JP7088263B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a connector.

Patent Document 1 discloses a connector including a female connector and a male connector. The male connector includes a terminal support for supporting the male terminal and a main body for accommodating the terminal support. The male terminal is in the form of a male tab protruding forward. The female connector comprises a housing provided with a cavity for accommodating the female terminal. When the female connector and the male connector are fitted to each other, the male tab of the male terminal is received by the female terminal and electrically connected.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 06-333629

By the way, when the terminal support is housed in the main body, the male tab may interfere with the outer wall of the main body, and may be broken or damaged. In view of this, when the terminal covering is assembled to the terminal support and the terminal supporting is housed in the main body, the terminal covering is located at the protective position to protect the male tab, and the female connector and the male connector are fitted. When performing the mating operation, the terminal covering has a structure that allows relative sliding between the protective position and the exposed position with respect to the terminal support so that the terminal covering is located at the exposed position where the male tab is exposed. It is conceivable to do. However, in such a structure, prior to fitting the female connector and the male connector, the work of displacing the terminal covering body to the exposed position so that the female terminal and the male terminal can be connected to each other. If this is done separately, there is a problem that the work man-hours increase and the workability deteriorates.

The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of improving workability.

The present invention includes a male connector and a female connector that can be fitted to each other, and the male connector includes a male terminal support and a male terminal covering that can be slid relative to each other, and the male terminal support and the male terminal covering. It has a male housing capable of accommodating the male terminal and a male terminal fitting having a main body portion supported by the male terminal support and a male terminal protruding from the main body portion. The relative slidable position is made between the protected position covering the tab and the exposed position exposing the male tab, and the male housing is in the protected position in a state of accommodating the male terminal support and the male terminal covering body. It has a hood portion that surrounds the covering portion of the male terminal covering body, and the female connector has a female terminal fitting that is fitted in the hood portion and is connected to the male tab at the time of fitting. Moreover, it is characterized in that it has a pressing surface that presses the covering portion in the process of being fitted into the hood portion to displace the terminal covering body toward the exposed position.

When the male terminal covering body is in the protected position, the male tab is protected by the covering portion of the male terminal covering body, so that the male tab can be prevented from being broken or damaged.

When the female connector and the male connector are fitted, the covered portion is retracted to the exposed position so that the female terminal fitting and the male terminal fitting can be connected. In this case, the covered portion is pressed against the pressing surface of the female connector in the process of fitting the female connector into the hood portion and is displaced toward the exposed position. Therefore, the displacement operation of the male terminal covering body to the exposed position is linked to the fitting operation of the female connector and the male connector, and the special work or jig for displacing the male terminal covering body to the exposed position is omitted. It is possible to improve workability.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a female connector and a male connector are normally fitted in the first embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which the female type connector and the male type connector are normally fitted. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of the fitting process or the detachment process of a female connector and a male connector. It is a rear view of a male connector. It is sectional drawing of a male connector. It is sectional drawing in the side view direction of a male connector. It is a perspective view which looked at the male terminal support from above. It is a perspective view which looked at the male terminal support from below. It is a perspective view which looked at the male terminal covering body from below. It is a perspective view which looked at the male terminal covering body from above. It is a perspective view of the male unit in which the male terminal covering body is in a protected position as seen from above. It is a bottom view of a male unit in which a male terminal covering body is in a protected position. It is a perspective view of the male unit in which the male terminal covering body is exposed from above. It is a bottom view of the male unit in which the male terminal covering body is in the exposed position. It is a front view of the male unit in which the male terminal covering body is in the exposed position. It is a perspective view which looked at the female connector from above. It is sectional drawing of the female type connector. It is a perspective view which looked at the female unit from above.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown below.
The male terminal covering body is provided with an engaging portion, and the female connector engages with the engaging portion in a direction of disengaging from the hood portion, and the male terminal is engaged with the engaging portion by the disengagement operation from the hood portion. It is preferable that an engaged portion is provided to displace the covering body toward the protection position.

