JPH0741104Y2 - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to an electrical connector including a female connector and a male connector.

(Prior Art) In electrical connectors for automobiles, the number of poles per electrical connector has been increasing due to the increase in signal lines accompanying the recent electronicization of automobiles. Since it is necessary to prevent the function from being damaged, the contact pressure per pole is set to a predetermined pressure or higher regardless of the number of poles. For this reason,
Along with the increase in the number of poles of the electrical connector, a high insertion force is required for the fitting, which causes a problem that the fitting work efficiency of the electrical connector is reduced.

On the other hand, conventionally, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-99788, there has been proposed an electrical connector in which the force required for the insertion is reduced by using a rack and pinion mechanism. That is, in the electrical connector described in the above publication, a rack is provided on either one of the male and female connectors and a pinion is provided on the other connector, and both the connectors are once brought into contact with each other so that the rack and the pinion are meshed, and then the pinion is attached. Both connectors are made to fit by rotating with an operation lever, and the insertion force is reduced by this.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-described conventional electrical connector, it is necessary to bring the two connectors into contact with each other to engage the rack and the pinion, that is, to create a so-called temporary locking state. It is not clear whether or not the rack and the pinion are positively engaged when the two connectors are brought into contact with each other, and there is little sense of moderation that the rack is in the temporary locking state. In addition, since it is not possible to obtain a sufficient moderation, it is possible that the operating lever is operated before the predetermined temporary locking state is reached.In this case, both connectors are not fitted or half-fitted. It will be in a combined state.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to prevent the half-fitting and the like from occurring by giving a sufficient moderation feeling to the temporarily locked state when fitting the male and female connectors. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector that can reduce the insertion force required for fitting the two connectors together.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In the electrical connector according to the present invention, the female connector is provided with the rack-and-pinion mechanism in a meshed state in advance, and
The elastic connector and the connector that engage with each other when the male connector is inserted are provided in the male connector and the female connector, respectively, to achieve the above object.

That is, it is composed of a female connector and a male connector that is inserted into the female connector and fits into the female connector, and the female connector includes a housing and a housing.
A rack member slidably mounted in the insertion direction of the male connector, a pinion member rotatably supported by the housing in a state of meshing with the rack member, and an operation member for rotating the pinion member. The male connector is provided with an elastic engaging portion that abuts and elastically deforms when the male connector is inserted into the female connector, while the rack member includes:
An engaging portion is provided which engages with the elastic engaging portion when the male connector is inserted into the female connector by a predetermined amount.

(Operation and Effect of the Invention) As shown in the above configuration, when the male connector is inserted into the female connector by a predetermined amount, the elastic engaging portion and the engaging portion of both connectors engage with each other. It is possible to give a sufficient moderation feeling to the temporarily locked state when fitting both connectors.

Further, since the rack member and the pinion member are provided in advance in the female connector in a meshed state, after the both connectors are brought into the temporary locking state, the operation member is operated to rotate the pinion member to slide the rack member. By moving, the male connector can be inserted to a predetermined position in the female connector, and both connectors can be surely brought into a fitted state. As a result, the insertion force required for fitting the two connectors can be reduced, and the occurrence of half-fitting or the like can be prevented.

Embodiments Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an essential part showing an embodiment of an electrical connector according to the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a non-fitted state, FIG. 1 (b) is a temporarily locked state, and FIG. (C) is a figure which shows a completion state of fitting.

As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the electrical connector 10 comprises a female connector 12 and a male connector 14 that is inserted into the female connector 12 and fits into the female connector 12. The electrical connection is made by.

Female connector 12, housing 16, and this housing 16,
A rack member 18 slidably mounted in the insertion direction of the male connector 14 and a pair of pinion members 20 rotatably supported by the housing 16 in a state of being meshed with the rack member 18.
And an operation member 22 for rotating the pinion member 20.

The engagement between the rack member 18 and the pinion member 20 is determined by the rack member.
It is made between the rack teeth 18a of 18 and the pinion teeth 20a of the pinion member 20, but as shown in FIG.
Are formed at both end portions of the rack member 18, and a pair of pinion members 20 are provided near the inner surface of the side wall of the housing 16 so that the pinion teeth 20a are located corresponding to the rack teeth 18a. ing. Further, a groove 16a for slidably mounting the rack member 18 is formed on the inner surface of the side wall of the housing 16.

Both ends of the operation member 22 constitute a rotation center axis of each pinion member 20, and both ends are connected to each other outside the housing 16 in a substantially U-shape. The operation member 22 is urged to the illustrated position by a torsion spring 23, one end of which is engaged with the operation member 22 and the other end of which is locked by a pin 16b projecting from the outer surface of the side wall of the housing 16. Has become. When the operating member 22 is rotated upward from the illustrated position, the rack member 18 slides inward of the housing 16 due to the rotation of the pinion member 20 accompanying this.

The rack member 18 is provided with an engaging portion 18b (which will be described later) formed of a rectangular punched hole at a position distant from the end surface on the opening end side of the housing 16 toward the inside of the housing 16 with a predetermined size. There is. Further, an upward inclined surface portion 18c is formed on the end surface portion of the rack member 18 on the opening end side of the housing 16 over substantially the same range as the left and right width of the engagement portion 18b.

