Connector mating structure

Abstract

To provide a male connector or the like that can be easily fitted to a female connector.SOLUTION: A male connector 10 includes a cylindrical hood portion 13 that protrudes forward and is fitted into a fitting cylindrical portion 23 that has an opening formed in a female connector 20 from the projecting end 13A side. The hood portion 13 is provided with at least one guide protrusion 31 that protrudes forward from the annular protruding end 13A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a male connector and a connector complex.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an electrical connector described in Patent Document 1 below has been known. This electrical connector includes a plug connector (male connector) having a fitting portion (hood portion) protruding on one side, and a receptacle connector (female connector) in which a fitting port (fitting cylinder portion) for receiving the fitting portion is formed. The fitting portion of the plug connector is inserted into and fitted to the fitting port of the receptacle connector from the protruding end side.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In an electrical connector such as that of Patent Document 1, if the connector is small or there is insufficient working space, it may take time to insert the fitting portion into the fitting port. To avoid such a situation, for example, in a connector complex in which a frame is attached to the female connector, a front wall having a tapered surface is provided on the frame and disposed in front of the fitting cylinder portion of the female connector, and the front wall of this frame is used to guide the hood portion of the male connector to the fitting cylinder portion of the female connector. However, if a connector in which the hood portion and the fitting cylinder portion are formed in a shape along the outer shape of the terminal housed therein is configured as described above, when using terminals with different outer shapes, not only the male and female connectors but also the shape of the frame having the front wall needs to be changed. For this reason, there has been a demand for a male connector that can easily guide the hood portion to the fitting cylinder portion of the female connector without using a separate member.

[0005] The technology disclosed in this specification has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a male connector that is easy to fit with a female connector and a connector complex including the same.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The male connector disclosed in this specification is a male connector having a cylindrical hood portion that protrudes forward and is inserted into a fitting cylinder portion formed with an opening in the female connector from the protruding end side, and at least one guiding protrusion that protrudes forward from the annular protruding end is formed on the hood portion.

[0007] Further, the connector complex disclosed in this specification includes the male connector according to this disclosure and a female connector having a cylindrical fitting cylinder portion into which the hood portion is inserted, and a recess for receiving the guiding protrusion of the male connector is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the fitting cylinder portion.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] According to this disclosure, it is possible to provide a male connector that is easy to fit with a female connector and a connector complex including the same.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9A

Figure 9B

Figure 9C

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] [Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described.

[0011] (1) The male connector according to the present disclosure is a male connector having a cylindrical hood portion that protrudes forward and is inserted into a fitting cylinder portion formed with an opening in the female connector from the protruding end side, and at least one guiding protrusion that protrudes forward from the annular protruding end is provided on the hood portion.

[0012] According to the configuration of (1) above, the guiding protrusion guides the hood portion into the fitting cylinder portion, and it can be easily fitted. Further, by adjusting the protruding length of the guiding protrusion, the guiding length can be arbitrarily set. As a result, it is possible to perform the guiding without using other members constituting the connector complex, and it is possible to provide a connector complex applicable to terminals of various shapes only by changing the shapes of the male connector and the female connector.

[0013] (2) In the male connector according to the present disclosure, it is preferable that a rib extending in the protruding direction of the hood portion protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the hood portion, and the guiding protrusion is formed at the front end of the rib. According to the configuration of (2) above, the rib improves the strength of the hood portion and makes it easier to smoothly insert the hood portion to the back inside the fitting cylinder portion.

[0014] (3) In the male connector according to the present disclosure, the hood portion has a predetermined thickness portion formed with a predetermined wall thickness and a thin-walled portion formed with a wall thickness smaller than that of the predetermined thickness portion, and the rib is preferably arranged at a position adjacent to the thin-walled portion. According to the configuration of (3) above, the vicinity of the thin-walled portion, which is inferior in strength compared to the predetermined thickness portion, is reinforced by the rib. As a result, miniaturization of the male connector and, consequently, mold formation of the connector complex become possible.

[0015] (4) The connector complex according to the present disclosure includes the male connector according to the present disclosure and a female connector having a cylindrical fitting cylinder portion into which the hood portion is inserted, and a recess for receiving the guiding protrusion of the male connector is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the fitting cylinder portion.

