JP2017142916A - Connector with fitting detection function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector such that a fitting state between connectors can be visually confirmed and a lock sound can be made larger.SOLUTION: A connector comprises: a housing 20; a lock part 30 which engages an opposite lock part provided to an opposite housing 62 to lock a fitting state between the opposite housing 62 and housing 20 in an unlockable state, and generates a first lock sound on the locking; and a fitting detection part 40 which is provided on an upper surface of the housing 20, and detects the fitting state. The fitting detection part 40 has: a cylindrical guide part 42 which has an opening part 48, exposed in the fitting state, formed at a cylinder wall part; and a slide guide part 50 which has a projection part 52 formed at a tip part and also has a rear end part pressed with a contact part provided to the opposite housing 62 in the process of entering the fitting state to slide in the guide part 42 toward the opening part, and then protrudes the projection part 52 from the opening part 48 and also generates a second lock sound substantially at the same time with the locking by the lock part 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector used for an automobile wire harness, and particularly to a connector with a fitting detection function.

  Conventionally, when an electric wire is connected to an auxiliary machine mounted on a vehicle, a male connector on the auxiliary machine side and a female connector on the wire harness side are fitted and electrically connected. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the conventional connector 80 has a lock portion 30 provided on the upper surface of the housing 20. When the housing 20 is fitted to the housing 92 of the mating connector 90, the concave portion 32 of the lock portion 30 is engaged with the convex portion of the mating lock portion so that the fitting state of both the housings 20 and 92 is maintained. It has become. Then, whether or not the worker has been normally fitted with a “click” lock sound generated by the lock unit 30 when the fitting state of both the housings 20 and 92 is locked, or the feeling received from the tactile sense at that time. Was judging.

  However, depending on the work environment, it may be difficult for the operator to hear the lock sound when the connector is fitted. For this reason, it may be difficult to determine whether or not the connector has been normally fitted, and there may be a “half-fitted state” in which the connector is not completely fitted. Therefore, various measures have been taken to prevent the half-fitted state of the connector (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 6A, a semi-fitting prevention electrical connector in which a predetermined display part 112 is provided at a fitting part end 111 of a male housing 101 and a fluorescent paint is applied to the display part 112. Is disclosed. As shown in FIG. 6 (b), when the claw portion 116 of the lock lever 114 is in a half-fitted state, the display portion 112 provided at the fitting portion end 111 of the male housing 101 is in the female housing 102. Since it is not completely hidden and a part is exposed, the operator can visually confirm the half-fitted state. Since the display part 112 of the male housing 101 is completely hidden in the female housing 102 in the fitted state, the operator can confirm the fitted state in the same manner.

JP-A-1-175181

  However, in the half-fitting prevention electrical connector described in Patent Document 1, although the fitting state between the connectors can be visually confirmed, depending on the arrangement of the connector, the device or the like becomes an obstacle and visually. There was a case that it could not be confirmed.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of visually confirming a fitting state between connectors and enhancing a locking sound.

  In order to achieve the above object, the coated electric wire with terminal according to the present invention individually accommodates the ends of the electric wires, and is fitted into the mating housing when the electric wires are electrically connected to the mating connector side wiring. A lock portion that engages with a mating lock portion provided on the mating housing and releasably locks the mating state between the mating housing and the housing, and generates a first locking sound at the time of locking; A fitting detection portion that is provided on the upper surface of the housing and detects the fitting state, and the fitting detection portion is formed with an opening exposed in the fitting state in the cylindrical wall portion. A cylindrical guide portion formed on the front end, and a projecting portion is formed at the front end portion, and the rear end portion is pressed by the abutting portion provided in the mating housing in the process of reaching the fitting state, and the opening in the guide portion is formed. Slurry that slides It has a de section, and the locking time substantially simultaneously with the protrusion by the locking portion has a configuration for generating a second locking sound are adapted to protrude from the opening.

  With this configuration, when the housings of the connectors are in the fitted state, the protruding portion of the slide portion protrudes from the opening of the guide portion and is exposed, so that the protruding portion can be visually confirmed from the outside. In addition, when the protrusion protrudes from the opening, a second locking sound is generated when the shape returns from the bent state and returns to the original state. Since the second lock sound is generated almost simultaneously with the first lock sound generated by the lock unit, the lock sound is increased. Thereby, while being able to confirm the fitting state of housings visually, a lock sound can be strengthened.

