JPH10162890A - Double lock connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a double lock connector wherein contacts with a staggered arrangement can be double locked, and sliding operation from a provisional engagement position to an actual engagement position can be done smoothly. SOLUTION: A double lock member 5 has a pair of long and thin arms 51a, 51b which can slide on the outside surface of an inner housing 20. The long and thin arms 51a and 51b have on a specific position in its longitudinal direction an engagement claw 60 protruding inward. The engagement claw has almost an L shape cross section, and can be engaged with a contact 100 at an actual engagement position. In the housing 20, a groove 28 with almost an L shape cross section which can contain the engagement claw 60 is formed along the outside surface. Since the groove 28 is engaged with the engagement claw 60, the arms 51a, 51b are maintained on the outside surface of the inner housing 20 when the double lock member 50 slides.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a temporary locking position in which a double lock member slidably mounted on a housing can insert a contact into a contact cavity of a housing, to a full locking position for locking a contact. The present invention relates to a slidable double lock connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of this type of double lock connector is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-54678. The double lock member of the double lock connector has a plate-like insertion pin formed at a predetermined position in the length direction of the connecting plate, and a locking projection for locking the contact along the insertion pin.
The contact is inserted into the cavity when the double lock member is attached to the temporary locking position, and is locked by sliding the double lock member to the full locking position after insertion. Since the double lock member locks the contact, the contact is securely prevented from falling into the contact cavity.

[0003]

However, the double lock member of the disclosed double lock connector is suitable when the cavities accommodating the contacts are arranged in rows and columns, but in other arrangements, for example, Not applicable if the cavities are staggered.

[0004] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a double lock connector including a double lock member applicable even when the cavities are arranged in a staggered arrangement. It is desirable that the double lock connector be able to smoothly and reliably perform the sliding operation from the temporary locking position to the final locking position, and it is desirable that the double lock connector be relatively simple in configuration and inexpensive.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a double lock member slidably mounted on a housing locks the contact from a temporary locking position where the contact can be inserted into a contact cavity of the housing. A double lock member slid in a direction perpendicular to the contact cavity to a full locking position, wherein the double lock member has an elongated arm extending in the sliding direction and sliding on an outer surface of the housing. A locking claw having a substantially L-shaped cross section for locking the contact at the full locking position is provided at a predetermined position in a longitudinal direction of the arm, and a cross section capable of receiving the locking claw is provided on the housing. A substantially L-shaped groove is formed along the outer side surface, and the groove engages with the locking claw to allow the arm to move when the double lock member slides. Characterized in that it is maintained on the outer surface of the ring.

[0006] Preferably, the double lock members are configured such that a pair of the arms are connected on one side and each slides on opposite outer surfaces of the housing. At this time, it is preferable that a check means for checking that the double lock member has reached the final locking position is provided at a connecting portion connecting the arms.

Preferably, one locking means is provided for each one of the arms, and the locking means is configured to be able to engage with the temporary locking means and the full locking means of the housing. At this time, the locking means may be an elastic latch piece, and the temporary locking means and the main locking means may be engagement recesses.

Preferably, the sliding of the arm of the double lock member is guided by a guide provided along the outer surface. At this time, the guide means may include a pair of guide walls standing upright with respect to the outer side surface.

Preferably, the double lock member and the housing are provided with a confirmation window for confirming that the contact has been inserted into the cavity when the double lock member is in the temporary locking position. When the double lock member is slid to the full locking position, the confirmation window of the housing may be closed by the double lock member.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A double lock connector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a double lock connector according to the present invention. The double lock connector 10 is an inner housing 2 for accommodating a plurality of contacts (not shown).
0, an outer housing 80 to which the inner housing 20 is attached, and a wire cover 85 attached to the rear surface of the outer housing 80. The double lock member 50 and the waterproof member 90 are attached to the inner housing 20. Further, a slide cam lever 95 for realizing low insertion force fitting with a mating connector is slidably attached to the outer housing 80.

FIG. 2 shows the double lock member 50 in a perspective view. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the double lock member 50 is in the temporary locking position, and FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in which the double lock member 50 is in the final locking position.
A similar perspective view is shown. FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state where the mating connector is fitted with the double lock member 50 in the final locking position. The wire cover 8 is shown in FIG.
5 is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2, a double lock member 50 is provided.
The pair of elongated plate-shaped arms 51a and 51b are connected by a connecting portion 52 on one side in the length direction, and have a substantially U shape. At a predetermined position in the length direction of the arm 51a, a locking claw 60 protruding inward is formed. The locking pawl 60 has a first portion 61 that is relatively low to allow insertion of the contact when in the temporary locking position and a second height that is relatively high to lock the contact when in the full locking position. It has a portion 62. Although not shown, a plurality of locking claws 60 are similarly formed on the arm 51b. Also, the arm 51
A plurality of windows 63 are formed at positions on the plate surface corresponding to the first portions 61 of the locking claws 60a and 51b. The operation of the window 63 will be described later. Further, a latch piece 5 that can be bent in the thickness direction is located at a position near the connecting portion 52 of the arms 51a and 51b.
3a and 53b. Protrusions 54a and 54b are formed at the ends of the latch pieces 53a and 53b.

