JP5636938B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a shape of a lock arm for locking a male and female connector housings in a fitted state, there is known one that bends and deforms in a seesaw shape around a fulcrum portion provided at a central portion in a length direction. As an example, Patent Document 1 below is known. Here, there is a problem that when the rear end portion of the lock arm is pulled up by the electric wire, it is plastically deformed due to excessive bending, and a countermeasure for this is disclosed.

JP 2001-110519 A

  In the above-described configuration, when the rear end of the lock arm is lifted, the abutting portion that projects from the front end abuts on the receiving portion that is formed on the connector housing side. Accordingly, further bending deformation is restricted on the front end side of the lock arm. As described above, the above-described prior art takes measures when the rear end portion of the lock arm is displaced in the direction opposite to the normal operation direction (unlock direction), but is displaced in the normal operation direction. There is no consideration when doing. This is because, when operated in the normal direction, it is considered that the rear end of the lock arm is unlikely to contact the upper surface of the connector housing and cause plastic deformation.

  However, for example, connector housings used at high temperatures are often formed of a material containing a glass component in order to improve heat resistance. Since such a connector housing has high hardness and the flexibility of the lock arm is reduced, adopting the conventional method of restricting excessive deflection by bringing the rear end of the lock arm into contact with the upper surface of the connector housing, There is a possibility that the elastic limit may be exceeded by the bending operation during this time. As a countermeasure, it is considered that the height from the outer surface of the connector housing to the rear end of the lock arm should be lowered by simply shortening the height of the fulcrum.

  However, in such a method, the distance between the rear end portion of the lock arm and the outer surface of the connector housing is narrow, and when the finger is put on the rear end portion of the lock arm and pushed down, the finger is also placed on the outer surface of the connector housing. It will be hung and it will be difficult to push down. Thus, measures such as lowering the height of the fulcrum are not effective.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of effectively restricting excessive bending even if a member that bends and deforms in a seesaw shape is displaced in any direction around a fulcrum portion.

As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is provided in the connector housing along the mating direction with the mating connector housing, and in the longitudinal direction with a fulcrum provided at a midway position as a center. includes a flexible member at both ends is deflected to the seesaw-like to direction approaching or separating with respect to the connector housing, a facing surface between the flexure and the member the connector housing, the front position and the rear across the fulcrum In the position, the excessive bending restricting portions are respectively projected toward the other side, and the rear end portion side of the bending member is displaced in the direction approaching the connector housing around the fulcrum portion, or the bending In any case where the front end side of the member is displaced toward the connector housing around the fulcrum portion, the excess By regulating portion bending abuts with the other party, characterized in where possible restrict the resilient excessive the deflection member.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the connector housing has a fulcrum portion different from the fulcrum portion and is deflected and displaced in the same direction as the bending member. And a locking arm for locking both connector housings in a fitted state, and the flexible member is a release arm for releasing the locked state of the lock arm, and is provided at one end of the release arm. Has an operating portion for bending the arm, and the other end has a locking portion that can be locked with the lock arm, and the operating portion is operated in a direction to release the locked state. The locking portion is sometimes locked with the lock arm so that the lock arm can be displaced in the locking release direction.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, when both the release arm and the lock arm are in a natural state, and when the release arm is bent and deformed, the excessive deflection is restricted by the excessive deflection regulating portion. At any point in time when it is restricted, the height of at least the peripheral portion of the locking portion of the outer surface of the release arm is set to be higher than or equal to the height of the outer surface of the lock arm. It has the characteristics in the place.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the over-deflection restricting portion projects opposite to both the opposing surfaces of the release arm side and the connector housing side. It is characterized in that both can come into contact.

  The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that, in any of claims 1 to 4, the connector housing is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material containing a glass component. .

<Invention of Claim 1>
According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the both end portions of the bending member are bent and deformed in both directions around the fulcrum portion, the excessive bending restricting portion is at the front and back positions sandwiching the fulcrum portion on the connector housing side or the bending member side. By making the contact possible, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the bending member bends and deforms beyond the elastic limit.

<Invention of Claim 2>
According to the invention of claim 2, when the release arm is displaced in the direction of the release of the lock, the lock arm is flexibly interlocked by the lock portion, and the lock on the mating connector housing is released. Further, when the release arm is excessively bent and deformed in the unlocking direction, the range of the deflection displacement is restricted within the elastic limit by the excessive deflection restricting portion. At this time, since excessive bending with respect to the lock arm is also restricted, the lock arm can be protected.

