JP4396652B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

Conventionally, the thing of patent document 1 is known as an example of a connector. This connector includes a female connector housing, a male connector housing, and a slider for fitting / disengaging both connector housings. The slider is inserted / removed in a direction intersecting the fitting direction of both connector housings. It has become so. A plurality of cavities in which female terminal fittings are inserted and housed are formed in the housing main body portion of the female connector housing, and the female terminal fittings inserted into the cavities are formed on the outer periphery of the housing main body portion. A retainer is installed to prevent the retainer from coming off.
JP 2005-183297 A

However, in the above structure, it is necessary to provide a retainer separately from the slider in order to prevent the female terminal fitting from coming off, and there is a problem that the number of parts increases.
The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of preventing the terminal fitting from coming off while avoiding an increase in the number of parts.

  As a means for achieving the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a first connector housing provided with a cam pin, and can be fitted to the first connector housing and in a direction along the fitting direction. A second connector housing having a cavity provided with a lance that can be inserted and removed from the terminal fitting and can be primarily locked to the terminal fitting, a cam groove engaging with the cam pin is formed, and the two connector housings are fitted. A slider that is slidably assembled to the second connector housing in a crossing direction with respect to the mating direction, and the two connector housings by cam action by engagement of the cam pin and the cam groove by assembling the slider. In the connector adapted to be fitted, the slider has the second connector housing. With the assembly for managing, having characterized in that the retainer unit to reduce the retaining of the terminal fitting by secondary locking Inserted the terminal fitting in the cavity is provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the second connector housing is provided with a slider accommodating portion into which the slider can be inserted so as to intersect the cavity. Between the slider accommodating portion and each of the cavities, a communicating portion is formed along the insertion direction of the slider, and the retainer portion is inserted into the slider accommodating portion. With this, it passes along the communication portion, and when the slider is completely inserted, it is positioned on the insertion / extraction path of the terminal fitting in each cavity and is secondarily locked to the terminal fitting. Have

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the front portion of the retainer portion in the insertion direction of the slider comes into contact with the terminal fitting in a half-inserted state as the slider is inserted. It is characterized in that a half-insertion detection surface that restricts the sliding motion of the slider is provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, a plurality of the cavities are formed in parallel along the insertion direction of the slider, and the retainer portion is bridged over the parallel cavities. Further, it is characterized in that it is formed in a long and continuous form along the insertion direction of the slider.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the slider according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the slider has a plate-shaped main body that is accommodated in the slider accommodating portion, while the cavity is the main body. The slider is arranged separately in the upper and lower sides in the plate thickness direction, the slider is arranged between the upper and lower cavities, and the retainer part is arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the main body It has the characteristics.

<Invention of Claims 1 and 2>
According to the first and second aspects of the invention, the slider, which is a means for fitting the two connector housings, has a function of secondarily locking the terminal fitting to prevent the terminal fitting from coming off. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a retaining member such as a retainer separately from the slider, so that it is possible to prevent the terminal fitting from being detached while avoiding an increase in the number of components.

<Invention of Claim 3>
According to the invention of claim 3, if the slider is mistakenly inserted while the terminal fitting is in the half-inserted state, the half-insertion detecting surface comes into contact with the terminal fitting in the half-inserted state, and further insertion of the slider is restricted. It can be known that the terminal fitting is in a half-inserted state.

<Invention of Claim 4>
According to the invention of claim 4, since the retainer portion is formed in a continuous form so as to be bridged over a plurality of cavities, the strength can be improved as compared with the case where the retainer portions are provided intermittently for each cavity.

<Invention of Claim 5>
According to the invention of claim 5, since the retainer portion arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of one main body portion is secondarily locked to the terminal fittings accommodated in the upper and lower cavities, the main body portion is shared by the upper and lower cavities. can do.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the connector of this embodiment includes a female connector housing (corresponding to the second connector housing in the present invention, hereinafter referred to as a female housing 10), and a male connector housing (first in the present invention). It corresponds to one connector housing and is hereinafter referred to as a male housing 50), and a slider 30 for fitting / removing the two housings 10 and 50. The slider 30 is inserted into and removed from the female housing 10 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the fitting / removing direction of the two housings 10 and 50.

  Hereinafter, in each component, the fitting surface side in both housings 10 and 50 is assumed to be the front, the upper side in FIG. 1 is the right side, the lower side is the left side, the upper side in FIG. To do.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the female housing 10 has a slightly horizontally long block shape as a whole. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of cavities 11 are formed in two upper and lower stages inside the female housing 10, and two left and right chambers are formed in the upper stage, and three left and right chambers are formed in the lower stage. As shown in FIG. 5, each cavity 11 has a shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and the female terminal fitting 12 is inserted from the rear. The upper and lower cavities 11 are each formed with a lance 13 that extends forward in a cantilevered manner along the upper surface wall and the lower surface wall and can be elastically bent in the vertical direction. Further, longitudinal grooves 14 extending in the front-rear direction are formed between the lower cavities 11 (see FIGS. 2 and 6). Each vertical groove 14 is open to the front and lower surfaces of the female housing 10.

