JP5421795B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector that restricts displacement of a lock arm locked to a mating connector by a retainer.

  A conventional connector of this type is disclosed in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. 19, the female connector 100 that is a connector includes a pair of female terminals 101, a connector housing 110 that houses a pair of ferrite members 102 that hold the pair of female terminals 101, and a retainer 120. The connector housing 110 includes a housing main body 111 and a cover 115 that is mounted so as to cover the housing main body 111.

  The housing body 111 has a pair of lock arms 114 projecting upward. Each lock arm 114 has an inner surface protrusion 114a protruding toward the inner surface side and an outer surface protrusion 114b protruding toward the outer surface side.

  The cover 115 includes a fixed cover portion 116 fixed to the housing main body 111 and a movable cover portion 118 connected to the fixed cover portion 116 via a hinge portion 117. The movable cover portion 118 is simply arranged without being fixed above the housing body 111. The movable cover portion 118 also serves as the operation portion of the retainer 120.

  The retainer 120 includes a movable cover portion 118 as an operation portion, a leaf spring portion 121 integrally formed by bending a notch portion of the movable cover portion 118 downward, and both sides of the movable cover portion 118. And a pair of restriction arms 122 provided vertically.

  The lower end of the leaf spring 121 is in contact with the upper surface of the housing body 111. The movable cover portion 118 is disposed with a gap from the upper surface of the housing body 111 by the spring force of the leaf spring portion 121.

  Each restricting arm 122 has a restricting surface portion 122a at the lowermost portion thereof, and a relief groove 122b above the restricting surface portion 122a. The pair of restricting arms 122 is disposed inside the lock arm 114 of the housing body 111.

  On the other hand, the male connector 130 has a housing body 131 as shown in FIG. The housing main body 131 is formed with a connector fitting chamber 132 having a connector insertion port 132a. In the connector fitting chamber 132, a locked portion 133 is formed at a position deeper than the connector insertion port 132a. A pair of male terminals 134 are erected on the bottom surface of the connector fitting chamber 132.

  Next, an operation for fitting the female connector 100 to the male connector 130 will be described. The female connector 100 is inserted into the connector fitting chamber 132 of the male connector 130 by pressing the movable cover portion 118 thereof. Then, as shown in FIG. 20, the outer surface projections 114 b of the pair of lock arms 114 abut against the peripheral wall of the connector insertion port 132 a of the male connector 130. If the movable cover portion 118 is further pressed from this state, the leaf spring portion 121 is bent and deformed by the reaction force from the male connector 130 side, and the movable cover portion 118 is displaced downward. 122 is also displaced downward. Thereby, the position of the escape groove 122b of the pair of restricting arms 122 and the inner surface protrusions 114a of the pair of lock arms 114 are arranged to face each other. Then, as shown in FIG. 21, the pair of lock arms 114 is elastically displaced to the unlocked position by the reaction force from the male connector 130, and the female connector 100 is inserted into the connector fitting chamber 132.

  When the female connector 100 is inserted to the mating completion position of the connector mating chamber 132, the pair of female terminals 101 and the pair of male terminals 134 are fitted in an appropriate state as shown in FIG. The lock arm 114 is elastically deformed and is locked to the locked portion 133 of the male connector 130. When the pressing force of the movable cover portion 118 is released after the female connector 100 is inserted into the fitting completion position, the movable cover portion 118 is displaced upward by the elastic return deformation of the leaf spring portion 121, and the pair of restriction arms 122 are also moved upward. It is displaced to. As a result, the restricting surface portions 122a of the pair of restricting arms 122 and the inner surface protrusions 114a of the pair of lock arms 114 are opposed to each other, and the displacement of the pair of lock arms 114 to the unlocked position is restricted by the pair of restricting arms 122. . Therefore, the female connector 100 and the male connector 130 are fitted with a strong connector fitting force.