When the male terminal support and the male terminal covering are taken out from the male housing after the female connector and the male connector are detached, if the male terminal covering is left in the exposed position, the male tab becomes the male housing or the like. There is a concern that it will interfere. Further, if the male terminal covering is displaced to the protected position after the male terminal support and the male terminal covering are taken out, there is a problem that the work load is large. In that respect, according to the above configuration, when the female connector and the male connector are disengaged, the engaged portion engaged with the engaging portion by the disengagement operation of the female connector from the hood portion protects the male terminal covering body. When the male terminal support and the male terminal covering are removed from the male housing, the male terminal covering can automatically return to the protected position and the male terminal covering is displaced to the protected position. Special work and jigs can be omitted, and the male tab can be protected quickly.

One of the male terminal support and the male terminal covering is provided with a flexible and deformable semi-locking portion, and the other is locked to the interference portion of the semi-locking portion at the exposed position, and the male terminal covering is said to have the same. It is preferable that a restricting portion for restricting the relative displacement to the protected position is provided, and the restricting portion is arranged away from the interfering portion when the male terminal covering body is in the protected position.

According to this, when the male terminal covering body is in the exposed position, it is possible to prevent the male terminal support and the male terminal covering body from inadvertently sliding relative to each other. Further, when the male terminal covering body is in the protective position, the regulating portion is arranged away from the interfering portion, so that when the male terminal covering body slides relative to each other, it is between the male terminal supporting body and the male terminal covering body. It is possible to prevent the frictional resistance generated in the above from becoming excessive, and it is possible to ensure the smoothness of the relative slide.

<Example 1>
Example 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 18. The first embodiment illustrates a connector constituting a communication system mounted on an automobile, and as shown in FIG. 2, includes a female connector 100 and a male connector 10 that can be fitted to each other.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the male connector 10 includes a male terminal fitting 20, a male terminal support 30, a male terminal covering body 50, and a male housing 70. The male terminal fitting 20 is supported by the male terminal support 30. The male terminal support 30 and the male terminal covering 50 are assembled so as to be relatively slidable in the front-rear direction. The assembled male terminal support 30 and male terminal covering 50 are inserted into the male housing 70 and accommodated along the front-rear direction. Hereinafter, each structure will be specifically described.

The male terminal fitting 20 is integrally formed by bending a conductive metal material or the like, and as shown in FIG. 5, has a male tab 22 that elongated forward from the tubular main body portion 21 and has a main body portion 21. It is connected to the terminal portion of the cable 90 at the rear of the cable 90. The cable 90 is configured as a twisted pair wire in which two electric wires 91 are twisted in pairs. The two electric wires 91 are untwisted at the portion where the coating 92 is removed, and the male terminal fitting 20 is connected to the untwisted portion.

The male terminal support 30 is a dielectric made of synthetic resin, and has a rectangular plate-shaped support body 31 long in the front-rear direction as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. As shown in FIG. 7, a housing lock portion 32 is projected from the front portion of the upper surface of the support main body 31, and a pair of forward restricting portions 33 are projected from the left and right sides of the housing lock portion 32 and rearward. .. The vertical reference in the explanation is based on the state of FIG. 6 in which the male terminal support 30 and the male terminal covering 50 are housed in the male housing 70.

As shown in FIG. 8, on the lower surface of the support main body 31, a pair of rail portions 34 are provided at both left and right ends extending in the front-rear direction, and a partition portion 35 is provided extending in the front-rear direction at the left and right center portions. ing. In the male terminal support 30, a pair of left and right male terminal insertion spaces 36 are partitioned between each rail portion 34, the partition portion 35, and the support main body 31.

As shown in FIG. 5, the male terminal fittings 20 are inserted and accommodated in the male terminal insertion spaces 36 of the male terminal support 30. As shown in FIG. 8, on the lower surface of the support main body 31, a terminal retaining portion 37 for preventing the main body portion 21 of the male terminal fitting 20 housed in each male terminal insertion space 36 from coming off is projected, and each male is further provided. A support piece 38 capable of supporting the male tab 22 of the terminal fitting 20 is projected.