  The female housing 10 is provided with a slider accommodating portion 15 in which the slider 30 is accommodated. As shown in FIG. 5, the slider accommodating portion 15 is formed inside a hollow partition wall 16 that partitions the upper and lower cavities 11, and has a substantially flat shape that intersects the cavities 11. In addition, the partition wall 16 is formed with an upper communication portion 15A and a lower communication portion 15B that allow the slider accommodating portion 15 to communicate with the upper cavity 11 and the lower cavity 11 along the direction in which the slider 30 is inserted. . The upper communication portion 15A and the lower communication portion 15B are arranged at positions where their front edges (front edges in the fitting direction of the female housing 10) are substantially aligned in the vertical direction. Then, an upper retainer portion 36A and a lower retainer portion 36B, which will be described later, are fitted into the upper communication portion 15A and the lower communication portion 15B.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the slider accommodating portion 15, the upper communication portion 15 </ b> A, and the lower communication portion 15 </ b> B pass through the female housing 10 in the left-right direction (cross direction with respect to the cavity 11) and open on both left and right side surfaces. The slider 30 is slidable in the left-right direction with respect to the slider accommodating portion 15. The opening on the left side of the openings on both the left and right sides is a slider doorway 17, and the slider 30 is inserted into the slider housing portion 15 through the slider doorway 17 and pulled out from the slider housing portion 15.

  A front lock portion 18A and a rear lock portion 18B are provided at the end of the slider accommodating portion 15 on the slider doorway 17 side so as to open to the front surface and the rear surface of the female housing 10, respectively. A temporary locking projection 39 of the slider 30 described later is locked to the front lock portion 18A, and a lock protrusion 42 provided on the lock arm 33 of the slider 30 is locked to the rear lock portion 18B. ing.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the female housing 10 is provided with a cam pin introduction path 19 in a form in which a portion partitioning the upper left and right cavities 11 is cut out from above. The cam pin introduction path 19 is open to the front and top surfaces of the female housing 10 and communicates with the slider accommodating portion 15 (see FIG. 6). The cam pin introduction path 19 has a shape that is long in the front-rear direction from the front edge of the female housing 10, and the cross-sectional shape that intersects the front-rear direction is a substantially rectangular shape that is slightly longer in the vertical direction. And a pair of overhang | projection part 20 is provided in the side surface which mutually faces in the cam pin introduction path 19 over the front-back direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 6, the protruding end position of the pair of left and right overhanging portions 20 is in a mountain shape below the right side surface position of the cam pin introduction path 19, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. The formed peak part 21 is protrudingly provided. The crest portion 21 is provided in a bendable portion 22 that is formed in a double-sided shape and can be elastically bent in the left-right direction. When the crest portion 21 is pushed to the left, the bendable portion 22 is moved to the left. It comes to bend elastically. Then, when a cam pin 56 of the male housing 50 described later is fitted into the cam pin introduction path 19 of the female housing 10 and the two housings 10 and 50 are brought close to each other, the curved protrusion 57 of the male housing 50 reaches the peak 21 and further approaches. As a result, the peak 21 is pushed by the curved protrusion 57 and bent to the left, and the curved protrusion 57 gets over the peak 21. The cam pin 56 reaches the cam groove inlet 31A provided in the slider 30 when the curved protrusion 57 gets over the peak portion 21, and the operator introduces the cam pin 56 into the cam groove inlet 31A. You can get a sense of moderation.

