JP3217036B2 - Connector with locking mechanism - 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 with a lock mechanism having a lock mechanism for locking a mounted state to a paired connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of connector housing, there has been provided a connector housing which has a function of preventing slippage by using a frictional force between a male connector and a female connector which are mounted in each housing and connected to each other. is there. In addition, there is also a type in which a retaining force due to friction acts between the housings. However, in the method using such friction, the detachment preventing effect is insufficient, and the housings may be separated from each other.

Therefore, there is a type in which a lock mechanism of an operation type (a so-called strong lock type, in which a lock is released only by an operation, so-called a strong lock type) is provided between the housings to engage with each other. For example, referring to FIG. 6, there is a lock mechanism of this type in which an intermediate portion of an elastic arm 83 is supported by a pair of support portions 82 projecting from an outer wall surface 81 of a connector body 80. A hook portion 85 is provided at an end of a first portion 84 extending from the support portion 82 to the paired connector in the mounting direction A, and an end of a second portion 86 extending from the support portion 82 to the opposite mounting direction B. A finger holding portion 87 is provided in the portion. Then, by swinging and displacing the arm 83 in a seesaw shape about the support portion 82, the hook portion 85 is hooked and engaged with an engaged portion protrudingly formed on an outer surface of a pair of connectors (not shown). Or release the engagement.

In this case, between the outer wall surface 81 of the connector main body 80 and the arm 83, the rear slide type 88 intrudes in the mounting direction A from the second part 86 side, and the arm 8
Most of the portion where the outer wall surface 81 of the connector body 80 faces the outer wall 3 is formed. The rear slide type 88 is substantially T in plan view.
It is shaped like a letter. In the rear slide mold 88 shown in FIG. 7, a hatched area 89 is an area for molding the side surface of the support portion 82 on the side opposite to the mounting direction B.

[0005]

On the other hand, the area 90 between the arm 83 and the outer wall surface 81 which is located on the mounting direction A side of the support portion 82 is not limited to the outer wall surface 81.
It does not open in the direction orthogonal to the direction of the arrow, nor does it open in the anti-mounting direction B side (the second portion 86 side). Therefore, this area 90 is a mold (not shown) that moves in a direction perpendicular to the outer wall surface 81 to form the outer wall surface 81.
Or, it cannot be formed with the rear slide mold 88 described above.

For this reason, it is necessary to use a front slide die 91 which enters between the arm 83 and the outer wall surface 81 from the first portion 84 along the anti-mounting direction B. The front slide die 91 has a substantially U-shape in plan view, and has a pair of portions 92 that penetrate between the arm 83 and the outer wall surface 81 on both sides of the hook portion 85.

As described above, it is necessary to use a plurality of slide dies 88 and 91 for resin molding of the lock mechanism, and the manufacturing cost is high. By the way, in the connector with the lock mechanism, a predetermined portion of the contact member housed in each of the plurality of housing holes in the connector body is engaged with an elastic locking piece formed in the connector body to prevent the contact member from coming off. There is a case where a so-called housing lance for achieving the above is provided.

[0008] Usually, the elastic locking pieces constituting the above lance are defined by U-shaped grooves formed on the outer wall surface of the connector body. Therefore, the elastic locking piece constituting the lance must be formed by a mold that moves in a direction perpendicular to the outer wall surface of the connector body. what if,
If an attempt is made to form a groove for forming a lance on the outer wall surface of the connector body on the side where the lock mechanism is provided, the lance cannot be arranged in an area where the front slide die slides. For this reason, such a layout was substantially impossible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a first object of the present invention is to provide a connector with a lock mechanism that can simplify the structure of a molding die and reduce the manufacturing cost. That is. A second object of the present invention is to provide a connector with a lock mechanism in which a so-called housing lance and a lock mechanism are laid out on the same side wall of the connector body.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems As means for solving the problems to achieve the above object, the aspect of the invention described in claim 1 is as follows.
A lock mechanism is provided on the outer wall surface of the connector main body along the mounting direction to the mating connector, and locks the mounting state with respect to the mating connector. The locking mechanism is formed to protrude from the outer wall surface of the connector main body. A support portion, and an elastic arm supported by the support portion, wherein the elastic arm is located on a first portion located on the mounting direction side of the support portion, and is located on an opposite mounting direction side of the support portion. Second
And the first portion includes a hook portion that hooks and engages with the engaging portion of the mating connector.
The first portion includes a finger holding portion, and the first wall portion of the outer wall surface of the connector main body is opened in a direction orthogonal to the outer wall surface at a portion located on the mounting direction side of the support portion.
Is characterized in that a relief portion is partially provided in the portion.