  In addition, the guide portion further includes another opening in the cylindrical wall portion, and the protrusion of the slide portion is locked to the other opening before the housing is fitted to the counterpart housing. You may comprise as follows.

  With this configuration, before the connector housing is fitted to the mating housing, the protrusion provided at the tip of the slide portion is locked to another opening of the guide portion. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the slide part from coming out of the guide part during the wiring work of the wire harness.

  The slide part may have a color different from the color of the guide part.

  With this configuration, it is easy to visually confirm that the protruding portion of the slide portion protrudes from the opening portion of the guide portion, so that it is easy to check the fitting state between the connectors.

  The opening may be formed on the cylindrical wall portion on the side surface side of the guide portion, and the protrusion may be formed on the side surface of the slide portion corresponding to the side surface side of the guide portion. .

  With this configuration, the protruding portion of the slide portion protrudes from the side surface of the guide portion, thereby facilitating visual confirmation from the side.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while being able to confirm the fitting state of connectors visually, the connector which can reinforce a locking sound can be provided.

The connector which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention is shown, Fig.1 (a) is a perspective view which shows the state before a fitting with the other party connector, FIG.1 (b) shows the state after a fitting. It is a perspective view. It is a top view of the connector concerning a 1st embodiment, Drawing 2 (a) is a top view showing the state before fitting with the other party connector, and Drawing 2 (b) shows the state after fitting. It is a top view. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1B, showing the structure of the lock portion, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. The structure of the joint detection part is shown. The fitting detection part which concerns on 1st Embodiment is shown, Fig.4 (a) is a perspective view which shows the state before fitting with a mating connector, and FIG.4 (b) shows the state in the middle of fitting. It is a perspective view and FIG.4 (c) is a perspective view when it exists in a fitting state. It is a perspective view which shows the conventional connector. It is explanatory drawing explaining the connector of patent document 1. FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The connector 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is fitted to a mating connector 60 provided on the auxiliary machine side of an automobile and performs electrical connection between the mating wiring and the wiring harness wiring. The housing 20, the lock part 30, and the fitting detection part 40 are provided. Although the connector 10 is a female connector and the mating connector 60 is a male connector, the connector 10 may be a male connector and the mating connector 60 may be a female connector.

  The housing 20 is configured to individually accommodate the ends of the electric wires 12 and to be fitted to the mating housing 62 when the electric connection between the electric wires 12 and the wiring on the mating connector 60 side is performed. The housing 20 is an integrally molded product made of synthetic resin.

  Specifically, a female metal terminal is attached to the end of the electric wire 12 and inserted into the terminal accommodating hole 22. When the housing 20 is fitted into the receiving recess 64 formed in the mating housing 62, the male metal terminal provided in the mating housing 62 engages with the female metal terminal on the housing 20 side, and the electric wire 12 and the mating wiring are connected. Electrical connection with is realized.

  The lock portion 30 is configured to engage with a mating lock portion provided in the mating housing 62 to releasably lock the mating state between the mating housing 62 and the housing 20 and generate a first locking sound when locked. Has been.

  Specifically, the lock portion 30 is provided on the upper surface 24 of the housing 20, and the mating lock portion is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the receiving recess 64 of the mating housing 62. When the housing 20 is fitted into the receiving recess 64 of the mating housing 62, the metal terminals are engaged with each other to realize electrical connection, and the lock portion 30 and the mating lock portion are engaged, so that the housings are fitted. The state is to be locked.

  Fig.3 (a) is AA sectional drawing of FIG.1 (b), and has shown the cross-section of the lock | rock part 30 when connectors are in a fitting state. As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the lock portion 30 has a recess 32 formed in a cantilevered lock piece, and the protrusion 66 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the receiving recess 64 of the mating housing 62 includes the recess 66. By engaging with the recess 32, the housings are locked together. When the convex portion 66 of the mating housing 62 engages with the concave portion 32 of the lock portion 30, the convex portion 66 that has been bent until then elastically returns, and at that time, a locking sound (first locking sound) called “click” is generated. Occur. By pushing down the end of the lock part 30, the engagement between the convex part 66 and the concave part 32 is released and the locked state can be released.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fitting detection unit 40 is provided on the upper surface 24 of the housing 20 and detects a fitting state between the housing 20 and the mating housing 62. The fitting detection unit 40 includes a cylindrical guide unit 42 and a slide unit 50 that slides inside the guide unit 42.

