connector

Abstract

In connectors equipped with a CPA (Core Partition), the CPA can be smoothly assembled into the housing. [Solution] The female connector 1 comprises a female housing 3 that houses female terminals, and a CPA 5 assembled to the female housing 3, which is immovable before mating with the male connector, and movable after mating. The female housing 3 has a pair of ribs 36 that position the CPA 5 between them, and locking projections 38 protruding from the ribs 36. The CPA 5 has a pair of arms 50 that extend parallel to each other and have locking holes 51b formed therein into which the locking projections 38 fit. Guide grooves 51a are formed on the outer surfaces of the pair of arms 50, extending from the front end of the arms 50 toward the locking holes 51b, and guiding the locking projections 38 into the locking holes 51b.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector provided with a fitting assurance member.

Background Art

[0002] A connector provided with a fitting assurance member that is assembled to a housing and is immovable before fitting with a mating connector and movable after fitting is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Further, the fitting assurance member is sometimes called CPA (Connector Position Assurance). Hereinafter, in this specification, the fitting assurance member is referred to as CPA.

[0003] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a conventional female connector 501 provided with a CPA 505, and FIGS. 22 to 24 are diagrams showing a fitting structure of the female connector 501 and the male connector 502.

[0004] The female connector 501 includes female terminals 511, a female housing 503, and a CPA 505 assembled to the female housing 503. The female housing 503 has a main body portion 530 in which a terminal accommodation chamber is formed, a pair of ribs 536 provided on the upper surface of the main body portion 530, and a lock arm 534 provided between the pair of ribs 536. The pair of ribs 536 extends parallel to the fitting direction of the female connector 501.

[0005] The CPA 505 includes a pair of outer wall portions 556 positioned outside the pair of ribs 536 of the female housing 503 and a pair of inner wall portions 557 positioned inside the pair of ribs 536. That is, the CPA 505 is provided so as to be movable along the rib 536 with the rib 536 sandwiched between the outer wall portion 556 and the inner wall portion 557. The CPA 505 is immovable by being temporarily locked to the lock arm 534 until the female connector 501 is fitted with the male connector 502, and becomes movable to the male connector 502 side when the temporary locking is released during fitting.

[0006] The male connector 502 comprises a male terminal 521 and a male housing 523. The male housing 523 has a cylindrical portion 524 that receives the female connector 501. The cylindrical portion 524 has a pair of grooves 525 that extend in the mating direction. These grooves 525 guide the female housing 503 and CPA 505 in the mating direction. As shown in Figures 22 and 23, in the initial mating state, only the rib 536 of the female housing 503 enters the groove 525, and during or after mating, as shown in Figure 24, the outer wall portion 556 of the CPA 505 enters the groove 525. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-170503 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] In the conventional female connector 501 described above, when assembling the CPA 505 into the female housing 503, the CPA 505 may tilt, making smooth assembly difficult, and there was room for improvement.

