JP2017010869A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector which can reduce the number of slide molds.SOLUTION: A detection member 40 is attached to a housing 20 so that movement of the detection member 40 is restricted when a counterpart housing 10 and the housing 20 are half-fitted together and that the movement is allowed when the counterpart housing 10 and the housing 20 are properly fitted. A lock arm 22 has a protrusion 23 protruding upward and engageable with a lock portion 12, and a pair of arm portions 27 extending upward from left and right sides of the protrusion 23 rearward. The distance between the pair of arm portions 27 is made equal to or larger than the width dimension of the projection 23. The detection member has a locking portion 47 which, when the detection member 40 is half-fitted, is fitted into an opening 29 between the pair of arm portions 27 to be engaged with the projection 23 to restrict the movement of the detection member 40; and which, when the detecting member 40 is properly fitted, is displaced in the lock releasing direction relative to the protrusion 23. The width dimension of the locking portion 47 is made equal to the width dimension of the opening 29.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  Conventionally, a connector provided with a detection member for detecting the fitting state of the connector is known. The detection member is attached to the housing in such a manner that its movement is restricted when the connector is not fully fitted, and is allowed to move when the connector is fully fitted. And the fitting state of a connector can be detected now by whether the detection member can move.

  For example, in the connector described in Patent Document 1 below, the movement of the detection member is restricted by locking the detection member to a lock arm that locks the connector in a normal fitting state. On the lock arm, a protruding portion that can be locked to the lock portion of the counterpart housing projects upward. In addition, a pair of arm portions that extend upward toward the rear are provided at both left and right ends of the protrusion.

  When the connector is half-fitted, the locking portion provided on the detection member is fitted into the opening between the pair of arm portions and locked to the protrusion, thereby restricting the movement of the detection member. Further, when the connector is properly fitted, the movement of the detection member is allowed by displacing the locking portion in a direction (locking releasing direction) that is disengaged from the protrusion.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-5490

  However, in the connector having the above-described configuration, the left and right end portions of the rear surface of the protruding portion overlap with the arm portion extending obliquely upward in the front-rear direction, and thus cannot be molded by a mold that opens and closes in the front-rear direction. . For this reason, there was a problem that a slide mold was necessary and the manufacturing cost was increased.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above situation, and an object thereof is to provide a connector capable of reducing the number of slide molds.

  The connector according to the present invention includes a housing that can be fitted into a mating housing, and a housing that locks the mating housing and the housing in a properly fitted state by being locked to a locking portion provided in the mating housing. And a detection member attached to the housing so that movement is restricted when the mating housing and the housing are half-fitted, and movement is allowed when the mating housing is properly fitted. The locking arm has a protruding portion that protrudes upward and can be locked to the locking portion, and a pair of arm portions that extend upward from the left and right sides of the protruding portion toward the rear, The distance between the pair of arm portions is equal to or greater than the width dimension of the protrusion, and the detection member is located between the pair of arm portions during the half-fitting. A fitting portion that is fitted in the mouth portion and locked to the protruding portion to restrict the movement of the detection member, and has a locking portion that is displaced relative to the protruding portion in the unlocking direction at the time of the normal fitting. And the width dimension of the said latching | locking part is made equivalent to the width dimension of the said opening part.

  According to the present invention, since the distance between the pair of arm portions is equal to or larger than the width dimension of the protruding portion, the entire rear surface of the protruding portion does not overlap the arm portion in the front-rear direction. The entire rear surface of the protruding portion can be formed by the mold that opens and closes, thereby reducing the number of slide molds. Moreover, since the width dimension of the latching | locking part is made equivalent to the width dimension of an opening part, it can prevent that a latching part rattles in the width direction within an opening part.

