JP2015153615A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent fire spread while reducing costs.SOLUTION: A connector C comprises: a male side housing 10 in which a deep end surface of a hood part 12 is a male side opposed face 13; a female side housing 30 fitted in the hood part 12 while making a female side opposed face 31 opposed and close to the male side opposed face 13; a lock arm 15 locking both housings 10 and 30 in a fitting state; a first thermal expansion member 51 displacing the lock arm 15 in an unlock direction by thermally expanding; and a second thermal expansion member 52 arranged so as to intervene between the male side opposed face 13 of the male side housing 10 and the female side opposed face 31 of the female side housing 30.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a wire harness using a non-halogen flame retardant resin as a material for a covering material surrounding an electric wire. If this wire harness is applied to an automobile, when a vehicle fire occurs, it is possible to expect an effect of preventing fire spreading to the covering material and preventing the spread of fire using the covering material as a transmission path.

JP 2003-263930 A

In order to prevent the spread of fire in a vehicle fire, it is preferable to use all of the covering material constituting the wire harness as a flame retardant resin. However, the price of the non-halogen flame retardant resin is higher than that of the PVC resin widely used as a general-purpose coating material. And in recent years, the length of the wire harness attached to a motor vehicle and the number of the electric wires which comprise a wire harness tend to increase. Therefore, making all of the covering material constituting the wire harness a flame retardant material directly leads to an increase in cost.
The present invention has been completed based on the above situation, and an object thereof is to prevent the spread of fire while reducing the cost.

The connector of the present invention
A male side housing having a hood part, the back end surface of the hood part being a male side facing surface;
A female housing that fits into the hood while bringing the front female-side facing surface facing the male-side facing surface;
A lock arm capable of locking the male housing and the female housing in a fitted state;
At least one of the male housing and the female housing is connected to a wire harness,
A connector that allows the male housing and the female housing to be detached when the lock arm is displaced in the unlocking direction,
A first thermal expansion member that displaces the lock arm in the unlocking direction by thermal expansion;
It is characterized in that it comprises a second thermal expansion member disposed so as to be interposed between the male side facing surface and the female side facing surface.

  When the wire harness ignites and the connector temperature rises, the first thermal expansion member thermally expands and displaces the lock arm in the unlocking direction, so that both housings can be detached. And if a 2nd thermal expansion member thermally expands and separates a male side opposing surface and a female side opposing surface, since both housings will detach | leave, the fire spread of a wire harness is blocked | prevented. The first thermal expansion member for releasing the lock by the lock arm and the second thermal expansion member for releasing both housings do not need to be provided over the entire length of the wire harness. Can be prevented.

The partially cutaway side view showing a state in which the male housing and the female housing are fitted in the first embodiment Partially cutaway side view showing a state in which the lock by the lock arm is released by thermal expansion of the first thermal expansion member Partially cutaway side view showing a state in which the male housing and the female housing start to be detached due to thermal expansion of the second thermal expansion member Partially cutaway side view showing the state in which the male housing and female housing are separated.

  (1) In the connector of the present invention, the second thermal expansion member may be accommodated in an accommodation recess formed on the female-side facing surface or the male-side facing surface. According to this configuration, the second thermal expansion member can be reliably attached to the female housing or the male housing.

  (2) In the connector of the present invention, in (1), the protrusion accommodated in the accommodating recess on the opposing surface of the male facing surface and the female facing surface on the side where the accommodating recess is not formed. A part may be formed. According to this configuration, the thermal expansion force of the second thermal expansion member acts without waste as a force that separates the opposing surfaces via the protrusions in the housing recess.

  (3) In the connector of the present invention, the second thermal expansion member is made of a thermally expandable rubber, and surrounds a connection region between the male terminal fitting of the male housing and the female terminal fitting of the female housing. In a state where the male housing and the female housing are fitted, the second thermal expansion member may be in liquid tight contact with the male facing surface and the female facing surface. According to this configuration, the fitting portion of both housings can be waterproofed using the second thermal expansion member.

<Example 1>
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The connector C of the first embodiment is provided in the middle of a wire harness H configured by bundling a plurality of covered electric wires W, and a flame ignited in the wire harness H propagates through the covered electric wires W and spreads. It has a function to block things. The covered electric wire W has a known form in which the core wire Wa is surrounded by a combustible insulating coating Wb.