In the male terminal support 30, one cable end insertion space 39 is partitioned between the support main body 31 and each rail portion 34 and behind the partition portion 35. The end of the coating 92 of the cable 90 is accommodated in the cable end insertion space 39. Since each male terminal insertion space 36 is located immediately in front of the cable end insertion space 39, the length of the untwisted portion from the end of the coating 92 of the cable 90 to the connection to the male terminal fitting 20 becomes short. , It is possible to improve the communication performance. The male terminal fitting 20 inserted into each male terminal insertion space 36 is substantially fixed to the male terminal support 30 and behaves integrally with the male terminal support 30.

As shown in FIG. 8, a pair of rectangular plate-shaped restricting portions 41 are provided on the lower front portion of each rail portion 34 so as to project downward. Further, guide grooves 42 having a concave cross section are provided on the left and right outer surfaces of each rail portion 34 so as to extend in the front-rear direction.

The male terminal covering body 50 is a dielectric made of synthetic resin, and has a rectangular plate-shaped covering main body 51 that is long in the front-rear direction as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. As shown in FIG. 9, a pair of through grooves 52 extending in the front-rear direction are provided through the left and right ends of the covering main body 51. The left and right outer ends of each through groove 52 are partitioned by a pair of semi-locked portions 53 in the covering main body 51. Each semi-locking portion 53 has a double-sided beam shape extending in the front-rear direction, and has an interfering portion 54 protruding toward the front end so as to narrow the groove width of the through groove 52. When the restricting portion 41 interferes with the interfering portion 54, each semi-locking portion 53 bends and deforms outward in a bow shape to allow the relative displacement of the regulating portion 41 in the through groove 52.

The front surface of each interference portion 54 is inclined in a tapered shape with respect to the front-rear direction, and the rear surface of each interference portion 54 is arranged substantially at right angles to the front-rear direction. Of the groove portions on both front and rear sides of each through groove 52 sandwiching the interference portion 54, the front groove portion 52A has a sufficiently shorter front-rear length than the rear-side groove portion 52B, and has an opening length substantially the same as the front-rear length of the interference portion 54. It is formed (see FIG. 14).

As shown in FIG. 10, on the upper surface of the covering main body 51, a pair of side wall portions 55 are provided extending in the front-rear direction at both left and right ends, and a partition wall portion 56 is provided extending in the front-rear direction at the left and right center portions. Further, at the front end portion, a front wall portion 57 connected to each front end of each side wall portion 55 and the partition wall portion 56 is provided so as to extend in the left-right direction.

Each side wall portion 55 has a portion corresponding to each semi-lock portion 53 cut out, and is located outside each semi-lock portion 53 in the left-right direction. Each semi-lock portion 53 can be flexed and deformed into a space reserved inward from the outer surface of each side wall portion 55. A guide portion 58 is provided at the upper end of each side wall portion 55 so as to project inward. As shown in FIG. 4, each guide portion 58 enters each guide groove 42 and is made slidable on each guide groove 42, enabling relative sliding of the male terminal support 30 and the male terminal covering body 50. ..

As shown in FIG. 10, in the male terminal covering body 50, a pair of left and right covering spaces 59 are partitioned between each side wall portion 55, the partition wall portion 56, the front wall portion 57, and the covering main body 51. A male terminal fitting 20 is covered and arranged in each covering space 59. The front wall portion 57 is provided with a pair of left and right tab insertion ports 61 through which the male tabs 22 of the male terminal fittings 20 can penetrate. A slit groove 62 extending in the vertical direction and opening at the upper end of the front wall portion 57 communicates with each tab insertion port 61. Each slit groove 62 serves as a passage when the male tab 22 of each male terminal fitting 20 is introduced into each tab insertion port 61, and as shown in FIG. 15, each support piece of the male terminal support 30 is inside. 38 is designed to enter.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a pair of engaging portions 63 are provided at both left and right ends of the front wall portion 57 so as to extend forward. Each engaging portion 63 is connected to the front surface of the front wall portion 57 over substantially the entire length in the vertical direction, and extends with the vertical dimension of the front wall portion 57 (which is also the vertical dimension of each side wall portion 55). It has a claw-shaped hook portion 65 that protrudes inward from the front end portion of the arm portion 64. The front outer surface of each arm portion 64 is tapered inward.

