JP2020024823A - Erroneous fitting preventive connector - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an erroneous fitting preventive connector capable of improving reliability of an erroneous fitting prevention function by reducing occurrence of a quality defect.SOLUTION: An erroneous fitting preventive connector comprises: a female housing 17 in which multiple terminal accommodation chambers 53 are provided in a connector part 51; a front holder 21 which is attached to the connector part 51 and in which multiple openings communicating to the terminal accommodation chambers 53 are provided in a front plate part; a male housing which includes a cylindrical hood part fitted to an outer periphery of the front holder 21 and in which at least one projected streak extending in a fitting direction is formed on an inner wall of the hood part; a front holder side entrance groove 23 which is formed while being recessed from the outer periphery of the front holder 21 and extending in the fitting direction and that the projected streak enters at the time of fitting; and a housing side separation wall 25 which is formed in an outer periphery of the connector part 51 and receives a protruding tip end of the projected streak entering the front holder side entrance groove 23.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

  The present invention relates to a mis-fit prevention connector.

  Some connectors are provided with an incorrect mating prevention function for preventing a wrong connection direction and a mating other than a proper mating partner. For example, in the connector shown in FIG. 13 of Patent Document 1, a pair of parallel protruding ridges (erroneous fitting prevention ribs 503) protruding upward are provided on the left and right sides of the upper surface of the female connector housing 501 so as to extend in the coupling direction. Have been. The female connector housing 501 has a front cover 505 mounted on a coupling surface with a mating connector. On the other hand, a pair of parallel grooves 509 corresponding to the erroneous fitting prevention ribs 503 are provided on the left and right of the upper surface of the male connector housing 507 which is the housing of the mating connector. When the connector is properly fitted, the wrong fitting prevention rib 503 and the groove 509 are fitted to each other. On the other hand, in the connector, when the connection direction is wrong, or when the connector is erroneously mated with other than the proper mating partner, the erroneous mating prevention rib 503 interferes with the male side connector housing 507, and the mating cannot be performed.

JP 2001-155811 A

  However, in the conventional connector, since the hood portion 511 of the male connector housing 507 is thinned by the groove 509, there is a possibility that the hood portion is damaged, resulting in poor quality. On the other hand, when the thickness of the thin portion 513 is increased, the height of the erroneous fitting prevention rib 503 is reduced. The connector with the lower erroneous fitting prevention rib 503 may be damaged at the time of erroneous fitting by crushing the erroneous fitting prevention rib 503, and as a result, may be erroneously fitted.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an erroneous fitting prevention connector that can reduce the occurrence of poor quality and increase the reliability of the erroneous fitting prevention function.

The above object according to the present invention is achieved by the following configurations.
(1) a housing in which a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers are provided in a connector portion; a front holder in which a plurality of openings provided in the connector portion and communicating with the terminal accommodating rooms are provided in a front plate portion; A mating housing having a cylindrical hood portion fitted on the outer periphery of the holder and having at least one ridge extending in the fitting direction on the inner wall of the hood portion; A front holder-side entry groove formed so as to extend in the fitting direction and into which the ridge enters at the time of fitting; and a protrusion of the ridge formed on the outer periphery of the connector portion and entering the front holder-side entry groove. And a housing-side separation wall for receiving the distal end.

  According to the erroneous mating prevention connector having the configuration (1), the protruding ridge protruding from the inner wall of the hood portion enters the front holder side entry groove provided on the outer periphery of the front holder. A housing-side separation wall is provided on the outer periphery of the connector portion so as to match the position of the front holder-side entry groove. The housing-side separation wall receives the protruding tip of the ridge that has entered the front holder-side entry groove. That is, the ridges penetrate the outer periphery of the front holder and are further inserted into the outer periphery of the connector portion. In the erroneous mating prevention connector of this configuration, the protruding tip of the ridge penetrates the front holder and is received by the inner connector portion. Therefore, unlike the conventional structure in which the erroneous fitting prevention rib is fitted into the groove of the hood from inside, the hood does not become thinner due to the groove. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of quality defects such as breakage of the hood portion thinned by the groove. Further, since the ridge penetrates the outer periphery of the front holder and is further inserted into the outer periphery of the connector portion, it is possible to easily secure a sufficient height. A ridge formed with a sufficient height is less likely to be broken or otherwise damaged at the time of incorrect fitting. As a result, erroneous fitting can be more reliably prevented, and the reliability of the erroneous fitting prevention function can be improved.

(2) The erroneous fitting prevention connector according to (1), wherein a groove width of the front holder-side entry groove is smaller than a separation width of the housing-side separation wall. connector.