On the left side surface of the female housing 10, in other words, the surface on the side where the slider doorway 17 is formed, provisional regulation is performed for pushing in when the slider 30 is in a temporary locking position in preparation for engagement with the cam pin 56. The contact portion 23 is provided to protrude to the left. As shown in FIG. 4, the temporary contact portion 23 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the front-rear direction along the upper edge of the slider doorway 17.
Note that a pair of upper and lower protective portions 24 are formed to protrude from the rear end portion of the left side surface of the female housing 10.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the female terminal fittings 12 inserted into the cavities 11 are elongated in the front-rear direction as a whole, with a substantially first half portion serving as a terminal connecting portion 25 and a substantially second half portion serving as a wire connecting portion 26. An end portion of the electric wire is fixed to the connection portion 26 so as to be conductive by crimping. The terminal connection portion 25 has a rectangular tube shape, and a lance hole (not shown) is formed on the side wall thereof. A rear end edge portion of the terminal connection portion 25 is a locked portion 25A. In the state in which the female terminal fitting 12 is inserted with the lance holes in the direction corresponding to the lance 13 of the cavity 11 and the female terminal fitting 12 is inserted to the normal position (the position where the front wall of the cavity 11 is stopped in front). When the lance 13 is primarily locked in the lance hole, the female terminal fitting 12 is held in the retaining state with respect to the female housing 10, and the locked portion 25A of the terminal connecting portion 25 is provided in the slider accommodating portion 15, respectively. The upper communication portion 15A and the lower communication portion 15B are arranged at positions corresponding to the front edges and the front. Then, the upper retainer portion 36A and the lower retainer portion 36B fitted into the upper communication portion 15A and the lower communication portion 15B are secondarily locked to the locked portion 25A, thereby preventing the female terminal fitting 12 from coming off. Is designed. When the female terminal fitting 12 is located slightly rearward from the normal position, that is, in the half insertion position, the lance hole is not locked to the lance 13, and the rear portion of the terminal connection portion 25 is connected to the upper communication portion 15A and the lower communication portion, respectively. It will face part 15B.

  The slider 30 is made of synthetic resin, and includes a main body portion 32 in which a cam groove 31 is formed, and a lock arm 33 extending from the main body portion 32. As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the slider 30, including the lock arm 33, has a generally rectangular single plate shape that is long in the left-right direction (the direction in which the slider 30 is inserted). The slider housing 15 is inserted and removed.

  A bending piece 34 is provided at a substantially central portion of the main body 32. The bending piece 34 is formed in a double-supported beam shape in which both left and right ends are supported, and can be elastically bent in the vertical direction with the connecting portions at the left and right ends as bending fulcrums. On the upper surface of the bending piece 34, a protruding portion 35 protruding upward is formed.

  On the side of the flexure piece 34 on the upper surface and lower surface of the main body 32 (the front in the state accommodated in the female housing 10), the upper retainer 36A and the lower retainer that are secondarily locked to the female terminal fitting 12 described above. A portion 36B is provided. The upper-stage retainer portion 36A and the lower-stage retainer portion 36B have shapes that can be fitted to the upper-stage communication portion 15A and the lower-stage communication portion 15B formed in the female housing 10, and as shown in FIG. It protrudes in the form of an elongated rib in the direction in which the slider 30 is inserted. The upper retainer portion 36A and the lower retainer portion 36B are provided in pairs on the left and right sides, respectively, and the lower retainer portion 36B disposed to the left of the protrusion 35 is also disposed to the left of the protrusion 35. The length in the left-right direction is slightly shorter than the upper retainer portion 36A. Further, the lower retainer portion 36 </ b> B arranged on the right side of the protruding portion 35 has a length that spans the two cavities 11 arranged in parallel. The upper retainer portion 36A and the lower retainer portion 36B are positioned on the insertion / extraction path of the female terminal fitting 12 in the cavity 11 when the insertion of the slider 30 is completed. As shown in FIG. 11, the lower retainer portion 36B has a cross section that is slightly larger than the cross section of the upper retainer portion 36A, and its front edge position is in the vertical direction relative to the front edge position of the upper retainer portion 36A. It is arranged at a position that is almost aligned with. The front side surfaces of the upper-stage retainer portion 36 </ b> A and the lower-stage retainer portion 36 </ b> B serve as a locking surface 60 that is locked to the locked portion 25 </ b> A of the female terminal fitting 12 inserted into the cavity 11. Furthermore, the right end surface (the front end surface in the insertion direction of the slider 30) of the upper retainer portion 30A and the lower retainer portion 36B arranged on the right side of the protrusion 35 is when the female terminal fitting 12 is in a half-inserted state. Are in contact with the terminal connection portion 25 facing the upper communication portion 15A or the lower communication portion 15B. That is, the right end surface restricts the sliding operation of the slider 30 when the female terminal fitting 12 is in the half-inserted state. This is a half-insertion detection surface 61. The half-insertion detection surface 61 is located at the front end edge of the main body portion 32 and is flush with the plate surface direction of the main body portion 32 from the upper retainer portion 36A to the lower retainer portion 36B. It is formed in a shape.

  As shown in FIG. 8, an opening 37 elongated in the left-right direction is provided on the opposite side of the bending piece 34 across the upper-stage retainer section 36 </ b> A and the lower-stage retainer section 36 </ b> B. The opening 37 is disposed at a front position in the insertion direction of the slider 30 and is formed so as to penetrate the main body 32 in the plate thickness direction (vertical direction). Then, the edge on the opposite side of the upper stage retainer part 36A and the lower stage retainer part 36B at the peripheral edge of the opening 37, that is, the edge corresponding to the outer peripheral edge of the slider 30, can be elastically bent toward the opening 37. An edge 38 is formed. A temporary locking projection 39 that protrudes toward the opposite side of the opening 37 is provided at a substantially central position in the left-right direction of the bending edge 38. The right side surface of the temporary locking projection 39 is a guide slope 39A inclined downward toward the right, and the left side surface is a temporary engagement that is substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction of the slider 30. A stop surface 39B is provided.

