JPH10321296A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent enlargement of a connector in securing energizing elastic force for half-fitting detection. SOLUTION: By employing a twisted coil spring having coil part 25A along the outer circumference of the female side connector housing 20 as an urging member, a movable member 30 for elastically deforming the twisted coil spring 25 is displaced in the circumferential direction. For increasing the energizing force, the number of the turns of the coil part 25A is to be increased, so that enlargement of the coil diameter of the coil part 25A is not needed. That is, while ensuring the energizing force for half-fitting detection, enlargement of the connector is prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector having a half-fit detection mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 8 shows a connector having a half-fitting detection function. This is because the arm 3 of one connector housing 1 (left side in the figure) is connected to the guide portion of the other connector housing 2 from the start of the fitting of the two connector housings 1 to the normal fitting. The compression coil spring 6 is elastically compressed by being pushed up by the movable member 5 and pushed by the movable member 5, and a biasing force in the detaching direction is applied between the connector housings 1 and 2 by the elastic restoring force of the compression coil spring 6. Therefore, when the fitting operation is interrupted in the half-fitted state, the two connector housings 1 and 2 are separated from each other by the bias of the compression coil spring 6, whereby the half-fitted state is detected.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional connector, the compression coil spring 6 is used as a means for urging the two connector housings 1 and 2 in the disengaging direction. Then, the coil diameter of the compression coil spring 6 is reduced. However, when the coil diameter is reduced, the wire diameter generally also decreases, and as a result, the spring elasticity (biasing force) decreases. Therefore, a structure in which a plurality of (for example, two) small-diameter compression coil springs 6 are arranged to ensure spring elasticity. However, the above structure requires not only a space for accommodating the compression coil spring 6 but also a space for providing a guide (not shown) for preventing buckling of the compression coil spring 6 in the lateral direction. That is, in the conventional connector, the width becomes large when the height is reduced, so that the miniaturization cannot be expected. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to reduce the size.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a pair of connector housings that can be fitted to each other, a movable member displaceably provided in one of the connector housings, and a connection between the two connector housings are provided. Displacing means for displacing the movable member against the urging of the urging member, so that the urging member applies a urging force in the detaching direction between the two connector housings in the half-fitted state. In the connector, the movable member can be displaced only in the circumferential direction with respect to the one connector housing about the fitting direction as an axis, and the urging member is moved along the circumferential direction of the one connector housing. The movable member is provided with a biasing force in the circumferential direction, and the displacing means engages with each other as the fitting progresses, thereby urging the biasing member. And configured to include the cam functional portion for relatively helical displacing said movable member and the other connector housing and anti.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the biasing member is constituted by a torsion coil spring having a coil portion along a peripheral surface of the one connector housing. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, at least one of the movable member and the other connector housing has a spiral shape of reverse twist with the cam function portion, and is normally fitted. A guide portion for guiding the connector housings in the regular fitting direction by the urging of the urging member is provided in a certain area immediately before the joining.

[0006]

Actions and effects of the present invention

<Invention of claim 1> Since the urging member is arranged along the peripheral surface of the connector housing, when the urging force is increased, a plurality of the urging members are arranged in the axial direction so that the outer diameter is not increased. Only That is, upsizing is prevented while ensuring the urging force for half-fitting detection. <Invention of Claim 2> Since the coil portion is formed along the peripheral surface of the connector housing, the outer diameter of the connector needs to be increased only by the wire diameter of the coil, and expansion of the outer diameter can be minimized. .

When both connector housings approach regular fitting, the movable member and the other connector housing are relatively displaced along the helical path of the guiding portion by the circumferential urging force of the urging means. Meanwhile, both connector housings are drawn to be in a properly fitted state. In other words, the provision of the guiding portion allows both connector housings to be reliably brought into the properly fitted state.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1 Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The connector of the present embodiment includes a male connector housing (the other connector housing which is a component of the present invention) 10, a female connector housing 20 (one connector housing which is a component of the present invention), a movable member 30, and a torsion. A coil spring (biasing member, which is a component of the present invention) 25 is provided.

The male connector housing 10 has a generally cylindrical hood portion 11 protruding forward, and inside the hood portion 11, a tab (not shown) at the tip of a male terminal fitting attached to the male connector housing 10 is provided. (Not shown) is projected. The inner periphery of the hood portion 11 has an arcuate surface 11A on the upper surface and a lower surface, while flat surfaces 1 on both left and right sides.
1B, a positioning groove 12 is formed on one side surface.

