JP7145399B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to connectors.

The connector described in Patent Literature 1 is attached to the body of an automobile via a bracket. The connector has a housing and an elastic locking piece integrally formed on one surface of the housing. The elastic locking piece has a rear end connected to the housing at both ends and a front end as a free end facing the front end side of the housing. A bracket insertion portion is provided between the elastic locking piece and one surface of the housing. The bracket is inserted into the bracket insertion portion from behind. When the bracket reaches the fully inserted position, the engaging projections provided on the elastic locking pieces fit into the engaging holes of the bracket, thereby fixing the housing to the bracket. While the bracket is being inserted into the bracket insertion portion, the engaging projection interferes with the bracket, and the elastic locking piece is flexurally deformed with the rear end side as a fulcrum. A technique for fixing the housing to the bracket is also disclosed in Patent Document 2.

JP-A-11-67362 JP 2017-204399 A

By the way, when vibration force is applied to the bracket due to vehicle vibration, a large stress acts on the elastic locking piece via the bracket. Therefore, it is necessary to impart a predetermined strength to the elastic locking piece.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector capable of ensuring strength against vibration.

The present disclosure comprises a housing fixed to a bracket, the housing comprising a housing body, a pair of side portions protruding from one surface of the housing body, and a pair of side portions spanning between the pair of side portions. a connecting portion arranged apart from one surface; a lock portion projecting forward from the connecting portion and arranged apart from one surface of the housing main body; an inserting portion disposed between the locking portion and into which the bracket is inserted from the rear, wherein the locking portion uses the connection side with the connecting portion as a fulcrum of bending when the bracket is inserted; The pair of side portions has grooves on the inner surfaces facing the insertion portion into which both side edges of the bracket are fitted and inserted, and the length of the lock portion in the front-rear direction. The length of the connector is shorter than the length of the groove.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a connector capable of ensuring strength against vibration.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a housing is fixed to a bracket in the connector according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which the housing is fixed to the bracket. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the housing. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the housing. FIG. 6 is a front view of the housing with the mounting member inserted. FIG. 7 is a rear view of the housing.

[Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure]
First, the embodiments of the present disclosure are listed and described.
The connector of the present disclosure is
(1) A housing fixed to a bracket is provided, and the housing includes a housing body, a pair of side portions projecting from one surface of the housing body, and a pair of side portions extending between the pair of side portions and extending from one surface of the housing body. a locking portion projecting forward from the connecting portion and disposed away from one surface of the housing main body; and between the pair of side portions and one surface of the housing main body and the lock. and an insertion portion into which the bracket is inserted from the rear, wherein the lock portion supports the bracket with the side connected to the connecting portion as a fulcrum of deflection when the bracket is inserted. The pair of side portions are elastically locked, and the pair of side portions have groove portions on the inner surfaces facing the insertion portion into which both side edge portions of the bracket are fitted and inserted, and the length of the lock portion in the front-rear direction. is shorter than the length of the groove.
Since both side edges of the bracket are fitted and inserted into the grooves on both sides, when the bracket vibrates, the stress can be dispersed to both sides, and the stress is less likely to be transmitted to the lock portion. Moreover, in the connector of the present disclosure, the lock portion protrudes in the bracket insertion direction (forward), and the length of the lock portion is shorter than the length of the groove with respect to the bracket insertion direction (front-rear direction). Therefore, even if the bracket is displaced with respect to the housing due to vibration, the lock portion does not fluctuate greatly, and the stress acting on the lock portion via the bracket can be suppressed satisfactorily. As a result, the connector of the present disclosure can improve strength against vibration.

(2) The length of the lock portion is half or less than the length of the groove portion, and there is an area where the bracket is exposed between the front end of the lock portion and the front end of the groove portion in the front-rear direction. preferably. Since the length of the lock portion is half or less than the length of the groove portion, the stress acting on the lock portion can be minimized. Moreover, since it is possible to ensure a wide area where the bracket is exposed, it becomes easier to visually confirm whether the bracket is properly inserted into the insertion portion.

