JPH08241761A - Fitting detecting connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent the occurrence of a continuity failure. CONSTITUTION: A movable metal fitting 23 held by a female side connector housing 20 crosses and makes contact with a waiting metal fitting 14 held by a male side connector housing 10 by the returning operation of a lock arm 22 which finished a climbing motion in the normal fitting position between both the housings 10, 20. Thus, dust and an oxidized film can be removed by wiping action to prevent the occurrence of a continuity failure.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fitting detection connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of fitting detection connector, the one shown in FIGS. 7 to 10 has been known. The male side connector housing 1 formed in the shape of a rectangular housing is
The inner peripheral ceiling surface is provided with a standby metal fitting 2 and a wedge-shaped projection 3. The female connector housing 4 inserted into the male connector housing 1 is provided with a lock arm 5 which is formed so as to face the inner peripheral ceiling surface and can be locked with respect to the projection 3, and also has the lock arm 5. On the upper surface of the arm 5, a movable metal fitting 6 facing the above-mentioned standby metal fitting 2 is provided.

When the male connector housing 1 and the female connector housing 4 are opposed to each other (FIG. 7) and the female connector housing 4 is inserted into the male connector housing 1 (FIG. 8), the lock arm 5 is released. It is deflected downward to ride over the wedge-shaped projection 3 (FIG. 9). When the female connector housing 4 is inserted into the male connector housing 1 until the normal mating state is achieved, the lock arm 5 moves over the projection 3 and moves upward from the bent state to contact the ceiling surface (Fig. 10). At this time, the movable metal fitting 6 is pressed against the standby metal fitting 2 from below, and is brought into conduction.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional fitting detection connector, since the movable metal fitting 6 is only pressed against the standby metal fitting 3 from below, dust is attached to the surface or an oxide film or the like is formed. There is a problem that conduction failure occurs in the state in which the is formed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fitting detection connector capable of preventing conduction failure.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a pair of connectors that can be fitted to each other, and a pair of conductive fittings and the fittings are driven by the fitting operation. In the fitting detection connector including a drive mechanism for changing the conduction state, the pair of conduction metal fittings includes a standby metal fitting having a connection surface, and a movable metal fitting held so as to be capable of crossing while slidingly contacting the connection surface. The drive mechanism is configured to traverse the movable fitting at the normal fitting position of the pair of connectors.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the fitting detection connector according to the first aspect, both the standby metal fitting and the movable metal fitting are arranged in one connector, and the drive mechanism is the other. It is arranged in the connector and is configured to traverse the movable metal fitting by a fitting operation. Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the fitting detection connector according to claim 1, wherein the standby metal fitting and the movable metal fitting are respectively disposed in the pair of connectors, and the drive mechanism is engaged in the fitting operation. The movable metal fitting is configured to be traversed at the regular fitting position in an interlocking manner.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 1.
The fitting detection connector according to claim 3, wherein the pair of connectors includes a concavo-convex lock mechanism including a lock arm capable of bending, and the standby metal fitting and the movable metal fitting are arranged in a bending direction of the lock arm. On the other hand, the movable fittings are arranged laterally to each other, and the movable fittings are interlocked with the lock arm so that the movable fittings can be traversed at the regular fitting position.

Further, the invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 4.
In the fitting detection connector described in (1), the lock arm moves over a wedge-shaped projection provided on the mating connector, and the movable metal fitting is traversed when the lock arm moves over and returns.

[0010]

In the invention according to claim 1 configured as described above, a pair of conductive metal fittings including a standby metal fitting and a movable metal fitting are provided in a pair of matable connectors, and the drive mechanism is normally fitted. At the mating position, the movable metal fitting is slidably brought into contact with the connection surface of the standby metal fitting to be traversed substantially orthogonal to the fitting direction. When the movable fitting slides on the connection surface of the standby fitting and moves, the wiping action works to remove dust and oxide film.

