fulcrum 18.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fitting cylinder portion 12 has a pair of protective walls 22 having a height capable of covering the entire arm body 19 from the side on both sides in the width direction across the lock arm 17. And a ceiling wall 23 surrounding the periphery of the front portion of the arm body 19. At the rear end of the ceiling wall 23, a rib-like erection part 24 extending in the width direction is formed so as to cross over the middle part of the arm body 19. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 4, the arm body 19 can be visually recognized except for a portion where the erection portion 24 crosses according to a plan view, and as shown in FIG. Visible. Further, a pair of rear receiving portions 25 are formed through the rear end portions of the protective walls 22, and a pair of front receiving portions 26 pass through the front portions of the rear receiving portions 25 with a space therebetween. Is formed.

  The attachment member 80 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a substantially square block-like attachment body 81, a knob 82 protruding rearward from the rear end of the attachment body 81, and FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5, the mounting body 81 has a pair of locking arms 83 projecting laterally from both side surfaces (side surfaces at both ends in the width direction).

  The locking arm 83 has a cantilever shape that protrudes from the lower portion of the rear end of the side surface of the mounting body 81 to the side and then protrudes forward substantially parallel to the side surface of the mounting body 81. A locking projection 84 is formed on the front end portion (tip portion) of the locking arm 83 so as to protrude outward. The locking arm 83 can be bent and deformed in a direction to reduce the distance from the side surface of the mounting body 81 with a rear end portion protruding laterally from the side surface of the mounting body 81 as a fulcrum. In the case of the present embodiment, the mounting member 80 includes a retracted position (see FIGS. 1, 3, and 4) where the locking protrusion 84 is fitted to the rear receiving portion 25 and is held by the housing 10, and the locking protrusion 84 is movable along the front-rear direction to a push-in position (see FIGS. 2 and 5) that is fitted to the front receiving portion 26 and held by the housing 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 5, the attachment member 80 reduces the amount of protrusion from the rear end of the housing 10 as it goes from the retracted position to the pushed-in position. As shown in FIG. 5, only the knob 82 of the attachment member 80 protrudes rearward of the rear end of the housing 10 at the pushing position. The knob 82 is in the form of a square rib having a size that is easy for an operator to pick with a finger, and the attachment member 80 can be pushed and pulled out while picking it.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a forcible displacement portion 85 is formed projecting from the lower front end of the mounting body 81. As shown in FIG. 2, the forced displacement portion 85 can enter the entry space 21 of the housing 10. The forcible displacement portion 85 has a rectangular shape in plan view wider than the rear end portion of the lock arm 17 as shown in FIG. 4, and has an upward slope from the front end toward the rear as shown in FIG. An inclined tapered inclined surface 86 and a tapered holding inclined surface 87 inclined at an upward slope with an inclination angle gentler than the induced inclined surface 86 from the rear end of the induced inclined surface 86 to the rear are provided. As the mounting member 80 moves from the retracted position to the pushed-in position, the guide slope 86 slides on the rear end portion of the lock arm 17, so that the lock arm 17 gradually decreases its inclination angle and approaches a horizontal posture. Then, as the mounting member 80 reaches the pushed-in position, as shown in FIG. 2, the holding slope 87 faces and comes into contact with the lower surface of the rear end portion of the lock arm 17, so that the lock arm 17 takes a substantially horizontal posture. As a result, it is held in the locking position.

Next, the operation of the connector of this embodiment will be described.
Before the housings 10 and 60 are fitted together, as shown in FIG. 4, the locking projection 84 of the locking arm 83 is elastically fitted to the rear receiving portion 25, so that the mounting member 80 is temporarily engaged at the retracted position. It is held in a stopped state. At this time, the forcible displacement portion 85 faces the entry space 21 and is disposed to face from the rear without contacting the rear end portion of the lock arm 17, and the lock arm 17 is in the unlocking position in which the inclined posture is raised forward. Is held energized. Then, the terminal fittings 40 are inserted into the cavities 15 from the rear, and the front member 55 is mounted on the housing body 11. In this state, the housing 10 is directly opposed to the mating housing 60, and the housings 10, 60 are fitted. The joint operation is started.

  In the process of fitting the two housings 10 and 60, the hood portion 61 on the other side enters the fitting space 14 and the lock portion 62 approaches the lock arm 17, but the lock arm 17 is held at the unlocking position. As a result, the lock arm 17 does not come into contact with the lock portion 62, and frictional resistance due to interference between the lock arm 17 and the lock portion 62 does not occur. After that, when both housings 10 and 60 reach the proper fitting position, the seals between both housings 10 and 60 are taken via the seal ring 50, and both terminal fittings 40 and 70 are electrically connected at a normal depth. Is done.