  A cam groove 31 is formed in the main body 32 of the slider 30. The cam groove 31 is disposed on the opposite side to the side on which the upper retainer portion 36A and the lower retainer portion 36B are disposed with the bending piece 34 interposed therebetween. The cam groove 31 is recessed by cutting out the upper surface of the main body 32. The cam groove 31 is rearward in the mating direction of the female housing 10 toward the left (backward in the insertion direction of the slider 30) so that the mating of both the housings 10 and 50 is deepened as the slider 30 moves to the right. It is in a slanted form. The cam groove inlet 31 </ b> A is open at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction at the right end edge of the main body portion 32, while the end opposite to the cam groove inlet 31 </ b> A is at the rear end of the slider accommodating portion 15. It is located near the center in the left-right direction at the end on the corresponding side.

  A lock arm 33 is provided on the left side of the cam groove 31 (the rear side in the slider 30 insertion direction). The lock arm 33 has a form that extends in a cantilevered manner from the vicinity of the center in the left-right direction of the main body portion 32 toward the rear in the slider 30 insertion direction, and can be elastically bent along the plate surface direction of the main body portion 32. It has become. The extending end of the lock arm 33 reaches the vicinity of the left end edge of the main body 32.

  A substantially constant interval is provided between the lock arm 33 and the side edge of the main body 32. A space formed between the lock arm 33 and the main body portion 32 is a bending space 41, and the lock arm 33 can be elastically bent toward the bending space 41 side. The bending space 41 is opened to the left, and its left end is a hinge accommodating portion 41A.

  A lock protrusion 42 is provided on the side surface of the lock arm 33 opposite to the bending space 41. The lock protrusion 42 is disposed at a lower position on the side surface of the lock arm 33 (see FIG. 11). The lock protrusion 42 has a shape in which the protrusion height decreases toward the right side (forward in the slider 30 insertion direction), and the left surface of the lock protrusion 42 (the rear surface in the slider 30 insertion direction) is the lock arm 33. The lock surface 42A is substantially perpendicular to the extending direction (the direction in which the slider 30 is inserted). When the slider 30 reaches the final locking position and the insertion is completed, the lock protrusion 42 is fitted into the rear lock portion 18B of the slider accommodating portion 15, and the lock surface 42A faces the left side surface of the rear lock portion 18B. Thus, the slider 30 is prevented from coming off, so that the slider 30 and the female housing 10 are locked in a proper fitting state. Further, when the lock arm 33 is pressed toward the bending space 41, the lock protrusion 42 is detached from the rear lock portion 18B and unlocked.

  The extending end portion of the lock arm 33 is bent to the opposite side of the main body portion 32, and the bent portion serves as a hand pressing portion 43 for pressing the lock arm 33. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the distal end portion of the hand pressing portion 43 has a shape protruding in the vertical direction, and the distal end surface is a finger contact surface 44 to which a finger is applied when pressing the hand pressing portion 43. . As shown in FIG. 8, the finger contact surface 44 as a whole has an inclination (inclined toward the main body portion 32) that slopes downward to the right (forward in the direction in which the slider 30 is inserted), and a step-like slip. It is a stop surface.

  Further, the hand pushing portion 43 has a height that protrudes to the opposite side with respect to the bending direction of the lock arm 33 with respect to the bending direction of the lock arm 33 with respect to the cover portion 46 described later. A left side surface (a surface on the rear side in the insertion direction of the slider 30) of the distal end edge portion of the hand pressing portion 43 is a relief surface 45 that forms a gentle inclination inclined forward in the insertion direction of the slider 30 toward the distal end edge. When an external force is applied to the relief surface 45 from the left side (backward in the direction in which the slider 30 is inserted), a component force is generated in such a direction that the lock arm 33 is displaced toward the bending space 41 side.