[0016] According to the configuration of (4) above, by adjusting the depth of the recess and the protruding length of the guiding protrusion, the dimensions of the connector complex during fitting can be made as small as possible. Also, by appropriately designing the positional shapes and dimensions of the guiding protrusion and the recess for various connectors, prevention of incorrect connection is possible.

[0017] (5) The connector complex according to the present disclosure includes the male connector according to the present disclosure and a female connector having a cylindrical fitting cylinder portion into which the hood portion is inserted, and a recess for receiving the guiding protrusion of the male connector and a groove portion for receiving the rib are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the fitting cylinder portion.

[0018] According to the configuration of (5) above, the groove portion formed on the inner peripheral side surface of the fitting cylinder portion serves as a guide, and the hood portion formed with the rib can be smoothly guided to the back of the fitting cylinder portion.

[0019] (6) In the connector complex according to the present disclosure, it is preferable that tapered surfaces are formed at the tip of the guiding protrusion and the open end of the fitting cylinder portion. According to the configuration of (6) above, the tapered surface can smoothly guide the guiding protrusion into the fitting cylinder portion. In the configuration where the groove portion is provided in the fitting cylinder portion, the tapered surface can guide the guiding protrusion into the groove portion.

[0020] (7) In the connector complex according to the present disclosure, the female connector has a lance that can be elastically deformed to prevent the terminal housed inside the fitting cylinder portion from coming off, and it is preferable that the groove portion is arranged in the vicinity of the lance when viewed from the front. According to the configuration of (7) above, by arranging the concave portion in a relatively high-strength portion of the female connector, the influence of the strength reduction due to the formation of the concave portion can be reduced.

[0021] [Details of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. The present invention is not limited to these examples, and is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

[0022] <Embodiment> Embodiments will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9C. In the present disclosure, the sides of the male connector and the female connector facing each other, that is, the right side of FIG. 4 for the male connector and the left side of FIG. 7 for the female connector, are defined as the front (the opposite side is the rear). Also, in the following description, the upper side of FIG. 2 is defined as the upper (the opposite side is the lower), but each connector and the connector complex can be used in any posture. In some parts of each drawing, the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis of the orthogonal coordinate system XYZ are shown, and they are drawn so that the axial directions of each axis are the same in each drawing. The Z-axis direction represents the vertical direction, the Y-axis direction represents the front-rear direction, and the X-axis direction represents the left-right direction. For a plurality of identical members, one member may be labeled with a reference numeral and the reference numerals of other members may be omitted.

[0023] (Connector Complex) As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the connector complex 1 according to the present embodiment includes a male connector 10 and a female connector 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the male connector 10 houses a first terminal T100 connected to the terminal of the cable C1, and the female connector 20 houses a second terminal T200 connected to the terminal of the cable C2. Although not shown in the figure, the connector complex 1 further has a male frame that holds the male connector 10 and a female frame that holds the female connector 20, and the male connector 10 and the female connector 20 can be maintained in a mated state by a locking structure provided on the male frame and the female frame.

[0024] (Cable and Terminal) For the cables C1 and C2, for example, a coaxial cable including an inner conductor, a dielectric disposed on the outer periphery of the inner conductor, an outer conductor such as a braided wire disposed on the outer periphery of the dielectric, and an insulator covering the outer periphery of the outer conductor can be used. The coaxial terminal connected to the terminally processed coaxial cable includes, for example, a center contact connected to the inner conductor, an insulator that holds the center contact, an external contact that holds the insulator, and a metal sleeve crimped to the outer conductor.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, as the first terminal T100 and the second terminal T200, base ends T110 and T210 crimped to the cables C1 and C2 on the base end side, and cylindrical tips T120 and T220 fitted to the mating terminal on the tip side, and a flange portion T130 and T230 protruding in the outer circumferential direction and located between the base ends T110 and T210 and the tips T120 and T220. The tip T220 of the second terminal is formed to be fitted substantially tightly to the outer circumferential side of the tip T120 of the first terminal. When the male connector 10 that houses the first terminal T100 in the normal position and the female connector 20 that houses the second terminal T200 in the normal position are mated, as shown in FIG. 2, the tip T120 of the first terminal T100 is inserted into the tip T220 of the second terminal T200, and for example, the center contacts held inside the tips T120 and T220 abut against each other, and both terminals T100 and T200 are electrically connected.

