JP2006120350A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector for clearly notifying of fitting with an opposite connector. <P>SOLUTION: A female housing 2 of a female connector 1 includes a lock lever 25. The lock lever 25 includes a lock projection part 251 for engaging with a lock hole 73 of a male housing 7 in fitting with a male connector 6. The female housing 2 further includes a bridge part 26 for covering an upper part of an operation part 252 provided in a rear of the lock lever 25. When the female connector 1 is fitted with the male connector 6, the lock lever 25 is bent, and the lock projection part 251 crosses over a lock wall 74 formed in front of the lock hole 73 of the male housing 7. Then, a shape of the lock lever 25 is returned, and the lock projection part 251 is engaged with the lock hole 73. When the shape of the lock lever 25 is returned, the operation part 252 abuts on a lower surface of the bridge part 26 and a sound is generated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector provided with a housing that houses therein a terminal fitting that engages with a mating terminal.

  As a prior art, a connector having a housing having a terminal fitting inside, the housing has a lock lever, and when the mating connector is fitted to the mating connector, the locking lever bends to lock the locking portion of the mating connector. There has been a connector that engages with a lock portion by getting over and then returning to its shape, and prevents both from coming off (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This connector overswings when the lock lever gets over the lock part and vigorously returns to its shape. Is informed that it is fully mated.

However, in the above-described connector, when the dimensional variations in manufacturing of both housings overlap, the contact of the lock lever that has been restored to the housing of the mating connector is weak, and the noise generated at the time of fitting is small. It was sometimes difficult to tell if it was completely fitted. In addition, in order to suppress the dimensional variation of both connectors, there is a problem that the cost increases if the dimensional accuracy of the mold is improved.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-50269 (FIGS. 6 to 8)

  This invention is completed based on the above situations, Comprising: It aims at providing the connector which notifies clearly that it fitted to the other party connector.

  As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 includes a housing in which a terminal fitting engaging with a mating terminal is accommodated, and the housing is bent when mated with the mating connector. However, in the connector having a lock lever that gets over the lock portion of the mating connector, then returns to its shape and engages with the lock portion to prevent it from coming off, the housing contacts the lock lever that has been returned to its shape. The connector is characterized by having a collision portion.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the connector according to claim 1, wherein the lock lever abuts on the collision portion in an operation portion for releasing the engagement with the lock portion.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the connector according to claim 2, wherein the collision portion covers the operation portion.

<Invention of Claim 1>
Since the housing has a collision part that abuts the lock lever whose shape has been restored, the shape-retained lock lever can be reliably abutted on the collision part regardless of dimensional variations with the mating connector. It becomes possible to clearly notify that the side connector is fitted.

<Invention of Claim 2>
The lock lever can serve as both the operation part and the part that contacts the collision part by contacting the collision part in the operation part for releasing the engagement with the lock part. There is no need to provide a special connector, and the connector can be miniaturized.

<Invention of Claim 3>
When the collision portion covers the operation portion, the operation portion is not accidentally released and the fitting of both connectors is not released.

<First Embodiment>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the description, the left side in FIG. 1 is the front for the female connector 1 and the right side is the front for the male connector 6. A female connector 1 to which the present invention is applied includes a female housing 2 (corresponding to a housing of the present invention) in which a female terminal 3 (corresponding to a terminal fitting of the present invention) is accommodated in each of a plurality of terminal accommodating portions 21. ing. Each female terminal 3 is formed by pressing a conductive metal plate, and a male terminal 8 of a male connector 6 (corresponding to a mating connector of the present invention) described later is provided in front of the female terminal 3 (of the present invention). It has a connection portion 31 that engages with the counterpart terminal. Further, a wire barrel 32 that is caulked to the conductive core wire 41 of the electric wire 4 is formed behind the connection portion 31, and further, an outer periphery of the insulating coating 42 of the electric wire 4 is provided behind the wire barrel 32. An insulation barrel 33 that is caulked to the surface is provided.

  The female housing 2 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material, and a terminal insertion hole 22 into which the male terminal 8 is inserted when fitted to the male connector 6 is provided on the front wall of each terminal accommodating portion 21 thereof. ing. Further, a bendable lance 23 protrudes from the lower surface of each terminal accommodating portion 21 and engages with the female terminal 3 accommodated therein to prevent the lance 23 from coming off. Furthermore, a retainer mounting hole 24 is opened on the lower surface of the female housing 2, and after the female terminal 3 is received in the terminal receiving portion 21, the retainer 5 that engages with the rear surface of the connecting portion 31 in the retainer mounting hole 24. Is inserted from below to completely prevent the female terminal 3 from coming off.