Further, in the invention according to claim 2 configured as described above, the standby metal fitting and the movable metal fitting are both disposed in one connector, and are in a conductive state or a non-conductive state. When the mating operation is performed, the drive mechanism arranged on the other connector moves across the movable metal fitting,
The conductive state is changed to the non-conductive state or the non-conductive state is changed to the conductive state. Further, in the invention according to claim 3 configured as described above, the standby metal fitting and the movable metal fitting are respectively disposed in the pair of connectors, and are in a non-conductive state. When the fitting operation is performed, the movable metal fitting is brought close to the side of the standby metal fitting, and the drive mechanism moves across the movable metal fitting to change the non-conductive state to the conductive state.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4 configured as described above, the standby metal fitting and the movable metal fitting are arranged laterally with respect to the bending direction of the lock arm, and the movable metal fitting is the lock arm. It is designed to work together with. When the lock arm bends due to the locking operation at the normal fitting position, the movable metal fitting moves in the bending direction and crosses the standby metal fitting. Further, in the invention according to claim 5 configured as described above, a lock arm and a wedge-shaped protrusion are provided as the concavo-convex mechanism, and the movable metal fitting is quickly bent in a bending direction when the lock arm moves over the protrusion and returns. Move it linearly to and move across.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the movable metal fitting is slidably brought into contact with the connection surface of the standby metal fitting to perform the transverse movement, it is possible to prevent the poor conduction due to the wiping action. A match detection connector can be provided. Further, according to the invention of claim 2, it is applicable when both the standby metal fitting and the movable metal fitting are arranged in one connector, and according to the invention of claim 3, the standby metal fitting and the movable metal fitting are movable. It is applicable when the metal fittings are arranged on each of the pair of connectors.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, by disposing the metal fitting laterally with respect to the bending direction of the lock arm, it is possible to prevent conduction failure with a simple structure. it can. Further, according to the invention of claim 5, since the movable metal fitting is quickly moved by the returning operation when the lock arm gets over the projection, the wiping effect of removing dust or the like during the transverse movement is more effective.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a fitting detection connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, the male connector housing 1
0 and the female side connector housing 20 constitute a pair of connectors that can be fitted and connected to each other. The sides of the respective fitting surfaces of the respective housings are referred to as the front. The male connector housing 10 is of a type directly attached to a printed circuit board, and has a rectangular housing shape with one surface opened, and a male terminal fitting 12 is press-fitted and held through a back wall 11 facing the opening surface. The lock wall 13 is provided slightly above the middle of the back wall 11 in the vertical direction and protrudes toward the opening direction from a position in the middle of the width direction. Lock wall 13
Has a protrusion 13a at the tip on the upper surface, and the protrusion 13a has a wedge shape that protrudes upward from the tip toward the inside. A pair of standby metal fittings 14, 14 shown in FIG. 2 are arranged on both sides of the lock wall 13.

The standby fittings 14, 14 are male terminal fittings 1.
Similarly to 2, it is press-fitted and held so as to penetrate through the back wall 11, extends from the back wall toward the opening, and is bent at the tips so as to face each other inward and face each other.
a and 14a are formed. In addition, each standby metal fitting 1
Reference numerals 4 and 14 are connected to the detection circuit of the printed circuit board.
On the other hand, the female connector housing 20 is formed into a rectangular housing that can be inserted from the opening of the male connector housing 10.
The female terminal fitting 21 is housed and held at a position corresponding to the male terminal fitting 12. A seesaw-shaped lock arm 22 is provided at a position facing the lock wall 13 on the upper surface, and the lock arm 22 includes a connecting wall 22a extending in the up-down direction slightly rearward from the middle in the front-rear direction, and the connecting wall. It is composed of an arm portion 22b extending from the upper end of 22a in the front-rear direction. A protrusion 22b1 is formed on the lower surface at the front end of the arm portion 22b, and the protrusion 22b1 has a wedge shape protruding downward from the front end toward the rear.
When the lock arm 22 and the lock wall 13 face each other, the inclined surfaces of the protrusions 13a and 22b1 abut against each other, and the side of the lock arm 22 bends to move over.

A movable fitting 23 shown in FIG. 2 is arranged on the upper surface of the tip of the lock arm 22. The movable fitting 23 is press-fitted and fixed to the lock arm 22 at a central portion thereof, and includes sliding portions 23a, 23a extending toward both side surfaces.
The sliding portions 23a, 23a are extended laterally and then bent once downward, and as shown in FIG. 3, a recess 22b formed from the upper surface to the side surface of the arm portion 22b.
It is designed to enter 2. Here, the end on the inside of the side abuts the wall surface on the side of the recess, and the end on the outside of the side projects outward from the lock arm 22.
Since the end portion on the inner side is in contact with the wall surface in the concave portion 22b2, it is possible to prevent the sliding portion 23a from being excessively bent when pushed inward from the outer side.

A laterally outer end portion projecting outward from the lock arm 22 is a sliding surface 23a1, and the sliding surface 23a1 allows the lock arm 22 to pass over the projection 13a of the lock wall 13 as described above. It is formed at a position where it faces the connection surface 14a of the standby metal fitting 14 when pressed and is pressed from the inside toward the outside. FIG. 2 shows the positional relationship between the standby metal fitting 14 and the movable metal fitting 23 in such a state. Lock arm 2 when overcoming
The second connecting wall 22a bends, and the front end portion moves upward and then downward. At this time, the movable metal fitting 23 moves up and down, and when observed from the stand-by metal fitting 14 which is stationary, the movable metal fitting 23 faces each other laterally with respect to the bending direction and traverses the connection surface 14a of the corresponding metal fitting 14. Will be done. The lock wall 13 that is traversed in this way
And the lock arm 22 constitute a drive mechanism.