As shown in FIG. 12, the front surface and the rear surface of each hooking portion 65 are inclined in a tapered shape with respect to the front-rear direction. The front slope of each hooking portion 65 has a smaller inclination angle with respect to the front-rear direction than the rear slope of each hooking portion 65, and is formed longer in the front-rear direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the upper and lower front end portions of each engaging portion 63 are notched in a tapered shape.

Subsequently, the male housing 70 will be described. The male housing 70 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, has a cylindrical shape that penetrates in the front-rear direction as a whole, and is connected to the accommodating portion 71 and the accommodating portion 71 and protrudes forward. It has a hood portion 72.

The accommodating portion 71 has a male unit accommodating space 73 penetrating in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 6, on the upper surface of the inner wall of the accommodating portion 71 (the upper surface of the inner wall of the male unit accommodating space 73), a flexible and deformable lance 74 is provided so as to project forward in a cantilever shape. A claw-shaped locking projection 75 is provided at the front end of the lance 74 so as to project downward. On the lower surface side of the accommodating portion 71, a mounting portion 76 for attaching to a bracket on the vehicle body side (not shown) is provided.

The hood portion 72 has a shorter front-rear length than the accommodation portion 71 and is slightly larger in the radial direction, and has a fitting space 77 that penetrates in the front-rear direction and communicates with the male unit accommodation space 73. As shown in FIG. 6, a claw-shaped lock portion 78 is provided at the front end portion of the inner surface of the upper wall of the hood portion 72 so as to project downward.

Subsequently, the female connector 100 will be described. As shown in FIG. 17, the female connector 100 includes a female terminal fitting 120, a female terminal support 130, a female terminal covering body 150, and a female housing 170. Like the female terminal fitting 120, the female terminal fitting 120 is connected to the end of the electric wire 91 made of twisted pair wires of the cable 190 in pairs. The female terminal fitting 120 has a tubular portion 121 that receives the male tab 22 of the male terminal fitting 20, and has a contact portion 122 that elastically contacts the male tab 22 inside the tubular portion 121.

The female terminal support 130 and the female terminal covering 150 are dielectrics made of synthetic resin, and the basic structure is the same as that of the male terminal support 30 and the male terminal covering 50 described above. The female terminal support 130 supports each female terminal fitting 120, and the female terminal covering 150 is assembled to the female terminal support 130 from above so as to cover each female terminal fitting 120. However, unlike the male terminal support 30 and the male terminal covering 50, the female terminal support 130 and the female terminal covering 150 do not have a structure that slides relative to each other.

As shown in FIG. 18, the female terminal support 130 has a front wall 131 capable of pre-fixing each female terminal fitting 120. The front wall 131 is provided with a pair of tab through openings 132 through which the male tabs 22 of the male terminal fittings 20 penetrate. The front surface of the front wall 131 is arranged along the vertical direction at substantially the same front-rear position as the front end of the female housing 170 in a state where the female terminal support 130 is housed in the female unit storage space 171 described later, and is shown in FIG. As described above, it is configured as a pressing surface 133 that presses the male terminal covering body 50 in the fitting process of the female connector 100 and the male connector 10.

As shown in FIG. 18, the female terminal covering body 150 has an upper plate portion 151 that covers the upper part of the female terminal support 130, and a pair of side plate portions 152 that cover both sides of the female terminal support 130. .. Each side plate portion 152 is provided with a pair of engaged portions 153. Each engaged portion 153 has a notch groove shape extending in the vertical direction and opening upward at the front portion of each side plate portion 152, and has a form of penetrating each side plate portion 152 in the plate thickness direction. Specifically, each engaged portion 153 has a cross-sectional shape that expands substantially in a tapered shape from the inner surface to the outer surface of each side plate portion 152, and the inclination angle of the rear slope with respect to the front-rear direction is smaller than that of the front slope. The posterior slope is longer than the anterior slope. In short, each engaged portion 153 has a cross-sectional shape corresponding to each hooking portion 65 (see FIGS. 2 and 3).

