JP2020017343A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a connector capable of preventing a movement to a main engagement of a fitting detection member even if the fitting detection member is erroneously pushed in a main engagement direction in a temporal engagement state of the fitting detection member.SOLUTION: A connector comprises: a hosing 21 fitted and separated to/from a mating hosing; and a fitting detection member 30 which is assembled to the housing 21, and can be moved between a temporal engagement position and a main engagement position after the fitting with the mating hosing. The housing 21 includes a lock arm 25 provided with a lock part 27 which is engaged and separated to/from a locked part of the mating housing and with a lock release part 28. The fitting detection member 30 includes: a flexible arm part 33 provided with a temporal engagement projection 35 and a main engagement projection 36 so as to be stood at a tip 33a. By assembling the fitting detection member 30 to the housing 21 to set the fitting detection member 30 into a temporal engagement state by temporally engaging a concave part 35a of the temporal engagement projection 35 of the arm part 33 of the fitting detection member 30 to an end part 27a of the lock part 27 of the lock arm 25 by at least point contact.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector provided with a fitting detection member for detecting a proper fitting of a male and female housing.

  As this kind of connector, there is a connector disclosed in Patent Document 1. In this connector 1, as shown in FIGS. 18 to 21, the female housing 2, which is fitted / removed with the male housing 8 of the male connector 7, which is the mating connector, and both housings 2, 8 are completely fitted. A fitting detection member (CPA) 6 that is movably assembled to the female housing 2 from an initial position (temporary locking position) to a fitting-guaranteed position (finally locking position).

  As shown in FIG. 18, when the fitting detection member 6 is temporarily locked, the notch 6 b at the base of the flexible arm portion 6 a is locked to the locking projection 3 of the female housing 2, and Since the engagement protrusion 6c of the arm 6a is engaged with the lock 4a of the flexible lock arm 4 of the female housing 2, the arm 6a cannot be moved to the full locking position.

  As shown in FIG. 19, when the male housing 8 is fitted to the female housing 2, the lock projection 8 a of the male housing 8 presses the engaging projection 6 c of the arm 6 a of the fitting detection member 6 downward. As a result, the engagement between the engagement protrusion 6c of the arm 6a and the lock 4a of the lock arm 4 of the female housing 2 is released, and the fitting detection member 6 is fully engaged. It can be moved to the stop position.

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, at the full locking position of the fitting detection member 6, the locking projection 8 a of the male housing 8 is locked to the locking portion 4 a of the locking arm 4 of the female housing 2, Both housings 2, 8 are completely fitted.

  When detaching the female housing 2 from the male housing 8, the lock release portion 4 b of the lock arm 4 of the female housing 2 is pressed downward to lock the female housing 2 from the lock projection 8 a of the male housing 8. After the lock portion 4a of the arm 4 is separated, the fitting detection member 6 is moved from the final locking position to the temporary locking position. 22 and 24, reference numeral 5 indicates a female terminal, and reference numeral 9 indicates a male terminal.

JP 2017-91761 A

  However, in the conventional connector 1, when the fitting detection member 6 is temporarily locked to the female housing 2, the lock portion 4 a of the lock arm 4 of the female housing 2 and the engagement protrusion 6 c of the fitting detection member 6 are not engaged. Since the contact surfaces are straight surfaces, if the fitting detection member 6 is erroneously pushed in the final locking direction, the locking is released, and the fitting detection member 6 moves to the final locking position side. It is feared that it will.

  The female housing 2 and the male housing 8 are displaced by the lock arm 4 at the time of fitting, and the lock portion 4a of the lock arm 4 and the protrusion 6d protruding forward from the engagement protrusion 6c of the fitting detection member 6 are interlocked. Due to the structure, there is a concern that the connector fitting force becomes excessive due to an increase in the reaction force of the fitting detection member 6.

  Further, when the fitting detection member 6 shifts to the final locking, the protrusion 6d of the fitting detecting member 6 comes into contact with the upper surface 3a of the locking projection 3, and there is a concern that the final locking becomes difficult. In order to prevent this, the height of the female housing 2 increases, and the entire connector 1 becomes large.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and in the provisionally locked state of the fitting detection member, even if the fitting detection member is erroneously pushed in the full locking direction, the fitting detection member is not locked. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector capable of preventing a transition to locking.

