JP5594163B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  The connector described in Patent Document 1 includes a second housing in which a pair of second terminal fittings are mounted, a first housing that can be fitted to the second housing, a lock arm that is formed to protrude from the first housing, And a detection terminal attached to the first housing. The lock arm has an arm body extending in the front-rear direction. In the fitting process of the first and second housings (hereinafter referred to as both housings), the arm body is bent and deformed in the height direction, and when both housings are properly fitted, the arm body returns elastically, Both housings are held in a fitted state. Also, in the fitting process of both housings, the detection terminal is pressed to the arm body and displaced to a position where it does not come into contact with the pair of second terminal fittings. Thus, the detection terminal reaches a position where it comes into contact with each of the pair of second terminal fittings. Thereby, a closed circuit is formed via the detection terminal, and it is electrically detected that both housings have reached the normal fitting state.

JP 2000-252012 A

  By the way, in the case of the said conventional connector, the lower end surface facing the detection terminal in an arm main body is made into the press surface without an unevenness | corrugation, and a detection terminal is pressed by this press surface. However, with such a configuration, the thickness of the arm body, that is, the height dimension from the upper end surface to the lower end surface of the arm body, and the height dimension of the detection terminal are both added as the height dimension of the connector. For this reason, there is a concern that the size of the connector increases in the height direction.

  This invention is completed based on the above situations, Comprising: It aims at preventing that a connector enlarges in a height direction.

As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a housing that can be fitted into a mating housing, and is formed to project from the housing and extend in the front-rear direction as the fitting direction of the housing. The arm body is bent and deformed in the height direction during the fitting process of the two housings, and the arm body is elastically restored as the two housings are properly fitted, and the two housings are fitted. A lock arm that holds the joint,
The housing is mounted at a position opposite to the bending direction of the arm main body, and in the fitting process of the two housings, it is pressed by the arm main body to bend and deform in the height direction so that the two housings are normally fitted. Accordingly, the connector is provided with a detection terminal that releases the pressed state by the arm body and displaces in the return direction, and closes or opens the detection circuit by the displacement operation, at a middle portion in the width direction of the arm body. and wherein the detecting terminal and the surface facing the recess is recessed formed in the height direction, the the detection terminals, pressable portion to be pressed by the bottom surface of the inserted and the recess in the recess is formed, the It is characterized in that the inner wall surfaces on both sides in the width direction of the concave portion are arranged along the height direction to form a pair of regulating walls that regulate the movement of the detection terminal in the width direction .

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a connector described in claim 1, the fulcrum side of the position of the operating deflection in the arm body, said recess communicating with through-holes are formed through in the height direction, the detection The terminal is characterized by being visible through the through hole.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a detection terminal accommodating portion that accommodates the detection terminal is formed in a recess on a surface of the housing that faces the bending direction of the arm body. The detection terminal is characterized in that it is disposed across the detection terminal accommodating portion and the recess.

<Invention of Claim 1>
A recess is formed in the middle of the arm body in the width direction and facing the detection terminal, and a depression is formed in the height direction, and a pressure receiving portion that is inserted into the depression and pressed on the inner bottom surface of the recess is formed on the detection terminal. Therefore, the height dimension of the connector can be suppressed by the amount of insertion of the pressure receiving portion into the recess.

In addition, since the inner walls on both sides in the width direction of the recess are arranged along the height direction to form a pair of restriction walls that restrict the movement of the detection terminal in the width direction, the detection terminal can bend smoothly. Can do.

<Invention of Claim 2 >
Since the detection terminal can be visually observed through the through-hole formed at a position near the fulcrum of the bending operation in the arm main body, it can be easily known whether or not the detection terminal is mounted accurately.

<Invention of Claim 3 >
Since the detection terminal is disposed across the detection terminal accommodating portion and the recess, the height dimension of the connector can be further reduced.

