JP7116892B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to connectors.

Patent Literature 1 describes a standby type connector. This stand-by type connector comprises a male connector housing and a female connector housing pre-attached to the panel. The male connector housing has a receptacle into which the female connector housing can be fitted. A tapered guiding surface is provided on the rim of the hood portion of the male connector housing. If misalignment occurs during the mating process of the male and female connector housings, the front end of the female connector housing comes into contact with the guiding surface of the receptacle. Subsequently, when the female connector housing is fitted into the hood portion, the front end of the female connector housing slides on the guiding surface along with the fitting, and misalignment between the male and female connector housings is corrected.

JP 2003-151684 A

When the waiting-side connector is composed of two parts, a holder and a housing, the housing may tilt in the holder due to the reaction force of the wires pulled out from the housing and the variation in tolerance of each part, making it impossible to mate. obtain. A large lead-in must be provided at the front end of the housing in order to allow engagement even when the housing is tilted with respect to the holder. However, if a large lead-in is provided at the front end of the housing, the size of the reception side connector is increased, and accordingly the mating connector is also increased in size, resulting in an increase in the overall size of the connector.

The present disclosure has been completed based on the circumstances as described above, and an object of the present disclosure is to reduce the size of the connector as a whole.

A connector of the present disclosure is a connector comprising a mating connector, and a reception side connector having a holder fixed to a vehicle body and a housing into which the mating connector can be fitted, wherein the housing comprises the holder. in the mating direction between a mating start position and a mating completion position, and as the mating of the mating connector and the waiting connector progresses from the mating start position to the mating The waiting-side connector includes a guide portion for guiding movement of the housing in the mating direction between the mating start position and the mating completion position, and the mating start position. a connector that has a restraining portion that restrains movement of the housing in a direction other than the mating direction at the mating position, and a permitting portion that permits movement of the housing in a direction other than the mating direction at the mating completion position; be.

According to the present disclosure, the entire connector can be miniaturized.

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of the connector according to the embodiment, showing a state where the housing is positioned at the mating start position. FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the connector, showing a state in which the housing is positioned at the mating completion position. FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the connector, showing a state where the housing is positioned at the mating start position. FIG. 4 is a rear view of the connector. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 4, showing a state in which the housing is positioned at the fitting start position. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5, showing a state in which the housing is positioned at the fitting completion position. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional perspective view taken along line BB in FIG. 4, showing a state in which the housing is positioned at the fitting start position. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional perspective view corresponding to FIG. 7, showing a state in which the housing is positioned at the fitting completion position.

<Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure>
First, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described.
(1) A connector of the present disclosure is a connector comprising a mating connector and a reception side connector having a holder fixed to a vehicle body and a housing into which the mating connector can be fitted, wherein the housing is , the holder is movable in the mating direction between a mating start position and a mating completion position, and moves from the mating start position as the mating of the mating connector and the waiting connector progresses. The waiting-side connector is moved to the mating completion position, and includes a guide portion for guiding movement of the housing in the mating direction between the mating start position and the mating completion position; a suppressing portion that suppresses movement of the housing in a direction other than the mating direction at the mating start position; and a permitting portion that permits movement of the housing in a direction other than the mating direction at the mating completion position. connector.
At the mating start position, the restraining portion restrains the housing from moving in directions other than the mating direction, so that the posture of the housing is easily maintained in the holder, and the guiding portion that guides the mating connector into the waiting connector is eliminated. can be made smaller. Therefore, the size of the standby connector can be reduced, and the corresponding connector can also be reduced in size. Therefore, the overall size of the connector can be reduced.

(2) The guide section includes a holder-side guide section provided on the holder and a housing-side guide section provided on the housing, and the suppressing section includes the holder-side guide section and the housing-side guide section. The housing-side guide portions are configured by meshing with each other.
The housing can be prevented from moving in directions other than the fitting direction by the holder-side guide portion and the housing-side guide portion that constitute the guide portion.

