JPH0568085U - Connector locking mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To provide a lock mechanism that has good workability during assembly and good operability. [Structure] The coupling state of the first housing 1 and the second housing 2 is locked by a locking arm 3 incorporated in the first housing 1. Inside the housing 1, an appropriate number of connection terminals 4 to which electric wires are connected are accommodated. In addition, inside the second housing 2, a connection terminal 5 that is detachably fitted to the connection terminal 4 is provided. The locking arm 3 is formed by stamping and molding a metal plate having a spring property, and a tip end portion 6 thereof is provided with a lock hole 8 to be engaged with a locking convex portion 7 of the second housing 2 on the other side. And a hole 10a that pivotally supports a fulcrum shaft 9 provided in the first housing 1 at an intermediate portion following the tip portion 6.
A fulcrum portion 10 having the above is formed, and subsequently, a rear end portion is formed with a pressing portion 11 that is pressed by a fingertip or the like when unlocking, and a spring portion 12 folded back from the pressing portion 11.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a connector locking mechanism for holding a connection state of a pair of electrical connectors.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Conventionally, a claw-shaped locking mechanism that is integrally molded in a synthetic resin housing is often used as a locking mechanism for an electrical connector that houses a connection terminal. However, since this kind of synthetic resin lock mechanism is easily plastically deformed by high heat, it cannot be used in high temperature places such as near the engine of a motor vehicle.

Therefore, as a locking means for the electrical connector used at these high temperature locations, when fitting the male connector to the female connector, a metal ring-shaped wire provided around the female connector is used. It is known that it is hooked on the locking claw of a male connector.

However, this conventional locking means locks and unlocks by utilizing the spring property of the wire, and it is not easy to unlock, and when the connectors are frequently connected and disconnected. Has the drawback of extremely poor workability. Also, if the inclination of the locking claw on which the wire is hooked is made loose to facilitate the release, the locking strength becomes weak and reliability becomes a problem.

Therefore, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 54-31916 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-50819, a spring member made of a metal plate is used as the locking means, and the end portion of this spring member is pressed. It has been proposed that the lock be released by doing so.

[0006]

However, in the lock mechanism using the spring member according to these conventional examples, since the spring member is fixed in the fixing groove of the side wall as the mounting portion, the fitting / releasing is not performed. Repeatedly, plastic deformation may occur, which may affect the spring property. Also, when the spring part is installed, it is pushed in from the rear of the housing in the axial direction and fixed in the fixing groove, which reduces workability during assembly, increases the cost, and further unlocks the lock. It has problems such as difficulty in peeling. In addition, there is a drawback that the life of the mold during manufacturing is short.

An object of the present invention is to provide a connector locking mechanism that solves the above problems, has good workability during assembly, and has good operability.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a connector locking mechanism according to the present invention comprises a locking arm made of a metal plate having a spring property and fixed to the first housing to hold the connection with the second housing. In the lock mechanism, the locking arm rotates about a tip portion provided with a coupling portion that is coupled to a locking portion of the second housing, and a fulcrum shaft provided on the first housing following the tip portion. A fulcrum portion having a shaft hole for freely supporting the fulcrum, a pressing portion following the fulcrum portion, folded back from the pressing portion and abutting against a side wall of the first housing to bring the tip portion into the second housing. And a spring portion for urging the locking portion for locking.

[0009]

[Action]

 The locking mechanism of the connector with the above-mentioned configuration allows the locking arm, which is a spring member, to be installed from the side of the housing with reference to the fulcrum, and when the pressing part is pushed to unlock the locking arm, The lever is easily elastically deformed by the lever action, and the connection between the connecting portion at the tip and the locking engaging portion of the second housing on the mating side can be released.

