Connector

Abstract

To provide a connector that enables miniaturization of a locking mechanism.SOLUTION: A male connector 1 includes a male housing 4, a packing 3 attached to the male housing 4, and a packing holder 2. A lock arm 50 of the male housing 4 has an arm portion 51 extending forward in a cantilever shape, a protrusion 53 formed on the front end side of the arm portion 51, and a convex portion 58 protruding from a side surface of the protrusion 53. The packing holder 2 has a restricting portion 28 arranged in front of the convex portion 58 and on a side where the arm portion 51 bends. When no load is applied to the housing main body 40 in a mating / removal direction in a state where the housing main body 40 is mated with the female housing, the convex portion 58 does not abut against the restricting portion 28, and when a load is applied to the housing main body 40 in the mating / removal direction, the convex portion 58 abuts against the restricting portion 28, thereby restricting the movement of the convex portion 58. As a result, the locked state of the lock arm 50 is maintained.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector. [Background technology]

[0002] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a female connector 502 and a male connector 507 that fit together (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Female connector 502 includes a female terminal 526 connected to an end of electric wire 525, and a female housing 520. Female housing 520 includes a housing body 522 that houses female terminal 526, and a locking mechanism 530. Locking mechanism 530 includes a locking arm 531 and a release arm 538, as shown in FIG.

[0004] The lock arm 531 is connected to the housing main body 522 and has a pair of elastic arm portions 532 extending parallel to each other forward in the fitting direction, and a locking portion 536 connecting the front ends of the pair of elastic arm portions 532. The locking portion 536 is locked to a protrusion 573 of the male housing 570.

[0005] The release arm 538 has a pair of support arm portions 533 connected to the front ends of the pair of elastic arm portions 532 and arranged outside the pair of elastic arm portions 532, and an operating portion 534 connecting the rear ends of the pair of support arm portions 533.

[0006] The male connector 507 includes a male terminal 577 and a male housing 570. The male housing 570 includes a connection portion 571 that houses the male terminal 577, and a protrusion 573 formed on an upper portion of the connection portion 571.

[0007] In the female connector 502 and the male connector 507, when the housing body 522 and the connecting portion 571 are fitted together, the lock arm 531 engages with the protrusion 573, thereby maintaining the fitted state between the housing body 522 and the connecting portion 571. To release the fitted state between the housing body 522 and the connecting portion 571, the operating portion 534 of the release arm 538 is pressed. This causes the pair of elastic arm portions 532 to bend, and the lock arm 531 to come off the protrusion 573. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-191261 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] In the above-mentioned connector fitting structure, there has been a demand for a compact locking mechanism, but simply making the locking mechanism smaller would result in insufficient rigidity, which could lead to a reduction in lock retention force or breakage of the base of the locking arm, making it difficult to make the locking mechanism smaller.

[0010] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to provide a connector that enables a locking mechanism to be made smaller. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] The present invention is a connector comprising: a housing main body that accommodates terminals and mates with a mating housing of a mating connector; a locking arm that engages with the mating housing to maintain a mated state between the mating housing and the housing main body; a release arm that releases the locked state of the locking arm; and a holder assembled to the housing main body, wherein the locking arm is connected to the housing main body and has an arm portion that extends cantilevered forward toward the mating housing side, a protrusion formed on the front end side of the arm portion, and a convex portion that protrudes from a side of the protrusion, and the holder has a regulating portion that is arranged in front of the convex portion and on the side where the arm portion bends, and when the housing main body is engaged with the mating housing and no load is applied to the housing main body in the mating / removal direction, the convex portion does not abut against the regulating portion, and when a load is applied to the housing main body in the mating / removal direction when the housing main body is engaged with the mating housing, the convex portion abuts against the regulating portion and movement of the convex portion is restricted, thereby maintaining the locked state of the locking arm. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, when a load is applied to the housing main body in the mating direction while the housing main body is mated with the mating housing, the protrusion abuts against the restricting portion and restricts movement of the protrusion, thereby maintaining the locked state of the lock arm. This makes it possible to reduce the size of the lock arm. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a front view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a top view of the connector in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the connector of FIG. 1. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 shows only the housing of FIG. 4. [Figure 6]FIG. 5 is a diagram showing only the packing holder of FIG. 4. [Figure 7] 2 is a diagram showing a state in which the connector of FIG. 1 is mated with a mating connector. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the tip side of the lock arm in FIG. 7. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 shows a conventional female connector and male connector (disassembled state). [Figure 10] FIG. 10 shows only the female housing of FIG. 9. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] A "connector" according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs.