  According to the erroneous mating prevention connector having the configuration (2), when the housing is mated with the mating housing, the ridge enters the front holder side entry groove and the housing side separation wall. At this time, the protruding tip of the ridge penetrates from the front holder side entry groove toward the housing side separation wall. Here, the groove width of the front holder side entry groove through which the ridge extends is smaller than the separation width of the housing side separation wall. For this reason, the protruding ridge is sandwiched at the base width in the protruding direction by the narrow groove width of the front holder side approach groove. Thereby, the position of the ridge can be regulated at the base end portion that is not easily deformed (has a high rigidity), and erroneous fitting can be made more difficult to occur.

(3) The erroneous fitting prevention connector according to (2), wherein a separation width of the housing-side separation wall is formed to be a distance overlapping with the plurality of front holder-side entry grooves. Mis-mating prevention connector.

  According to the erroneous mating prevention connector having the configuration of the above (3), for example, when erroneous mating prevention is performed on a plurality of types of housings or mating housings due to differences in specifications, the position of the front holder side entry groove is formed. Only the difference between the two makes it possible to detect erroneous fitting. That is, a plurality of types of front holders having different formation positions of the front-holder-side entry grooves can be used by being attached to a common housing. This makes it possible to detect erroneous fitting of a plurality of connectors having different part numbers with a small number of component types.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the incorrect fitting prevention connector which concerns on this invention, generation | occurrence | production of quality failure can be reduced and the reliability of a wrong fitting prevention function can be improved.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through embodiments for carrying out the invention described below (hereinafter, referred to as “embodiments”) with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

1 is an exploded perspective view of an erroneous fitting prevention connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the mating housing shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the female connector shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the female connector shown in FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. It is a rear view of the front holder shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part of the connector part with the front holder of FIG. 5 removed. FIG. 4 is a side view of the female connector shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 8. It is the A section enlarged view of FIG. It is principal part sectional drawing of the housing side separation wall which concerns on the modification which set the separation width large. (A) is an operation explanatory diagram at the time of erroneous fitting detection, and (b) is an operational explanatory diagram at the time of regular fitting. (A) is a front view of a conventional female connector housing, and (b) is a front view of a conventional male connector housing.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an erroneous fitting prevention connector 11 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
The incorrect mating prevention connector 11 according to the embodiment includes a connector and a mating connector mating with the connector. In the present embodiment, the connector is a female connector 13 that accommodates a female terminal. The mating connector is a male connector 15 that accommodates a male terminal. The sex of the connector is not limited to this.

  The female connector 13 has a female housing (housing) 17. The male connector 15 has a male housing (a mating housing) 19.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the erroneous fitting prevention connector 11 according to the present embodiment includes a female housing 17, a front holder 21, a male housing 19, a front holder side entry groove 23, and a housing side separation wall. 25 as a main configuration.

  The male housing 19 is formed with a cylindrical hood 27 that fits around the outer periphery of the front holder 21. On the inner wall of the hood portion 27, at least one ridge 29 extending in the fitting direction and serving as a wrong fitting prevention rib is formed.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the mating housing shown in FIG.
The hood portion 27 has an elliptical outer shape when viewed from the front as viewed from the fitting direction. The hood portion 27 has a plurality of male terminals formed in a pin shape or a tab shape protruding from the inner bottom surface in rows and columns.

  Two ridges 29 are provided, one on the upper inner wall of the hood portion 27 and one on the bottom inner wall. These ridges 29 are provided at positions shifted in the longitudinal direction of the hood 27. A plurality of male connectors 15 having different positions and numbers of the ridges 29 can be prepared according to differences in specifications (product numbers).

  The hood 31 has bosses 31 protruding from both sides in the direction along the long axis. When the male connector 15 is connected to the female connector 13, the boss 31 engages with the cam groove 41 of the lever 33 provided on the female connector 13. The male connector 15 and the female connector 13 can be coupled with a small operating force by utilizing the principle of leverage by rotating the lever 33.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the female connector 13 shown in FIG.
The female housing 17 is provided with hood portions 35 and 36 above and below the connector portion 51, and is fitted to the outer periphery of the hood portion 27. A window 64 is formed in the lower hood 36. A pair of side plate portions 37 of the lever 33 are rotatably supported on both sides in the direction along the long axis of the connector portion 51. The lever 33 has a pair of side plate portions 37 connected by a connecting portion 39. Each side plate portion 37 is provided with an insertion port 41 a for inserting the boss 31 protruding from both sides of the male housing 19 into the cam groove 41.

