JPH0935844A - Detecting jig for fitting ball lock connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect whether the mating connectors are regularly fitted or not. SOLUTION: When both male/female connectors 10, 20 are regularly fitted, a lock ball 29 is fitted to an engaging groove 14, to integrally move a lock operating member 30 and a slider 41, with a movable contact 56 brought into contact with a fixed contact 57, and an informing means 59 is operated. In an incomplete fitting state, the lock operating member 30 is prevented from moving, so as to prevent operating the informing means 59.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a jig for detecting a fitted state of connectors having a ball lock mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a ball lock connector has been considered in which the connectors are held in a fitted state by a ball lock mechanism. In such a ball lock connector, the lock ball is supported by one connector and the engagement groove capable of engaging with the lock ball is formed in the other connector, and when both connectors are properly fitted, the lock ball is engaged with the engagement groove. When the lock operation member slides to a position where the lock ball holds the lock ball in the engaged state, both connectors are locked in the fitted state.

[0003]

In order to determine whether or not both connectors are properly fitted in such a ball lock connector, it is possible to hear a sound emitted when the lock ball engages with the engaging groove and to determine whether the lock operation is sliding. You will judge it by seeing what you do. However, such a judgment method is applied when working is performed in a situation where it is difficult to hear the sound of the lock ball due to loud ambient noise, or when the connector is located inside the device and the lock operation cannot be visually recognized. It is difficult to check the match status.

The present invention was devised in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to detect whether or not the connectors are properly fitted to each other.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, one of the two connectors fitted to each other is provided with a lock operation member and a lock ball, and both connectors are properly fitted. With respect to a ball lock connector in which the lock operation member is displaced to a predetermined lock position in accordance with the above, and the lock ball is locked in the engagement state with the other connector, the fitting state of both connectors is detected. A slider engaged with the lock operation member so as to be movable integrally, a bracket for guiding the slider so that the slider is movable, the bracket is positioned with respect to the other connector, and the slider is integrated with the lock operation member. It is characterized in that it is provided with a switch means that is activated when it is moved to the lock position. In the invention of such a configuration, the slider is engaged with the locking member, the bracket is positioned with respect to the other connector, and both connectors are fitted together. When both connectors are properly fitted, the switching means operates by displacing the slider together with the locking member to the locking position.
The switch means will not operate unless the connector is properly mated.

The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that in claim 1, the switch means is connected to an informing means which operates based on the operation thereof. In the invention of such a configuration, the notifying means operates when both connectors are properly fitted and the switch means operates, and the notifying means does not operate when not properly fitted. Note that as the notification means, there are methods such as buzzer sounding and lamp light emission.

[0007]

By using the jig of the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not the connectors are properly fitted to each other based on the presence or absence of the operation of the switch means. In particular, according to the second aspect of the invention, the operator can determine the fitting state by the notifying means even when the state of the connector cannot be grasped by the eyes or ears.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, a ball lock connector to which the jig of this embodiment is applied will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the ball lock connector includes a male connector 10 and a female connector 20.

The male connector 10 has a cylindrical male connector housing 11 fixed to a device (not shown) by a flange 12 and a male connector fixed to the end of an electric wire (not shown) and concentrically fixed and supported in the male connector housing 11. It consists of terminal 13. Male connector housing 11
On the outer circumference of the front end of the
An engaging groove 14 having a semicircular cross section capable of engaging with is formed over the entire circumference.

The female connector 20 can be gripped and handled by an operator, and is fixed to a cylindrical female connector housing 21 and the end of the electric wire W and is fixed concentrically in the female connector housing 21. The female terminal 22 and the ball lock mechanism. The male connector housing 11 is provided on the outer periphery of the front end portion of the female connector housing 21.
Are fitted together, and accordingly, the male terminal 13 and the female terminal 22 are fitted to be electrically connected to each other.

The ball lock mechanism comprises a tubular fitting portion 25, a lock ball 29, a lock operation member 30 and a lock release member 35. The tubular fitting portion 25 is arranged concentrically with the outer periphery of the female connector housing 21 with a space for accommodating the male connector housing 11, and the rear end portion of the tubular fitting portion 25 is provided at the female connector housing 21. The rear end portion is fitted to the rear end portion from the front, and the screw portion 26 on the outer periphery of the tubular fitting portion 25 is fitted to the cap 27 from the rear side.
Is fixed to the female connector housing 21 by screwing.

