JP4496475B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

As shown in Patent Document 1 below, the conventional connector has a structure in which an elastic contact piece is provided inside the main body portion of the female terminal fitting, and the male tab is elastically sandwiched between the main body portion and the contact portion. Yes. In this case, when the connectors are fitted to each other, the male tab of the male terminal fitting is expanded in the space between the main body portion and the elastic contact piece, and the fitting operation is performed in a slidable contact state. .
JP-A-5-182712

However, in this case, since the terminal portions that are in contact with each other are made of metal and are fitted in a pressed state, the insertion force applied to the fitting becomes very large due to the frictional resistance between the metals. . Here, in order to reduce resistance due to the terminal portion, the male tab is inserted in a state where the space between the main body portion and the elastic contact piece is expanded in advance, and after the insertion of the male tab is completed, A method is conceivable in which connection is made by closing the contact piece. At this time, in order to widen the space between the main body and the elastic contact piece, a means such as providing another member and pushing the elastic contact piece down with a finger can be considered. However, this means makes the fitting operation complicated. Therefore, there is a problem that operability is lowered.
The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to push down an elastic contact piece in accordance with a fitting operation, thereby realizing a low insertion force of a connector.

As means for achieving the above object, according to the invention of claim 1, one connector housing made of synthetic resin has a hood portion, and a sliding contact surface is formed on the inner surface side of the hood portion. A male tab protrudes from the back of the part, and the other connector housing made of synthetic resin can be fitted into the hood part, has a lock arm that can be bent, and can accommodate a female terminal fitting inside. the inside of the female terminal fittings provided to be deflectable resilient contact piece, an electrically connected by the contact portion provided on the elastic contact piece is in contact with the male tab, said locking arm is locked butt has a part, the locking projection is the lock arm is pushed down by sliding contact with the sliding surface, hold until the fitting operation reaches completion depressed position of the lock arm substance In the connector at the completion of the fitting operation to lock the fitted state the locking arm in said locking projection passes through the sliding contact surface is elastically restored, the lock arm, the fitting While the pressing part is formed so as to avoid interference with the male tab entering the female terminal metal fitting with the operation, a receiving part is formed on the elastic contact piece , and the pressing part is Before the male tab contacts the contact portion, the receiving portion is pressed, and the elastic contact piece is elastically deformed in a direction away from the male tab. However, the receiving is accompanied by the elastic return of the lock arm. It is characterized in that the pressing to the part is released and the contact part comes into contact with the male tab .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the elastic contact piece is formed by folding back from a front edge of the female terminal fitting, and the receiving portion extends behind the contact portion. It is characterized by being formed.

<Invention of Claim 1>
As the fitting operation starts, the lock projection comes into sliding contact with the sliding contact surface, and the pressing portion is pushed down by this sliding contact. The pressing portion is pushed down before the male tab contacts the contact portion, and the elastic contact piece is elastically deformed in the direction away from the male tab by the pressing operation by the pressing portion , so that the fitting resistance is reduced. It is possible to reduce the insertion force.

<Invention of Claim 2>
The elastic contact piece is formed by folding back from the front edge of the female terminal fitting, and the receiving part is formed to extend behind the contact part. As a result, it is possible to reduce the insertion force in the fitting operation of the entire connector.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The connector in the present embodiment includes a male connector M and a female connector F. In the following description, the front-rear direction is based on the mating direction and the mating surface side is the front, and the width direction and the height direction are based on FIG.

  The male connector M includes a male connector housing 10 made of synthetic resin. The male connector housing 10 includes a hood portion 11 formed in a horizontally long block shape as a whole and an arch portion 13 formed over the entire length in the front-rear direction at the center of the upper surface portion. A male tab 12 is formed in the back of the hood portion 11 so as to protrude forward. The rear portion of the male tab 12 from the hood portion 11 is bent at a substantially right angle downward, and its lower end portion is connected to a printed circuit board (not shown) by soldering. On the other hand, the arch portion 13 is bulged and formed in a shape that opens forward and covers a lock arm 23 and a protective wall 24, which will be described later, when fitting is completed. A vertically long locking hole 13 </ b> C is provided in a substantially latter half portion of the arch portion 13.

  The female connector F includes a female connector housing 20 made of synthetic resin, and can be fitted into the hood portion 11 of the male connector M. The female connector housing 20 includes a main body portion 21 formed in a horizontally long block shape as a whole and a lock arm 23 formed in a long shape in the front and rear at the center in the width direction on the upper surface portion. Inside the main body 21, four cavities 22 are formed in the front-rear direction and are formed at equal intervals in the width direction. Further, protective walls 24 are arranged on both sides of the lock arm 23 in the width direction so as to be along the side surfaces of the lock arm 23. Although the protective wall 24 is formed in a cantilever shape from the front part to the rear part of the main body part 21, the rear end part is restricted from bending in the vertical direction.