  In the female housing 17, the front holder 21 is attached to the connector portion 51 inside the hood portions 35 and 36. Between the hood portions 35 and 36 and the front holder 21, an annular hood insertion portion 43 into which the hood portion 27 of the male connector 15 is inserted.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the female connector 13 shown in FIG.
On both sides of the female housing 17, support shafts 45 are protruded. The support shaft 45 rotatably engages with a bearing hole 47 formed in each side plate portion 37 of the lever 33. A guide groove 49 having one end connected to the bearing hole 47 and the other end opened to the edge of the side plate portion 37 is formed on the surface of the side plate portion 37 facing the female housing 17. The guide groove 49 guides the movement of the support shaft 45 engaging with the bearing hole 47 when attaching the lever 33 to the female housing 17.

  The female housing 17 has a connector 51 inside the hoods 35 and 36. A plurality of terminal receiving chambers 53 are provided in the connector section 51 vertically and horizontally. On the back side of the hood insertion portion 43, an annular packing 55 is attached from the direction of arrow a shown in FIG. The packing 55 is externally fitted to a packing mounting portion 57 formed on the outer periphery on the back side of the connector portion 51. The tip of the hood portion 27 inserted into the hood insertion portion 43 comes into close contact with the packing 55. As a result, the connector portion 51 having the plurality of terminal housing chambers 53 located inside the hood portion 27 is water-tightly sealed.

  The front holder 21 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape. The front plate portion 59 of the front holder 21 is provided with a plurality of openings 61 communicating with the terminal accommodating chamber 53. The male terminal of the male connector 15 passes through the opening 61. The front holder 21 is attached to the connector section 51 from the direction of arrow a shown in FIG. The detachment of the packing 55 from the packing mounting portion 57 is restricted by the front holder 21 attached to the connector portion 51.

  On the lower surface of the connector portion 51, a retainer mounting hole 63 long along the long axis direction is formed. In the retainer mounting hole 63, a retainer 65, which is a double locking member, is mounted through the window 64 in the direction of arrow c shown in FIG. The attached retainer 65 is double-locked to the female terminals accommodated in the respective terminal accommodating chambers 53 formed inside the connector portion 51, thereby double-restricting the female terminal from coming off.

  A mat seal 67 is attached to the female housing 17 on the back surface opposite to the connector portion 51 from the direction of arrow b shown in FIG. The mat seal 67 has a plurality of seal holes 69 vertically and horizontally penetrating an electric wire connected to each female terminal in a watertight manner. The outer periphery of the mat seal 67 is in water-tight contact with the inner peripheral wall 71 formed on the back surface of the female housing. Thereby, the gap between each electric wire and the female housing 17 is sealed watertight. The mat seal 67 is restricted from being detached by the seal cover 73 mounted on the back surface of the female housing 17 from the direction of arrow b shown in FIG. Insertion holes 74 are formed in the seal cover 73 at positions corresponding to the seal holes 69 of the mat seal 67, and electric wires drawn from the seal holes 69 are inserted into these insertion holes 74.

  The female housing 17 to which the packing 55, the front holder 21, the retainer 65, the mat seal 67, and the seal cover 73 are assembled is finally installed with the lever 33 mounted in the direction of arrow c shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG.
The mis-fitting prevention connector 11 has a front holder-side entry groove 23 formed in the front holder 21. The front holder-side entry groove 23 is provided in accordance with a ridge 29 provided on the hood 27 of the male connector 15. The front holder side entry groove 23 is formed so as to be recessed from the outer periphery of the front holder 21 and extend in the fitting direction. The ridge 29 of the male connector 15 enters the front holder-side entry groove 23 when the male connector 15 is fitted.

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the front holder 21 shown in FIG.
The front holder 21 has a long cylindrical cover part 75 on the outer periphery of the front plate part 59 in which the opening 61 is formed vertically and horizontally. In the front holder 21, the cover 75 covers the outer periphery of the connector 51. In the lower part of the cover part 75, a notch 77 is formed to form the front holder side entry groove 23. As shown in FIG. 5, a part of the cut 77 extends to the front plate 59 of the front holder 21. The notch 77 is formed with a gate-shaped reinforcing portion 79 that connects the left and right cover portions 75 separated by the notch 77 and the front plate portion 59.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main part of the connector section 51 with the front holder 21 of FIG. 5 removed.
In the connector section 51 to which the front holder 21 is attached, the perforated area of the terminal accommodating chamber 53 is surrounded by the outer wall section 81. The housing-side separation wall 25 is formed in the outer wall portion 81 according to the number of the cuts 77. The housing-side separation wall 25 is formed by separating the outer wall portion 81 by the dividing portion 83. The above-described gate-shaped reinforcing portion 79 is fitted to the housing-side separation wall 25.

