Connector

Abstract

A connector 10 according to the present disclosure comprises: a housing 20 having a cavity 24 penetrating in a front-rear direction; and a cover 40 attached to a rear part of the housing 20. The housing 20 includes: a housing-side rail 25 extending in a first direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction at a rear part of the housing 20; and a housing-side lock 26. The cover 40 includes: a cover-side rail 52 inserted into the housing-side rail 25 from the first direction; and a cover-side lock 53 protruding forward from the cover-side rail 52 and latched to the housing-side lock 26 so that the cover 40 is held by the housing 20 at a normal attachment position. The housing-side lock 26 has a rail-configuring surface 26A constituting a part of the housing-side rail 25, and a lock latching surface 26B latched to the cover-side lock 53 in the first direction.

Description

connector

[0001] The present disclosure relates to connectors.

[0002] A known example of a connector configured to allow a wire cover to be attached to a housing by sliding it is the lever-type connector described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2020-202053 (Patent Document 1 below). This lever-type connector includes a male housing, a female housing, a lever for mating the male and female housings, and a wire cover attached to the rear of the female housing. A pair of attachment portions for attaching the wire cover are formed on the rear end side of the female housing. The attachment portions have a pair of protruding pieces and a pair of standing pieces.

[0003] A slide rib is integrally formed at the lower end of the wire cover. The slide rib slides between a pair of protruding pieces and a pair of standing pieces, thereby attaching the wire cover to the female housing. An elastic locking piece is integrally formed at the lower end of the wire cover. A locking protrusion is formed at the tip of the elastic locking piece, and is designed to engage with a recessed locked portion formed in the female housing. The locking protrusion engages with the locked portion, thereby attaching the wire cover to the female housing in a manner that prevents it from coming loose.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-202053

[0005] The wire cover described above has the advantage of being able to be installed even when there is limited space because it employs a sliding mounting method. However, because the locking mechanism between the locking protrusion and the locked portion is sized to fit within the slide rail (between the protruding piece and the upright piece), there is a risk that a satisfactory locking feeling may not be achieved. Therefore, if a larger locking mechanism were provided in a location separate from the slide rail, the overall structure of the lever-type connector would become larger, which would be detrimental to space saving.

[0006] The connector of the present disclosure is a connector comprising a housing having a cavity penetrating in the front-to-rear direction, and a cover attached to the rear of the housing, wherein the housing has a housing side rail extending in a first direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction at the rear of the housing, and a housing side lock, the cover has a cover side rail inserted into the housing side rail from the first direction, and a cover side lock that protrudes forward from the cover side rail and engages with the housing side lock, thereby holding the cover on the housing in the correct attached position, and the housing side lock has a rail component surface that constitutes part of the housing side rail, and a lock engagement surface that engages with the cover side lock in the first direction.

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to achieve space saving while ensuring a good locking feeling.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the connector with the first cover attached, as seen from an oblique rearward angle. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connector with the second cover attached, as seen from an oblique rearward angle. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the connector before the first cover is attached, as seen from an oblique rearward angle. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the connector after the first cover has been attached, as seen from an oblique rearward angle. FIG. 5 is a side view of the connector. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the connector. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in FIG. 7. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D in FIG. 7. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E in FIG. 7. FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the housing. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the first cover. FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the connector when the first cover is mistakenly attached from the left, as seen from an oblique rearward angle. FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the connector when the first cover has been attached halfway to the correct attachment position, as seen from an oblique rearward angle. FIG. 16 is an enlarged perspective view of the housing-side lock. Fig. 17 is a perspective view showing the cover-side lock climbing up onto the second tapered surface, Fig. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing the cover-side lock climbing up onto the second tapered surface, and Fig. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing the cover-side lock climbing up onto the first tapered surface.

