JP4950797B2 - Connector with movable guide member - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention protects the protruding tip of a male terminal and guides the connection with a female terminal until it is fitted to the other connector inside one connector containing a male terminal (" The present invention relates to a connector with a movable guide member, which is also referred to as “moving plate or aligning plate”.

  In general, when a male / female connector is to be fitted, a male / female connector can be obtained by providing a cylindrical hood at the front of one connector housing and fitting the other connector housing inside the hood. The fitting position of the housing was regulated to achieve accurate connection between the male and female terminals.

  However, if the fitting position of the male / female connector housing is restricted only by the peripheral wall of the hood part, a very high molding technique that requires deformation after molding is required, which increases the cost.

  Therefore, normally, as in the example described in Patent Document 1, for example, a guide groove is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion of one connector housing, and the guide groove is slidable on the outer peripheral surface of the other connector housing. A guide convex portion that fits into the guide groove is provided, and the fitting position of the connector is regulated by a sliding operation of the guide groove and the guide convex portion.

  Further, as shown in the example of FIG. 10, a guide rib 903 that is parallel to the peripheral wall of the hood portion 901F is projected inside the hood portion 901F of one connector housing 901, and the guide rib 902 is fitted to the other connector housing 902. In some cases, a round rib receiving groove 904 is provided, and the fitting positions of the connector housings 901 and 902 are regulated by the sliding operation of the guide rib 903 and the rib receiving groove 904.

  By the way, although the example described in Patent Document 1 and the example shown in FIG. 10 are good for accurately determining the fitting position between the connector housings, in the case of a connector that actually needs to connect a large number of terminals, If the male terminal and the female terminal are not accurately positioned at the same time as the positioning of the connector housings, there is a problem that the protruding tip of the male terminal causes “sticking” to the mating connector housing.

  In order to solve this problem, the protruding tip of the male terminal is protected and the connection with the female terminal is guided to the inside of one connector containing the male terminal until it is fitted to the other connector. There is provided a connector with a moving plate equipped with a moving plate (aligning plate).

  Also in this case, if the positions of the male / female connector housing and the moving plate are not accurately set, there is a possibility of causing a “sticking” problem. Therefore, for example, in the example described in Patent Document 2, the moving plate is used as guide means for guiding the fitting of the male / female connector.

That is, a protruding plate is provided on the moving plate to be inserted into the hood portion of the male connector housing, and the pin is inserted into a guide groove formed in the hood portion of the male connector housing, thereby moving the plate. Is positioned on the male connector housing, and the guide projection formed on the female connector housing is inserted into the guide groove formed on the moving plate, so that the female housing is positioned on the moving plate. The male connector housing and the female connector housing are positioned relative to each other via the moving plate.
JP 2002-198127 A JP 2002-352907 A

  However, even if the male / female connector is positioned via the moving plate, as in the example described in Patent Document 2, the moving plate and the male connector housing are positioned by connecting the pins on the moving plate side to the male connector. The positioning of the moving plate and the female connector housing is performed by inserting the guide groove on the moving connector side into the guide groove on the female connector housing side. As a guide means, it is necessary to form different types of pins and guide grooves, which is cumbersome to manufacture and may cause relative dimensional tolerances during molding, increasing the positioning accuracy of male and female terminals. Then, it is not preferable.

  In particular, in the case of a multi-pole connector, the feeling of insertion can be reduced by the operator's hand because a large connector fitting force (insertion force) is secured by tightening bolts and a large connector fitting force (insertion force) is secured by lever operation. Therefore, there is also a problem that a slight misalignment between terminals tends to lead to a fatal defect.