On the other hand, the male connector 14 is provided with a housing 24 and an elastic engagement portion 26 supported by the housing 24 so as to be movable up and down by a predetermined amount in the housing 24, as shown in FIG. ing.

The elastic engagement portion 26 includes a movable locking piece 28 having both ends fitted and inserted into vertically elongated rectangular holes 24a formed in both side walls of the housing 24,
The movable locking piece 28 is interposed between the upper wall of the housing 24 and a pressing spring 30 which constantly elastically urges the movable locking piece 28 downward. A U-shaped recess 28a is formed on the lower surface of the movable locking piece 28, and the housing 24
The lower half of the end face on the opening end side is chamfered and the slope face 28
forming b.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pressing spring 30 is formed by cutting and raising a part of the spring material, and is press-fitted into the movable locking piece 28 so as to be fixed to the movable locking piece 28. As shown in the figure, the press-fitting is done by bending the movable locking piece 28 inward while bending both ends of the movable locking piece 28 inward.
It is supposed to be done after it is installed in 24.

As shown in FIG. 1 (a), when the male connector 14 is inserted into the female connector 12, the elastic engagement portion 26 has a slant surface portion 28b of the movable engaging piece 28 and a slant surface portion 18c of the rack member 18. Abutting against each other and receiving an upward force, the pressing spring 30 bends and the movable locking piece 28 is displaced upward. That is, when considering the elastic engagement portion 26 as a whole, elastic deformation occurs at this time.

Furthermore, when the male connector 14 is inserted into the female connector 12, the tip of the movable locking piece 28 rides on the upper surface of the rack member 18 and slides therewith. As shown in FIG. 7B, the tip of the movable locking piece 28 fits into the engaging portion 18b (punching hole) of the rack member 18. As a result, the elastic deformation of the elastic engaging portion 26 is released and the elastic engaging portion 26 is released.
26 and the engaging portion 18b are engaged, and the male connector 14 and the female connector 12 are temporarily locked.

After the temporary locking is performed in this way, if the operating member 22 is rotated by a predetermined amount in the direction of the arrow in the figure, as shown in FIG. 1 (c),
The male connector 14 is inserted to a predetermined position in the female connector 12, and the fitting of both connectors is completed.

As described above in detail, according to this embodiment, the male connector 14
When the connector is inserted into the female connector 12 by a predetermined amount, the elastic engaging portions 26 and the engaging portion 18b of both connectors are engaged with each other, so that it is sufficient for a temporary locking state when fitting both connectors. It can give a sense of moderation.

Further, the female connector 12 includes a rack member 18 and a pinion member 20.
Since the and are preliminarily engaged with each other at two places on the left and right, the two members are brought into the temporary locking state, and then the operating member 22 is operated to rotate the pinion member 20 to rotate the rack member.
Slide 18 to slide male connector 14 into female connector
It is possible to insert both connectors to a predetermined position within 12 and to surely bring both connectors into a fitted state. This makes it possible to reduce the insertion force required for fitting both connectors, and
It is possible to prevent half-fitting and diagonal fitting from occurring.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, concave and convex portions 28c are formed on both ends of the movable locking piece 28, and the concave and convex portions 28c mount the movable locking piece 28 on the housing 24. When it does, it projects from the rectangular hole 24a. Therefore, when attempting to release the mating of both connectors 12 and 14 from the mated state, the following may be done. That is, the operating member 22 is rotated in the direction opposite to that at the time of fitting from the fitting completed state of FIG. 1 (c) to the temporary locking state of FIG. 2 (b), and then the uneven portion 28c is formed. The elastic engaging portion 26
And the engaging portion 18b are disengaged, and in that state the male connector 1
4 may be pulled out from the female connector 12.

In this embodiment, the elastic engaging portion 26 is composed of the movable locking piece 28 and the pressing spring 30, but as shown in FIG. 4, it is formed integrally with the housing 24 'of the male connector 14'. The cantilever type elastic engaging portion 26 'may be used. in this case,
The slit 24a 'is preferably formed as long as possible so that the elastic engaging portion 26' can have sufficient elasticity. In this case, also for the female connector 12 ', it is necessary to dispose the rack member 18' in accordance with the elastic engaging portion 26 '.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an essential part showing an embodiment of an electrical connector according to the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a non-fitted state, FIG. 1 (b) is a temporarily locked state, and FIG. (C) is a view showing a completed fitting state, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the female connector of the above embodiment, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the male connector of the above embodiment, and FIG. It is a figure similar to FIG. 1 (a) which shows another Example. 10 ... electrical connector, 12,12 '... female connector 14,14' ... male connector 16 ... housing, 18,18 '... rack member 18b ... engaging portion, 20 ... pinion member 22 ... operating member, 26,26' ... Elastic engagement part 28 ... Moveable locking piece, 30 ... Pressing spring

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A female connector, and a male connector which is inserted into the female connector and fits into the female connector, wherein the female connector includes a housing and a housing.
A rack member slidably mounted in the insertion direction of the male connector, a pinion member rotatably supported by the housing in a state of meshing with the rack member, and an operation member for rotating the pinion member. The male connector is provided with an elastic engaging portion that abuts and elastically deforms when the male connector is inserted into the female connector, while the rack member includes:
An electrical connector, comprising: an engaging portion that engages with the elastic engaging portion when the male connector is inserted into the female connector by a predetermined amount.