JP2016100113A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To protect a lock arm without interfering with workability in the time of performing a lock cancellation operation for the lock arm.SOLUTION: A connector comprises: a detection member 30 that is held at an initial position in a state where both housings 10 and 40 are semi-fitted to each other, and of which the movement to a detection position is permitted when the housings 10 and 40 are normally fitted; a movable protection part 37 that is arranged to the detection member 30, is usually held in protection attitude covering a lock arm 12, and can elastically deform to pressing force attitude that applies a pressing force in a lock cancellation direction to the lock arm 12; and an attitude holding part 45 that allows the movable protection part 37 to elastically deform to the pressing force attitude in the case where the detection member 30 is positioned at the initial position, and holds the movable protection part 37 in the protection attitude in the case where the detection member 30 is positioned at the detection position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a connector including a housing body in which a lock arm having a cantilever shape is formed and a detection member attached to the housing body. In a state before the housing main body is fitted to the counterpart housing, the detection member is held in the initial position by contacting the lock arm. When the housing body is fitted into the mating housing, the contact between the detection member and the lock arm is released, so that the detection member can be pushed from the initial position to the fitting position. Thereby, the fitting state of the housing body and the counterpart housing can be detected based on whether or not the detection member is pushed into the fitting position.

JP 2013-214495 A

  The extended end portion of the lock arm serves as a release operation portion for applying an operation force for bending the lock arm in the lock release direction. The housing body has an arch shape that covers the release operation portion as a means for preventing the release operation portion from being inadvertently pushed and foreign matter interfering with the release operation portion. A protective wall is formed.

  However, if the protective wall covers the release operation part, the operator's finger interferes with the holding wall when trying to push the release operation part to intentionally release the lock. The problem of not.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to protect a lock arm without hindering workability when the lock arm is unlocked. To do.

The connector of the present invention
A first housing;
A second housing engageable with the first housing;
A lock arm that is formed in the first housing so as to be elastically deformable, and locks the first housing and the second housing in a fitted state by engaging with the second housing;
The first housing is attached to the first housing, and when the first housing and the second housing are half-fitted, the first housing and the second housing are properly fitted by being held at an initial position by contact with the lock arm. A detection member that is disengaged from the lock arm and allowed to move to the detection position when combined,
A movable protective portion that is provided on the detection member, is always held in a protective posture covering the lock arm, and can be elastically bent to a pressing posture that applies a pressing force in the unlocking direction to the lock arm;
When the detection member is in the initial position, the movable protection unit is allowed to elastically bend to the pressing posture, and when the detection member is in the detection position, the movable protection unit is held in the protection posture. It is characterized by having a holding part.

  In a state where the detection member is in the detection position, the movable protection portion is held in the protective posture, so that the lock arm is reliably protected by the movable protection portion. When the lock arm is bent in the unlocking direction, the detection member may be moved to the initial position and the movable protection portion may be displaced to the pressing posture. As described above, according to the present invention, the lock arm can be protected without hindering the workability when the lock arm is unlocked.

The top view of the 1st housing showing the state which has a detection member in an initial position in Example 1 Side sectional view of the first housing showing a state in which the detection member is in the initial position Top view of the first housing Rear view of the first housing Front view of detection member Plan view of detection member Side view of detection member Side sectional view showing the fitting process of both housings Side sectional view showing the state where both housings are fitted and the detection member is in the initial position Side sectional view showing the state where both housings are fitted and the detection member has moved to the detection position Side sectional view showing a state in which the lock arm is elastically bent in the unlocking direction by the pushing operation to the movable protection portion when both housings are fitted and the detection member is in the initial position.

(1) The connector of the present invention
The posture holding portion may be formed on the second housing.
According to this configuration, the shape of the first housing can be simplified as compared with the case where the posture holding portion is formed in the first housing.

(2) In the connector of the present invention,
The second housing has a hood portion formed with a lock portion engageable with the lock arm on the inner surface,
The outer surface of the hood portion may be the posture holding portion.
According to this structure, since the hood part which is a formation base of the lock part also has a function as a posture holding part, the shape of the second housing is compared with the case where the posture holding part is formed separately from the hood part. Can be simplified.

<Example 1>
A first embodiment embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The connector of the present embodiment includes a first housing 10 made of total resin, a detection member 30 made of synthetic resin, and a second housing 40 made of synthetic resin.