On the outer periphery of the hood portion 11, a cam surface (a cam function portion, a displacement means, which is a component of the present invention) 13 is formed spirally from the front edge to the rear.
The cam surface 13 constitutes a part of the side surface of the enlarged diameter portion 14 in which the outer periphery of the hood portion 11 partially projects in a stepped manner. The enlarged diameter portion 14 has a lock portion 15 connected to the rear end of the cam surface 13. The lock portion 15 is formed to be recessed in the circumferential direction with respect to the rear end of the cam surface 13.
The front surface 5 is a lock surface 15A along the circumferential direction. A side surface of the enlarged diameter portion 14 opposite to the cam surface 13 and the lock portion 15 is provided with a stopper 1 extending in the axial direction.
6.

The female connector housing 20 has a front fitting portion 21 fitted to the hood portion 11 and a rear spring mounting portion 22 for mounting a torsion coil spring 25. The fitting portion 21 has a shape that is fitted almost tightly into the hood portion 11, that is, the upper surface 21A and the lower surface 21A are arcuate surfaces, the left and right side surfaces 21B are flat surfaces, and one side surface is further formed. It is formed in a shape having the positioning projection 23. The fitting portion 21 is fitted in the axial direction in a state where the relative rotation with respect to the hood portion 11 is restricted.
Be separated. Further, the positioning protrusion 23 and the positioning groove 12
This prevents the fitting portion 21 from being inverted and fitted.

The outer periphery of the spring mounting portion 22 has a circular shape, and the coil portion 25A of the torsion coil spring 25 is loosely fitted to the spring mounting portion 22. The arm portions 25B at both ends of the torsion coil spring 25 are bent in the axial direction and project forward and backward. A flange 26 is formed at the boundary between the spring mounting portion 22 and the fitting portion 21, and a front arm portion 25B is locked in a spring receiving groove 26A formed by cutting out a part of the flange 26. On the other hand, the front arm 25
B is engaged with a spring receiving hole 33 of the movable member 30 described later.

The female connector housing 20 includes:
A cylindrical movable member 30 is attached so as to surround the entire circumference. A circumferential guide groove 31 is formed in the movable member 30, and a guide protrusion 27 formed on the flange 26 is engaged with the guide groove 31, and the guide groove 31 and the guide protrusion 27 are engaged with each other. Accordingly, the movable member 30 is allowed to move relative to the female connector housing 20 in the circumferential direction, and the relative movement in the axial direction is restricted.

The movable member 30 is fitted into the female connector housing 20 from the front. At this time, the guide projection 27 is guided to the guide groove 31 through the guide groove 32 opened at the rear end edge of the movable member 30. You. A spring receiving hole 33 is formed at the rear end of the movable member 30 so as to penetrate a protruding portion toward the inner peripheral side thereof, and the arm portion on the rear side of the torsion coil spring 25 is formed in the spring receiving hole 33. 25B is engaged. The torsion coil spring 25 is fitted to the spring mounting portion 22 before the movable member 30, and after the movable member 30 is assembled to the female connector housing 20, the rear arm portion 25B is displaced slightly forward. Into the spring receiving hole 33.

The movable member 3 is mounted on the female connector housing 20.
When the torsion coil spring 25 is assembled with the torsion coil spring 25, the torsion coil spring 25 is in a free state in which the coil portion 25A is not elastically deformed. In this state, as shown in FIG. Is located slightly off. Therefore, there is no possibility that the movable member 30 will fall forward with respect to the female connector housing 20. Movable member 3
0 has a substantially L-shaped reduced diameter portion 34 formed by partially projecting the inner periphery thereof. The front surface of the reduced diameter portion 34 has an arcuate cam surface (cam function portion, displacement means, which is a constituent feature of the present invention) 35 oriented substantially in a spiral direction so as to correspond to the cam surface 13 of the male connector housing 10. Are formed. The cam surface 35 engages with the cam surface 13 of the male connector housing 10 during the fitting process of the two connector housings 10 and 20, thereby displacing the movable member 30 in the circumferential direction and rotating the torsion coil spring 25.
Are elastically deformed.