[0009] [Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. [1] A connector of the present disclosure includes a housing having a cavity penetrating in the front-rear direction, and a cover attached to a rear portion of the housing, wherein the housing has a housing-side rail extending in a first direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction at the rear portion of the housing, and a housing-side lock, the cover has a cover-side rail inserted into the housing-side rail from the first direction, and a cover-side lock protruding forward from the cover-side rail and engaging with the housing-side lock to hold the cover on the housing in a normal attached position, and the housing-side lock has a rail-forming surface that forms a part of the housing-side rail, and a lock-engaging surface that engages with the cover-side lock in the first direction.

[0010] Because the housing-side lock has a rail-forming surface, it can be positioned as close as possible to the housing-side rail. This minimizes the length of the cover-side lock's protrusion from the cover-side rail, thereby saving space for the entire connector. Furthermore, because only the rail-forming surface of the housing-side lock is located on the housing-side rail, a large lock engagement surface can be formed without being restricted by the housing-side rail. This ensures a good locking feeling.

[0011] [2] In the above [1], it is preferable that the cover-side lock is capable of flexibly deforming in the front-rear direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the housing-side lock has a first tapered surface that moves away from the outer surface of the housing as it moves forward from the rail-forming surface, and the cover-side lock flexibly deforms in the second direction when riding on the housing-side lock, and faces the first tapered surface when riding on the housing-side lock.

[0012] Since the first tapered surface is configured to move away from the outer surface of the housing as it moves forward from the rail-constituting surface, excessive bending deformation of the cover-side lock can be suppressed when the cover-side lock rides on the housing-side lock and faces the first tapered surface.

[0013] [3] In the above [2], it is preferable that the housing side lock has a second tapered surface that can slide against the cover side lock when the cover side lock rides on the housing side lock.

[0014] When the cover is attached to the housing, the cover-side lock slides over the housing-side lock while making sliding contact with the second tapered surface, making it easy to attach the cover.

[0015] [4] In the above [3], it is preferable that the housing side lock has a third tapered surface connecting the first tapered surface and the second tapered surface.

[0016] Since the cover-side lock passes through the third tapered surface when transferring from the second tapered surface to the first tapered surface, excessive bending deformation of the cover-side lock can be easily suppressed.

[0017] [5] In any of [1] to [4] above, the cover comprises a first cover attached to the housing from one side in the first direction, and a second cover attached to the housing from the other side in the first direction, and either the first cover or the second cover is attached to the rear of the housing, and it is preferable that the first cover has an anti-misassembly rib that interferes with the outer surface of the housing to stop the attachment operation if an attempt is made to erroneously attach the first cover to the housing from the other side in the first direction.

[0018] The first cover and the second cover can be selectively attached to the housing. Also, if an attempt is made to attach the first cover to the housing from the other side in the first direction, the misassembly prevention rib interferes with the outer surface of the housing, stopping the attachment operation, thereby preventing misassembly of the first cover.

[0019] [Details of the Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] The following describes embodiments of the present disclosure. The present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. In the drawings, for the convenience of explanation, some components may be exaggerated or simplified. Furthermore, the dimensional ratios of each part may differ between drawings. In this specification, "orthogonal" does not only refer to a strict orthogonal relationship, but also includes a roughly orthogonal relationship within the scope of the operation and effect of this embodiment.

[0020] In addition, "facing" in this specification refers to surfaces or components facing each other, and includes not only cases where they are completely facing each other, but also cases where they are partially facing each other. In addition, "facing" in this specification includes both cases where a component separate from the two components is interposed between the two components, and cases where nothing is interposed between the two components.

[0021] <Embodiments> An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 19. In the following description, the direction indicated by arrow Z will be described as upward, the direction indicated by arrow X as forward, and the direction indicated by arrow Y as leftward. The left-right direction is an example of a first direction. The up-down direction is an example of a second direction. Note that, for multiple identical components, only some of the components may be designated by reference numerals, and the reference numerals for the other components may be omitted.