  After fitting the two housings 10 and 60, the mounting member 80 is pushed into the pushing position. Then, the locking projection 84 comes out of the rear receiving portion 25, the locking arm 83 is bent and deformed, and the forced displacement portion 85 of the mounting member 80 enters the entry space 21. Further, the arm body 19 of the lock arm 17 is guided to a horizontal posture by the guide slope 86 of the forced displacement portion 85. When the attachment member 80 reaches the pushing position, the locking arm 83 is elastically restored as shown in FIG. 5, and the locking projection 84 is fitted into the front receiving portion 26, and as shown in FIG. Further, the arm main body 19 is in a substantially horizontal posture, and the lock portion 62 is fitted into the lock hole 20. That is, the lock arm 17 reaches the locking position at the same time when the mounting member 80 reaches the pushing position. Thus, both housings 10 and 60 are held in the fitted state.

  Thereafter, when both the housings 10 and 60 are detached due to maintenance or the like, the knob 82 is picked and pulled rearward so that the attachment member 80 is pulled back to the retracted position as shown in FIGS. . Then, the forced displacement part 85 comes out of the entry space 21, the pressing state of the attachment member 80 with respect to the lock arm 17 is released, and the lock arm 17 naturally returns to the unlocking position by its own elastic restoring force. After that, the housings 10 and 60 are separated from each other.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the fitting process is performed by advancing the fitting operation of both the housings 10 and 60 with the mounting member 80 in the retracted position and the lock arm 17 in the locked release position. Since the lock arm 17 does not interfere with the mating housing 60, the work load is reduced and good workability is ensured. Moreover, after fitting both the housings 10 and 60, the housing 10 reaches the locking position by moving the mounting member 80 to the pushing position, and the both housings 10 and 60 are held in the fitted state.

  In particular, in the case of this embodiment, it is not necessary to press the lock arm 17 to release the locked state, and therefore it is not possible to secure a work space for pressing the lock arm 17 above the lock arm 17. Useful for. In addition, when the two housings 10 and 60 are detached, the lock arm 17 naturally returns to the unlocking position simply by pulling the mounting member 80 to the retracted position side, so that special work such as lifting the lock arm 17 is required. The work burden at the time of withdrawal is also reduced.

  Further, since the protruding amount of the mounting member 80 from the housing 10 decreases from the retracted position toward the pushing position, the positions of the mounting member 80 and the lock arm 17 can be known by looking at the protruding amount of the mounting member 80. Can do.

  Further, when the lock arm 17 is in the unlocking position, the front end portion of the arm body 19 is largely lifted from the housing 10, and therefore, if foreign matter interferes with the arm body 19 from the outside, the arm body 19 is easily damaged. Although there are circumstances, according to the present embodiment, since the entire arm body 19 is covered from both sides by the protective walls 22, foreign matter hardly interferes with the arm body 19 and the arm body 19 is damaged. The situation can be avoided.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following aspects are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) In the fitting process, the arm main body of the lock arm may be in contact with the lock portion of the mating housing to some extent.
(2) The mounting member may be configured to move between the retracted position and the pushed-in position in a direction intersecting the fitting direction.
(3) The front receiving portion and the rear receiving portion may have a protruding shape instead of a hole shape, and the locking projection of the locking arm may be elastically hooked and locked to the front receiving portion and the rear receiving portion. .
(4) A lock protrusion may be formed in the arm body of the lock arm instead of the lock hole, and the lock protrusion may be elastically hooked and locked to the lock portion when both housings are properly fitted. In this case, the lock portion may have a hole shape opening in the peripheral wall of the hood portion.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Housing 11 ... Housing main body 17 ... Lock arm 19 ... Arm main body 22 ... Protective wall 60 ... Counterpart housing 62 ... Lock part 80 ... Mounting member 83 ... Locking arm 85 ... Forced displacement part

Claims (4)

A housing that can be fitted with a mating housing, and an attachment member that is attached to the housing;
The housing is formed with a lock arm that can hold the mating housing and hold both housings in a fitted state.
The lock arm is always biased and held at a lock release position spaced from a lock position with respect to the counterpart housing,
The mounting member is movable between a retracted position that is retracted from the lock arm and a push position that pushes the lock arm from the lock release position to the lock position. Characteristic connector.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the attachment member reduces a protruding amount from the housing as it goes from the retracted position to the pushed-in position.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the lock arm is held at the unlocking position where the lock arm does not come into contact with the mating housing during the fitting of the two housings.   The lock arm has an arm body extending in an oblique direction intersecting with a fitting direction, and the arm body is inclined so that a distal end portion thereof is largely separated from the housing at the unlocking position, A pair of protective walls capable of covering the entire arm body at the unlocking position from the side are formed on both sides of the lock arm. The connector according to any one of the above.

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