The female housing 170 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 17, a female unit accommodating space 171 capable of accommodating the female terminal support 130 and the female terminal covering 150 is provided inside so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction. ing. A pair of recesses 172 are provided on both sides of the inner wall of the female housing 170 (both sides of the inner wall of the female unit accommodating space 171). The inside of each recess 172 is a space that allows the bending operation of each engaging portion 63 in the process of fitting and disengaging the female connector 100 and the male connector 10, which will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 16, the female housing 170 is provided with a flexible and deformable lock arm 173 that extends rearward from the front end portion of the outer surface of the upper wall. The lock protrusion 174 is provided on the lock arm 173 so as to project upward, and the release operation portion 176 is provided one step higher behind the lock protrusion 174. Further, the female housing 170 is provided with an arch portion 175 that surrounds the periphery of the release operation portion 176.

Next, the operation of the connector of the first embodiment will be described.
When assembling the male connector 10, the male terminal fitting 20 is accommodated and held in each male terminal insertion space 36 of the male terminal support 30. Subsequently, the male terminal covering body 50 is put on the male terminal support 30. The guide portion 58 of each side wall portion 55 of the male terminal covering 50 elastically enters the guide groove 42 of each rail portion 34 of the male terminal support 30, so that the male terminal support 30 and the male terminal covering 50 are moved. It is designed to be maintained in a withdrawal restricted state.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, each regulating portion 41 of the male terminal support 30 enters the rear end side of each through groove 52 of each through groove 52 of the male terminal covering body 50, and each regulating portion 41 enters each through. Due to the frictional resistance of the groove 52 with the groove surface, the groove 52 is arranged in a state of being substantially restricted in movement in the front-rear direction. At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, the male tab 22 of each male terminal fitting 20 protrudes in front of the male terminal support 30, but the lower, both sides, and the front of each male tab 22 are male terminal covering bodies. It is covered by the covering main body 51, the side wall portions 55 and the front wall portion 57 (hereinafter referred to as the covering portion 66) in 50. In this way, the male terminal covering 50 is kept in a protective position that protects the male tab 22 against the male terminal support 30. When the male terminal covering body 50 is in the protective position, the male tab 22 of each male terminal fitting 20 is protected from external foreign matter by the covering portion 66.

Subsequently, the assembled male terminal support 30 and male terminal covering 50 (hereinafter referred to as male unit 80) are inserted into the male unit accommodation space 73 of the accommodation portion 71 of the male housing 70. At this time, it is preferable that the male unit 80 is pushed into the male unit accommodation space 73 of the accommodation unit 71 while holding the cable 90 extending rearward from the male terminal support 30. Since the male tab 22 of each male terminal fitting 20 is covered by the covering portion 66 of the male terminal covering body 50 in the protected position, the wall surface of the male housing 70 does not directly interfere with each male tab 22. It is prevented that each male tab 22 is broken or damaged.

In the process of inserting the male unit 80 into the male unit accommodation space 73, the housing lock portion 32 of the male terminal support 30 presses the lance 74 to bend and deform it, and the male terminal support 30 further enters the male unit accommodation space 73. With the normal insertion, the lance 74 elastically returns, and as shown in FIG. 6, the locking projection 75 is arranged so as to be lockable on the housing lock portion 32. Further, when each forward restricting portion 33 of the male terminal support 30 comes into contact with a stopper (not shown) provided on the male housing 70, migration of the male terminal support 30 to the hood portion 72 side is restricted. As a result, the male terminal support 30 is held in the male unit accommodating space 73 in a movement restricted state in the front-rear direction.