  More specifically, in the housing-side separation wall 25 shown in FIG. 7, a column portion 85 is formed on the outer wall portion 81 on the left side of the dividing portion 83. The cylindrical portion 85 fits into the housing recess 87 on the right side of the reinforcing portion 79 shown in FIG.

  The housing-side separation wall 25 receives the protruding tip of the ridge 29 that has entered the front holder-side entry groove 23 in a state where the front holder 21 is attached to the connector portion 51.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the female connector 13 shown in FIG.
The female connector 13 has the connecting portion 39 of the lever 33 disposed immediately above the female housing 17 in preparation for fitting with the male connector 15. In this state, the insertion opening 41a of the lever 33 is arranged so as to face the boss 31, as shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line II of FIG.
The female connector 13 to which the front holder 21 is attached is slightly different from the front plate 59 of the front holder 21 in the same cross section (II cross section in FIG. 8) on the connector part side, and the front holder side entry groove 23 and the housing are provided. The side separation wall 25 is positioned so as to overlap.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG.
In the erroneous fitting prevention connector 11, a groove 89 corresponding to the ridge 29 is provided in the front holder 21 and the female housing 17. The groove 89 is provided as the front holder side entrance groove 23 in the front holder 21, and is provided as the housing side separation wall 25 in the female housing 17. The groove 89 has a thickness A of the cover portion 75 in the front holder side entrance groove 23, a thickness B of the housing side separation wall 25, and a clearance C between the thickness A of the cover portion 75 and the thickness B of the housing side separation wall 25. Is set to the height L.

  The groove 89 has a groove width W1 of the front holder-side entry groove 23 set to be smaller than a separation width W2 of the housing-side separation wall 25.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a housing-side separation wall 25 according to a modification in which the separation width is set large.
Further, in the erroneous fitting prevention connector 11, the separation width W3 of the housing-side separation wall 25 may be formed such that the separation width W3 overlaps with the plurality of front holder-side entry grooves 23 (W2 <W3).

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.
12A is an operation explanatory diagram at the time of erroneous fitting detection, and FIG. 12B is an operational explanatory diagram at the time of regular fitting.
In the erroneous fitting prevention connector 11 according to the present embodiment, the front holder 21 is attached to the connector portion 51 of the female housing 17. The bottomed cylindrical front holder 21 covers the distal end surface and the outer periphery of the connector portion 51 by being put on the connector portion 51. When the male housing 19 is fitted to the female housing 17 to which the front holder 21 is attached, the hood portion 27 of the male housing 19 is fitted to the outer periphery of the front holder 21 attached to the connector 51. start. As the fitting progresses, a ridge 29 protruding from the inner wall of the hood portion 27 becomes a front holder side entry groove 23 provided on the outer periphery of the front holder 21 as shown in FIG. It enters the housing-side separation wall 25 provided in the portion 51.

  On the other hand, in the case of incorrect fitting, as shown in FIG. 12A, the ridge 29 abuts on the front plate portion 59 of the front holder 21, and the fitting between the male connector 15 and the female connector 13 becomes impossible. Incorrect fitting is prevented.

  A housing-side separation wall 25 is provided on the outer periphery of the connector portion 51 so as to coincide with the position of the front holder-side entry groove 23. The housing-side separation wall 25 receives the protruding tip of the ridge 29 that has entered the front holder-side entry groove 23. That is, the ridge 29 penetrates the outer periphery of the front holder 21 and is further inserted into the outer periphery of the connector portion 51.

  As described above, in the erroneous fitting prevention connector 11, the projecting tip of the ridge 29 penetrates the front holder 21 and is received by the inner connector portion 51. Therefore, unlike the conventional structure in which the erroneous fitting prevention rib is fitted into the groove of the hood portion from the inside, the hood portion 27 does not become thinner due to the groove. Therefore, in the male connector 15, the thickness Y of the hood portion 27 shown in FIG. 2 becomes uniform, and the thin portion is eliminated. Thereby, occurrence of quality defects such as breakage of the hood portion 27 thinned by the groove can be suppressed.

  In addition, since the ridge 29 penetrates the outer periphery of the front holder 21 and is further inserted into the outer periphery of the connector portion 51, it is possible to easily secure a sufficient height. As shown in FIG. 12, the height X of the ridge 29 is set higher than the thickness A of the cover 75 in the front holder-side entry groove 23. The ridge 29 formed with a sufficient height is less likely to be broken or otherwise damaged at the time of incorrect fitting. As a result, erroneous fitting can be more reliably prevented, and the reliability of the erroneous fitting prevention function can be improved.