[0009] Therefore, the present invention aims to enable the CPA to be smoothly assembled into the housing in a connector equipped with a CPA. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The present invention relates to a connector comprising a housing that accommodates terminals, and a mating guarantee member assembled to the housing, which is immovable before mating with a mating connector and movable after mating, wherein the housing has a pair of ribs that position the mating guarantee member between them, and locking projections protruding from the ribs, and the mating guarantee member has a pair of arms that extend parallel to each other and have locking holes formed therein into which the locking projections fit, and guide grooves are formed on the outer surfaces of the pair of arms that extend from the front ends of the arms toward the locking holes and guide the locking projections into the locking holes. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, the CPA can be smoothly assembled into the housing. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view of a female connector according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the male connector that mates with the female connector. [Figure 3] Figure 1 is an exploded view of the female connector. [Figure 4] This figure shows the female housing in Figure 3 with the front mask and spacer assembled. [Figure 5] Figure 4 is a front view of the female housing. [Figure 6] Figure 3 is a perspective view of CPA. [Figure 7] This figure shows how the CPA is assembled into the female housing shown in Figure 4. [Figure 8] This figure shows the CPA assembled into the female housing shown in Figure 7. [Figure 9] This is a cross-sectional view along line AA in Figure 8. [Figure 10] Figure 9 shows the female connector mated with the male connector. [Figure 11]It is a diagram showing the state where the CPA in FIG. 10 has moved to the fitting guarantee position. [Figure 12] It is a diagram for explaining a method of confirming that the CPA is assembled to the female housing, and is a diagram showing a cross section along the line B-B in FIG. 8. [Figure 13] It is a perspective view of the CPA of the reference example. [Figure 14] In the female connector of the reference example provided with the CPA in FIG. 13, it is a diagram for explaining a method of confirming that the CPA is assembled to the female housing. [Figure 15] It is a diagram showing a state of assembling the CPA to the female housing in FIG. 7. [Figure 16] It is a diagram showing a state where the locking projection in FIG. 15 is fitted into the locking hole of the CPA. [Figure 17] It is a diagram showing the main part of the female connector of the reference example in FIG. 14. (a) is a diagram showing a state where the locking projection is fitted into the locking hole of the CPA, and (b) is a diagram showing a state where the CPA is pulled backward. [Figure 18] It is a diagram showing an initial fitting state between the female connector in FIG. 1 and the male connector in FIG. 2. [Figure 19] It is a cross-sectional view along the line C-C in FIG. 18. [Figure 20] It is a cross-sectional view of a state where the female connector and the male connector in FIG. 18 are completely fitted. [Figure 21] It is a perspective view of a conventional female connector provided with a CPA. [Figure 22] It is a diagram showing an initial fitting state between the female connector and the male connector in FIG. 21. [Figure 23] It is a cross-sectional view along the line D-D in FIG. 22. [Figure 24] It is a cross-sectional view of a state where the female connector and the male connector in FIG. 22 are completely fitted.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] A "connector" according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 20. Figures 13, 14, and 17 are reference examples of CPAs and connectors that are not part of the present invention but are relevant for reference.

[0014] The female connector (corresponding to a connector) 1 shown in Figure 1 is mated with the male connector (corresponding to a mating connector) 2 shown in Figure 2.

[0015] As shown in Figure 3, the female connector 1 comprises a female terminal 11 connected to the end of the electric wire 10, a female housing (corresponding to a housing) 3 housing the female terminal 11, a CPA (corresponding to a mating guarantee member) 5, a front mask 7, and a spacer 8.

[0016] Although only one female terminal 11 is shown in Figure 3, the female connector 1 has multiple female terminals 11. The front mask 7 is assembled to the front end of the female housing 3. The spacer 8 is assembled to the female housing 3 to prevent the female terminal 11 from coming loose.

[0017] In this specification, for the female connector 1, the side facing the male connector 2 in the mating direction is defined as "front," and the opposite side is defined as "back." Similarly, for the female connector 1, the side perpendicular to the mating direction and where the rib 36 described later is provided is defined as "top," and the opposite side is defined as "bottom." Likewise, for the male connector 2, the side facing the female connector 1 in the mating direction is defined as "front," and the opposite side is defined as "back." These terms referring to directions are for convenience in explaining the present invention and do not need to correspond to actual directions.

[0018] As shown in Figure 2, the male connector 2 comprises a plurality of male terminals 21 and a male housing 23 that holds the plurality of male terminals 21. The male housing 23 has a cylindrical portion 24 that opens forward and receives the female connector 1, a locking portion 27 provided on the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 24, and a pair of male-side ribs 26 provided on both the left and right sides of the locking portion 27 on the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 24.

[0019] The locking portion 27 is the part that engages with the locking arm 34 of the female connector 1, as shown in Figure 11. The pair of male side ribs 26 extend in the mating direction and position the locking arm 34 between them in the mated state, as shown in Figure 20.

[0020] A pair of grooves 25 extending in the mating direction are formed on both the left and right sides of the pair of male ribs 26 in the cylindrical portion 24. As shown in Figure 20, the second rib 36a of the female connector 1 enters these grooves 25 and guides the female housing 3 in the mating direction.

[0021] As shown in Figures 14 and 15, the female housing 3 includes a main body 30 with a plurality of terminal housing chambers 31, a locking arm 34, a release arm 37, a pair of ribs 36, a pair of second ribs 36a, a pair of locking projections 38, and a CPA housing 35.

[0022] The main body 30 is formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.