[0022] (Connector 10) The connector 10 includes a synthetic resin housing 20, a synthetic resin lever 30, and a synthetic resin cover 40. The cover 40 includes a first cover 50 shown in Fig. 1 and a second cover 60 shown in Fig. 2, and either the first cover 50 or the second cover 60 is attached to the rear of the housing 20. As shown in Fig. 3, the first cover 50 is attached to the housing 20 from the right, and the second cover 60 is attached to the housing 20 from the left. The first cover 50 and the second cover 60 are formed symmetrically, and the following description will be given using the first cover 50 as a representative.

[0023] 12, the housing 20 includes a housing main body 21 in the shape of a substantially rectangular block, a pivot shaft 22 formed on the outer surface of the housing main body 21, and a lever holding portion 23 formed on the upper rear end of the housing main body 21. A pair of pivot shafts 22 is provided on both the left and right sides of the outer surface of the housing main body 21. A plurality of cavities 24, into which terminals (not shown) are inserted, are formed to penetrate the housing main body 21 in the front-to-rear direction.

[0024] 3, the lever 30 includes a pair of cam plates 31 and an operating portion 32 that connects the ends of the pair of cam plates 31. The cam plate 31 has a cam groove 33 into which a cam pin (not shown) of a mating connector enters, and a shaft hole 34 that accommodates the rotary shaft 22. When the pair of rotary shafts 22 are accommodated in the pair of shaft holes 34 of the pair of cam plates 31, the lever 30 is rotatably supported relative to the housing main body 21.

[0025] The lever 30 is rotatable between an initial position and a mating position, and in the initial position, the mating connector 10 is shallowly mated with the mating connector. When the lever 30 is rotated toward the mating position, the cam pin engages with the inner wall of the cam groove 33, resulting in a properly mated state. The position of the lever 30 shown in Figure 3 is the mating position, and the lever 30 is held in the mating position by the operating portion 32 being engaged with the lever holding portion 23.

[0026] 1 and 3, the first cover 50 includes a cover portion 51 that covers the rear surface of the housing main body 21, a cover-side rail 52 formed at the front end of the cover portion 51, and a cover-side lock 53 formed at the end of the cover-side rail 52. The cover portion 51 has an electric wire outlet 54 that opens so that the electric wires drawn rearward from the housing main body 21 can be bent and led out to the side.

[0027] (Rail Structure) As shown in Fig. 3, the first cover 50 is attached to the housing 20 by sliding it from the side. The housing body 21 has a housing-side rail 25 into which the cover-side rail 52 is inserted.

[0028] 13, the cover-side rail 52 includes an upper cover-side rail 52A extending in the left-right direction and a lower cover-side rail 52B extending in the left-right direction. The upper cover-side rail 52A and the lower cover-side rail 52B are disposed opposite each other in the vertical direction.

[0029] The cover-side upper rail 52A has a gate-like shape that opens downward, and the cover-side lower rail 52B has a gate-like shape that opens upward. The cover-side upper rail 52A includes a rear wall 52A1 extending upward from the front edge of the cover portion 51, a side wall 52A2 extending forward from the upper edge of the rear wall 52A1, and a front wall 52A3 extending downward from the front edge of the side wall 52A2. The cover-side lower rail 52B includes a side wall 52B1 extending forward from the front edge of the cover portion 51 and a front wall 52B2 extending upward from the front edge of the side wall 52B1. Of the upper and lower side walls of the cover wall 51, the side wall opposite the cover-side upper rail 52A is formed with an anti-misassembly rib 52B3 extending left and right.

[0030] 17, the cover-side lock 53 is formed to protrude forward from the right end of the cover-side lower rail 52B. The cover-side lock 53 has an overall gate shape and includes a locking wall 53A formed to protrude forward from the front wall 52B2 of the cover-side lower rail 52B, a protective wall 53B formed to protrude forward from the side wall 52B1 of the cover-side lower rail 52B, and a connecting wall 53C connecting the front ends of the locking wall 53A and the protective wall 53B.

[0031] The housing side rail 25 includes an upper housing side rail 25A located on the upper rear end side of the housing main body 21 and a lower housing side rail 25B located on the lower rear end side of the housing main body 21.

