JP5708854B1 - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

An electrical connector capable of releasing a lock with a small operation displacement amount of a release operation portion. When a release operation portion is pushed down, the lock arm 21 bends with a front leg portion 23 at the front end portion and a rising portion 24a at the rear end portion as fulcrums, and the release operation portion 26 extends the lock arm 21. Next, with the front leg portion 23 at the front end portion of the lock arm 21 and the rising portion 24a at the rear end portion as fulcrums, and with the contact portion 31 between the release operation portion 26 and the lock arm 21 as an action point The lock part 25 is unlocked by bending. [Selection] Figure 7C

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical connector used for electrical connection of various devices mounted on automobiles, industrial machines and the like, and more particularly to an electrical connector provided with a lock arm for locking fitting between connectors.

  As a connector provided with a lock arm, for example, in Patent Document 1, a release operation portion is formed at the rear end portion of the lock arm, and flexibility extending in the front-rear direction is provided between the lock arm and the upper surface of the female housing. The thing in which the support part which it has was formed is described. In this connector, since the front end of the support portion is continuous with the lock arm at a position in front of the rear end, the lock arm on the upper surface of the female housing is compared with the one connected to the rear end of the lock arm. It is said that the space for arranging the support portion is small, and the female connector F can be downsized.

  Patent Document 2 further includes a locking claw for locking a locking hole formed in the housing of the board connector when the board connector formed in the lock arm is inserted into the housing. It has a release operation part (lock release part) that releases the lock of the lock hole by being pressed closer to the rear end side of the housing than the pawl, and the position of the rear end side fulcrum is the position of the front end side fulcrum The connector arrange | positioned rather than the protrusion direction of a latching claw rather than is described.

  FIG. 8A shows an example of a lock arm formed on the upper surface of a conventional female housing. The lock arm 51 shown in FIG. 8A includes a lock arm main body 52, a front leg portion 53 that supports the front end portion of the lock arm main body 52, and a rear leg that supports the rear end portion of the lock arm main body 52 on the upper surface of the female housing 50. Part 54, a lock part 55 locked to a lock part of a male housing (not shown), and a release operation part 56 for unlocking the lock part 55.

  In the lock arm 51 shown in FIG. 8A, when the release operation portion 56 is pushed downward when releasing the lock, the front leg portion 53 at the front end portion and the rear leg portion 54 at the rear end portion are bent as fulcrums as shown in FIG. 8B. Mu At this time, as shown in FIG. 8C, the lock arm 51 is bent until the lower surface of the lock arm 51 comes into contact with the upper surface of the female housing 50, whereby the lock portion 55 is unlocked from the lock portion of the male housing. The

JP 2005-135751 A JP 2013-30323 A

  In the conventional lock shape, the lock arm 51 bends only with the force received by the release operation unit 56. Therefore, in order to make the lock unit 55 unlockable, a large operation displacement amount of the release operation unit 56 is ensured. There is a need. Therefore, a large space is required between the lower surface of the lock arm 51 and the upper surface of the female housing 50, and there is a problem that the height of the connector is increased.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that can be unlocked with a small operation displacement amount of a release operation portion.

  In the electrical connector of the present invention, a front end portion and a rear end portion in the insertion direction of the inner housing are supported on a surface of the inner housing that is fitted into the outer housing having a lock portion, facing the lock portion of the outer housing, A lock arm having a lock portion that can be elastically bent in a direction orthogonal to a surface facing the lock portion of the outer housing and locked to the lock portion of the outer housing at a midway portion in the fitting direction of the inner housing; It is a release operation part for unlocking the lock part of the outer housing from the lock part of the outer housing, and is behind the inner housing at the rear end part from the middle part behind the lock part of the lock arm in the insertion direction of the inner housing. Release operation part extending in the direction, the release operation part is pushed down The lock arm bends with the front and rear ends of the lock arm as fulcrums, the release operation part comes into contact with the lock arm, and then the front and rear ends of the lock arm serve as fulcrums and the release operation. The lock arm is bent from the lock portion of the outer housing when the lock arm bends with the contact portion between the contact portion and the lock arm as an action point.

  According to the electrical connector of the present invention, when the release operation portion is pushed down, the lock arm bends with the front end portion and the rear end portion of the lock arm as fulcrums, the release operation portion contacts the lock arm, and then the lock arm Since the lock arm bends with the front end and rear end as fulcrums and the contact point between the release operation part and the lock arm as an action point, the lock arm lock part can be enlarged with a small displacement of the release operation part. Displacement causes the lock portion of the lock arm to be unlocked from the lock portion of the outer housing.

