JP3147159B2 - Cable 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 cable connector for holding a cable having a terminal connected to a distal end.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, cables are electrically connected to each other,
In addition, a cable connector is used to mechanically maintain the connection state.

[0003] This type of cable connector has a housing for holding a cable to which a terminal is connected at the tip. The connection between the cable and the terminal is made by crimping or soldering, and the cable to which the terminal is connected is inserted and fixed in a terminal hole provided in the housing. In addition, the housing is integrally provided with an engagement portion that engages with a connection destination connector having a housing that holds a cable having a terminal connected to a distal end portion, similarly to this connector. By engaging the engaging portion with the connector of the connection destination, the terminals are electrically connected and the connectors are fixed.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional cable connector, the engagement between the connectors is released by holding the housing and pulling the housing. Since the cable is engaged with a relatively large engaging force so that the connection is not easily disconnected, if a tensile force is applied to the cable to release the engagement of the housing, the cable may be damaged or the cable may not be connected to the terminal. Risk of damage to connections. Also,
If the disengagement of the housing requires a predetermined operation by the operator, there is a risk that the housing itself may be damaged.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cable connector in which the cable, the housing and the like are not likely to be damaged even if a tensile force is applied to the cable.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a cable connector according to the present invention is a cable connector for holding at least one cable having a terminal connected to a distal end thereof, wherein the cable connector has an inner side for holding the cable. The housing and the inner housing are movably held in a connection operation direction and a pull-out operation direction with respect to a connector to be connected.
The connection and the outer housing, and the outer housing
An engagement portion that fixes the previous connector by engagement, and in the outer housing, the inner housing, with the operation in the pull-out operation direction with respect to the connection destination connector, the engagement portion, Connected connector and the outside
A release mechanism for releasing engagement with the side housing .

[0007] In the present invention constructed as described above, the housing has a double structure, the inner housing that holds the cable, with the movement of the pull-out direction of movement with respect to the destination of the connector, by the engagement portion Since there is a release mechanism for releasing the engagement between the outer connector and the connector to be connected, when a pulling force is applied to the cable from the outside, the inner housing moves together with the cable in the pulling-out direction and connects with the outer connector. Disengagement with the previous connector
It is. As a result, the cable connector before the cable or the like is damaged, is withdrawn from the connected connector.

[0008] The outer housing preferably has a housing part front end surface with respect to the connection direction of movement to the destination of the connector is movably held an open inner housing connecting operation direction and pulling operating direction, the engagement The mating part is elastically supported on both sides of the storage part so as to be engaged with the connector of the connection destination, and is a lever-like shape which is released from the storage part to release the engagement with the connector of the connection destination. Consists of components
Have been.

In this case, the receiving portion and the engaging portion may be integrally formed of resin, or the engaging portion may extend along the moving direction of the inner housing, and the intermediate portion may be located at the receiving portion. And the tip of the connection operation direction to the connection destination connector may be engaged with the connection destination connector.

The release mechanism has a first projection provided on both sides of the inner housing, and a second projection provided on a surface of the engagement portion opposed to the first projection. First
And the second projection are provided at positions where the first projection presses the second projection by moving the inner housing in the outer housing in the pulling-out operation direction with respect to the connector to be connected. You can do it,
The housing may be provided with a stopper that regulates the amount of movement of the inner housing in the connecting operation direction to the connector to which the inner housing is connected.

In particular, when the stopper is provided, the inner housing which has been moved by pulling the cable is further provided with an urging means for urging the inner housing in a connecting operation direction to the connection destination connector. Releases the pulling force on the cable and automatically returns to the original position.

In the case where the first projection and the second projection are provided as the release mechanism, even if the inner housing moves in the pulling-out direction with respect to the connector to be connected, the top of the first projection may be the second projection. The inner housing moved by pulling the cable by releasing the top of the protrusion of the cable by pulling the cable releases the pulling force on the cable, and the connection operation to the connector of the connection destination by the restoring force of the engaging part Move in the direction.

[0013]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a first embodiment of a cable connector according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a cable connector 1 according to the present embodiment has an inner housing 4 for holding a cable 2.
And an outer housing 5 that holds the inner housing 4. The inner housing 4 and the outer housing 5 are integrally formed by resin injection molding or the like.

Hereinafter, the cable 2, the inner housing 4 and the outer housing 5 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In the following description,
The “front end” and “rear end” mean the front end and the rear end with respect to the connection operation direction to the connector at the connection destination.

As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal 2 of the cable 2 is electrically connected to the end by soldering or crimping, and is held by the inner housing 4 shown in FIG. The inner housing 4 holds a plurality of cables 2 in parallel, and has a plurality of terminal holes 4a into which the terminals 3 are inserted and into which the terminals of a connection destination connector (not shown) are inserted. . Cable 2 is terminal 3
Is fixed to the inner housing 4 by being inserted into the terminal hole 4a.