  The first housing 10 is formed integrally with a block-like terminal accommodating portion 11, a lock arm 12, and a pair of left and right guide wall portions 20. A plurality of well-known female terminal fittings (not shown) are accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion 11. The lock arm 12 is arranged along the upper surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11. The front end portion (left end portion in FIG. 2) of the lock arm 12 is supported on the upper surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11 via the leg portion 13. That is, the lock arm 12 has a form that extends rearward in a cantilevered manner. A bending space 14 is formed between the upper surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11 and the lower surface of the lock arm 12 to allow the lock arm 12 to elastically bend in the unlocking direction. The lock arm 12 always maintains the locked posture (see FIGS. 2, 9, and 10), but elastically moves to the unlocked posture (see FIGS. 8 and 11) that advances into the bending space 14 with the leg portion 13 as a substantial fulcrum. It can bend.

  The lock arm 12 has a pair of left and right symmetrical arm portions 15 extending rearward from the left and right ends of the leg portion 13. The rear end portions of both arm portions 15 are connected by a pressure receiving portion 16 in a bridging manner. The lock arm 12 has a plate-like connecting portion 17 that connects substantially the front half regions of the left and right arm portions 15. A lock protrusion 18 is formed on the rear end portion (extending end portion) of the plate-like connecting portion 17 so as to protrude from the upper surface (the surface opposite to the bending space 14). Similarly, at the rear end portion of the plate-like connecting portion 17, the lower surface of the plate-like connecting portion 17 (the surface facing the terminal accommodating portion 11 and facing the bending space 14) and the rear end surface of the plate-like connecting portion 17. An open locking recess 19 is formed. The locking recess 19 is positioned so as to correspond to the lock protrusion 18 in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction.

  The pair of guide wall portions 20 are configured to extend upward from the left and right side edges at the rear end portion of the upper surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11. The pair of guide wall portions 20 are positioned so as to sandwich the pressure receiving portion 16 of the lock arm 12 from the left and right sides in a non-contact state. In addition, a pair of stoppers (not shown) are formed at positions close to the inner surfaces of the pair of guide wall portions 20 on the upper surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the detection member 30 includes a bottom wall portion 31, a locking arm 32, a pair of left and right side wall portions 33, a pair of left and right symmetrical plate-like locking portions 34, and a plate The shape support part 35 and the movable protection part 37 are integrally formed. The locking arm 32 has a form that cantilevered forward (leftward in FIGS. 2, 6, and 7) from the center position at the front edge of the bottom wall portion 31. The locking arm 32 can be elastically bent downward with its rear end portion (front end edge of the side wall portion 33) as a substantially fulcrum. A contact portion 39 is formed on the upper surface of the locking arm 32 so that a position slightly behind the front end portion protrudes. The pair of side wall portions 33 are configured to extend upward from the rear end portions at the left and right side edges of the bottom wall portion 31. A pair of plate-shaped latching | locking part 34 is the form extended in the cantilever form from the front-end edge of the side wall part 33 to the front.

  The detection member 30 makes the bottom wall portion 31 abut on the upper surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11, and the left and right side wall portions 33 and the plate-like locking portion 34 abut against or approach the inner surface of the guide wall portion 20. In this state, it is attached to the outer surface of the first housing 10. In a state where both housings 10 and 40 are not fitted, the plate-like locking portion 34 is locked to the stopper of the first housing 10. Due to this locking action, the detection member 30 is held at the initial position (see FIGS. 1, 2, 8, 9, and 11) in a state in which the backward movement of the first housing 10 is restricted. Further, the detection member 30 can move in parallel to a detection position (see FIG. 10) ahead of the initial position while the bottom wall portion 31 is in sliding contact with the upper surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11.

  In a state where both the housings 10 and 40 are not fitted and the detection member 30 is in the initial position, as shown in FIG. 2, the locking arm 32 lies under the pressure receiving portion 16, and the front end of the locking arm 32 is It fits in the locking recess 19 of the lock arm 12. And the contact part 39 of the latching arm 32 will be in the state which contact | abuts or approaches from the rear end surface of the plate-shaped connection part 17 of the lock arm 12 from back. When the contact portion 39 contacts the lock arm 12, the detection member 30 is restricted from moving to the detection position (forward). When the front end portion of the locking arm 32 is disengaged from the lock arm 12, the detection member 30 is allowed to move to the detection position. When the detection member 30 moves to the detection position, as shown in FIG. 10, the locking arm 32 is elastically bent downward, and the contact portion 39 enters the locking recess 19.

  The plate-like support portion 35 has a form in which the upper end edges (extended end edges) of the left and right side wall portions 33 are connected to each other. On the upper surface of the plate-like support portion 35, a finger hook portion 36 is formed that protrudes upward in a rib shape from its rear edge. The movable protection part 37 is a form that cantilevered forward from the front end edge of the plate-like support part 35 and has a flat plate shape. The movable protection unit 37 is always held in a protection posture (see FIGS. 2 and 8 to 10). The movable protection portion 37 in the protective posture is substantially parallel to the moving direction between the initial position and the detection position of the detection member 30. The movable protection part 37 can be elastically bent to a downward pressing posture (see FIG. 11) with its rear end edge (front end edge of the plate-like support part 35) as a substantially fulcrum. The movable protection portion 37 is formed with a pressing portion 38 that protrudes downward from the front edge of the movable protection portion 37 in a rib shape.