A plurality of ball support holes 28, which are open to the inner circumference and the outer circumference of the cylindrical fitting portion 25, are formed at appropriate intervals in the circumferential direction. Lock balls 29 are provided in the ball support holes 28. Are housed so as to be movable in the radial direction. Since the outer diameter dimension of the lock ball 29 is set to be larger than the thickness dimension of the tubular fitting portion 25, the lock ball 29 has at least one of the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side of the tubular fitting portion 25. It always sticks out.

The lock ball 29 has a cylindrical fitting portion 2
By projecting to the inner peripheral side of 5, both male and female connectors 1
When the connectors 0 and 20 are properly fitted, they engage with the engaging groove 14 of the male connector housing 11, so that the connectors 10 and 20 are locked in the disengagement restriction state. Further, when the lock ball 29 is displaced to the outer peripheral side from this locked state and the engagement with the male connector housing 11 is released, the disengagement of both connectors 10, 20 is allowed.

The opening edge on the inner peripheral side of the ball support hole 28 has a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the lock ball 29 to prevent the lock ball 29 from penetrating to the inner peripheral side. The lock mechanism is easy to assemble.

The lock operating member 30 has a cylindrical shape, is movable in the front-rear direction while being in contact with the outer periphery of the cylindrical fitting portion 25, and is fitted in a state of being urged forward by the lock spring 31. It is equipped. Such locking member 3
In the state where 0 is moved forward by the urging force of the lock spring 31 and abuts on the stopper 32 fitted on the outer periphery of the tubular fitting portion 25, the lock operation member 3
The pressing surface 33 on the inner periphery of 0 abuts on the lock ball 29 to hold the lock ball 29 in the engagement state with the engagement groove 14 of the male connector housing 11.

When the lock operating member 30 is slid rearward against the bias of the lock spring 31 to reach the unlocked position, the semicircular shape formed on the inner periphery of the lock operating member 30 over the entire circumference. The relief groove 34 of the cross section is aligned with the ball support hole 28, and the lock ball 29 is allowed to displace in the direction of releasing the engagement with the male connector housing 11. When the lock ball 29 is fitted in the escape groove 34, the lock operation member 30 is restricted from moving to the lock position side and is held at the lock release position.

The unlocking member 35 has a cylindrical shape, is movable in the front-rear direction while being in contact with the inner periphery of the tubular fitting portion 25, and is urged forward by the unlocking spring 36. It is fitted with. In the state in which the lock release member 35 is moved forward by the urging force of the lock release spring 36 and the locking portion 37 of the lock release member 35 is locked by the stopper 38 of the cylindrical fitting portion 25, The outer peripheral surface of the lock releasing member 35 contacts the lock ball 29 and holds the lock ball 29 in a state of releasing the engagement with the male connector housing 11.

Since the front end portion of the unlocking member 35 is formed in a smooth curved surface from the outer peripheral surface to the front end surface, the lock ball 29 projects toward the inner peripheral side of the tubular fitting portion 25. When the lock releasing member 35 moves forward from its rear position in this state, the curved surface of the lock releasing member 35 allows the lock ball 29 to be smoothly pushed to the outer peripheral side.

The lock releasing member 35 is attached to the male connector housing 11 as the male and female connectors 10 and 20 are fitted together.
The front end of the lock lever is pushed rearward from the unlocked position. When the unlocking member 35 is pushed rearward in this way, the contact from the inner peripheral side to the lock ball 29 is released, so that the lock ball 29 moves to the inner peripheral side where it can engage with the male connector housing 11. Will be acceptable.

The operation of the ball lock mechanism having the above structure will be described. When the male and female connectors 10 and 20 are separated from each other, as shown in FIG. It is in the unlocked position. When the female connector 20 is fitted into the male connector 10 from this state, the male connector housing 11
Enters between the female connector housing 21 and the tubular fitting portion 25 and pushes the lock release member 35 to move it backward. When both connectors 10 and 20 reach the normal fitting state, the engagement groove 14 is aligned with the ball support hole 28, and the lock ball 2
9 is pushed by the urging force of the lock spring 31 by the groove edge of the escape groove 34 of the lock operation member 30 and moves to the inner peripheral side to engage with the engagement groove 14, and at the same time, the lock operation member 30 causes the lock spring 31 to move. Thus, the lock ball 29 is moved to the front unlocked position and the lock ball 29 is held in the engaged state with the engagement groove 14. As a result, as shown in FIG.
0 and 20 are locked in the normal fitting state.

