JPH11185878A - Lock structure of connector plug - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lock structure of a connector plug with which a receptacle and the connector plug can be miniaturized respectively in the direction at right angles to the direction of push in and pull out and in the direction of push in and pull out. SOLUTION: This lock structure is provided with a housing 11 comprising both side walls 11a, 11a, a pair of elastic arms 12, a pair of lock releasing buttons 13 fixed in the elastic arms 12 and releasing the lock by being pushed, and a pair of supporting members 14. Each of the elastic arms 12 has an approximately U-shaped inner side 12f comprising one piece 12b, a curved part 12c continuous from the piece 12b, and the other piece 12e and the base end part 12a of the piece 12b is fixed in the side wall 11a of the housing 11 and the piece 12e comprises a lock claw 12g to be locked in an lock part of a receptacle 2 for locking. Each of the supporting members 14 is positioned in and brought into contact with the opposed side of the U-shaped inner side 12f and supports the piece 12e of each elastic arm 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a locking structure of a connector plug which is inserted into and removed from a receptacle mounted on an electric device in a direction of insertion and extraction and transmits an electric signal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional example of a lock structure for a connector plug A of this kind, there is a structure shown in FIGS. It comprises a housing A1 having both side walls A11 and A11, and a side wall A1 of the housing A1 extending along the insertion / removal direction.
11 and the receptacle A
A pair of elastic arms A2, A2, each of which is provided with a locking claw A22 that is locked at the locking portion B1 and protrudes outward from the side wall A11 at the distal end, and the side wall in a state in which it contacts the elastic arm A2. A1
It has a pair of unlock buttons A3, A3 which are derived from 1 and pressed to release the lock.

More specifically, the connector plug A has a plug post (not shown) and an open end A1 of the housing A1.
2 are arranged side by side to transmit electric signals. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the receptacle B has a plurality of contacts B2 arranged side by side on the main body B3, which are in contact with the inserted plug posts, and a lock fitting B11 having a locking portion B1 is connected to the main body B3. Are provided on both sides. When the lock release button A3 is pressed, the elastic arm A2 is elastically displaced inward of the side wall A11 of the housing, and the locking claw A22 is moved to the locking portion B1 of the receptacle B.
And release the locked state.

Another conventional example is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 3-66.
There is a configuration shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 proposed in Japanese Patent No. 174. This device comprises a housing A1 having both side walls A11 and A11, and a housing A1 which extends in the insertion / removal direction.
A locking claw A2 that has a base end portion A21 fixed to the side wall A11 and is locked by being locked by the locking portion B1 of the receptacle B.
A pair of elastic arms A2, A2 projecting inward from the side wall A11 at the distal end, and a pair of unlock buttons A3 fixed to the elastic arm A2, exposed from the side wall A1 and pressed to release the lock. , A3 and a pair of support pieces A4, A4 for supporting a rotating shaft A23 provided on the elastic arm A2.

More specifically, when the lock release button A3 is pressed, the elastic arm A2 is rotated by the support piece A4.
23, the base end portion A21 is elastically displaced from the rotation axis A23 toward the inside of the side wall A11 of the housing A, and from the rotation axis A23 to the locking claw A22 is elastically displaced outward from the side wall A11 by a predetermined amount. The lock of the locking claw A22 locked by the locking portion B1 of B is released. However, in this case, the elastic arm A2 is substantially linear.

[0006]

In the lock structure of the connector plug A of the conventional example and another conventional example described above, the connector plug A is inserted into and removed from the receptacle B mounted on the electric device, and the electric power from the connector plug A is removed. The signal can be transmitted to the receptacle B.

However, in the conventional example, when the lock release button A3 is pressed, the elastic arm A2 is elastically displaced inward into the side wall A11 of the housing A1, so that the locking claw A22 is moved to the side wall A1.
11 must protrude outward, and furthermore, a lock fitting B11 to be locked to the locking claw A22 is attached to the elastic arm A2.
Must be provided on the receptacle B outside the side wall A11. Therefore, despite the strong demand for miniaturization since the receptacle B is mounted on an electric device, the size becomes larger than the dimension between the pair of elastic arms A2 and A2, and there is a limit to miniaturization in the direction perpendicular to the insertion / removal direction. there were.