Special table 2003-527726 gazette

  However, in the conventional example, when a pressing force from above acts on the movable cover portion 118 that is the operation portion of the retainer 120 at any position, the leaf spring portion 121 is elastically deformed. If the leaf spring 121 is elastically deformed for a long time, the leaf spring 121 may be deformed or damaged. In particular, there is a possibility that a pressing force will act on the movable cover 118 for some reason during product transportation for a long time, and measures to prevent deformation and breakage of the retainer 120 due to external force are required. ing.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of preventing the retainer from being deformed or damaged due to the action of an external force as much as possible.

  The invention of claim 1 has a connector housing having a lock arm that is displaced by elastic deformation from a locked position to an unlocked position, and an operating portion on the pressing side when the connector of the connector housing is fitted, A retainer that is displaced by a pressing force from a restriction position that restricts displacement of the lock arm at the lock position to a restriction release position that permits displacement of the lock arm at the lock position. The connector housing is fitted in such a state that the connector housing is pressed in the connector fitting direction via the operation portion of the retainer, and the retainer is displaced to the restriction release position to allow the lock arm to move to the lock release position. In the mating completion position, the lock arm is locked to the mating connector. A connector that is displaced by elastic return deformation to a lock position, and that the retainer is displaced from a restriction release position to a restriction position by releasing a pressing force to the operation portion, and restricts displacement of the lock arm from the lock position; The operation portion of the retainer is supported with a gap through a support portion on the pressing side when the connector of the connector housing is fitted, and receives a pressing force in the connector fitting direction on both sides around the support portion. Both sides are bent and deformed using the support portion as a bending fulcrum, and the restricting portion of the retainer is displaced from the restricting position to the restricting release position by the bending deformation of the operation portion.

  A second aspect of the invention is the connector according to the first aspect, wherein a pair of auxiliary operation portions arranged in a direction orthogonal to the connector fitting direction are provided on both sides of the operation portion.

  A third aspect of the invention is the connector according to the second aspect, wherein each auxiliary operation portion is provided with a locking protrusion, a pair of finger-holding portions of the connector housing are provided with a locking groove, and the pair of auxiliary operations. In a state where the operation portion is bent and deformed by pressing a portion, the locking protrusion enters the locking groove.

  A fourth aspect of the invention is the connector according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein a large amount of bending deformation of the operation portion can be obtained on a surface of the connector housing where the operation portion is disposed. It is characterized in that a notch portion is provided in.

  A fifth aspect of the present invention is the connector according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein a notch portion is provided at a location of the connector housing corresponding to a root location of the pair of regulating portions of the connector housing. It is characterized by that.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the connector according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the support portion is supported by the connector housing in line contact.

  A seventh aspect of the invention is the connector according to the sixth aspect, wherein the connector housing is provided with a support receiving groove for supporting the support portion.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the operating portion of the retainer is not deformed with the support portion serving as a bending fulcrum unless the pressing force is applied only on both sides of the retainer. The deformation and breakage of the retainer can be prevented as much as possible.

  Further, since the operation portion itself is bent and deformed, the operation portion also serves as a portion corresponding to the leaf spring portion of the conventional example, so that it is possible to save the space of the retainer and simplify the configuration.

  According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, when releasing the connector, the pair of auxiliary operation parts of the retainer are gripped to displace the restriction parts to the restriction release position, and the pair of auxiliary operation parts are Since it is only necessary to pull out the connector housing in the mating releasing direction in the gripped state, the mating releasing operation can be performed by a continuous operation with one hand, and the mating releasing workability is good.

  According to the invention of claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 2, a large pulling force acts from the retainer to the connector housing when pulling out the connector in the mating release direction while holding the pair of auxiliary operation portions. However, since the locking projection of the auxiliary operating part fits into the locking groove of the connector housing and can transmit a large pulling force, it is not necessary to increase the strength of the retainer itself, increasing the strength. It is possible to avoid an increase in the size of the retainer and the like.

  According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the effects of the inventions of claims 1 to 3, the flexure deformation of the operation part can be increased without increasing the height of the support part. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of the semi-fitted state as much as possible because the displacement of the restriction position and restriction release position of the restriction portion can be increased.

  According to the invention of claim 5, in addition to the effects of the inventions of claims 1 to 4, even if the operating portion is bent and deformed, the restricting portion that is displaced along with this does not interfere with the connector housing, so the connector fitting force Reduction.

