JPH0950863A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector having the capability of ensuring a strong moderate feeling and at the same time, allowing an easy unlocking operation. SOLUTION: A lock arm 20 is provided on the upper surface of a female connector. Also, a divisional slit 22 is formed on the support leg 18 of the lock arm 20 at a position nearer the end thereof, and an engagement part 24 is formed at the extreme end thereof. When a female connector is coupled to a male connector 30, the end of the engagement part 24 comes in contact with an engagement projection 33 formed on the upper surface of the male connector 30. Then, the arm main body part 23 of the lock arm 20 is elastically deformed to both sides, as if avoiding contact with the engagement projection 33 laterally. Thus, a strong moderate feeling can be obtained by increasing the rigidity of the lock arm 20 via an expanded part 25 formed on the arm main body part 23. At an unlocking process, the end of the lock arm 20 is lifted up to such a level as corresponding to the height of the engagement projection 33 for releasing an engaged state, thereby allowing an easy unlocking operation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector that is held in a locked state by a lock arm.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a connector of this type, there is one shown in FIGS. The female connector 1 includes a rectangular tube-shaped terminal accommodating portion 3 for accommodating a female terminal 2, and the terminal accommodating portion 3 is inserted into a housing 6 surrounding a male terminal 5 of a mating male connector 4. To be done. On the upper surface of the terminal accommodating portion 3, the lock arm 8 supported by the supporting leg portion 7 is
The support leg 7 can be elastically tilted in the arrow direction.

On the other hand, an engaging protrusion 9 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 6 of the mating connector 4, and the terminal accommodating portion 3 of the female connector 1 is inserted into the housing 6 of the male connector 4 to be locked. The tip of the arm 8 comes into contact with the contact surface 9a of the engaging projection 9 (see FIG. 10), and the lock arm 8 is elastically tilted and deformed so that the lock arm 8 rides on the engaging projection 9 by further inserting from there. (See FIG. 11) Finally, the lock arm 8 is elastically restored and deformed by overcoming the engaging projection 9 and the so-called moderation operation is performed.
And the engaging surface 9b of the engaging projection 9 are engaged with each other, and the male and female terminals 2 and 5 are fitted and connected to each other.
4 is locked. In order to release this lock, the rear end of the lock arm 8 is pushed down with a finger, and the lock arm 8 tilts about the support leg 7 as a fulcrum and the engaging projection 9 is released.
Will be disengaged from.

[0004]

By the way, in this type of connector, a design concept called a so-called inertial lock may be adopted. This is to set the insertion resistance generated when the lock arm 8 gets over the engagement projection 9 to be larger than the fitting resistance due to the fitting of the male and female terminals 2, 5. Contrary to the above, if the insertion resistance generated when the lock arm 8 gets over the engagement projection 9 is set to be smaller than the fitting resistance of both terminals 2 and 5, both terminals 2 and 5 are in a semi-fitted state. Although the insertion operation may be stopped without noticing that the lock arm 8 is set to the above-mentioned relationship, the lock arm 8 overcomes the engaging protrusion 9 while receiving resistance, and a moderation operation called "click". This is because if the connector is inserted until the sound associated with is heard, it is guaranteed that the terminals 2, 5 will be in a completely fitted state by the force of the lock arm 8 overcoming the engaging projection 9. According to this, it is possible to obtain an excellent effect that the occurrence of half-fitting of the connector in the assembly line of the device can be prevented.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, if an attempt is made to cope with an increase in terminal fitting resistance due to the increase in the number of poles of the connector and an attempt is made to increase the insertion resistance generated when the lock arm 8 gets over the engaging projection 9, this time. However, there is a problem that it becomes difficult to perform an engagement releasing operation for releasing the engagement of the lock arm 8.

The reason is as follows. Although it is conceivable to increase the height of the engagement protrusion 9 in order to increase the insertion resistance, in the above structure, the lock arm 8 is released when the lock is released.
Only reverses the same path as when it was engaged. Therefore, in order to release the lock, the tip of the lock arm 8 has to be largely displaced in order to get over the high engagement protrusion 9 in the opposite direction, and a strong force is required for the operation, and the lock release operation is required. It becomes difficult. Therefore, in the conventional connector, it was impossible to achieve both a strong click feeling and the ease of the unlocking operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector which can obtain a strong sense of moderation and can be easily unlocked.

