JP2594383Y2 - Connector lock detection structure - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lock detecting structure for detecting that a pair of connected connectors are locked so that they cannot be disconnected.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this kind of lock detection structure,
The one shown in FIG. 11 is known. On the upper surface of the male connector 1 fixed on the substrate 2, a slot-shaped engaging portion 1a is formed. On the other hand, on the upper surface of the female connector 5 fitted and connected to the male connector 1, a flexible lock piece having a projection 7a which is locked by the engagement portion 1a when the connectors 1 and 5 are connected is provided. It is formed integrally. Male connector 1
As shown in FIG. 12, a pair of lock detection electrodes 4a and 4b are provided on both sides of a positioning piece 3 having an inverted T-shaped cross section. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, a short-circuit electrode 6 having a U-shape that sandwiches the positioning piece 3 from both sides is provided inside the female connector 5.

In such a configuration, when the flexible locking piece 7 of the female connector 5 is inserted into the male connector 1 while being elastically deformed, in the initial stage, the short-circuit electrode 6 becomes a partition wall of the positioning projection 3. As shown in FIG. 13, the guide projections 3b project from the portions 3a and are elastically deformed upward to be separated from the detection electrodes 4a and 4b. When the female connector 5 is inserted to the normal position of the male connector 1,
The protrusions 7a of the flexible lock pieces 7 are locked to the engagement portions 1a, so that the connectors 1 and 5 are locked undetachably.
As shown in (1), the short-circuit electrode 6 comes off the guide projection 3b and comes into contact with the lock detection electrodes 4a and 4b. The lock detection electrodes 4a and 4b are connected to a detection circuit (not shown). When the lock detection electrodes 4a and 4b are short-circuited, it is determined that both connectors 1 and 5 are connected in a locked state.

[0004]

In the above-described conventional lock detection structure, the short-circuiting electrode 6 is provided inside the female connector 5, but by adopting such a structure, foreign substances such as dust and dirt are short-circuited. Although it is possible to prevent the detection electrodes 4a and 4b from being insulated by foreign matter when the detection electrodes 4a and 4b come into contact with the short-circuiting electrode 6 to prevent short-circuiting, the state of the short-circuiting electrode 6 is reduced. Since it cannot be confirmed visually, it is not preferable from the viewpoint of quality control that the short-circuit electrode 6 is kept hidden.
Therefore, a short-circuit electrode is provided on the outer surface of the connector so that the entire connector is covered with a cover when not connected to the mating connector, and when the state of the short-circuit electrode is visually checked or connected to the mating connector. In such a case, it is conceivable to remove the cover to expose the short-circuit electrode. However, in such a method, it is necessary to perform a separate process of removing the cover prior to performing the connection work when connecting the two connectors, and this lowers the work efficiency of the entire work process. There was a disadvantage.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a connector lock detection structure which can be easily controlled in quality and does not reduce the efficiency of connection work between the two connectors. The purpose is to do so.

[0006]

As means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is based on the idea that a pair of connected connectors cannot be disengaged by engagement between a flexible lock piece and an engagement portion. A lock detection structure of a connector configured to detect that both connectors are locked by contact between the short-circuit electrode and the detection electrode when the state is reached,
The short-circuit electrode is provided so as to be exposed on the outer surface of one of the connectors, and the detection electrode is provided on the other connector,
An outer surface of the one connector is provided with a cover slidable between a protection position for covering the short-circuit electrode and an open position for exposing the short-circuit electrode when the other connector is not connected. And According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the cover is pushed from the protection position to the open position by the other connector along with the connection of the pair of connectors. It is characterized by the following.

[0007]

[Action]

<Claim of Claim 1> In a state where both connectors are not connected, the cover provided on one connector is at a protection position for covering the short-circuit electrode. In this state, foreign matter such as dust or dirt adheres to the short-circuit electrode. hard. When the cover is slid from the protection position to the open position, the presence or absence of foreign matter attached to the short-circuit electrode can be visually checked. When both connectors are connected, the cover can be slid to the open position to make contact with the detection electrode,
As a result, lock detection becomes possible. <Invention of Claim 2> Connection work of both connectors can be performed in a state where the cover of one connector is in the protection position. That is, as the two connectors are connected, the cover is pushed by the other connector and slides from the protection position to the open position, so that the short-circuit electrode comes into an exposed state in which it can contact the detection electrode. When the two connectors are correctly connected and locked so that they cannot be removed, the detection electrode contacts the short-circuit electrode released from the protection by the cover, and it is detected that both connectors are locked.