  Here, the lock arm has an inner housing formed by legs including rear left and right legs provided at left and right ends in the width direction and intermediate legs provided between the left and right legs. It is desirable that it is supported by. As a result, the release operation portion is pushed down and comes into contact with the lock arm, and then the lock arm is moved with the front end portion and the rear end portion of the lock arm as fulcrums and with the contact portion between the release operation portion and the lock arm as the action point. When bending, the bending at the intermediate portion in the width direction at the rear end portion of the lock arm is prevented, so that the displacement of the lock portion of the lock arm can be ensured firmly.

(1) A front end portion and a rear end portion in the insertion direction of the inner housing are supported on a surface of the inner housing that is fitted into the outer housing having a lock portion, which faces the lock portion of the outer housing. A lock arm having a lock portion that can be elastically bent in a direction perpendicular to the surface facing the lock portion and locked to the lock portion of the outer housing in the middle of the fitting direction of the inner housing, and a lock portion of the lock arm It is a release operation part for releasing the lock from the lock part of the outer housing, and extends from the middle part to the direction away from the inner housing at the rear end part behind the lock part of the lock arm. Unlocked operation part, and when the release operation part is pushed down, it locks The lock arm bends with the front end and the rear end of the arm as fulcrums, the release operation part comes into contact with the lock arm, then the front end and the rear end of the lock arm serve as fulcrums, and the release operation part and the lock arm The lock arm is bent with the contact point of the contact point as the point of action, so that the lock part of the lock arm is unlocked from the lock part of the outer housing. It is possible to reduce the height of the connector.

(2) The lock arm has an inner housing formed by legs including rear left and right legs respectively provided at left and right ends in the width direction and intermediate legs provided between the left and right legs. Since the bending at the intermediate portion in the width direction at the rear end portion of the lock arm is prevented, the displacement of the lock portion of the lock arm can be securely secured, and the release operation portion The lock can be reliably released with a small amount of displacement.

It is sectional drawing which shows the detached state of the electrical connector in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the inner housing of FIG. It is a right view of the lock arm of FIG. It is a rear view of the lock arm of FIG. It is a rear view which shows another embodiment of a lock arm. It is sectional drawing which shows the state in the middle of fitting a female connector to a male connector. It is sectional drawing which shows the state in the middle of fitting a female connector to a male connector. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which fitted the female connector to the male connector. It is a right view which shows the lock arm of the state which fitted the female connector to the male connector. It is a right view which shows the 1st push-down stage of a lock arm. It is a right view which shows the 2nd push-down stage of a lock arm. It is a right view which shows the example of the conventional lock arm. It is a right view which shows the state in the middle of pushing down of the conventional lock arm. It is a right view which shows the state of the push-down completion of the conventional lock arm.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a detached state of an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an inner housing of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a right side view of a lock arm, and FIG. It is.

  In FIG. 1, an electrical connector 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a male connector M and a female connector F fitted to the male connector. The male connector M includes a rectangular tube-shaped hood portion 11 that opens toward the female connector F side of the outer housing 10 serving as a male housing. A male terminal fitting 12 is provided in the hood 11 so as to protrude. Further, the female connector F side end of the upper surface wall of the hood 11 has a width direction (a direction perpendicular to the surface appearing in FIG. 1; the same shall apply hereinafter) with a central portion protruding downward. A portion 13 is provided.

  The female connector F accommodates a female terminal fitting 30 (see FIG. 1) connected to the male terminal fitting 12 of the male connector M in a prismatic inner housing 20 as a female housing shown in FIG. Is. The inner housing 20 is fitted into the hood portion 11 of the outer housing 10 of the male connector M. In the following description, the front (left side in FIG. 1) in the insertion direction of the inner housing 20 will be described as the front, and the rear (right side in FIG. 1) will be described as the rear.

  A lock arm 21 is integrally formed on the upper surface of the inner housing 20 (the surface facing the lock portion 13 of the outer housing 10). As shown in FIG. 3, the lock arm 21 includes a flat plate-like lock arm main body 22 elongated in front and rear of the inner housing 20, and a front leg portion 23 as a leg portion that supports the front end portion of the lock arm main body 22 on the inner housing 20. The rear leg portion 24 as a leg portion for supporting the rear end portion of the lock arm body 22 on the inner housing 20, the lock portion 25 locked to the lock portion 13 of the outer housing 10, and the lock portion 25 of the outer housing 10. A release operation part 26 for releasing the lock from the lock part 13 is formed integrally with the inner housing 20.