When the male terminal support 30 is normally inserted into the male unit accommodation space 73, the covering portion 66 of the male terminal covering body 50 is arranged so as to project into the fitting space 77 of the hood portion 72. As a result, each male tab 22 that also protrudes into the fitting space 77 is protected in the fitting space 77 by the covering portion 66. The male terminal covering body 50 is slidably arranged relative to the male terminal support 30 in the male unit accommodating space 73 and the fitting space 77.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 18, the female terminal covering body 150 is covered with the female terminal supporting body 130 supporting the female terminal fitting 120, and the female terminal supporting body 130 and the female terminal covering body 150 (hereinafter, female unit 180) are covered. Is inserted into and held in the female unit accommodating space 171 of the female housing 170, whereby the female connector 100 shown in FIG. 16 is assembled.

When fitting the female connector 100 and the male connector 10, the female housing 170 of the female connector 100 is inserted into the fitting space 77 of the hood portion 72 of the male connector 10.
In the process of inserting the female housing 170 into the fitting space 77 of the hood portion 72, the pressing surface 133 of the female unit 180 is covered with the covering portion 66 as shown in FIG. 3 before the bending operation of the lock arm 173 is started. In contact with the front wall portion 57 in a face-to-face state. At this time, the hooking portion 65 of each engaging portion 63 is elastically fitted into each engaged portion 153, and each engaging portion 63 holds the covering portion 66 so that each engaged portion 153 is engaged. Engage with. As a result, the female unit 180 and the male terminal covering body 50 are substantially connected.

Further, as the insertion operation of the female housing 170 progresses, the male terminal covering body 50 is pressed by the pressing surface 133 of the female unit 180 and retracts, and is displaced relative to the male terminal support 30 toward the exposed position. At this time, each regulating portion 41 of the male terminal support 30 is displaced toward the front gutter portion 52A of each through groove 52 of the male terminal covering body 50.

When the female housing 170 is normally inserted into the fitting space 77 of the hood portion 72, each regulating portion 41 elastically overcomes each interference portion 54 and is inserted into the front groove portion 52A of each through groove 52 in a fitted state. , The male terminal covering 50 reaches the exposed position with respect to the male terminal support 30 (see FIG. 14). Each regulation unit 41 is arranged in a movement restricted state in the front-rear direction between each through groove 52 and each interference unit 54 at the exposed position. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the pressing surface 133 of the female unit 180 comes into contact with the male unit 80 including the male terminal support 30 in a face-to-face state. Further, the male tab 22 of each male terminal fitting 20 enters the female unit 180 from each tab insertion port 61 through each tab penetration port 132, and is inserted and connected to the tubular portion 121 of each female terminal fitting 120.

While the covering portion 66 of the male terminal covering body 50 is pressed by the female unit 180 and displaced toward the exposed position, the engaged state (hooked state) between each engaging portion 63 and each engaged portion 153 is maintained. On the other hand, the lock arm 173 of the female housing 170 interferes with the lock portion 78 of the hood portion 72 and is bent and deformed. After that, as the female connector 100 and the male connector 10 are normally fitted, the lock arm 173 elastically returns, and the lock protrusion 174 is arranged so as to be lockable to the lock portion 78. As a result, the female housing 170 is held in a state where the hood portion 72 is restricted from detaching. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the release operation portion 176 and the arch portion 175 of the lock arm 173 do not enter the fitting space 77 of the hood portion 72, but are exposed to the outside and arranged.

On the other hand, when the male unit 80 is taken out from the male unit accommodation space 73 of the accommodation unit 71 due to maintenance or the like, first, the release operation unit 176 is pressed from above, and the lock arm 173 bends and deforms in the lock release direction. Be made to. In this way, the female connector 100 and the male connector 10 are separated from each other in a state where the lock arm 173 and the lock portion 78 are released from each other.

In the process of disconnecting the female connector 100 from the fitting space 77 of the hood portion 72, as shown in FIG. 3, the hooking portion 65 of each engaging portion 63 is hooked to each engaged portion 153, and the female connector 100 is hooked to each engaged portion 153. Since the connected state of the mold connector 100 and the male terminal covering body 50 is maintained, the male terminal covering body 50 interlocks with the female connector 100 and slides relative to the protected position. When the male terminal covering body 50 starts to slide relative to each other, each regulating portion 41 slides along the front inclination of each interfering portion 54, so that each semi-lock portion 53 is bent and deformed, and each regulating portion 41 is deformed. It shifts to the rear groove portion 52B of the through groove 52, and each semi-lock portion 53 elastically returns accordingly.