It is sectional drawing showing the state by which the connector which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention was normally fitted. It is sectional drawing showing the state in the middle of a connector fitting. It is sectional drawing showing the state before a connector is fitted. It is a rear view of a 1st housing. It is a front view of the 1st housing. It is a front view of the 2nd housing. It is a top view of the 2nd housing.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector according to the first embodiment includes first and second housings (hereinafter referred to as both housings 10 and 60) that can be fitted to each other, a lock arm 50 that protrudes from the first housing 10, and the first housing 10. And a detection terminal 80 to be mounted. In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the mutual fitting surface side of both housings 10 and 60 is the front.

  The second housing 60 is made of synthetic resin, and has a rectangular tubular hood portion 61 that is long in the width direction, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. A pair of metal pegs 62 are attached to the outer surfaces of both sides in the width direction of the hood portion 61. Both pegs 62 are soldered to the surface of the printed circuit board 100, and the second housing 60 is fixed to the printed circuit board 100 via both pegs 62.

  A plurality of male terminal fittings 200 are mounted on the back wall 64 of the hood portion 61. As shown in FIG. 3, each male terminal fitting 200 protrudes backward from the terminal connection portion 201 that protrudes into the hood portion 61 and is connected to the mating female terminal fitting 300, and the rear wall 64 of the hood portion 61. It has a board connection portion 202 that is electrically connected to the conductive path of the printed circuit board 100.

  A lock portion 65 that can be locked with the lock arm 50 is formed at the center portion in the width direction on the inner surface of the upper wall of the hood portion 61, and guides the bending operation of the lock arm 50 on both sides of the lock portion 65. A pair of guide walls 66 are formed to hang down. In addition, a pair of second terminal fittings 180 are mounted at the center in the width direction of the back wall 64 of the hood portion 61 and below the lock portion 65. Both the second terminal fittings 180 have the same shape as the male terminal fitting 200, and have a mating contact portion 181 that protrudes into the hood portion 61 and can be connected to the detection terminal 80.

  The first housing 10 is made of synthetic resin, and has a rectangular block-shaped housing body 11 that is long in the width direction, as shown in FIGS. The housing body 11 can be fitted into the hood portion 61. A plurality of cavities 12 are formed in the housing body 11 at positions corresponding to the male terminal fittings 200. Each cavity 12 is arranged in two upper and lower steps (two steps in the height direction) at both ends in the width direction of the housing body 11, and is arranged in a lower step in the center portion in the width direction of the housing body 11. Then, female terminal fittings 300 are inserted into the cavities 12 from the rear, and the normally inserted female terminal fittings 300 are elastically prevented from coming off by the lances 13 formed on the lower surface of the inner wall of each cavity 12. It has become.

  The female terminal fitting 300 is connected to the terminal portion of the electric wire 400 that is connected to the terminal portion 301 of the rectangular tube shape connected to the terminal connecting portion 201 of the male terminal fitting 200 and the terminal body portion 301. And an open barrel-shaped barrel portion 302. When the two housings 10 and 60 are properly fitted, the terminal connection portion 201 of the male terminal fitting 200 is inserted into the terminal main body portion 301 at a normal depth, and thereby the two terminal fittings 200 and 300 are connected to be conductive. The

  In addition, a mounting hole 14 into which the retainer 500 is inserted is formed in the lower surface of the housing body 11 so as to be opened. The mounting hole 14 is formed with a depth communicating with each cavity 12. Each female terminal fitting 300 is temporarily prevented by the lance 13 and then secondarily retained by the retainer 500 inserted into the mounting hole 14.

  A concave groove 15 that is one step lower than both ends in the width direction is formed at the center in the width direction of the housing body 11 over the entire length in the front-rear direction (fitting direction). The inner bottom surface of the concave groove 15 is disposed at a position overlapping the upper cavity 12 in the height direction.

  The lock arm 50 is disposed in the concave groove 15 of the housing body 11 so as to be able to bend and deform. Specifically, the lock arm 50 includes a support portion 51 that rises integrally from the front end portion of the bottom surface of the concave groove 15, and an arm body 52 that extends in a cantilevered manner along the front-rear direction from the upper end of the support portion 51. ing. On the upper surface of the central portion in the front-rear direction of the arm main body 52, a lock protrusion 53 is formed so as to protrude. Further, an operation portion 54 is formed at the rear end portion (free end portion) of the arm main body 52 so as to be raised by one step. Further, a pair of restricting pieces 55 are formed on both ends of the operation portion 54 in the width direction so as to protrude from both sides. In the housing body 11, a pair of stopper pieces 56 are formed to protrude into the concave groove 15 at positions facing both the restricting pieces 55 and above.