[0008]

[Means for solving the problem and its action / effect]

<Invention of Claim 1> In the invention of Claim 1, a lock arm that engages with an engagement projection provided on the other connector is provided on one of the paired connectors so as to be elastically tiltable, and the lock is provided. When the pressing operation portion provided on the arm is pressed, the tip of the lock arm is tilted toward the upper side of the engaging protrusion to release the engagement with the engaging protrusion. The part or the lock arm is characterized in that a guide slope is provided which elastically deforms the lock arm laterally with respect to the engaging projection when the tips of the lock arms come into contact with each other when the connectors are fitted together.

According to this structure, when the connector is fitted, the lock arm is elastically deformed laterally along the guide slope from the engagement projection, and when the lock arm is released, the lock arm is elastically moved upward. Deform. In this way, the deformation direction of the lock arm when the connector is fitted is different from the deformation direction when the lock is released. With respect to the direction, it becomes possible to reduce the rigidity and reduce the unlocking operation.

<Invention of Claim 2> In the invention of Claim 2, in the invention of Claim 1, a split slit is formed on the tip end side along the fitting direction of the both connectors, and the lock arm is engaged. The protrusion is characterized in that it is provided at a position where it is cut between the divided slits.

According to this structure, when the lock arm comes into contact with the engaging projection and is elastically deformed, the stress is shared by the two parts divided by the dividing slit. Therefore, since the stress shared by each part is small,
The restrictions on the shape and thickness are reduced, and the degree of freedom in design is increased. Moreover, since the engaging protrusion is in contact with the center of the lock arm, the horizontal balance is good, and the connector operability is good.

<Invention of Claim 3> In the invention of Claim 3, in the invention of Claim 1 or 2, the engaging portion which engages with the engaging projection is provided laterally from the arm main body at the tip of the lock arm. It is characterized in that a widened portion is formed protruding from the arm main body and extending in a canopy shape to the position of the tip of the engaging portion to widen the width. With this structure, the width of the lock arm in the deformation direction can be ensured to ensure sufficient rigidity, and the engagement margin between the engagement portion and the engagement protrusion can be ensured, so that the overall size can be reduced. become.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The female connector 10 of this embodiment is shown on the right side of FIG. Here, a connector housing 11 made of a synthetic resin has a terminal accommodating portion 13 for accommodating a female terminal fitting 12 therein, and the terminal accommodating portion 1
3 and the hood portion 14 that covers the front half portion of No. 3 except for the upper portion. The terminal accommodating portion 13 has a rectangular tube shape, and the hood portion 14 also has a slightly curved corner portion as a whole, and a mating male connector 30 is provided between the hood portion 14 and the outer periphery of the terminal accommodating portion 13. An annular fitting space that can enter is formed. The female terminal fitting 12 is prevented from coming off by a lance 13a provided in the terminal accommodating portion 13, is secondarily locked by a retainer 13b, and is connected to the electric wire 16 together with the waterproof seal 15. A seal ring 17 is fitted on the outer periphery of the terminal accommodating portion 13 in the fitting space.

On the other hand, the male connector 3 which is the mating connector
As shown in FIG. 1, 0 has a cylindrical connector housing 31 that is integrally molded with a housing of an electric device such as a relay and projects forward, and a male terminal fitting 32 projects into the connector housing 31. This is the configuration.
The male connector 30 is provided with the hood portion 14 of the female connector 10.
When the two connectors 10, 30 are fitted while being guided to the inner periphery of the female terminal fittings 30 and 30 reach the proper fitting position, the female terminal fitting 12 is inserted.
The male terminal fitting 32 and the male terminal fitting 32 are connected in an electrically conductive state, and are locked in a fitted state by the locking means described below.

The locking means has the following structure. Regarding the male connector 30, a short rectangular pillar-shaped engaging projection 33 is provided on the upper surface of the connector housing 31.