(3) At least one of the holder-side guide portion and the housing-side guide portion is provided with a backlash reduction portion that reduces a clearance formed between the holder-side guide portion and the housing-side guide portion.
By reducing the clearance by the backlash reduction portion, the housing is firmly fixed in the holder, and movement of the housing in directions other than the fitting direction can be further suppressed.

(4) The allowable portion is configured such that the housing-side guide portion and the holder-side guide portion are disengaged while the housing moves from the fitting start position to the fitting completion position.
By disengaging the housing-side guide portion and the holder-side guide portion, the housing can be allowed to move in a direction other than the fitting direction at the fitting completion position.

<Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure>
A specific example of the connector of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is indicated by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of equivalents to the scope of the claims.

As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 10 of the present embodiment includes a male waiting-side connector 12 attached to a vehicle body (not shown) and a hood-like opening forward in the fitting direction. and a female mating connector 14 into which is fitted. In the following description, the mating direction of the reception side connector 12 and the mating connector 14 is defined as the front-rear direction, and the mating surfaces thereof are defined as the front side. Further, in FIG. 4, the direction from the left side to the right side in the drawing is defined as the right side in the horizontal direction, and the direction from the bottom side to the upper side in the drawing is defined as the upper side in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the reception-side connector 12 includes a holder 16 fixed to the vehicle body, a housing 18 accommodated inside the holder 16 and movable in the longitudinal direction (fitting direction) with respect to the holder 16, and a mating connector. and a lever 20 that reduces a fitting force when the connector 14 and the waiting-side connector 12 are fitted together.

The housing 18 has a mating start position (the position of the housing 18 with respect to the holder 16 shown in FIG. 1), which is a position before the mating connector 12 and the mating connector 14 are mated, and a position between the mating connector 12 and the mating connector. It is movable between a mating completion position (the position of the housing 18 with respect to the holder 16 shown in FIG. 2), which is the position after the mating of the housing 14 . As the mating of the mating connector 14 and the waiting connector 12 progresses, the housing 18 moves from the mating start position shown in FIG. 1 to the mating completion position shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the housing 18 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape elongated in the left-right direction, and as shown in FIG. 22 are provided so as to protrude upward. Similarly, a pair of left and right housing-side guide portions 22 are provided at both left and right ends of the lower surface of the housing 18 so as to protrude downward. A plurality of cavities are opened in the front-rear direction surface of the housing 18, and male terminals (not shown) are accommodated in the cavities. As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of left and right locking portions 24 are provided on both left and right side surfaces of the housing 18 so as to protrude in the left and right direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, grooves 26 are provided on the opposing surfaces of the pair of left and right housing side guide portions 22, and as shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the holder 16 has a rectangular tubular shape elongated in the left-right direction and is open in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of left and right lock arms 28 projecting forward in the fitting direction in a cantilever manner are provided on the inner wall of the holder 16 in the left-right direction. At the mating start position, the front ends of the pair of lock arms 28 engage the pair of lock portions 24 of the housing 18 from behind. This prevents the housing 18 from moving rearward. Further, when the housing 18 moves from the mating start position to the mating completion position, the unlocking portion provided on the mating connector 14 bends the lock arm 28 toward the inner wall of the holder 16 in the left-right direction. As a result, the locking of the lock arm 28 to the lock portion 24 is released. As a result, the housing 18 is pushed rearward by the mating connector 14 and moves to the mating completion position. As described above, the mating connector 14 and the standby connector 12 are fitted together.