The double lock member 50 is slidable from a temporary locking position shown in FIG. 3 to a full locking position shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, concave portions 21 and 22 are formed in the inner housing 20 as temporary locking means and final locking means. The projections 54a, 54b of the latch pieces 53a, 53b engage with the recess 21 at the temporary locking position and engage with the recess 22 at the full locking position.

As can be understood from FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the double lock member 50 is provided between the first wall 24 on the fitting end side formed on the inner housing 20 and the second wall 25 on the inner side. The inside of the formed groove 27 is slidable. In sliding, the first wall 24 and the second wall 25 act to guide the sliding of the arms 51a and 51b of the double lock member 50.

A contact (not shown) is inserted into the cavity 30 of the inner housing 20 from the side opposite to the fitting surface 31 when the double lock member 50 is at the temporary locking position shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of windows 23 opened outward are formed at positions corresponding to the cavities 30 of the inner housing 20. In the temporary locking position shown in FIG. 3, the window 63 of the double lock member 50 communicates with the window 23. Therefore, the insertion of the contact can be confirmed through the windows 23 and 63. In the final locking position shown in FIG. 4, the windows 23 and 63 are arranged so as not to communicate with each other, so that entry of foreign matter into the cavity is prevented. (See Fig. 5)

As shown in FIG. 5, the second portion 62 of the locking claw 60 of the double lock member 50 for locking the contact 100 in the cavity 30 has a substantially L-shaped cross section.
Further, as understood from FIG. 2, the first portion 61 also has a substantially L-shaped cross section. On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
Numeral 0 is accommodated in a groove 28 having a substantially L-shaped cross section over the length direction formed in the inner housing 20. Therefore, when the double lock member 50 slides between the temporary locking position and the full locking position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the engagement between the locking claw 60 and the groove 28 causes the arms 51a and 51b to move outward. Is prevented from opening. The engagement between the groove 28 and the locking claw 60 also functions as a sliding guide.

As understood from FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the cavities 30 are arranged in a staggered arrangement. This is a configuration for increasing the arrangement density of the waterproof member 120 provided at the rear position of each contact 100, as understood from FIG. 5, so that the internal housing 20 can be made relatively small.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the first wall 24 of the inner housing 20 has a cutout 29 at one end. When the double lock member 50 is in the final locking position,
Since the position of the connecting portion 52 can be confirmed through the notch 29, it can be confirmed that the double lock member 50 is at the final locking position. The first wall 24 functions as a cover for preventing the double lock member 50 from being exposed to the fitting surface 31 other than the notch 29, thereby preventing the double lock member 50 from being damaged at the time of fitting. Preventing.

As described above, the double lock connector according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail. However, this is merely an example, and various modifications and changes can be made by those skilled in the art. For example, the locking claw 60 is substantially L-shaped for both the first and second portions 61 and 62, but only the first portion 62 for locking the contact may be substantially L-shaped.

[0021]

According to the double lock connector of the present invention, the double lock member has an elongated arm extending in the sliding direction and sliding on the outer surface, and the arm locks the contact at the final locking position. A locking claw having a substantially L-shaped cross section is provided at a predetermined position in the length direction, and a groove having a substantially L-shaped cross section capable of receiving the locking claw is formed in the housing along the outer surface. When the double lock is slid, the arms are maintained on the outer surface of the housing by engaging with the pawls. The operation of sliding the double lock member from the temporary locking position to the full locking position can be performed smoothly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a double lock connector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a double lock member used for the double lock connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state after assembling the double lock connector of FIG. 1, showing the double lock member in a temporary locking position.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3, showing a double lock member in a fully locked position.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the double lock connector of FIG. 1 in a state where the double lock member is fully engaged with a mating connector with the double lock member in a fully locked position;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 double lock connector 20 housing (internal housing) 28 groove 30 contact cavity 50 double lock member 51a, 51b arm 60 locking claw 100 contact

Claims (1)

[Claims] A double lock member slidably mounted on a housing from a temporary locking position at which a contact can be inserted into a contact cavity of the housing to a full locking position at which the contact is locked. A double lock connector slid in a direction perpendicular to the cavity, wherein the double lock member has an elongated arm extending in the sliding direction and sliding on an outer surface of the housing, wherein the arm includes the main arm. A locking claw having a substantially L-shaped cross section for locking the contact at the stop position is provided at a predetermined position in the longitudinal direction, and the housing has a substantially L-shaped cross section capable of receiving the locking claw.
A U-shaped groove is formed along the outer surface, and the groove is engaged with the locking claw so that the arm is maintained on the outer surface of the housing when the double lock member slides. Features a double lock connector.