  The connector C includes a male housing 10 to which a plurality of male terminal fittings 20 are attached, and a female housing 30 to which a plurality of female terminal fittings 40 are attached. When the housings 10 and 30 are fitted, the male terminal fitting 20 is connected to the female terminal fitting 40 so that the wire harness H can be conducted. Moreover, when both the housings 10 and 30 are detached, the male terminal fitting 20 and the female terminal fitting 40 are separated, the conduction in the wire harness H is cut off, and the spread of the wire harness H is prevented.

  The male housing 10 is made of synthetic resin, and includes a terminal holding portion 11 and a hood portion 12 that protrudes forward from the outer peripheral edge of the front end portion (the right end portion in FIGS. 1 to 4) of the terminal holding portion 11. Is formed. The front end surface of the terminal main body 21, that is, the back end surface of the hood portion 12 is a male-side facing surface 13. The male facing surface 13 is integrally formed with a protrusion 14 having a substantially rectangular tube shape (peripheral wall shape) that is slightly smaller than the hood portion 12. The wall surface of the protrusion 14 is parallel to the fitting direction of the housings 10 and 30.

  The hood portion 12 has a substantially rectangular tube shape. A part of the upper wall portion constituting the hood portion 12 serves as a lock arm 15 for locking the housings 10 and 30 in the fitted state. A pair of left and right slits 17 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) cut backward from the front edge of the hood portion 12 are formed on the upper wall portion, and a portion between the pair of slits 17 in the upper wall portion is The lock arm 15 is configured to extend forward in a cantilever manner. A lock hole 16 is formed at a position near the front end of the lock arm 15 so as to penetrate from the inner surface to the outer surface of the lock arm 15.

  The lock arm 15 is always held at a lock position (see FIGS. 1 and 4) that is flush with the upper wall portion. When an external force from the inside of the hood portion 12 acts on the lock arm 15, the lock arm 15 is elastic in the unlocking direction (the outer surface side of the hood portion 12) while taking an oblique posture with the rear end portion (base end portion) as a fulcrum. It can be deformed. In a state where the lock arm 15 is in the locked position, the housings 10 and 30 are locked in the fitted state, and the detachment operation is restricted. When the lock arm 15 is elastically bent in the unlocking direction, both the housings 10 and 30 are unlocked, and the two housings 10 and 30 can be detached.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the male terminal fitting 20 attached to the male housing 10 includes a terminal main body portion 21 accommodated in the terminal holding portion 11, a tab 22 protruding forward from the terminal main body portion 21, and a terminal. It is composed of a crimping portion 23 that is connected to the rear end of the main body portion 21 and is accommodated in the terminal main body portion 21. A covered electric wire W is connected to the crimp portion 23. The tab 22 protrudes forward from the male-side facing surface 13. The tabs 22 of all the male terminal fittings 20 attached to the male housing 10 are collectively surrounded by a peripheral wall-shaped protrusion 14 protruding from the male-side facing surface 13.

  The female housing 30 is made of synthetic resin and has a block shape as a whole. The female housing 30 is fitted into the male housing 10 by fitting into the hood portion 12. The front end surface of the female housing 30, that is, the surface that approaches the male facing surface 13 in the process of fitting both the housings 10, 30 is a female facing surface 31. A lock protrusion 32 is formed on the upper surface of the female housing 30 that faces the lock arm 15. Similarly, a mounting recess 33 is formed on the outer surface of the female housing 30 on the upper surface facing the lock arm 15. A first thermal expansion member 51 is accommodated in the mounting recess 33.

  The material of the first thermal expansion member 51 is a rubber material containing thermally expandable graphite. The first thermal expansion member 51 before thermal expansion is fixed to the back end surface of the mounting recess 33 with an adhesive (not shown). However, the side surface of the first thermal expansion member 51 is not bonded and can be displaced relative to the inner wall surface of the mounting recess 33. Further, the outer surface of the first thermal expansion member 51 before thermal expansion is substantially flush with the outer surface of the female housing 30. When the first thermal expansion member 51 is heated to, for example, 250 to 300 ° C., the first thermal expansion member 51 rapidly expands, and the expansion rate reaches about 10 times at the maximum. The thermally expanded first thermal expansion member 51 bulges outward from the outer surface of the female housing 30. The thermal expansion force at this time acts as a pressing force for elastically deforming the lock arm 15 in the unlocking direction.