(3) the housing body has a hood into which the mating housing is inserted, the pair of side portions protrudes from one surface of the hood, and a mounting member is fitted and inserted into the hood; A portion where the locking portion locks the bracket preferably overlaps with the mounting member in the front-rear direction. If the hood were to deform, the relative position between the side portion and the bracket would change, and there is a concern that unnecessary stress would act on the lock portion via the bracket. However, according to the above configuration, since the mounting member is fitted and inserted into the hood, deformation of the hood can be avoided. In particular, since the portion where the lock portion locks the bracket overlaps with the mounting member in the front-rear direction, it is possible to satisfactorily suppress the application of unnecessary stress to the lock portion.

[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 invention is not limited to this example, but is indicated by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims.

The connector according to this embodiment is attached to an automobile body or automobile parts (not shown) via a bracket 60 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The connector has a housing 10 made of synthetic resin. The housing 10 has a terminal holding portion 11 and a hood 12 (housing body) projecting forward (to the left in FIG. 1) of the terminal holding portion 11 . The terminal holding portion 11 has a flat shape elongated in the left-right direction. The terminal holding portion 11 accommodates and holds a male terminal fitting (not shown) inside.

The hood 12 is slightly larger than the terminal holding portion 11 and has a shape of a rectangular tube elongated in the left-right direction. Inside the hood 12, tabs of male terminal fittings are arranged so as to protrude. A mating housing 70 is inserted into the hood 12 from the front.
Here, the mating housing 70 is made of synthetic resin and, as shown in FIG. 1, accommodates female terminal fittings (not shown). The mating housing 70 has a flexibly deformable lock arm 71 projecting from its lower surface.

The mounting member 13 is inserted into the hood 12 before the mating housing 70 is inserted. The mounting member 13 is configured, for example, as a retainer that restricts the male terminal fitting from coming out of the terminal holding portion 11 rearward. The mounting member 13 has a solid portion 14 that fills a predetermined range of space extending forward from the front surface of the terminal holding portion 11 in the hood 12 .

The hood 12 has a lock groove 15 on the inner surface of the lower wall portion. The lock groove 15 extends in the front-rear direction at the left-right central portion of the lower wall portion of the hood 12 (see FIG. 4), the front end is closed, and the rear end extends from the rear surface of the lower wall portion of the hood 12 (connecting to the terminal holding portion 11). stepped portion). When the mating housing 70 is inserted into the hood 12, the projecting portion of the lock arm 71 is elastically fitted into the lock groove 15, and both housings 10, 70 are fitted and held. The mounting member 13 is arranged so as to be sandwiched between the properly fitted housings 10 and 70 .

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the hood 12 has a pair of ridges 16 on both left and right sides of the lock groove 15 on the inner surface of the lower wall portion. Both protrusions 16 have a rectangular cross-sectional shape and extend in the front-rear direction. Both of the ridges 16 have therein holes that open to the front end of the hood 12 in a circular shape (specifically, an oblong shape elongated in the vertical direction). When the two housings 10 and 70 are properly fitted together, the ridges 16 are inserted into corresponding fitting holes (not shown) of the mating housing 70 . For example, if both housings 10 and 70 are in a mating posture that is upside down from normal, both protrusions 16 do not correspond to the fitting holes and interfere with the mating housing 70 . This prevents both housings 10 and 70 from being erroneously and forcibly fitted.

The housing 10 has a pair of side portions 17 protruding from the upper surface (one surface) of the upper wall portion of the hood 12, as shown in FIGS. The side portions 17 extend in the front-rear direction over the entire length of the hood 12 on both the left and right sides of the upper wall portion of the hood 12 . Both side portions 17 have attachment portions 18 protruding from the block-shaped portion having a rectangular cross section at the front end portion so as to protrude inward (right and left central sides of the housing 10) so as to face each other. As shown in FIG. 6, the attached portion 18 protrudes short from the upper surface of the upper wall portion of the hood 12 with a protruding dimension equal to or less than half the total height of the side portion 17 . The corners of the attached portion 18 are rounded.