Even when each regulating portion 41 gets over each interfering portion 54, the engaged state between each engaging portion 63 and each engaged portion 153 is maintained, and the male terminal covering 50 follows the female connector 100 and is protected. Displace towards position. During this time, each regulating portion 41 is smoothly displaced toward the rear end side of each through groove 52's rear side groove portion 52B without interfering with each interference portion 54.

When the female connector 100 comes into contact with the rear end of the rear groove portion 52B of each through groove 52 in the process of detaching from the hood portion 72, the male terminal covering body 50 is further displaced. Is regulated (see Figure 12). Along with this, each engaging portion 63 bends and deforms in a direction away from each engaged portion 153, and the connected state between the female connector 100 and the male terminal covering body 50 is released.

After that, when the female connector 100 is pulled away from the hood portion 72, the male terminal covering body 50 is arranged in the male housing 70 in a state where the male terminal covering body 50 returns to the protective position with respect to the male terminal support 30 again. After that, the lance 74 is bent and deformed in the direction of releasing the lock with the housing lock portion 32, and in that state, the cable 90 connected to the male terminal fitting 20 is pulled backward, so that the male terminal covering body is covered. The male unit 80 in which the 50 is in the protected position is taken out from the hood portion 72. Therefore, when the male unit 80 is taken out from the hood portion 72, the male tab 22 interferes with the male housing 70 and the like to prevent the male tab 22 from being broken or damaged. Further, after the male unit 80 is taken out from the hood portion 72, it is not necessary to displace the male terminal covering body 50 to the protective position, and the work load is reduced.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, when the male terminal covering body 50 is in the protected position, the male tab 22 is protected by the covering portion 66 of the male terminal covering body 50, so that the male tab 22 is provided. It is possible to prevent breakage and damage.

Further, when the female connector 100 and the male connector 10 are fitted, the covering portion 66 of the male terminal covering body 50 is retracted to the exposed position, and the female terminal fitting 120 and the male terminal fitting 20 can be connected. In this case, the covering portion 66 of the male terminal covering body 50 is pressed by the pressing surface 133 of the female connector 100 to the exposed position in the process of fitting the female connector 100 into the fitting space 77 of the hood portion 72. Displaced towards. Therefore, the displacement operation of the male terminal covering body 50 to the exposed position is linked to the fitting operation of the female connector 100 and the male connector 10, and the special work of displacing the male terminal covering body 50 to the exposed position is performed. The jig can be omitted, and workability can be improved.

Further, the male terminal covering body 50 is provided with an engaging portion 63, and the female connector 100 is provided with an engaged portion 153 that engages with the engaging portion 63 in the direction of disengaging from the hood portion 72. When the connector 100 and the male connector 10 are disengaged, the engaged portion 153 engaged with the engaging portion 63 due to the disengagement operation of the female connector 100 from the hood portion 72 displaces the male terminal covering 50 toward the protective position. Can be made to. Therefore, when the male unit 80 is taken out from the male housing 70, the male terminal covering body 50 can automatically return to the protected position, and special work or healing for displacementing the male terminal covering body 50 to the protected position can be performed. The tool can be omitted and the male tab 22 can be quickly protected.

Further, the male terminal covering body 50 is provided with a flexible and deformable semi-lock portion 53, and the male terminal support 30 is locked to the interfering portion 54 of the semi-locking portion 53 at an exposed position to protect the male terminal covering body 50. Since the regulating portion 41 that regulates the relative displacement is provided, it is possible to prevent the male terminal support 30 and the male terminal covering 50 from inadvertently sliding relative to each other when the male terminal covering 50 is in the exposed position. be able to.