  The female housing 30 is formed with an accommodation recess 34 in which the male facing surface 13 is deeply recessed. The housing recess 34 has a groove shape that extends along the outer peripheral edge of the female-side facing surface 31 and is continuous over the entire circumference. The front-view shape of the housing recess 34 is substantially square, like the protrusion 14. And the protrusion 14 is inserted in the accommodation recessed part 34 in the fitting process of both the housings 10 and 30, a removal process, and a normal fitting state. The inner wall surface of the housing recess 34 is parallel to the fitting direction of the housings 10 and 30.

  The depth (depth) dimension of the housing recess 34, that is, the dimension in the front-rear direction (the direction parallel to the fitting direction of the housings 10, 30) from the female facing surface 31 to the back end surface of the housing recess 34 is male facing. The dimension is slightly larger than the projecting dimension of the protrusion 14 from the surface 13. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in a state where both the housings 10 and 30 are fitted, the back end portion of the housing recess 34 is between the back end surface and the front end surface (front end surface) of the protrusion 14. An accommodation space 35 sandwiched between the two is configured.

  A second thermal expansion member 52 is accommodated in the accommodation space 35 at the back end of the accommodation recess 34. The second thermal expansion member 52 has a substantially square ring shape. The second thermal expansion member 52 accommodated in the accommodating recess 34 (accommodating space 35) is fixed to the back end surface of the accommodating recess 34 with an adhesive (not shown). However, the side surface of the second thermal expansion member 52 is not bonded and can be displaced relative to the inner wall surface of the housing recess 34.

  Similar to the first thermal expansion member 51, the second thermal expansion member 52 is a rubber material containing thermally expandable graphite. When the second thermal expansion member 52 is heated, the second thermal expansion member 52 expands rapidly, and the expansion rate reaches about 10 times at the maximum. The temperature at which the second thermal expansion member 52 starts thermal expansion is set to a temperature higher than the temperature at which the first thermal expansion member 51 starts thermal expansion. The thermally expanded first thermal expansion member 51 has fire resistance and also functions as a heat insulator. The thermally expanded second thermal expansion member 52 advances forward in the housing recess 34, and the thermal expansion force at this time acts as a pressing force for pushing the protrusion 14 out of the housing recess 34.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the female terminal fitting 40 attached to the female-side housing 30 has a rectangular tube-shaped connecting portion 41 at the front end portion, and a crimping portion 42 is formed behind the rectangular tube-shaped connecting portion 41. It is a well-known form. A covered electric wire W is connected to the crimping portion. Each female terminal fitting 40 is individually connected to the tab 22.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. In the process of fitting both the housings 10 and 30, the female housing 30 enters the hood portion 12, and the lock arm 15 is elastically bent from the lock position to the unlocking direction due to interference with the lock protrusion 32. When the two housings 10 and 30 reach the proper fitting state, the lock arm 15 is elastically returned to the locked position, and the lock hole 16 and the lock projection 32 are engaged. 30 is locked in the fitted state. In this normal fitting state, the tab 22 enters the name and is connected to the female terminal fitting 40 so as to be conductive. Thereby, the wire harness H can be conducted.

  Further, when the housings 10 and 30 are properly fitted, the outer surface of the first thermal expansion member 51 approaches the inner surface of the lock arm 15 and faces the inner surface of the lock arm 15. That is, the first thermal expansion member 51 is in a standby state in order to unlock the lock arm 15. In the housing recess 34, the tip end surface of the protrusion 14 is in contact with the front surface of the second thermal expansion member 52. That is, the second thermal expansion member 52 is in a standby state in order to release both the housings 10 and 30.

  Moreover, the 2nd thermal expansion member 52 consists of rubber materials, and the front end surface (front surface) of the protrusion 14 and the front surface of the 2nd thermal expansion member 52 will be in the state closely_contact | adhered in liquid-tight form over the perimeter. The close contact area between the protrusion 14 and the second thermal expansion member 52 is a substantially square shape that collectively surrounds the entire connection portion between the male terminal fitting 20 and the female terminal fitting 40. Therefore, between the male side opposing surface 13 and the female side opposing surface 31, it is in the waterproof state in which the water immersion to the connection part of both the terminal metal fittings 20 and 40 was prevented from the exterior.