  The lock arm body 22 is disposed above the upper surface of the inner housing 20 and spaced from the planar upper surface of the inner housing 20. The lock portion 25 is formed as a protrusion protruding upward from a midway portion of the lock arm main body 22. The front surface of the lock portion 25 is an inclined surface 25 a that rises obliquely rearward and upward from the upper surface of the lock arm main body 22, and the rear surface is a vertical surface 25 b with respect to the upper surface of the lock arm main body 22. The release operation part 26 extends rearward of the lock part 25 and obliquely above the rear end part thereof, that is, in a direction away from the inner housing 20.

  The front leg portion 23 is provided so as to protrude downward from the front end portion of the lock arm main body 22. The lower end of the front leg 23 is connected to the upper front end of the inner housing 20. The lock arm body 22 is inclined upwardly from the upper end of the front leg portion 23 toward the rear, and is substantially parallel to the upper surface of the inner housing 20 behind the lock portion 25.

  The rear leg portion 24 includes a rising portion 24a that rises at a right angle from the rear end of the upper surface of the inner housing 20, and an extending portion 24b that extends substantially horizontally from the upper end of the rising portion 24a toward the front. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the rear leg portion 24 includes a left leg portion 27 a and a right leg portion 27 b provided at both left and right end portions in the width direction. Each of the left and right leg portions 27a and 27b has the above-described rising portion 24a and extending portion 24b.

  With the configuration described above, the lock arm 21 has a front end portion supported by the inner housing 20 by the front leg portion 23, a rear end portion supported by the inner housing 20 by the rising portion 24 a of the rear leg portion 24, and the front leg portion 23 and the rising portion. It is bent by elastically deforming in a vertical direction (a direction orthogonal to the upper surface of the inner housing 20) with 24a as a fulcrum. The lock arm 21 can be elastically deformed such that the lock arm main body 22 and the extended portion 24b of the rear leg portion 24 are curved.

  The release operation unit 26 includes standing wall portions 28 a and 28 b that rise obliquely upward from the upper surface of the lock arm main body 22, and a substantially horizontal plate-like finger contact portion 29 that connects the upper ends of the standing wall portions 28 a and 28 b. The finger contact part 29 of the release operation part 26 is arranged above the upper surface of the extension part 24b of the rear leg part 24 and spaced from the extension part 24b.

  In the electrical connector 1 having the above-described configuration, when the female connector F is fitted to the male connector M, the inner housing 20 is fitted into the hood portion 11 from the rear of the outer housing 10 as shown in FIG. 6A. Then, when the lock portion 25 of the inner housing 20 is pressed against the lock portion 13 of the outer housing 10 and pushed in, as shown in FIG. 6B, the central portion of the lock arm 21 is elastically deformed so as to be recessed downward, and the inner housing 20 When the lock portion 25 sinks under the lock portion 13 of the outer housing 10 and reaches the normal fitting state, the lock arm 21 is restored and the lock portion 25 of the inner housing 20 is moved to the inner housing 10 as shown in FIG. 6C. Locked by the lock portion 13.

  And when releasing the female connector F from the male connector M locked in this regular fitting state, the release operation part 26 is pushed down. At this time, the lock arm 21 bends from the state shown in FIG. 7A with the front leg portion 23 at the front end and the rising portion 24a at the rear end as fulcrums, and the release operation portion 26 extends from the lock arm 21 as shown in FIG. 7B. Abuts on the part 24b (first pressing stage). Next, the lock arm 21 uses the front leg portion 23 at the front end portion of the lock arm 21 and the rising portion 24a at the rear end portion as fulcrums, and the contact portion 31 between the release operation portion 26 and the lock arm 21 as an action point. Bends as shown in FIG. 7C (second pressing stage). As a result, the lock portion 25 of the lock arm 21 is unlocked from the lock portion 13 of the outer housing 10. Then, the female connector F is pulled away from the male connector M while maintaining this unlocked state.