The housing 10 has a connecting portion 19 that spans between the upper ends of the side portions 17 in the left-right direction. The connecting portion 19 has a strip-like shape and is arranged at a distance from the upper surface of the upper wall portion of the hood 12 . As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the upper surface of the connecting portion 19 is a flat surface that continues to the upper surfaces of the side portions 17 without steps. The rear surface of the connecting portion 19 corresponds to the rear end of the hood 12 in the front-rear direction, and is arranged at the same position as the rear surface of the side portions 17 .

As shown in FIG. 7 , the connecting portion 19 and the side portions 17 have guiding portions 20 on the inside in the thickness direction of the respective rear surfaces, which are inclined forward toward the inside (toward an insertion portion 29 described later). The connecting portion 19 has a notch-like inclined portion 21 at the center of the guiding portion 20 in the left and right direction. The inclined portion 21 has a rectangular shape when viewed from the rear, and as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 10 has a built-up portion between the rear surface of the upper wall portion of the hood 12 (the stepped portion with respect to the terminal holding portion 11) and the upper surface of the terminal holding portion 11. has a sloped portion 23 that slopes downward to the rear. The slope portion 23 continues to the guiding portion 20 on both left and right sides. As shown in FIG. 7, the slope portion 23 is longer than the guiding portion 20 in the front-rear direction. Moreover, the lateral dimension of the slope portion 23 is larger than the lateral dimension of the guiding portion 20 .

As shown in FIG. 7, both side portions 17 have a pair of groove portions 24 in the lower portions of inner surfaces facing each other (surfaces facing a space portion described later). Both grooves 24 are rectangular in cross section and extend in the front-rear direction on the inner surfaces of the side portions 17. As shown in FIG. (the rear end of the hood 12). The rear ends of both grooves 24 are partitioned (bordered) by the inner edge of the guide portion 20 .

As shown in FIG. 7 , the hood 12 has a pair of ribs 25 at positions facing both grooves 24 . Both ribs 25 have an arcuate cross-section, and as shown in FIG. 5, extend in the front-rear direction on the top surface of the upper wall portion of the hood 12, with their front ends continuing to the attachment portion 18 and their rear ends facing an insertion portion 29, which will be described later. I'm in. The rear ends of both ribs 25 are arranged at positions overlapping lock portions 22, which will be described later, in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 5, the inner halves of both ribs 25 are exposed inwardly from the side portions 17 and can be visually confirmed in a plan view.

The housing 10 has a locking portion 22 that continues to the front end of the connecting portion 19 . As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the locking portion 22 is spaced apart from the upper surface of the upper wall portion of the hood 12 . As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lock portion 22 includes a lock body 26 projecting forward from the left-right central portion of the front end of the connecting portion 19, and a lock projection 27 projecting downward from the lower surface of the lock body 26. Configured. The upper surface of the lock body 26 is formed as a flat surface that is continuous with the upper surface of the connecting portion 19 without steps. The lower surface of the lock body 26 is also continuous with the lower surface of the connecting portion 19 without a step. As shown in FIG. 5 , base portions of both side surfaces of the lock body 26 (surfaces facing the inner surfaces of the side portions 17 ) are curved so as to widen to the left and right toward the connecting portion 19 in plan view. A space between the side surface of the lock body 26, the inner surface of the side portion 17, and the connecting portion 19 forms a U shape in plan view.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the plate width dimension (horizontal dimension) of the lock body 26 is smaller than the plate width dimension (front and rear dimension) of the connecting portion 19 . The projection dimension (front-rear dimension) of the lock body 26 is shorter than the front-rear length of the groove portion 24 . Specifically, the projection dimension of the lock body 26 is less than half the length of the groove portion 24 . Also, the sum of the projection dimension of the lock body 26 and the plate width dimension of the connecting portion 19 is less than half the longitudinal length of the side portion 17 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the lock protrusion 27 is claw-shaped and protrudes from the lower surface of the lock body 26 in the front-rear direction. The lower surface of the lock body 26 has a flat contact portion 28 in front of the lock protrusion 27 along the front-rear direction. The front surface of the lock projection 27 is slightly inclined forward from the root to the tip. The rear surface of the lock projection 27 is greatly inclined forward from the root to the tip. The front-to-rear dimension of the root of the lock projection 27 is more than half the projection dimension of the lock body 26 .