[0026] (Male connector) As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the male connector 10 has a shape in which a substantially cylindrical hood portion 13 projects forward from the front surface of the male-side main body portion 11 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. As shown in FIG. 5, the male-side main body portion 11 has a rectangular shape with the vertical direction as the short side in a front view. For the male connector 10, for example, one integrally formed of an insulating synthetic resin can be used. As shown in FIG. 2, inside the male connector 10, a male-side terminal accommodating portion 15 having a circular cross section that penetrates the male-side main body portion 11 and the hood portion 13 in the front-rear direction is formed. In this male-side terminal accommodating portion 15, the first terminal T100 connected to the terminal of the cable C1 is inserted and accommodated from the rear.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 3 and the like, on the upper surface of the male-side main body portion 11, a male-side lance 17 is formed in a cantilever shape with the front end as a free end and is deformable by bending in the vertical direction, and is formed so as to project into the male-side terminal accommodating portion 15 in a natural state (see FIG. 5). As shown in FIG. 2, when the first terminal T100 is inserted into the male-side terminal accommodating portion 15 from the rear and pushed into the normal position, the front surface of the male-side lance 17 that is deformable by bending in the vertical direction abuts against the rear surface of the flange portion T130, and the backward movement of the first terminal T100 is regulated.

[0028] On the lower surface of the male-side main body portion 11, a male-side retainer mounting hole 19 is formed (see FIG. 9A). When the first terminal T100 is inserted into the male-side terminal accommodating portion 15 from the rear and the retainer 50 is inserted into the male-side retainer mounting hole 19 and mounted, the first terminal T100 is pushed into the normal position and is prevented from coming off by the female-side lance 27 and is held in the male-side terminal accommodating portion 15 as described above.

[0029] (Hood portion) As shown in FIG. 3 and the like, the hood portion 13 is formed to project in a substantially cylindrical shape with the front-rear direction (the projecting direction of the hood portion 13) as the axis from the male-side main body portion 11. A cavity penetrating in the front-rear direction inside this constitutes a part of the male-side terminal accommodating portion 15, and the tip portion of the first terminal T100 is accommodated inside the hood portion 13. The hood portion 13 is formed with a predetermined wall thickness that generally satisfies the requirements for strength. As shown in FIG. 3 and the like, on the outer peripheral surface of the annular projecting end 13A of the hood portion 13 that opens forward, a projecting end tapered surface 13T that inclines toward the inner peripheral side as it goes forward is provided.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the hood portion 13 having a circular shape in front view is formed from the front surface of the male-side main body portion 11 having a rectangular shape with the vertical direction as the short side in front view so that its opening diameter becomes as large as possible, that is, so that the vertical dimension of the hood portion 13 is close to the vertical dimension of the male-side main body portion 11. For this reason, among the wall portions forming the hood portion 13, the portions located in the upper and lower parts are thin-wall portions 13C having a wall thickness smaller than that of the predetermined thick portion 13B formed with a predetermined wall thickness. The thin-wall portions 13C located in the upper and lower parts of the hood portion 13 extend in the front-rear direction (the projecting direction of the hood portion 13).

[0031] (Ribs and guide protrusions) As shown in FIG. 3 and the like, ribs 30 project on the outer peripheral surface of the hood portion 13. Two ribs 30 are formed on the hood portion 13 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the ribs 30 project in the left-right direction (the tangential direction of the center of the thin-wall portion 13C in front view) from the vicinity of the thin-wall portion 13C, that is, from a position adjacent to the thin-wall portion 13C on the outer peripheral surface of the hood portion 13, and are formed to extend in the front-rear direction (the projecting direction of the hood portion 13). As shown in FIG. 5, the two ribs 30 are provided so as to be point-symmetrical to each other in position and shape with respect to the center of the hood portion 13 in front view.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 4 and the like, the front end of the rib 30 protrudes forward of the hood portion 13 to form the guiding protrusion 31. The protruding length of the guiding protrusion 31 from the hood portion 13 can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the dimensional shape, application, etc. of the connector complex. However, in order to smoothly guide the hood portion 13 into the fitting cylinder portion 23 as described later, for example, it is preferable that the protruding length is 1 mm or more. As shown in FIG. 4 and the like, the guiding protrusion 31 is provided with a tip tapered surface 31T on the outer peripheral surface of the tip, and has a tapered shape. The guiding protrusion 31 is preferably displaceable in the radial direction of the protruding end 13A.

