WO2014024982A1

WO2014024982A1 - Connector

Info

Publication number: WO2014024982A1
Application number: PCT/JP2013/071535
Authority: WO
Inventors: 隆志室; 雅幸齋藤
Original assignee: 矢崎総業株式会社
Priority date: 2012-08-09
Filing date: 2013-08-08
Publication date: 2014-02-13
Also published as: JP5947662B2; JP2014035947A; CN104620446A

Abstract

A female housing (20) has: a first guide rail (25); a provisional locking protrusion (33); a lance (36) that comes in contact with a semi-insertion detection pin (12) when a male housing (10) and the female housing (20) engage; and a hood section (38) that houses part of the semi-insertion detection pin (12) in the provisionally engaged state.

Description

connector

The present invention relates to a connector.

A connector is known in which a male housing and a female housing are fitted to each other to electrically connect terminals housed in the housings (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-26769

First, a conventional connector will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional connector.

The connector lock structure 110 is a structure for locking the male connector 112 and the female connector 122. The male connector 112 has a short cylindrical male hood portion 114, and a locking claw 116 projects from the outer surface of the male hood portion 114. The female connector 122 has a flexible short cylindrical female hood portion 124, and the female hood portion 124 is formed with a locking recess 126 for locking the locking claw 116. ing. When the female hood portion 124 is pressed and bent from the outer surface side, the locking claw 116 locked to the locking recess 126 can be unlocked.

In recent years, further miniaturization of connectors has been desired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and provides a connector that can be miniaturized.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the connector according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) to (7).
(1) a male housing for holding a male terminal;
A female housing having a terminal accommodating chamber for accommodating and holding a female terminal electrically connected to the male terminal;
A connector comprising:
The male housing is
A wall portion formed in a flat plate shape that holds the male terminal so that a longitudinal direction thereof is along a fitting direction in which the male housing and the female housing are fitted.
On the contact end side of the male terminal with the female terminal, a half-insertion detection pin extended from the wall portion,
A guide arm extending from the wall in the same direction as the half-insertion detection pin;
A flexible lock arm extending from the wall in the same direction as the half-insertion detection pin;
Have
The female housing is
A first outer surface of the female housing and a second outer surface opposite to the first outer surface are sandwiched between the guide arm and the lock arm. When the male housing and the female housing are fitted in a state where movement of the female housing in the left-right direction, which is the direction in which the second outer surface and the second outer surface face each other, is restricted. Protrusively provided from the first outer surface for restricting the movement of the guide arm in the vertical direction that is perpendicular to the left and right directions and guiding the movement of the guide arm in the fitting direction. A first guide rail;
The second outer portion restricts the movement of the male housing in the fitting direction by locking the lock arm in a temporary fitting state in which the male housing and the female housing are fitted halfway. A temporary locking protrusion protruding from the side surface;
When the male housing and the female housing are completely fitted from the state where the female terminal has flexibility and is formed so that the female terminal can be prevented from being detached, and the female terminal is half inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber. A lance that contacts the half-insertion detection pin;
In the temporarily fitted state, a hood portion that houses at least a part of the half-insertion detection pin;
Having a connector.
(2) A connector configured as described in (1) above,
In the temporary fitting state, a part of the male terminal is accommodated in the hood portion.
(3) A connector configured as described in (1) or (2) above,
The female housing restricts the movement of the male housing in the fitting direction by locking the lock arm in the main fitting state in which the male housing and the female housing are completely fitted. The lock projection further protruding from the second outer surface;
In the main fitting state, the half-insertion detection pin regulates deformation of the lance and regulates insertion / extraction of the female terminal into / from the terminal accommodating chamber,
When the female terminal is properly inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, the main locking protrusion is configured so that the force acting on the female housing in the fitting direction is such that the male housing and the female housing are in the temporarily fitted state. From the side, the side surface has an inclined surface that is inclined so as to be smaller than the force acting on the male housing in the fitting direction.
(4) A connector having any one of the above configurations (1) to (3),
The first guide rail has a restricting portion extending so as to extend in the up-down direction from the first guide rail,
The guide arm has a contact portion located between the restricting portion and the first outer surface during the fitting,
In a state in which the male housing and the female housing are fitted, the movement of the guide arm in the direction away from the first outer surface is restricted by the contact portion coming into contact with the restriction portion. The
(5) A connector having any one of the above configurations (1) to (4),
The lock arm is formed to be spaced apart in the vertical direction, and is connected to each of a plurality of base portions extending from the wall portion in the fitting direction and the distal ends of the base portions, and engages the temporary locking protrusions. And a connecting portion that defines a stop surface.
(6) A connector having any one of the constitutions (1) to (5),
The temporary locking protrusion includes a first temporary locking protrusion and a second temporary locking protrusion formed in a vertical direction with respect to the first temporary locking protrusion.
(7) A connector having any one of the above configurations (1) to (6),
The female housing restricts the movement of the lock arm in the vertical direction and guides the movement of the lock arm in the fitting direction. The second guide rail projects from the second outer surface. It has further.