As shown in FIG. 7, the housing 10 has an insertion portion 29 above the upper wall portion of the hood 12 and defined by the side portions 17, the connecting portion 19 and the lock portion 22. As shown in FIG. The insertion portion 29 penetrates the housing 10 in the front-rear direction and is configured as a flat space portion elongated in the left-right direction.

The bracket 60 is a plate made of metal and is inserted into the insertion portion 29 from behind. The bracket 60 has a rectangular flat plate shape elongated in the front-rear direction, and has a lock hole 61 having a rectangular cross section penetrating in the plate thickness direction. The plate thickness dimension of the bracket 60 is the same as or smaller than the vertical dimension of the insertion portion 29 (excluding the portion where the lock projection 27 protrudes) (see FIG. 1). Moreover, the plate width dimension of the bracket 60 is the same as or smaller than the lateral dimension of the insertion portion 29 including both grooves 24 .

Next, the action of the connector according to this embodiment will be described.
When fixing the housing 10 to the bracket 60 , the tip of the bracket 60 is inserted into the insertion portion 29 of the housing 10 . At this time, the left and right side edge portions of the bracket 60 are fitted and inserted into the groove portions 24 . As a result, the bracket 60 is restricted from moving vertically and horizontally with respect to the housing 10 . Moreover, the bracket 60 can be smoothly inserted into the insertion portion 29 by sliding along the guide portion 20 and the slope portion 23 .

The lock protrusion 27 interferes with the bracket 60 that is being inserted and rides on the upper surface of the bracket 60 . While the lock projection 27 is riding on the upper surface of the bracket 60, the lock body 26 is bent upward with the connecting portion 19 as a fulcrum. When the front ends of the side edges of the bracket 60 abut against the attached portions 18 of the side portions 17, further insertion of the bracket 60 is restricted. When the bracket 60 is properly inserted into the insertion portion 29 in this manner, the lock body 26 is elastically restored, and the lock protrusion 27 fits and fits into the lock hole 61 (see FIG. 1). At the same time when the lock projection 27 is fitted into the lock hole 61, the contact portion 28 hits the upper surface of the bracket 60 so as to hit it. Further, even when the bracket 60 is properly inserted into the insertion portion 29 , the both side edges of the bracket 60 are maintained in a state of being fitted in the both groove portions 24 . The housing 10 is fixed to the bracket 60 by locking projections 27 to prevent it from coming off.

Brackets 60 are positioned along the upper surface of the upper wall portion of hood 12 and the lower surface of lock body 26 . The lower surfaces of both side edges of the bracket 60 contact the upper ends (tips) of the ribs 25, as shown in FIG. The upper end of rib 25 is crushed by bracket 60 . The bracket 60 is sandwiched in the plate thickness direction between the upper wall portion of the groove portion 24 and the rib 25 in the side portion 17 . The bracket 60 has an exposed area 40 that is exposed in a wide area between the front end of the lock body 26 and the front ends (attached portions 18) of both grooves 24 in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 2).
The lock portion where the lock protrusion 27 is fitted into the lock hole 61 of the bracket 60 is contained in the front-rear range of the solid portion 14 of the mounting member 13 in the front-rear direction, and at least overlaps with the solid portion 14 (FIG. 1).

Thereafter, the mating housing 70 is inserted into the hood 12 to keep the two housings 10, 70 in mated condition (see FIG. 1). When the vehicle vibrates while the connector is mounted on the vehicle, the bracket 60 also vibrates. The vibration force of bracket 60 is also transmitted to housing 10 . At this time, if a large stress is applied to the lock portion 22, there is a concern that the locked state of the lock portion 22 with respect to the bracket 60 cannot be stably maintained.