[0023] The lock arm 34 is connected to the upper surface and front end of the main body 30 and has a flexible plate portion 34a that extends in a cantilever shape toward the rear of the main body 30, a hole 34c formed in the flexible plate portion 34a, and a lock beak 34b provided behind the hole 34c. As shown in Figure 11, the lock portion 27 of the male connector 2 engages with the lock beak 34b when mated.

[0024] The release arm 37 is connected to the rear end of the flexible plate portion 34a. The release arm 37 is the part that is operated when releasing the locking state between the lock arm 34 and the lock portion 27.

[0025] A pair of ribs 36 are provided on the upper surface of the main body 30 and on both the left and right sides of the lock arm 34, and extend in the fitting direction.

[0026] The pair of second ribs 36a are connected to each of the pair of ribs 36 and extend in the fitting direction.

[0027] A pair of locking projections 38 protrude from the rear end and inner surface of a pair of ribs 36.

[0028] As shown in Figure 7, the CPA housing section 35 is a space enclosed by the upper surface of the main body 30, a pair of ribs 36, a pair of second ribs 36a, a lock arm 34, and a release arm 37. As shown in Figure 8, the pair of ribs 36 position the CPA 5 between them. The pair of second ribs 36a position the pair of arms 50 of the CPA 5, which will be described later, between themselves and the upper surface of the main body 30. By positioning the CPA 5 between the pair of ribs 36 in this way, the CPA 5 can be protected from external forces.

[0029] As shown in Figures 5 and 12, the front end surface of the female housing 3 has a jig insertion port H that can receive a rod-shaped jig 19 for checking the presence or absence of CPA 5.

[0030] The CPA5 is assembled into the female housing 3 and is immovable before mating with the male connector 2, but becomes movable after mating. After mating, it is positioned in the mating guarantee position shown in Figure 11, thereby ensuring that the female connector 1 and the male connector 2 are fully mated.

[0031] As shown in Figure 6, the CPA5 includes a base 53, a CPA lock arm 54 connected to the base 52 and extending forward, a pair of arms 50 connected to the base 52 and extending forward, and an operating section 55 connected to the rear ends of the pair of arms 50.

[0032] The CPA lock arm 54 has a cantilevered flexible portion 54a and a lock beak 54b provided on the front end side of the flexible portion 54a.

[0033] The pair of arms 50 are positioned on the left and right sides of the CPA lock arm 54 and extend parallel to each other. Each arm 50 has a horizontal plate portion 52 that contacts the upper surface of the main body portion 30 and a vertical plate portion 51 that rises from the outer end of the horizontal plate portion 52, and is formed in an L-shape in cross-section. The front end 51c of the vertical plate portion 51 functions as a contact surface for the rod-shaped jig 19.

[0034] As shown in Figure 16, a locking hole 51b is formed at the rear end of the vertical plate portion 51, into which a locking projection 38 fits. A guide groove 51a is formed on the outer surface of the vertical plate portion 51, extending from the front end 51c of the vertical plate portion 51 toward the locking hole 51b, and guiding the locking projection 38 into the locking hole 51b. The depth of the guide groove 51a is deepest at the front end 51c of the vertical plate portion 51 and gradually becomes shallower toward the locking hole 51b.

[0035] As shown in Figures 7-9, the CPA5 is inserted into the CPA housing 35 from the rear of the female housing 3 and assembled into the female housing 3. That is, when the CPA5 is inserted into the CPA housing 35, as shown in Figure 16, a pair of locking protrusions 38 fit into the locking holes 51b of the pair of arms 50. Also, as shown in Figure 9, the lock beak 54b of the CPA lock arm 54 comes into contact with the lock beak 34b of the lock arm 34. As a result, the CPA5 is assembled into the female housing 3 in an immovable state (temporarily locked).

[0036] Furthermore, when the CPA5 is inserted into the CPA housing section 35, the locking projection 38 passes through the guide groove 51a of the arm 50, as shown in Figure 15. This suppresses tilting of the CPA5 and allows for smooth assembly of the CPA5.