In another conventional example, the effective length of the spring must be increased in order to elastically displace the locking claw A22 by a predetermined amount without the elastic arm A2 being plastically deformed. However, since the elastic arm A2 is formed in a substantially linear shape, there is a limit to miniaturization in the linear direction, that is, the insertion / removal direction. Further, since the elastic arm A2 has the rotation axis A23, there is a problem that it is difficult to form the elastic arm A2 easily.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to achieve a connector which can achieve a reduction in the size of a receptacle in a direction orthogonal to the insertion / removal direction and a reduction in the size of a connector plug in the insertion / removal direction. It is to provide a plug locking structure.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector plug for transmitting and receiving an electric signal which is inserted into and removed from a receptacle mounted on an electric device in a direction of insertion and extraction. In the lock structure, a housing having both side walls, and one piece and another piece bent from the one piece at a bent portion are formed in a substantially U-shape having a U-shaped interior, and one piece is inserted in the insertion / extraction direction. A pair of bases fixed to each side wall of the housing along the housing, and a locking claw that locks the other piece by locking the other piece to the locking portion of the receptacle is provided at a tip portion of the pair to project toward the opposite side inside the U-shape. An elastic arm, a pair of lock release buttons fixed to the elastic arm and pressed to release the lock, and a pair of support portions located on the opposite side inside the U-shape to abut and support the other piece of the elastic arm. Is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the lock release button is provided at a position adjacent to the bent portion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the elastic arm has a tip of the other piece led out of the housing.
A protection cover for protecting the tip of the other piece is configured to protrude from the housing.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, the connector plug 1 will be described.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a housing, which is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape by an insulating resin, is provided with opposing side walls 11a, 11a and an open end 11b, and is surrounded by the side walls 11a, 11a. The inside of the side wall 11a is formed, a fixing hole 11c is provided on the side of the opening end 11b of the side walls 11a, 11a, and a through hole is provided on each of the side walls 11a, 11a.

Numeral 12 denotes an elastic arm, which is formed of a metal having elasticity into a plate shape, and is constituted by a pair. Each elastic arm 12 has a piece 12b having a base end 12a and a bent portion 12c formed from the piece 12b to form a distal end 1b.
The other piece 12e having 2d is formed in a substantially U shape, and the one piece 12b and the other piece 12e bent in two steps facing the one piece 12b form a U-shaped interior 12f.

One piece 12b is a side wall 11a of the housing 11.
The base end 12a is fixed to the fixing hole 11
c, and is fixed, and the tip 12d of the other piece 12e is led out of the housing 11, so that the locking claw 1
2g is formed by bending the other piece 12e so as to protrude toward the opposite side to the U-shaped inside 12f at the tip end 12d, and is movable elastically.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a lock release button, which is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape by a resin, and is constituted by a pair. Each lock release button 13 is fixed to the piece 12b at a position adjacent to the bent portion 12c of the elastic arm 12, is led out from a through hole in the side wall 11a, and is exposed from the side wall 11a.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a support portion, which is formed of an insulating resin into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape having a slope, is integrally formed with the housing 11, and is formed as a pair. Each support part 14 is located on the opposite side of the U-shaped inside 12f with respect to the other piece 12e of the elastic arm 12, and abuts on the contact part 12h of the other piece 12e,
The other piece 12e is supported while being elastically displaced. Also, a plug post made of metal and formed in a rod shape (not shown)
Are arranged side by side at the open end 11b of the housing 11 to transmit digital electric signals.

Next, the receptacle 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The receptacle 2 is mounted on an electric device (not shown), and the connector plugs are inserted into and removed from each other in the insertion / removal direction to transmit an electric signal. Reference numeral 21 denotes a body, which is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape by an insulating resin, has a plurality of contacts B2 arranged in parallel, and comes into contact with the inserted plug posts.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a metal shell, which is formed of metal into a bottomed box shape having both side plates 22a, 22a.
1 is fixed. A locking hole 22b penetrating in a square shape is provided on each side plate 22a, and an extension contact piece 22c extending from each side plate 22a is protruded, and a printed circuit board (not shown) mounted on an electric device (not shown) is provided. ) And fixed to the printed circuit board.

Here, one piece 12b of the elastic arm 12 is attached to the side wall 11a of the housing 11, that is, the base end 12 is formed on the side wall 11a of the housing 11 so as to extend in the insertion / removal direction.
a is fixed and therefore the other piece 1 facing the one piece 12b
2e is also provided in the housing 11 along the insertion / extraction direction.

The operation of the above will be described. When the connector plug 1 is inserted into the receptacle 2, the plug post comes into contact with the contact B2 provided on the receptacle 2. Then, the locking claw 12g provided at the distal end portion 12d of the elastic arm 12 is locked in the locking hole 22b of the receptacle 2, and the connector plug 1 and the receptacle 2 are locked to each other.

At this time, the receptacle 2 is
Unlike the conventional example in which 11 is located outside the side wall A11 with respect to the pair of elastic arms A2, A2, the metal shell 22 provided with the locking hole 22b is located between the pair of elastic arms 12, 12.

Next, the lock release button 13 led out from the through hole in the side wall 11a is pressed. As shown by the broken lines in FIGS. 1 and 2, the support portion 14 is located on the opposite side of the U-shaped inside 12f with respect to the other piece 12e, and the contact portion 1 of the other piece 12e is formed.
2h, the elastic arm 12 has one piece 12b.
And the other piece 12e from the bent portion 12c to the contact portion 12h is located inside the side wall 11a of the housing 11, that is, the side wall 1a.
1a elastically displaces inward. Also, the contact portion 12h
To the tip 12d of the other piece 12e is elastically displaced outward by a predetermined amount to the outside of the side wall 11a.
The lock of the locking claw 12g locked by b is released.

At this time, since the elastic arm 12 is formed in a U-shape, the effective length of the spring is secured, the elastic arm is elastically displaced by a predetermined amount without plastic deformation, and compared with an arm formed substantially linearly. Therefore, the dimension in the insertion / extraction direction is shortened.