A lock release projection 4b is integrally provided on each of the outer walls of the inner housing 4, and a step portion 4c for reducing the width of the inner housing 4 is provided on the distal end side. I have.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the outer housing 5 has an opening at the tip end, and the inner housing 4 (see FIG. 3).
Housing housing part 6 which slidably holds the connector in the connecting operation direction to the connection destination connector and the pulling operation direction.
And an engagement portion 7 that engages with the connection destination connector to fix the cable connector 1 and the connection destination connector.

The rear end wall of the inner housing receiving portion 6 has a plurality of cable holes 6 for pulling out the cable 2 to the outside.
a is formed. In addition, stoppers 6b are provided on both side walls of the inner housing accommodating portion 6 so that the stepped portions 4c of the inner housing 4 abut, respectively.
Is movable between the stopper 6b of the inner housing accommodating portion 6 and the rear end wall. Further, projection holes 6c into which the unlocking projections 4b of the inner housing 4 are inserted are formed on both side walls of the inner housing accommodating portion 6, respectively. The length L of the projection hole 6c is set so as not to hinder the movement of the inner housing 4 in the inner housing receiving portion 6. Note that the height of the unlocking projection 4b of the inner housing 4 is set to a height that protrudes from the outer wall surface of the inner housing housing portion 6.

The engaging portion 7 is provided on both sides of the inner housing receiving portion 6 at an intermediate portion on the rear end side with respect to the projection hole 6c, at a supporting portion 7a provided integrally with the inner housing receiving portion 6.
This is a lever-shaped member that is elastically supported by and extends in the connection operation direction to the connector at the connection destination. An engagement protrusion 7b for engaging with a connector to be connected is integrally provided at a distal end portion of the engagement portion 7.

An unlocking projection 7c is integrally provided on the inner surface of the engaging portion 7. The unlocking projection 7c is provided with the unlocking projection 4 of the inner housing 4.
b does not contact when the inner housing 4 is in contact with the stopper 6b, but is provided at a position where the inner housing 4 comes into contact with the rear end by moving to the rear end side. Thereby, when the inner housing 4 moves to the rear end side, the unlocking projection 4b of the inner housing 4 presses the unlocking projection 7c of the outer housing 5 outward, and the engaging portion 7
Is elastically deformed to open the engaging portion 7 outward.

When the cable connector 1 is connected to the connector to which the cable is connected and a pulling force is applied to the cable 2 from the outside, the inner housing 4 is provided so as to be slidable with respect to the outer housing 5. Therefore, the inner housing 4 moves to the rear end side together with the cable 2. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5, the unlocking projection 4b of the inner housing 4 presses the unlocking projection 7c of the outer housing 5, and the engaging portion 7 is opened outward. As a result, the engagement of the engagement projection 7b with the connection destination connector is released, and the entire cable connector is pulled out of the connection destination connector.

As described above, when an excessive pulling force is applied to the cable 2, the engagement with the connector to which the cable 2 is connected is automatically released, so that the cable 2 may be damaged, or the cable 2 and the terminal may be damaged. The problem that the connecting portion with the third member 3 is damaged or the engaging portion 7 is damaged is eliminated. Also,
When the connector to be connected is mounted on a printed wiring board, the printed wiring board can be prevented from being damaged. In the normal pulling-out operation, the support portion 7
By pushing the operation portion 7d, which is a portion on the rear end side from the position a, the engagement by the engagement projection 7b is released, and in this state, the cable connector 1 can be pulled out from the connector of the connection destination.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a cable connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, the cable connector 11 of the present embodiment comprises an inner housing 14 and an outer housing 1.
The fifth embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a compression coil spring 18 for urging the inner housing 14 toward the distal end is provided between the first and fifth embodiments. The spring force of the compression coil spring 18 is a force that easily moves the inner housing 14 when an external tensile force is applied to the cable 12, more specifically, the cable 12 or the cable 12 and the terminal 13. The inner housing 14 is urged by the moving force of the inner housing 14 without damaging the connecting portion of the inner housing 14. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

By providing the compression coil spring 18 in this manner, after the cable 12 is pulled and the cable connector 11 is pulled out from the connector of the connection destination, the inner housing 14 is brought into contact with the stopper 16b by the urging force of the compression coil spring 18. It is pushed back to the position where it touches. As a result, it is not necessary to push back the inner housing 14 at the time of the next connection operation. Further, since the position of the inner housing 14 on the distal end side is regulated by the stopper 16b, the inner housing 14 does not jump out of the outer housing 15 due to the urging force of the compression coil spring 18.

In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the compression coil spring 18 is used as the urging means. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a leaf spring may be used.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a cable connector according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Also,
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the cable connector shown in FIG. 7, showing a state in which a pulling force is applied to the cable from the outside and the inner housing is moved to the rear end side.