[0015] 1 to 4 and 7 includes two male terminals (not shown) connected to ends of electric wires, a male housing 4 accommodating these male terminals, a packing 3, and a packing holder 2. Hereinafter, the connector 1 will be referred to as a male connector 1.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 7, the male connector 1 mates with a mating female connector 8. The female connector 8 includes two female terminals (not shown) and a female housing 9 that houses these female terminals. A locking protrusion 90 is formed on the upper portion of the female housing 9. A locking arm 50, which will be described later, engages with this locking protrusion 90.

[0017] In this specification, the side of the male connector 1 facing the female connector 8 in the mating direction with the female connector 8 is defined as the "front," and the side away from the female connector 8 in the mating direction is defined as the "rear." Also, for convenience of explanation, "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" are expressed based on the orientation of the paper on which the drawings are drawn. These front, rear, upper, lower, left, and right directions do not have to match the actual directions of the male connector 1 in use.

[0018] The male housing 4 is made of insulating synthetic resin. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the male housing 4 integrally includes a rectangular tubular housing body 40, a locking mechanism 5 connected to the upper part of the housing body 40, and a pair of cylindrical terminal holding parts 42 connected to the rear end of the housing body 40.

[0019] The packing 3 is attached to the inside of the housing body 40 and provides a seal between the housing body 40 and the female housing 9.

[0020] The packing holder 2 is assembled to the inside of the housing body 40 to prevent the packing 3 from falling off. The packing holder 2 is made of insulating synthetic resin. As shown in Fig. 6, the packing holder 2 integrally comprises a rectangular tubular holder body 20, locking claws 21 formed on both side walls and a bottom wall of the holder body 20, and a pair of restricting portions 28. A through hole 22 is formed in the top wall of the holder body 20 to position a protrusion 53 described below. The pair of restricting portions 28 protrude from the inner surface of the through hole 22 in a direction approaching each other.

[0021] The housing body 40 accommodates the tip ends of the male terminals inside. The base ends of the male terminals are held in the terminal holding portion 42. The electric wires connected to the base ends of the male terminals are led out from the rear end of the terminal holding portion 42. Locking holes 41 into which the locking claws 21 of the packing holder 2 are respectively locked are formed in both side walls and the bottom wall of the housing body 40. An opening is formed in the top wall of the housing body 40 to allow a locking arm 50 (to be locked by a locking protrusion 90) to function as described below.

[0022] The female housing 9 is inserted into the inside of the housing body 40 and the holder body 20 to fit with the housing body 40. As a result, the tip of the male terminal is inserted into the female terminal, and they are electrically connected. In the fitted state, the locking protrusion 90 of the female housing 9 is positioned inside the housing body 40 and the through hole 22 of the holder body 20. A locking arm 50, which will be described later, engages with this locking protrusion 90, thereby maintaining the fitted state between the female housing 9 and the housing body 40.

[0023] The locking mechanism 5 has a locking arm 50 that maintains the mated state between the female housing 9 and the housing main body 40 by engaging with the locking protrusion 90, a pair of extension portions 54, and a release arm 55 that releases the locked state of the locking arm 50.