  As described above, the erroneous fitting prevention connector 11 can form the ridge 29 higher while correcting the thinning of the portion (the conventional hood portion) into which the ridge 29 enters, and the reliability of the erroneous fitting prevention function can be improved. Can be improved.

  The protruding end of the protruding ridge 29 penetrates from the front holder side entry groove 23 toward the housing side separation wall 25. Here, the groove width W1 of the front holder side entry groove 23 through which the ridge 29 penetrates is smaller than the separation width W2 of the housing side separation wall 25. For this reason, the protruding ridge 29 has its base end in the protruding direction sandwiched by the narrow groove width W1 of the front holder side approach groove 23. Thereby, the position of the convex ridge 29 can be regulated at the base end portion that is not easily deformed (has a high rigidity), and erroneous fitting can be made more difficult to occur.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the erroneous fitting prevention connector 11 may be formed such that the separation width W3 of the housing-side separation wall 25 overlaps with the plurality of front holder-side entry grooves 23. In the erroneous mating prevention connector 11, for example, when erroneous mating prevention is performed for a plurality of types of housings and male housings due to differences in specifications, erroneous mating is performed only due to a difference in the formation position of the front holder side entry groove 23. Can be detected. That is, a plurality of types of front holders 21 having different formation positions of the front holder side entry grooves 23 can be used by being attached to the common female housing 17. This makes it possible to detect erroneous fitting of a plurality of connectors having different part numbers with a small number of component types.

  Therefore, according to the erroneous fitting prevention connector 11 according to the present embodiment, the occurrence of poor quality can be reduced, and the reliability of the erroneous fitting prevention function can be increased.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified and improved. In addition, the material, shape, size, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

Here, the features of the above-described embodiment of the erroneous fitting prevention connector according to the present invention will be briefly summarized and listed in [1] to [3] below.
[1] A housing (female housing 17) in which a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers (53) are provided in the connector section (51);
A front holder (21) provided on the front plate with a plurality of openings (61) attached to the connector and communicating with the terminal receiving chamber;
A mating housing () having a cylindrical hood (27) fitted on the outer periphery of the front holder and having at least one ridge (29) extending in the fitting direction on the inner wall of the hood. Male housing 19),
A front holder-side entry groove (23) which is formed from the outer periphery of the front holder so as to extend in the fitting direction and into which the ridge enters when fitted;
A housing-side separation wall (25) formed on the outer periphery of the connector portion for receiving a projecting tip of the ridge that has entered the front holder-side entry groove;
An erroneous mating prevention connector (11), comprising:
[2] The erroneous mating prevention connector according to the above [1],
An erroneous fitting prevention connector (11), wherein a groove width of the front holder side entry groove (23) is smaller than a separation width of the housing side separation wall (25).
[3] The erroneous mating prevention connector according to the above [2],
An erroneous fitting prevention connector (11), wherein a separation width of the housing-side separation wall (25) is formed so as to overlap a plurality of the front holder-side entry grooves (23).

11 Misconnecting connector 17 Female socket (housing)
19: Male housing (other housing)
Reference numeral 21: Front holder 23 ... Front holder side entry groove 25 ... Housing side separation wall 27 ... Hood part 29 ... Protrusions 51 ... Connector part 53 ... Terminal accommodating chamber 59 ... Front plate part 61 ... Opening W1 ... Groove width W2 ... Separation width

Claims (3)

A housing in which a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers are provided in the connector portion;
A front holder provided with a plurality of openings attached to the connector portion and communicating with the terminal accommodating chamber on the front plate portion;
A mating housing having a cylindrical hood fitted to the outer periphery of the front holder, wherein at least one ridge extending in the fitting direction is formed on the inner wall of the hood;
A front holder side entry groove which is formed from the outer periphery of the front holder so as to extend in the fitting direction so as to extend in the fitting direction and into which the ridge enters when fitted;
A housing-side separation wall that is formed on the outer periphery of the connector portion and that receives the protruding tip of the ridge that has entered the front holder-side entry groove;
An erroneous fitting prevention connector characterized by comprising: It is an erroneous fitting prevention connector of Claim 1, Comprising:
An erroneous fitting prevention connector characterized in that a groove width of the front holder side entrance groove is smaller than a separation width of the housing side separation wall. It is an erroneous fitting prevention connector of Claim 2, Comprising:
An erroneous fitting prevention connector, wherein a separation width of the housing-side separation wall is formed at a distance overlapping a plurality of the front holder-side entry grooves.

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