  In a state where both housings 10 and 30 are properly fitted, when the insulation coating Wb of the wire harness H ignites and the flame travels through the insulation coating Wb and approaches the connector C, both the housings 10 and 30 are exposed to a high temperature. Thus, the temperature of the first thermal expansion member 51 and the second thermal expansion member 52 rises. Then, first, as shown in FIG. 2, the first thermal expansion member 51 starts thermal expansion, and the lock arm 15 is elastically bent in the unlocking direction under the pressing force due to the thermal expansion of the first thermal expansion member 51. It is done. As a result, both housings 10 and 30 are released from being locked by the lock arm 15 and can be detached.

  After the lock by the lock arm 15 is released, the temperature of the second thermal expansion member 52 rises. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the second thermal expansion member 52 starts thermal expansion, and in the accommodation recess 34, the opening side (front end) of the accommodation recess 34 is caused by the second thermal expansion member 52 in which the protrusion 14 thermally expands. To the side). The pressing force acting on the protrusion 14 from the second thermal expansion member 52 is a force that moves the male-side facing surface 13 away from the female-side facing surface 31, that is, a force that separates both the housings 10 and 30.

  The force that combines the contact resistance between the male terminal fitting 20 and the female terminal fitting 40 and the frictional resistance between the lock arm 15 and the first thermal expansion member 51 prevents the housings 10 and 30 from being detached. It becomes resistance. However, compared to this separation resistance, the separation propulsion force generated along with the thermal expansion of the second thermal expansion member 52 is sufficiently large. Therefore, as the thermal expansion of the second thermal expansion member 52 proceeds, both housings 10 , 30 is advanced. At this time, since the guide function is exhibited by the sliding contact between the side surface of the protrusion 14 and the side surface of the housing recess 34, there is no possibility that the two housings 10, 30 are inclined during the disengagement process and cause twisting.

  As shown in FIG. 4, both the terminal fittings 20 and 40 are separated from each other, the lock arm 15 is separated from the first thermal expansion member 51, and the entire female housing 30 is pushed out of the hood portion 12. In this state, both the housings 10 and 30 are completely detached due to the weight of the housings 10 and 30 or the tensile force acting on the housings 10 and 30 from the wire harness H. In a state where both housings 10 and 30 are detached, for example, even if the flame of the covered electric wire W is ignited on the male housing 10, the flame is applied to the female side housing 30 or the covered electric wire W connected to the female side housing 30. It does not propagate. Therefore, the fire spread of the wire harness H is blocked by the connector C of the first embodiment.

  The connector C of the first embodiment includes a male housing 10 having a hood portion 12 and a rear end surface of the hood portion 12 serving as a male facing surface 13, and a front female facing surface 31 as a male facing surface. 13, a female housing 30 fitted into the hood portion 12 while being opposed to each other, and a male arm 10 and a lock arm 15 that can lock the female housing 30 in a fitted state. The housings 10 and 30 can be separated by being displaced in the unlocking direction, and both the housings 10 and 30 are connected to the wire harness H. As a means for preventing the fire of the wire harness H while reducing the cost, a first thermal expansion member 51 that displaces the lock arm 15 in the unlocking direction by thermal expansion is provided, and the male facing surface 13 and the female The 2nd thermal expansion member 52 distribute | arranged so that it might interpose between the side opposing surfaces 31 was provided.

  In the connector C of the first embodiment, when the wire harness H ignites and the temperature of the connector C rises, the first thermal expansion member 51 is thermally expanded to displace the lock arm 15 in the unlocking direction. 30 can be detached. And if the male side opposing surface 13 and the female side opposing surface 31 are spaced apart by the thermal expansion of the second thermal expansion member 52, both the housings 10 and 30 are separated, so that the spread of the wire harness H is prevented. . Since the first thermal expansion member 51 that releases the lock by the lock arm 15 and the second thermal expansion member 52 that separates both the housings 10 and 30 do not need to be provided over the entire length of the wire harness H, the cost can be reduced. However, the fire spread of the wire harness H can be prevented.

