JP2596414Y2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector having a built-in short-circuit function. More specifically, terminals mounted in parallel inside a connector connected to a device are short-circuited via a short-circuit member, and are connected to a power supply. In a connector for releasing a short circuit between terminals caused by the short circuit member at the time of fitting with a connector to be connected, the short circuit is released by using a lever attached for assisting a fitting force of the connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electric circuit connected to an air bag or the like, it is necessary to perform maintenance and inspection of a circuit system and wiring work without operating the air bag. Conventionally, when the connector on the power supply side and the connector on the device side are not fitted, the terminal attached to the connector housing on the device side to be connected to the airbag is short-circuited via a short-circuit member, and the induced current due to an external magnetic field or electric field is reduced. Is prevented from flowing to the device side to prevent a malfunction of the airbag, and a short circuit is released when the airbag is fitted to the power supply side connector.

Conventionally, this kind of connector with a built-in short-circuit function generally has a structure in which a short-circuit release member is provided on a power supply side connector, and the short-circuit release member is moved to a release position by the short-circuit release member when the connector is fitted with a device side connector. Have been.

In recent years, when a multi-pole connector is connected, a large connecting force is required. Therefore, a relatively small force is applied by using a lever based on the principle of leverage so that the connector can be easily connected. A lever-type connector is provided.

In this type of lever-type connector, a lever is rotatably attached to one of male and female connectors via a support shaft, and the other connector is forcibly moved in a fitting direction by rotation of the lever. In the fitting operation, the male and female connectors are temporarily locked, and a guide pin projecting from the other connector is inserted into the guide groove of the lever positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the one connector. Is rotated to move the other connector into the fitting hole of one connector, and both connectors are fitted together.

[0006] The position of the lever before the connector fitting is usually a position in which the operating portion of the central connecting portion is rotated above the connector with the positions of both sides of the U-shaped lever supported as fulcrums.
In order to hold the lever at this position, lever positioning means such as a spring is provided.

[0007]

As described above, in a connector having a built-in short-circuit mechanism, a short-circuit release member must be provided on the power supply side connector, and a short-circuit release member provided on the device side connector is associated with the short-circuit release member. Therefore, there is a problem that the structure of both connectors is complicated and the degree of freedom of design is restricted.

Further, when a lever for assisting a mating force is attached to the connector with a built-in short-circuit function, it is necessary to add a lever-type configuration, so that the structure of the connector is further complicated. In particular, in the case of a lever-type connector, the connector cannot be mated unless the lever is held in a specific position before mating with the connector, and the lever cannot be connected for any reason during storage, transportation, or assembly. There was a drawback that the connector could not be fitted unless the positioning and holding were released and at the specific position.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional connector with a built-in short-circuiting mechanism and the problem of the lever-type connector at the same time. By removing the short circuit of the short circuit member, and eliminating the need to hold the lever itself at a specific position before mating the connector, etc.
The structure of the connector is simplified and downsized.

[0010]

That is, according to the present invention, terminals mounted in parallel inside a connector to be connected to the device are short-circuited via a short-circuit member, and the above-described terminal is fitted when the connector to be connected to the power supply is fitted. In the connector for releasing the short circuit between the terminals by the short-circuit member, a fitting hole for fitting the device-side connector is formed in the power-supply-side connector, a lever for assisting the fitting force is attached, and the lever is inserted into the fitting hole. A projecting portion that is detachably projected is integrally formed, and the projecting portion projects into the fitting hole when the device side connector is temporarily locked in the fitting hole and the device side connector is fully locked. The connector is characterized in that the connector is configured to be moved to a position where the short-circuit member inside the device-side connector is depressed and the short-circuit with the terminal is released.