[0024] The lock arm 50 has a pair of arm portions 51, a connecting portion 52, a protrusion portion 53, and a pair of convex portions 58. The pair of arm portions 51 are connected to the housing main body 40 and extend in a cantilever manner forward toward the female housing 9 side and extend parallel to each other. The connecting portion 52 connects the front ends of the pair of arm portions 51 to each other. The protrusion portion 53 protrudes from the lower surface of the connecting portion 52 toward the inside of the housing main body 40.

[0025] Each arm portion 51 is formed so that its thickness gradually decreases from the rear end side connected to the housing main body 40 toward the front end side. That is, as shown in Fig. 2, the thickness T1 of the rear end portion 51a of the arm portion 51 is the largest among the arm portions 51. Also, the thickness T2 of the front end portion 51b of the arm portion 51 is the smallest among the arm portions 51.

[0026] In the conventional lock mechanism 530 shown in FIG. 9, the thickness of the pair of elastic arm portions 532 is uniform over the entire area.

[0027] The pair of extension portions 54 are portions that connect the lock arm 50 and the release arm 55. The pair of extension portions 54 extend from the front ends of the pair of arm portions 51 in directions away from each other.

[0028] The release arm 55 is connected to the pair of extension portions 54, extends rearward, and has a pair of second arm portions 56 disposed on both sides of the pair of arm portions 51, and an operating portion 57 connecting the rear ends of the pair of second arm portions 56. By pressing the operating portion 57, the pair of arm portions 51 bend away from the housing main body 40, and the protrusion portion 53 is lifted, and the lock arm 50 is disengaged from the lock protrusion 90.

[0029] 3 and 5, a slit-like gap S1 is formed between the pair of arm portions 51. In addition, a slit-like gap S2 is formed between the adjacent arm portion 51 and the second arm portion 56. The gap S2 extends toward the operating portion 57 from behind the rear end of the connecting portion 52 and the rear end 53a (see FIGS. 2 and 3) of the protruding portion 53. In other words, the front end position of the gap S2 is behind the front end position of the gap S1.

[0030] In the conventional lock mechanism 530 shown in FIG. 10, the gap between adjacent elastic arm portions 532 and support arm portions 533 extends from the front of the rear end of the engaging portion 536 toward the operating portion 534 .

[0031] 1, the pair of protrusions 58 protrude away from each other from both side surfaces of the protruding portion 53. The pair of protrusions 58 and the pair of restricting portions 28 of the packing holder 2 described above are structures for preventing the locked state of the locking arm 50 from being unintentionally released.

[0032] 2, when no external force is applied to the male connector 1, the restricting portion 28 is disposed in front of the protrusion 58 and on the side where the arm portion 51 bends. In this state, the restricting portion 28 and the protrusion 58 are spaced apart in the front-rear direction and are not in contact with each other. Even when the lock arm 50 engages with the lock protrusion 90 due to the mating operation between the female housing 9 and the housing main body 40, the restricting portion 28 and the protrusion 58 do not come into contact with each other. Moreover, even when the operating portion 57 of the release arm 55 is pressed to release the locked state of the lock arm 50, the restricting portion 28 and the protrusion 58 do not come into contact with each other.

[0033] That is, when the housing main body 40 is mated with the female housing 9 and no load is applied to the housing main body 40 in the mating / removal direction, the protrusion 58 does not come into contact with the restricting portion 28. On the other hand, when a load is applied to the housing main body 40 in the mating / removal direction and the housing main body 40 is mated with the female housing 9, the protrusion 58 comes into contact with the restricting portion 28, and the movement of the protrusion 58 is restricted, thereby maintaining the locked state of the lock arm 50.