  In addition, when the base part of the restricting portion interferes with the connector housing, as a result, the position of the tip side that interferes with the lock arm may be displaced from the normal position, and there is a possibility that the lock arm displacement at the lock position cannot be restricted. However, since such a situation can be prevented, a high connector holding force can be maintained.

  According to the invention of claim 6, in addition to the effects of the inventions of claims 1 to 5, the operation portion is bent flexibly with the center line of the support portion as the bending center line, so that the operation portion is bent in a twisted state. A state such as deformation does not occur, and the restricting portion smoothly shifts from the restricting position to the restricting release position. Thereby, the defect of a connector fitting operation | work can be avoided. In addition, since it is not necessary to provide the restricting portion with a guide function, it is possible to avoid an increase in weight due to the addition of the guide function, a complicated mold structure, and the like.

  According to the invention of claim 7, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 6, the retainer is mounted at a predetermined position of the connector housing, and the bending center of the operation portion is set at an accurate position with respect to the connector housing. The restricting portion is displaced more smoothly from the restriction position to the restriction release position.

It is a perspective view before fitting of a female connector and a male connector, showing a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the fitting state of a female connector and a male connector, showing the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of a female connector and a male connector which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of a female connector which shows a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of a female connector which shows a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the retainer which showed 1st Embodiment of this invention and was seen from the lower surface side. It is sectional drawing of the female connector of the state which showed 1st Embodiment of this invention and pressed the retainer. It is sectional drawing which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention and shows the fitting process of a female connector and a male connector. It is sectional drawing which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention and shows the fitting process of a female connector and a male connector. It is sectional drawing which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention and shows the fitting process of a female connector and a male connector. It is sectional drawing which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention and shows the fitting process of a female connector and a male connector. It is sectional drawing which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention and shows the fitting state of a female connector and a male connector. (A) is a female connector in which the retainer installation surface is not provided with a taper surface, and is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the operation portion is bent and deformed. (B) is a female connector in which the retainer installation surface is not provided with a taper surface. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which is and has not bent the operation part. It is sectional drawing of the female connector which raised the support part of the retainer. It is a perspective view of the retainer of a modification. It is a disassembled perspective view of a female connector which shows 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the female connector which shows 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The 2nd Embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a perspective view which shows the deformation | transformation state of a control arm when the root location of a control arm is not controlled, (b) is the case where the root location of a control arm is controlled It is a perspective view which shows the deformation | transformation state of a control arm. It is a disassembled perspective view of the female connector of a prior art example. It is sectional drawing which shows the fitting process of the female connector and male connector of a prior art example. It is sectional drawing which shows the fitting process of the female connector and male connector of a prior art example. It is sectional drawing which shows the fitting state of the female connector and male connector of a prior art example.

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

(First embodiment)
1 to 12 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view before the female connector 1 and the male connector 40 are fitted, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the fitted state of the female connector 1 and the male connector 40. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the female connector 1 and the male connector 40, FIGS. 4 and 5 are exploded perspective views of the female connector 1, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the retainer 30 as seen from the lower surface side, and FIG. FIG. 8 to FIG. 12 are cross-sectional views illustrating the fitting operation of the female connector 1 and the male connector 40, respectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector device A includes a plug-type female connector 1 that is a connector according to the present invention and a socket-type male connector 40 that is a mating connector. For example, it is applied to an automobile airbag system.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the female connector 1 includes a connector housing 2 and a retainer 30 attached to the connector housing 2. The connector housing 2 is composed of a housing body 10 and a cover 20 assembled so as to cover the upper portion thereof. The connector housing 2 accommodates a pair of female terminals 3 and a pair of ferrite members 4 for supporting the pair of female terminals 3 and preventing noise.

  Slide grooves 11 extending in the vertical direction are formed at opposing positions on both side surfaces of the housing body 10. A pair of lock arms 13 are provided at the upper ends of both side surfaces of the housing body 10 and extend downward and are arranged parallel to each slide groove 11 at intervals. A lock portion 14 is provided on the distal end side of each lock arm 13. Each lock portion 14 is displaced from the lock position to the lock release position by elastic deformation of the lock arm 13. A cutout portion 14 a for escaping the arm is formed in the lower portion on the inner surface side of each lock portion 14. The upper and lower portions of the outer surface of each lock portion 14 are each formed with a tapered surface in order to smoothly insert and pull out into the connector fitting chamber 42.