However, in the case of this embodiment, since both side edges of the bracket 60 are fitted and inserted into the grooves 24, the bracket 60 is restricted from being displaced with respect to the housing 10 when vibrating. Moreover, the protruding dimension of the lock portion 22 (lock body 26) is shorter than the longitudinal length of both the groove portions 24. As shown in FIG. Therefore, even if the bracket 60 is displaced with respect to the housing 10 , the locking portion 22 does not largely move together with the bracket 60 . Therefore, the stress acting on the lock portion 22 via the bracket 60 can be suppressed satisfactorily, and the locked state of the lock portion 22 can be stably maintained.

In particular, since the length of the lock portion 22 is less than half the length of the groove portion 24, the stress acting on the lock portion 22 can be minimized. Moreover, by making the length of the lock portion 22 less than half the length of the groove portion 24, the exposed region 40 of the bracket 60 can be secured widely, and whether or not the bracket 60 is correctly inserted into the insertion portion 29 can be checked. Visual confirmation becomes easy.

Moreover, the locking portion where the mounting member 13 is fitted and inserted into the hood 12 and the locking portion 22 locks the bracket 60 overlaps the solid portion 14 of the mounting member 13 in the front-rear direction. For this reason, the hood 12 is reinforced by the mounting member 13 at the position corresponding to the lock portion and is less likely to deform. As a result, it is possible to prevent the relative positions of the hood 12 and the bracket 60 from fluctuating during vibration, and to suppress unnecessary stress from being applied to the lock portion 22 .

[Other embodiments]
It should be considered that the embodiments disclosed this time are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive.
For example, in the above embodiment, the housing 10 is a male housing having the hood 12 as the housing main body, but in another embodiment, the housing does not have the hood, and the portion that holds the female terminal fittings is the housing main body. It may be a female housing that

In the above embodiment, the entire lock body 26 of the lock portion 22 protrudes forward of the connecting portion 19. However, in another embodiment, a portion of the locking portion projects rearward of the connecting portion. It may be in the form of having

In the above embodiment, the mounting member is configured as a retainer for preventing the male terminal fitting from slipping off from the terminal holding portion. may be configured as Also, the mounting member may be configured as a moving plate for positioning the tab of the male terminal fitting in the hood.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Housing 11... Terminal holding|maintenance part 12... Hood|hood 13... Mounting member 14... Solid part 15... Lock groove 16... Ridge part 17... Side part 18... Attachment part 19... Joint part 20... Guide part 21... Inclined part 22 Lock portion 23 Slope portion 24 Groove portion 25 Rib 26 Lock body 27 Lock projection 28 Contact portion 29 Insertion portion 40 Exposed region 60 Bracket 61 Lock hole 70 Mating housing 71 Lock arm

Claims (2)

With a housing fixed to the bracket,
The housing is
a housing body;
a pair of side portions protruding from one surface of the housing main body; a connecting portion spanning between the pair of side portions and arranged apart from the one surface of the housing main body;
a locking portion projecting forward from the connecting portion and arranged away from one surface of the housing body;
an insertion portion disposed between the pair of side portions and between one surface of the housing body and the lock portion, into which the bracket is inserted from the rear;
When the bracket is inserted, the lock part elastically locks the bracket using a connection side with the connecting part as a fulcrum of deflection,
The pair of side portions have groove portions in inner surfaces facing the insertion portion into which both side edge portions of the bracket are fitted and inserted,
With respect to the front-rear direction, the length of the lock portion is shorter than the length of the groove portion ,
The housing body has a hood into which the mating housing is inserted,
The pair of side portions protrude from one surface of the hood,
A mounting member is fitted and inserted into the hood,
A portion of the locking portion that locks the bracket overlaps with the mounting member in the front-rear direction,
The mounting member includes a retainer that restricts the male terminal fitting with the tab protruding into the hood from being pulled out rearward, a front mask that does not have a function to prevent the male terminal fitting from coming off, and a tab inside the hood. A connector that is either a moving plate that determines the position . The length of the lock portion is half or less than the length of the groove portion, and there is an area where the bracket is exposed between the front end of the lock portion and the front end of the groove portion in the front-rear direction. 1. The connector according to 1.

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