The lever has a U-shape, and both sides are rotatably supported on both sides of the connector, and the protrusion is integrally formed at the center of a connecting portion connecting the both sides. Prior to mating, the connector protrudes from the hole formed in the connector into the fitting hole, and when the device-side connector is fitted, the lever is brought into contact with a convex portion formed on the device-side connector to rotate the lever to the operation position, and from the operation position. When the lever is rotated, the convex portion is pressed and the male and female connectors are fully locked, and
One end of the short-circuit member provided on the device side connector is formed of an elastic member held by the housing, and the other end of the free end contacts the terminal to short-circuit, while the free end projects when the lever is fully locked. The first connector is pressed by the portion to release the contact with the terminal, and further, first locking means for mutually locking at the temporary locking position where the lever is rotated to the operating position is formed on both connectors, Are formed on the lever and the device-side connector when they are rotated to the final locking position.

The first locking means, which locks at the temporary locking position, has a provisional locking portion protruding from the distal end of the connector fitting hole and continuously providing a temporary locking portion fitting groove. ,
A temporary locking projection is provided at the center of the bottom surface of the other connector, and when the temporary locking projection gets over the temporary locking portion and fits into the temporary locking fitting groove to be in a temporary locking state, It has a configuration that creates moderation.

The second locking means, which locks at the final locking position, has locking holes formed on both sides of the U-shaped lever, and the second locking means of the other connector fitted to the lever mounting side connector. Locking projections are provided on both side portions, and the locking holes of the lever are locked to the locking projections at the final locking position.

The protrusion formed on the lever has a first slope located on the opening end side of the connector fitting hole, a lower end continuous with the lower end of the first slope, and a first slope continuous with the lower end. A second inclined surface located on the opposite side, wherein the convex portion formed at the tip of the other connector pushes up the first inclined surface to rotate the lever to an upper operation position, and the connector is temporarily locked. When the lever reaches the connector insertion side with respect to the second slope, when the lever is rotated from the temporary locking position to the full locking position, the projection is pressed toward the connector insertion side by the second slope and The lower end surface is configured to push down the short-circuit member on the device side.

[0015]

With the above-mentioned connector, when the lever is rotated to the full locking position, the short-circuit member can be released because the projecting portion protruding from the lever pushes down the short-circuit member.

Further, the lever is forcibly moved to the operation position when the device side connector is inserted, and by rotating the lever from the operation position, the two connectors can be securely locked by the lever without fail. Therefore, there is no need to position and hold the connector at a specific rotation operation position unlike the conventional lever-type connector.

In addition, both connectors are first locked at the temporary locking position, and the lever and the device side connector are second locked at the final locking position, so that the two connectors are locked. Can be reliably held.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIGS. 1A and 1B show the male connector 1 on the power supply side, and FIGS. 2A and 2B show the female connector 2 on the device side. The terminal accommodating chamber inside the housing 10 of the male connector 1 on the power supply side. 5
A plurality of (two in this embodiment) male terminals 4 are accommodated in parallel, and a lever 3 is mounted outside the housing 10. On the other hand, a plurality of (two) female terminals 13 are provided in the terminal accommodating chamber 22 of the housing 20 of the female connector 2 on the device side.
Are arranged in parallel, and the female terminal 13 is short-circuited by bringing the free end of a short-circuit member 30 made of a spring member whose one end is held by the housing 20 into contact with the female terminals 13 arranged in parallel from below.

The male connector 1 has the terminal accommodating chambers 5 arranged side by side at a rear portion 10a of a housing 10 and a female connector fitting hole 6 formed at a housing front portion 10b on the fitting side with the female connector 2. In a state where the male terminal 4 is accommodated in each terminal accommodating chamber 5, the elongated flat electric contact portion 4 a of the male terminal 4 is projected in a state of being juxtaposed to the female connector fitting hole 6.
A lance 7 is provided on the inner surface of each terminal accommodating chamber 6 to lock the accommodated male terminal 4.

The upper wall 10c of the front portion 10b of the male connector housing 10 is provided with a step D from the upper wall 10d of the rear portion 10a and protrudes upward. Upper wall 10 above upper wall 10c
A lever 3 having an inverted U-shaped cross section is placed over the front end of d, and the lower rear ends of both sides 3a of the lever 3 are rotatably supported on both side walls 10e of a housing rear part 10a via a support shaft 8. . By providing the step D, the lever 3
Rotates counterclockwise about the support shaft 8, and is rotatable to a position shown in FIG. 5 where the rear end of the upper portion 3b contacts the upper wall 10d.