When the female connector 20 is detached from the male connector 10, the female connector 20 is grasped and pulled so as to be separated from the male connector 10, while the hand holding the female connector 20. Lock operation member 30 with fingers
Is pulled in the same direction against the bias of the lock spring 31. Then, the escape groove 34 of the lock operation member 30 is aligned with the ball support hole 28, and the lock ball 29 is allowed to move to the outer peripheral side.
20 can be unlocked. Then, as the male connector housing 11 is removed from between the female connector housing 21 and the tubular fitting portion 25, the lock ball 29 is pushed out from the engaging groove 14 to the outer peripheral side by the groove edge of the engaging groove 14. It fits in the escape groove 34. Thereafter, the outer peripheral surface of the front end portion of the male connector housing 11 and the lock releasing member 35 that moves forward by the urging force of the lock releasing spring 36.
With the outer peripheral surface of the lock ball 29, the lock ball 29 is held in a state of being fitted in the escape groove 34.

Next, the fitting detecting jig 40 for detecting the fitting state of the ball lock connector will be described. The fitting detection jig 40 is a switch that operates when the slider 41 that can be engaged with the locking member 30, the bracket 42 that supports the slider 41, and the male and female connectors 10 and 20 are properly fitted. And means 55.

The bracket 42 has a "U" shape in which a front plate 44 and a rear plate 45 are formed at both front and rear edges of the top plate 43. The front plate 44 is positioned by contacting the flange 12 of the male connector 10. A support hole 46 for supporting the slider 41 is formed in the rear plate 45 so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction.

The slider 41 is rod-shaped and has a support hole 46.
It is movably supported in the front-rear direction while penetrating through. A retaining ring 47 is formed on the outer periphery of the front end portion of the slider 41, and the rearward movement of the slider 41 is restricted by the retaining ring 47 contacting the rear plate 45. Further, a spring receiving flange 48 is formed at a substantially middle position in the length direction of the slider 41. A return spring 49 composed of a compression coil spring is mounted between the spring receiving collar 48 and the rear plate 45. The return spring 49 has a function of urging the slider 41 rearward with respect to the bracket 42, and the slider 41 is always held at the rearmost position where the retaining flange 47 of the slider 41 contacts the rear plate 45. In this state, there is a predetermined space between the front end surface of the slider 41 and the front plate 44 of the bracket 42. The biasing force of the return spring 49 is set to be smaller than the biasing force of the lock spring 31.

An engaging pin 50 for engaging with the lock operating member 30 is formed on the slider 41 so as to project downward. On the other hand, the lock operation member 30 is formed with an engagement hole 51 that opens to the escape groove 34 from the outer surface thereof. By inserting the engagement pin 50 into the engagement hole 51, the lock operation member 30 and the slider 41 are integrally coupled so as to be movable in the front-rear direction.

The switch means 55 comprises a movable contactor 56 fixed to the front end surface of the slider 41, and a fixed contactor 57 fixed to the front plate 44 so as to face the movable contactor 56. The contacts 56 and 57 are connected to each other by the fitting detection circuit 58.
The fitting detection circuit 58, which is provided on the upper side, is opened and closed by the contact and separation of the two contacts 56, 57. This fitting detection circuit 5
A notification unit 59 and a battery 60, which operate when the fitting detection circuit 58 is closed, are connected to the battery 8.
As the notification means 59, a method that the operator can easily recognize, such as sounding a buzzer or emitting a lamp, is adopted. Further, the battery 60 and the notification means 59 are installed at a predetermined position different from the fitting detection jig 40 via a cable (not shown).