  A plate-like cover portion 46 that is substantially perpendicular to the direction along the plate surface of the main body portion 32 is provided at the left end portion of the main body portion 32 (the rear portion in the insertion direction of the slider 30). As shown in FIG. 11, the cover 46 has a long rectangular shape extending in the up-down direction and the left-right direction from the main body 32. The cover portion 46 is arranged on the left side with a slight gap from the left end position of the lock arm 33, and the lock arm 33 excluding the tip edge portion of the hand pushing portion 43, in other words, the portion corresponding to the relief surface 45. The whole and the main body 32 are covered from the left (backward in the insertion direction of the slider 30). The cover 46 also serves as a pressing operation wall that is pressed by a finger when the slider 30 is inserted into the slider housing 15. The surface on the side corresponding to the hand pressing portion 43 on the peripheral surface of the cover portion 46 is a finger support surface 47 on which the finger pressing the hand pressing portion 43 is placed when unlocking. Similar to the finger contact surface 44 of the hand pressing portion 43, the finger support surface 47 is inclined downward (inclined toward the main body portion 32) toward the right side (forward in the insertion direction of the slider 30). In a state where the portion 43 is pushed in until it is unlocked, both the finger contact surface 44 and the finger support surface 47 have a downward slope that continues forward in the insertion direction of the slider 30. In this way, both the finger contact surface 44 and the finger support surface 47 follow the finger that is obliquely spanned from the finger contact surface 44 of the hand pressing portion 43 to the finger support surface 47 of the cover portion 46.

  The lock arm 33 and the main body 32 are connected via a hinge 48. One end of the hinge 48 is connected to the extending end of the lock arm 33 and the other end is connected to a portion corresponding to the hinge accommodating portion 41A on the peripheral surface of the main body 32, and the bent node is the hinge accommodating portion 41A. It is in the shape of a nearly V shape. The length of the hinge 48 is such that when the lock arm 33 is displaced to the side opposite to the main body portion 32, the lock arm 33 can be extended before being excessively displaced so as to be plastically deformed.

  The male housing 50 is fixed to an automobile device (not shown), and as shown in FIGS. 12 to 14, a rectangular tube-shaped hood portion 51 that protrudes forward from the wall surface of the device. It has. The male housing 50 is provided with a male terminal fitting 52 having a tab-like tip. The male terminal fitting 52 protrudes forward in the space surrounded by the hood portion 51, and is arranged in two upper and lower stages so as to correspond to the female terminal fitting 12.

  And the rib 53 extended in the front-back direction is provided in the lower side wall in the food | hood part 51. As shown in FIG. The rib 53 is arranged between the three male terminal fittings 52 arranged in the lower stage, and is fitted into the vertical groove 14 of the female housing 10 when both the housings 10 and 50 are fitted so that the twisting is prevented. It has become.

  Further, a support protrusion 54 that protrudes downward (inside the hood 51) is formed on the upper side wall in the hood 51. The support protrusion 54 is disposed between the two male terminal fittings 52 disposed on the upper stage, and is provided from the front end edge to the rear end edge of the hood part 51, and the cross section viewed from the front is slightly longer in the vertical direction. It has a rectangular shape. A pair of elongated groove portions 55 in the front-rear direction is formed at the upper positions on the left and right side surfaces of the support protrusion 54. A pair of overhang portions 20 provided in the cam pin introduction path 19 are fitted into the groove portion 55.

  A cam pin 56 is provided at the front end of the support protrusion 54. The cam pin 56 is formed so as to protrude downward from the support protrusion 54 and has a cylindrical shape whose axis is directed in the vertical direction (a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction of the housings 10 and 50).

  At a position near the front end of the support protrusion 54, a curved protrusion 57 having a gentle mountain shape protrudes. The curved protrusion 57 is provided below the right groove 55 of the pair of left and right grooves 55.

  The left side wall of the hood part 51 is provided with a notch groove 59 that is cut out from the front edge of the hood part 51 by the width in the short direction of the main body part 32 of the slider 30. Thus, when the two housings 10 and 50 are fitted, interference with the slider 30 is avoided.

Next, operations and effects of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, the female terminal fitting 12 is inserted into each cavity 11 from behind. The female terminal fitting 12 inserted to the normal position is primarily locked by the lance 13. After all the female terminal fittings 12 have been inserted, the slider 30 is moved so that the upper retainer portion 36A and the lower retainer portion 36B are fitted in the upper communication portion 15A and the lower communication portion 15B of the slider accommodating portion 15, respectively. Insert it into the doorway 17. Then, the slider 30 is inserted from the slider doorway 17 toward the right by gradually pressing the cover portion 46 with a finger.