[0033] (Female connector) As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the female connector 20 has a shape in which a fitting cylinder portion 23 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape that is slightly smaller than the female side main body portion 21 is provided in front of the female side main body portion 21 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape with a cylindrical protruding portion formed at the rear. As shown in FIG. 8, the female side main body portion 21 and the female side terminal accommodating portion 25 form a rectangle with the vertical direction as the short side in the front view. For the female connector 20, for example, an integrally molded insulating synthetic resin can be used. As shown in FIG. 2, inside the female connector 20, a female side terminal accommodating portion 25 having a circular cross section that penetrates the female side main body portion 21 and the fitting cylinder portion 23 in the front-rear direction is formed. The second terminal T200 connected to the terminal of the cable C2 is inserted and accommodated from the rear into the female side terminal accommodating portion 25.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 7 and the like, on the upper surface of the female side main body portion 21, a cantilever-shaped female side lance 27 having a free end at the front end and being bendable and deformable in the vertical direction is formed so as to protrude into the female side terminal accommodating portion 25 in the natural state (see FIG. 8). As shown in FIG. 2, when the second terminal T200 is inserted into the female side terminal accommodating portion 25 from the rear and pushed to the normal position, the front surface of the female side lance 27 that is bendable and deformable in the vertical direction abuts against the rear surface of the flange portion T230, and the backward movement of the second terminal T200 is restricted.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 7, a female-side retainer mounting hole 29 is formed on the lower surface of the female-side main body portion 21. When the second terminal T200 is inserted into the female-side terminal accommodating portion 25 from the rear and the retainer 50 is inserted into and mounted on the female-side retainer mounting hole 29, the second terminal T200 is pushed into the normal position and is prevented from coming off by the female-side lance 27 and thus is held within the female-side terminal accommodating portion 25 as described above.

[0036] (Fitting cylinder portion) As shown in FIG. 8 and the like, the fitting cylinder portion 23 provided in front of the female-side main body portion 21 opens forward and is formed such that its outer shape is a rectangle that is slightly smaller in size than the female-side main body portion 21 when viewed from the front. Inside the fitting cylinder portion 23, a cavity having a substantially circular cross-section that penetrates in the front-rear direction is provided, and this cavity constitutes a part of the female-side terminal accommodating portion 25. The inner circumference of the fitting cylinder portion 23 is formed so as to fit substantially tightly on the outer peripheral side of the hood portion 13 of the male connector 10 described above.

[0037] (Groove portion and recess portion) As shown in FIG. 6 and the like, on the inner circumferential surface of the fitting cylinder portion 23, a groove portion 40 that extends in the front-rear direction and receives the guiding protrusion 31 and the rib 30 of the male connector 10 described above is provided. As shown in FIG. 8, the groove portion 40 is provided such that the inner circumferential surface of the fitting cylinder portion 23 is recessed in the left-right direction (a direction parallel to the upper and lower surfaces of the fitting cylinder portion 23 and the female-side main body portion 21).

[0038] As shown in FIG. 7, the groove portion 40 extends rearward beyond the portion that fits on the outer circumference of the hood portion 13 on the inner circumference of the fitting cylinder portion 23, forming a recess portion 41. The extension length of the groove portion 40, that is, the depth of the recess portion 41, is set in accordance with the protruding length of the guiding protrusion 31 and the like, but it is preferably set to a length that can receive the guiding protrusion 31 with a slight margin.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 8 and the like, in the present embodiment, two groove portions 40 corresponding to the two ribs 30 of the male connector 10 are provided so as to be point-symmetrical to each other in position and shape with respect to the opening center of the fitting cylinder portion 23 in a front view. One of the two groove portions 40 (the groove portion 40 shown in the upper right of FIG. 8) is provided at a position adjacent to the female lance 27 in a front view, and the recess 41 formed at the rear end of the groove portion 40 is arranged in the vicinity of the female lance 27, that is, in the peripheral position.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 6 and the like, on the inner peripheral surface of the opening end of the front surface of the fitting cylinder portion 23 including the groove portion 40, a cylinder portion tapered surface 23T that inclines toward the inner peripheral side as it goes rearward is provided. In the following description, among the cylinder portion tapered surfaces 23T, the tapered surface provided at the opening end of the groove portion 40 may be referred to as a groove portion tapered surface 40T.