In the connector plug lock structure of the first embodiment, as described above,
Is formed in a substantially U-shape having one piece 12b and another piece 12e, the one piece 12b is fixed to the side wall 11a of the housing 11, and the other piece 12e is provided with a locking claw 12g. When pressed, the support part 14 supports the contact part 12h of the other piece 12e, and the one piece 12b and the other piece 12e from the bent part 12c to the contact part 12h
a Inward, the other piece 1 from the contact part 12h to the tip part 12d
Since 2e is elastically displaced outward of the side wall 11a, the receptacle 2 is located between the pair of elastic arms 12, 12, and the size of the receptacle 2 in the direction orthogonal to the insertion / extraction direction can be reduced.

Further, since the elastic arm 12 is formed in a U-shape, it can be easily formed only by sheet metal parts, and has a sufficient effective length of the spring, and is smaller in size than a linearly formed one. By shortening the length, the size of the connector plug 1 in the insertion / extraction direction can be reduced.

Since the lock release button 13 is provided at a position adjacent to the bent portion 12c, the base end 12a of the piece 12b is provided.
Since the distance from to the adjacent position becomes longer, the lock can be released with a small pressing force against the lock release button 13.

In the first embodiment, the lock release button 1
3 is provided at a position adjacent to the bent portion 12c of the piece 12b, but when the pressing force for pressing the lock release button 13 may be large, it may not be provided at the adjacent position.
It may be provided on the other piece 12e instead of 2b, and there is no limitation.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the second embodiment, functions different from those in the first embodiment will be described, and members having substantially the same functions as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

A protective cover 11d is formed integrally with the housing 11, protrudes outward from the housing 11, and is provided with a pair of elastic arms 12, 12 that are led out.
2e and 12e are covered and protected.

In the connector plug lock structure according to the second embodiment, as described above, the protective cover 11d for protecting the tip 12d of the other piece 12e is provided with the housing 1 as shown in FIG.
1, the other piece 12e of the elastic arm 12 is protected by the protective cover 11d, so that the elastic arm 12 can be prevented from being damaged during the insertion / removal operation.

[0033]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the elastic arm is formed in a substantially U-shape having one piece and another piece, one piece is fixed to the side wall of the housing, and the other piece is provided with a locking claw. When the lock release button is pressed, the support part supports the contact part of the other piece, and one piece and the other piece from the bent part to the contact part are inward of the side wall and the tip from the contact part Since the other piece up to the portion is elastically displaced outwardly of the side wall, the receptacle is located between the pair of elastic arms, and the receptacle 2 can be downsized in a direction orthogonal to the insertion / extraction direction.
Compared to a case where the elastic arm is formed in a substantially linear shape, the size of the connector plug 1 in the insertion / removal direction can be reduced by securing the effective length of the spring and shortening the dimension.

According to the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, since the lock release button is provided at the position adjacent to the bent portion, the distance from the base end of one piece to the adjacent position is long. Therefore, the lock can be released with a small pressing force against the lock release button.

According to the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the first or second aspect, the distal end of the elastic arm is led out of the housing and protects the distal end of the other piece. Because the protective cover protruded from the housing,
The other piece of the elastic arm is protected by the cover, so that the elastic arm can be prevented from being damaged during the insertion / extraction operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front partial sectional view showing a state in which a connector plug and a receptacle according to a first embodiment of the present invention are fitted to each other.

FIG. 2 is a front partial sectional view of the connector plug of the above.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the connector plug.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the receptacle.

FIG. 5 is a front partial sectional view of a connector plug according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the connector plug of the above.

FIG. 7 is a front partial sectional view of a connector plug showing a conventional example.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the connector plug.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the same receptacle.

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the receptacle.

FIG. 11 is a front partial sectional view of a connector plug showing another conventional example.

FIG. 12 is a front view of the elastic arm according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connector plug 11 Housing 11a Side wall 11d Protective cover 12 Elastic arm 12a Base end 12b One piece 12c Bend part 12d Tip part 12e Other piece 12f U-shaped inside 12g Locking claw 13 Lock release button 14 Supporting part 2 Receptacle 22b Lock Hole (locking part)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A locking structure for a connector plug, which is inserted into and removed from a receptacle mounted on an electric device in an insertion and extraction direction and transmits an electric signal, comprising: a housing having both side walls; Substantially U having a U-shaped inside with another piece bent and formed
The base is fixed to each side wall of the housing so that one piece extends along the insertion and removal direction, and the other piece is locked at the tip of the receptacle by the locking portion of the receptacle. A pair of elastic arms protruding from the inside of the U-shape to the opposite side, a pair of lock release buttons fixed to the elastic arm and pressed to release the lock, A lock structure for a connector plug, comprising: a pair of support portions for supporting the other piece of the arm. 2. The lock structure for a connector plug according to claim 1, wherein the lock release button is provided at a position adjacent to the bent portion. 3. The elastic arm according to claim 1, wherein a tip of the other piece is led out of the housing, and a protective cover for protecting the tip of the other piece protrudes from the housing. The lock structure for a connector plug according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: