JP4941742B2 - Female connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a female connector.

Conventionally, for example, a female connector described in Patent Document 1 is known as a female connector that prevents so-called twist fitting. The twist fitting means that fitting is performed in a posture inclined with respect to a normal fitting posture when both connectors are fitted. When such a twist fitting is performed, there is a problem that a leading portion of the female housing that has entered the male housing in advance contacts a male terminal having a tab shape. For this reason, in the female connector described in the following Patent Document 1, a hood portion for preventing twisting is provided so as to cover the lock arm that locks both the male and female connectors in the fitted state. Before the leading portion of the housing comes into contact with the male terminal, the hood portion for preventing twisting interferes with the male housing to interrupt the fitting operation, thereby protecting the male terminal.
JP 7-201413 A

However, in the above-described female connector, since the hood portion for preventing twisting is provided so as to cover the lock arm, the entire female connector is increased in size. However, if a protrusion for preventing twisting is provided on the surface of the female housing on which the lock arm is provided, an accommodation groove for accommodating the protrusion for preventing twisting when fitting is performed in a normal fitting posture. Must be provided on the male housing side. In this case, the male housing becomes larger and requires a design change of the male housing.
The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to reliably prevent a mating and protect a male terminal.

The present invention is engaged with a female housing that can be fitted into the male housing, a female terminal that can be connected to a male terminal that protrudes from the male housing, and a lock receiving portion that is provided in the male housing. A female connector including a lock arm that locks the male and female housings into a fitted state, wherein the lock arm projects forward on the upper surface of the female housing and engages with the lock receiving portion. A lock portion that is capable of projecting forward from the lock portion, and the female housing interferes with the lock receiving portion when the fitting operation is performed in a posture inclined with respect to a normal fitting posture. and a prevention projection prying prevent contact with the male terminal, said preventing projection prying are provided side by side pair is on the inside of the pair of twisting prevention protrusions, in the vertical direction It has a feature where the space for passing is formed.

  According to such a configuration, when the male and female connectors are engaged with each other in a posture inclined with respect to the normal fitting posture, the protrusion for preventing twisting interferes with the lock receiving portion, so that the female housing is Contact with the male terminal can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to protect the male terminal by securely preventing the mating. Further, since the kink preventing projection is provided so as to protrude forward from the lock portion, the design of the male connector side does not have to be changed without increasing the size of the entire connector.

The following configuration is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention.
A pair of protrusions for preventing twisting may be provided side by side, and when the fitting operation is performed in a normal fitting posture with respect to the male housing, the lock receiving portion may be received inward to guide the fitting operation. According to such a configuration, when the fitting operation is performed in the normal fitting posture, the lock receiving portion can be received inside the both-kink preventing projections to guide the fitting operation. Further, it is possible to detect that the worker is in a normal fitting posture by guiding the fitting operation by the two kink preventing projections.

  It is good also as a structure by which C surface is formed in the front-end corner | angular part of the surface which mutually opposes among the protrusions for both twist prevention. According to such a configuration, the lock receiving portion can be guided to the inside of the both-kink preventing projections while being brought into sliding contact with the C surface during fitting.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to protect the male terminal by securely preventing the mating.

<Embodiment>
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Overall configuration>
As shown in FIG. 1, the connector of the present invention includes a male connector 10 and a female connector 30, and both the connectors 10 and 30 are provided so as to be fitted to each other. Although not shown, the male connector 10 is directly connected to the device side, and the female connector 30 is connected to the wire harness W. For this reason, the apparatus side and the wire harness W side are electrically connected by fitting the female connector 30 with respect to the male connector 10 fixed to the apparatus side.

<Configuration of male connector>
The male connector 10 has a male housing 11 made of synthetic resin. A male terminal 12 having a tab shape is insert-molded inside the male housing 11, and one end side of the male terminal 12 is connected to the device side. On the other hand, the other end side of the male terminal 12 protrudes forward from the inner surface of the hood portion 13 that opens forward. A pair of male terminals (hereinafter referred to as “male terminals”) 12 projecting forward in the hood portion 13 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the width direction so that contact surfaces with respect to female terminals 32 described later face each other. ing.