[0041] (Fitting of male connector and female connector) Subsequently, the fitting operation of the male connector 10 and the female connector 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9A to 9C. In FIGS. 9A to 9C, for ease of viewing, the illustration of the terminals T100 and T200 housed in the male and female connectors 10 and 20 is omitted, but actually, the fitting operation is performed in a state where the male and female connectors 10 and 20 house and hold the terminals T100 and T200 in the normal positions.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 9A, the front side of the male connector 10, that is, the protruding end 13A of the hood portion 13, is opposed to the front side of the female connector 20, that is, the opening end of the fitting cylinder portion 23, and the male connector 10 and the female connector 20 are brought closer to each other. First, the guiding protrusion 31 abuts against the opening end of the fitting cylinder portion 23, and the tip tapered surface 31T at the tip of the guiding protrusion 31 is guided by the cylinder portion tapered surface 23T at the opening end of the fitting cylinder portion 23, particularly the groove portion tapered surface 40T, and the male connector 10 is guided to a position facing the female connector 20. In this way, first, by inserting the guiding protrusion 31 into the groove portion 40, not only can the relative positioning of the male connector 10 and the female connector 20 be achieved, but also the fitting with the wrong connector can be avoided (prevention of incorrect connection).

[0043] As shown in FIG. 9B, when the male connector 10 is further pushed toward the female connector 20 from the state where the guiding protrusion 31 is inserted into the groove portion 40, the hood portion 13 enters the inside of the fitting cylinder portion 23 from the protruding end 13A. Here, since the guiding protrusion 31 is inserted into the groove portion 40 in advance, the male connector 10 faces the female connector 20, and the rib 30 extending in the front-rear direction (the insertion direction of the hood portion 13) connected to the guiding protrusion 31 is guided along the groove portion 40. Therefore, the hood portion 13 is smoothly inserted into the fitting cylinder portion 23. Even if there is some play or the like, the protruding end tapered surface 13T of the hood portion 13 is guided by the cylinder portion tapered surface 23T of the fitting cylinder portion 23 (see FIG. 9A), and the hood portion 13 is drawn into the fitting cylinder portion 23.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 9C, when the hood portion 13 is pushed to the deepest part of the fitting cylinder portion 23, the guiding protrusion 31 is received in the recess portion 41, and the fitting operation is completed. Here, since the rib 30 extending in the front-rear direction on the hood portion 13 is guided along the groove portion 40, the male connector 10 can be smoothly pushed to the deepest part of the female connector 20 while suppressing the rotation of the male connector 10.

[0045] As described above, when the hood portion 13 of the male connector 10 is inserted into the fitting cylinder portion 23 of the female connector 20, as shown in FIG. 2, the terminals T100 and T200 accommodated inside the male and female connectors 10 and 20 are electrically connected. As described above, in the connector complex 1 according to the present embodiment, the male connector 10 and the female connector 20 are locked in the fitted state by a lock structure provided on the frame to which each is attached.

[0046] (Operation and Effect of the Present Embodiment) Subsequently, the effects of the present embodiment will be described. The male connector 10 of the present embodiment is a male connector 10 having a cylindrical hood portion 13 that protrudes forward and is inserted into the fitting cylinder portion 23 formed with an opening in the female connector 20 from the protruding end 13A side, and at least one guiding protrusion 31 that protrudes forward from the annular protruding end 13A is provided on the hood portion 13.

[0047] According to the male connector 10 of the present embodiment, the hood portion 13 can be easily guided into the fitting cylinder portion 23 by the guiding protrusion 31 and can be easily fitted. Further, by adjusting the protruding length of the guiding protrusion 31, the guiding length can be arbitrarily set. As a result, since the guiding can be performed without using other members (for example, the female frame that holds the female connector 20) that constitute the connector complex 1, it is possible to provide the connector complex 1 applicable to terminals having different outer shapes only by changing the shapes of the male connector 10 and the female connector 20.

[0048] Note that the male connector 10 according to the present disclosure can be preferably applied to, for example, a male connector that houses a coaxial terminal. There are various outer shapes of coaxial terminals, and according to the present disclosure, it is possible to easily cope with such shape changes.