<Invention of Claim 3>
According to the invention of claim 3, the peripheral portion of the locking portion in the release arm is set to be higher than or equal to the lock arm when in a natural state and at any time when excessive deflection is restricted. Therefore, even if the release arm bends and deforms due to the contact of foreign matter, it is possible to effectively avoid the situation where the lock arm bends and deforms. Therefore, it is possible to protect from foreign matter without setting an excessive deflection restricting portion on the lock arm itself.

<Invention of Claim 4>
According to the invention of claim 4, since the over-deflection restricting portion is formed so as to protrude from both the release arm side and the connector housing side, the over-deflection restricting portion is compared with a type in which it protrudes from only one side. The strength of can be increased.

<Invention of Claim 5>
According to the invention of claim 5, when the connector is used under a relatively high temperature condition, it is often formed by a material containing a glass component. In such a case, since the elasticity is reduced and the elastic range of the bent portion is narrowed, it is extremely effective to regulate the bent range of the lock arm, the release arm, and the like.

Front view of connector housing Same top view Similarly back view AA line sectional view of FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. CC partial sectional view of FIG. Partial sectional view showing the excessive deflection control state behind the fulcrum Partial sectional view showing the excessive deflection restriction state in front of the fulcrum part

<Embodiment 1>
In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a female connector housing, which is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material containing a glass component. The female connector housing 1 is integrally formed from a terminal accommodating portion 2 capable of accommodating a plurality of female terminal fittings and a cylindrical hood portion 3 formed so as to surround the terminal accommodating portion 2. The terminal accommodating portion 2 is provided with a plurality of cavities 4 for accommodating terminal fittings (five chambers shown in the figure) in parallel in the width direction. Each cavity 4 is formed so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction, and a lance 5 is provided inside the cavities 4 so as to be able to bend.

  The second half of the terminal accommodating portion 2 protrudes rearward from the hood portion 3 to form a seal tower portion 6. A step surface 7 as shown in FIG. 4 is formed between the seal tower portion 6 and the upper surface of the terminal accommodating portion 2. In addition, the seal tower portion 6 is formed by connecting each cavity 4 to a cylindrical shape and connecting the cylindrical portions as a whole. Although not shown, when a rubber plug for sealing (not shown) is fitted to each electric wire to which the terminal fitting is attached and the terminal fitting is accommodated in the cavity 4, each rubber plug is placed in each chamber in the seal tower 6. The water can be prevented from entering the cavity 4 by being in close contact with the inner peripheral wall. On both outer sides in the width direction of the seal tower portion 6, there are formed knob operation surfaces 8 for the operation of fitting / removing the male and female connector housings. The knob operation surface 8 is formed so as to be inclined so that the entire width of the connector housing 1 is gradually reduced in a plan view shown in FIG. 2, and the knob operation surface 8 is formed with a step-shaped slip stopper that descends backward. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the hood portion 3 is formed in a cylindrical shape so as to surround the terminal accommodating portion 2, and is connected to the terminal accommodating portion 2 at the back wall 3 </ b> A. The hood portion 3 forms a fitting space S in which the male connector housing is fitted between the hood portion 3 and the terminal accommodating portion 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface of the hood portion 3 is opened at a central portion in the width direction over a certain width, and the opening side of the lock arm 10 and the release arm 11 (flexible member) to be described later is connected to the opening 9. It is extended. In order to protect the lock arm 10 and the release arm 11, a protective wall 30 is erected on the upper surface of the connector housing 1 including the edge of the opening 9.

  The protective wall 30 includes a front protective wall 12 disposed on the front edge of the opening 9, a pair of side protective walls 13 disposed on both side edges of the opening 9, and a continuous extension to the rear of the both side protective walls 13. It consists of a protective wall 14. The front protective wall 12 is formed so as to bulge outward while connecting the opening edges at the front edge of the hood portion 3. The both side protection walls 13 protrude in a rib shape with substantially the same height as the front protection wall 12 and are arranged in parallel along the front-rear direction. Both side protection walls 13 are bent so as to expand rearward near the rear end of the hood part 3, and are continuous with a pair of extension protection walls 14 provided on the upper surface of the seal tower part 6. Both extended protection walls 14 are arranged in parallel along the front-rear direction, are formed with a length reaching the rear end of the seal tower portion 6, and the upper surfaces thereof are the upper surfaces of the side protection walls 13 and the front protection wall 12. It is formed to be substantially flush. The upper surface of the protective wall 30 is formed to be sufficiently higher than the upper surfaces of the lock arm 10 and the release arm 11 described below.