A projection 9 is provided on the inner surface of the center of the upper part 3 of the lever 3 to protrude downward. The protrusion 9
Forms a first inclined surface 9a inclined downward rearward at a front end (opening end side) thereof, and forms a lower end surface 9b extending horizontally forward from a lower end of the inclined surface 9a.
The second slope 9c inclined upward from the rear end to the rear.
Is formed. A hole 10f is formed in the rear upper wall 10c of the male connector housing 10 so that the protrusion 9 can be put in and out.

Further, a rectangular main locking hole 11 is formed in the front lower end of both sides 3a of the lever 3, while the main locking projections are formed on the outer surfaces of both side walls 20a of the housing 20 of the female connector 2. 21 are provided. As shown in FIG. 7, when the male and female connectors 1 and 2 are fully locked by the second locking means, the full locking hole 11 is locked to the full locking projection 21,
The lever 3 is locked so that the male and female connectors 1 and 2 are fully locked. Furthermore, lower end surfaces 3c of both side portions 3a of the lever 3 are formed in a stepped shape as shown in the figure, and the lower portions of both sides of the housing front portion 10b of the male connector 1
A step-shaped protrusion 10g that engages with the step is formed.

The female connector 2 connected to the device has the female terminal 13 mounted in the terminal receiving chamber 22 formed in parallel inside the housing 20 as described above. The formed lance 23 is engaged with the female terminal 13.

A short-circuit member 3 formed of an elastic metal plate is provided inside the female connector housing 20.
0 is attached in advance. The short-circuit member 30 has one end of a flat supporting portion 30a fixed to the housing 20 and has a free end at the other end formed with an upwardly bent portion at both sides and a central portion. Is energizing. That is, as shown in the figure, the contact portions 30b and 30c are formed by projecting upward on both sides of the free end and then bending in the horizontal direction.
A pressing portion 30d bent in a convex shape is provided at the center.
The contact portions 30b and 30c contact the lower surfaces of the female terminals 13A and 13B, and short-circuit the female terminals 13A and 13B.
Further, a guide portion 20d for guiding when the pressing portion 30d is pressed down is protruded from the bottom surface of the housing 20.

The upper wall 2 of the female terminal housing 20
A hole 24 through which the lever protruding portion 9 can enter and exit is cut out from the rear end of the male connector fitting side at the center of 0b. The hole 24 is located immediately above the pressing portion 30d formed at the center of the free end of the short-circuit member. further,
A convex portion 25 is formed at the rear end of the lower portion of the hole 24, and the upper surface 25a of the convex portion 25 is formed in an arc shape as shown.
When the female connector 2 is inserted, the projection 25 first comes into contact with the first slope 9 a of the lever projection 9 and pushes up the lever 3.
After passing over the lower end surface 9b, in the temporary locking position,
It is set to be located at the lower rear of the second slope 9c.

A first locking means is provided for inserting the female connector 2 into the female connector fitting hole 6 of the male connector 1 from the opening end 6a and locking the female connector 2 at the temporary locking position. The first locking means forms a temporary locking projection fitting groove 15 on the lower surface of the female connector fitting hole 6 while leaving a temporary locking portion 14 at the front end, while the female connector 2 has a housing lower surface 20c. A temporary locking projection 26 protrudes from a substantially central portion. The temporary locking projection 26 has a slope 26a on the insertion side and a locking surface 26b on the opposite surface. When the female connector 2 is inserted, when the female connector 2 is inserted, when it reaches the opening end 6, the temporary locking projection 26 comes into contact with the temporary locking portion 14, temporarily stops, and climbs over the temporary locking portion 14 by the slope 26 a. The fitting surface 26b fits into the fitting groove 15 and
Are brought into contact with the temporary locking portion 14.

Next, the operation of fitting the male and female connectors 1 and 2 and the operation of releasing the short circuit will be described. In the state before fitting shown in FIG.
0 is not protruded in a state of contact with the upper wall 10c.
It is not necessary to hold the lever 3 in the above position, but even when the lever 3 is rotated, the rear end of the upper portion 3b abuts on the upper wall 10d, so that the lever 3 does not rotate from the state shown in FIG. As described above, the position of the lever 3 before the fitting is free, and there is no need for positioning and holding. On the female connector 2 side, the contact portions 30b and 30c of the short-circuit member 30 are
It is in a short-circuit state by contacting the lower surface of 3B.