  Here, in the process in which both housings 10 and 60 are fitted, the lock projection 53 interferes with the lock portion 65, and the arm body 52 is bent and deformed downward (in the height direction) with the support portion 51 as a fulcrum. When both the housings 10 and 60 are properly fitted, the arm main body 52 is elastically restored, and the lock projection 53 is disposed so as to be able to be locked to the lock portion 65 from the front, whereby the both housings 10 and 60 are fitted. Held in a combined state. Further, when the operation portion 54 is pressed downward in a state where both the housings 10 and 60 are properly fitted, the lock projection 53 is separated from the lock portion 65 and the locked state of both the housings 10 and 60 is released. Thus, the housings 10 and 60 can be separated from each other. Furthermore, even if a pushing force is applied to the operation portion 54 from below, the restricting pieces 55 come into contact with the stoppers 56 from below so that the lock arm 50 is prevented from rolling up. Further, a concave portion 57 is formed in the height direction in a middle portion in the width direction (specifically, a center portion in the width direction) of the lower surface of the lock arm 50. The recess 57 is formed over the entire length of the arm main body 52 and opens at the rear end of the lock arm 50. The inner walls on both sides in the width direction of the recess 57 are a pair of regulating walls 58 that are substantially parallel to each other and extend along the height direction. As will be described later, the detection terminal 80 is capable of restricting movement in the width direction by both restriction walls 58. Further, the inner bottom surface (inner upper surface) of the recess 57 of the arm body 52 is continuously arranged at substantially the same height in the width direction, and serves as a pressing surface 59 that is substantially perpendicular to both restriction walls 58 at both ends in the width direction. Yes. As will be described later, the detection terminal 80 is pressed by the pressing surface 59 so as to be able to follow and displace the arm body 52.

  A through hole 49 penetrates in the thickness direction (height direction) in the central portion in the width direction on the front end side of the lock arm 50, specifically, the portion extending from the support portion 51 to the front region from the lock protrusion 53 in the arm body 52. Is formed. The through hole 49 is located in front of the lock projection 53 and communicates with the recess 57 below.

  In addition, a detection terminal accommodating portion 16 that accommodates the detection terminal 80 is formed in a recessed manner in the central portion of the housing body 11 in the width direction. The detection terminal accommodating portion 16 has a bottomed groove shape that opens to the bottom surface of the concave groove 15 and the rear end of the housing body 11. And the detection terminal accommodating part 16 is arrange | positioned facing the recessed part 57 in the upper direction, and is arrange | positioned facing the lower cavity 12 through the partition 17 in the downward direction. A slit hole 18 into which the tip end of the detection terminal 80 is press-fitted is formed on the front surface of the detection terminal accommodating portion 16 at a position continuous with the lower surface.

  Further, a pair of insertion holes 19 are formed in the width direction central portion of the front wall of the housing body 11 so as to communicate with the detection terminal accommodating portion 16 in the width direction. When the two housings 10 and 60 are fitted together, the second terminal fitting 180 is inserted into each of the insertion holes 19 from the front, whereby the mating contact portion 181 of the second terminal fitting 180 is placed in the detection terminal accommodating portion 16. It is designed to enter.

  Next, the detection terminal 80 will be described. The detection terminal 80 is integrally formed by bending a conductive metal plate or the like. The detection terminal 80 can be fitted in a substantially first half part of the detection terminal accommodating portion 16. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the detection terminal 80 is configured to bend forward a board portion 81 disposed along the lower surface of the detection terminal housing portion 16 and a portion extending backward from the rear end of the board portion 81. And a pair of side plate portions 83 raised from both side edges of the substrate portion 81 in the width direction. The front end portion of the substrate portion 81 is press-fitted and held in the slit hole 18 of the housing body 11. In addition, a pair of pressing pieces 84 that press the contact piece 82 from above are formed at the upper ends of the side plate portions 83 by bending inwardly. The contact piece 82 is held in its folded shape by both pressing pieces 84.