In the connector configured as described in (1) above, the female housing is restricted from moving in the left-right direction by sandwiching the first outer surface and the second outer surface between the guide arm and the lock arm of the male housing. In addition, the first guide rail guides the guide arm and is guided in the fitting direction in a state where movement in the vertical direction is restricted, and relatively approaches the male housing. Then, the temporary locking projections lock the lock arm, thereby restricting the movement of the female housing in the fitting direction. Thereby, the female housing formed in a cylindrical shape and the male housing having a flat wall portion move in the fitting direction in a state where movement in the vertical and horizontal directions is restricted, and are fitted and fitted. Therefore, unlike the conventional connector, it is not necessary to form the hood part arrange | positioned on the outer side of the outer surface of a female housing at the time of a fitting at a male housing.
In addition, when the hood portion is not formed in the male housing in this way, the half-insertion detection pin protruding from the wall portion of the male housing is exposed to the outside. May come into contact with other parts and damage. On the other hand, in the connector having the configuration (1), at least a part of the half-insertion detection pin is accommodated in the hood portion of the female housing in the temporarily fitted state, so that the half-insertion detection pin is protected by the female housing. Is done. For this reason, it can prevent that a half-insertion detection pin is damaged by conveying a male housing and a female housing in a temporary fitting state.
In the connector having the above configuration (2), the male terminal that is easily damaged in the temporarily fitted state because it protrudes from the wall portion of the male housing is protected by the female housing in the same manner as the half-insertion detection pin. For this reason, it can prevent that a male terminal is damaged by conveying a male housing and a female housing as a temporary fitting state.
In the connector having the configuration (3), the force acting on the female housing when the female terminal is properly inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber is changed from the temporarily fitted state to the fully fitted state by the male housing and the female housing. In this case, since the force is smaller than the force acting on the male housing, it is possible to prevent the two housings from being fully fitted when the female terminal is properly inserted in the temporarily fitted state. For this reason, during the insertion operation of the female terminal, both the housings are brought into the final fitting state, and the insertion and removal of the female terminal into the terminal accommodating chamber is prevented from being restricted.
In the connector having the configuration (4), the movement of the guide arm in the direction away from the first outer surface of the female housing is restricted. For this reason, for example, when an external force in the left-right direction acts on the male housing, the lock arm bends and deforms in the left-right direction, and the male housing including the guide arm attempts to move in the left-right direction with respect to the female housing, Movement is restricted. Thereby, the play due to the external force in the left-right direction is suppressed.
In the connector (4), the restricting portion extending so as to extend in the vertical direction from the first guide rail contacts the contact portion of the guide arm in the fitted state. This restricts the movement of the guide arm in the direction away from the first outer surface of the female housing. For this reason, the said regulation is implement | achieved, without increasing the width | variety of the left-right direction of a 1st guide rail.
In the connector having the above configuration (5), in the fitted state, the temporary locking protrusions are locked to the locking surface so as to be surrounded by the plurality of base portions and the connection portions connecting the base portions. For this reason, a lock arm is more reliably latched with respect to a temporary latching protrusion.
In the connector configured as described in (6) above, the temporary locking protrusion is formed so that the first temporary locking protrusion and the first temporary locking protrusion are aligned in the vertical direction. Therefore, a gap is formed in the vertical direction between the first temporary locking protrusion and the second temporary locking protrusion. As a result, as compared with the case where the gap is not formed, the friction generated between the lock arm and the temporary locking projection when the lock arm gets over the temporary locking projection to shift to the final locking state. Force is reduced. For this reason, the force required to bring the connector into a temporarily locked state can be reduced.
In the connector having the configuration (7), since the movement of the lock arm in the vertical direction is restricted by the second guide rail, the movement of the female housing in the vertical direction is further restricted due to the external force in the vertical direction. The play is suppressed.

The connector according to the present invention can provide a connector that can be miniaturized.

The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through a mode for carrying out the invention described below (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

1 (a) and 1 (b) are perspective views showing a state before the connector of the present embodiment is fitted, and FIG. 1 (a) is a perspective view seen from the front right side. b) is a perspective view seen from the front left side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the connector in a temporarily fitted state. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the connector in the fully fitted state. 4 (a) and 4 (b) are right side views of the connector as viewed from the right side, and FIG. 4 (a) is a right side view of the connector in a temporarily fitted state. FIG. FIG. 4 is a right side view showing the connector in the fully fitted state. 5 (a) and 5 (b) are left side views of the connector as viewed from the left side, and FIG. 5 (a) is a left side view of the connector in a temporarily fitted state. FIG. FIG. 4 is a left side view showing the connector in the fully fitted state. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the portion B in FIG. 6 in an enlarged manner. FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the portion C in FIG. 6 in an enlarged manner. FIG. 9 is a view of the connector 1 in the temporarily fitted state as viewed from the front. FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 9, and FIG. 10B is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the connector in the fully fitted state at the same position as FIG. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 5A, and is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the connector in a temporarily fitted state. 13 (a) and 13 (b) are partially enlarged cross-sectional views showing an enlarged portion D in FIG. 12, and FIG. 13 (a) shows a lock arm and a temporary locking projection in a temporarily fitted state. FIG. 13B is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the lock arm and the temporary locking projection at the time of transition from the temporarily fitted state to the fully fitted state. FIG. FIG. 14 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional connector.

Specific embodiments of the connector according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A to FIG. 13B show a connector 1 according to the embodiment. Hereinafter, in the present specification, the front side (F), the rear side (B), the upper side (U), the lower side (D), the left side (L), and the right side (R) are defined as indicated by arrows in each drawing. To explain.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the connector 1 is a resin male housing that holds a conductive metal joint terminal (male terminal) 40 that is electrically connected to an external ground circuit. 10 is provided. The connector 1 includes a resin female housing 20 formed in a rectangular tube shape that can be fitted to the male housing 10. The female housing 20 includes a terminal housing chamber 35 that houses and holds a plurality of female terminals 45 that are electrically connected to the joint terminals 40.

In the connector 1, when the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 relatively approach each other in the front-rear direction, which is the fitting direction, the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are fitted and brought into a fitted state. In this fitting process, the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are fitted to the midway position as shown in FIG. As shown, it is fitted to the fitting completion position and brought into the final fitting state. In the temporarily fitted state, the joint terminal 40 and the female terminal 45 are not in contact with each other and are not electrically connected. On the other hand, in this fitting state, the joint terminal 40 and the female terminal 45 are in contact and electrically connected. For this reason, after aligning the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 once in the temporarily locked state, the two housings are fitted into the final locked state, so that the fitting operation can be reliably performed. it can.

First, each component provided in the connector 1 will be described.