  In consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention can accurately perform the positioning of the connector housings and the positioning of the male / female terminals via the moving plate (movable guide member) without adding much trouble in production. An object is to provide a connector.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of male terminals and a plurality of female terminals are accommodated in each connector housing, and the other connector housing is fitted inside the hood portion of one connector housing that accommodates the male terminals. Thus, a pair of connectors that electrically connect the male terminal and the female terminal, and a hood portion of one connector housing that accommodates the male terminal are inserted into the inside of the hood portion, and in the initial state before the fitting of both connectors, A movable guide that is positioned and protects the protruding tips of the plurality of male terminals and is pushed by the other connector to move to the rear side when both connectors are fitted, thereby guiding the connection of the male terminal to each female terminal And a guide along the fitting direction of the two connectors on the hood portion of the one connector housing and the other connector housing. Are formed, and are slidably engaged with the guide groove of the hood portion of the one connector housing, so that the position of the movable guide member relative to the one connector housing is determined. And a second guide projection that determines the position of the other connector housing relative to the movable guide member by slidably engaging with the guide groove of the other connector housing, and the first guide housing The guide convex portion and the second guide convex portion are formed on the outer edge portion and the inner edge portion of the integral strip-shaped rib.

  A second aspect of the present invention is the connector with a movable guide member according to the first aspect, wherein two ribs are provided in parallel on the outer edge of the movable guide member, and between the two ribs. An elastic locking arm for locking the movable guide member to the one connector housing is disposed.

  The invention of claim 3 is a connector with a movable guide member according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the movable guide member is in an initial state before the connector is fitted between the movable guide member and the one connector housing. Temporary locking means for allowing the movable guide member to move to the final locking position by temporarily locking the front locking position at the front temporary locking position and releasing the temporary locking as the connector is fitted. It is provided.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the movable guide member is inserted into the inside of the hood portion of one of the connector housings, the movable guide member moves from the front position to the rear position as the two connectors are fitted. When moving, the first guide convex portion slides in a state of being engaged with the guide groove formed in the hood portion of one connector housing, so that the movable guide member can be guided with high accuracy, and one connector The position of the movable guide member relative to the housing can be accurately obtained.

  In addition, when the two connectors are fitted, the second guide projection of the movable guide member slides in a state where the guide groove of the other connector housing is engaged with the fitting. The other connector housing can be accurately positioned with respect to the movable guide member.

  At this time, since the movable guide member protects the tip of the male terminal and maintains its position with high accuracy, the female terminal is attached to the movable guide member by the guiding action of the second guide convex portion and the guide groove. The accommodated mating connector housing can be accurately positioned, whereby the male terminal can be accurately guided with respect to the female terminal. Accordingly, there is no “sticking” of the terminals, and a smooth connector connection can be performed.

  In particular, since the first guide convex portion and the second guide convex portion are formed on the outer edge portion and the inner edge portion of the integral rib, the gap between the first guide convex portion and the second guide convex portion. Relative dimensional tolerances can be minimized. Therefore, the positioning of both connectors can be performed with high accuracy, and defective connections can be eliminated. Further, since the guide groove can be positioned on the plate surface of the strip-shaped rib and the side end surface of the rib, the positional relationship between the two connector housings and the movable guide member on the surface orthogonal to the connector fitting direction can be determined. It can be determined with high accuracy. Further, since the movable guide member is simply provided with the ribs and the guide grooves are provided in both the connector housings, it can be realized at a low cost with little increase in the trouble of manufacturing.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the two ribs that perform the guide action are provided in parallel, the positional relationship between the two connector housings and the movable guide member can be determined more accurately. In addition, since the elastic locking arm is disposed between the two ribs, the elastic locking arm can be protected by the rib when the movable guide member is handled.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the movable guide member can be temporarily locked in the hood portion of one connector housing, the movable guide member is kept alone until the connector is connected. There is no need, and handling of parts is easy.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the embodiment before the connector is fitted, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a detailed configuration of a moving plate (movable guide member) inserted into the hood portion of the male connector housing, and FIG. 3 is a male connector. FIG. 4 is a rear view of the male connector housing, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 3 at the initial stage of connector fitting, and FIG. 6 is a connector. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 3 in the initial stage of fitting, FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 3 in the initial stage of connector fitting, and FIG. 8 is the same as FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this connector includes a male connector (a connector on the side in which a male terminal is accommodated) 100 and a female connector (a connector on the side in which a female terminal is accommodated) 200, and a male connector 100. And a moving plate (movable guide member) 150 that is slidably mounted in a connector fitting direction (front-rear direction) from a front opening in a hood portion 101F of a connector housing (hereinafter referred to as a male connector housing) 101. Has been.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the male connector 100 is obtained by mounting a male terminal (not shown) in a cavity 112 formed in the block wall portion 110 on the rear side of the male connector housing 101. The female connector 200 can be fitted inside the rectangular tube-shaped hood portion 101F. The male connector housing 101 has a front square shape having an upper wall 101A, a lower wall 101B, and left and right side walls 101C.