In this embodiment, the protrusions 1 are wedge-shaped.
The lock wall 13 and the lock arm 22 facing each other 3a and 22b1 constitute a drive mechanism. However, the movable metal fitting 23 may be moved across the standby metal fitting 14, and as a drive mechanism of this kind, it is easy to use. It is also possible to have a configuration of. Further, since it suffices for the movable fitting 23 to perform the transverse cutting operation, it may be directly held and driven, or may be arranged on the lower surface of the lock arm 22 to perform the transverse cutting operation in conjunction with the bending operation. However, the cross-cutting operation itself must be performed at the regular fitting position, and does not include the one in which the cross-cutting operation is gradually performed in the insertion / removal process.

Further, in this embodiment, the standby metal fitting 1
4 is held by the male side connector housing 10, and the movable metal fitting 23 is held by the female side connector housing 20, but it is not always necessary to hold them in separate connectors.
For example, it may be held by the male connector housing 10. In such a case, for example, as shown in FIG.
Normally, they are in contact with each other and connected, and when the mating connector housing is inserted, the movable metal fitting 23 is traversed to make it non-conductive, and vice versa. good. It suffices for the detection circuit side to deal with whether the conduction state is changed to the non-conduction state or vice versa.

Next, the operation of this embodiment having the above configuration will be described. The male connector housing 10 is fixed on the printed circuit board 30, and the female connector housing 20 is faced (FIG. 1). When the female connector housing 20 is inserted into the opening of the male connector housing 10, the lock wall 13 and the lock arm 22 come close to each other (FIG. 4), and the wedge-shaped projections 13a and 22b1 abut each other to lock. The arm 22 moves over while flexing (FIG. 5). In the overcoming operation, the front end of the lock arm 22 moves upward, and the front end of the lock arm 22 moves downward when the projections 13a, 22b1 get over (FIG. 6).

As the front end of the lock arm 22 moves upward, the movable fitting 23 also moves upward and does not come into contact with the standby fitting 14 in the process of being inserted as it is. However, the lock arm 2
When the front end of 2 moves downward, the movable metal fitting 23 also instantaneously moves downward, and at this time, the sliding surfaces 23a1, 23a1 with respect to the connecting surfaces 14a, 14a of the two standby metal fittings 14, 14a.
While the sliding contact is made,
Push in between (Fig. 3). Then, both standby metal fittings 1
Electrical connection is made between 4 and 14 via the movable metal fitting 23, and the detection circuit detects the electrical connection and determines that they are fitted.

Thus, the female connector housing 20
The movable metal fitting 23 held by the male connector housing 1
At the regular fitting position of both housings 10 and 20, the standby metal 14 held at 0 is crossed by the returning operation of the lock arm 22 that has finished the overcoming operation, so that it comes into contact. The oxide film and the like can be removed to prevent conduction failure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a fitting detection connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a standby metal fitting and a movable metal fitting of the fitting detection connector.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway rear view showing a conduction state between a standby metal fitting and a movable metal fitting of the fitting detection connector.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a fitting start process of the fitting detection connector.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the connector in the middle of fitting.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the mating completion process of the connector.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional fitting detection connector before starting fitting.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the mating start process of the connector.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a process of fitting the connector.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the mating completion process of the connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ... Male connector housing 13 ... Lock wall 13a ... Protrusion 14 ... Standing metal fitting 14a ... Connection surface 20 ... Female connector housing 22 ... Lock arm 23 ... Movable metal fitting 23a ... Sliding part 23a1 ... Sliding surface

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A fitting detection connector, which is a pair of connectors that can be fitted to each other, and includes a pair of conductive fittings and a drive mechanism that drives the fittings to change the conductive state by a fitting operation. The pair of conductive metal fittings includes a standby metal fitting having a connecting surface and a movable metal fitting that is held so as to be capable of crossing while slidingly contacting the connecting surface, and the drive mechanism is provided at a normal mating position of the pair of connectors. A fitting detection connector characterized in that the movable fitting is configured to be traversed. 2. The fitting detection connector according to claim 1, wherein the standby metal fitting and the movable metal fitting are both arranged in one connector, and the drive mechanism is arranged in the other connector. A fitting detection connector characterized in that the movable metal fitting is traversed by a mating operation. 3. The fitting detection connector according to claim 1, wherein the standby metal fitting and the movable metal fitting are respectively disposed on the pair of connectors, and the drive mechanism is a regular member interlocking with a fitting operation. A fitting detection connector, characterized in that the movable fitting is traversed at a fitting position. 4. The fitting detection connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pair of connectors includes a concavo-convex locking mechanism having a lock arm capable of flexing operation, and the standby metal fitting and the movable metal fitting. Are arranged so as to face each other with respect to the bending direction of the lock arm, and the movable fitting is interlocked with the lock arm so that the movable fitting can be traversed at the regular fitting position. A mating detection connector characterized in that 5. The fitting detection connector according to claim 4, wherein the lock arm moves over a wedge-shaped projection provided on a mating connector, and when the lock arm moves over and returns, the movable metal fitting is attached. A mating detection connector characterized by being traversed.