In this aspect, a portion of the outer wall surface of the connector body located on the mounting direction side of the support portion is opened in a direction orthogonal to the outer wall surface through the escape portion provided in the first portion. I do. Therefore, this portion can be formed by a mold that moves in a direction perpendicular to the outer wall surface. Thereby, the conventional slide type has a simple shape.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the connector is defined by a U-shaped groove formed on an outer wall surface of the connector body located on the mounting direction side with respect to the lock mechanism. An elastic locking piece for elastically locking the member is further provided.
In this aspect, a layout in which a so-called housing lance and a lock mechanism are arranged on the outer wall surface on the same side of the connector main body is substantially possible. The elastic locking piece for the housing lance can also be formed by a mold that moves in a direction perpendicular to the outer wall surface.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the first portion is divided into a pair of portions sandwiching a groove. In this aspect, even if there is some error in the mounting accuracy to the mating connector, the pair of portions can flexibly cope with the mating connector flexibly independently of each other while being elastically deformed independently of each other. I can do it. Further, since the first portion is divided into a pair of portions sandwiching the escape portion, it is possible to visually give the user an impression that a strong lock can be obtained by the double lock.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a socket connector as a connector with a lock mechanism and a base connector as a mating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the socket connector.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of both connectors in a connected state.

First, referring to FIG. 1, surface 1a of substrate 1
The socket connectors 4 attached to the ends of the plurality of cables 3 arranged in parallel are connected to the base connector 2 fixed to the base connector 2. The base connector 2 includes a base housing 5 made of a synthetic resin, and a plurality of terminals 6 that are arranged side by side so as to penetrate the base housing 5. The tips of the terminals 6 projecting downward from the base housing 5 penetrate the substrate 1 and are fixed to the back surface conductive member (not shown) by soldering, whereby each terminal 6 connects the base housing 5 to the substrate 1. Plays the function of fixing.

The base housing 5 has an insertion / removal recess 7 which is opened at the connection side end face 5a and through which a part of a corresponding mating socket connector 4 is inserted / removed. In the insertion / removal recess 7,
The plurality of terminals 6 are arranged and arranged. Each terminal 6 protrudes downward through the bottom 8 of the base housing 5. On the outer wall surface 11 of one outer wall 10 of the base housing 5, a pair of engaging projections 12 as an engaging portion for hooking and engaging with the hook portion 27 of the locking mechanism 32 on the socket connector 4 side is provided with a vertical rib 13. Are formed in the concave portions 39 on both sides of. Since each engaging projection 12 is formed over the entire width of the corresponding concave portion 39, the strength of this portion is improved. In addition, a groove 14 extending in the insertion / removal direction is formed on the inner surface of the insertion / removal concave portion 7 corresponding to the vertical rib 13. Each engagement protrusion 12 has an inclined guide portion 9 for guiding engagement of the hook portion.

On the other hand, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the socket connector 4 has a socket housing 15 made of a synthetic resin as a connector main body, and a plurality of horizontally arranged receiving holes 16 penetrating the socket housing 15 in the vertical direction. And a terminal 17 as a socket-type contact member to which an end of each cable 3 is fixed.
The terminal 17 includes a socket type contact 18 from the tip, a wire barrel 19 for crimping the core wire 3 a of the cable 3, and an insulation barrel 20 for fixing the sheath 3 b of the cable 3. Reference numeral 37 denotes an engagement piece that engages with a housing lance described later.