  In the state where the detection member 30 is in the initial position, as shown in FIG. 2, the pressing portion 38 is positioned so as to correspond to the pressure receiving portion 16 of the lock arm 12 in the front-rear direction (movement direction of the detection member 30). In other words, the lower surface of the pressing portion 38 applies a positional relationship close to or opposed to the upper surface of the pressure receiving portion 16 or a downward pressing force. Further, when the detection member 30 moves to the detection position, the pressing portion 38 is positioned in front of the pressure receiving portion 16 as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 to 11, the second housing 40 has a terminal holding portion 41 in a form facing the front end surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11, and a front side (rightward in FIGS. ) And a hood portion 42 having a rectangular tube shape extending in a cantilever shape. The terminal holding portion 41 holds a plurality of male terminal fittings (not shown), and the front end portions of the plurality of male terminal fittings are collectively surrounded by the hood portion 42. The upper wall portion 43 constituting the hood portion 42 is formed with a lock portion 44 that protrudes downward (inward) from the front end edge in a rib shape. Further, the outer surface of the upper wall portion 43 is a posture holding portion 45.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When fitting the first housing 10 and the second housing 40, the terminal accommodating portion 11 and the lock arm 12 are inserted into the hood portion 42. In the process of fitting, as shown in FIG. 8, the lock projection 18 interferes with the lock portion 44, whereby the lock arm 12 is elastically bent from the locked position to the unlocked position. Along with this, the locking arm 32 whose front end portion has entered the locking recess 19 is also elastically bent downward, but the contact state of the contact portion 39 with respect to the lock arm 12 is maintained. 30 remains in the initial position. Further, as the lock arm 12 is elastically bent downward, the pressure receiving portion 16 moves away from the pressing portion 38 of the downward movement holding portion.

  When the fitting proceeds from this state, the lock projection 18 passes through the lock portion 44, and as shown in FIG. 9, both housings 10 and 40 are in a proper fitting state, and the female terminal fitting and the male terminal fitting are connected. The When the lock protrusion 18 passes through the lock portion 44, the lock arm 12 is elastically returned to the lock posture. With the elastic return of the lock arm 12, the lock projection 18 and the lock portion 44 are locked, and by this locking action, the two housings 10 and 40 in the properly fitted state are locked in a state where the detachment is restricted.

  When the lock arm 12 is elastically returned to the locked posture, the locking recess 19 is separated upward from the front end portion of the locking arm 32. On the other hand, the locking arm 32 is not displaced upward because the contact portion 39 contacts the lower surface of the lock portion 44. Therefore, the contact between the contact portion 39 and the lock arm 12 is unlocked, and the detection member 30 is allowed to move to the detection position. From this state, when the detection member 30 is pushed forward and moved to the detection position, as shown in FIG. 10, the contact portion 39 sinks into the locking recess 19, and the locking arm 32 moves to the terminal accommodating portion 11. It will be in the state which contact | abutted to the upper surface of this. Thereby, since the lock arm 12 is restricted from moving in the unlocking direction (downward), the reliability of the lock function by the lock arm 12 and the lock portion 44 is enhanced.

  When the detection member 30 moves to the detection position, the pressing portion 38 of the movable protection portion 37 comes into contact with or approaches the posture holding portion 45 of the hood portion 42 from above. Thereby, the movable protection part 37 is hold | maintained in a protection attitude | position, the elastic displacement to a press attitude | position being controlled. When the movable protection part 37 is in the holding posture, the pressure receiving part 16 (rear end part) of the lock arm 12 is covered with the movable protection part 37 from above. Therefore, there is no possibility that foreign matter interferes with the pressure receiving portion 16 from above or the pressure receiving portion 16 is pushed downward (in the unlocking direction), and the lock arm 12 is held in the locked posture. Further, since the rear end portion (pressure receiving portion 16) of the lock arm 12 is covered by the pair of side wall portions 33 from both the left and right sides, there is a possibility that foreign matter may interfere with the rear end portion of the lock arm 12 from the side. Absent.