[0008]

[Effect of the invention]

<Invention of Claim 1> As described by the above operation, in the present invention, the short-circuit electrode can always be protected from the adhesion of foreign matter by the cover, and the state of the short-circuit electrode can be visually confirmed. Therefore, quality control is easy, and when the two connectors are connected, the cover only needs to be slid simply, so that troublesome work such as removing the cover is unnecessary. <Invention of Claim 2> According to the invention of Claim 2, the work for sliding the cover to the open position is performed because the cover can be kept at the protection position when both connectors are connected. There is no need, and the connection work is efficient.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a female connector 10 made of a synthetic resin having a cavity 11 into which a female terminal fitting (not shown) is inserted. A flexible lock piece 12 extending rearward from a front end is provided on the upper surface thereof. Are integrally formed so as to be vertically elastically deformable. The flexible lock piece 12 has a shape in which the tips of a pair of elongated elongated arms 13, 13 are connected by a block 14, and the outer surfaces of both arms 13, 13 are for guiding a cover 20 described later. Guide projections 15 are formed. Further, a short-circuit electrode 1 made of a metal plate is provided between the two arms 13.
6 are mounted so as to be integrally elastically deformable. An engagement hole 17 is formed at a position closer to the rear end than the center in the front-rear direction of the short-circuit electrode 16, and a pair of short-circuit electrodes 16 on both sides of the engagement hole 17 are formed on the upper surface of the short-circuit electrode 16. The contacts 16a are protruded. Further, the contacts 16a and 16a of the short-circuit electrode 16 are
The cover 20 for protecting a is attached. The cover 20 includes a protection plate 21 that straddles the arms 13, 13 of the flexible lock piece 12 and the short-circuit electrode 16, and the protection plate 2.
It comprises a pair of slide portions 22, 22 parallel to the arm portion 13 formed at both ends of the first slide member 1. The cover 20 has the slide portion 22 along the outer surface of the arm portion 13 and the guide groove 23 formed on the inner surface thereof is fitted to the guide protrusion 15, and the rear end of the slide portion 22 is connected to the block portion 1.
By being fitted into the guide recess 18 on the side surface of the fourth side 4, relative movement in the front-rear direction with respect to the female connector 10 is possible. When the cover 20 is at the protection position at the front end in the movement range, the protection plate portion 21 covers the contacts 16a, 16a from above.
The contact points 16a, 16a are shifted backward from the position 16a.

On the other hand, what is located on the left side in FIG.
The female connector 10 protrudes into the hood 31 at the front end.
A male connector 30 made of synthetic resin and having a male terminal fitting 32 facing the cavity 11 of FIG. The male connector 30 is provided with a pair of L-shaped detection electrodes 33, 33 connected to a detection circuit (not shown).
It is mounted so as to protrude along the upper surface of the inner wall. The tip portions 33a, 33a of the detection electrodes 33, 33 projecting into the hood portion 31 are bent inward, and the inward bent portions 33a, 33a are connected to each other by the bent portions 3a.
They are connected by an insulating engaging portion (corresponding to an engaging portion which is a constituent feature of the present invention) 35 projecting below 3a. When the female connector 10 is properly fitted into the hood 31 of the male connector 30, the detection electrode 3
The tip portions 33a, 33a of the electrodes 3, 33 contact the contacts 16a, 16a of the short-circuit electrode 16 from above, and
Are fitted into the engagement holes 17 of the short-circuit electrode 16 from above.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In a state where the female connector 10 and the male connector 30 are not connected, as shown in FIG.
0 is located at a protection position covering the contacts 16a, 16a of the short-circuiting electrode 16. As a result, foreign substances such as dust and dirt do not easily adhere to the contacts 16a, 16a of the short-circuit electrode 16. When confirming whether or not foreign matter has adhered to the contacts 16a, 16a of the short-circuiting electrode 16, the cover 20 is slid backward and moved to the open position, and as shown in FIG.
What is necessary is just to expose 6a and 16a. Thereby, the contact 1
The states of 6a and 16a can be visually confirmed. After checking the contacts 16a, 16a, the cover 20
Is moved forward and is again positioned in the protection position as shown in FIG. Thus, the contact 16 of the short-circuit electrode 16
Since the protection of the contacts 16a and 16a and the state of the contacts 16a and 16a can be easily and reliably confirmed, quality control is easy.