An elastic arm 23 which is formed in a plate shape and is arranged in parallel with the outer wall surface 22 is provided on an outer wall surface 22 of one outer wall 21 of the socket housing 15. This arm 2
The intermediate portion 3 is elastically supported by a pair of support portions 24 protrudingly formed on the outer wall surface 22 so as to be swingably displaceable. The pair of support portions 24 connect both side portions in the width direction of the arm 23 to the outer wall surface 22.

The first arm 23 is located on the first side A in the mounting direction A with respect to the mating base connector 2 with respect to the support portion 24.
And a second portion 26 located on the side opposite to the mounting direction B with respect to the support portion 24. The first part 2
5 includes a hook portion 27 that hooks and engages with the engaging protrusion 12 of the mating base connector 2 and a second portion 26.
Includes a finger holding portion 28. The hook portion 27 is provided over the entire width of the first portion 25, and the strength of the first portion 25 is improved.

The first portion 25 is divided into a pair of divided portions 30 sandwiching a groove 29 opened in the mounting direction A in the width direction to form a so-called double lock. Also, the first
The relief portions 31 are provided on both sides of the support portion 24 located on the mounting direction A side of the support portion 24. Escapes 3 on both sides
1 allows the second part 26 to be connected to the first part 2
It is wider than 5.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 which is a front view of the socket housing, a pair of ribs 33 project from the outer wall surface 22 of the socket housing 15 at both sides of the arm 23 in the width direction. Is formed. Each rib 23
Is an end face 5a on the connection side of the mating base housing 5.
The contact between the connector housings 5 and 15 during connection is prevented from being unnecessarily inclined. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 34 denotes a vertical rib fitted into the groove 14 or the like of the mating base housing 5 to prevent unnecessary inclination between the connector housings 5 and 15 at the time of connection. The ribs 33 of the socket housing 15 and the ribs 13 of the base housing 5 function to prevent foreign matter such as electric wires from being caught on the arm 23.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, a plurality of elastic locking pieces 35 are formed on the outer wall surface 22 of the socket housing 15 at a position on the mounting direction A side of the locking mechanism 32 in a U-shape. Are formed by the groove 36 of FIG. These elastic locking pieces 35 are arranged in the width direction. Each elastic locking piece 35
Is the terminal 1 inserted into the housing hole 16 as shown in FIG.
A so-called housing lance is configured to elastically engage with the engaging piece 37 of the seventh and prevent it from coming off. Numeral 38 denotes a projection formed at a lower portion of the outer wall surface 22 to prevent fitting or reverse fitting to a connector of a different kind.

Next, a schematic structure of a mold for molding the lock mechanism 32 of the socket housing 15 and the outer wall 22 around the lock mechanism 32 will be described with reference to FIG. Since the first portion 25 of the arm 23 has the relief portion 31 corresponding to the mounting direction A side of each support portion 24, the portion of the outer wall surface 22 corresponding to the relief portion 31 (the mounting direction of the support portion 24). A portion 45 located on the A side) can be formed by the main mold 40 moving in a direction facing (perpendicular to) the outer wall surface 22.

The main mold 40 has a pair of first first portions 45 for forming the portions 45 of the outer wall surface 22 corresponding to the pair of escape portions 31.
Part 41 of the outer wall surface 22 corresponding to the groove 29
And a third portion 43 for forming a U-shaped groove 36 for defining the elastic locking piece 35 for the housing lance.
In addition, although not shown, a portion for forming the outer surface of the arm 23 is included.

On the other hand, between the arm 23 and the outer wall surface 22, a backward slide die 50 similar to the conventional one is inserted along the mounting direction A, and the opposing surfaces of both the arm 23 and the outer wall surface 22 are formed. . The rear slide mold 50 has a substantially U shape, and has a groove 51 into which the second portion 42 of the main mold 40 can be fitted. 52 is a step portion for forming each hook portion 27, and 53 is a forming surface projecting to both sides to form a side surface of the support portion 24 on the side opposite to the mounting direction B.