As shown in FIG. 3, the female connector 2 is inserted into the female connector fitting hole 6 of the male connector 1 from the open end 6a. At the time of the insertion, as shown in FIG. 4, the lever 3 is in the original position until it comes into contact with the projection 25 of the female connector 2. When the projection 25 comes into contact with the first slope 9 a of the lever projection 9 projecting into the fitting hole 6, the front end of the projection 25 is pushed up as the first slope 9 a is inserted, and the lever 3 is pushed up.
Is rotated counterclockwise as indicated by an arrow X1 with the support shaft 8 as a fulcrum. The lever protrusion 9 is pushed upward through the hole 24 of the female connector 2 and the hole 10e of the male connector 1.

The temporary locking projection 26 of the female connector 2 is
When the female connector 2 is reached, the female connector 2 is strongly pushed, so that the temporary locking projection 26 gets over the temporary locking portion 14 and fits into the temporary locking projection fitting groove 15. In this position, the temporary locking projection 2
6, the locking surface 26b is locked to the rear end face of the temporary locking portion 14, and the female connector 2 is locked in a first lock for temporary locking. As described above, since the vehicle reaches the temporary locking position after passing over the temporary locking portion 14, it can be easily determined with a sense of moderation that the state has been temporarily locked.

When the female connector 2 is inserted to the temporary locking position, the female terminals 13 A, 13
B, the electrical contacts 4a, 4a of the male terminals 4, 4 housed in the male connector 1, respectively, are inserted, and the female and male terminals are brought into a conductive state.

In the temporary locking position, the protrusion 2 of the female connector 2
5 is located behind the second slope 9 c of the lever projection 9. From this state, the lever 3 is rotated clockwise as indicated by X2 in the drawing with the support shaft 8 as a fulcrum. By this rotation operation, the first inclined surface 9c of the projecting portion 9 comes into contact with the convex portion 25, and the convex portion 25 is pushed backward in accordance with the rotation, so that the rear end surface of the female connector 2 has the female connector fitting hole 6 of the male connector 1. Forcibly move to the final locking position where it comes into contact with the inner surface of the.

During rotation of the lever, the lever projection 9
The lower end surface 9b of the short-circuit member 30 pushes down a pressing portion 30d protruding from the center of the short-circuit member 30. The short-circuit member 30 has its free end bent downward with the holding portion 30a as a fulcrum about the fixing portion, and the contact portion 3a.
Ob and 30c come off from the lower surfaces of the female terminals 13A and 13B, and the short circuit of these female terminals is released.

Further, when the rotation of the lever 3 reaches near the end, the lower ends of the lever side portions 3a come into contact with the final locking projections 21 protruding from the female connector 2 and ride over the final locking projections 21 to move the lever 3 over. The main locking projections 21 are fitted into the main locking holes 11 formed in the side portions 3a.

As described above, the female connector 2 is
The lever 3 attached to the male connector 1 is locked to the female connector 1 at the final locking position where the male connector 1 is completely fitted, and the fitting between the female and male connectors 1 and 2 is ensured by the second locking means. It is assumed. As described above, the male and female connectors 1 and 2 are locked at the final locking position, and even if the lock is released, when the female connector 2 is retracted to the temporary locking position, the first locking means is used at the temporary locking position. As a result, the male and female connectors 1 and 2 are double locked.

On the other hand, when the female connector 2 does not reach the temporary locking position, the convex portion 25 of the female connector 2 is located below the first slope 9a of the lever protruding portion 9, so that it is erroneously in this state. When the lever 3 is rotated clockwise, the first slope 9a comes into contact with the projection 25 and pushes the female connector 2 forward. Therefore, the female connector 2 is pushed out from the female connector fitting hole 6 of the male connector 1, and it can be easily determined that the fitting operation has not been performed.