A female terminal fitting 30 can be inserted into the cavity 22 from behind. The female terminal fitting 30 is stopped by the front wall 25 of the cavity 22, and the lance 14 provided on the lower surface of the cavity 22 is elastically locked. The front wall 25 is formed with a tab insertion opening 26 for the male tab 12 to enter and a jig insertion opening H for releasing the lance 14 by inserting a release jig (not shown) from the front. ing.

  In the female terminal fitting 30, a substantially front half portion is a rectangular tube portion 31 that is connected to the male tab 12, and a substantially rear half portion is a barrel portion 32 that is connected to the electric wire W. The barrel portion 32 includes a wire barrel portion 32A for crimping and connecting the core portion of the electric wire W, and an insulation barrel portion 32B for crimping and connecting the covering portion of the electric wire W. The rectangular tube portion 31 is provided with an elastic contact piece 33 so that the elastic contact piece 33 can be bent by folding back from the lower portion of the front edge. Further, a contact protrusion 34 is formed on the upper surface of the rectangular tube portion 31 by being knocked inward. Furthermore, a stopper 37 is formed by cutting and raising a part of the rectangular tube portion 31 at a lower angle at a right angle toward the inside, thereby restricting excessive bending of the elastic contact piece 33 and raising and lowering the elastic contact piece 33. This portion is a lance hole 40 in which the lance 14 enters and locks.

  In detail, the elastic contact piece 33 is formed so that the contact portion 35 protrudes toward the contact protrusion 34 at the substantially central portion of the square tube portion 31, and the contact portion extends from the folded portion 33 </ b> A at the front edge of the square tube portion 31. 35, a gentle ascending slope is formed from the contact portion 35 to the vicinity of the rear end of the rectangular tube portion 31. After a steep ascending gradient in the vicinity of the rear end of the rectangular tube portion 31, the lock arm 23 is moved. Is in a substantially horizontal shape again at substantially the same height position as the contact protrusion 34 when this is in a natural state, and this horizontal portion extends rearward to form a receiving portion 36. The receiving portion 36 is positioned behind the rectangular tube portion 31 and in front of the wire barrel portion 32A, and is disposed so as not to interfere with the male tab 12 in the normal fitting state.

  The lock arm 23 is cantilevered from the front end portion of the upper surface of the main body portion 21 with the base end portion 27 to the rear, and the rear end side is tilted and displaced elastically in the vertical direction with the base end portion 27 as a fulcrum. It is provided as possible. At the rear end of the lock arm 23, an operation portion 28 is formed in an arch shape that is one step higher, and can be unlocked by being pushed down with a finger. In addition, a lock protrusion 29 is formed on the upper surface of the lock arm 23 at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction. When the male and female connector housings 20 and 10 are properly fitted, the locking hole 13C of the arch 13 is formed. Can be locked.

  The lock protrusion 29 is a guide surface 29A formed in an arc shape having a gentle downward slope on the upper surface side toward the front lower portion, and a locking surface 29B whose rear surface is substantially vertical. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the front portion of the arch portion 13 of the male connector housing 10 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape having a horizontally long cross section, and its lower surface side is in the middle of fitting of both connectors M and F. Thus, the guide surface 29A of the lock arm 23 is slidably contacted with the contact surface 13A, and the rear surface of the lock arm 23 is engaged with the engagement surface 29B of the lock arm 23 when the connectors M and F are completely fitted. The locked surface 13B is used.

  Incidentally, a pressing portion 38 that presses down the elastic contact piece 33 is suspended from the lower surface of the lock arm 23 and substantially directly below the lock projection 29. As shown in FIG. 5, the pressing portion 38 has a long base portion 38B protruding with a width dimension over the length range of all the cavities 22 of the female connector housing 20, and the bottom surface of the base portion 38B is provided with each cavity. A plurality of protrusions 38 </ b> A (see FIG. 7) protrude downward corresponding to 22. On the other hand, an opening 39 through which the lower side of the pressing portion 38 can be inserted is formed in the upper surface portion of the female connector housing 20. The opening 39 opens over a width range communicating with all the cavities 22 of the female connector housing 20. The opening 39 has a front end position that substantially coincides with the rear end of the rectangular tube portion 31, and the receiving portion 36 faces the opening 39. When the lock arm 23 is in a natural state, the lower end of the protrusion 38A is protruded into the opening, but is substantially coincident with the upper surface of the cavity 22 or is located at a retracted height. 30 is not disturbed. Further, the pressing portion 38 is brought into contact with the receiving portion 36 in association with the pressing operation of the lock arm 23 when the connectors M and F are fitted, and the elastic contact piece 33 of each female terminal fitting 30 is brought into contact with the receiving portion 36. Can be pushed down all at once. As shown in FIG. 2, the contact portion 35 is configured so that the pressing operation by the pressing portion 38 is completed before coming into contact with the male tab 12. When the pressing operation is completed, the contact portion 35 is in contact with the male tab 12. It is set to a height position that does not.