  In the guide portion 42, an opening 48 exposed in a fitting state between the housings is formed in the cylindrical wall portion on the upper surface side. As shown in FIG. 1 (b), when the housing 20 is fitted into the receiving recess 64 of the mating housing 62 and the housings are in a fitted state, at least the opening 48 of the guide portion 42 of the fitting detection unit 40 is It is exposed to the outside so that it can be visually confirmed from the outside.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the guide portion 42 has another opening 46 in the cylindrical wall portion, and the projection portion 52 of the slide portion 50 before the housing 20 is fitted to the mating housing 62. Is locked to another opening 46. The other opening 46 is provided on the same cylindrical wall portion on the upper surface side as the opening 48 on the front side of the opening 48 (left side in FIG. 1A) at a predetermined distance from the opening 48. . Therefore, when the slide portion 50 is pushed into the guide portion 42, first, the projection portion 52 is engaged with and fixed to another opening portion 46. Since the slide part 50 is held by the guide part 42 in this state, it is convenient that the slide part 50 does not fall out during the wiring work of the wire harness.

  The slide part 50 has a protrusion 52 formed on the top surface of the tip part 50a. The slide part 50 and the guide part 42 are made of the same material as the housing 20. The guide part 42, the lock part 30, and the housing 20 are integrally molded products.

  2 shows the connector 10 according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 (a) is a plan view showing a state before mating with the mating connector 60, and FIG. 2 (b) is a diagram after mating. It is a top view which shows a state. As shown in FIG. 2, the lock part 30 and the fitting detection part 40 are arranged side by side on the upper surface 24 of the housing 20. However, the arrangement of the lock unit 30 and the fitting detection unit 40 is not limited to this, and either one or both may be arranged on the side surface of the housing 20.

Next, the detection method of the fitting state of the connectors by the fitting detection part 40 is demonstrated.
4 shows the fitting detection unit 40 according to the first embodiment, FIG. 4 (a) is a perspective view showing a state before fitting, and FIG. 4 (b) shows a state during fitting. FIG. 4C is a perspective view showing a state after fitting. Hereinafter, the process leading to the mating state of the connectors will be described separately before mating, during mating, and after mating.

(Before mating)
As described above, before the connector 10 is fitted to the mating connector 60 (see FIG. 1A), as shown in FIG. 4A, the protrusion 52 provided on the tip 50a of the slide 50 is provided. However, it is locked in a state of protruding from another opening 46 of the guide portion 42. The protrusion 52 is fitted into another opening 46 to prevent the slide 50 from coming out of the guide 42.

(Mating)
When fitting the connectors together, the housing 20 is inserted into the receiving recess 64 of the mating housing 62 (in the middle of fitting). As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the slide portion 50 is provided with a rear end portion 50 b on the inner peripheral surface of the receiving recess 64 of the mating housing 62 in the process of reaching the fitting state between the connectors (in the middle of fitting). The guide portion 42 is pressed by the contact portion 68 and slides in the direction of the opening 48. At that time, as shown in FIG. 4B, the projection 52 moves from another opening 46 to the opening 48 in a bent state.

(After mating)
When the housing 20 is inserted into the receiving recess 64 of the mating housing 62, the housings are brought into a normal fitting state, and the convex portion 66 of the mating lock portion is fitted into the recess 32 of the lock portion 30. Lock the mating state. At the same time, or almost simultaneously with a slight delay, the protrusion 52 of the slide portion 50 engages with the opening 48 as shown in FIG. At that time, the protruding portion 52 is released from the bent state and elastically restored, and a second locking sound called “click” is emitted and the protruding portion 52 protrudes from the opening 48. In this manner, the fitting detection unit 40 causes the protrusion 52 to protrude from the opening 48 substantially simultaneously with the locking by the locking unit 30 and generates the second locking sound. Thereby, since the 2nd lock sound by the fitting detection part 40 sounds simultaneously or substantially simultaneously with the 1st lock sound which the lock | rock part 30 emits, a lock sound is strengthened. In the present embodiment, the first lock sound of the lock unit 30 and the second lock sound of the fitting detection unit 40 are sounded substantially simultaneously, but the present invention is not limited to this. You may make it sound.