The reduced diameter portion 34 has a locking surface 36 which regulates the detachment of the connector housings 10 and 20 by being axially abutted against the locking surface 15A of the male connector housing 10 in a properly fitted state. Are formed. Further, the reduced diameter portion 34 is formed with a receiving surface 37 that circumferentially contacts the rear end of the cam surface 13 of the male connector housing 10 in a properly fitted state. Further, a stopper 38 that can abut against the stopper 16 of the male connector housing 10 is formed on the inner periphery of the movable member 30.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. When the fitting of the two connector housings 10 and 20 is started, the front end of the movable member 30 is fitted to the outer periphery of the hood portion 11 and the fitting portion 21 is fitted to the inner periphery of the hood portion 11, and both cams are fitted. The surfaces 13 and 35 come into contact with each other.
If the fitting is further advanced from this state, both cam surfaces 1
3 and 35 are engaged, and an oblique reaction force is generated between the movable member 30 and the male connector housing 10. At this time,
The relative rotation of the male and female connector housings 10, 20 is restricted by the fitting of the fitting portion 21 and the hood portion 11 having a non-circular cross section, and the relative movement of the movable member 30 in the axial direction with respect to the female connector housing 20. Is regulated, the movable member 30 is moved in the circumferential direction relative to the connector housings 10 and 20 by the engagement of the cam surfaces 13 and 35 as the fitting of the connector housings 10 and 20 progresses. (See FIG. 4).

Due to the relative rotation of the movable member 30, the torsion coil spring 25 is elastically deformed to generate an elastic restoring force, and the elastic restoring force is applied to both connector housings 10, 20.
Increase with the progress of fitting. Then, a biasing force in the detaching direction is applied between the connector housings 10 and 20 by the elastic restoring force of the torsion coil spring 25. Therefore, when the fitting operation of the connector housings 10 and 20 is interrupted in the middle of the fitting, the torsion coil spring 25 biases the connector housings 10 and 20.
20 is forcibly detached, and by this detachment operation, it is detected that both connector housings 10, 20 are half-fitted.

When the fitting of the two connector housings 10, 20 is completed without interruption, the two connector housings 10, 20 are in a normal fitting state. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the cam surface 35 of the movable member 30 passes through the rear end of the cam surface 13 of the male connector housing 10, and the elastic restoring force of the torsion coil spring 25, as shown in FIG. The claw-shaped portion of the reduced diameter portion 34 of the movable member 30 enters the lock portion 15 of the male connector housing 10 and is held in a state where the receiving surface 37 and the rear end of the cam surface 13 abut in the circumferential direction. In this state, the locking surfaces 15A and 36 are hooked in the axial direction, so that the connector housings 10 and 20 that are properly fitted are locked irremovably.

When detaching the connector housings 10, 20, the movable member 30 is moved in the circumferential direction in a direction in which the lock surfaces 15A, 36 are disengaged from each other. Just pull them apart. Thereafter, when the hand is released from the movable member 30, the two connector housings 1 are caused by the helical engagement of the cam surfaces 13, 35 and the elastic restoring force of the torsion coil spring 25.
0 and 20 are forcibly separated.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the outer periphery of the female connector housing 20 is used as an urging member for applying an urging force in the detaching direction between the two connector housings 10 and 20 in a semi-fitted state. Since the torsion coil spring 25 having the coil portion 25A along the length is used, the mounting space for the urging member is only required to be equal to the wire diameter of the coil portion 25A, and the size can be reduced. In addition, when the urging force of the torsion coil spring 25 is increased, it is only necessary to increase the number of turns of the coil portion 25A, so that the coil diameter does not need to be increased, and the remarkable increase in the urging force is avoided. Have been. When the torsion coil spring 25 is elastically deformed, the coil diameter is increased (in the case of the present embodiment) or reduced. However, since the diameter is slightly increased or decreased, the elastic deformation of the torsion coil spring 25 is small. The space for the space is small. Further, in the present embodiment, the elastic restoring force of the torsion coil spring 25 is received by the circumferential butting action between the receiving surface 37 of the movable member 30 and the rear end of the cam surface 13 when properly fitted. Therefore, the separation force in the axial direction acting between the movable member 30 and the hood portion 11, that is, between the connector housings 10 and 20, is avoided.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment,
The enlarged diameter portion of the hood portion 11 has a configuration different from that of the first embodiment. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the same configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description of the structures, operations, and effects will be omitted. In the first embodiment, the cam surface 13 of the enlarged diameter portion 14 and the lock portion 15 are provided continuously, but the enlarged diameter portion 1 of the second embodiment is provided.
In 7, a guide surface (a guide portion which is a constituent feature of the present invention) 18 is provided between the cam surface 13 and the lock portion 15, and has a spiral shape that is reversely twisted with respect to the cam surface 13. Therefore,
When the two connector housings 10 and 20 approach regular fitting to a certain distance, the cam surface 35 of the movable member 30 is
1 and comes into engagement with the guide surface 18, and the movable member 30 moves relative to the male connector housing 10 along the spiral path of the guide surface 18 by the elastic restoring force of the torsion coil spring 25. While being displaced, both connector housings 10 and 20 are drawn to be in a properly fitted state. As described above, since the guide surface 18 is provided in the second embodiment, the connector housings 10 and 20 can be reliably brought into the properly fitted state. In the second embodiment, a surface corresponding to the lock surface 15A of the first embodiment is not provided, but when the two connector housings 10 and 20 are to be detached, the tip of the cam surface 35 follows the guide surface 18. Since the torsion coil spring 25 is elastically deformed by the sliding contact, a pulling force acts between the connector housings 10 and 20 by the bias of the torsion coil spring 25. Therefore, both connector housings 10, 2
There is no danger that 0 will easily leave.