[0049] Further, in the male connector 10 of the present embodiment, ribs 30 extending in the protruding direction (front-rear direction) of the hood portion 13 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the hood portion 13, and the guiding protrusion 31 is disposed at the front end of the rib 30. According to such a male connector 10, the strength of the hood portion 13 is improved by the rib 30, and it becomes easier to smoothly insert the hood portion 13 deep into the fitting cylinder portion 23.

[0050] Note that in the male connector 10 of the present embodiment, a plurality of ribs 30 and the guiding protrusion 31 are provided at positions that are point-symmetrical with respect to the center of the hood portion 13 in a front view. With such a configuration, since the plurality of guiding protrusions 31 are provided at positions separated from each other, the hood portion 13 can be more reliably guided into the fitting cylinder portion 23. Further, since the plurality of ribs 30 are provided at positions separated from each other, the strength improvement effect by the ribs 30 can be obtained over a wide range of the hood portion 13.

[0051] Further, in the male connector 10 of the present embodiment, the hood portion 13 has a predetermined thickness portion 13B formed with a predetermined wall thickness and a thin wall portion 13C formed with a wall thickness smaller than that of the predetermined thickness portion 13B, and the rib 30 is disposed at a position adjacent to the thin wall portion 13C. According to such a male connector 10, in the hood portion, the vicinity of the thin-walled portion 13C which is inferior in strength compared with the predetermined thick portion 13B is reinforced by the rib 30. As a result, miniaturization of the male connector 10, and thus miniaturization of the connector complex 1 become possible.

[0052] In the male connector 10 according to the present embodiment, the rib 30 is formed to protrude from the vicinity of the thin-walled portion 13C in the tangential direction of the hood portion 13 at the center of the thin-walled portion 13C in a front view. By doing so, a particularly large reinforcing effect can be obtained by the rib 30.

[0053] Moreover, the connector complex 1 according to the present embodiment is a connector complex 1 including a male connector 10 and a female connector 20 having a cylindrical fitting cylinder portion 23 into which the hood portion 13 is inserted and fitted, and a recess 41 for receiving the guiding protrusion 31 of the male connector 10 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the fitting cylinder portion 23.

[0054] According to the connector complex 1 of the present embodiment, by adjusting the depth of the recess 41 and the protruding length of the guiding protrusion 31, the dimensions of the connector complex 1 at the time of fitting can be made as small as possible. In addition, by appropriately designing the positional shapes and dimensions of the guiding protrusion 31 and the recess 41 in various connectors, it is possible to prevent misconnection.

[0055] Moreover, the connector complex 1 according to the present embodiment is a connector complex 1 including a male connector 10 according to the present disclosure and a female connector 20 having a cylindrical fitting cylinder portion 23 into which the hood portion 13 is inserted and fitted, and a recess 41 for receiving the guiding protrusion 31 of the male connector 10 and a groove portion 40 for receiving the rib 30 are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the fitting cylinder portion 23.

[0056] According to the connector complex 1 of the present embodiment, the groove portion 40 formed on the inner peripheral side surface of the fitting cylinder portion 23 serves as a guide, and the hood portion 13 can be smoothly guided to the depth of the fitting cylinder portion 23.

[0057] In the connector complex 1 of the present embodiment, a tip tapered surface 31T and a cylindrical portion tapered surface 23T (tapered surface) are formed at the tip of the guiding protrusion 31 and the opening end of the fitting cylindrical portion 23. According to such a connector complex 1, the guiding protrusion 31 can be smoothly guided into the fitting cylindrical portion 23 by the tip tapered surface 31T and the cylindrical portion tapered surface 23T. Further, the rib 30 continuous with the guiding protrusion 31 can be guided to the groove portion 40 of the fitting cylindrical portion 23 by the tapered surface. In the present embodiment, a protruding end tapered surface 13T is also provided at the protruding end 13A of the hood portion 13. This makes it easier to insert the hood portion 13 further into the fitting cylindrical portion 23.