The male housing 10 has a wall portion 11 formed in a flat plate shape corresponding to the edge shape of the rear opening of the female housing 20. Moreover, the male housing 10 has a plurality of half-insertion detection pins 12 extending so as to extend in the front-rear direction from a mounting portion 11a of the wall portion 11 described later. The male housing 10 also has a guide arm 13 that extends from the right side surface of the wall portion 11 in the front-rear direction (in other words, facing forward). The male housing 10 has a flexible lock arm 15 extending from the left side surface of the wall portion 11 so as to extend in the same direction as the guide arm 13 in the front-rear direction (in other words, facing forward). ing. The guide arm 13 and the lock arm 15 may be extended from the front surface instead of the left and right side surfaces of the wall portion 11.

The wall 11 is formed in a rectangular shape that is wide in the left-right direction. From the front surface of the wall portion 11, a mounting portion 11 a (see FIG. 10) to which a later-described packing (that is, a waterproof member) 50 is mounted has a shape corresponding to the inner edge shape of the rear opening of the female housing 20. It protrudes so as to extend forward. Further, the joint terminal 40 is integrally formed on the wall portion 11 by insert molding. As a result, the joint terminal 40 is held on the wall 11. The joint terminal 40 is in contact with a contact spring piece 47 of the female terminal 45, and a plurality of contact portions 41 extending in the front-rear direction, a connection portion 43 that connects each of the tips of the plurality of contact portions 41, and the connection portion 43. And a grounding portion 44 extending from and electrically connected to an external grounding circuit. And the joint terminal 40 is hold | maintained at the wall part 11 so that the longitudinal direction of the contact part 41 may follow a front-back direction. In addition, the joint terminal 40 may be hold | maintained with respect to the wall part 11 by well-known methods other than insert molding, for example, press injection.

The half-insertion detection pin 12 is extended from the mounting portion 11a so as to extend in the front-rear direction. The same number of half-insertion detection pins 12 as the contact portions 41 of the joint terminals 40 are provided. As shown in FIGS. 1 (a), 1 (b), and 10 (a), the half-insertion detecting pin 12 extends forward from below the lead-out portion of the contact portion 41 in the mounting portion 11a. Has been. As shown in FIG. 11, the half-insertion detection pin 12 is accommodated in a bending space 37 inside the female housing 20 described later in the fitted state.

The guide arm 13 is formed to be spaced apart in the vertical direction, and extends from the right side surface of the wall portion 11 in the front-rear direction (in other words, forward), and the distal ends of the

base portions

13a, 13a, respectively. And a connecting portion 13b coupled to each other. The guide arm 13 as a whole is formed in an angular U shape with the bottom facing forward when viewed from the right. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the guide arm 13 has an abutting portion 14 extending in the vertical direction, and the cross section viewed from the front of the guide arm 13 becomes narrower as the distance from the female housing 20 increases. It is formed into a shape.

The lock arm 15 has two

base portions

15a and 15a that are formed apart from each other in the vertical direction and extend in the front-rear direction (in other words, forward direction) from the left side surface of the wall portion 11. Further, the lock arm 15 has a connecting portion 15b connected to each of the tips of the

base portions

15a and 15a. The connection portion 15b defines a locking surface 17 that locks a locking projection 29 of the female housing 20 described later. The lock arm 15 as a whole is formed in a square U shape with the bottom facing forward when viewed from the left. As will be described later, in the fitted state, the locking protrusion 29 is locked to the locking surface 17 so as to be surrounded by the plurality of

base portions

15a, 15a and the connecting portion 15b. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 8, the cross section seen from the front of the lock arm 15 is formed in the rectangular shape.

The female housing 20 is flexible and has a lance 36 that prevents the female terminal 45 housed in the terminal housing chamber 35 from coming off. The female housing 20 includes a first guide rail 25 projecting from the right outer surface 21 (that is, the first outer surface) in the front-rear direction, and a left outer surface 23 (that is, the second outer surface). A second guide rail 27 projecting from the outer surface in the front-rear direction. In addition, the female housing 20 includes a locking projection 29 that protrudes from the left outer surface 23 and a hood portion 38 that accommodates a part of the half-insertion detection pin 12 in the temporarily fitted state. A holding portion 22 extends forward from the female housing 20 formed in a rectangular tube shape. Inside the female housing 20 and the holding portion 22, a terminal accommodating chamber 35 for accommodating the female terminal 45 is defined.

As shown in FIG. 10A, the lance 36 is formed in a cantilever shape extending from the inner wall surface defining the terminal accommodating chamber 35. When the female terminal 45 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 35, the lance 36 is pressed downward by the female terminal 45 and is directed toward the bending space 37 defined in the female housing 20 (that is, downward). It bends and deforms to allow insertion of the female terminal 45. After that, when the female terminal 45 is completely inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 35, the female terminal 45 is deformed in the direction of retracting from the bending space 37 (that is, upward) to return to the original shape, and the female terminal 45 is prevented from coming off. . That is, the lance 36 is positioned inside the bending space 37 in a state where the female terminal 45 is half inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 35. On the other hand, the lance 36 is located outside the bending space 37 in a state where the female terminal 45 is properly inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 35 (in other words, completely).

As shown in FIG. 11, the bending deformation of the lance 36 is restricted by the half-insertion detection pin 12 located in the bending space 37 in the fully fitted state. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 11, when the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are in a fully fitted state in a state where the female terminal 45 is properly inserted in the terminal accommodating chamber 35, The deformation is restricted by the half-insertion detection pin 12 and the insertion / extraction of the female terminal 45 to / from the terminal accommodating chamber 35 is restricted.

Further, when the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are fitted in the state in which the female terminal 45 is half inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 35, the lance 36 is positioned inside the bending space 37 and the lance 36. The half-insertion detection pin 12 comes into contact with Thereby, when the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are brought into the main fitting state, the operator can recognize that the female terminal 45 is not properly inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 35. .