  Finger hooks 15 project from the upper ends of both side surfaces of the housing body 10 and at both outer positions of the pair of lock arms 13. A locking groove portion 15 a is formed at the lower portion of each finger hanging portion 15.

  A pair of terminal insertion ports 16 are opened on the lower surface of the housing body 10. The pair of male terminals 45 of the male connector 40 fitted to the pair of female terminals 3 are inserted from the pair of terminal insertion ports 16.

  The cover 20 has a pair of housing locking arms 21. The pair of housing locking arms 21 and the like are locked to the housing body 10. A retainer installation surface 22 that is one step lower than the peripheral portion is formed on the upper surface of the cover 20, that is, the surface on the pressing side when the connector is fitted. A support receiving groove 23 having a substantially semicircular cross section is formed in the center of the retainer installation surface 22. The support receiving groove 23 is disposed over the entire width of the retainer installation surface 22. Both end portions of the retainer installation surface 22 are formed on tapered surfaces 22a that are notches that gradually incline downward toward each end so as to obtain a large amount of bending deformation on both sides of the operation portion 31 of the retainer 30 described below. ing.

  The retainer 30 includes a plate-shaped operation unit 31, a support unit 32 that protrudes downward from the center position of the bottom surface of the operation unit 31, and a vertically extending from the same left and right positions of the operation unit 31 around the support unit 32. The control arm 33 which is a pair of control portions and a pair of auxiliary operation portions 34 which are suspended from both ends of the operation portion 31 in the same direction as the control arms 33 are provided. The retainer 30 is made of a synthetic resin.

  The operation unit 31 is disposed on the retainer installation surface 22 via a support unit 32. Thereby, the operation part 31 is arrange | positioned at the press side at the time of connector fitting of the connector housing 2. As shown in FIG. The operation unit 31 is disposed on the retainer installation surface 22 with a gap D (shown in FIG. 8). Thereby, the operation part 31 can be bent and deformed by using the support part 32 as a bending fulcrum (bending center line).

  The support part 32 is supported by the retainer installation surface 22 in a state of entering the support receiving groove 23. As shown in FIG. 6A, the support portion 32 has a semicircular cross section on the contact side, and is provided over the entire region in the width direction of the operation portion 31. Thereby, the support part 32 is supported by the cover 20 not by point contact but by line contact.

  The pair of regulating arms 33 is inserted between the slide groove 11 and the lock arm 13 of the housing body 10. Each restricting arm 33 has a restricting surface portion 33a at the lowermost portion thereof, and a relief groove 33b at a position above the restricting surface portion 33a. Slide protrusions 33c are provided on the inner surface side of each regulating surface portion 33a. The retainer 30 is prevented from dropping from the housing body 10 due to interference between the pair of slide protrusions 33 c and the upper end surface 11 a (shown in FIG. 8, etc.) of the slide groove 11 of the housing body 10.

  The pair of restriction arms 33 is a restriction that allows the displacement of the lock part 14 at the lock position from the restriction position (the position of FIGS. 8 and 12) that restricts the displacement of the lock part 14 at the lock position by the bending deformation of the operation part 31. It is displaced to the release position (positions in FIGS. 9, 10, and 11).

  A pair of auxiliary | assistant operation part 34 is arrange | positioned along the orthogonal direction of a connector fitting direction. At both ends of each auxiliary operation unit 34, a locking projection 34a is provided to project. The locking projections 34a at both ends of each auxiliary operation unit 34 enter the locking groove 15a of the finger hook 15 in a state where the pair of auxiliary operation units 34 are pressed together to bend and deform the operation unit 31. In a state where the locking projection 34a of the auxiliary operation unit 34 is completely inserted into the locking groove 15a of the finger hanging part 15, the surfaces of both the auxiliary operation unit 34 and the finger hanging part 15 are substantially flush.