[0058] In the connector complex 1 of the present embodiment, the female connector 20 has a female side lance 27 (lance) that can be elastically deformed to prevent the second terminal T200 (terminal) housed inside the fitting cylindrical portion 23 from coming off, and the recess 41 is arranged in the vicinity of the female side lance 27. In a connector, since the vicinity of the lance allows elastic deformation, it is designed to have higher strength compared to other parts. According to the connector complex 1 of the present embodiment, by arranging the recess 41 at a portion of the female connector 20 having relatively high strength, the influence of the strength reduction due to the recess 41 is reduced.

[0059] <Other Embodiments> The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described by the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the technology disclosed in this specification.

[0060] (1) In the above embodiment, two ribs having guiding protrusions are formed on the hood portion, and two groove portions continuous with the recess are formed on the fitting cylindrical portion. However, the number of guiding protrusions and ribs, and the number of recesses and groove portions are arbitrary. These may be one, or three or more. When a plurality are provided, it is preferable that they are provided at point-symmetrical positions about the center in a front view. Further, when a plurality of ribs and groove portions are provided, guiding protrusions do not have to be formed at the tips of all the ribs, and recesses do not have to be formed at the rear ends of all the groove portions.

[0061] (2) In the above-described embodiment, the male connector and the female connector are described as each accommodating one terminal, but the present invention is not limited to this. The male connector and the female connector may each accommodate a plurality of terminals. The terminals accommodated in the male and female connectors are not limited to the coaxial terminals as described in the above embodiment, and may be terminals of various shapes.

[0062] (3) In the above-described embodiment, the hood portion of the male connector has a substantially cylindrical outer shape and forms a cylindrical shape with a cylindrical cavity formed therein, and the fitting cylinder portion of the female connector has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape and forms a square cylinder shape with a cylindrical cavity formed therein. However, these are merely examples, and the hood portion and the fitting cylinder portion may be formed in a cylindrical shape different from the above. For example, the fitting cylinder portion may also be formed to have a substantially cylindrical outer shape and a cylindrical cavity formed therein.

[0063] (4) The male-side main body portion and the female-side main body portion may have shapes different from those described in the above embodiment. Further, in the above embodiment, the male-side main body portion and the female-side main body portion to which the retainer is attached are described, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. The male connector and the female connector according to the above embodiment are based on the premise that the frames holding them have a lock structure, and do not have a lock structure. The present invention is not limited to such a structure, and a lock structure for locking the male connector and the female connector in a fitted state may be formed.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0064] 1... Connector complex 10... Male connector 11... Male-side main body portion 13... Hood portion 13A... Protruding end 13B... Predetermined thickness portion 13C... Thin-walled portion 13T... Tapered surface of the protruding end 15... Male-side terminal accommodating portion 17... Male-side lance 19…Male-side retainer mounting hole 20…Female connector 21…Female-side body part 23…Fitting cylinder part 23T…Tapered surface of the cylinder part 25…Female-side terminal housing part 27…Female-side lance 29…Female-side retainer mounting hole 30…Rib 31…Guide projection 31T…Tip tapered surface 40…Groove part 40T…Tapered surface of the groove part 41…Concave part 50…Retainer C1, C2…Cable T100…First terminal T200…Second terminal T110, T210…Base end part T120, T220…Tip end part T130, T230…Flange part

Claims

1. A connector fitting structure having a cylindrical hood portion that fits into the inner periphery of a fitting cylindrical portion that is provided on a mating main body and opens forward, a rib is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the hood portion, and a front end portion of the rib forms a guide protrusion that protrudes forward from the hood portion; a groove portion extending in the front-rear direction and adapted to receive the guide protrusion and the rib is provided on an inner peripheral surface of the fitting cylindrical portion; a rear end portion of the groove portion forms a recessed portion that extends rearward beyond a portion of the inner periphery of the fitting cylindrical portion that is fitted onto the outer periphery of the hood portion, the mating body portion has a flexible and deformable lance that restricts rearward movement of the terminal housed inside the fitting cylindrical portion, The recess is disposed between the rear end surface of the fitting tubular portion and the lance in the front-rear direction.

2. the hood portion has a predetermined thickness portion formed with a predetermined wall thickness and a thin-wall portion formed with a wall thickness smaller than the predetermined thickness portion, 2. The connector fitting structure according to claim 1, wherein the rib is disposed adjacent to the thin portion.

3. 3. The connector fitting structure according to claim 1, wherein a tapered surface is formed on the tip of said guide projection and on the open end of said fitting tube portion.

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