  As described above, in the electrical connector 1 according to this embodiment, the front end portion of the lock arm 21 from the state of the first push-down stage in which the front leg portion 23 and the rear end rising portion 24a shown in FIG. The lock arm 21 is shifted to a second push-down stage in which the front leg portion 23 and the rising portion 24a of the rear end portion are used as fulcrums and the contact portion 31 between the release operation portion 26 and the lock arm 21 is bent. By bending, the lock portion 25 of the lock arm 21 is greatly displaced with a smaller displacement amount of the release operation portion 26 than the conventional lock arm 51 shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C, and the lock portion 25 of the lock arm 21 is moved to the outer side. The lock is released from the lock portion 13 of the housing 10. That is, the lock can be released with a small displacement amount of the release operation unit 26, and the height of the electrical connector 1 can be reduced.

  Further, the lock arm 21 in the present embodiment has a configuration in which the rear leg portion 24 is composed of a left leg portion 27a and a right leg portion 27b respectively provided at both left and right end portions in the width direction. In the case of a wide space, as shown in FIG. 5, it is desirable to have a configuration in which an intermediate leg portion 27c is provided between the left and right leg portions 27a and 27b. Accordingly, the rear leg portion 24 is supported on the upper surface of the inner housing 20 by the left and right leg portions 27a and 27b and the intermediate leg portion 27c. Therefore, the front leg portion 23 and the rear leg portion of the front end portion of the lock arm 21 are supported at the second depression stage. When the lock arm 21 bends with the rising part 24a at the end as a fulcrum and the contact part 31 between the release operation part 26 and the lock arm 21 as an action point, the lock arm 21 connected to the extension part 24b The bending at the intermediate portion in the width direction at the rear end is prevented. Therefore, the displacement of the lock portion 25 of the lock arm 21 can be firmly secured, and the lock can be reliably released with a small displacement amount of the release operation portion 26.

  The intermediate leg portion 27c of the rear leg portion 24 may not be arranged at the center of the left and right leg portions 27a and 27b. Further, a plurality of intermediate leg portions 27c can be arranged. Further, the lock portion 25 of the lock arm 21 may not be formed as a protrusion. In short, what is necessary is just to be locked by the lock part 13 of the outer housing 10, and it may be set as a recessed part.

  The electrical connector of the present invention is useful as an electrical connector used for electrical connection of various devices mounted on automobiles, industrial machines and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrical connector 10 Outer housing 11 Hood part 12 Male terminal metal fitting 13 Lock part 20 Inner housing 21 Lock arm 22 Lock arm main body 23 Front leg part 24 Rear leg part 25 Lock part 26 Release operation part 27a Left leg part 27b Right leg part 27c Middle Leg part 28a, 28b Standing wall part 29 Finger pad part 30 Female terminal metal fitting 31 Contact part

Claims (3)

A front end portion of the inner housing in the fitting direction is a front leg on a surface (hereinafter referred to as a “first surface”) of the inner housing that is fitted into the outer housing having a lock portion, facing the lock portion of the outer housing . A lock arm body that is supported by a rear leg portion and is capable of elastic bending in a direction perpendicular to the first surface, and a middle portion in the insertion direction of the inner housing. to possess a locking portion which is locked to the lock portion of the outer housing, said rear legs, and a rising portion which rises perpendicularly to the first surface of the inner housing, from the upper end of the rising portion of the inner housing a lock arm ing from the extending portion substantially extending parallel to said first surface,
It is a release operation part for unlocking the lock part of the lock arm from the lock part of the outer housing, and is located behind the lock part of the lock arm in the insertion direction of the inner housing and in the middle of the lock arm body A standing wall portion that rises in a direction away from the inner housing from the rear end portion, and a plate-like finger rest portion that is substantially parallel to the first surface, and is connected to an upper end of the standing wall portion, A release operation part composed of the extension part and a finger contact part arranged at an interval ;
When the release operation portion is pushed down, the lock arm bends with the front end portion and the rear end portion of the lock arm as fulcrums, and only the lower rear end portion of the finger rest portion of the release operation portion is Abutting on the extension part of the rear leg part , and then using the front end part and the rear end part of the lock arm as fulcrums, and the release operation part and the extension part of the rear leg part of the lock arm. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the lock arm is unlocked from the lock portion of the outer housing by bending the lock arm with the contact portion as an action point. The rear leg part is composed of a left leg part and a right leg part respectively provided at both left and right end parts in the width direction of the lock arm body, each having the rising part and the extending part, The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion is connected to both left and right end portions in the width direction of the lock arm body. The rear leg portion, the electrical connector according to claim 1 or 2 in which an intermediate leg portion provided between the left leg and the right leg.

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