  The lock arm 10 is supported by a hinge piece 15 projecting inward at a position closer to the front side on the inner surface side of both extension protection walls 14. The lock arm 10 can be oscillated and displaced in the height direction (the direction in which it contacts and separates from the connector housing 1) with the hinge piece 15 as the center. The lock arm 10 has a pair of arm pieces 16 extending horizontally forward from the protruding ends of both hinge pieces 15 at a substantially right angle. The front ends of both arm pieces 16 are positioned slightly inside the front protective wall 12 in plan view (see FIG. 2), and the front ends of both arm pieces 16 are connected to form a locking piece 17. ing. When the male and female connector housings are properly fitted, this locking piece 17 locks the locking protrusions (both not shown) provided on the male connector housing to the inner surface side to lock the fitting state of both connector housings. can do. However, a curved surface 18 is formed on the rear surface side of the locking piece 17 so that the central portion projects most rearward in a plan view (see FIG. 2), and the ridge line of the curved surface 18 is viewed in a side view (see FIG. 4). ) To form an acute taper surface from the lower edge side to the upper edge side.

  When the lock arm 10 is in a natural state, as shown in FIG. 5, the lower surface of the lock arm 10 is substantially flush over the entire range, and is set to be substantially the same height as the inner surface of the hood portion 3. . As for the thickness of the lock arm 10, the range from the hinge piece 15 to the substantially central portion in the length direction of the arm piece 16 is formed thin, and the first half is provided via the thick transition portion 10A provided in the central portion. The part is formed relatively thick. Further, a pair of locking receiving pieces 19 are formed so as to project inward from the transition portions 10A of both arm pieces 16 so as to face each other inward. Both locking receiving pieces 19 are formed in the thickness range of the upper half of the arm piece 16.

  The release arm 11 is supported by a pair of support legs 20 (fulcrum portions) that are vertically formed on the upper surface of the seal tower portion 6, and the front end side and the rear end side of the release arm 11 are height at both support legs 20 as fulcrums. It can be swung in a seesaw shape in a direction (direction in which the connector housing 1 is contacted / separated).

  The two support legs 20 are arranged on the upper surface of the seal tower 6 slightly behind the hinge pieces 15. Both support legs 20 are formed in a flat plate shape in which the front-rear direction is the thickness direction. The release arm 11 has an operation portion 21 that projects horizontally rearward with the same width as the entire width of both support legs 20. The operation portion 21 is formed in a substantially flat plate shape so as to widen rearward in a plan view, and an appropriate clearance is secured between the inner surfaces of the two extension protection walls 14. The rear end edge of the operation portion 21 is substantially aligned with the rear edges of the seal tower portion 6 and the extension protection wall 14 so as not to protrude rearward. Further, when the release arm 11 is in a natural state (the state shown in FIG. 4 and the like), the operation unit 21 is spaced from the upper surface of the seal tower 6 by a predetermined height (when the operation unit 21 is pushed down, the seal is not sealed). The height dimension of the support leg 20 is set so that an interval at which the finger is not hooked on the tower portion 6 at the same time is maintained. A plurality of anti-slip steps 22 are formed across the entire width of the operation unit 21 so that the upper surface of the operation unit 21 becomes an upward staircase as it goes to the rear end.

  A release piece 23 extends forward from the center in the width direction at the front edge of the operation unit 21. The release piece 23 is formed with substantially the same thickness as the operation portion 21, is located between both arm pieces 16 of the lock arm 10, and is arranged in parallel therewith. A narrow portion 24 is formed at the distal end of the release piece 23 and is positioned between both locking receiving pieces 19 of the lock arm 10.

  On the lower surface of the release arm 11, an arm side restricting portion 25 for restricting excessive bending of the arm 11 protrudes downward. A pair of arm-side restricting portions 25 are arranged at intervals in the width direction, and each of them is formed in a rib shape over the entire length of the release arm 11, so that it also serves to reinforce the release arm 11. The narrow portion 24 described above is formed by using both arm side restricting portions 25 as both side surfaces in the width direction and connecting the front ends of both arm side restricting portions 25 to each other.

  A pair of locking portions 26 project outward in the width direction on both side surfaces in the width direction of the narrow portion 24 (outside surfaces of both arm side regulating portions 25), and each of the locking receiving pieces 19 of the lock arm 10. It is located on the lower surface side. As a result, when the operation portion 21 is pushed down and the narrow portion 24 side is lifted, both the locking portions 26 and the corresponding locking receiving pieces 19 are locked, so that the lock arm 10 is interlocked with the release arm 11. Can be displaced in the lifting direction, that is, in the unlocking direction.