Sectional drawing which shows the normal fitting state of the connector in a present Example Front view showing the housing Rear view showing the housing Plan view showing the housing Front view showing the detection member Plan view showing the detection member Side view showing the detection member The top view which shows a housing when a detection member exists in an initial position Sectional drawing which shows the latching state of an elastic latching piece when a detection member exists in an initial position The top view which shows a housing when a detection member exists in a detection position Sectional view showing how the connector is mated Sectional drawing which shows the state by which the projection part of the lock arm was pushed by the lock part at the time of the connector half-fitting Sectional drawing which shows the state which the latching | locking part of the detection member displaced in the latching release direction relatively with respect to the protrusion part at the time of the normal fitting of a connector

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown below.
In the connector according to the present invention, the locking portion is provided on a free end side of the locking arm portion having a cantilever shape, and the locking arm portion is elastic when the mating housing and the housing are fitted. The width dimension of the portion of the locking arm portion that is located on the proximal side of the locking portion may be smaller than the width size of the locking portion.

  According to such a configuration, since the locking arm portion is easily elastically deformed as compared with, for example, a width dimension equivalent to that of the locking portion over the entire length, the resistance force when the connector is fitted is reduced. Can be suppressed.

<Example>
Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
The connector C in this embodiment includes a housing 20 that can be fitted to the mating housing 10 and a detection member 40 that detects the mating state between the mating housing 10 and the housing 20. The detection member 40 is attached to the housing 20 such that the movement of the detection member 40 is restricted when the mating housing 10 and the housing 20 are half-fitted, and the movement is allowed when the counterpart fitting is normal.

  The mating housing 10 is made of a synthetic resin and has a hood portion 11 that is formed in a cylindrical shape and opens forward (rightward in FIG. 1), for example, as shown in FIG. The front end of the hood 11 is provided with a lock 12 that can lock a lock arm 22 described later. The lock part 12 has a form protruding inside the hood part 11. The lock portion 12 is provided at the center portion in the width direction of the hood portion 11. In the hood part 11, a male tab of the mating terminal fitting 13 protrudes.

  The housing 20 is made of a synthetic resin and has no rectangular block shape as a whole, and a substantially first half portion thereof can be fitted inside the hood portion 11. A plurality of terminal fittings 21 connected to the terminal portion of the electric wire W are accommodated in the housing 20.

  A lock arm 22 is integrally provided on the upper surface of the housing 20 so as to be engaged with the lock portion 12 of the counterpart housing 10 and lock the counterpart housing 10 and the housing 20 in a properly fitted state. The lock arm 22 has a form that extends in a cantilevered manner from the front end of the housing 20 to the rear. On the upper surface of the lock arm 22, a projecting portion 23 that can be locked to the lock portion 12 protrudes upward.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the substantially first half portion of the lock arm 22 (hereinafter referred to as the front portion 24) has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above. As shown in FIG. 1, the front end portion of the front portion 24 is a support portion 25 connected to the front end portion of the housing 20. The lock arm 22 is elastically deformable in the vertical direction (height direction) with the support portion 25 as a fulcrum.

  The protruding portion 23 protrudes upward from the rear end of the front portion 24. The protruding portion 23 protrudes one step above the front portion 24, and a recessed portion 26 opened downward and rearward is formed on the lower surface. The recess 26 is a recess that is surrounded by a protrusion 23 on the upper side and a pair of arm portions 27 on the left and right sides.

  The protrusion 23 has a thickness (vertical dimension) larger at the rear end than at the front end. The rear end surface of the protrusion 23 is an upright surface that is substantially orthogonal to the fitting direction of the connector C. The front surface of the protrusion 23 has a gentle slope that gradually increases toward the rear. The protrusion 23 is disposed at the center in the width direction of the lock arm 22 and has a rectangular shape when viewed from above, as shown in FIG.

  The lock arm 22 includes a pair of left and right arm portions 27 extending rearward from the left and right sides of the protrusion 23. The pair of arm portions 27 extends upward from the rear end of the front portion 24 in a cantilever shape substantially parallel to each other. The distance between the pair of arm portions 27 is equal to the width dimension of the protruding portion 23.