  Specifically, the hood portion 13 of the male housing 11 includes a small-diameter portion 13a and a large-diameter portion 13b that continues further forward from the front end of the small-diameter portion 13a. For this reason, the level | step difference 13c is formed in the connection part of the small diameter part 13a and the large diameter part 13b in the food | hood part 13 along the perimeter direction. The front end of the male terminal 12 is set at a position retracted slightly rearward from the step 13c. In addition, a pair of guide protrusions 14 are provided side by side in a form extending in the front-rear direction on the inner peripheral lower surface (the surface on the back side in FIG. 1) of the small-diameter portion 13a of the hood portion 13. In addition, the front end of the guide protrusion 14 is set at a position aligned with the step 13c.

  In the hood portion 13, a lock receiving portion 15 is provided on the outer peripheral upper surface (the upper surface in FIG. 3) of the large diameter portion 13 b so as to protrude upward. The surface that forms the front side of the lock receiving portion 15 is an inclined surface that forms an upward slope toward the rear, and the surface that forms the rear side is a vertical surface that stands perpendicular to the outer peripheral upper surface of the large-diameter portion 13b. ing. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the surfaces constituting both sides in the width direction of the lock receiving portion 15 are surfaces that are perpendicular to the outer peripheral upper surface of the large-diameter portion 13b. Furthermore, the upward protruding height of the lock receiving portion 13b is set to be approximately the same as the plate thickness of an arm portion 41 constituting a lock arm 40 described later.

<Configuration of female connector>
The female connector 30 has a female housing 31 made of synthetic resin. The female housing 31 has a substantially rectangular block shape, and a pair of cavities 33 penetrating in the front-rear direction are formed at predetermined intervals in the width direction. The female terminal 32 can be accommodated inside the cavity 33, and the female terminal 32 can be held in the rearward state by a lance 34 similarly provided inside the cavity 33.

  The female terminal 32 has a main body portion 32a having a rectangular tube shape, and a barrel portion 32b for crimping and fixing the core portion and the covering portion of the wire harness W is provided behind the main body portion 32a. Further, a tongue piece 32c is provided inside the main body 32a by folding back from the front edge thereof, and a contact protrusion 32d is inward at a position facing the tongue piece 32c in the vertical direction in the main body 32a. It has been knocked out. For this reason, the male terminal 12 enters the inside of the main body portion 32a from the front end opening of the cavity 33 and the front end opening of the female terminal 32 and pushes down the tongue piece 32c, and elastic between the tongue piece 32c and the contact protrusion 32d. Is pinched. Thereby, the apparatus side and the wire harness W side are electrically connected.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a pair of side ribs 31 a extending along the front-rear direction are provided on both side surfaces in the width direction of the female housing 31 so as to protrude laterally. The side rib 31a includes a front half part accommodated in the small diameter part 13a of the hood part 13 and a rear half part accommodated in the large diameter part 13b. The front end of the rear half of the side rib 31a is configured to abut on the step 13c of the hood 13 when the male and female connectors 10, 30 are properly fitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, upper and lower ribs 31b and lower ribs 31c extending in the front-rear direction are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the outer periphery of the female housing 31 so as to protrude upward and downward, respectively. A pair of the upper rib 31b and the lower rib 31c are provided at predetermined intervals in the width direction. Similarly to the side ribs 31a, the upper rib 31b and the lower rib 31c are composed of a front half part accommodated in the small diameter part 13a of the hood part 13 and a rear half part accommodated in the large diameter part 13b. That is, the female housing 31 is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion 13 through the side ribs 31a, the upper ribs 31b, and the lower ribs 31c.

  In addition, a pair of guide recesses 35 are recessed between the lower ribs 31c on the outer peripheral lower surface of the female housing 31 so as to extend in the front-rear direction. Both the guide recesses 35 accommodate both the male and female connectors 10 and 30 by accommodating both guide protrusions 14 of the male housing 11 when the male and female connectors 10 and 30 are fitted in a normal fitting posture. , 30 can be guided.