[0032] 12, the housing-side upper rail 25A includes an upper rail accommodating portion 25A1 through which the cover-side upper rail 52A passes in the left-right direction, and a plurality of retaining walls 25A2 that prevent the cover-side upper rail 52A accommodated in the upper rail accommodating portion 25A1 from coming out from the rear. The cover-side upper rail 52A accommodated in the upper rail accommodating portion 25A1 is prevented from coming out from above by the lever holding portion 23. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the cover-side upper rail 52A is prevented from coming out from the rear by the retaining walls 25A2 and from coming out from above by the lever holding portion 23.

[0033] As shown in Fig. 12, the housing-side lower rail 25B includes a lower rail accommodating portion 25B1 through which the cover-side lower rail 52B passes in the left-right direction, and a plurality of retaining walls 25B2 that prevent the cover-side lower rail 52B accommodated in the lower rail accommodating portion 25B1 from coming out from the rear. The cover-side lower rail 52B accommodated in the lower rail accommodating portion 25B1 is prevented from coming out from below by a plurality of side walls 25B3. As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the cover-side lower rail 52B is prevented from coming out from the rear by the retaining walls 25B2 and from coming out from below by the side walls 25B3.

[0034] 10, the side wall 52B1 of the cover-side lower rail 52B is accommodated between the side wall 25B3 of the housing-side lower rail 25B and the retaining wall 25B2, thereby preventing the cover-side lower rail 52B from being displaced vertically within the lower rail accommodating portion 25B1.

[0035] As shown in Figure 10, a pair of left and right locking recesses 25A3 are formed inside the upper rail accommodating section 25A1. The cover-side upper rail 52A has a locking protrusion 52A4 that fits into the locking recess 25A3 and locks from the left and right. When the first cover 50 is attached to the housing 20, the locking protrusion 52A4 fits into and locks into the right locking recess 25A3, and when the second cover 60 is attached to the housing 20, the locking protrusion fits into and locks into the left locking recess 25A3. This allows either the first cover 50 or the second cover 60 to be selectively attached and held to the housing 20.

[0036] As shown in Figure 14, if the first cover 50 is mistakenly attached to the housing 20 from the left side, the misassembly prevention rib 52B3 interferes with the left opening edge (lever holding portion 23) of the upper rail accommodating portion 25A1, thereby preventing misassembly.

[0037] As shown in Figure 15, even when the first cover 50 is attached to the housing 20 from the right side, in the half-inserted state (the state before the locking protrusion 52A4 fits into the right-side locking recess 25A3 and locks), the lever 30 interferes with the first cover 50, thereby preventing the lever 30 from rotating.

[0038] 16 , the housing 20 has a housing-side lock 26. The housing-side lock 26 is formed to protrude from the outer surface 21A of the housing main body 21. The housing-side lock 26 has a rail-forming surface 26A that forms part of the housing-side lower rail 25B, a lock engaging surface 26B that engages with the engaging wall 53A of the cover-side lock 53 from the left, a first tapered surface 26C that moves further away from the outer surface 21A of the housing main body 21 as it extends forward from the rail-forming surface 26A, a second tapered surface 26D that can slide against the cover-side lock 53 when the cover-side lock 53 rides up on the housing-side lock 26, and a third tapered surface 26E that connects the first tapered surface 26C and the second tapered surface 26D.

[0039] The housing-side lock 26 is disposed so that the rail-forming surface 26A and the lock-engaging surface 26B are contiguous. Specifically, the rail-forming surface 26A and the lock-engaging surface 26B are contiguous via a fourth tapered surface 26F located therebetween. As shown in FIG. 6 , the rail-forming surface 26A is disposed so as to be flush with the bottom surface of the lower rail accommodating portion 25B1 (the surface facing the retaining wall 25B2 in the front-rear direction). The position where the rail-forming surface 26A and the bottom surface of the lower rail accommodating portion 25B1 are flush with each other is indicated by a dashed dotted line L in FIG. 6 . In other words, the rail-forming surface 26A constitutes a part of the housing-side lower rail 25B. This allows the housing-side lock 26 to be positioned as close as possible to the housing-side lower rail 25B. This minimizes the protrusion length of the cover-side lock 53 from the cover-side lower rail 52B compared to when the housing-side lock is formed at a location separate from the housing-side lower rail, thereby achieving space savings for the entire connector 10.