  On the other hand, the male connector 40 has a housing body 41 as shown in FIGS. The housing main body 41 is formed with a connector fitting chamber 42 having a connector insertion opening 42a. In the housing main body 41, a locked portion 43 is formed at a position deeper than the connector insertion port 42a of the connector fitting chamber 42. A pair of male terminals 45 are erected in the connector fitting chamber 42 together with the mating housing guide member 44.

  Next, an operation for fitting the female connector 1 to the male connector 40 will be described. In the state before connector fitting, the female connector 1 has its restriction arm 33 in the restriction position, and the lock portion 14 of the lock arm 13 is locked in the lock position.

  Both sides of the operation portion 31 of the retainer 30 are simultaneously pressed with the pressing force F, and the female connector 1 is inserted into the connector fitting chamber 42 of the male connector 40. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the lock portion 14 of each lock arm 13 abuts against the peripheral wall of the connector insertion port 42 a of the male connector 40. If the pressing force F of the operation portion 31 is further applied from this state, the operation portion 31 is bent and deformed by using the support portion 32 as a bending fulcrum due to the reaction force from the male connector 40 side, and as shown in FIG. The restriction arm 33 is displaced to the restriction release position. Each lock part 14 of a pair of lock arms 13 will be in the state which does not receive interference from regulation surface part 33a of a pair of regulation arms 33, and each lock part 14 can be displaced to a lock release position. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the pair of lock arms 13 are elastically displaced to the unlocked position by the reaction force from the male connector 40, and the male connector 40 is allowed to be inserted into the connector fitting chamber 42.

  As shown in FIG. 11, when the female connector 1 is inserted to the mating completion position, the pair of female terminals 3 and the pair of male terminals 45 are mated in a desired state. Further, since the pair of lock arms 13 moves to the back position from the peripheral wall of the connector insertion opening 42a, the pair of lock arms 13 is elastically restored and deformed and locked to the locked portion 43 of the male connector 40. After the female connector 1 is inserted to the fitting completion position, when the pressing force to the operation unit 31 is released, as shown in FIG. 12, both sides of the operation unit 31 bend and return and the pair of restriction arms 33 are restricted. Displace to position. The restricting surface portion 33 a of each restricting arm 33 becomes a position facing the lock portion 14 of the lock arm 13, and the displacement of each lock arm 13 to the unlocking position is restricted by the restricting arm 33. Therefore, the female connector 1 and the male connector 40 are fitted with a strong connector fitting force.

  In order to release the female connector 1 from the male connector 40, when the pair of auxiliary operation portions 34 are gripped and a pressing force is applied between the pair of auxiliary operation portions 34, the operation portion 31 bends the support portion 32. The pair of restricting arms 33 is displaced downward as a fulcrum. Thereby, the lock part 14 of a pair of lock arm 13 does not receive the interference from the control surface part 33a of the control arm 33, and can be displaced to the lock release position.

  The female connector 1 is pulled out from the male connector 40 while holding the auxiliary operation unit 34. Then, the lock portion 14 of the pair of lock arms 13 is displaced to the unlock position by elastic deformation, and the female connector 1 is pulled out from the connector fitting chamber 42 of the male connector 40.

  As described above, the operation portion 31 of the retainer 30 is supported on the pressing side of the connector housing 2 when the connector is fitted with a gap D through the support portion 32, and the connector is fitted on both sides around the support portion 32. When the pressing force F in the opposite direction is received, both sides are bent and deformed with the support portion 32 as a bending fulcrum, and the pair of regulating arms 33 are displaced by the bending deformation of the operation portion 31. Accordingly, the operating portion 31 of the retainer 30 is not deformed with the support portion 32 as a bending fulcrum unless the pressing force F acts on both sides of the operating portion 31 at the same time. Therefore, the retainer 30 is caused by the action of an external force. Can be prevented as much as possible.

  Moreover, since the operation part 31 itself bends and deforms, the operation part 31 also serves as a portion corresponding to the leaf spring part of the conventional example, so that it is possible to save the space of the retainer 30 and simplify the configuration. .