  A housing-side restricting portion 27 is provided so as to protrude upward in the center portion in the width direction of the upper surface of the seal tower portion 6 and below the arm-side restricting portions 25. The housing side restricting portion 27 extends from the rear end edge of the seal tower portion 6 between the support legs 20 and extends in the front-rear direction to reach the stepped surface 7 which is a boundary portion with the terminal accommodating portion 2. It is formed over a wide range (see FIG. 4). The housing side restricting portion 27 is formed in a rib shape having a width substantially equal to the interval between the outer surfaces of the arm side restricting portions 25. The distance between the housing side restricting portion 27 and the arm side restricting portion 25 is a bending amount sufficient for the release arm 11 to release the locking to the male connector housing, and the housing side restriction is within the elastic limit of the release arm 11. The dimensions are set such that the portion 27 and the arm side restricting portion 25 are brought into contact with each other.

At the front end portion of the housing side restricting portion 27, a pair of raised portions 28 protrude upward with a gap in the width direction. Both raised portions 28 are arranged corresponding to both arm side restricting portions 25 and are formed to have substantially the same width. Further, the height interval between the raised portions 28 and the corresponding arm side restricting portions 25 is such that the intermediate portion in the length direction of the arm side restricting portions 25 and the raised portions 28 are in contact with each other within the elastic limit of the release arm 11. It is a dimension setting that is made. Accordingly, the raised portion 28 exhibits a function of restricting excessive bending with respect to the release arm 11 and constitutes the excessive bending restricting portion of the present invention together with the arm side restricting portion 25 and the housing side restricting portion 27.

  When the release arm 11 is in the natural state, almost the entire upper surface of the release arm 11 is in a substantially horizontal state, and its height position is set higher than the lock arm 10. Even when the narrow portion 24 side of the release arm 11 is pushed down and the raised portion 28 and the arm side restricting portion 25 come into contact with each other (when excessive deflection is restricted), the upper surface (lowest position) of the narrow portion 24 is reached. Is set to be substantially equal to the upper surface of the lock arm 10. By doing so, even if the lock arm 10 and the narrow portion 24 are pushed down at the same time, the lock arm 10 is also excessively restricted at the same time in response to the excessively restricted release arm 11.

  Next, the effect of this embodiment comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated concretely. When the male and female connector housings are engaged with each other, the locking arm 10 is engaged with the locking protrusion 17 (not shown) provided on the male connector housing side during the engagement, and the locking arm 10 is in the process of riding on the locking piece 17. The front end side is lifted with both hinge pieces 15 as fulcrums. Then, the release arm 11 is also lifted in conjunction with the engagement between the engagement receiving piece 19 of the lock arm 10 and the engagement portion 26 of the release arm 11. When the male and female connector housings are properly fitted, the lock arm 10 and the release arm 11 are both restored and deformed. As a result, the locking piece 17 and the locking projection are locked and the fitted state of the male and female connector housings is locked. The

  When releasing the fitting state, when the operation portion 21 of the release arm 11 is pushed down, the release arm 11 is lifted on the narrow portion 24 side with the support leg 20 as a fulcrum. Then, as described above, by the locking of the locking portion 26 and the locking receiving piece 19, the lock arm 10 is also interlocked and the locking piece 17 side is lifted with the hinge piece 15 as a fulcrum. As a result, the locking with the locking projection on the male connector housing side is released, so that the male and female connector housings can be separated. Note that, when the operation portion 21 is pushed down, the unlocking is performed in a bent state that does not cause the arm-side restriction portion 25 on the lower surface of the operation portion 21 to come into contact with the housing-side restriction portion 27.

  By the way, when the operation part 21 of the release arm 11 is pushed down by a foreign substance or the like and the rear end of the arm side restriction part 25 comes into contact with the rear end of the housing side restriction part 27, the release arm 11 is further pushed down. Bending is regulated (state in FIG. 7). As a result, the release arm 11 is only allowed to bend and deform within the elastic limit, so that the release arm 11 can be protected from deformation due to excessive bending. At this time, excessive bending of the lock arm 10 in the locking release direction is also restricted.

  On the other hand, when the release arm 11 swings in the opposite direction, that is, when a force in the downward direction is applied to the narrow portion 24, the release arm 11 rotates counterclockwise as shown in FIG. Swing. Then, the central portion in the length direction of the arm side restricting portion 25 abuts against the raised portion 28 of the housing side restricting portion 27 and the further displacement of the release arm 11 is restricted, so that the release arm 11 has an elastic limit. It is possible to avoid displacement beyond the range.