  According to the present invention, in a connector, a housing fitted / removed from / to a mating housing, and fitted into the housing and movable between a temporary locking position and a full locking position after the mating with the mating housing. A mating detection member, wherein the housing has a flexible lock arm provided with a lock portion and a lock release portion which are locked and released from the locked portion of the counterpart housing, and the fitting detection member Has a flexible arm portion provided with a provisional locking projection formed with a recessed portion and a main locking projection standing on the distal end side, and assembling the fitting detection member to the housing, and locking the lock. The concave portion of the temporary locking projection of the arm portion of the fitting detecting member is temporarily locked at least by point contact with the end of the lock portion of the arm, so that the fitting detecting member is temporarily locked. I do.

  According to the present invention, the fitting detection member is assembled to the housing, and the concave portion of the temporary locking projection of the arm portion of the fitting detection member is temporarily locked at least by point contact with the end of the lock portion of the lock arm. When the fitting detection member is in the temporarily locked state, even if the fitting detection member is erroneously pushed in the full locking direction in the temporarily locked state of the fitting detection member, the transition of the fitting detection member to the full locking is performed. Can be reliably prevented.

It is an exploded perspective view of the connector of one embodiment of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the female connector of the said connector, and a fitting detection member. It is a perspective view which shows the said female connector in partial cross section. It is a perspective view of the said fitting detection member. It is the perspective view which looked at the male connector of the above-mentioned connector from the back. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a provisionally locked state in which the fitting detection member has been assembled. FIG. 4 is a front view showing a temporarily locked state of the fitting detection member. 7A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 7 when the fitting detection member is in the temporarily locked state, and FIG. 7B is a diagram when the fitting detection member is pushed in in the temporarily locked state in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line. It is a perspective view showing the state where the male connector was fitted to the above-mentioned female connector, and the temporary lock of the fitting detection member was released. It is a front view of the state where temporary lock of the above-mentioned fitting detection member was released. 10A is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 10 when the male connector is fitted, and FIG. 10B is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 10 when the temporary engagement of the fitting detection member is released. It is. It is a perspective view which shows the state in the middle of the final locking of the said fitting detection member. It is a front view which shows the state in the middle of the final locking of the said fitting detection member. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line in FIG. It is a perspective view showing the state where the fitting detection member was fully locked and the fitting of the connector was completed. It is a front view showing the state where the fitting detection member was fully locked and the fitting of the connector was completed. FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 16. It is a perspective view which shows the temporary locking state of the fitting detection member of the conventional connector in partial cross section. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a temporary engagement state of the fitting detection member of the conventional connector. It is a perspective view perspective view which shows the final engagement state of the fitting detection member of the said conventional connector in partial cross section. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a fully locked state of the fitting detection member of the conventional connector.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a female connector and a fitting detection member of the connector, FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the male connector of the connector as viewed from the rear side, and FIGS. 6 to 17 are views sequentially showing the state from the temporary locking state to the final locking of the fitting detection member. It is.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the connector 10 includes a female connector 20 having a female housing (housing) 21 made of a synthetic resin that is fitted to and disengaged from a male housing (counterpart housing) 41. After the fitting with the male housing 41, it moves between the temporary locking position and the full locking position, and detects and guarantees the proper fitting of the male and female housings 21, 41 in the full locking position. A fitting detection member (CPA: Connector Position Assurance) 30 made of synthetic resin and a male connector 40 having a male housing 41 made of synthetic resin are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the female housing 21 has a plurality of (two in this embodiment, left and right) terminal accommodating chambers 22 for accommodating a female terminal (not shown) on the lower side. The side is the CPA housing portion 23 that houses the fitting detection member 30. Lock arm protection walls 24a, 24a protruding inward are formed at the upper ends of both side walls 24, 24 constituting the CPA accommodating portion 23, and lock arm protections on the CPA accommodating portion 23 and the side walls 24, 24 are formed. The inner surface between the walls 24a serves as a guide rail portion 24b when the fitting detection member 30 moves.

  Further, from the rear end to the front side on the CPA accommodating portion 23, a locking protrusion (locking portion) which is locked and released by a locking protrusion (locked portion) 44 formed on a hood portion 43 of the male housing 41 described later. A pair of lock arms 25, 25, which are flexible and project from the lock release portions 27 and the respective column-shaped lock release portions 28, are integrally formed. The lock projection 27 is integrally formed so as to straddle between the pair of lock arms 25. Further, the lock release portion 28 is integrally formed in a cylindrical shape outside the tip of the lock arm 25. Further, a later-described locking projection 34 of the fitting detection member 30 is inserted into a groove 26 formed between the pair of lock arms 25, 25.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the fitting detection member 30 includes two side parts 31, 31, an operation part 32 integrally formed to protrude above a base end between the two side parts 31, 31, and this operation part 32. And a flexible arm portion 33 extending from the lower center to the center between the two side portions 31, 31.