  When the slider 30 is inserted in this way, the upper retainer portion 36A and the lower retainer portion 36B inserted into the upper communication portion 15A and the lower communication portion 15B gradually pass through the upper and lower communication portions 15A and 15B. . Then, when the temporary locking projection 39 provided on the slider 30 passes over the peripheral edge of the slider doorway 17 and fits into the front locking portion 18A, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the temporary locking projection 39 is obtained. The temporary locking surface 39B is opposed to the left side surface of the front lock portion 18A, and at the same time, the projection 35 provided on the upper surface of the slider 30 is provided along the upper edge of the slider doorway 17. It will be in the state contact | abutted. At this time, the cam groove inlet 31 </ b> A is located in the cam pin introduction path 19 and is in a state in which the cam pin 56 of the male housing 50 can be engaged. The locking surface 60 of the upper retainer portion 36A and the lower retainer portion 36B on the right side of the protrusion 35 accommodated in the upper communication portion 15A and the lower communication portion 15B is located in the cavity 11 on the left side of the cam pin introduction path 19. It is in a state of being secondarily locked to the locked portion 25 </ b> A of the inserted female terminal fitting 12. On the other hand, the female terminal fitting 12 inserted into the cavity 11 on the right side of the cam pin introduction path 19 is not secondary-locked, that is, the slider 30 moves to the cavity 11 on the right side of the cam pin introduction path 19. The female terminal fitting 12 is retracted to a position allowing insertion / extraction of the female terminal fitting 12. Thus, the slider 30 is held in a state where movement in the left-right direction is restricted with respect to the slider accommodating portion 15 at the temporary locking position in preparation for engagement with the cam pin 56. Note that the insertion work of the female terminal fitting 12 into the cavity 11 disposed on the front side in the insertion direction of the slider 30 does not necessarily have to be completed before the insertion work of the slider 30; the slider 30 is inserted first. Then, after being held in the temporary locking position, the female terminal fitting 12 can be inserted.

  Thereafter, the female housing 10 is transported to the assembly site with the male housing 50 and fitted with the male housing 50. At this time, the slider 30 is in a state where a substantially second half portion (a portion where the lock arm 33 is provided) of the slider 30 insertion direction is exposed from the female housing 10. Here, since most of the lock arm 33 is covered from behind by the cover 46, when a foreign object approaches from behind, the foreign object contacts the cover 46 and directly interferes with the lock arm 33. Is prevented. Further, when a foreign object approaches from the side opposite to the bending space 41, the foreign object is likely to contact the peripheral edge of the cover 46 before interfering with the lock arm 33, and the lock arm is exposed. Compared with the case where it has, the possibility that a foreign material will contact the lock arm 33 directly is reduced. Therefore, compared with the case where the lock arm is exposed, the lock arm 33 covered by the cover 46 is protected from foreign matter interference.

  In addition, when a foreign object approaching from the rear comes into contact with the distal end edge of the hand pushing portion 43 that is not covered by the cover 46, the foreign object comes into contact with the relief surface 45 formed at the distal end edge. . Then, a component force toward the bending space 41 is generated on the relief surface 45 by an external force acting from the rear to the front. Then, due to this component force, the lock arm 33 is displaced in the bending space 41 side, that is, in the original bending direction, so that displacement in the reverse direction can be avoided.

  Even if the lock arm 33 is displaced in the reverse direction, it is possible to avoid the lock arm 33 from being plastically deformed because the hinge 48 is provided.

  When the female housing 10 and the male housing 50 conveyed to the work site are fitted, first, the female housing 10 is shallowly fitted into the hood portion 51 and the cam pin 56 is fitted into the cam pin introduction path 19. Both housings 10 and 50 are brought closer until 56 reaches the cam groove inlet 31A. At this time, the curved projecting portion 57 gets over the mountain portion 21 and the operator feels the grip, and a moderation feeling that the cam pin 56 is introduced into the inlet 31A of the cam groove is obtained. When the cam pin 56 and the cam groove 31 are engaged, the cover 46 of the slider 30 is pushed by hand from the left. Then, the bending piece 34 of the slider 30 bends downward and the protrusion 35 gets over the temporary contact portion 23, and the temporary locking state is released and the slider 30 is pushed rightward. As the slider 30 moves, the female housing 10 and the male housing 50 are attracted to each other by the cam action caused by the engagement of the cam groove 31 and the cam pin 56, as shown in FIG.

  Here, when the female terminal fitting 12 in any of the cavities 11 is in a half-inserted state, the terminal connection portion 25 faces the upper communication portion 15A or the lower communication portion 15B, and the upper communication portion 15A or The upper-stage retainer portion 36A passing through the lower-stage communication portion 15B or the half-insertion detection surface 61 of the lower-stage retainer portion 36A comes into contact with the terminal connection portion 25 (see FIG. 5). As a result, the upper retainer portion 36A or the lower retainer portion 36A can no longer advance forward, so that the insertion of the slider 30 is restricted, and it can be known that the female terminal fitting 12 is in the half-inserted state.