The female connector 10 and the male connector 3
When the female connector 10 is fitted into the hood portion 31 of the male connector 30 at the time of connection with the male connector 30 at the initial stage of the fitting, as shown in FIG. The joint portion 35 contacts the upper surface of the short-circuit electrode 16 and pushes it downward together with the flexible lock piece 12 to elastically deform the electrode. The detection electrodes 33 and 33 are kept separated from the short-circuit electrode 16. As the fitting progresses, as shown in FIG. 9, the tip of the engaging portion 35 comes into contact with the front end of the protection plate portion 21 of the cover 20, and as the fitting further progresses, the detection electrodes 33, 33 are formed. The engaging portion 35 pushes the cover 20 to move the cover 20 backward while the non-contact state between the electrode and the short-circuit electrode 16 is maintained.

When the connectors 10 and 30 are properly connected, the cover 2 pushed by the engaging portion 35 is pressed.
0 moves to the open position, and the engaging portion 35 moves to a position matching the engaging hole 17 of the short-circuiting electrode 16 so that the engaging portion 3 moves.
5, the pressing of the flexible lock piece 12 and the short-circuit electrode 16 is released. As a result, the flexible lock piece 12 and the short-circuit electrode 16 are restored upward by their elastic restoring force, and are moved upward as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 0, the engagement portion 35 is fitted into the engagement hole 17, and the tips 33 a, 33 a of the detection electrodes 33, 33 abut on the contacts 16 a, 16 a of the short-circuit electrode 16. When the engagement portion 35 is fitted into the engagement hole 17, the rear end of the engagement portion 35 can be engaged with the front end of the engagement hole 17.
Movements 0 and 30 are prevented from moving in the disengagement direction and locked in the connected state. In addition, the short-circuit electrode 16 and the detection electrode 33,
When the contact 33 comes into contact, the detection electrodes 33, 33 are short-circuited, and this is detected by the detection circuit, and it is determined that the connectors 10, 30 are locked.

In this connection operation, the cover 20 at the protection position is pushed by the engagement portion 35 and moves to a position where the contacts 16a, 16a of the short-circuit electrode 16 are exposed. There is no need to remove the cover 20 from the female connector 10 beforehand. Therefore, the work efficiency as a whole connection work is good.

The detecting electrode 33 does not come into contact with the short-circuit electrode 16 unless the engaging portion 35 is fitted into the engaging hole 17 and the connectors 10 and 30 are locked. Therefore, the detecting electrodes 33 and 3 are not locked.
There is no danger of erroneous determination that 3 has been locked due to erroneous contact with the shorting electrode 16.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a female connector with a cover removed.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a female connector with a cover attached.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a state where a male connector and a female connector are removed.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a male connector and a female connector are connected.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway plan view showing a state where a cover of the female connector is removed.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway plan view showing a state in which a cover of the female connector is in a protection position.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway plan view showing a state where a cover of the female connector is at a detection position.

FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state when connection between the male connector and the female connector is started.

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state in which the male connector and the female connector are being connected.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a connection completed state between the male connector and the female connector.

FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of a conventional lock detection structure.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a short-circuit electrode and a lock detection electrode.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing a connection state between a short-circuit electrode and a lock detection electrode.

FIG. 14 is a side view showing a connection state between a short-circuit electrode and a lock detection electrode.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Female connector 12 ... Flexible lock piece 16 ... Short circuit electrode 20 ... Cover 30 ... Male connector 33 ... Detection electrode 35 ... Engagement part

Claims (2)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] When a pair of connected connectors reach a locked state in which they cannot be disengaged by engagement of a flexible locking piece and an engagement portion, the two electrodes are connected by contact between a short-circuit electrode and a detection electrode. A lock detection structure of a connector configured to detect that the lock is detected, wherein the short-circuit electrode is provided so as to be exposed on an outer surface of one of the connectors, and the detection electrode is provided on the other connector. An outer surface of one connector is provided with a cover slidable between a protection position for covering the short-circuit electrode and an open position for exposing the short-circuit electrode when the other connector is not connected. Connector lock detection structure. 2. The connector lock according to claim 1, wherein said cover is pushed from said protection position to said open position by said other connector when said pair of connectors are connected. Detection structure.