  A locking projection 34 is integrally formed on the tip 33a of the flexible arm 33 so as to stand up. The front side of the locking projection 34 is a temporary locking projection 35 for temporarily locking the recess 35a to the front end 27a of the lock projection 27 of the lock arm 25 to prevent entry, and the rear side is the lock arm. A final locking projection 36 is permanently locked to the rear side of the 25 locking projections 27. That is, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, when the fitting detection member 30 is in the temporarily locked state, the recess 35 a having a triangular cross section is formed in front of the temporary locking projection 35 of the fitting detection member 30. At the front side of the lock portion 27 of the lock arm 25, the end portion 27a having a triangular cross section is provisionally locked so as to mesh with at least a point contact.

  On the front side of the inner surface of the side portion 31, an inclined rail portion 38 is formed integrally with the columnar unlocking portion 28 of the lock arm 25, which is inclined downward from the rear end toward the front end and moves along the columnar unlocking portion 28. It is. The inclined surface 38a formed on the front side of the inclined rail portion 38 slides along the columnar unlocking portion 28 of the lock arm 25 when the fitting detection member 30 is assembled to the female housing 21. The lock arm 25 has a function of bending upward (elastic deformation) to temporarily lock the lock projection 27 of the lock arm 25 and the temporary locking projection 35 of the locking projection 34 of the arm 33. .

  Further, the inclined surface 38 b formed on the rear side of the inclined rail portion 38 is such that the columnar unlocking portion 28 of the lock arm 25 slides when the fitting detection member 30 is pulled out from the female housing 21. The lock arm 25 is bent downward (elastic deformation) to release the lock state between the lock protrusion 27 of the lock arm 25 and the lock protrusion 36 of the lock protrusion 34 of the arm portion 33. have.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the male housing 41 has a plurality of (two in this embodiment, left and right) wire housing chambers 42 for housing wires to which male terminals (not shown) are connected. A rectangular cylindrical hood portion 43 is integrally formed at the front side of the electric wire accommodating chamber 42, and a tab portion of the male terminal is exposed inside the hood portion 43. As shown in FIG. 5, a locking projection (locked portion) 44 is integrally formed on the inner surface of the upper wall 43a of the hood portion 43 on the front end 43b side.

  According to the connector 10 of the embodiment described above, as shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 (a), the fitting detection member 30 enters the CPA accommodating portion 23 of the female housing 21, and the arm of the fitting detection member 30 The provisional locking projection 35 of the locking projection 34 of the portion 33 is locked (temporarily locked) by the lock projection 27 of the lock arm 25, so that the fitting detection member 30 is assembled to the female housing 21 in a temporarily locked state. attached.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8B, even if the operation unit 32 is pushed to push the fitting detection member 30 in the provisionally locked state of the fitting detection member 30, the provisional engagement of the locking projection 34 of the fitting detection member 30 is possible. Since the stop projection 35 engages with the lock projection 27 of the lock arm 25, the temporarily locked state of the fitting detection member 30 is not released. That is, even if the fitting detection member 30 is erroneously pushed in the main locking direction in the provisionally locked state of the fitting detection member 30, the recess 35 a of the temporary locking projection 35 of the fitting detection member 30 Since the front end portion 27a of the lock portion 27 is engaged with the lock portion 27, it is possible to reliably prevent the fitting detection member 30 from being shifted to the final locking.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 11A and 11B, the locking arm 25 of the female housing 21 is displaced by the locking projection 44 of the male housing 41 of the male connector 40, and the locking projection of the male housing 41 is formed. The housings 21 and 41 are fitted by locking the lock projection 27 of the lock arm 25 to 44. Then, by temporarily bending the arm 33 of the fitting detection member 30 downward by the locking projection 44 of the male housing 41, the temporary locking projection 35 of the locking projection 34 of the arm 33 of the fitting detection member 30 is locked. The engagement detection member 30 is released from the lock projection 27 of the arm 25, that is, the temporary engagement of the engagement detection member 30 is released, and the engagement detection member 30 can be moved in the engagement direction (the depth direction of the CPA housing portion 23).

