Connector

Abstract

To provide a connector capable of suppressing misalignment of a front mask after the terminal on a mating connector side is inserted.SOLUTION: A connector that can be mated with a mating connector includes: a housing whose front surface is inserted into an opening of the mating connector to mate with it; and a rectangular flat front mask that has a hole through which terminal of the mating connector can be inserted and is attached to the front surface of the housing. The front mask has a thickness of the plate at both ends which are the short sides of the rectangle greater than a thickness of the plate at the center.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the structure of a connector having a front mask.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a mating connector (male connector) having ribs and a connector (female connector) capable of being mated in the front-rear direction. This Patent Document 1 includes a housing having a front opening formed with a recess for receiving a rib, a front mask which is a front member attached to the front surface of the housing, a hook portion provided on the front mask corresponding to the position of the recess, and a restricting portion provided in the recess for restricting the front-rear movement of the front mask by engaging with the hook portion. A connector having such a structure is described.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] It is conceivable to use the connector described in Patent Document 1 for a connector of a wire harness (W / H) for a vehicle. In the manufacturing process of the wire harness or the assembly process of the vehicle, an external force may be applied to the connector from the electric wire. When an external force is applied to the connector from the electric wire, in the structure of the connector described in Patent Document 1, a force is generated that pushes out the front mask of the connector by the terminal of the mating connector, and if the rigidity is insufficient, the front mask may be deformed or lifted from the housing. Such displacement due to deformation or lifting of the front mask may generate a gap between the front mask and the housing, and foreign matter may enter from the gap.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a connector capable of suppressing displacement of a front mask after inserting a terminal of a mating connector.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the disclosed technology is a connector that can be mated with a mating connector, including a housing that inserts and mates a front surface into an opening of the mating connector, and having a hole through which a terminal of the mating connector is inserted, and a rectangular flat plate-shaped front mask attached to the front surface of the housing. The front mask is a connector in which the plate thicknesses at both ends on the short side of the rectangle are larger than the plate thickness at the center.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the connector of the present disclosure, since the thicknesses of both ends of the front mask are increased to increase the rigidity, displacement of the front mask after inserting the terminal of the mating connector can be suppressed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] For the connector according to the present disclosure, the thickness of the front mask attached to the front surface of the housing is formed to be thicker at both ends than at the central portion. Thereby, the rigidity of the front mask is increased, and it is possible to suppress the position of the front mask from shifting due to an external force applied to the connector. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0010] <Embodiment> [Component Shape] (1) Front Mask FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a front mask 110 constituting a connector 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A of the front mask 110 shown in FIG. 1.

[0011] The front mask 110 is a component formed of a material such as synthetic resin. The front mask 110 has a substantially flat plate shape (rectangular flat plate shape) that is substantially rectangular in a top view and has non-uniform thickness when viewed from the front side which is the long side of the rectangle.

[0012] The front mask 110 has a structure in which a main body portion 111 serving as a base has through holes 112a and 112b. Note that the front mask 110 has a plurality of protrusions, claws, etc. on the side surface and the back surface (the surface opposite to the front surface) not shown in the figure for fitting and holding with the housing 120 described later, but since they are not the subject matter of the present disclosure, their illustration and description are omitted.

[0013] The main body portion 111 is divided into a first region 111a and 111b that extend from both ends, which are on the short side of the rectangle, to a predetermined distance respectively, and a second region 111c other than the first regions 111a and 111b. The thickness Ta of the main body portion 111 in the first region 111a and the thickness Tb of the main body portion 111 in the first region 111b are formed to be larger than the thickness Tc of the main body portion 111 in the second region 111c (Ta > Tc, Tb > Tc). The thickness Ta of the plate in the first region 111a and the thickness Tb of the plate in the first region 111b with respect to the thickness Tc of the plate in the second region 111c, and the width Wa of the first region 111a and the width Wb of the first region 111b can be appropriately set according to the desired rigidity of the front mask 110. Note that the thickness Ta of the plate in the first region 111a and the thickness Tb of the plate in the first region 111b may be the same or different. Also, the width Wa of the first region 111a and the width Wb of the first region 111b may be the same or different.

[0014] The through holes 112a and 112b are holes that penetrate the main body portion 111 into which the male terminals of the mating connector (not shown) are inserted when the mating connector and the connector 100 are mated. The through holes 112a and 112b are respectively provided at positions corresponding to a plurality of male terminals of the mating connector.

[0015] (2) Housing FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a housing 120 that constitutes the connector 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of arrow B of the housing 120 shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of part C in the housing 120 shown in FIG. 4.