  The rear end portions of the pair of arm portions 27 are connected by a plate-like operation portion 28, and are formed at a position shifted one step above the protrusion 23. By pressing the operation portion 28 downward, the lock arm 22 is elastically bent downward, and the projection 23 is displaced downward from the lock portion 12 so that the lock is released.

  A space surrounded by the pair of arm portions 27, the projecting portion 23, and the operation portion 28 in the lock arm 22 is an opening 29 that opens in the vertical direction. When viewed from above, the opening 29 has a rectangular shape that is substantially the same shape as the protrusion 23 as shown in FIG.

  A housing 31 for housing the detection member 40 is provided at the rear end of the housing 20. The accommodating portion 31 is provided at a substantially central portion in the width direction of the housing 20. The rear end portion of the accommodating portion 31 protrudes rearward of the housing 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, insertion portions 32 into which elastic locking pieces 43 provided on the detection member 40 are inserted from the rear are provided at both ends in the width direction of the accommodating portion 31.
As shown in FIG. 8, the insertion portion 32 is provided with a movement restricting portion 33 that can be locked to the elastic locking piece 43. The movement restricting portion 33 protrudes in a direction crossing the insertion direction of the elastic locking piece 43. The front and rear surfaces of the movement restricting portion 33 are guide inclined surfaces 34 that guide the movement over the elastic locking pieces 43 by pushing or pulling back the detection member 40.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, a reverse prevention portion 35 that prevents the lock arm 22 from warping upward is provided at the rear portion of the housing 20 (above the accommodating portion 31). . The inversion prevention part 35 straddles the upper side of the lock arm 22 in the left-right direction. The inversion preventing portion 35 has a small width dimension in the front-rear direction and covers only the substantially first half portion of the operation portion 28.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the detection member 40 is made of a synthetic resin, and has a wide main body 41, and a locking arm 42 is provided at the center in the width direction.
Elastic locking pieces 43 that can be locked to the movement restricting portion 33 of the housing 20 are provided at both ends in the width direction of the main body portion 41 (see FIG. 6). The elastic locking piece 43 is cantilevered and extends forward, has a thin plate shape with a small horizontal dimension, and can be elastically displaced in the horizontal direction. The pair of left and right elastic locking pieces 43 are positioned one step inside the left and right end surfaces of the main body 41.

  A claw portion 44 that protrudes inward is provided at the front end portion of the pair of elastic locking pieces 43. The front surface and the rear surface of the claw portion 44 are formed as a sliding inclined surface 45 that is inclined so as to follow the guiding inclined surface 34 of the movement restricting portion 33. The claw portion 44 is provided at the upper end portion of each elastic locking piece 43 (see FIG. 5).

  A wall 46 is erected on the upper surface of the main body 41. The wall portion 46 is provided in the entire width of the main body portion 41 along the rear end edge of the main body portion 41. When the detection member 40 is in the detection position, the wall portion 46 closes the rear end opening of the housing portion 31 of the housing 20.

  The locking arm portion 42 extends in a cantilevered manner from the main body portion 41 (see FIG. 7). The locking arm portion 42 is inclined obliquely upward from the front surface of the main body portion 41 in a natural state where the locking arm portion 42 is not elastically bent. The locking arm portion 42 can enter between the pair of arm portions 27 of the lock arm 22 from the rear.

  At the front end portion (free end side) of the locking arm portion 42, a locking portion 47 that fits into the opening 29 of the lock arm 22 and can be locked to the protruding portion 23 is provided. The locking portion 47 protrudes from the upper surface of the locking arm portion 42. When viewed from above, the locking portion 47 has a rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 6, and the width of the locking portion 47 is equal to the width of the opening 29. As shown in FIG. 1, the locking portion 47 has a shape that can be accommodated in the recessed portion 26 on the lower surface of the protruding portion 23.

  As shown in FIG. 11, a contact portion 48 that can contact the lower surface of the protrusion 23 is provided on the front surface of the locking portion 47 when the detection member 40 is disposed at the initial position. The contact portion 48 has a thin plate shape protruding forward from the lower end of the locking portion 47. The abutting portion 48 is formed in the entire width of the locking portion 47, and when viewed from above, has a rectangular shape that is long in the width direction as shown in FIG.