The first guide rails 25 are two protrusions that are provided on each of the upper end side and the lower end side of the right outer surface 21 and extend in the front-rear direction from the front end to the rear end of the right outer surface 21. As shown in FIG. 7, the first guide rail 25 has a restricting portion 26 that extends from the side surface in the vertical direction of the first guide rail 25 in the vertical direction. The restricting portion 26 has a restricting surface 26a extending in the vertical direction by extending in the vertical direction. The restricting surface 26a according to the present embodiment is inclined so as to move away from the right outer surface 21 as the distance from the portion extending in the left-right direction of the first guide rail 25 increases in the up-down direction. Thus, a gap having a substantially triangular inner edge shape is formed between the restricting portion 26 and the right outer surface 21 when viewed from the front-rear direction. In the fitted state, the contact portion 14 of the guide arm 13 enters the gap. That is, the contact portion 14 is located between the restricting portion 26 and the right outer surface 21 in the fitted state.

The second guide rails 27 are two protrusions that are provided on the upper end side and the lower end side of the left outer surface 23 and extend in the front-rear direction from the front end to the rear end of the left outer surface 23.

The locking projection 29 is a male housing 10 in a fitted state more than the position where the main locking projection 31 projecting at the center in the vertical direction of the left outer surface 23 and the position of the main locking projection 31 on the left outer surface 23 are formed. A temporary locking projection 33 protruding from the left side outer surface 23 from the side (that is, rear side) position. When the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are fitted, the lock arm 15 is locked by the temporary locking protrusion 33 and the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are temporarily locked. The male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are finally locked by being locked by the locking protrusions 31.

The main locking projection 31 has an inclined surface 32 that is inclined so that the height of the protrusion from the left outer surface 23 increases toward the front, and is formed to extend in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the temporary locking protrusions 33 are formed side by side in the vertical direction with respect to the first temporary locking protrusions 33a. Second temporary locking protrusions 33b. The first temporary locking protrusions 33a and the second temporary locking protrusions 33b are formed at symmetrical positions in the vertical direction with the main locking protrusion 31 interposed therebetween. Further, the first temporary locking protrusion 33a and the second temporary locking protrusion 33b are arranged in front of each other as shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), FIG. 13 (a) and FIG. 13 (b). The

inclined surfaces

34a and 34b are inclined so that the protruding height from the left outer surface 23 increases toward the front, and is formed to extend in the front-rear direction.

The length in the front-rear direction from the rear end of the main locking projection 31 to the front end of the temporary locking projection 33 is as shown in FIGS. 5 (a), 13 (a), and 13 (b). Is set substantially equal to the length of the width in the front-rear direction of the connecting portion 15b. Thereby, the movement to the front-back direction of the lock arm 15 in a temporary fitting state is controlled, and the backlash to the front-back direction in a temporary fitting state is suppressed.

As shown in FIG. 8, the first temporary locking protrusion 33 a is provided such that its upper end is in contact with the lower end of the upper base portion 15 a of the

base portions

15 a and 15 a of the lock arm 15. The second temporary locking protrusion 33 b is provided such that the lower end thereof is in contact with the upper end of the lower base portion 15 a of the

base portions

15 a and 15 a of the lock arm 15. Thereby, the movement to the up-down direction of the lock arm 15 in a temporary fitting state and a main fitting state is controlled, and the rattling in a temporary fitting state and a main fitting state is suppressed.

The hood portion 38 is a part of the female housing 20 formed in a cylindrical shape, and is formed in a short cylindrical shape to define a rear opening of the female housing 20. As will be described later, the hood portion 38 accommodates a part of the contact part 41 of the joint terminal 40 and a part of the half-insertion detection pin 12 in the temporarily fitted state. Further, the hood portion 38 is used to press the packing 50 between the mounting portion 11 a and the waterproof between the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 in the fully fitted state.

Next, the fitting process between the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 will be described.

In the fitting process, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the right outer surface 21 of the female housing 20 and the left outer surface 23 opposite to the right outer surface 21 are connected to the guide arm 13 of the male housing 10. The male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are relatively close to each other while being sandwiched between the lock arm 15 and the housing. That is, the length in the left-right direction from the guide arm 13 to the lock arm 15 is set in accordance with the shape of the female housing 20. More specifically, it is set to be approximately equal to the distance from the right outer surface 21 to the left outer surface 23. Thereby, the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 relatively approach each other in a state where the movement of the female housing 20 in the left-right direction is restricted.

In the fitting process, as shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 7, the first guide rail 25 regulates the movement of the guide arm 13 in the vertical direction and guides it. The movement of the arm 13 in the front-rear direction is guided.

At this time, as described above, the guide arm 13 has a contact portion 14 and is formed in a trapezoidal shape, and the contact portion 14 is formed on the right side of the female housing 20 and the restriction portion 26 of the first guide rail 25. It enters between the side surfaces 21. For this reason, for example, an external force in the left-right direction acts on the male housing 10, the lock arm 15 is bent and deformed in the left-right direction, and the guide arm 13 moves away from the right outer surface 21 (that is, to the right). When attempting to move (that is, when the male housing 10 including the guide arm 13 is about to move in the left-right direction with respect to the female housing 20), the contact portion 14 contacts the restriction surface 26a of the restriction portion 26. Touch. As a result, a leftward force acts on the guide arm 13, and the movement of the guide arm 13 to the right is restricted.

Further, in the fitting process, as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 8, the second guide rail 27 restricts the movement of the lock arm 15 in the vertical direction and locks it. The movement of the arm 15 in the front-rear direction is guided.

The restriction of relative movement in the vertical and horizontal directions between the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 in the fitting process described above is applied in the same manner even after the fitting is completed, and the male housing even after the fitting is completed. The relative movement in each direction between the female housing 10 and the female housing 20 is restricted.