  The female connector 200 has female terminals (not shown) mounted in cavities 212 formed in the female connector housing 201. The female connector housing 201 also fits inside the hood portion 101F of the male connector housing 101. In this way, a front square block shape having an upper wall 201A, a lower wall 201B, and left and right side walls 201C is formed.

  Further, the female connector 200 is provided with a bolt 800 for connecting to a nut 132 fixed to the central boss 130 of the male connector 100 at the center as viewed from the front. Around the bolt 800, a rectangular tube portion 230 that fits into the prismatic central boss portion 130 of the male connector 100 is provided. Then, as the bolt 800 is fastened to the nut 132, the female connector 200 can be gradually fitted to the male connector 100.

  Further, a rectangular moving plate 150 is mounted from the front inside the hood portion 101F of the male connector 100, and the male terminal held by a lance (not shown) is slidably protected by the moving plate 150. ing. The male terminal and the female terminal are electrically connected to each other in a state in which the male / female connectors 100 and 200 are completely fitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the moving plate 150 is formed with a large number of through holes 153 and 154 for guiding the male terminal on the main body plate 151 until the mating with the female terminal on the counterpart female connector 200 side. The male terminal is held in place to prevent unnecessary deformation of the protruding tip of the male terminal, and when mated with the mating female connector 200, it is pushed by the connector housing 201 of the mating connector 200, and the front temporary It slides from the locking position to the rear main locking position to perform the function of guiding the fitting of the male terminal and the female terminal.

  For temporary locking, a temporary locking engagement portion 156 and an elastic locking arm 160 are provided on the left and right side edges of the moving plate 150. In addition, a temporary locking elastic arm (temporary locking means) 104 and an engaging convex portion 105 are provided inside the male connector housing 101.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the temporary locking elastic arm 104 is provided with a hook 104 a that temporarily locks the moving plate 150 by engaging with an engaging portion 156 provided on the moving plate 150. At the same time, when the female connector housing 201 enters the front side of the female connector 100 when the male and female connectors 100 and 200 are fitted, the female connector housing 201 is brought into contact with the female connector housing 201 to temporarily engage the female connector housing 201. An inclined wall 104b for receiving a force that bends the elastic stopper arm 104 in the unlocking direction (outward as shown in FIG. 8) is provided.

  The temporary locking elastic arm 104 on the male connector housing 101 side is configured to prevent the moving plate 150 from moving rearward when the hook 104 a engages with the engaging portion 156.

  Further, the elastic locking arm 160 on the moving plate 150 side shown in FIG. 7 is formed in a plate spring shape that can be flexed inward and outward, and gets over the engagement convex portion 105 on the female connector housing 101 side to engage with the engagement. By engaging with the convex portion 105, the moving plate 150 is prevented from moving forward.

  The elastic locking arm 160 is a rectangular plate-shaped piece having a distal end 162 extending rearward from a base end 161 connected to the main body plate 151 and having a hook 163 on the outer surface of the distal end 162. The upright edge 164 is provided.

  Then, by the locking action of these engaging means, the moving plate 150 can be temporarily locked at a predetermined position on the front side that protects the protruding tip of the male terminal in the initial state before the connector is fitted.

  Further, the inner surface (the inner surface of the left and right side walls 101C) of the hood portion 101F of the male connector housing 101 and the outer surface (the outer surface of the left and right side walls 201C) of the female connector housing 201 are aligned along the fitting direction of both the connectors 100 and 200. Guide grooves 106 and 206 are respectively formed.