[0040] 17 is a perspective view showing the state in which the locking wall 53A of the cover-side lock 53 is in the process of climbing up onto the housing-side lock 26. At this time, as shown in FIG. 18, the cover-side lock 53 is flexed at the base where it joins the cover-side lower rail 52B, and the locking wall 53A climbs up near the corner between the second tapered surface 26D and the third tapered surface 26E. When the cover-side lock 53 is pushed in, the locking wall 53A climbs up while making contact with the corner near the corner between the second tapered surface 26D and the third tapered surface 26E.

[0041] 19 is a perspective view showing the state in which the engagement wall 53A of the cover-side lock 53 rides up on the housing-side lock 26. At this time, the base of the cover-side lock 53, which connects to the cover-side lower rail 52B, is bent and deformed, and rides up on the lower end of the first tapered surface 26C. The engagement wall 53A faces the first tapered surface 26C via a gap. When the cover-side lock 53 is pushed in, the engagement wall 53A slides against a portion of the first tapered surface 26C and moves toward the lock engagement surface 26B.

[0042] Thereafter, when the engaging wall 53A of the cover-side lock 53 climbs over the housing-side lock 26, the cover-side lock 53 returns to its original shape and, as shown in Figure 11, the engaging wall 53A engages with the lock engaging surface 26B from the left side, thereby holding the first cover 50 in the correct installation position.

[0043] Since the housing-side lock 26 is not housed inside the lower rail housing 25B1 and does not need to be contained within the dimensional range of the lower rail housing 25B1, the lock engagement surface 26B can be made large, thereby improving the lock feeling that serves as a means of confirming that the cover-side lock 53 has engaged with the housing-side lock 26 and that locking has been completed.

[0044] (Method of Attaching First Cover 50) The first cover 50 is attached to the housing 20 by pushing it from the right to the left of the housing 20, as shown in FIG. 3 . The cover-side upper rail 52A is inserted into the housing-side upper rail 25A from the right, and the cover-side lower rail 52B is inserted into the housing-side lower rail 25B from the right. When the cover-side upper rail 52A is accommodated in the upper rail accommodating portion 25A1, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 , the front wall 52A3 is prevented from slipping out rearward by the retaining wall 25A2, and the side wall 52A2 is prevented from opening upward by the lever holding portion 23. When the cover-side lower rail 52B is accommodated in the lower rail accommodating portion 25B1, the front wall 52B2 is prevented from slipping out rearward by the retaining wall 25B2, and the side wall 52B1 is prevented from opening downward by the side wall 25B3. The lower surface of the misassembly prevention rib 52B3 of the first cover 50 is flush with the outer surface of the side wall 25B3 of the housing 20. Therefore, the vertical dimension of the first cover 50 is within the vertical dimension of the housing 20.

[0045] 10, the side wall 52A2 of the cover-side upper rail 52A is accommodated between the retaining wall 25A2 of the housing-side upper rail 25A and the lever holding portion 23, and the side wall 52B1 of the cover-side lower rail 52B is accommodated between the retaining wall 25B2 and the side wall 25B3 of the housing-side lower rail 25B. At the same time, the locking projection 52A4 of the cover-side upper rail 52A fits into and is locked in the locking recess 25A3 of the housing-side upper rail 25A.

[0046] Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 18 , the cover-side lock 53 begins to bend downward as the locking wall 53A rides up onto the second tapered surface 26D without interfering with the third tapered surface 26E, and rides up onto the housing-side lock 26. When the cover-side lock 53 rides up onto the housing-side lock 26, the locking wall 53A faces the first tapered surface 26C. Although the locking wall 53A faces the first tapered surface 26C in a downwardly bent and deformed state, the amount of bending is smaller than when the first tapered surface 26C is not formed, and therefore excessive bending is suppressed. After that, when the locking wall 53A rides up onto the first tapered surface 26C, the locking wall 53A returns to its original position and engages with the locking surface 26B of the housing-side lock 26, as shown in FIG. 11 . This holds the first cover 50 in the correct installation position relative to the housing 20.