[0037] When the female connector 1 is mated with the male connector 2 as shown in Figure 10, the lock beak 54b of the CPA lock arm 54 is pushed down by the lock portion 27 of the male connector 2. This allows the CPA 5 to move forward. Then, as shown in Figure 11, when the CPA 5 is positioned in the mating guaranteed position, it is guaranteed that the female connector 1 and the male connector 2 are fully mated. Furthermore, when the CPA 5 is positioned in the mating guaranteed position, the lock beak 54b of the CPA lock arm 54 fits into the hole 34c of the lock arm 34, locking it in place and making it immobile.

[0038] Furthermore, to confirm that the CPA5 is assembled to the female housing 3, as shown in Figure 12, the jig 19 can be inserted into the jig insertion port H and confirmed by the jig 19 contacting the front end 51c of the vertical plate portion 51.

[0039] Figure 13 shows a reference example of the CPA205, and Figures 14 and 17 show a reference example of a female connector 201 with the CPA205 assembled in the female housing 3. The CPA205 has a tapered surface 251a formed at the front end of the vertical plate portion 51, and no guide groove 51a is formed. Due to the formation of the tapered surface 251a, the front end 251c of the vertical plate portion 51 is thin. Therefore, as shown in Figure 14, when the jig 19 is inserted into the jig insertion port H, the contact area of ​​the jig 19 is small.

[0040] In this regard, in this example, a guide groove 51a is formed on the vertical plate portion 51 instead of a tapered surface 251a, thereby securing the area of ​​the front end 51c that the jig 19 contacts. This improves the detectability when checking for the presence or absence of CPA5. Furthermore, the strength of CPA5 is also increased.

[0041] Figure 17(a) shows the state in which the locking projection 38 of the reference example female connector 201 is fitted into the locking hole 51b of the CPA205, and Figure 17(b) shows the state in which the CPA205 is pulled backward. As shown in Figure 17(b), when the reference example CPA205 is pulled backward, the front end of the arm 50 deforms towards the rib 36, reducing the holding force.

[0042] In this respect, in this example, because the front end of the vertical plate portion 51 is thick, the CPA 5 is less likely to deform when pulled backward, and the holding force does not decrease.

[0043] Furthermore, in this example, as shown in Figures 18 and 19, from the initial mating stage to complete mating, only the second rib 36a of the female connector 1 enters the groove 25 of the male connector 2, the groove 25 and the second rib 36a make direct contact, and the mating is guided by the groove 25 and the second rib 36a.

[0044] In this regard, in the conventional technology (see Figures 21-24), in the initial mating state, only the rib 536 of the female housing 503 entered the groove 525, which made it prone to looseness. However, in this example, the above configuration can suppress the occurrence of looseness in the female housing 3. In addition, in this example, the thickness of the second rib 36a can be secured, thereby increasing strength.

[0045] The embodiments described above merely represent typical forms of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. That is, it can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the core principles of the present invention. As long as such modifications still possess the configuration of the present invention, they are of course included within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0046] 1 Female connector (connector) 2 Male connectors (mutual connectors) 3 Female Housing (Housing) 5. CPA (Matching Guarantee Material) 36 Rib 38 Locking protrusion 50 Arm 51a Guide groove 51b Locking hole

Claims

1. A housing containing the terminals, The housing includes a mating guarantee member that is assembled to the housing, is immovable before mating with the mating connector, and becomes movable after mating, The housing has a pair of ribs that position the fitting guarantee member between them, and locking projections protruding from the ribs, The fitting guarantee member has a pair of arms that extend parallel to each other and have locking holes formed in which the locking projections fit, Guide grooves are formed on the outer surfaces of the pair of arms, extending from the front end of each arm toward the locking hole, and guiding the locking projection into the locking hole. A connector characterized by the following features.

2. The depth of the guide groove is deepest at the front end of the arm and gradually decreases towards the locking hole. The connector according to feature 1.

3. A jig insertion opening is formed on the front end surface of the housing, which can accept a jig for confirming the presence or absence of the fitting guarantee member. The connector according to feature 1.

4. The aforementioned housing is The main body has a terminal housing chamber formed in it, The pair of ribs provided on the upper surface of the main body, Each of the aforementioned pair of ribs is connected to a pair of second ribs, The pair of second ribs position the pair of arms between themselves and the upper surface of the main body. The connector according to feature 1.

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