  On the other hand, on the left and right side edges of the moving plate 150 are provided strip-like ribs 170 that function as guide means. Two ribs 170 are provided on the left and right side edges of the moving plate 150, respectively, and the elastic locking arm 160 is disposed between the two parallel ribs 170, and the two ribs 170 are provided. Thus, the elastic locking arm 160 is protected.

  These ribs 170 are formed such that the plate surface is directed in the vertical direction, the plate width direction is directed in the left-right direction, and the length direction is directed in a direction perpendicular to the main body plate 151 of the moving plate 150. And a shape protruding from the rear surface by a predetermined dimension. Further, half of the plate width direction is formed so as to protrude from the left and right side edges of the main body plate 151.

  In this case, the outer half (outer edge) of each rib 170 in the plate width direction is slidably engaged with the guide groove 106 on the male connector housing 101 side, so that the position of the moving plate 150 with respect to the male connector housing 101 is changed. The inner half (inner edge) in the plate width direction of each rib 170 is slidably engaged with the guide groove 206 on the female connector housing 201 side. It is configured to function as a second guide convex portion 172 that determines the position of the female connector housing 201 with respect to the moving plate 150, and the first guide convex portion 171 and the second guide convex portion are formed on one rib 170. The part 172 is integrally formed.

  Note that spring pieces 155 for absorbing backlash between the moving plate 150 and the male connector housing 101 are provided on the upper and lower side edges of the moving plate 150. In addition, a square hole 152 that avoids interference with the central boss portion 130 of the male connector housing 101 and the rectangular tube portion 230 of the female connector housing 201 is provided at the center of the moving plate 150.

  Next, the operation will be described.

  Prior to the fitting of the male / female connectors 100, 200, first, the moving plate 150 is inserted into the hood portion 101 </ b> F of the male connector housing 101. At that time, since the first guide convex portion 171 of the rib 170 slides in a state of being engaged with the guide groove 106 formed in the hood portion 101F of the male connector housing 101, the moving plate 150 can be accurately guided. Thus, the moving plate 150 can be inserted into the male connector housing 101 in a state of being accurately positioned.

  When the moving plate 150 is thus inserted into the hood portion 101F of the male connector housing 101, the moving plate 150 is engaged with the temporary locking elastic arm 104 and the engaging portion 156 as shown in FIGS. And the engagement convex portion 105 is engaged with the elastic locking arm 160 to be temporarily locked at the temporary locking position on the front side.

  Next, when fitting the male / female connectors 100, 200, the female connector 200 is inserted into the hood portion 101F of the male connector housing 101, and the bolt 800 is fastened to the nut 132, thereby fitting to the final position.

  At this time, first, the front end of the female connector housing 201 is brought into contact with the inclined wall 104b of the temporary locking elastic arm 104, so that the temporary locking elastic arm 104 is in the locking release direction (outside) as shown in FIG. ) And the temporary locking of the moving plate 150 with respect to the engaging portion 156 is released.

  In this state, the moving plate 150 can be moved, and further, by continuing the fitting operation of the connectors 100 and 200, the female connector 200 comes into direct contact with the moving plate 150 and the moving plate 150 is pushed and moved. The When the male / female connectors 100 and 200 are completely fitted, the moving plate 150 is moved to the final locking position.

  In the process, the moving plate 150 is inserted to the final locking position in a state where the moving plate 150 is accurately positioned by the guiding action of the first guide convex portion 171 of the rib 170 of the moving plate 150 and the guide groove 106 of the male connector housing 101. The

  Further, as both connectors 100 and 200 are fitted, the second guide convex portion 172 of the rib 170 of the moving plate 150 slides in a state where the guide groove 206 of the female connector housing 201 is engaged. The housing 201 is guided with high accuracy, and the position of the female connector housing 201 with respect to the moving plate 150 is accurately obtained.

  In particular, the moving plate 150 protects the tip of the male terminal and maintains its position with high precision. Therefore, the moving plate 150 is moved relative to the moving plate 150 by the guiding action of the second guide convex portion 172 and the guide groove 206. By accurately positioning the connector housing 201, the male terminal can be accurately guided with respect to the female terminal. Accordingly, there is no “sticking” of the terminals, and a smooth connector connection can be performed.