This embodiment has the structure as described above, and the operation thereof will be described subsequently.
First, the connectors M and F are engaged. When the female connector housing 20 is inserted into the hood portion 11 and the guide surface 29A of the lock projection 29 is brought into contact with the lower front end of the sliding contact surface 13A of the arch portion 13, the lock arm 23 is moved downward on the operation portion 28 side. Pushed down. At this time, since the pressing portion 38 is pushed downward along with the pushing-down operation of the lock arm 23, the lower end portion of the protrusion 38A comes into contact with the receiving portion 36, and the elastic contact piece 33 is pushed downward. As shown in FIG. 2, the elastic contact piece 33 is pushed down before the male tab 12 abuts on the contact portion 35, so that the male tab 12 passes between the contact portion 35 and the contact protrusion 34. The insertion force can be reduced at the position shown in FIG. 3 without increasing the fitting resistance. Thereafter, when the front end portion of the female connector housing 20 reaches the inner end of the hood portion 11, the lock projection 29 of the lock arm 23 passes through the sliding contact surface 13A and is elastically returned to the engagement surface 29B. Since the locking surface 13B is locked with each other, the normal fitting state of both the connectors M and F is locked. At this time, the pressing of the receiving portion 36 by the pressing portion 38 is released along with the elastic return of the lock arm 23, so that the male tab 12 is elastically sandwiched between the contact portion 35 and the contact protrusion 34. Sufficient contact pressure can be obtained.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the locking arm 23 is pushed down with the start of the fitting operation of both the connectors M and F, the locking is performed before the male tab 12 contacts the contact portion 35. Since the pressing portion 38 connected to the arm 23 presses and pushes down the receiving portion 36 provided on the elastic contact piece 33, the male tab 12 expands between the contact portion 35 and the contact protrusion 34. Thus, it is possible to achieve a low insertion force without causing a fitting resistance that occurs when the vehicle enters the vehicle. Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the force which presses the receiving part 36 by providing the receiving part 36 behind the contact part 35 and using the mechanical lever which makes the folding | returning part 33A a fulcrum. As a result, the insertion force can be reduced in the fitting operation of the entire connector.

  In the present embodiment, the pressing operation of the lock arm 23 in the fitting operation of both the connectors M and F is used as it is, and the elastic contact piece 33 can be pressed down by the pressing portion 38. Therefore, it is possible to realize a low insertion force only by a normal fitting operation without deteriorating operability.

<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 Embodiment 1, although the thing which formed the receiving part in the back of the contact part was illustrated, if the contact part can be pushed down, the position which forms a receiving part will not be limited.

Sectional drawing which shows the state before the fitting start of a male connector and a female connector in this embodiment Sectional drawing which shows the state before a male tab contacts a contact part in the middle of the fitting Sectional drawing which shows the state which the male tab contacted the contact part in the middle of the fitting Sectional view showing the state when the mating is completed Top view of female connector housing Front view of female connector housing VII-VII line sectional view in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

M ... male connector F ... female connector 10 ... male connector housing 11 ... hood part 12 ... male tab 20 ... female connector housing 23 ... lock arm 30 ... female terminal fitting 35 ... contact part 36 ... receiving part 38 ... pressing part

Claims (2)

One connector housing made of synthetic resin has a hood portion, the the inner surface of the hood portion sliding surface is formed, the deeper the same hood portion is formed by projecting male tabs, made of a synthetic resin other The connector housing can be fitted into the hood portion and includes a lock arm that can be bent, and a female terminal fitting can be accommodated therein, and an elastic contact piece can be bent inside the female terminal fitting. The contact portion provided on the elastic contact piece contacts the male tab for electrical connection, the lock arm has a lock projection, and the lock projection slides on the sliding surface. in depressed the lock arm while until the fitting operation reaches completion holds the depressed position of the lock arm, at the completion of the fitting operation is the lock projection the A connector wherein the locking arm to lock the fitted state by elastic return by passing through the contact surface,
The lock arm is formed with a pressing portion so as to avoid interference with the male tab that enters the female terminal fitting in accordance with the fitting operation, while the elastic contact piece has a receiving portion. Part is formed,
The pressing portion presses the receiving portion before the male tab contacts the contact portion, and elastically deforms the elastic contact piece in a direction away from the male tab. Accordingly, the pressing to the receiving portion is released, and the contact portion contacts the male tab . The connector according to claim 1, wherein the elastic contact piece is formed by folding back from a front edge of the female terminal fitting, and the receiving portion is formed to extend behind the contact portion.

Images