As described above, when the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 relatively approach each other to the midway position shown in FIG. It bends and deforms so as to ride on the

inclined surfaces

34 a and 34 b, and gets over the temporary locking projection 33. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 5A, 13A, and 13B, the locking surface 17 of the lock arm 15 is locked to the temporary locking protrusion 33, and the lock arm 15 (in other words, Then, the rearward movement of the male housing 10) is restricted. As a result, the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are in a temporarily fitted state.

Thereafter, when the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are further relatively approached to the fitting completion position shown in FIG. 3, the lock arm 15 is fully locked as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It bends and deforms so as to ride on the inclined surface 32 of 31, and gets over the main locking projection 31. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5B, the locking surface 17 of the lock arm 15 is locked to the main locking projection 31, and the lock arm 15 (in other words, the male housing 10) moves backward. Is regulated. Thereby, the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are brought into a main fitting state.

In this fully fitted state, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 11, the front surface of the wall portion 11 abuts against the edge of the rear opening of the female housing 20, and the front surface of the mounting portion 11 a is a female knife. The forward movement of the male housing 10 is restricted by contacting the bottom surface of the hood portion 38 that defines the rear opening of the housing 20. That is, in this fitting state, the movement of the male housing 10 in the front-rear direction with respect to the female housing 20 is restricted. Further, in this fitting state, the packing 50 for filling the gap between the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 to waterproof the inside of the housing is provided between the mounting portion of the male housing 10 and the hood portion 38. When pressed, it deforms and adheres to both members.

As described above, the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are fitted by the association of the members.

Next, the relationship between the insertion process of the female terminal 45 to the female housing 20 and the fitting process between the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 will be described, and the assembly procedure of the connector 1 according to this embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, in the description of the assembling procedure, an aspect in which an operator performs work related to assembling will be described, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a mode in which part or all of the work related to assembly is performed by a mechanical device may be employed.

First, the operator fits the male housing 10 in which the packing 50 is mounted on the mounting portion 11a to the female housing 20 in which the female terminal 45 is not inserted to a midway position. Is in a temporarily fitted state.

In this temporarily fitted state, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, a part of the contact portion 41 of the joint terminal 40 extending from the wall portion 11 on the distal end side is a hood portion of the female housing 20. The periphery is covered and accommodated by 38. Also. As shown in FIG. 10 (b), the tip of the contact portion 41 is located inside a terminal insertion opening 35 a formed in the rear end wall that defines the terminal accommodating chamber 35, and the inside of the terminal accommodating chamber 35. Has not entered. In addition, a part of the front end side of the half-insertion detection pin 12 extending from the wall portion 11 (more specifically, the mounting portion 11a) is housed and covered by the hood portion 38. In this temporarily fitted state, the tip end portion of the half-insertion detection pin 12 is located inside the detection pin insertion portion 39 defined in the female housing 20 so as to communicate with the bending space 37, as described above. The bent space 37 is not entered.

After that, the operator inserts the female terminal 45 from the front into the terminal accommodating chamber 35 of the female housing 20 in the temporarily fitted state. In this temporarily fitted state, since the half-insertion detection pin 12 is not located in the bending space 37, the operator can completely insert the female terminal 45 into the terminal accommodating chamber 35, and the female terminal 45 is connected to the lance 36. To prevent it from coming off. In the temporary fitting state, as described above, the contact portion 41 does not enter the terminal accommodating chamber 35, so that the female terminal 45 and the joint terminal 40 inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 35 are electrically connected. Not connected to.

Thus, when the female terminal 45 is completely inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 35, the lance 36 needs to be bent and deformed once toward the bending space 37, and the female housing 20 has a rearward downward direction (see FIG. ) And a female terminal insertion force which is a force of the right downward direction in FIG. That is, a force having a backward component acts on the female housing 20. And when the operation | work which inserts this female terminal 45 is implemented in the state which the operator hold | gripped the male housing 10, forward force acts on the male housing 10 by reaction of the said female terminal insertion force.

By the way, in the connector 1 according to this embodiment, as described above, as shown in FIG. For this reason, when a forward force is applied to the lock arm 15 (in other words, the male housing 10) in the temporarily fitted state and the lock arm 15 is displaced forward, a two-dot chain line in FIG. As shown, the lock arm 15 is bent and deformed so as to ride on the inclined surface 32 of the main locking projection 31. As a result, the lock arm 15 (in other words, the male housing 10) is subjected to a lock reaction force, which is a downward downward force, as shown by an arrow in FIG. Is done. That is, a force having a backward component acts on the lock arm 15. Here, in the connector 1 according to this embodiment, when the female terminal 45 is properly inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 35, the force acting in the front-rear direction on the female housing 20 (that is, the female terminal insertion force) is the male housing. 10 and the female housing 20 of the inclined surface 32 so as to be smaller than the force acting on the female housing 20 in the front-rear direction when the transition from the temporary fitting state to the main fitting state (that is, the lock reaction force). An angle is set. For this reason, even when the operator holds the male housing 10 in the temporarily fitted state and inserts the female terminal 45 into the terminal accommodating chamber 35, the female terminal insertion force generated by the insertion operation causes The lock arm 15 does not get over the inclined surface 32 of the main locking projection 31. That is, the insertion of the female terminal 45 prevents the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 from transitioning from the temporarily fitted state to the fully fitted state. For this reason, both housings are in a fully fitted state during the insertion operation of the female terminal 45, and the deformation of the lance 36 is restricted by the half-insertion detection pin 12, so It can be prevented from being regulated.

Thereafter, the operator applies a force larger than the locking reaction force to the male housing 10 in a state where the female terminal 45 is properly inserted in the terminal accommodating chamber 35, and gets over the locking projection 31 on the lock arm 15. Then, the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are brought into the main fitting state. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 11, the contact portion 41 of the joint terminal 40 enters the terminal accommodating chamber 35 and elastically contacts the contact spring piece 47 of the female terminal 45. Are electrically connected. At this time, the half-insertion detection pin 12 enters the bending space 37 and the bending deformation of the lance 36 is restricted.