  FIG. 3B shows a cross-sectional view of the fitting detection unit 40 when the connectors are in a fitted state. As shown in FIG. 3B, the rear end portion 50b of the slide portion 50 is pushed by the abutting portion 68 formed in the receiving recess 64 of the mating housing 62 and pushed into the guide portion 42, so that the projection 52 is formed. It is in a state protruding from the opening 48.

  By visually confirming the state in which the protruding portion 52 protrudes from the opening 48, it can be recognized that the connectors are in a fitted state. The color of the slide part 50 may be different from the color of the guide part 42. By making the color different, visual confirmation becomes easier.

Next, functions and effects will be described.
In the connector 10 according to the present embodiment, when the housings are in the fitted state, the protruding portion 52 of the slide portion 50 protrudes from the opening 48 of the guide portion 42 and is exposed, so that the protruding portion 52 is visually observed from the outside. Can be confirmed. Further, when the protrusion 52 protrudes from the opening 48, a second locking sound is generated when the shape returns from the bent state and returns to the original state. Since the second lock sound is generated almost simultaneously with the first lock sound generated by the lock unit 30, the lock sound is increased. Thereby, while being able to confirm the fitting state of housings visually, a lock sound can be strengthened.

  Further, in the connector 10 according to the present embodiment, before the housing 20 is engaged with the mating housing 62, the protrusion 52 provided at the distal end 50a of the slide portion 50 is provided in another opening 46 of the guide portion 42. It is in a locked state. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the slide portion 50 from coming out of the guide portion 42 during the wiring work of the wire harness.

  Further, in the connector 10 according to the present embodiment, since the colors of the slide portion 50 and the guide portion 42 are different, it is easy to visually confirm that the protruding portion 52 of the slide portion 50 protrudes from the opening 48 of the guide portion 42. It becomes easy to check the fitting state between the connectors.

(Another embodiment)
Next, a connector according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In this embodiment, an opening part and another opening part are formed in the cylindrical wall part of the side surface side of a guide part, and the projection part is formed in the side surface of the slide part corresponding to the side surface side of a guide part. When the connectors are in a fitted state, the projection claw of the slide portion is in a state of protruding from the opening on the side surface of the guide portion. Thereby, the visual confirmation from the side becomes easy about the fitting state of connectors.

  As described above, the present invention has an effect that the fitting state between the connectors can be visually confirmed and the locking sound can be strengthened, and is useful for all connectors used in an automobile wire harness.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Connector 12 Electric wire 20 Housing 24 Upper surface 30 Locking part 40 Fitting detection part 42 Guide part 46 Another opening part 48 Opening part 50 Slide part 52 Projection part 60 Mating connector 62 Mating housing 68 Contact part

Claims (4)

Housing the ends of the wires individually, and a housing that fits into the mating housing when making electrical connection between the wires and the mating connector side wiring;
A locking portion that engages with a mating lock portion provided in the mating housing to releasably lock the mating state between the mating housing and the housing, and generates a first locking sound at the time of the locking;
A fitting detector provided on an upper surface of the housing and detecting the fitting state;
The fitting detection part includes a cylindrical guide part in which an opening exposed in the fitting state is formed in the cylindrical wall part, and a process in which a protruding part is formed at a tip part and reaches the fitting state. And a slide part that is pressed by a contact part provided in the mating housing and slides in the guide part in the direction of the opening, and the protrusion is substantially simultaneously with the locking by the lock part. A connector with a fitting detection function, wherein the connector protrudes from the opening and generates a second locking sound.   The guide portion further includes another opening portion in the cylindrical wall portion, and the projection portion of the slide portion is locked to the other opening portion before the housing is fitted to the mating housing. The connector with a fitting detection function according to claim 1.   The connector with a fitting detection function according to claim 1, wherein the slide portion has a color different from a color of the guide portion.   The opening is formed in the cylindrical wall portion on the side surface side of the guide portion, and the protrusion is formed on a side surface of the slide portion corresponding to the side surface side of the guide portion. The connector with a fitting detection function according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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