  A pair of auxiliary operation portions 34 disposed in the direction orthogonal to the connector fitting direction are provided at both ends of the operation portion 31. Accordingly, when the connector is released, the pair of auxiliary operation portions 34 of the retainer 30 are gripped to displace the restriction arm 33 to the restriction release position, and the female connector 1 is moved in the fitting release direction with the pair of auxiliary operation portions 34 held. Since it only has to be pulled out, the mating release operation can be performed by a continuous operation with one hand, and the mating release workability is good.

  Each auxiliary operation part 34 is provided with a locking projection 34a, a pair of finger hooks 15 of the housing body 10, and a locking groove 15a is provided at a position opposite to the locking projection 34a. In a state where the operating portion 31 is bent and deformed by pressing, the locking projection 34a enters the locking groove 15a. Therefore, when the female connector 1 is pulled out in the mating release direction with the pair of auxiliary operation portions 34 held, a large pulling force is applied from the retainer 30 to the connector housing 2. Since the stop protrusion 34a enters the locking groove 15a and can transmit a large pulling force, it is not necessary to structurally increase the strength of the retainer 30 itself, and an increase in the size of the retainer 30 accompanying the increase in strength can be avoided.

  A taper surface 22a is provided on the retainer installation surface 22 on which the operation unit 31 is disposed so that the amount of bending deformation of the operation unit 31 can be increased. Accordingly, since the bending deformation of the operation portion 31 can be greatly increased without increasing the height of the support portion 32, the restriction position of the restriction arm 33 and the restriction release position can be reduced without causing an increase in the size of the female connector 1. The amount of displacement increases and the occurrence of a semi-fitted state can be prevented as much as possible. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the retainer installation surface 22 can be flexibly deformed by d1 compared to the case where the retainer installation surface 22 is not provided with the tapered surface 22a.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 13A, the non-interference gap d2 between the restriction surface portion 33a of each restriction arm 33 and the lock portion 14 of each lock arm 13 in a state where the operation portion 31 is bent and deformed, and FIG. As shown in b), the larger the interference width d3 between the restricting surface portion 33a of each restricting arm 33 and the lock portion 14 of each lock arm 13 in a state where the operation portion 31 is not bent and deformed, the lock portion by the restricting arm 33 is larger. 14 control is assured and desirable. In order to set both of these dimensions d2 and d3 large, as shown in FIG. 14, the height of the support portion 32 may be increased to increase the gap D1 between the operation portion 31 and the retainer installation surface 22. However, when the height of the support portion 32 is increased, the operation portion 31 is higher by h1 than the upper surface of the cover 20, so that the female connector 1 is increased in size. In the embodiment, the both sides of the retainer installation surface 22 are tapered surfaces 22a, so that the amount of deformation of the operation portion 31 can be increased without increasing the support portion 32.

  The support portion 32 is supported on the retainer installation surface 22 of the cover 20 by line contact. Therefore, since the operation part 31 is surely bent with the center line of the support part 32 as a bending center line, the operation part 31 is not bent and deformed in a twisted state, and the restriction arm 33 is smoothly moved to the restriction position. To the restriction release position. Thereby, the defect of a connector fitting operation | work can be avoided. Further, since it is not necessary to provide the regulating arm 33 with a guide function, it is possible to avoid an increase in weight due to the addition of the guide function and a complicated mold structure.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 15, the support portion 32 </ b> A may have a substantially hemispherical shape instead of the entire width of the operation portion 31. However, if the support portion 32A is configured in this way, the support portion 32A is supported by point contact with the cover 20, so that the operation portion 31 may be bent and deformed in a twisted state as indicated by an arrow in FIG. There is. On the other hand, if the support part 32 is comprised like this embodiment, the operation part 31 will bend and deform | transform, without twisting, using the centerline of the support part 32 as a bending centerline. Therefore, the retainer 30 is smoothly deformed.

  The cover 20 is provided with a support receiving groove 23 into which the contact side of the support portion 32 enters. Therefore, since the retainer 30 is mounted at a predetermined position of the connector housing 2 and the bending center of the operation portion 31 is set to an accurate position with respect to the connector housing 2, the restriction arm 33 is released from the restriction position more smoothly. Displace to position.