  In this manner, the arm 33 of the fitting detection member 30 is bent downward by the locking projection 44 of the male housing 41 to temporarily lock the locking projection 27 of the lock arm 25 and the arm 33 of the fitting detection member 30. After releasing the temporarily locked state of the fitting detection member 30 due to the temporary locking with the protrusion 35, as shown in FIGS. 12 to 14, the operating unit 32 of the fitting detection member 30 is pushed in the fitting direction. When the operating portion 32 moves until it comes into contact with the front end 43b of the hood portion 43 of the male housing 41, as shown in FIGS. 15 to 17, the main locking projection of the locking projection 34 of the arm portion 33 of the fitting detection member 30 is provided. The lock 36 locks (actually locks) the lock protrusion 27 of the lock arm 25 to prevent the fitting detection member 30 from returning (the fitting detection member 30 returning to the temporary locking position). That is, the locking projection 27 of the locking portion 25 is locked by the full locking projection 36 of the locking projection 34 of the arm portion 33, so that the fitting detection member 30 is fully locked and the male and female connectors 21, 41 is detected.

  Also, when the locking projection 44 of the male housing 41 pushes the locking projection 27 of the lock arm 25 of the female housing 21 when fitting with the male housing 41, the locking projection 34 of the arm portion 33 of the fitting detection member 30 is Since the lock arm 25 flexes downward independently of the main locking projection 36, the connector fitting force can be reduced, and the tip 33a of the arm portion 33 of the fitting detection member 30 is provided with a conventional technology. Since there is no protrusion corresponding to the protrusion 6d protruding forward from the engagement protrusion 6c of the fitting detection member 6, the connector 10 can be reduced in size and thickness.

  Further, since there is no protrusion corresponding to the protrusion 6d of the fitting detection member 6 of the related art at the tip 33a of the arm portion 33 of the fitting detection member 30, when the fitting detection member 30 shifts to the full locking, Thus, it is possible to prevent the tip 33a of the arm 33 from coming into contact with the CPA accommodating portion 23 of the female housing 21.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the concave portion of the temporary locking protrusion of the fitting detection member and the front end of the lock portion of the lock arm are temporarily locked so as to be engaged by at least point contact. The tentatively locking may be performed by bringing the recess and the end of the lock portion into point contact, and bringing the flat portion of the recess and the flat portion of the end of the lock into surface contact.

  Furthermore, according to the above-described embodiment, a pair of columnar unlocking portions are formed outside the respective ends of the pair of lock arms so as to protrude. However, the columnar unlocking portion may be straddled between the respective ends of the pair of lock arms. May be integrally formed.

10 Connector 21 Female Housing (Housing)
25 Flexible lock arm 27 Lock projection (lock portion)
27a End part 28 Lock release part 30 Fitting detection member (CPA)
33 Flexible arm part 33a Tip 34 Locking projection 35 Temporary locking projection 35a Depressed part 36 Main locking projection 41 Male housing (counterpart housing)
44 Locking projection (locked part)

Claims (4)

A housing fitted and disengaged from the mating housing;
A fitting detection member assembled to the housing and movable between a temporary locking position and a full locking position after fitting with the counterpart housing,
The housing has a flexible lock arm provided with a lock portion and a lock release portion that are locked and released from the locked portion of the counterpart housing,
The fitting detection member has a flexible arm portion provided with a temporary locking projection formed with a concave portion and a permanent locking projection so as to stand on the distal end side,
The fitting detection member is assembled to the housing, and the concave portion of the temporary locking protrusion of the arm portion of the fitting detection member is temporarily locked by at least point contact with the end of the lock portion of the lock arm. A connector characterized in that the engagement detecting member is in a temporarily locked state. The connector according to claim 1, wherein
A locking projection is integrally formed at an end of the arm portion of the fitting detection member so as to protrude upward, and the temporary locking projection is provided on a front side of the locking projection, and on a rear side of the locking projection. A connector provided with the final locking projection. The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
A connector in which the fitting detection member is provisionally locked so that the recessed portion of the provisional locking projection of the fitting detection member and the end of the lock portion of the lock arm are engaged with each other in the provisionally locked state. . The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
The arm portion of the fitting detection member is flexed and deformed by the locked portion of the mating housing to temporarily engage the end of the lock portion of the lock arm with the concave portion of the temporary locking projection of the arm portion of the fitting detection member. After the provisionally locked state of the fitting detection member due to the stop is released, the full locking projection of the arm portion is fully locked to the lock portion of the lock arm, so that the two housings are properly fitted. A connector in which the fitting detection member is in a fully locked state.

Images