As described above, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, after the female terminal 45 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 35 of the female housing 20 in the temporarily fitted state, the female housing 20 and the male housing 10 into which the female terminal 45 is inserted. And the contact portion 41 of the joint terminal 40 and the contact spring piece 47 of the female terminal 45 are in contact with each other. Thereby, the female terminal insertion force generated by the insertion of the female terminal 45 and the male terminal insertion force which is a force generated by bending the contact spring piece 47 by the contact portion 41 are different from each other (that is, at different time points). )). For this reason, it is a structure in which the female terminal 45 is inserted into the female housing 20 in the fully-fitted state as in the conventional connector, compared with the case where the female terminal insertion force and the male terminal insertion force act simultaneously. And in the connector 1 which concerns on this embodiment, the operator can implement an assembly | attachment operation | work with the force smaller than before.

Further, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are temporarily in a temporarily fitted state, and the distal end portion of the contact portion 41 of the joint terminal 40 is positioned inside the terminal insertion opening portion 35a. After the distal end portion of the insertion detection pin 12 is positioned inside the detection pin insertion portion 39, the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are brought into the main fitting state, so that the fitting operation of both housings can be performed reliably. it can.

Each member is assembled by the assembly procedure described above, and the connector 1 according to this embodiment is obtained.

Hereinafter, functions and effects of the connector 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

The connector 1 according to the present embodiment includes a male housing 10 that holds a joint terminal (male terminal) 40 and a female that is formed in a rectangular tube shape that can be fitted to the male housing 10 and is electrically connected to the joint terminal 40. And a female housing 20 having a terminal accommodating chamber 35 that accommodates and holds the terminal 45. The male housing 10 is a wall portion 11 formed in a flat plate shape that holds the joint terminal 40 so that the longitudinal direction is along the fitting direction (front-rear direction) in which the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are fitted. have. The male housing 10 has a half-insertion detection pin 12 extending from the wall portion 11 in the same direction (frontward) as the joint terminal 40 in the front-rear direction. The male housing 10 has a guide arm 13 extending from the wall 11 in the same direction as the half-insertion detection pin 12 in the fitting direction. The male housing 10 also has a flexible lock arm 15 extending from the wall 11 in the same direction as the half-insertion detection pin 12 in the fitting direction. In the female housing 20, the right outer surface (first outer surface) 21 of the female housing 20 and the left outer surface (second outer surface) 23 opposite to the right outer surface 21 are locked to the guide arm 13. The male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are sandwiched between the arm 15 and the movement of the female housing 20 in the left-right direction, which is the direction in which the right outer surface 21 and the left outer surface 23 face each other, is restricted. When the guide arm 13 is fitted, the movement of the guide arm 13 in the up and down direction, which is perpendicular to the fitting direction and the left and right direction, is regulated to guide the movement of the guide arm 13 in the fitting direction. A first guide rail 25 protruding from the side surface 21 is provided. Further, the female housing 20 restricts the movement of the male housing 10 in the fitting direction by locking the lock arm 15 in a temporary fitting state in which the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are fitted halfway. , And a temporary locking projection 33 protruding from the left outer surface. Further, the female housing 20 is formed to be flexible so that the female terminal 45 can be prevented from being detached. From the state in which the female terminal 45 is half inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 35, the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are separated from each other. A lance 36 that abuts against the half-insertion detection pin 12 when fully engaged is provided. Further, the female housing 20 has a hood portion 38 that accommodates a part of the half-insertion detection pin 12 in the temporarily fitted state.
In the connector 1, the movement of the female housing 20 in the left-right direction is restricted by the right outer surface 21 and the left outer surface 23 being sandwiched between the guide arm 13 and the lock arm 15 of the male housing 10. The one guide rail 25 guides the guide arm 13 and is guided in the fitting direction in a state where the movement in the vertical direction is restricted, and relatively approaches the male housing 10. Then, when the temporary locking projection 33 locks the lock arm 15, the movement of the female housing 20 in the fitting direction is restricted. As a result, the female housing 20 formed in a rectangular tube shape and the male housing 10 having the flat wall portion 11 move in the fitting direction in a state where movement in the vertical and horizontal directions is restricted, and approach, Match. Therefore, unlike the conventional connector, it is not necessary to form the hood part arrange | positioned in the outer side of the outer surface of the female housing 20 in the male housing 10 at the time of a fitting.
As a result, the connector 1 according to the present embodiment can provide a connector that can be miniaturized.

Further, when the hood portion is not formed in the male housing 10 as described above, the half-insertion detection pin 12 protruding from the wall portion 11 of the male housing 10 is exposed to the outside. There is a possibility that the pin 12 may come into contact with other parts and be damaged. On the other hand, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the half-insertion detection pin 12 is protected by the female housing 20 when a part of the half-insertion detection pin 12 is accommodated in the hood portion 38 in the temporarily fitted state. Has been. For this reason, it can prevent that the half-insertion detection pin 12 is damaged by conveying the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 as a temporary fitting state.
As a result, according to the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a connector capable of preventing the half-insertion detection pin 12 protruding from the male housing 10 from being damaged while realizing downsizing.

In the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, a part of the joint terminal 40 is accommodated in the hood portion 38 in the temporarily fitted state.
Thus, in the temporarily fitted state, the contact portion 41 of the joint terminal 40 that is easily damaged because it protrudes from the wall portion 11 of the male housing 10 is also protected by the female housing 20 in the same manner as the half-insertion detection pin 12. Has been. For this reason, it can prevent that the contact part 41 is damaged by conveying the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 as a temporary fitting state.