Furthermore, since the restricting portion 41 is arranged away from the interfering portion 54 when the male terminal covering body 50 is in the protective position, the male terminal supporting body 30 and the male terminal covering body 50 and the male terminal covering body 50 slide relative to each other when the male terminal covering body 50 slides relative to each other. It is possible to prevent the frictional resistance generated between the terminal covering body 50 from becoming excessive, and it is possible to ensure the smoothness of the relative slide.

<Other Examples>
The present invention is not limited to the examples described in the above description and drawings, and for example, the following aspects are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) In the first embodiment, the male terminal support is arranged on the upper side and the male terminal covering is arranged on the lower side with respect to the male housing. On the contrary, the male terminal support is arranged with respect to the male housing. May be arranged on the lower side and the male terminal covering may be arranged on the upper side. Further, the male terminal support and the male terminal covering may be arranged on both the left and right sides with respect to the male housing. The same can be said for the female housing, the female terminal support and the female terminal covering.
(2) The pressing surface may be arranged at a position of the female connector facing the male terminal covering in the fitting process, and depending on the structure, it may be provided on, for example, the female terminal covering or the female housing. You may.
(3) In the first embodiment, the semi-lock portion is provided on the male terminal covering body and the regulation portion is provided on the male terminal support, but conversely, the semi-lock portion is provided on the male terminal support. The regulating portion may be provided on the male terminal covering body.
(4) In the first embodiment, the engaging portion of the male terminal covering has an arm portion and is deformable, but conversely, the engaged portion of the female connector holds the arm portion. It may be in a flexible form.
(5) The engaged portion may be arranged at a position where it can be engaged with the engaging portion of the male terminal covering body, and depending on the structure, for example, it may be provided on the female terminal support or the female housing. good.

10 ... Male connector 20 ... Male terminal metal fittings 21 ... Main body part 22 ... Male tab 30 ... Male terminal support 41 ... Restriction part 50 ... Male terminal covering 53 ... Semi-locking part 54 ... Interfering part 63 ... Engaging part 66 ... Covering Part 70 ... Male housing 71 ... Housing 72 ... Hood 80 ... Male unit 100 ... Female connector 120 ... Female terminal fitting 133 ... Pressing surface 153 ... Engagement part 180 ... Female unit

Claims (1)

Equipped with male and female connectors that can be fitted to each other
The male connector has a male terminal support and a male terminal covering, a male housing capable of accommodating the male terminal support and the male terminal covering, and a main body portion supported by the male terminal support. It has a male terminal fitting with a male tab protruding from the part,
The male terminal covering is slidable backward with respect to the male terminal support from a protective position where the covering portion covers the male tab to an exposed position where the male tab is exposed.
The male housing has a hood portion that surrounds the covering portion of the male terminal covering in the protected position while accommodating the male terminal support and the male terminal covering.
The female connector has a female terminal fitting that is fitted in the hood portion and is connected to the male tab at the time of fitting, and presses the covering portion in the process of being fitted in the hood portion. It has a pressing surface that is displaced toward the exposed position, and has a pressing surface.
A semi-locking portion is provided on one of the male terminal support and the male terminal covering, and the other is locked to the interfering portion of the semi-locking portion at the exposed position to the protected position of the male terminal covering. There is a regulation part that regulates relative displacement,
The restricting portion protrudes toward the one side, the one side is provided with a through groove for partitioning the semi-lock portion, and the semi-lock portion is made flexible and deformable in the groove width direction of the through groove, and the interference portion is formed. Is formed so as to narrow the groove width of the through groove, and the restricting portion is arranged at the exposed position in the front groove portion of the front and rear groove portions sandwiching the interference portion in the through groove, and the rear groove is arranged. The regulation part is arranged in the protection position in the portion, and the regulation part is arranged .
The rear gutter portion has a longer front-rear length than the front gutter portion.
The restricting portion is displaced toward the rear end of the rear gutter portion so as to be separated from the interference portion in the process of moving the male terminal covering body from the exposed position to the protection position, and the rear portion is displaced at the protection position. A connector that contacts the rear end of the gutter .

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