The dimensions of each member of the fitting detecting jig 40 are set as follows. When the female connector 20 is brought close to the male connector 10 in a state where the lock operation member 30 in the unlocked position and the slider 41 in the rearmost position are integrally connected, both connectors 1
The front plate 44 of the bracket 42 is set to contact the flange 12 of the male connector 10 before the 0 and 20 reach the normal fitting state. Further, when the female connector 20 approaches the male connector 10 until normal fitting and the locking member 30 moves in the forward direction (direction approaching the male connector 10) to reach the locked position, Movable contactor 5 of slider 41 that moves integrally with locking member 30
6 contacts the fixed contact 57 of the bracket 42.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. When fitting the male and female connectors 10 and 20, first, the engaging pin 50 of the fitting detecting jig 40 is fitted into the engaging hole 51 of the lock operating member 30 to grip the female connector 20. The slider 41 is pressed with fingers of the hand. In this state, when the female connector 20 and the fitting detection jig 40 are brought close to the male connector 10 to start fitting, the bracket 42 comes into contact with the flange 12 of the male connector 10 before normal fitting is reached.
After that, when the fitting is further advanced, the slider 41 integrally moves with the female connector 20 against the bias of the return spring 49. Then, when both connectors 10 and 20 reach the normal fitting state, the lock operation member 30 and the slider 41 are integrally moved by the bias of the lock spring 31 to the lock position. Thereby, the movable contact 56
Comes into contact with the fixed contact 57, the fitting detection circuit 58 is closed, and the notification means 59 is activated to sound the buzzer, turn on the lamp, and the like, whereby the connectors 10 and 20 are properly fitted. I know that

As described above, by using the fitting detecting jig 40 of the present embodiment, it is possible to reliably know whether or not the connectors 10 and 20 are properly fitted together.
It is possible to prevent 0 and 20 from being left in the half-fitted state. Especially, since the notification means 59 is provided,
The mating state can be reliably detected even when the mating work is performed in a situation where the connector cannot be visually observed, or when the mating work is performed in a situation where it is difficult to hear the sound generated when the lock ball 29 is engaged. it can. Also, the fitting detection jig 4
0 is not built in all of the individual connectors but can be reused for a large number of connectors, so the cost is low.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition to the above, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

(1) In the above embodiment, the slider 4 is used as a means for engaging the slider 41 and the lock operating member 30.
The engaging pin 50 of No. 1 is fitted into the engaging hole 51 of the lock operating member 30. On the contrary, the engaging pin formed on the lock operating member is fitted into the engaging hole formed on the slider. You may make it match.

(2) In the above embodiment, the fitting of the pin and the hole is used as the engaging means of the slider 41 and the lock operating member 30, but the means of engaging the slider and the lock operating member is the fitting of the pin and the hole. However, it is possible to use other means such as a step or unevenness that allows the lock operating member to integrally push the slider forward.

(3) In the above embodiment, the switch means 5
Although the contactors 56 and 57 of No. 5 are arranged so as to face the front plate 44 and the front end surface of the slider 41, the contactor is not limited to this arrangement, and may be, for example, the outer peripheral surface of the front end portion of the slider. Other arrangements are possible, such as arranging on the underside of the top plate.

(4) In the above embodiment, the switch means 5
The notification means 59 and the battery 60 connected to the battery 5 are installed in a predetermined location different from the fitting detection jig 40. The notification means 59 and the battery 60 are attached to the bracket 42.
It may be mounted on the device and can be carried together with the fitting detection jig 40.

(5) In the above-described embodiment, the notification means 59 is provided to notify the operator that the proper fitting has been performed. However, according to the present invention, the notification means 59 is not provided and the switch means of the switch means is provided. You may make it manage a fitting state collectively by inputting an operating condition into a computer. Further, it is also possible to provide the notifying means 59 and further manage by a computer. By thus inputting the fitting state into the computer, quality control can be performed easily and accurately.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention in a non-fitted state.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a properly fitted state

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which a fitting detection jig is attached to the female connector.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a semi-fitted state.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a properly fitted state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ... Male connector 20 ... Female connector 29 ... Lock ball 30 ... Lock operation member 40 ... Fitting detection jig 41 ... Slider 42 ... Bracket 55 ... Switch means 59 ... Notification means

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A lock operation member and a lock ball are provided on one of two connectors to be fitted to each other, and the lock operation member is set to a predetermined value when both connectors are properly fitted. A lock operation member that detects a fitted state of both connectors with respect to a ball lock connector that is displaced to a lock position to lock the lock ball in an engaged state with the other connector. A slider that is integrally movable with respect to the connector, a bracket that movably guides the slider, the bracket is positioned with respect to the other connector, and the slider is integrally positioned with the lock operation member in a lock position. A jig for detecting fitting of a ball lock connector, characterized in that it comprises a switch means that operates when moved. 2. The jig for detecting fitting of a ball lock connector according to claim 1, wherein the switch means is connected to an informing means which operates based on its operation.