  When most of the slider 30 is inserted into the slider accommodating portion 15, the lock projection 42 of the lock arm 33 comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the slider doorway 17, and when the slider 30 is further pushed in, the lock arm 33 is elastically moved. The lock protrusion 42 gets over the peripheral edge by bending toward the bending space 41 side. When the lock protrusion 42 gets over the peripheral edge, the lock arm 33 is restored and deformed, and the lock protrusion 42 is fitted into the rear lock portion 18B as shown in FIG. Then, the lock surface 42A of the lock protrusion 42 is in a state of facing the left side surface of the rear lock portion 18B, and the slider 30 and the female housing 10 are locked in the fitted state. At this time, the slider 30 is in a state in which the right end edge has reached the final locking position where the slider 30 abuts against the hood portion 51 of the male housing 50 covering the right end opening of the slider housing portion 15. Thus, the female terminal fitting 12 and the male terminal fitting 52 are in a properly fitted state in which they are connected to be conductive. In addition, the locking surfaces 60 of the upper retainer portion 36A and the lower retainer portion 36B are secondarily locked to the locked portions 25A of all the female terminal fittings 12. At this time, the two female terminal fittings 12 inserted into the two cavities 11 on the right side of the cavities 11 arranged on the lower stage are provided on the locking surface 60 of the lower stage retainer portion 36B arranged on the right side. At the same time, it is locked. Thus, the slider 30 reaches the final locking position, and when both the housings 10 and 50 reach the normal fitting state, the both housings 10 and 50 are separated and locked.

  In the state where both housings 10 and 50 are properly fitted, as shown in FIG. 1, the hand pressing portion 43 of the lock arm 33 is protected from the vertical direction by the pair of protection portions 24 provided on the female housing 10. It becomes a state. Further, the engaging portion (in the cam pin introduction path 19) between the cam groove 31 and the cam pin 56 is covered with the hood portion 51.

Next, the case where both the housings 10 and 50 are detached will be described.
When removing both housings 10 and 50, first, as shown in FIG. 19, the cover portion 46 of the slider 30 is sandwiched between fingers from the front and rear. Then, the tip of one finger is brought into contact with the finger contact surface 44 formed at the tip of the hand pushing portion 43. Next, the finger applied to the finger contact surface 44 is pushed into the main body portion 32 side, the lock arm 33 is unlocked, the cover portion 46 sandwiched between the fingers is pulled as it is, and the slider 30 is pulled out. At this time, the hand pressing part 43 is provided at a position close to the cover part 46, and the tip of the hand pressing part 43 has a height protruding from the peripheral edge of the cover part 46. It will be in the state supported by the finger support surface 47 provided in the surrounding surface of the cover part 46. FIG. In this way, the finger that has pushed the hand pressing portion 43 is supported by a fixing member such as the covering portion 46, and the unlocking operation can be performed by hooking the finger on the covering portion 46 that is the fixing wall. The slider 30 can be pulled out more easily than in the unstable state where the finger is placed on the elastically deforming lock arm 33.

  Further, both the finger contact surface 44 of the hand pressing portion 43 and the finger support surface 47 of the covering portion 46 have a downward slope that continues toward the front in the insertion direction of the slider 30 when the hand pressing portion 43 is pushed in until it is unlocked. In addition, the finger fits well because it is configured to follow a finger that is obliquely spanned from the peripheral edge of the cover 46 to the tip of the hand pusher 43. In addition, since the finger contact surface 44 of the hand pressing portion 43 has a stepped shape, the frictional force against the finger is increased and the finger is less likely to slip as compared to a case where this surface is a flat surface. Therefore, the operation of pulling out the slider 30 is easy to perform.

  Thus, the slider 30 is pulled out from the slider accommodating portion 15 in the unlocked state. Then, as the slider 30 is pulled out, the female housing 10 and the male housing 50 are gradually separated by the cam action by the engagement between the cam groove 31 and the cam pin 56.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the slider 30, which is a means for fitting both the housings 10, 50, is secondarily locked to the female terminal fitting 12 to prevent the female terminal fitting 12 from coming off. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a retaining member such as a retainer separately from the slider 30. Thus, it is possible to prevent the female terminal fitting 12 from coming off while avoiding an increase in the number of parts. Since the upper retainer portion 36A and the lower retainer portion 36B arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the single body portion 32 are secondarily locked to the female terminal fitting 12 accommodated in the upper and lower cavities 11, There is no need to provide a separate main body for the cavity 11.

  In addition, the lower retainer portion 36B disposed on the right side of the protrusion portion 35 is formed in a continuous form so as to be bridged between the two parallel cavities 11, so that the two parallel cavities 11 are arranged. The strength is improved compared to the case where the retainer is provided intermittently every time.

  Further, if the slider 30 is mistakenly inserted when the female terminal fitting 12 is in the half-inserted state, the half-insertion detecting surface 61 contacts the half-inserted female terminal fitting 12 and further insertion of the slider 30 is restricted. It can be known that the female terminal fitting 12 is in the half-inserted state.