  On the other hand, a lock arm 40 protruding in a cantilevered manner toward the front is provided on the outer peripheral upper surface of the female housing 31. The lock arm 40 includes a pair of arm portions 41 that are substantially parallel to the upper surface of the female housing 31, and a lock portion 42 that couples both arm portions 41. As shown in FIG. 8, both arm portions 41 are provided side by side so as to be parallel to each other, and are connected to the female housing 31 on the rear end side. For this reason, the front end side of the lock arm 40 can be bent in the vertical direction (direction approaching and separating from the outer peripheral upper surface of the female housing 31).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the lock portion 42 of the lock arm 40 is formed in a tapered shape by cutting out the front end lower portion. The taper portion comes into contact with the front inclined surface of the lock receiving portion 15 during fitting of the male and female connectors 10 and 30. On the other hand, the rear end surface of the lock portion 42 is a surface that stands vertically to the outer peripheral upper surface of the female housing 31. Thereby, the lock arm 40 can lock both the male and female connectors 10 and 30 in the normal fitting state by locking the rear end surface of the lock portion 42 and the vertical surface of the lock receiving portion 15 when the lock arm 40 reaches normal fitting. is there.

  The portion of both arm portions 41 that protrudes forward from the lock portion 42 corresponds to the “knitting prevention protrusion” in the present invention, and is hereinafter referred to as “knitting prevention protrusion 41a”. As shown in FIG. 5, the front end of the both-knot preventing projection 41a is fitted to the lock receiving portion 15 and the two-knot preventing projection by the female housing 31 being fitted in an oblique posture with respect to the normal fitting posture. When the portion 41a interferes, the leading portion P that has entered the female housing 31 in advance into the hood portion 13 is set at a position where it does not come into contact with the male terminal 12. That is, when the lock receiving portion 15 and the front end of the both-knot preventing projection 41a interfere with each other, the fitting operation of the male and female connectors 10 and 30 is interrupted, so that the contact between the male terminal 12 and the preceding portion P is prevented. Be regulated. In particular, in the present embodiment, the male terminal 12 is arranged in the vertical direction (vertical direction), and is weak against impact from the horizontal direction (width direction), but the leading portion P is removed from the state of FIG. Even if it approaches the side of 12, since the side rib 31 a of the female housing 31 is in contact with the opening edge of the hood portion 13, the leading portion P can no longer approach the male terminal 12. ing.

  In addition, a C surface 41b is formed at the front end corners of the opposing surfaces of the two kink preventing projections 41a. When the C surface 41b is formed in this way, the entrance portion between the two kink preventing projections 41a is widened, so that the lock receiving portion 15 can be easily guided between the both kink preventing projections 41a. Further, the two twisting prevention protrusions 41 a are arranged with a space that is the same as or slightly larger than the width of the lock receiving portion 15. For this reason, when the male and female connectors 10 and 30 are fitted in a normal fitting posture, and the lock receiving portion 15 enters between the both-knot preventing projections 41a, the male and female connectors 10 and 30 are engaged. I can guide you. When the front end surface of the female housing 31 reaches the step 13c in the hood 13 shown in FIG. 6, both guide protrusions 14 enter both guide recesses 35, so that the male and female connectors 10, 30 continue. The fitting operation can be guided.

The present embodiment has the above-described structure, and the operation thereof will be described subsequently.
First, a case where the female connector 30 is fitted to the male connector 10 in a normal fitting posture will be described. When the female connector 30 is fitted into the hood portion 13 of the male connector 10 from the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the lock receiving portion 15 is slidably in contact with the C surface 41b of the protrusion 41a for preventing twisting, thereby preventing both twisting. Guided between the male and female connectors 10 and 30 is guided between the projections 41a, and the lock receiving portion 15 is accommodated between and adjacent to the inner surface of the projections 41a. The

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the front end of the female connector 30 reaches the step 13 c in the hood portion 13, the guide protrusion 14 of the male connector 10 is accommodated in the guide recess 35 of the female connector 30. Subsequently, the fitting operation is guided. The lock receiving portion 15 relatively approaches toward the lock portion 42 while passing between the kink preventing projections 41a. Thus, the operator can detect the normal fitting posture by guiding the fitting operation of the male and female connectors 10 and 30.