Further, in the connector 1 according to this embodiment, the female housing 20 is engaged in the fitting direction by locking the lock arm 15 in the main fitting state in which the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are completely fitted. This locking projection 31 further protrudes from the left outer surface 23 to restrict the movement of the male housing 10. In the fully fitted state, the half-insertion detection pin 12 restricts deformation of the lance 36 and restricts insertion / extraction of the female terminal 45 into / from the terminal accommodating chamber 35. The locking protrusion 31 is configured so that the force (female terminal insertion force) acting on the female housing 20 in the fitting direction when the female terminal 45 is properly inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 35 is the male housing 10 and the female housing 20. Has an inclined surface 32 inclined on the side surface so as to be smaller than the force (lock reaction force) acting on the male housing 10 in the fitting direction when transitioning from the temporarily fitted state to the fully fitted state. .
Thereby, when the female terminal 45 is normally inserted in the terminal accommodating chamber 35 in the temporarily fitted state, it is possible to prevent the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 from being fully fitted. For this reason, during the insertion operation of the female terminal 45, both housings are brought into the main fitting state, and the insertion / extraction of the female terminal 45 into the terminal accommodating chamber 35 is prevented from being restricted.

In the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the first guide rail 25 has a restricting portion 26 that extends from the first guide rail 25 so as to extend in the vertical direction. The guide arm 13 has the contact part 14 located between the control part 26 and the right outer surface 21 at the time of fitting. In the fitted state, the abutting portion 14 abuts on the restricting portion 26, thereby restricting movement of the guide arm 13 in the direction away from the right outer surface 21 (rightward).
Thereby, the movement of the guide arm 13 in the direction away from the right outer surface 21 of the female housing 20 is restricted. For this reason, for example, an external force in the left-right direction acts on the male housing 10, the lock arm 15 bends and deforms in the left-right direction, and the male housing 10 including the guide arm 13 tries to move in the left-right direction with respect to the female housing 20. In such a case, the movement is restricted. Thereby, the play due to the external force in the left-right direction is suppressed.
In addition, the restriction portion 26 extending so as to extend in the vertical direction from the first guide rail 25 abuts on the abutment portion 14 of the guide arm 13 in the fitted state, so that the female housing 20 of the guide arm 13 Movement in a direction away from the right outer surface 21 is restricted. Since the restricting portion 26 extends from the first guide rail 25 so as to extend in the vertical direction, the thickness of the first guide rail 25 is not increased. For this reason, the restriction | limiting of the movement of the guide arm 13 is implement | achieved, without increasing the width | variety of the left-right direction of the 1st guide rail 25 (female housing 20).

In the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the lock arm 15 includes a plurality of

base portions

15a and 15a that are formed apart from each other in the vertical direction and extend from the wall portion 11 in the fitting direction, and tips of the

base portions

15a and 15a. And a connection portion 15b that defines a locking surface 17 that locks the locking projection 29.
Thereby, in the fitting state, the locking protrusion 29 is locked to the locking surface 17 so as to be surrounded by the plurality of

base portions

15a, 15a and the connecting portion 15b. For this reason, the lock arm 15 can be more reliably engaged with the engagement protrusion 29.

Further, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the temporary locking protrusion 33 is formed with the first temporary locking protrusion 33a and the second temporary locking protrusion 33a aligned in the vertical direction with respect to the first temporary locking protrusion 33a. And a temporary locking projection 33b.
Thereby, since the temporary locking protrusion 33 has the 1st temporary locking protrusion 33a and the 2nd temporary locking protrusion 33b, the 1st temporary locking protrusion 33a and the 2nd temporary locking protrusion A gap is formed between the protrusion 33b in the vertical direction. As a result, compared with the case where the gap is not formed, when the lock arm 15 gets over the temporary locking projection 33 in order to shift to the final locking state, the lock arm 15 and the temporary locking projection 33 The friction force generated between them is reduced. For this reason, the force required to bring the connector into a temporarily locked state can be reduced.

Further, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the female housing 20 is protruded from the left outer surface 23 that restricts the movement in the vertical direction and guides the movement in the fitting direction of the lock arm 15. The guide rail 27 is further provided.
Thereby, since the movement of the lock arm 15 in the vertical direction is restricted by the second guide rail 27, the movement of the female housing 20 in the vertical direction is further restricted, and rattling caused by an external force in the vertical direction is caused. It is suppressed.

Note that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The above-described embodiments can be accompanied by various modifications and improvements within the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the guide arm 13 has two

base portions

13a and 13a and a connection portion 13b that connects the

base portions

13a and 13a, and is formed in a U shape. The first guide rail 25 is composed of two protrusions extending in the front-rear direction. However, when the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are fitted, the first guide rail 25 is in the vertical direction of the guide arm 13. For example, the guide arm 13 is composed of one bar-like member extending in the front-rear direction, and the first guide rail 25 includes The rod-shaped member may be configured to have a shape that restricts the vertical movement of the rod-shaped member.

Further, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the first guide rail 25 has a restricting portion 26 that extends from the first guide rail 25 so as to extend in the vertical direction, and the guide arm 13 is fitted. In some cases, the contact portion 14 is located between the restricting portion 26 and the right outer surface 21. However, the first guide rail 25 restricts the movement of the guide arm 13 in the vertical direction and guide arm 13. Any configuration may be used as long as it can guide the movement in the fitting direction, and the restriction portion 26 and the contact portion 14 may not be formed.

Moreover, in the connector 1 which concerns on this embodiment, although the temporary latching protrusion 33 was set as the structure which has the 1st temporary latching protrusion 33a and the 2nd temporary latching protrusion 33b, it is extended in an up-down direction. A configuration having only one temporary locking protrusion may be used.

In the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the female housing 20 includes the second guide rail 27 that restricts the movement in the vertical direction and guides the movement of the lock arm 15 in the fitting direction. However, the second guide rail 27 may not be provided, and the vertical movement of the male housing 10 may be restricted only by the first guide rail 25.