[0010]

【Example】

 The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiment. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a lock mechanism for a connector according to the present invention, in which a pair of a first housing 1 and a second housing 2 are combined, and this combined state is incorporated in the first housing 1. The state that the housings 1 and 2 are locked by the locking arm 3 is shown. Two locking arms 3 are symmetrically attached to both sides of the first housing 1, but only one side thereof is shown in FIG. The first housing 1 is made of a heat-resistant synthetic resin material such as glass-filled nylon, and accommodates an appropriate number of connection terminals 4 to which electric wires are connected. In addition, the second housing 2 on the mating side is also made of the same material, and the inside thereof is provided with the connection terminal 5 which is detachably fitted to the connection terminal 4.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the locking arm 3 is formed by punching and molding a single metal plate having a spring property, and the tip end portion 6 thereof has a second housing 2 on the opposite side. Is provided with a lock hole 8 to be engaged with the locking convex portion 7 and a hole 10a that pivotally supports a fulcrum shaft 9 provided in the first housing 1 is provided in an intermediate portion following the tip portion 6. The portion 10 and subsequently the rear end portion are formed with a pressing portion 11 that is pressed by a fingertip or the like when unlocking, and a spring portion 12 that is folded back from the pressing portion 11. The front end of the tip end portion 6 of the locking arm 3 has a shape which is slightly bent outward so that the locking projection 7 can be easily climbed up, and the fulcrum portion 10 has, for example, a semicircular shape centered on the hole 10a. Is formed by bending downward from the side portion. In addition, the pressing portion 11 is formed with a non-slip protrusion 13, and reinforcing ribs 14 and 15 are provided in the middle portion and the bent portion extending from the pressing portion 11. Incidentally, instead of forming the anti-slip projections 13 on the pressing portion 11, there is a case where an anti-slip coating made of synthetic resin or the like is provided.

Around the fulcrum shaft 8 of the first housing 1, a concave groove having a semicircular cross section that substantially corresponds to the shape of the fulcrum portion 10 of the locking arm 3 is provided, and the fulcrum portion 10 further swings. A presser lever 16 having a slight elasticity is provided to prevent this, and a connector seal 17 made of silicone rubber or the like is inserted in a portion where the first housing 1 contacts the second housing 2. The locking arm 3 can be inserted from the upper surface of the first housing 1, that is, the direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 1, and the inserted locking arm 3 is rotatably supported by a fulcrum shaft 9 so as to be predetermined. It is stably fixed at the position.

With the above structure, when the first housing 1 is coupled with the second housing 2 on the opposite side, when the second housing 2 is pushed into the first housing 1, the elastic force of the locking arm 3 is increased. After the tip portion 6 rides on the locking projection 7 of the second housing 2 due to the deformation, the locking hole 8 is fitted into the locking projection 7 and the locking arm 3 is in a state as shown by the solid line in FIG. Then, the tip portion 6 is biased toward the second housing 2 side by the spring portion 12, and the coupled state of the housings 1 and 2 is reliably maintained.

When releasing the locked state, the pressing portions 11 of the locking arms 3 on both sides are pressed with a finger as indicated by an arrow P, so that the locking arms 3 are pivoted about the fulcrum shaft 9 and are broken by a dotted line. Since the lock hole 8 and the lock projection 7 are disengaged as shown in FIG. 3, both housings can be separated as they are.

[0015]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, the connector locking mechanism according to the present invention utilizes the lever action centered on the fulcrum shaft to easily unlock the connector with a small force, and the locking arm to the housing. Since it can be inserted into the mounting groove from the side and stably mounted, the work of assembling the locking arm can be efficiently performed, and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a lock mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a locking arm.

FIG. 3 is a side view.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view.

FIG. 5 is a front view.

FIG. 6 is a rear view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Housing 2 Second Housing 3 Locking Arm 4, 5 Connection Terminal 7 Locking Projection 8 Lock Hole 9 Support Point Shaft 10 Support Point 10a Hole Section 11 Pressing Section 12 Spring Section

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A locking mechanism for a connector, which holds a connection with a second housing by a locking arm made of a metal plate having a spring property and fixed to the first housing, wherein the locking arm is the second housing. A tip portion provided with a coupling portion that is coupled to the locking portion of
A fulcrum part having a shaft hole for pivotally supporting a fulcrum shaft provided on the first housing following the tip part, a pressing part following the fulcrum part, and folding back from the pressing part. And a spring portion that abuts on a side wall of the housing to urge the tip end portion toward the locking engagement portion of the second housing.