[0047] (Actions and Effects of the Embodiments) (1) The connector 10 of the embodiment is a connector 10 comprising a housing 20 having a cavity 24 penetrating in the front-to-rear direction, and a cover 40 attached to the rear of the housing 20, wherein the housing 20 has a housing side rail 25 extending in the left-to-right direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction at the rear of the housing 20, and a housing side lock 26, the cover 40 has a cover side rail 52 inserted into the housing side rail 25 from the left-to-right direction, and a cover side lock 53 protruding forward from the cover side rail 52 and engaging with the housing side lock 26 to hold the cover 40 on the housing 20 in the correct attached position, and the housing side lock 26 has a rail constituent surface 26A that forms part of the housing side rail 25, and a lock engaging surface 26B that engages with the cover side lock 53 in the left-to-right direction.

[0048] Because the housing-side lock 26 has the rail-forming surface 26A, the housing-side lock 26 can be positioned as close as possible to the housing-side rail 25. This minimizes the length of protrusion of the cover-side lock 53 from the cover-side rail 52. This allows for space-saving for the entire connector 10. Furthermore, because only the rail-forming surface 26A of the housing-side lock 26 is located on the housing-side rail 25, the lock engagement surface 26B can be made large without being restricted by the housing-side rail 25. This ensures a good locking feeling.

[0049] (2) The cover side lock 53 is capable of flexibly deforming in the vertical direction, which is perpendicular to the front-to-rear and left-to-right directions. The housing side lock 26 has a first tapered surface 26C that moves further away from the outer surface 21A of the housing main body 21 as it moves forward from the rail-forming surface 26A. The cover side lock 53 flexibly deforms in the vertical direction when it rides on the housing side lock 26, and faces the first tapered surface 26C when it rides on the housing side lock 26.

[0050] The first tapered surface 26C is configured to move away from the outer surface 21A of the housing main body 21 as it moves forward from the rail-constituting surface 26A, so that when the cover-side lock 53 rides up onto the housing-side lock 26 and faces the first tapered surface 26C, excessive bending deformation of the cover-side lock 53 can be suppressed.

[0051] (3) The housing-side lock 26 has the second tapered surface 26D that can slide against the cover-side lock 53 when the cover-side lock 53 rides on the housing-side lock 26.

[0052] When the cover 40 is attached to the housing 20, the cover side lock 53 slides over the housing side lock 26 while being in sliding contact with the second tapered surface 26D, making it easy to attach the cover 40.

[0053] (4) It is preferable that the housing-side lock 26 has a third tapered surface 26E that connects the first tapered surface 26C and the second tapered surface 26D.

[0054] Since the cover-side lock 53 passes over the third tapered surface 26E when transferring from the second tapered surface 26D to the first tapered surface 26C, excessive bending deformation of the cover-side lock 53 can be easily suppressed.

[0055] (5) The cover 40 comprises a first cover 50 that is attached to the housing 20 from one side in the left-right direction, and a second cover 60 that is attached to the housing 20 from the other side in the left-right direction, and either the first cover 50 or the second cover 60 is attached to the rear of the housing 20. The first cover 50 has an anti-misassembly rib 52B3 that interferes with the opening edge of the upper rail accommodating section 25A1, stopping the attachment operation if an attempt is made to attach the first cover 50 to the housing 20 from the other side in the left-right direction.

[0056] The first cover 50 and the second cover 60 can be selectively attached to the housing 20. Furthermore, if an attempt is made to attach the first cover 50 to the housing 20 from the other left-right side, the misassembly prevention rib 52B3 interferes with the edge of the opening of the upper rail accommodating portion 25A1, stopping the attachment operation and preventing misassembly of the first cover 50.

