JPH0465076A - Connecting/hooking system for electrical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a hooking metal from being forgotten to be assembled by integrally constituting the hooking metal with right and left components. CONSTITUTION:A hooking metal 40 is punched from a springy metal sheet and integrally formed by folding, and it has the right and left extension sections 41, the right and left press-in sections 43, U-sections 42 connecting the extension sections 41 and the press-in sections 43, and joint sections 44 connecting the right and left press-in sections 43 together. When the hooking metal 40 provided with button sections 50 are to be fitted, the press-in the hooking metal 40 are pressed into press-in section sections 43 of the hooking metal 40 are pressed into press-in section receiving grooves 32 on the sides of an insulating housing 30 so that metal hooking projections 45 bite into the inner walls of the receiving grooves 32, and the joint sections 44 surround one side nearly at the middle section of the insulating housing 30. The other components of the hooking metal 40 are prevented from being forgotten to be assembled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coupling and locking mechanism for electrical connectors for locking the fitting of electrical connectors together.

Conventional technology As a coupling locking mechanism for this type of electrical connector, conventionally,
It has been common practice to provide separate locking fittings on each side of an electrical connector.

For example, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 61-172070 discloses a coupling and locking mechanism for this type of electrical connector. In this joint locking mechanism, locking metal fittings made separately on the left and right sides are incorporated into the left and right sides of the insulating case of the electrical connector, and each independent locking fitting provided on the mating electrical connector is The fitting of both electrical connectors is locked by engagement with the metal fitting receiver. In addition, each locking bracket is fixed to the insulating case of the electrical connector at the mounting points provided on both sides in the width direction of the locking bracket, and the locking bracket is engaged with the locking bracket receiver of the mating electrical connector. The part is, take those.''
It is installed between the openings.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the conventional electrical connector coupling and locking mechanism as described above has the following problems.

(1) The left and right locking fittings are made separately and tied together, which increases the number of parts and requires a lot of assembly man-hours, which inevitably leads to high costs.

(2) There was a risk that only one of the locking metal fittings would be assembled and the other locking metal fitting would be forgotten, resulting in an incomplete connector being manufactured.

(3) When you want to check whether the mating connector is properly mated with the mating connector, the left and right locking metal fittings are not connected, so use the locking metal holder on the mating connector side. Unable to check.

(4) Each locking metal fitting has a mounting part on both sides in the width direction, and an engaging part is provided between these mounting parts, so the width of the locking metal fitting becomes large,
Therefore, the overall thickness (height) of the electrical connector cannot be reduced, which has been an obstacle to making the connector thinner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a mating and locking mechanism for a hinged electrical connector that overcomes the problems of the prior art as described above.

Means for Solving the Problems According to the present invention, in a coupling locking mechanism for electrical connectors that locks the fitting of electrical connectors together, a locking fitting provided on at least one of the electrical connectors is Both sides are provided with a pair of extension parts that provide a locking part that engages with a locking part of a locking metal holder provided on the other electrical connector, and a joint part that connects the pair of extension parts. shall be taken as a thing.

Embodiments Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to embodiments of the present invention based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exploded parts arrangement showing an electrical connector to which a coupling and locking mechanism is applied as an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, one electrical connector mainly consists of an upper case 1o and a lower case 20 formed of an insulating material such as plastic, and a combination of the upper case 10 and the lower case 20. an insulating housing 3° housed in a case formed by the insulating housing 30; and a locking fitting 40 attached to the insulating housing 30.
It is equipped with The other electrical connector to which this one electrical connector is fitted is mounted on a board 1 such as a printed circuit board, for example, and this other electrical connector is
It is provided with an insulating housing 3 in which a plurality of contacts are arranged. A locking metal receiver 4 is provided on both sides of the insulating housing 3.
is inserted. A lock receiving hole 5 is formed near the tip of each of these locking metal receivers 4, and a locking hole 5 that constitutes a locking portion that performs a function as described later is formed at the rear end. ing. The ground connection portion 4A is connected to the board 1.
It is soldered to the ground conductor IA as shown by reference numeral 2.

The upper case 10 has an insulating housing accommodating section at its tip that accommodates approximately the rear half of the insulating housing 3°, a cable receiving section 11 at its rear end, and lead part locking openings 12 at both side walls. ing. The upper case 10 is further formed with a screw hole 13 through which a fixing screw 14 is passed for tightening and fixing the lower case 20 in combination.

The lower case 20 has almost the same structure as the upper case 10, and has an insulating housing accommodating part at the tip that stores almost the rear half of the insulating housing 30, a cable receiving part 21 at the rear end, and a cable receiving part 21 at the rear end. The wall portion has a lead portion locking opening 22. This lower case 20 is further formed with an acid threaded portion 23 that is screwed into the fixing screw 14 for tightening.