  In the connector C according to the first embodiment, the second thermal expansion member 52 is accommodated in the accommodation recess 34 formed in the female-side facing surface 31, so that the second thermal expansion member 52 is accommodated in the female-side housing 30. Can be attached securely. Further, since the protrusion 14 formed on the male facing surface 13 is accommodated in the accommodating recess 34, the thermal expansion force of the second thermal expansion member 52 is transferred between the opposing surfaces via the protrusion 14 in the accommodating recess 34. It can function without waste as a force for separating.

  The second thermal expansion member 52 is made of a heat-expandable rubber and is disposed so as to collectively surround the connection region between the male terminal fitting 20 of the male housing 10 and the female terminal fitting 40 of the female housing 30. ing. In the state where the male housing 10 and the female housing 30 are fitted, the second thermal expansion member 52 has the front end surface of the protrusion 14 of the male facing surface 13 and the back end surface of the housing recess 34 of the female facing surface 31. In close contact with each other. In the first embodiment, this configuration realizes waterproofing of the fitting portions of both housings 10 and 30 using the second thermal expansion member 52.

<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 first embodiment, the first thermal expansion member is provided only in the female side housing. However, the first thermal expansion member may be provided only in the lock arm, and is provided in both the female side housing and the lock arm. May be.
(2) In Example 1 described above, the second thermal expansion member is provided in the housing recess formed on the female-side facing surface. However, the female-side facing surface is made a single flat surface over the entire area. You may adhere | attach a 2nd thermal expansion member on an opposing surface.
(3) In the first embodiment, the protrusion formed on the male facing surface is housed in the housing recess of the female facing surface, but the protrusion may not be formed on the male facing surface.
(4) In the first embodiment, the second thermal expansion member is arranged along the outer peripheral edge of the female side facing surface. However, the second thermal expansion member covers almost the entire area of the female side facing surface. Form may be sufficient.
(5) In the first embodiment, only one second thermal expansion member is provided on the female-side facing surface. However, a plurality of second thermal expansion members may be provided on the female-side facing surface.
(6) In the first embodiment, the second thermal expansion member is provided only on the female side facing surface. However, the second thermal expansion member may be provided only on the male side facing surface. You may provide in both of opposing surfaces. In this case, you may accommodate a 2nd thermal expansion member in the accommodation recessed part formed in the male side opposing surface.
(7) In the first embodiment, the second thermal expansion member exhibits the waterproof mechanism. However, the second thermal expansion member may not exhibit the waterproof function.
(8) In the first embodiment, the lock arm is formed on the hood portion of the male housing. However, the present invention can also be applied to the case where the lock arm is formed on the female housing. In this case, the first thermal expansion member may be provided on at least one of the lock arm and the male housing.
(9) Although the example applied to the connector provided in the middle of the wire harness has been described in the first embodiment, the present invention can also be applied to the connector provided between the wire harness and the device.

C ... Connector H ... Wire harness 10 ... Male housing 12 ... Hood 13 ... Male facing surface 14 ... Projection 15 ... Lock arm 20 ... Male terminal fitting 30 ... Female housing 31 ... Female facing surface 34 ... Housing recess 40 ... Female terminal fitting 51 ... First thermal expansion member 52 ... Second thermal expansion member

Claims (4)

A male side housing having a hood part, the back end surface of the hood part being a male side facing surface;
A female housing that fits into the hood while bringing the front female-side facing surface facing the male-side facing surface;
A lock arm capable of locking the male housing and the female housing in a fitted state;
At least one of the male housing and the female housing is connected to a wire harness,
A connector that allows the male housing and the female housing to be detached when the lock arm is displaced in the unlocking direction,
A first thermal expansion member that displaces the lock arm in the unlocking direction by thermal expansion;
A connector comprising: a second thermal expansion member disposed so as to be interposed between the male facing surface and the female facing surface.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the second thermal expansion member is housed in a housing recess formed on the female-side facing surface or the male-side facing surface.   3. A protrusion that is accommodated in the accommodating recess is formed on the opposing surface of the male facing surface and the female facing surface that is not formed with the accommodating recess. The connector described. The second thermal expansion member is made of a thermally expandable rubber, and is arranged so as to surround a connection region between the male terminal fitting of the male housing and the female terminal fitting of the female housing,
2. The second thermal expansion member is in liquid-tight contact with the male facing surface and the female facing surface in a state in which the male housing and the female housing are fitted. The connector according to any one of claims 3 to 4.

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