  In this case, since the first guide convex portion 171 and the second guide convex portion 172 are formed on the outer edge portion and the inner edge portion of one rib 170, the first guide convex portion 171 and the second guide convex portion 172 are formed. The relative dimensional tolerance between the guide protrusions 172 can be minimized, and therefore, the connectors 100 and 200 can be positioned with high accuracy and defective connections can be eliminated. Further, since the guide grooves 106 and 206 are positioned by the plate surface of the strip-shaped rib 170 and the side end surface of the rib 170, both connector housings in the plane orthogonal to the connector 100, 200 fitting direction are used. The positional relationship between 101 and 201 and the moving plate 150 can be determined with high accuracy.

  In addition, since two ribs 170 that perform a guide action are provided in parallel and the elastic locking arm 160 is disposed between the two ribs 170, the elastic locking arm is held by the rib 170 when the moving plate 150 is handled. 160 can be safely protected.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the moving plate 150 can be temporarily locked in the hood part 101F of the male connector housing 101, the moving plate 150 is used until the male and female connectors 100 and 200 are connected. There is no need to keep it alone, and handling of the parts is easy.

It is an external appearance perspective view before the fitting of the connector of embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the detailed structure of the moving plate (movable guide member) inserted in the food | hood part of a male connector housing. It is a front view which shows the state which inserted the moving plate in the food | hood part of a male connector housing. It is a rear view of a male connector housing. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 3 at the initial stage of connector fitting. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. It is a VII-VII line arrow directional cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 in the connector fitting initial stage. It is sectional drawing similar to FIG. 6 at the time of connector main fitting. It is sectional drawing similar to FIG. 7 at the time of connector main fitting. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the conventional connector.

Explanation of symbols

100 Male Connector 101 Male Connector Housing 101F Hood 104 Elastic Arm for Temporary Locking 150 Moving Plate (movable guide member)
151 Body Plate 160 Elastic Locking Arm 170 Rib 171 First Guide Convex 172 Second Guide Convex 200 Female Connector 201 Female Connector Housing 206 Guide Groove

Claims (3)

A plurality of male terminals and a plurality of female terminals are accommodated in each connector housing, and by fitting the other connector housing into the inside of the hood portion of the one connector housing accommodating the male terminals, A pair of connectors for electrically connecting female terminals;
Inserted inside the hood part of one connector housing containing the male terminal, in the initial state before the fitting of both connectors, located on the front side to protect the protruding tips of the plurality of male terminals, At the time of fitting, it has a movable guide member that is pushed by the other connector and moves to the rear side, thereby guiding the connection of the male terminal to each female terminal,
Guide grooves along the fitting direction of the two connectors are respectively formed in the hood portion of the one connector housing and the other connector housing,
The movable guide member is slidably engaged with the guide groove of the hood portion of the one connector housing so as to be slidable, and the first guide convex portion that determines the position of the movable guide member with respect to the one connector housing; By slidably engaging with the guide groove of the connector housing, a second guide convex portion that determines the position of the other connector housing with respect to the movable guide member is formed, and the first guide convex portion and the first guide convex portion 2. A connector with a movable guide member, characterized in that two guide convex portions are formed on an outer edge portion and an inner edge portion of an integral belt-like rib. It is a connector with a movable guide member according to claim 1,
Two ribs are provided in parallel on the outer edge of the movable guide member, and an elastic locking arm for locking the movable guide member to the one connector housing is provided between the two ribs. A connector with a movable guide member, characterized by being arranged. A connector with a movable guide member according to claim 1 or 2,
Between the movable guide member and the one connector housing, the movable guide member is temporarily locked at a temporary locking position on the front side in an initial state before the connector is fitted, and temporarily locked with the fitting of the connector. A connector with a movable guide member, characterized in that provisional locking means for allowing movement of the movable guide member to the final locking position is provided when the is released.

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