  When both the housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted and the detection member 30 is moved to the detection position, when the two housings 10 and 40 are detached, first, the detection member 30 is moved from the detection position to the initial position. Let At this time, the operation can be easily performed by hooking the finger on the finger hook 36. When the detection member 30 moves to the initial position, as shown in FIG. 9, the pressing portion 38 of the movable protection portion 37 is disengaged rearward from the posture holding portion 45 of the hood portion 42, and the pressing portion 38 faces the pressure receiving portion 16. It becomes.

  When the movable protection portion 37 is pushed downward from above in this state, the pressing portion 38 presses the pressure receiving portion 16 as shown in FIG. 11, so that the lock arm 12 is elastically bent downward (in the unlocking direction). . As a result, the locked state (locked state) between the lock protrusion 18 and the lock portion 44 is released. Therefore, if the detection member 30 and the first housing 10 are integrally moved rearward while keeping the state in which the movable protection portion 37 is pushed, both the housings 10 and 40 can be detached. When the detection member 30 and the first housing 10 are moved rearward, the workability is good because the upper surface of the movable protection portion 37 is inclined downward toward the front.

  The connector according to the first embodiment is intended to protect the lock arm 12 without hindering workability when the lock arm 12 is unlocked. And a second housing 40 that can be fitted to the first housing 10, and a detection member 30. The first housing 10 is formed with a lock arm 12 that can be elastically bent and locks the two housings 10 and 40 in a fitted state by being engaged with the second housing 40. Further, the first housing 10 is held at the initial position by contact with the lock arm 12 when both the housings 10 and 40 are half-fitted, and when both the housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted, the lock arm 12 is held. A detection member 30 is provided that is dissociated from the sensor and allowed to move to the detection position.

  The detection member 30 is provided with a movable protection portion 37 that is always held in a protective posture covering the lock arm 12 and can be elastically bent to a pressing posture that applies a pressing force in the unlocking direction to the lock arm 12. ing. On the other hand, in the second housing 40, when the detection member 30 is in the initial position, the movable protection portion 37 is allowed to elastically bend to the pressing posture, and when the detection member 30 is in the detection position, the movable protection portion 37 is allowed. And a posture holding portion 45 that holds the device in a protective posture.

  According to this configuration, when the detection member 30 is in the detection position, the movable protection unit 37 is held in the protective posture by the posture holding unit 45, so that the lock arm 12 is reliably protected by the movable protection unit 37. Further, when the lock arm 12 is bent in the unlocking direction, the detection member 30 may be moved to the initial position and the movable protection portion 37 may be displaced to the pressing posture. Thus, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to protect the lock arm 12 without hindering workability when the lock arm 12 is unlocked.

  Further, since the posture holding portion 45 is formed in the second housing 40, the shape of the first housing 10 is simplified as compared with the case where the posture holding portion 45 is formed in the first housing 10. Further, the second housing 40 has a hood portion 42 in which a lock portion 44 that can be engaged with the lock arm 12 is formed on the inner surface, and the outer surface of the hood portion 42 functions as a posture holding portion 45. ing. According to this configuration, since the hood portion 42 that is the formation base of the lock portion 44 also has a function as the posture holding portion 45, compared to the case where the posture holding portion 45 is formed separately from the hood portion 42, The shape of the second housing 40 can be simplified.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the first embodiment 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 posture holding portion is formed on the outer surface of the hood portion. However, the posture holding portion may be formed in a portion different from the hood portion.
(2) In the first embodiment, the posture holding portion is formed in the second housing. However, the posture holding portion may be formed in the first housing.
(3) In the first embodiment, the lock arm extends in a cantilever shape, but the lock arm may be supported at both ends.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... 1st housing 12 ... Lock arm 30 ... Detection member 37 ... Movable protection part 40 ... 2nd housing 42 ... Hood part 44 ... Lock part 45 ... Posture holding | maintenance part

Claims (3)

A first housing;
A second housing engageable with the first housing;
A lock arm that is formed in the first housing so as to be elastically deformable, and locks the first housing and the second housing in a fitted state by engaging with the second housing;
The first housing is attached to the first housing, and when the first housing and the second housing are half-fitted, the first housing and the second housing are properly fitted by being held at an initial position by contact with the lock arm. A detection member that is disengaged from the lock arm and allowed to move to the detection position when combined,
A movable protective portion that is provided on the detection member, is always held in a protective posture covering the lock arm, and can be elastically bent to a pressing posture that applies a pressing force in the unlocking direction to the lock arm;
When the detection member is in the initial position, the movable protection unit is allowed to elastically bend to the pressing posture, and when the detection member is in the detection position, the movable protection unit is held in the protection posture. A connector comprising: a holding portion.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the posture holding portion is formed in the second housing. The second housing has a hood portion formed with a lock portion engageable with the lock arm on the inner surface,
The connector according to claim 2, wherein an outer surface of the hood portion is the posture holding portion.

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