[0034] FIG. 7 shows a state where a load is applied to the housing main body 40 in the mating / removal direction when the housing main body 40 is mated with the female housing 9. The load in the mating / removal direction is, for example, a load applied when the male connector 1 or the female connector 8 is pulled in the mating / removal direction. In the state of FIG. 7, the protrusion 58 is closer to the restricting portion 28 than in the state of FIG. 2, but the locking force of the lock arm 50 is greater than the load in the mating / removal direction, so the locked state of the lock arm 50 is maintained. When a load greater than the load in the mating / removal direction is applied, the protrusion 58 comes into contact with the restricting portion 28, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 8, and the movement of the protrusion 58 is restricted. This maintains the locked state of the lock arm 50.

[0035] In the male connector 1 configured as described above, the locking force of the locking arm 50 can be increased by the above-described convex portion 58 and restricting portion 28, so that the locking mechanism 5 can be made smaller.

[0036] Moreover, the locking mechanism 5 is formed such that the arm portion 51 is gradually thinner from the rear end side connected to the housing body 40 toward the front end side. This makes it possible to make the arm portion 51 itself more flexible, which prevents stress from concentrating on the base of the arm portion 51, i.e., the rear end portion 51a, when the locking mechanism 5 is released, and allows the stress to be distributed throughout the arm portion 51. Therefore, even if the locking mechanism 5 is made compact, it is possible to prevent the base of the arm portion 51 from breaking.

[0037] In addition, in order to suppress the decrease in the locking force due to the above-mentioned configuration of the arm portion 51, the locking mechanism 5 couples the release arm 55 to the locking arm 50 by a pair of extensions 54, and the positional relationship of the gaps S1 and S2 is as described above. That is, the gap S2 between the arm portion 51 and the second arm portion 56 extends from behind the rear end of the connecting portion 52 and the rear end 53a of the protrusion portion 53 toward the operating portion 57, and the front end position of the gap S2 is behind the front end position of the gap S1. This increases the rigidity of the arm portion 51 and suppresses the decrease in the locking force. In addition, by making the positional relationship of the gaps S1 and S2 as described above, the rigidity of the arm portion 51 and the second arm portion 56 can be combined, and the arm portion 51 and the second arm portion 56 can be individually made smaller. As for the unlocking property, the rigidity of each arm is combined, so that the lock can be easily released.

[0038] The above-described embodiment merely shows a typical form of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In other words, the present invention can be embodied in various modifications without departing from the gist of the present invention. As long as the configuration of the present invention is still provided even with such modifications, it is of course included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1 Male connector (connector) 2 Packing holder (holder) 3. Packing 4 Male Housing 5 Locking mechanism 8 Female connector (mating connector) 9 Female housing (mating housing) 28 Regulatory Department 40 Housing body 50 Lock Arm 51 Arm section 52 Connecting part 53 Protrusion 54 Extension section 55 Release Arm 56 Second Arm Section 57 Operation section 58 Convex

Claims

1. a housing body that houses the terminals and that mates with a mating housing of a mating connector; a lock arm that engages with the mating housing to maintain a fitted state between the mating housing and the housing main body; a release arm for releasing the locked state of the lock arm; a holder attached to the housing body, the lock arm has an arm portion connected to the housing main body and extending in a cantilever manner forward toward the mating housing side, a protrusion portion formed on a front end side of the arm portion, and a convex portion protruding from a side surface of the protrusion portion, the holder has a restricting portion disposed in front of the protruding portion and on a side where the arm portion bends, When the housing body is fitted to the mating housing and no load is applied to the housing body in a fitting / removal direction, the protrusion does not come into contact with the restricting portion, When a load is applied to the housing body in a mating / removing direction while the housing body is mated with the mating housing, the protrusion abuts against the restricting portion, restricting movement of the protrusion, thereby maintaining the locked state of the lock arm. A connector characterized by:

2. A packing is attached to the inside of the housing body, The holder is attached to the inside of the housing body to prevent the packing from falling off.

2. The connector according to claim 1 .

3. the holder has a through hole for positioning the protrusion, The restricting portion protrudes from an inner surface of the through hole.

3. The connector according to claim 2.

Images