  The base end portion 42A of the locking arm portion 42 is a portion having the largest width dimension and the largest thickness dimension (vertical dimension) in the entire locking arm portion 42. The intermediate portion 42B between the locking portion 47 and the base end portion 42A of the locking arm is a portion having the smallest width dimension and the smallest thickness dimension (vertical dimension).

  Between the locking portion 47 and the intermediate portion 42B, and between the base end portion 42A and the intermediate portion 42B, a width changing portion 42C in which the width dimension gradually changes (see FIG. 6). Note that both the locking portion 47 and the base end portion 42A protrude above the intermediate portion 42B, and the lower surface of the locking arm portion 42 is a flat surface having almost no step over the entire length.

  The detection member 40 is assembled from behind to the accommodating portion 31 of the housing 20. In the state where the detection member 40 is assembled at the initial position, as shown in FIG. 11, the locking portion 47 is fitted into the opening 29 and locked to the protrusion 23 from the rear, and as shown in FIG. When the elastic locking piece 43 is locked to the rear surface of the movement restricting portion 33 from behind, the forward movement of the detection member 40 (movement to the detection position) is restricted. Further, when the detection member 40 is assembled at the initial position, the contact portion 48 comes into contact with the lower surface of the protrusion 23 upward as shown in FIG. At this time, the rear end portion of the detection member 40 protruding rearward from the rear surface of the housing 20 is accommodated in the rear end portion of the accommodating portion 31.

Next, an example of the fitting operation of the connector C in the present embodiment will be described.
First, the housing 20 is fitted to the counterpart housing 10. In this fitting process, as shown in FIG. 12, the protruding portion 23 contacts the locking portion 12 of the counterpart housing 10 and is displaced downward, and the protruding portion 23 causes the contact portion 48 of the locking arm portion 42 to move downward. The locking arm portion 42 is elastically bent downward. At this time, since the intermediate portion 42B of the locking arm portion 42 is made thin and easily elastically deformed, the resistance force when the connector C is fitted can be kept small. Moreover, the latching state of the latching | locking part 47 and the projection part 23 is maintained, and the movement to the detection position of the detection member 40 is controlled. Therefore, when the connector C is half-fitted, the detection member 40 cannot be pushed into the detection position, so that it can be known that the connector C is still in the half-fitted state.

  When the connector C is properly fitted, the terminal fitting 21 and the mating terminal fitting 13 are electrically connected, and as shown in FIG. 13, the protrusion 23 gets over the lock portion 12 and the lock arm 22 is elastically restored. The protrusion 23 and the lock portion 12 are locked in the front-rear direction, and the connector C is locked in the normal fitting state. At this time, the lock portion 12 of the counterpart housing 10 is positioned above the locking portion 47. As a result, the elastic return of the locking arm portion 42 is prevented, and the locking portion 47 is shifted downward (relatively in the unlocking direction) with respect to the protrusion 23. And the detection member 40 will be in the state in which the movement to a detection position (left direction) was accept | permitted.

Subsequently, the detection member 40 is pushed forward (to the left) to reach the detection position. When the wall portion 46 of the detection member 40 is pressed forward, as shown in FIG. 1, the locking portion 47 enters the lower side of the projection 23 and fits into the recess 26, and further forward of the detection member 40. Movement is restricted. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the claw portion 44 of the elastic locking piece 43 gets over the movement restricting portion 33 and is locked to the movement restricting portion 33 from the front, and the return of the detection member 40 to the initial position side is restricted. The
Thus, the connector C fitting operation is completed.