On the other hand, on the upper surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 13 of the female connector 10, a lock arm 20 is provided via a support leg 18 so as to extend along the fitting direction of both connectors 10, 30. On the rear end side (right end in FIG. 1) of the lock arm 20, a non-slip pressing operation portion 21 for pressing operation is formed. Can be tilted. In addition, the support leg 18 of the lock arm 20
A split slit 22 extending along the connector fitting direction is formed at the center in the width direction on the tip end side, and the lock arm 20 is split into two parts, left and right. Each of the divided left and right parts includes an arm main body 23 extending from the support leg 18 toward the tip, and an engaging portion 24 extending laterally at the tip, and the arm main body 23 includes the engaging portion 24.
Widening part 2 that extends to the position of the tip of the visor and widens the width
5 are formed. Further, the left and right engaging portions 24 extend in a direction in which they are close to each other, and therefore, both side portions of the split slit 22 are hollowed out, leaving the engaging portions 24, to form a space.

The split slit 22 has a male connector 30.
Corresponding to the center of the engaging protrusion 33 of the engaging protrusion 3
3 is a position to cut into the split slit 22.
Then, as shown in FIG. 6, a guide slope 26 is formed at the tip of the lock arm 20 so as to slightly expand from the split slit 22 toward the tip side from the split slit 22.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. When the female connector 10 of the present embodiment is fitted into the male connector 30, the terminal accommodating portion 13 enters the connector housing 31 of the male connector 30, and in the middle of the fitting process, the tip of the engaging portion 24 of the lock arm 20. Comes into contact with the engaging protrusion 33 (see FIGS. 2 and 6). Here, at the tip of the lock arm 20, there is a guide slope 26 that expands earlier.
Since each of the arm main body portions 23 of the lock arm 20 is elastically spread to both sides along the guide slope 26, the engaging protrusion 33 is cut into the split slit 22 (see FIG. 7). And both connectors 1
By the time 0, 30 reaches the regular fitting position, the rear end of the engaging portion 24 of the lock arm 20 is located beyond the engaging protrusion 33, so that the arm main body 23 is returned to its original position by the elastic force. After the restoration, as shown in FIG.
3 goes around to the rear side and the lock arm 20 engages with the engaging protrusion 33.
Will be locked by.

In the process of fitting the connector, the engaging portion 24 collides with the engaging protrusion 33, and the arm main body 23 is elastically deformed so as to avoid this. As the mating progresses, the mating resistance sharply increases, and the resistance changes so that the mating resistance disappears rapidly near the regular mating position. Is born. Further, when both the connectors 10 and 30 reach the lock position in this way, the male terminal fitting 32 is completely inserted into the female terminal fitting 12 and is in a normal fitting connection state (see FIG. 3).

After that, in order to detach both connectors 10 and 30, as shown in FIG. 4, the pushing operation portion 21 of the lock arm 20 is pushed with fingers. Then, the arm main body 23 of the lock arm 20 is elastically deformed so as to pull up the engaging portion 24 side at the tip end with the support leg 18 as a fulcrum. Therefore, when the tip of the lock arm 20 is pulled up by the height of the engaging protrusion 33, the engagement between the engaging portion 24 and the engaging protrusion 33 is released. Therefore,
When the female connector 10 is pulled out from the male connector 30, the female connector 10 can be pulled out from the connector housing 31 of the male connector 30.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the connectors 10 and 30 are fitted to each other, the engaging portion 24 of the lock arm 20 abuts on the engaging protrusion 33, and this is avoided laterally. As described above, the arm main body 23 is elastically deformed to generate a fitting resistance, and a so-called moderation feeling is generated. Therefore,
In order to obtain a strong sense of moderation, the arm main body 23
If the width dimension of is set wide, the rigidity is increased accordingly, that is, the resistance to elastic deformation is increased, and a strong moderation feeling can be obtained. In this case, since the engaging portion 24 is laterally projected from the arm main body portion 23, if the width dimension of the arm main body portion 23 is set to be large, the protruding size of the engaging portion 24 is added to it. As a result, the size of the lock arm 20 in the lateral direction becomes large, and there is a concern that the size of the connector may be increased. However, in view of this point, in the present embodiment, the arm main body 23 is configured to form the widened portion 25 that extends to the position of the tip of the engaging portion 24 in a canopy shape and widens the width. Therefore, it is possible to increase the rigidity of the arm main body portion 23 by the widening portion 25 while keeping the lateral width dimension within the protrusion dimension of the engaging portion 24. Therefore, since the engaging portion 24 does not further project from the widening portion 25, the lock arm 20 as a whole can be slimmed down to contribute to downsizing of the entire connector.