<Third Embodiment> Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Embodiment 3
Are the guide surfaces 18 and the lock portions 1 in the second embodiment.
5 is formed with a lock surface 18A. The lock surface 18A is a surface orthogonal to the fitting / removing direction of the connector housings 10 and 20. In the normal fitting state, the lock surface 18A is fixed to the lock surface of the movable member 30 as in the first embodiment. When the connector 36 is hooked in the axial direction, the connector housings 10 and 20 are locked irremovably. Further, in the normal fitting state, similarly to the first embodiment, the claw-shaped tip of the lock surface 36 of the movable member 30 is moved in the circumferential direction by the elastic restoring force of the torsion coil spring 25 with respect to the rear end of the lock 15. I'm stuck. Thereby, there is no possibility that the engagement between the lock surfaces 18A and 36 is released, and a reliable lock function is exhibited. Further, the lock portion 15
Is parallel to the axial direction, no axial force acts between the used connector housings 10 and 20 due to the elastic restoring force of the torsion coil spring 25.
Note that other configurations are the same as those of the above-described second embodiment.
The description of the operation and the effect is omitted.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above with reference to the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the above embodiment, the cam surface 13 of the male connector housing 10 is provided on the outer peripheral side and the cam surface 35 of the female connector housing 20 is provided on the inner peripheral side. May be provided on the inner peripheral side, and the cam surface of the female connector housing may be provided on the outer peripheral side.

(2) In the above embodiment, the cam surfaces 13 and 35, which are the cam function portions, are connected to the outer periphery of the hood portion 11 and the movable member 30.
Are provided so as to protrude from the inner circumference, but according to the present invention,
One of the cam function portions may be formed in a groove shape. (3) In the above embodiment, the cam functions of both the male connector housing 10 and the movable member 30 are spiral cam surfaces 13,
According to the present invention, one of the cam function units may be a helical cam surface and the other cam function unit may be a non-spiral simple engagement surface.

(4) In the above embodiment, the coil portion 25A along the outer periphery of the female connector housing 20 is used as the biasing member.
However, according to the present invention, another spring member such as a garter spring having an axis extending along the circumferential direction of the connector housing may be used as the biasing member. (5) In the above-described embodiment, when the connector housings 10 and 20 are properly fitted, the two connector housings 10 and 20 are released from the urging in the disengagement direction by the torsion coil spring 25. Also, the urging force in the detaching direction can continue to act.

(6) In the above embodiment, the movable member 30 and the urging member (the torsion coil spring 25) are provided in the female connector housing 20, but according to the present invention, the movable member and the urging member are connected to the male connector. You may make it provide in a housing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the female connector housing of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a normal fitting state of both connector housings in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a half-fitted state of both connector housings in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state immediately before the two connector housings are properly mated in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a male connector housing according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a male connector housing according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a half-fitted state of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Male connector housing (the other connector housing) 13 ... Cam surface (cam functional part, displacement means) 20 ... Female connector housing (one connector housing) 25 ... Torsion coil spring (biasing member) 30 ... Movable member 35: cam surface (cam function unit, displacement means) 18: guide surface (guide unit)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A pair of connector housings that can be fitted to each other, a movable member provided to be displaceable in one connector housing, and an urging member for urging the movable member with the engagement of the two connector housings. A displacing means for displacing the movable member in a half-engaged state, wherein the biasing member applies a biasing force in a detaching direction between the two connector housings in the half-fitted state. Displacement in the circumferential direction only is enabled with respect to the one connector housing with the direction as an axis,
The urging member is arranged along the circumferential direction of the one connector housing, and is capable of applying a urging force in the circumferential direction to the movable member. A connector, comprising: a cam function unit that relatively helically displaces the movable member and the other connector housing against the urging of the urging member by engaging with each other. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the biasing member is constituted by a torsion coil spring having a coil portion along a peripheral surface of the one connector housing.
The connector described. 3. The at least one of the movable member and the other connector housing has a spiral shape having a reverse twist with the cam functioning portion, and the biasing member has a predetermined area immediately before regular fitting. The connector according to claim 1, further comprising a guide portion that guides the two connector housings in the normal fitting direction by urging.