Next, operations and effects of the embodiment configured as described above will be described.
The connector C of this embodiment has a housing 20 that can be fitted to the mating housing 10. The housing 20 is engaged with a locking portion 12 provided in the mating housing 10 and is engaged with the mating housing 10 and the housing. 20 is provided with a lock arm 22 that locks 20 in a properly fitted state. The detection member 40 is attached to the housing 20 such that the movement is restricted when the mating housing 10 and the housing 20 are half-fitted when the mating housing 10 is not perfectly complete, and the movement is allowed when the mating fitting is normal. The lock arm 22 has a protrusion 23 that protrudes upward and can be engaged with the lock portion 12, and a pair of arms 27 that extend upward from the left and right sides of the protrusion 23 upward. The distance between the pair of arm portions 27 is equal to the width dimension of the protruding portion 23. The detection member 40 fits into the opening 29 between the pair of arm portions 27 when half-fitted and is locked to the projection 23 to restrict the movement of the detection member 40, and at the time of normal fitting, the projection 23 The locking portion 47 is relatively displaced in the locking release direction, and the width dimension of the locking portion 47 is equal to the width dimension of the opening 29.

  According to such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 3, the entire rear surface of the protrusion 23 does not overlap with the arm portion 27 in the front-rear direction. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of slide molds. Further, since the width dimension of the locking part 47 is equal to the width dimension of the opening part 29, the locking part 47 is locked within the opening part 29 widened to have the same width dimension as the width part of the protrusion 23. It is possible to prevent the portion 47 from rattling in the width direction.

  The locking portion 47 is provided on the free end side of the locking arm portion 42 having a cantilever shape, and the locking arm portion 42 is elastically bent when the mating housing 10 and the housing 20 are fitted. The width dimension of the intermediate part 42 </ b> B located on the proximal end side of the locking part 47 in the locking arm part 42 is made smaller than the width dimension of the locking part 47. According to such a configuration, the locking arm portion 42 is easily elastically bent as compared with, for example, a case where the locking arm portion 42 has the same width as the locking portion 47 over its entire length. Force can be kept small.

<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 said Example, although the lock | rock part 12 of the other party housing 10 has comprised the form protruded inside the food | hood part 11, it is not restricted to this, For example, a lock | rock part is recessedly formed inside the food | hood part. Alternatively, it may be a concave portion or a hole portion formed so as to penetrate therethrough.
(2) In the above embodiment, the base end portion 42A of the locking arm portion 42 has the largest width dimension. However, the width is not limited to this, and the width dimension of the base end portion is made smaller than the width dimension of the locking portion. May be.
(3) In the above embodiment, the front portion 24 of the lock arm 22 has a substantially rectangular shape continuous in the width direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the front portion of the lock arm is formed by a pair of left and right arm portions. It may be.

C ... Connector 10 ... Counterpart housing 12 ... Locking part 20 ... Housing 22 ... Locking arm 23 ... Projection part 27 ... Arm part 40 ... Detection member 42 ... Locking arm part 42B ... Intermediate part (base end side than locking part) Part located in)
47. Locking part

Claims (2)

A housing that can be fitted into the mating housing;
A lock arm provided on the housing that locks the counterpart housing and the housing in a properly fitted state by engaging with a lock portion provided on the counterpart housing;
A detection member attached to the housing so that movement is restricted when the mating housing and the housing are half-fitted, and movement is allowed when the fitting is properly fitted,
The lock arm has a protruding portion that protrudes upward and can be locked to the locking portion; and a pair of arm portions that extend upward from the left and right sides of the protruding portion toward the rear,
The distance between the pair of arm portions is equal to or larger than the width dimension of the protrusions,
When the detection member is half-fitted, the detection member fits into an opening between the pair of arm portions and is locked to the projection to restrict the movement of the detection member. Having a locking part that is displaced in the locking release direction relative to the part,
A connector in which a width dimension of the locking portion is equal to a width dimension of the opening. The locking portion is provided on the free end side of the locking arm portion that has a cantilever shape,
When the mating housing and the housing are fitted, the locking arm portion is elastically bent,
2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein a width dimension of a portion of the locking arm portion located on a proximal end side with respect to the locking portion is smaller than a width dimension of the locking portion.

Images