  The lock lever 25 integrally provided on the upper surface of the female housing 2 is formed in a cantilever shape that can be bent in the vertical direction with the front end portion as a fulcrum, and has an approximately central portion on the upper surface of the male housing 7 described later. A lock protrusion 251 that engages with the formed lock hole 73 protrudes upward. The front surface of the lock protrusion 251 is inclined rearward to facilitate bending of the lock lever 25 when the male and female connectors 1 and 6 are fitted, and the rear surface is substantially omitted to prevent the lock lever 25 from coming out of the lock hole 73. Stands vertically.

  Further, an operation portion 252 is provided behind the lock projection 251 of the lock lever 25, and when the lock projection 251 is engaged with the lock hole 73, the operation portion 252 is pushed down to The engagement is released. A bridge portion 26 (corresponding to a collision portion of the present invention) is further formed on the upper surface of the female housing 2 so as to cover the operation portion 252 of the lock lever 25. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bridge portion 26 traverses both ends of the female housing 2 in the width direction, and bridges directly above the bridge portion 26 so as to cover the front portion 252 a of the operation portion 252. It is hung. As shown in FIG. 6, the distance X between the upper surface of the front portion 252a of the operation portion 252 and the lower surface of the bridge portion 26 is equal to the upper surface of the lock lever 25 and the lock when the male and female connectors 1 and 6 are fitted. It is set smaller than the distance Y between the lower surface of the wall 74. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the rear part 252b of the operation part 252 is exposed so that it can be operated from above.

  On the other hand, the male connector 6 is formed by accommodating a male terminal 8 in a male housing 7. The male housing 7 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material, and a terminal mounting portion 71 into which a male terminal 8 formed of a conductive metal material is press-fitted is provided behind the male housing 7. A hood portion 72 that receives the female connector 1 is erected from 71 toward the front. A lock hole 73 that engages with the lock protrusion 251 of the female housing 2 described above is formed on the upper surface of the male housing 7, and the lock portion of the present invention is formed together with the lock wall 74 provided in front of the lock hole 73.

  Next, a method for fitting the female connector 1 to the male connector 6 will be described. When the female connector 1 is inserted into the hood portion 72 of the male connector 6, the male terminal 8 enters the terminal insertion hole 22 of the female housing 2 as shown in FIG. Is engaged with the connecting portion 31. At the same time, the lock projection 251 of the lock lever 25 of the female housing 2 comes into contact with the lock wall 74 of the male housing 7 to bend the lock lever 25 downward (inward of the female housing 2). When the fitting of the female connector 1 to the male connector 6 progresses, the male and female terminals 3 and 8 are completely fitted, and the lock lever 25 gets over the lock wall 74 while being bent, and eventually returns to the upper shape and eventually locks. The part 251 engages with the lock hole 73. Thereby, the male and female connectors 1 and 6 are prevented from coming off.

  Since the lock lever 25 returns vigorously upward when returning to its shape, the overswing causes the front portion 252a of the operation portion 252 to abut (collision) with the lower surface of the bridge portion 26 (shown in FIG. 5). At this time, since a sound is generated between the operation unit 252 and the bridge unit 26, it is possible to notify the operator that the male and female connectors 1 and 6 are completely fitted to each other. As described above, since the interval X between the operation portion 252 and the bridge portion 26 is set to be smaller than the interval Y between the lock lever 25 and the lock wall 74, the gap between the male and female housings 2 and 7 is set. Even if the Y dimension increases due to the dimensional variation, the lock lever 25 can be surely brought into contact with the bridge portion 26 regardless of this. Even if the Y dimension becomes smaller than the X dimension due to the dimensional variation between the male and female housings 2 and 7, the restored shape of the lock lever 25 can come into contact with the lock wall 74 to generate sound. There is no problem.

  Thereafter, the lock lever 25 stops at a position away from the lower surface of the bridge portion 26 and the locked state of the male and female connectors 1 and 6 is maintained (shown in FIG. 6). When the male and female connectors 1 and 6 in the locked state are separated from each other, the rear portion 252b of the operation portion 252 exposed upward is pushed down with a finger or the like to engage the lock projection 251 with the lock hole 73. With the release, the female connector 1 is pulled out from the male connector 6.