  When the slider 30 is in a standby position where the upper retainer portion 36A and the lower retainer portion 36B are retracted to a position that allows the female terminal fitting 12 to be inserted into and removed from the cavity 11, the slider 30 is positioned relative to the female housing 10. Thus, the female terminal fitting 12 can be inserted while the slider 30 is held in the standby position in advance.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the slider 30 has a substantially rectangular single plate shape that is long in the left-right direction as a whole. However, the slider 30 can be widely applied to various other forms of sliders. It can also be applied to a slider formed in a gate shape.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the upper retainer portion 36A and the lower retainer portion 36B are provided separately in a pair of left and right. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the left and right retainer portions may be connected. Good.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the upper-stage retainer portion 30A and the lower-stage retainer portion 36B are provided with the half-insertion detection surface 61. The half-insertion detection surface 61 is provided with a tapered surface to push the slider. Along with this, the terminal connecting portion may be brought into sliding contact with the tapered surface, and the female terminal fitting may be pushed into the normal insertion position to correct the position.

  (4) In the above embodiment, the upper-stage retainer portion 36A and the lower-stage retainer portion 36B are arranged at positions where their front edge positions are substantially aligned in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. When the metal fitting is inserted into the cavity, the metal fitting may be displaced in the front-rear direction in accordance with the size of the terminal metal fitting.

  (5) In the above embodiment, it has been described that the slider 30 is in the state of being pulled out to the temporary locking position when the female housing 10 is transported. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the slider 30 is pushed into the main locking position. All the female terminal fittings 12 may be transported in a secondary locked state. Of course, in this case, it is necessary to return the slider 30 to the temporary locking position again when mating with the male housing 50.

Plan sectional view of the connector in this embodiment Front view of female housing Top view of female housing Side view of female housing from left Side sectional view of female housing with female terminal fittings inserted Side view of female housing Flat cross-sectional view of the connector in the temporarily locked state Top view of the slider as seen from above Top view of the slider as seen from below Front view of slider Side view of the slider from the right Front view of male housing Cross section of male housing Side sectional view of male housing Front view showing a state in which the slider is inserted into the female housing to the temporary locking position The top view showing the state where the slider was inserted in the female housing to the temporary locking position Plan sectional view showing how the slider moves from the temporary locking position to the final locking position Plan sectional view showing the state where the slider has reached the final locking position Flat cross section showing how the slider is pulled out

Explanation of symbols

10: Female housing (second connector housing)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Cavity 12 ... Female terminal metal fitting 13 ... Lance 15 ... Slider accommodating part 15A ... Upper stage communication part 15B ... Lower stage communication part 30 ... Slider 31 ... Cam groove 32 ... Main body part 36A ... Upper stage retainer part 36B ... Lower stage retainer part 50 ... Male housing (first connector housing)
56 ... cam pin 61 ... half-insertion detection surface

Claims (5)

A first connector housing provided with a cam pin;
A second connector housing provided with a cavity that can be fitted into the first connector housing and that can be inserted and removed in the direction along the fitting direction and that has a lance that can be primarily locked to the terminal fitting. When,
A cam groove that engages with the cam pin and a slider that is slidably assembled to the second connector housing in a direction intersecting with the fitting direction of the two connector housings;
In the connector in which the two connector housings are fitted by cam action by engagement of the cam pin and the cam groove by assembling the slider.
The slider is provided with a retainer portion that prevents the terminal fitting from coming off by being secondarily locked to the terminal fitting inserted into the cavity when the slider is assembled to the second connector housing. Connector. The second connector housing is provided with a slider accommodating portion into which the slider can be inserted so as to intersect the cavity.
Between the slider accommodating portion and each of the cavities, a communication portion for communicating them with each other is formed along the insertion direction of the slider,
The retainer portion passes along the communication portion as the slider is inserted into the slider accommodating portion, and is positioned on the insertion / extraction path of the terminal fitting in each cavity when the insertion of the slider is completed. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is secondarily locked to the terminal fitting. A semi-insertion detection surface is provided at a front portion of the retainer portion in the insertion direction of the slider so as to abut against the terminal fitting in a semi-insertion state and restrict the sliding movement of the slider as the slider is inserted. The connector according to claim 2. A plurality of the cavities are formed in parallel along the insertion direction of the slider,
4. The connector according to claim 3, wherein the retainer portion is formed in a long continuous form along the insertion direction of the slider so as to be bridged between the cavities arranged in parallel. 5. The slider has a plate-like main body portion that is accommodated in the slider accommodating portion, while the cavity is arranged separately in the upper and lower directions in the thickness direction of the main body portion,
5. The slider according to claim 1, wherein the slider is disposed between the upper and lower cavities, and the retainer portion is disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the main body portion. The connector described.

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