(Second Embodiment)
16 to 18 show a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the female connector 1, FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the female connector 1 in a state where both sides of the operation unit 31 are pressed, and FIG. FIG. 18A is a perspective view showing a deformation when the root portion of the restriction arm 33 is in a free state, and FIG. 18B is a perspective view showing a deformation when the root portion of the restriction arm 33 is in a restriction state.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the female connector 1 according to the second embodiment is partially different from the first embodiment in the configuration of the housing body 10 </ b> A and the cover 20 </ b> A. That is, the notches 25 and 26 are provided at locations of the housing main body 10 </ b> A and the cover 20 </ b> A corresponding to the root locations of the pair of regulating arms 33 of the retainer 30.

  Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 17, even if the operating portion 31 is bent and deformed, the base portion of the pair of restricting arms 33 that are displaced in accordance therewith does not interfere with the housing main body 10A and the cover 20A, thereby reducing the connector fitting force. It becomes.

  That is, when the root portion of the restriction arm 33 interferes with the housing main body 10A or the cover 20A, as shown in FIG. 18B, the position on the front end side (restriction surface portion 33a) that interferes with the lock portion 14 is regular. There is a possibility that a state in which the displacement of the lock portion 14 at the lock position cannot be reliably regulated due to displacement from the position. On the other hand, when the root portion of the restriction arm 33 interferes with the housing main body 10A and the cover 20A, as shown in FIG. 18 (a), the position on the front end side where the lock portion 14 interferes (the restriction surface portion 33a) is the normal position. And the lock portion 14 at the lock position is reliably regulated. Thereby, a high connector holding force can be maintained.

1 Female connector (connector)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Lock arm 15 Finger hook part 15a Locking groove part 23 Support receiving groove 25,26 Notch part 30 Retainer 31 Operation part 32 Support part 33 Restriction arm (regulation part)
34 Auxiliary operation part 34a Locking protrusion 40 Male connector (mating connector)

Claims (7)

A connector housing having a lock arm that is displaced by elastic deformation from a lock position to a lock release position; and an operating portion on a pressing side when the connector of the connector housing is fitted, and the locking position is determined by the pressing force applied to the operating portion. A retainer that displaces from a restriction position that restricts displacement of the lock arm to a restriction release position that permits displacement of the lock arm at a lock position;
In the process of fitting to the mating connector, the connector housing is pressed in the connector fitting direction via the operation portion of the retainer, and the retainer is displaced to the restriction release position to move the lock arm to the lock release position. The connector housing is allowed to move in the mating direction, and at the mating completion position, the lock arm is displaced by a resilient return deformation to a lock position where the lock arm is engaged with the mating connector, and then moved to the operation portion. The retainer is displaced from the restriction release position to the restriction position by releasing the pressing force, and the displacement of the lock arm from the lock position is restricted,
The operation portion of the retainer is supported with a gap through a support portion on the pressing side when the connector of the connector housing is fitted, and receives a pressing force in the connector fitting direction on both sides around the support portion. The connector is characterized in that both sides are bent and deformed using the support portion as a bending fulcrum, and the restricting portion of the retainer is displaced from a restricting position to a restricting release position by the bending deformation of the operation portion. The connector according to claim 1,
A connector characterized in that a pair of auxiliary operation portions arranged in a direction orthogonal to the connector fitting direction are provided on both sides of the operation portion. The connector according to claim 2,
In the state in which each auxiliary operation portion is provided with a locking projection, a pair of finger hooking portions of the connector housing are provided with a locking groove portion, and the operation portion is bent and deformed by pressing the pair of auxiliary operation portions. A projection characterized in that a protrusion enters the locking groove. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A connector, wherein a cutout portion is provided on a surface of the connector housing on which the operation portion is disposed so that a bending deformation amount of the operation portion can be increased. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A connector, wherein a notch portion is provided at a location of the connector housing corresponding to a base location of a pair of restricting portions of the connector housing. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The connector is supported by the connector housing by line contact. The connector according to claim 6,
A connector characterized in that a support receiving groove for supporting the support portion is provided in the connector housing.

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