As shown in FIG. 4 , a pair of left and right holder side guide portions (guide portions) 30 are provided on the upper inner wall of the holder 16 . Similarly, a pair of left and right holder-side guide portions 30 are provided on the lower inner wall of the holder 16 . Hereinafter, the holder-side guide portion 30 provided on the upper inner wall will be described, and the holder-side guide portion 30 provided on the lower inner wall will Since they have the same configuration, their description is omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the holder-side guide portion 30 has a shape elongated in the front-rear direction, and as shown in FIG. A second projecting portion 34 projecting in the left-right direction from the lower end of the portion 32 is provided. A pair of the second protrusions 34 are provided with a space therebetween in the left-right direction. The projecting direction of the second protrusions 34 is opposite to the direction toward the remaining second protrusions 34 . Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the holder-side guide portion 30 is provided with a front wall 36 that is continuous with the front end of the first projecting portion 32 and the front end of the second projecting portion 34 . As a result, when the housing 18 moves forward at the mating start position, the housing-side guide portion 22 comes into contact with the front wall 36 of the holder 16 from behind, and the forward movement of the housing 18 is suppressed.

As shown in FIG. 7, at the mating start position, the second projecting portion 34 of the holder-side guide portion 30 is inserted into the groove portion 26 of the housing-side guide portion 22, and the holder-side guide portion 30 and the housing-side guide portion 22 are separated from each other. are meshing with each other. As a result, movement of the housing 18 with respect to the holder-side guide portion 30 in directions other than the front-rear direction (fitting direction) is suppressed (description of the suppressing portion). As described above, since the movement of the housing 18 in directions other than the front-rear direction is suppressed at the mating start position, the orientation of the housing 18 is easily maintained in the holder 16, and the mating connector 14 is connected to the waiting connector 12. It is possible to reduce the induction part that invites. As a result, the standby connector 12 can be miniaturized, the mating connector 14 can be miniaturized accordingly, and the entire connector 10 can be miniaturized. Further, since the movement of the housing 18 in the front-rear direction is not restricted, the movement of the housing 18 in the front-rear direction is guided by the holder-side guide portion 30 and the housing-side guide portion 22 .

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the first projecting portion 32 and the second projecting portion 34 are provided with a backlash eliminating portion 38 having a linear shape elongated in the front-rear direction. The backlash elimination portion 38 is in contact with the housing side guide portion 22 at the fitting start position, thereby reducing the clearance formed between the holder side guide portion 30 and the housing side guide portion 22 . As a result, the housing 18 is firmly fixed within the holder 16, and the housing 18 is further prevented from rattling within the holder 16 in directions other than the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 8, while the housing 18 is moving from the mating start position to the mating completion position, the engagement between the holder-side guide portion 30 and the housing-side guide portion 22 is disengaged, and the housing-side guide portion 22 becomes the holder-side guide. Being housed in the rear space 40 of the portion 30 allows the housing 18 to move in directions other than the front-rear direction. As a result, deterioration of fitting feeling due to the backlash elimination portion 38 is suppressed. Further, when an external force is applied to the holder 16 after fitting, the transmission of the external force to the holder 16 to the housing 18 is suppressed, and the external force applied to the male terminals (not shown) housed in the housing 18 can be suppressed. (explanation about the tolerance part).

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the rear end portion of the holder-side guide portion 30 (that is, the rear end portion of the first projecting portion 32 and the rear end portion of the second projecting portion 34) and the rear end of the backlash reduction portion 38 The portion has a tapered shape that slopes rearward. As a result, when the housing 18 returns from the mating completion position to the mating start position when the reception-side connector 12 and the mating connector 14 are released from mating, the housing-side guide portion 22 prevents the rear end portion and play of the second projecting portion 34 . By riding on the rear end portion of the stuffing portion 38 , it becomes easier to mesh with the holder-side guide portion 30 .

As described above, according to the present embodiment, at the fitting start position, the restraining portions (housing side guide portion 22 and holder side guide portion 30) restrain movement of the housing 18 in directions other than the front-rear direction. The orientation of the housing 18 can be easily maintained within the holder 16, and the guide portion for guiding the mating connector 14 to the waiting connector 12 can be reduced. Therefore, the standby connector 12 can be miniaturized, and the mating connector 14 can be miniaturized accordingly. Therefore, the overall size of the connector can be reduced.