  Then, the contact piece 82 is configured to extend in a cantilevered manner while being bent forward from the curved portion 85 serving as a connecting portion with the substrate portion 81, and can be bent and deformed in the height direction with the curved portion 85 as a fulcrum. Has been. A substantially triangular pressure receiving portion 86 is formed on the upper end portion of the contact piece 82 so as to protrude upward. The pressure receiving portion 86 is pressed by the arm body 52 that is bent and deformed, and accordingly, the contact piece 82 is bent and deformed downward (in the height direction). In addition, a contact portion 87 that contacts the mating contact portion 181 when the two housings 10 and 60 are properly fitted is formed at the tip end portion (front end portion) of the contact piece 82 and below the press receiving portion 86. . The contact portion 87 faces the same height as the insertion path of the mating contact portion 181 of the second terminal fitting 180 before the contact piece 82 is bent and deformed, and the mating contact portion 181 when the contact piece 82 is bent and deformed. Is retracted downward from the insertion path. In the state before the contact piece 82 is bent and deformed, the contact portion 87 is disposed so as to be able to contact the upper surface of the inner wall of the insertion hole 19.

  In the case of the present embodiment, one-quarter to one-half of the total height of the detection terminal 80, specifically, about one-third of the region is inserted into the recess 57 of the arm body 52. Has been. That is, the detection terminal 80 is disposed across the recess 57 and the detection terminal accommodating portion 16. Here, either the press receiving portion 86 of the detection terminal 80 is inserted into the recess 57 and the arm main body 52 is bent and deformed, or while the arm main body 52 is kept in a natural state without being bent and deformed. In addition, the state where the pressure receiving portion 86 is inserted into the recess 57 is maintained. When the arm main body 52 is in a natural state, the upper end of the pressure receiving portion 86 is disposed so as to be in contact with the pressing surface 59 of the concave portion 57 and is pressed downward by the pressing surface 59 as the arm main body 52 is bent. The

Next, the function and effect of the connector according to this embodiment will be described.
Before the housings 10 and 60 are fitted, the arm body 52 of the lock arm 50 is kept in a natural state, and the contact portion 87 of the detection terminal 80 is disposed so as to face the insertion path of the mating contact portion 181. (See FIG. 3). In this case, the contact piece 82 and the like of the detection terminal 80 can be viewed from above through the through hole 49.

  When the lock projections 53 come into contact with the lower surface of the lock portion 65 in the process in which both housings 10 and 60 are fitted, the arm main body 52 is bent downward and deformed (see FIG. 2). As the arm body 52 is bent downward and deformed, the pressing surface 59 of the recess 57 presses the pressure receiving portion 86 from above, whereby the contact piece 82 of the detection terminal 80 is bent and deformed downward, and the contact portion 87. Is displaced downward from the insertion path of the mating contact portion 181. In this case, since both end edges in the width direction of the contact piece 82 are displaced along the two regulating walls 58 of the concave portion 57, the contact piece 82 is prevented from floating on both sides in the width direction during the bending operation. Thus, in the process of fitting the housings 10 and 60, the detection terminal 80 and the second terminal fitting 180 are kept in a non-contact state.

  Thereafter, when the two housings 10 and 60 are properly fitted, the lock projection 53 passes through the lock portion 65 and the arm main body 52 is elastically restored, and both the housings 10 and 60 are locked in the disengagement restricted state. (See FIG. 1). Further, with the return operation of the arm body 52, the pressing state of the arm body 52 against the press receiving portion 86 is released, and the contact piece 82 of the detection terminal 80 is also elastically displaced in the return direction. As a result, the contact portion 87 of the detection terminal 80 comes into contact with the mating contact portion 181 of the second terminal fittings 180 from below, and the detection circuit is closed via the detection terminal 80.