[0016] The housing 120 is a component molded from a material such as synthetic resin. The housing 120 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a substantially rectangular top view.

[0017] The housing 120 has a structure in which a main body portion 121 serving as a base has through holes 122a and 122b, and fitting portions 123a, 123b, 123c, and 123d.

[0018] In the main body portion 121, notch portions 121a and 121b corresponding to the first regions 111a and 111b of the front mask 110 are provided, which are necessary for fitting the front mask 110 into the fitting portions 123a, 123b, 123c, and 123d. The depths and widths of the notch portions 121a and 121b are appropriately set based on the thickness Ta and width Wa of the first region 111a and the thickness Tb and width Wb of the first region 111b.

[0019] The through holes 122a and 122b are holes that penetrate the main body portion 121 through which the male terminals of the mating connector are inserted through the front mask 110 when the mating connector (not shown) and the connector 100 are fitted by inserting the front surface into the openings of the mating connector. The through holes 122a and 122b are respectively provided at positions corresponding to a plurality of male terminals of the mating connector, similar to the front mask 110. Further, the through holes 122a and 122b have a structure (not shown) in which female terminals that can be connected to the male terminals of the mating connector inside the holes to achieve electrical conduction can be mounted.

[0020] The fitting portions 123a, 123b, 123c, and 123d are formed to protrude from the main body portion 121, and are configured to position and fix the front mask 110 fitted to the housing 120. Among these fitting portions 123a, 123b, 123c, and 123d, tapered reinforcing portions 124a and 124b are respectively formed on the fitting portions 123a and 123b located at the positions where the notch portions 121a and 121b are provided. FIG. 5 shows an example of the reinforcing portion 124a formed on the fitting portion 123a. This reinforcing portion 124a is provided to compensate for the strength that decreases due to the increased amount of protrusion from the main body portion 121 by the notch portion 121a. The reinforcing portion 124b formed on the fitting portion 123b is provided for the same reason. It is desirable that these reinforcing portions 124a and 124b be provided at the starting points of deformation. Note that holes, grooves, etc. corresponding to protrusions, claws, etc. provided on the front mask 110 and provided on these fitting portions 123a, 123b, 123c, and 123d are not the subject of the present invention, and thus illustration and description thereof are omitted.

[0021] [Fitting Structure] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the connector 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the front mask 110 and the housing 120 are fitted together. FIG. 7 is a view taken in the direction of arrow D in the connector 100 shown in FIG. 6.

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the connector 100 according to the present embodiment, the thickness of the front mask 110 is made thicker at both ends (the first regions 111a and 111b) than at the central portion (the second region 111c). With this structure, the rigidity of the front mask 110 is increased as compared with the front mask 510 of the conventional connector 500 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Therefore, the resistance to the force that pushes out the front mask 110 or the force that deforms the front mask 110 due to an external force being applied through the terminals of the mating connector when the mating connector is fitted to the connector 100 is improved as compared with the conventional connector 500.

[0023] [Function and Effect] As described above, according to the connector 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, by increasing the resin thickness at both ends (width direction) of the front mask 110, the structure of the front mask 110 is improved. Further, in accordance with the change in the thickness of the front mask 110, the shapes of the fitting portions 123a and 123b of the housing 120 are changed. With respect to the decrease in strength of the changed portion that is a concern due to the change in the shapes of the fitting portions 123a and 123b, a structure is adopted in which a taper is newly provided at the deformation starting point to disperse stress.

[0024] With this structure, without increasing the outer size of the connector 100 and without increasing the number of parts, it is possible to suppress displacement, deformation, floating amount, etc. of the front mask 110 after inserting the terminals of the mating connector. Therefore, it is less likely that a gap is generated between the front mask 110 and the housing 120, and the possibility of foreign matter entering from the gap can be reduced.

Industrial Applicability

[0025] The structure of the present disclosure can be used for connectors having a front mask and the like.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0026] 100, 500 Connectors 110, 510 Front Masks 111, 121 Main Body Parts 111a, 111b First Regions 111c Second Region 112a, 112b, 122a, 122b Through-Holes 120, 520 Housings 121a, 121b Cutout Parts 123a, 123b, 123c, 123d Fitting Parts 124a, 124b Reinforcing Parts

Claims

1. A connector that can be fitted to a mating connector, a housing that inserts and fits a front surface into an opening of the mating connector, a rectangular flat plate-shaped front mask having a hole through which a terminal of the mating connector is inserted and attached to the front surface of the housing, and the front mask has a greater plate thickness in a first region that is the short side of the rectangle than in a second region other than the first region. The connector.

2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the housing is provided with a taper at a location where the first region of the front mask fits.

Images