  According to this embodiment, the female housing 2 has the bridge portion 26 that contacts the lock lever 25 whose shape has been restored, so that the shape-returned lock lever 25 can be connected to the bridge portion 26 regardless of dimensional variations with the male connector 6. Since the contact can be ensured, it is possible to clearly notify that the male connector 6 has been fitted. Further, the lock lever 25 can serve as both the operation portion 252 and the portion that contacts the bridge portion 26 by contacting the bridge portion 26 in the operation portion 252 for releasing the engagement with the lock hole 73. In addition, it is not necessary to provide a special portion for contacting the bridge portion 26, and the female connector 1 can be reduced in size.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 7 to 9, focusing on a configuration different from the first embodiment. In the description, the left side of the female connector 1A in FIG. The female housing 2A included in the female connector 1A according to the present embodiment is provided with a lock lever 27 that can be bent in the vertical direction on the upper surface. 271 is formed. The operation part 272 provided behind the lock protrusion 271 is formed shorter in the front-rear direction than in the first embodiment. On the other hand, the bridge portion 28 provided immediately above the operation portion 272 is formed larger in the front-rear direction than that of the first embodiment, and covers the entire operation portion 272. Other configurations and dimensional relationships of the female connector 1A are the same as those of the female connector 1 according to the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  When the female connector 1A is mated with the male connector 6, the lock protrusion 271 gets over the lock wall 74 while the lock lever 27 bends downward, and the lock lever 27 eventually becomes the same as the female connector 1 according to the first embodiment. The shape of the locking protrusion 271 engages with the locking hole 73. When the lock lever 27 returns to its shape, the operating portion 272 comes into contact with the lower surface of the bridge portion 28. Therefore, a sound is generated between the operating portion 272 and the bridge portion 28, and the male and female connectors 1A, 6 are completely fitted to each other. The operator can be informed of this. When the female connector 1A in the locked state is detached from the male connector 6, the upper surface of the bridge portion 28 is pushed down with a finger or the like, and is pressed by the bridge portion 28, so that the operation portion 272 of the lock lever 27 is also bent downward. The female connector 1A is pulled out from the male connector 6 while the engagement between the lock projection 271 and the lock hole 73 is released.

  According to the present embodiment, since the entire operation portion 272 is covered with the bridge portion 28, something is accidentally touched on the operation portion 272 and the release operation is performed, so that the connectors 1A and 6 are engaged with each other. There is no such thing as coming off. In addition, the operation unit 272 is protected from external force, and the lock lever 27 can be prevented from being damaged or deformed.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
(1) The present invention may be applied to a male connector.
(2) A lock hole may be provided on the lock lever side, and a lock protrusion may be formed on the counterpart housing.
(3) The lock lever may be bent outward from the housing in order to get over the lock portion of the mating connector.

It is sectional drawing which shows the state in which the female connector by 1st Embodiment was facing the male connector. It is a top view of the male and female connector shown in FIG. It is a front view of the female connector shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which made the male and female connector shown in FIG. 1 fit, and the lock lever bent. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which the lock lever returned to the shape and contact | abutted to the bridge part. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which the fitting of the male and female connector was completed. It is sectional drawing of the female connector by 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 8 is a top view of the female connector shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 8 is a front view of the female connector shown in FIG. 7.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1A ... Female connector 2, 2A ... Female housing 3 ... Female side terminal 6 ... Male connector 7 ... Male housing 8 ... Male side terminal 25, 27 ... Lock lever 26, 28 ... Bridge part 73 ... Lock hole 74 ... Lock wall 251, 271 ... Lock projection 252, 272 ... Operation part

Claims (3)

The housing includes a housing that accommodates a terminal fitting that engages with the mating terminal, and the housing gets over the lock portion of the mating connector while being bent when fitting with the mating connector. In the connector having a lock lever that engages with the lock portion and prevents the lock portion from being removed,
The connector, wherein the housing has a collision portion that comes into contact with the lock lever whose shape has been restored. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the lock lever abuts on the collision portion in an operation portion for releasing engagement with the lock portion. The connector according to claim 2, wherein the collision unit covers the operation unit.

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