In the present embodiment, the front slide die 91 (see FIG. 6), which was conventionally required for forming the lock mechanism, can be eliminated, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, using a main mold 40 for molding the outer wall surface 22, an elastic locking piece 35 for a housing lance is used.
Of the connector housing 15
The layout in which the elastic locking piece 35 for the lance and the lock mechanism 32 are arranged on the outer wall surface 22 on the same side of the above is substantially possible. Further, it has the same structure as a connector mold having no lock structure, and can form a housing as a connector body, especially a lance portion. Therefore, it is easy to develop a connector with a lock structure in a variation from a normal connector without a lock structure, and the effect in implementation is increased.

Further, since the first portion 25 is divided into a pair of divided portions 30 sandwiching the groove 29 to form a so-called double lock, there is a slight error in the mounting accuracy to the paired base connector 2. However, it is possible to flexibly cope with the actual product while elastically deforming the pair of divided portions 30 independently of each other. Therefore, locking can be reliably performed. Further, it is possible to visually give the user an impression that a strong lock can be obtained by the double lock.

Further, since the hook portion 27 is formed over the entire width of the pair of divided portions 30 as the first portion 25, the strength of each divided portion 30 can be improved. A rib crossing the hook portion 27 may be provided. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a so-called double lock is used. Can be obtained.
In this case, in FIG.
Thus, the groove 51 of the rear slide die 50 is eliminated. In addition, various changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.

[0029]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the number of slide molds conventionally used for molding can be reduced by one, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. According to the second aspect of the present invention, a layout in which the lance and the lock mechanism are arranged on the outer wall surface on the same side of the connector main body can be substantially realized. In addition, the connector body, especially the lance portion, can be formed with the same structure as the mold of the connector having no lock structure.
Therefore, it is easy to develop a connector with a lock structure in a variation from a normal connector without a lock structure, and the effect in implementation is increased.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, even if there is a slight error in the mounting accuracy to the mating connector, the pair of portions can be elastically deformed independently of each other and flexibly cope with the mating connector by matching the actual product. Since locking is possible, locking can be performed reliably.
In addition, since the first portion is divided into a pair of portions sandwiching the groove, it is possible to visually give the user an impression that a strong lock by the double lock can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a socket connector as a connector with a lock mechanism and a base connector as a mating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the socket connector.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of both connectors in a connected state.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the socket housing.

FIG. 5 is a partially exploded perspective view showing a structure of a mold for molding a lock mechanism of a socket housing and a peripheral portion thereof.

FIG. 6 is a partially exploded perspective view showing a structure of a conventional lock mechanism and a mold for molding a peripheral portion thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Socket Connector 15 Socket Housing (Connector Body) 17 Terminal (Contact Member) 21 Outer Wall 22 Outer Wall 23 Arm 24 Supporting Part 25 First Part 26 Second Part 27 Hook Part 28 Finger Holder 29 Groove 30 Divided Part 31 Escape Part 32 Lock mechanism 35 Elastic locking piece 36 Groove 37 Engagement piece 40 Main mold 45 Part located closer to mounting direction than support part 50 Backward slide type

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-255677 (JP, A) JP-A-4-109574 (JP, A) JP-A-11-283702 (JP, A) JP-A-3-39272 (JP) (U, U) JK 6-36245 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/629 H01R 13/639 H01R 43/00 H01R 43/18

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A locking mechanism provided on an outer wall surface of the connector main body along a mounting direction to the paired connector, the locking mechanism locking a mounted state to the paired connector; And a resilient arm supported by the support portion. The resilient arm includes a first portion located on the mounting direction side of the support portion, and a reciprocal mounting portion of the resilient arm. A second portion located on the directional side, wherein the first portion includes a hook portion that hooks and engages with an engagement portion of the mating connector, and the second portion includes a finger holding portion, A relief portion is provided in the first portion so that a portion of the outer wall surface of the connector body located on the mounting direction side of the support portion is opened in a direction orthogonal to the outer wall surface. B. Connector with locking mechanism. 2. A connector according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic locking piece which is defined by a U-shaped groove formed on an outer wall surface of said connector body located on the mounting direction side of said locking mechanism and elastically locks a contact member. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A connector with a lock mechanism as described. 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein said first portion is divided into a pair of portions sandwiching a groove.