Further, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the lock arm 15 connects the two

base portions

15a and 15a and the connecting portion 15b that forms the locking surface 17 that connects the

base portions

15a and 15a and locks the locking protrusion 29. However, the lock arm 15 is locked to the locking protrusion 29 in the fitting state in which the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are fitted to each other. Any configuration that restricts movement of the male housing 10 in the fitting direction is acceptable. For example, the lock arm 15 is formed from one rod-like member extending in the front-rear direction in which a locking claw (not shown) is formed at the tip. Thus, the movement of the lock arm 15 in the front-rear direction may be restricted by the locking projection 29 being locked by the locking claw.

In the connector 1 according to this embodiment, the male housing 10 is configured to hold the joint terminal 40 connected to the ground circuit, in which a plurality of contact portions 41 are coupled at one end thereof. However, the terminal held in is not limited to this.

In the connector 1 according to this embodiment, the male housing 10 is formed in a rectangular tube shape. However, the male housing 10 may have a cylindrical shape, for example, a cylindrical shape. In this case, the guide arm 13 and the lock arm 15 may be formed in a sector fan shape corresponding to the cylindrical shape.

Further, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, in the temporary fitting state, a part of the front end side of the half-insertion detection pin 12 is accommodated in the hood portion 38 of the female housing 20. It suffices that at least a part of the detection pin 12 is accommodated in the hood part 38, and the half-insertion detection pin 12 may be entirely accommodated in the hood part 38.

In the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, the angle of the inclined surface 32 of the main locking projection 31 is set so that the female terminal insertion force is smaller than the lock reaction force. The angle of the inclined surface 32 may be set so as to be larger than the reaction force. In this case, the operator may hold the female housing 20 and insert the female terminal 45 when inserting the female terminal 45 into the terminal accommodating chamber 35 in the temporarily fitted state.

This application is based on a Japanese patent application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-177462) filed on August 9, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The connector according to the present invention is useful in that it can provide a connector that can be miniaturized.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connector 10 Male housing 11 Wall part 11a Mounting part 12 Half insertion detection pin 13 Guide arm

13a Base part

13b Connection part 14 Contact part 15 Lock arm

15a Base part

15b Connection part 17 Locking surface 20 Female housing 21 Right side outer surface (1st Outside surface)
23 Left outer surface (second outer surface)
25 First guide rail 26 Restricting portion 27 Second guide rail 29 Locking protrusion 31 Main locking protrusion 32 Inclined surface 33 Temporary locking protrusion 33a First temporary locking protrusion 33b Second temporary locking protrusion 35 Terminal Housing chamber 36 Lance 37 Deflection space 38 Hood part 40 Joint terminal (male terminal)
41 Contact part 43 Connection part 45 Female terminal 47 Contact spring piece 50 Packing

Claims

A male housing holding a male terminal;
A female housing having a terminal accommodating chamber for accommodating and holding a female terminal electrically connected to the male terminal;
A connector comprising:
The male housing is
A wall portion formed in a flat plate shape that holds the male terminal so that a longitudinal direction thereof is along a fitting direction in which the male housing and the female housing are fitted.
On the contact end side of the male terminal with the female terminal, a half-insertion detection pin extended from the wall portion,
A guide arm extending from the wall in the same direction as the half-insertion detection pin;
A flexible lock arm extending from the wall in the same direction as the half-insertion detection pin;
Have
The female housing is
A first outer surface of the female housing and a second outer surface opposite to the first outer surface are sandwiched between the guide arm and the lock arm. When the male housing and the female housing are fitted in a state where movement of the female housing in the left-right direction, which is the direction in which the second outer surface and the second outer surface face each other, is restricted. Protrusively provided from the first outer surface for restricting the movement of the guide arm in the vertical direction that is perpendicular to the left and right directions and guiding the movement of the guide arm in the fitting direction. A first guide rail;
The second outer portion restricts the movement of the male housing in the fitting direction by locking the lock arm in a temporary fitting state in which the male housing and the female housing are fitted halfway. A temporary locking protrusion protruding from the side surface;
When the male housing and the female housing are completely fitted from the state where the female terminal has flexibility and is formed so that the female terminal can be prevented from being detached, and the female terminal is half inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber. A lance that contacts the half-insertion detection pin;
In the temporarily fitted state, a hood portion that houses at least a part of the half-insertion detection pin;
Having
connector.
In the temporary fitting state, a part of the male terminal is accommodated in the hood portion.
The connector according to claim 1.
The female housing restricts the movement of the male housing in the fitting direction by locking the lock arm in the main fitting state in which the male housing and the female housing are completely fitted. The lock projection further protruding from the second outer surface;
In the main fitting state, the half-insertion detection pin regulates deformation of the lance and regulates insertion / extraction of the female terminal into / from the terminal accommodating chamber,
When the female terminal is properly inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, the main locking protrusion is configured so that the force acting on the female housing in the fitting direction is such that the male housing and the female housing are in the temporarily fitted state. From the side having an inclined surface inclined so as to be smaller than the force acting on the male housing in the fitting direction when transitioning to the main fitting state,
The connector according to claim 1 or 2.
The first guide rail has a restricting portion extending so as to extend in the up-down direction from the first guide rail,
The guide arm has a contact portion located between the restricting portion and the first outer surface during the fitting,
In a state in which the male housing and the female housing are fitted, the movement of the guide arm in the direction away from the first outer surface is restricted by the contact portion coming into contact with the restriction portion. The
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The lock arm is formed to be spaced apart in the vertical direction, and is connected to each of a plurality of base portions extending from the wall portion in the fitting direction and the distal ends of the base portions, and engages the temporary locking protrusions. A connecting portion defining a stop surface,
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The temporary locking protrusion includes a first temporary locking protrusion and a second temporary locking protrusion formed in a vertical direction with respect to the first temporary locking protrusion.
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The female housing restricts the movement of the lock arm in the vertical direction and guides the movement of the lock arm in the fitting direction. The second guide rail projects from the second outer surface. Further having
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6.