JPH01149382A - Lock mechanism for connector housing - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to easily check the lock condition between a male housing and a female housing from the outside by arranging the constitution in such a way that it has a through hole and a projection to be engaged with a recess for engagement so as to enable engagement condition to be judged from the outside. CONSTITUTION:A female housing 2 is provided with a lock guarantee member 5 which is formed in a body and free in erection or bringing down, and a through hole 7 to let pass the projection 6 of this lock guarantee member 5. When a male housing 1 is pushed completely into the female housing 2, a hooking part 3a being the first lock means engages with a hooking part 3b provided inside the female housing 2 and the locking is accomplished. In this condition, if the projection 6 is inserted into the through hole 7 by bringing down the lock guarantee member 5, the tip of the projection 6 engages with a recess 8 for engagement and the second lock is executed. Hereby, if the lock guarantee member 5 is checked visually, it can be judged whether the lock mechanism is functioning accurately or not.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a locking mechanism for a connector housing that is provided with means for confirming the state of connection between a male housing and a female housing.

[Prior Art] Generally, to connect connectors, a male housing containing connection terminals and a female housing are fitted together, the respective connection terminals are electrically connected, and the connected state is maintained. Therefore, the male housing and the female housing are locked by engaging locking means provided on the female housing.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, 1. Normally, this locking means is hidden in the female housing and is difficult to see from the outside, so it is impossible for the male housing and the female housing to be connected by a lock. It has the disadvantage that it is difficult to confirm whether or not there is one. Also,
When the housings are in a half-fitted state, there is a high possibility that the lock will come off due to external vibrations, shocks, etc.

[Object of the Invention] In order to improve such problems, the object of the present invention is to provide a method that reliably guarantees the coupling state between the male housing and the female housing, and also makes it possible to easily confirm the locked state from the outside. An object of the present invention is to provide a locking mechanism for a connector housing.

[Summary of the Invention] The gist of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned objects is to maintain a coupled state between a male housing and a female housing each having a built-in connection terminal, and to confirm the coupled state from the outside. A connector housing comprising a lock guarantee member, the lock guarantee member including a protrusion that passes through a through hole provided in the female housing and fits into an engagement recess provided in the male housing. This is the locking mechanism.

[Embodiments of the invention] The present invention will be explained in detail based on illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows the male housing 1 and the female housing 2 separately, and illustrations of connection terminals housed inside, electric wires connected to the connection terminals, etc. are omitted. As a first locking means for keeping the male housing 1 coupled to the female housing 2, the male housing 1 is provided with a convex or concave locking portion 3a,
As is conventionally known, this locking portion 3a engages with a locking portion 3b provided on the female housing 2 to maintain the state in which both connection terminals are electrically connected. . Moreover, in order to release the first locking means, if the lock release pressing part 4 is pressed, the locking part 3a is pushed down and disengaged from the locking part 3a on the female housing 2 side.
The male housing 1 can be taken out as is. This first locking means is merely an example and may be substituted for various locking mechanisms used in conventional connector housings.

The present invention is characterized by the second locking means described below. This second locking means is the same as the first locking means described above.
The locking means and the second locking means themselves have the dual role of making it possible to confirm from the outside whether or not they are fully working, and further increasing the locking strength. The female housing 2 is provided with an integrally molded lock guaranteeing member 5 that can be raised and lowered, and a through hole 7 through which the protrusion 6 of the lock guaranteeing member 5 passes. On the other hand, the male housing l is provided with an engaging recess 8 into which the tip of the protrusion 6 passing through the through hole 7 is fitted. The lock guaranteeing member 5 is connected to the female housing 2 by a bendable thin-walled hinge portion 9, and the lock holding member 5 can be tipped over as shown by arrow A around this hinge portion 9. It looks like this.

When the male housing 1 is completely inserted into the female housing 2, the locking part 3a, which is the first locking means, engages with the locking part 3a inside the female housing 2, as described above. and the lock is established.

In this state, the through hole 7 of the female housing 2 and the retaining recess 8 of the male housing 1 match, so as shown in FIG. 7, the tip of the protrusion 6 fits into the engagement recess 8 and a second lock is applied.

When the male housing 1 is not completely inserted into the female housing 2 and the first locking means is in a so-called half-fitted state, the first through hole 7 and the four engaging parts 8 do not match. Therefore, the tip of the projecting body 6 cannot fit into the engagement recess 8, and the lock guarantee member 5 cannot be in a fallen state. In other words, when the lock guarantee member 5 is completely fallen, the first Both the locking means and the second locking means are working perfectly, and if the lock guaranteeing member 5 does not fall down, these locking means are in an incomplete state, so the lock guaranteeing member 5 will eventually fall down. By visually checking whether the locking mechanism is functioning correctly, it can be determined whether the locking mechanism is functioning correctly or not.

Moreover, in order to release the second locking means, it is of course only necessary to raise the lock guarantee member 5 and pull out the protrusion 6, but in the locked state, the protrusion 6 cannot be easily pulled out due to vibration etc. It is desirable to provide an appropriate stop to prevent this from happening.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the case where the lock guarantee member 5 is integrated with the female housing 2 is shown, but it may be a separate body. By using a separate lock guaranteeing member having a protruding body that is fitted into the through hole 7 and the recess 8 for the anchor, the above-described embodiment may be modified depending on whether or not the flat surface thereof is in contact with the outer surface of the female housing 2. Similarly, the lock status can be checked from the outside. In short, it is sufficient that it has a protrusion that fits into the through hole 7 and the engagement recess 8, and that the fitted state and unfitted state of this protrusion can be determined from the outside. Depending on the connector, the first locking mechanism may be omitted and locking may be performed only with the second locking mechanism.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the locking mechanism of the connector housing according to the present invention allows easy confirmation from the outside whether the male housing and the female housing are completely locked, so that the so-called half-fitting is prevented. It is possible to prevent this from occurring. Furthermore, if a locking means is present in addition to this locking means, the locking is doubled, so that the effect of further strengthening against collisions, vibrations, etc. can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of a locking mechanism for a connector housing according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a male housing and a female housing separated, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a combined state. 1 is a male housing, 2 is a female housing, 3a,
3b is a locking portion, 5 is a lock guaranteeing member, 6 is a projecting body, 7 is a through hole, 8 is an engagement recess, and 9 is a hinge portion. Patent applicant: Mitsubishi Motors Corporation
Shinagawa Automotive Wire Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A lock guaranteeing member is provided which maintains the coupled state of the male housing and the female housing, each of which has a built-in connection terminal, and allows the coupled state to be confirmed from the outside; A locking mechanism for a connector housing, comprising a protrusion that passes through a through hole provided in the female housing and fits into an engagement recess provided in the male housing. 2. The connector housing locking mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the lock guarantee member is connected to the female housing by a bendable thin wall portion.