On the other hand, when the lock is released, the lock arm 20 is vertically tilted so that the front end side is upward to release the engagement, so that the lock arm 20 is moved upward by the height dimension of the engaging projection 33. It may be elastically deformed. Therefore, even if the rigidity of the arm main body 23 is increased in the lateral direction to set a strong sense of moderation, it does not significantly affect the elastic deformability of the lock arm 20 in the vertical direction, resulting in poor lock release operability. Can be reliably prevented.

Further, particularly in the present embodiment, since the split slit 22 is formed in the center of the lock arm 20 and the engaging projection 33 is inserted between them, the arm main body 23 is elastically deformed in the lateral direction. The stress generated at that time is shared by the two arm main body portions 23 and the widened portion 25 divided by the division slit 22. Therefore, since the stress shared by each wire is small, there are less restrictions on the shape, thickness, etc., and the degree of freedom in design is increased. Moreover, since the engaging projection 33 is in contact with the center of the lock arm 20, the lateral balance is good, and the fitting operability of the connector is good.

Further, in this embodiment, since the guide slope 26 is formed on the tip end side of the lock arm 20, the shape of the engaging projection 33 can be a simple rectangular column. This means that the male connector housing 31 can be easily molded. Therefore, for example, it is applied to the device-integrated male connector 30 in which glass fiber reinforced resin is used and the moldability tends to deteriorate. Suitable for cases.

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

(1) In the above embodiment, the lock arm 20 is used.
A guide slope 26 was formed at the tip of the
As shown in FIG.
The guide slope 26 may be formed on the side surface.

(2) Although not shown, the lock arm is not necessarily limited to the formation of the divided slits, and may have a structure having only one elastically deformable arm function portion. In which the engaging portion is tilted to displace the engaging portion above the engaging protrusion to release the engagement, the lock arm may be elastically deformed laterally with respect to the engaging protrusion.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a male and female connector showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing a fitting process of the male and female connectors.

[FIG. 3] Similarly, a vertical cross-sectional view of the male and female connectors when mating is completed.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view showing a process of releasing the mating of the male and female connectors.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the lock arm and the engagement protrusion of the same.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an engaging process between the lock arm and the engaging protrusion.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an engaging process between the lock arm and the engaging protrusion.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the lock arm and the engagement projection when the engagement is completed.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a lock arm and an engaging protrusion showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a fitting process of a conventional male and female connector.

FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional view showing a fitting process of a conventional male and female connector.

[Explanation of Codes] 10 ... Female connector 18 ... Support leg 20 ... Lock arm 21 ... Pushing operation part 22 ... Dividing slit 23 ... Arm main body part 24 ... Engaging part 25 ... Widening part 26 ... Guide surface 30 ... Male connector 33 ... Engagement protrusion

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A lock arm that engages with an engagement protrusion provided on the other connector is provided on one of the paired connectors so as to be elastically tiltable, and a pressing operation portion provided on the lock arm is pressed. In such a structure in which the tip of the lock arm is tilted toward the upper side of the engagement projection to thereby release the engagement with the engagement projection, the engagement projection or the lock arm is The connector is provided with a guide slope for elastically deforming the lock arm laterally with respect to the engaging projection when the tips of the lock arms come into contact with each other when the connectors are fitted together. 2. A split slit is formed on the tip end side of the lock arm along the fitting direction of the both connectors, and the engaging projection is provided at a position to be cut into the split slit. The connector according to claim 1. 3. An engaging portion that engages with the engaging protrusion is laterally projected from the arm main body at the front end of the lock arm, and the arm main body has a position of the front end of the engaging portion. The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a widened portion is formed that extends up to the eaves-shaped and widens the width.