The cable connector 21 of the present embodiment defines the positional relationship between the unlocking projection 24b of the inner housing 24 and the unlocking projection 27c of the outer housing 25. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, when the cable connector 21 is connected to the connection destination connector, the unlocking projections 24b and 27c already contact each other, and as shown in FIG. The unlocking projections 24b and 27c are provided at positions where the tops of the unlocking projections 24b of the inner housing 24 do not climb over the tops of the unlocking projections 27c of the outer housing 25 even in the state moved to the rear end side. ing.

As described above, the unlocking projections 24b, 27
By defining the position c, when the inner housing 24 is moved to the rear end side as shown in FIG.
By the restoring force of 7, a leftward force in the figure acts. Accordingly, when the pulling force applied to the cable 22 is released in the state shown in FIG. 8, the inner housing 24 is pushed back to the original position shown in FIG.

That is, in the present embodiment, instead of pushing back the inner housing 24 using the urging force of the urging means as used in the second embodiment, the restoring force of the engagement portion 27 is used. The housing 24 is pushed back. As described above, by using the restoring force of the engaging portion 27, the second
The number of parts can be reduced as compared with the embodiment, and the inner housing 24 can be returned to the original position with a simple configuration.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, the housing has a double structure, the inner housing holding the cable is movably provided in the outer housing, and the inner housing is connected to the connector to which the inner housing is connected. By providing a release mechanism that releases the engagement with the connected connector as it moves in the direction, when the cable is externally pulled, the engagement with the connected connector is automatically released Thus, damage to the cable, the engaging portion, and the like can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a first embodiment of a cable connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an outer housing of the cable connector shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an inner housing of the cable connector shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view of the cable shown in FIG. 1;

5 is a cross-sectional view showing an operation when a tensile force is applied to the cable in the cable connector shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the cable connector of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a third embodiment of the cable connector of the present invention.

8 is a cross-sectional view of the cable connector shown in FIG. 7, showing a state in which a pulling force is applied to the cable from the outside to move the inner housing to the rear end side.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,11,21 Cable connector 2,12,22 Cable 3,13 Terminal 4,14,24 Inner housing 4a Terminal hole 4b, 7c, 24b, 27c Unlocking protrusion 4c Step 5,15,25 Outer housing 6 Inside Housing accommodation portion 6a Cable hole 6b, 16b Stopper 6c Projection hole 7, 27 Engagement portion 7a Support portion 7b Engagement protrusion 7d Operation portion 18 Compression coil spring

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] At least one terminal having a terminal connected to a distal end thereof
A cable connector for holding the cable, an inner housing for holding said cable, <br/> outer housing said inner housing, movably held in a connection operation direction and pulling the operating direction with respect to the connection destination of the connector To engage the outer housing with the connector at the connection destination.
With the engagement portion to be more fixed, and in the outer housing, with the operation of the inner housing in the pulling-out operation direction with respect to the connector to be connected, the outer housing and the outer housing are moved forward by the engagement portion. > A cable connector having a release mechanism for releasing engagement with a connector to be connected. Wherein said outer housing, a housing part for movably holding the front end surface with respect to the connection direction of movement to the destination of the connector is opened the inner housing in said direction
A, the engaging portion is resiliently supported on both sides of the accommodating portion such that the connector engages the connection destination, the connector of the connection destination by opening outwardly with respect to the housing part The cable connector according to claim 1, comprising a lever-shaped member from which the engagement of the cable connector is released. 3. The cable connector according to claim 2, wherein said housing portion and said engaging portion are integrally formed of resin. 4. The engaging portion extends along a moving direction of the inner housing, and an intermediate portion thereof is supported by the housing portion, and the engaging portion has a connecting operation direction to the connector of the connection destination. The cable connector according to claim 2, wherein a distal end portion is engaged with the connector at the connection destination. 5. The release mechanism comprises: a first projection provided on both sides of the inner housing; and a second projection provided on a surface of the engagement portion facing the first projection. The first protrusion and the second protrusion have a configuration in which the inner protrusion moves in the outer housing in a pull-out operation direction with respect to the connector to which the connection is made. The cable connector according to claim 2, which is provided at a position where the cable is pressed. 6. The cable according to claim 2, wherein the housing portion is provided with a stopper that regulates a movement amount of the inner housing in a connecting operation direction to the connection destination connector. connector. 7. The cable connector according to claim 6, further comprising: urging means for urging the inner housing in a connection operation direction to the connection destination connector. 8. The first projection and the second projection are arranged such that a top of the first projection is a top of the second projection even when the inner housing moves in a pull-out direction with respect to the connector to which the connection is made. The cable connector according to claim 5, wherein the cable connector is provided at a position where the cable connector does not cross the cable connector.