Furthermore, a cable fixing fitting receiving part 24 is formed in the cable receiving part 21 . A cable fixing fitting receiving part similar to the cable fixing fitting receiving part 24 is also formed in the cable receiving part 11 of the upper case 10.

The insulating housing 30 is integrally molded from an insulating material such as plastic, and has a plurality of contact arrangement holes 31 for arranging a plurality of contacts, like the insulating housing of a normal connector. In addition, press-fitting part receiving grooves 32 are formed on both sides of substantially the front half of the insulating housing 30.

The locking fitting 40 is integrally formed by punching and bending a resilient metal sheet, and includes left and right extensions 41, left and right press-fit parts 43, and each extension 41.
It includes a U-shaped part 42 that connects the left and right press-fit parts 43 to each other, and a joint part 44 that connects the left and right press-fit parts 43 to each other. A lead part locking protrusion 46 is formed near the rear end of each extension part 41, and a locking part 48 protruding outward by punching outward is formed near the front end of each extension part 41. Furthermore, a strength reinforcing rib 47 is formed by punching inward between the lead portion locking projection 46 and the locking portion 48 of each extension portion 41. A metal fitting locking protrusion 45 is formed in each press-fitting portion 43 .

In this embodiment, as shown in the exploded parts arrangement perspective view in FIG. 1, a pair of lead parts 50 are provided, and the lead parts 50 are
For example, it is integrally molded from a material such as plastic, and has a shape that allows the operator's fingers to easily rest on it when locking or unlocking the fitting between the connectors.

Further, this lead part 50 is formed with a groove part into which the rear end of each extension part of the locking metal fitting 40 can be received and press-fitted and fixed by the lead part locking protrusion 46.

The assembly procedure for such an electrical connector will be described below with particular reference to the enlarged plan view of FIG. First of all,
Each contact with each core wire 7 of the electric cable 6 connected is inserted into each contact array hole 31 of the insulating housing 30, and the locking fitting 40 with the lead part 50 attached is attached to the insulating housing 30. do. This installation involves inserting each press-fitting part 43 of the locking metal fitting 40 into the press-fitting part receiving groove 33 on each side of the insulating housing 30.
This is done by press-fitting the insulating housing 44 so that the metal fitting locking protrusion 45 bites into the inner wall of the receiving groove 32, and at the same time, the joint portion 44 surrounds one side of the approximately middle portion of the insulating housing 44. . Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the insulating housing 3o with the wires connected and the locking fittings attached is inserted into the lower case 20 so that each lead part 50 inserted into the locking fittings 4o is inserted into the lower case 20. The electrical cables 6 are fitted into the respective corresponding lead locking openings 22, and the connected electrical cables 6 are fitted into the cable receiving parts 21, and the electrical cables 6 are connected to the cable fixing fittings 8 to the cable receiving parts 21. Secure it and store it. and,
Finally, assemble the upper case 1o over the lower case 20 and tighten using the fixing screws 14.
The lower case 2° and the upper case 10 may be tightened and fixed.

Connect one of the electrical connectors assembled in this way to the
When fitted into the insulating housing 3 of the other electrical connector mounted on the board 1 shown in the figure, the locking portions 48 on each side of the locking fittings 40 are connected to each extension portion 41 by each U-shaped portion 42.
Since the connector can be elastically deflected inward, it slides inside the mating locking metal receiver 4 and snaps into the locking hole 5 at its tip, locking the mating of both connectors. can do. To release this lock, both lead parts 5
0 between fingers, each extension part 41 will shift inward due to the elasticity of each U-shaped B42, and each locking part 4
8 is removed from the lock receiving hole 5, so that one of the electrical connectors can be completely pulled out from the insulating housing 3.