The guide portion includes a holder-side guide portion 30 provided on the holder 16 and a housing-side guide portion 22 provided on the housing 18. The suppressing portion includes the holder-side guide portion 30 and the housing-side guide portion 30. It is configured by the guide portions 22 meshing with each other.
The holder-side guide portion 30 and the housing-side guide portion 22 that constitute the guide portion can suppress the movement of the housing 18 in directions other than the front-rear direction (fitting direction).

At least one of the holder-side guide portion 30 and the housing-side guide portion 22 is provided with a backlash reduction portion 38 that reduces the clearance formed between the holder-side guide portion 30 and the housing-side guide portion 22 .
By reducing the clearance by the backlash reduction portion 38, the housing 18 is firmly fixed in the holder, and movement of the housing 18 in directions other than the front-rear direction (fitting direction) can be further suppressed.

Further, the allowable portion is configured such that the housing side guide portion 22 and the holder side guide portion 30 are disengaged while the housing 18 is moving from the fitting start position to the fitting completion position.
By disengaging the housing-side guide portion 22 and the holder-side guide portion 30, it is possible to allow the housing 18 to move in directions other than the front-rear direction (fitting direction) at the mating completion position.

<Other embodiments>
The technology disclosed in this specification is not limited to the embodiments described by the above description and drawings, and includes various aspects such as the following.
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the looseness eliminating portion 38 is provided in the holder side guide portion 30, but for example, the looseness elimination portion may be provided in the housing side guide portion.
(2) In the above-described embodiment, the allowance portion is disengaged from the housing-side guide portion 22 and the holder-side guide portion 30 while the housing 18 is moving from the fitting start position to the fitting completion position. However, for example, the allowable portion has a clearance between the housing-side guide portion and the holder-side guide portion on the way from the fitting start position to the fitting completion position. may be configured by increasing the
(3) In the above embodiment, the pair of left and right housing side guide portions 22 are provided on the upper surface and the lower surface of the housing 18, respectively. good. Similarly, the pair of left and right holder-side guide portions 30 are provided on the upper inner wall and the lower inner wall of the holder 16, respectively, but they are provided on either the upper inner wall or the lower inner wall of the holder. may be configured.
(4) In the above embodiment, the standby connector 12 is male and the mating connector 14 is female. good too.
(5) In the above embodiment, each of the guides 22 and 30 also serves as a suppressor.

10: Connector 12: Waiting Side Connector 14: Mating Side Connector 16: Holder 18: Housing 20: Lever 22: Housing Side Guide Part (Guide Part, Control Part)
24: lock portion 26: groove portion 28: lock arm 30: holder side guide portion (guide portion, restraint portion)
32: First projecting part 34: Second projecting part 36: Front wall 38: Backlash reduction part 40: Rear space (allowance part)

Claims (2)

a mating connector;
A connector, comprising: a reception-side connector having a holder fixed to a vehicle body and a housing to which the mating connector can be fitted,
The housing is movable with respect to the holder between a mating start position and a mating completion position in a mating direction, and as mating of the mating connector and the waiting connector progresses, the mating position is adjusted. It is assumed to move from the start position to the mating completion position,
The waiting-side connector includes a guide portion that guides movement of the housing in a mating direction between the mating start position and the mating completion position, and a guide portion that guides movement of the housing in a mating direction other than the mating direction at the mating start position. and a permitting portion that permits movement of the housing in a direction other than the mating direction at the mating completion position. death,
The guide portion includes a holder-side guide portion provided on the holder and a housing-side guide portion provided on the housing,
The suppressing portion is configured by engaging the holder-side guide portion and the housing-side guide portion with each other,
The housing side guide portion is accommodated in the allowance portion when the housing side guide portion and the holder side guide portion are disengaged while the housing moves from the fitting start position to the fitting completion position. configured as a space behind the holder guide part,
Since the housing-side guide portion is accommodated in the rear space, movement of the housing in a direction other than the fitting direction is permitted. connector. At least one of the holder-side guide portion and the housing-side guide portion is provided with a backlash reduction portion that reduces a clearance formed between the holder-side guide portion and the housing-side guide portion. Connector as described.

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