[0036]

As is apparent from the above description, in the connector according to the present invention, a protrusion is provided on the lever for assisting the mating force of the connector, and a short-circuit member is formed by the lever protrusion when the lever is fully locked. Because it is pushed down, the short circuit of the terminal attached to the device side connector can be automatically released when the connector is fitted. Therefore, there is no need to specially attach the short-circuit release member to the power supply side connector fitted with the device side connector, and the structure of the connector can be simplified and reduced in size.

In the connector of the present invention, when the female connector on the device side is inserted into the fitting hole of the male connector on the power supply side to which the lever is attached, the lever is forcibly rotated to the operating position. It is not necessary to position and hold the position, and the degree of freedom of the position of the lever before fitting can be increased. In addition, a mechanism for holding the lever in the operation position can be eliminated.

Further, since the reaching of the temporary locking position can be clearly judged by the sense of moderation, even in a difficult work place where the fitting of the connector is not visible, after reaching the temporary locking position, By rotating the lever, the final locking operation can be reliably performed.

Further, the male and female terminals housed in the male and female connectors are electrically connected at the temporary locking position by being locked by the first locking means. Since the two connectors are locked, the male and female connectors are double locked. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent disconnection of the male and female connectors due to disconnection during use.

Further, if the lever is operated by mistake before reaching the temporary locking position, the female connector is pushed out of the male connector, so that it can be clearly determined that the fitting has not been performed. It is possible to reliably perform the fitting operation again.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 shows an embodiment of a power supply side male connector of a connector according to the present invention, (A) is a front view, and (B) is a side view.

FIG. 2 shows a device side female connector, (A) is a front view,
(B) is a side view.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the male and female connectors before fitting.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a fitting state of the male and female connectors before temporary locking.

FIG. 5 shows a temporary locking state of the male and female connectors, and (A)
Is a cross-sectional view, and (B) is a cross-sectional view showing a short-circuit state of the device-side connector.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of another portion of the male and female connector in a temporarily locked state.

FIG. 7 shows a fully locked state of the male and female connectors, and (A)
Is a cross-sectional view, and (B) is a cross-sectional view showing a short-circuit release state of the device-side connector.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the male and female connectors in a fully locked state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Male connector 2 Female connector 3 Lever 3a Both sides 3b Upper part 4 Male terminal 5 Terminal accommodating room 6 Fitting hole 9 Projection part 10 Housing 11 Locking holes 13 (13A, 13B) Female terminal 14 Temporary locking part 20 Housing 21 Main locking projection 25 Convex part 26 Temporary locking projection 30 Short-circuit member 30b, 30c Contact part 30d Pressing part

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H01R 13/56-13/72

Claims (2)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] A terminal mounted in parallel inside a connector connected to the device side is short-circuited via a short-circuit member, and a short-circuit between the terminals due to the short-circuit member when the connector is connected to the power supply side. A connector for releasing, wherein a fitting hole for fitting a device-side connector is formed in the power-supply-side connector, a lever for assisting a fitting force is attached, and the lever is removably protruded from the fitting hole. When the rotating portion is rotated at a position where the device-side connector is temporarily locked in the fitting hole, the projecting portion projects into the fitting hole to move the device-side connector to the final locking position, and A connector characterized in that the short-circuit member inside the side connector is depressed to release a short circuit with the terminal. 2. The lever has a U-shape, and both sides are rotatably supported on both sides of a connector, and the projection is integrally formed with a connecting portion connecting the both sides. Is protruded from the hole formed in the connector so that it can be inserted into and removed from the fitting hole.On the other hand, a projection is provided inside the device-side connector, and the protrusion of the lever fits the device-side connector into the fitting hole. Sometimes, the lever is returned to the temporary locking position by contacting the convex portion, and when the lever is rotated from the temporary locking position, the convex portion is pressed to forcibly move the device side connector to the full locking position. The short-circuit member provided on the device-side connector is formed at one end by an elastic member held by the housing, and the other end of the free end comes into contact with the terminal to short-circuit, while the free end is connected to the terminal of the lever. During the locking operation, the terminal 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is configured to release contact with the connector.