In the embodiment described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the insulating housing 30 is provided with a press-fit receiving groove 32, so that the locking fitting 40 is fixed to the insulating housing 30 when attached to the electrical connector. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in the partial perspective view of FIG. 26 and prevent the metal fitting locking protrusion 45 of the press-fitting part 43 of the locking metal fitting 40 from biting into this press-fitting part receiving groove 26.
The locking fitting 40 can also be fixedly attached to the lower case 20. Of course, it is also possible to attach and fix the locking fittings to the upper case instead of the lower case using a similar configuration. In this way, if the locking fitting 40 is not fixedly attached to the insulating housing 30 but fixedly attached to the lower case or the upper case, when the contact is inserted into the insulating housing, it will not be fixed. There is an advantage that the stopper does not get in the way. Another advantage is that the electric cable inserted first does not get in the way when attaching the locking metal fitting.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an exploded parts arrangement showing still another embodiment of the present invention. This FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but the upper case and the lower case are not shown and omitted. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the locking fitting 40A includes:
Instead of providing the press-fitting part 43 having the metal fitting locking protrusion 45 as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a press-fitting part 49 is formed in the center of the joint part 44A. This press-fitting part 49 has a locking protrusion 4
9A is formed. On the other hand, the insulating housing 30A has a guide protrusion 33 formed in the front central part of the upper surface of the insulating housing 30A, instead of providing the press-fitting part receiving grooves 32 on both side walls as in the embodiment shown in FIG. Part 3
3 is provided with a press-fitting part receiving hole 34. The press-fitting part 49 of the locking fitting 40A is inserted into the press-fitting part receiving hole 34 of the insulating housing 30A.
By being press-fitted into the insulating housing 30A, the locking metal fitting 4OA is fixedly attached to the insulating housing 30A. On the other hand, substrate 1
A guide groove 3B for receiving the guide protrusion 33 of the insulating housing 30A is formed at a corresponding position on the upper surface of the insulating housing 3A of the mating electrical connector mounted on the insulating housing 30A. As in this embodiment, if the press-fitting part receiving grooves are not provided on both side walls of the insulating housing 30A but are provided on the upper surface, there is an advantage that the width of the insulating housing in both side directions can be reduced.

Effects of the Invention Since the coupling and locking mechanism of the electrical connector of the present invention has the above-described configuration, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Since the left and right locking fittings are integrated, the number of parts is reduced, and the number of assembly steps is also reduced, resulting in lower costs.

(2) There is no need to forget to install only the other side of the locking metal fitting.

(3) When mated with a mating connector, the locking metal fittings can form an electrical loop circuit within the plug connector.
Fitting checks can be electrically performed simply and quickly.

(4) When attaching the locking metal fitting to the electrical connector, the fixing means and the means for applying spring force to the locking part are not juxtaposed in the width direction of the locking metal fitting, but are substantially parallel to each other in the width direction. Since the width of the locking fitting can be minimized, the overall thickness of the connector can be made small and thin. That is, the locking part 48 and the press-fitting part 43.4 in the locking fitting 40.4OA
9 are substantially at the same level in the width direction of the locking metal fitting, so the width of the entire locking metal fitting is not increased by their presence.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded parts arrangement perspective view showing an electrical connector to which a coupling and locking mechanism is applied as an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is for explaining the assembled state of one of the electrical connectors in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an exploded parts arrangement perspective view showing still another embodiment of the present invention. 1... Board, 3... Insulating housing,
4...Locking metal fitting receiver, 5...Locking receiver hole,
6... Electric cable, 7... Core wire, 8
...Cable fixing bracket, 10...Upper case, II...Cable receiver, 12...
...Lead part locking opening, 20...Lower case, 21
... Cable receiving part, 22 ... Lead part locking opening, 30 ... Insulation housing, 31 ...
...Contact array hole, 32...Press-fitting part receiving groove, 4
0...Locking metal fitting, 41...Extension part, 4
2...U-shaped part, 43-...Press-fitting part, 44
......Joint part, 45...Metal fitting locking protrusion,
46... Lead part locking protrusion, 47... Strength reinforcing rib, 48... Locking part, 50... Lead part.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a coupling locking mechanism for electrical connectors for locking the fitting of electrical connectors together, locking fittings provided on at least one electrical connector are provided on both sides of the electrical connector and on the other electrical connector. A coupling clasp for an electrical connector, comprising: a pair of extension parts that provide a latching part that engages with a latching part of a latching metal receiver; and a joint part that connects the pair of extension parts. Stop mechanism. (2) The locking metal fitting is provided with a press-fitting part that connects the extension part and the joint part, and the locking metal fitting is formed on the side of the insulating housing of the one electrical connector. The coupling and locking mechanism for an electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connector is attached to the one electrical connector by press-fitting the press-fitting portions into respective press-fitting portion receiving portions. (3) The locking metal fitting is provided with a press-fitting part that connects the extension part and the joint part, and the locking metal fitting is attached to a case that surrounds the insulating housing of the one electrical connector. The coupling and locking mechanism for an electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connector is attached to the one electrical connector by press-fitting the press-fitting portions into respective press-fitting portion receiving portions formed on the side portions. (4) The locking metal fitting is provided with a press-fitting part in the joint part, and the locking metal fitting press-fits the press-fitting part into a press-fitting part receiving part formed in the insulating housing of the one electrical connector. The coupling and locking mechanism for an electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the coupling and locking mechanism for an electrical connector is attached to the one electrical connector.