  Thus, even if the release arm 11 is displaced in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction with the support leg 20 as a fulcrum, the arm-side restricting portion 25 and the housing-side restricting portion 27 are in the front-rear position sandwiching the support leg 20. Can abut. As a result, it is possible to reliably avoid a situation in which the release arm 11 bends excessively beyond the elastic limit. Thus, the effect of reliably restricting excessive bending of the release arm 11 is particularly significant in the case of a connector formed of a material containing a glass component as in this embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the lock arm 10 is not subjected to excessive deflection restriction dedicated to the arm 10. That is, as described above, the lock arm 10 is restricted from excessive bending in the clockwise direction around the hinge piece 15, but has a means for restricting excessive bending in the counterclockwise direction. Absent. As a countermeasure, in this embodiment, the height of the upper surface of the release arm 11 is higher than or substantially equal to the upper surface of the lock arm 10. That is, when both arms are in the natural state, the release arm 11 side is high, and when the narrow portion 24 of the release arm 11 is pushed down to restrict excessive bending, the upper surface of the release arm 11 and the lock arm 10 The height is approximately equal to the upper surface. For this reason, the interference of the foreign material to the lock arm 10 is effectively avoided, and the situation where the lock arm 10 is excessively pushed down by itself is avoided in advance.

  Further, in the present embodiment, excessive deflection regulating portions are provided on both the release arm 11 side and the connector housing 1 side. This is because the strength of the excessive deflection regulating portion itself is not ensured if it is projected only from one side. Although it is conceivable to shorten the supporting leg 20 so that it protrudes from only one side, such a configuration is not necessarily appropriate. If such a measure is taken, the distance between the operation unit 21 and the seal tower unit 6 becomes too narrow, and a finger is applied to the seal tower unit 6 when the operation unit 21 is pushed down. Because it becomes difficult. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to achieve over-deflection regulation without impairing the operability when releasing the lock.

<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 above-described embodiment, the lock arm 10 is released from the lock release operation by the release arm 11, and the excessive deflection control is directly performed on the release arm 11. However, instead of this, excessive bending restriction may be performed on the seesaw type lock arm 10 that can also be unlocked alone.
(2) In the above embodiment, both the arm-side restricting portion 25 and the housing-side restricting portion 27 are configured as a long monolithic object along the longitudinal direction. May be.
(3) Although the case where the excessive deflection restricting portion is formed on both the release arm 11 side and the housing side has been described in the above embodiment, it may be provided only on one side.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Female connector housing 10 ... Lock arm 11 ... Release arm (flexible member)
20 ... Support leg (fulcrum)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 ... Operation part 25 ... Arm side control part 26 ... Locking part 27 ... Housing side control part

Claims (5)

The connector housing is provided along the mating direction with the mating connector housing, and is bent in a seesaw shape in the direction in which both end portions in the length direction are in contact with and away from the connector housing, with a fulcrum portion provided in the middle as a center. Comprising a deformable bending member,
Excessive deflection restricting portions projecting toward the other side are provided at the front and rear positions of the deflection member and the connector housing, with the fulcrum portion interposed therebetween, and the rear of the deflection member. Either when the end side is displaced in the direction approaching the connector housing around the fulcrum part, or when the front end side of the flexible member is displaced in the direction approaching the connector housing around the fulcrum part Even in this case, the excessive deflection of the flexible member can be regulated by the excessive deflection regulating portion coming into contact with the counterpart side .   The connector housing has a fulcrum portion that is different from the fulcrum portion, and is bent and displaced in the same direction as the bending member, and locked to the mating connector housing to lock both connector housings in a fitted state. An arm is provided, the bending member is a release arm for releasing the locking state of the lock arm, and an operation portion for bending the arm is formed at one end of the release arm, The end portion has a locking portion that can be locked with the lock arm, and the locking portion locks with the lock arm when the operation portion is operated in a direction to release the locked state. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the lock arm is displaceable in a locking release direction.   When both the release arm and the lock arm are in a natural state and when the release arm is bent and deformed, and the excessive deflection is restricted by the excessive deflection restricting portion, the outer surface of the release arm is 3. The connector according to claim 2, wherein a height of at least a peripheral portion of the locking portion is set to be higher than or equal to a height of an outer surface of the lock arm.   4. The over-deflection restricting portion protrudes from both opposing surfaces of the release arm side and the connector housing side, and both can contact each other. Connector described in.   The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the connector housing is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material containing a glass component.

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