  On the other hand, when both the housings 10 and 60 are not fitted properly and are held in a half-fitted state, the lock projection 53 abuts against the lower surface of the lock portion 65 and the arm main body 52 remains bent and deformed. It becomes. Therefore, the bending state of the contact piece 82 of the detection terminal 80 is not eliminated, and the non-contact state between the contact portion 87 and the counterpart contact portion 181 is maintained. For this reason, the detection circuit is not closed, and it is possible to electrically know that both the housings 10 and 60 are in the half-fitted state.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the concave portion 57 is formed in the height direction on the lower surface which is the intermediate portion in the width direction of the arm main body 52 and faces the detection terminal 80. Since the pressure receiving part 86 inserted into the concave part 57 and pressed by the pressing surface 59 of the concave part 57 is formed, the height dimension of the connector is suppressed by the amount of insertion of the pressure receiving part 86 into the concave part 57. As a result, the connector is prevented from being enlarged in the height direction.

Further, since the inner wall surfaces on both sides in the width direction of the concave portion 57 are arranged along the height direction to form a pair of regulating walls 58 that regulate the loose movement of the sensing terminal 80 in the width direction, the bending operation of the sensing terminal 80 is performed. Can be performed smoothly.
Furthermore, since the detection terminal 80 can be visually confirmed through the through hole 49 formed in the arm main body 52, it can be easily known whether or not the detection terminal 80 is correctly attached.

  In addition, since the detection terminal 80 is disposed across the detection terminal accommodating portion 16 and the recess 57, the height dimension of the connector can be further reduced.

<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.
(1) In the fitting process of both housings, the contact portion of the detection terminal and the mating contact portion are electrically connected, and as both housings are properly fitted, the contact portion and the mating contact portion are electrically connected. The configuration may be in a disconnected state. That is, contrary to the above embodiment, the detection circuit may be opened when the two housings are properly fitted.
(2) The whole detection terminal may be inserted into the recess of the lock arm.
(3) The lock arm may be formed in a doubly supported beam shape.
(4) The present invention can also be applied to a waterproof connector having a seal structure in a housing and a lever connector having a lever attached thereto.
(5) The concave portion may be formed so as to be displaced from the central portion in the width direction of the arm body toward the end portion. That is, of the wall portions on both sides in the width direction across the recess in the arm body, one wall portion may be thinner than the other wall portion.

10. First housing (housing)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 16 ... Detection terminal accommodating part 49 ... Through-hole 50 ... Lock arm 52 ... Arm main body 57 ... Recessed part 58 ... Restriction wall 60 ... 2nd housing (mating housing)
80 ... Detection terminal 86 ... Press receiving part 87 ... Contact part

Claims (3)

A housing that can be fitted into the mating housing;
An arm main body that protrudes from the housing and extends in the front-rear direction, which is a fitting direction of the housing, and the arm main body bends and deforms in the height direction during the fitting process of the two housings. A lock arm that elastically recovers the arm body as the housing is properly fitted and holds the two housings in a fitted state;
The housing is mounted at a position opposite to the bending direction of the arm main body, and in the fitting process of the two housings, it is pressed by the arm main body to bend and deform in the height direction so that the two housings are normally fitted. The connector is provided with a detection terminal that releases the pressed state by the arm body and is displaced in the return direction, and closes or opens the detection circuit by the displacement operation,
A recess is formed in the height direction in the width direction intermediate portion of the arm body and on the surface facing the detection terminal,
The detection terminal is formed with a pressure receiving portion that is inserted into the recess and pressed by the bottom surface of the recess ,
The connector is characterized in that the inner wall surfaces on both sides in the width direction of the recess are arranged along the height direction to form a pair of regulating walls that regulate the movement of the detection terminal in the width direction . 2. A through hole communicating with the recess is formed at a position near a fulcrum of the bending motion in the arm body, and the detection terminal is visible through the through hole. Connector. In the housing, a surface of the arm body facing the bending direction of the arm body is formed with a recessed detection terminal housing portion for housing the detection terminal, and the detection terminal is disposed across the detection terminal housing portion and the recessed portion. connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein is.

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