[0057] (Other Embodiments) The above embodiment can be modified as follows: The above embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other within the scope of technical compatibility.

[0058] In the above embodiment, the rail constituent surface 26A and the bottom surface of the lower rail accommodating portion 25B1 are arranged to be flush with each other as shown by the dashed line L in Fig. 6 , but they do not have to be arranged to be strictly flush with each other. For example, the rail constituent surface 26A and the fourth tapered surface 26F may be arranged in the lower rail accommodating portion 25B1.

[0059] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19, the engaging wall 53A faces the first tapered surface 26C via a gap, but the engaging wall may also be in contact with the entire surface of the first tapered surface.

[0060] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 18, the engaging wall 53A is in sliding contact with a portion of the second tapered surface 26D, but the engaging wall may be in sliding contact with the entire surface of the second tapered surface.

[0061] In the above embodiment, the housing side lock 26 is exemplified as having the third tapered surface 26E, but the first tapered surface 26C and the second tapered surface 26D may be directly connected without the third tapered surface therebetween.

[0062] In the above embodiment, the connector 10 is illustrated as having the first cover 50 and the second cover 60 selectively attached to the housing 20 . However, the connector may have only the first cover 50 attached to the housing 20 .

[0063] 10: Connector 20: Housing 21: Housing body 21A: Outer surface 22: Rotating shaft 23: Lever holding portion 24: Cavity 25: Housing side rail 25A: Housing side upper rail 25A1: Upper rail accommodating portion 25A2: Retaining wall 25A3: Engaging recess 25B: Housing side lower rail 25B1: Lower rail accommodating portion 25B2: Retaining wall 25B3: Side wall 26: Housing side lock 26A: Rail forming surface 26B: Lock engaging surface 26C: First tapered surface 26D: Second tapered surface 26E: Third tapered surface 26F: Fourth tapered surface 30: Lever 31: Cam plate 32: Operating portion 33: Cam groove 34: Shaft hole 40: Cover 50: First cover 51: Cover portion 52: Cover side rail 52A: Cover side upper rail 52A1: Rear wall 52A2: Side wall 52A3: Front wall 52A4: Locking projection 52B: Cover side lower rail 52B1: Side wall 52B2: Front wall 52B3: Misassembly prevention rib 53: Cover side lock 53A: Locking wall 53B: Protective wall 53C: Connecting wall 54: Electric wire outlet 60: Second cover L: Broken line

Claims

1. A connector comprising: a housing having a cavity penetrating in the front-to-rear direction; and a cover attached to the rear of the housing, wherein the housing has a housing-side rail extending in a first direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction at the rear of the housing; and a housing-side lock, the cover has a cover-side rail inserted into the housing-side rail from the first direction; and a cover-side lock that protrudes forward from the cover-side rail and engages with the housing-side lock, thereby holding the cover on the housing in the correct attached position, and the housing-side lock has a rail-forming surface that constitutes part of the housing-side rail; and a lock-engaging surface that engages with the cover-side lock in the first direction.

2. A connector as described in claim 1, wherein the cover-side lock is capable of flexibly deforming in a second direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction and the first direction, the housing-side lock has a first tapered surface that moves further away from the outer surface of the housing as it moves forward from the rail-forming surface, and the cover-side lock flexibly deforms in the second direction when it rides on the housing-side lock, and faces the first tapered surface when it rides on the housing-side lock.

3. A connector according to claim 2, wherein the housing-side lock has a second tapered surface that can slide against the cover-side lock when the cover-side lock rides on the housing-side lock.

4. The connector according to claim 3, wherein the housing-side lock has a third tapered surface connecting the first tapered surface and the second tapered surface.

5. A connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cover comprises a first cover attached to the housing from one side in the first direction, and a second cover attached to the housing from the other side in the first direction, one of the first cover and the second cover being attached to the rear of the housing, and the first cover has an anti-misassembly rib that interferes with the outer surface of the housing to stop the attachment operation if an attempt is made to erroneously attach the first cover to the housing from the other side in the first direction.

Images