  When the male and female connectors 10, 30 reach normal fitting while the lock portion 42 rides on the lock receiving portion 15, the lock arm 40 is elastically restored and the lock portion 42 is engaged with the lock receiving portion 15, so The connectors 10 and 30 are locked in the normal fitting state. During this time, the male terminal 12 enters the inside of the main body 32a of the female terminal 32, and is elastically held between the tongue piece 32c and the contact protrusion 32d. Thus, the fitting operation of the male and female connectors 10 and 30 is completed, and the male and female connectors 10 and 30 are electrically connected.

  Next, the case where the female connector 30 is fitted to the male connector 10 in a posture inclined with respect to the normal fitting posture will be described. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the front end portion of the kink preventing projection 41 a interferes with the lock receiving portion 15, so that the male and female connectors 10 before the leading portion P of the female housing 31 contacts the male terminal 12. 30 is interrupted. At this time, the operator notices that this is an abnormal situation and can once separate the male and female connectors 10 and 30 and perform the fitting operation again.

  However, some workers attempt to correct the female connector 30 from the state shown in FIG. 5 to the normal fitting posture with the interference portion between the front end portion of the kink preventing projection 41a and the lock receiving portion 15 as the center of rotation. There is a case. At this time, when the operator tries to rotate the female connector 30 in the R1 (clockwise) direction in FIG. 5, the side rib 31a of the female connector 10 comes into contact with the opening edge of the hood portion 13, leading The portion P is restricted from approaching the male terminal 12 any more.

  Conversely, when the operator rotates the female connector 30 in the R2 (counterclockwise) direction in FIG. 5, the female connector 30 is properly connected while the lock receiving portion 15 is in sliding contact with the C surface 41b of the protrusion 41a for preventing kink. The fitting operation of both male and female connectors 10 and 30 is allowed when the fitting posture is reached. Thereafter, when the male and female connectors 10 and 30 are properly fitted, the male and female terminals 12 and 32 are connected, and the male and female connectors 10 and 30 are locked in the properly fitted state by the lock arm 40.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the male and female connectors 10 and 30 are fitted in a posture inclined with respect to the normal fitting posture, the kink preventing projection 41a and the lock receiving portion 15 are provided. Interference can prevent the leading portion P of the female housing 31 from contacting the male terminal 12. Therefore, it is possible to protect the male terminal 12 by securely preventing the twisting fitting. Further, since the twist preventing projection 41a is provided so as to protrude forward from the lock portion 42, the design of the male connector 10 side does not have to be changed without increasing the size of the entire connector.

  Further, when the fitting operation is performed in the normal fitting posture, the lock receiving portion 15 can be received inside the both-knot preventing projections 41a to guide the fitting operation. Further, it is possible to detect that the worker is in a normal fitting posture by guiding the fitting operation by the both-kink preventing projections 41a.

  Further, by setting the front end corner portion of the kink preventing projection 41a as the C surface 41b, the lock receiving portion 15 is guided to the inside of the both kink preventing projection 41a while being in sliding contact with the C surface 41b at the time of fitting. Can do.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention .

( 1 ) In the present embodiment, the C surface 41b is formed at the front end corner of the opposing surface of the both-knot preventing projection 41a. However, according to the present invention, the R surface may be provided instead of the C surface 41b. However, the front end of the two-kink preventing projection 41b may be spherical.
( 2 ) In the present embodiment, the male terminal 12 is a tab-shaped terminal, but according to the present invention, the male terminal 12 may be a rectangular tube-shaped terminal and the female terminal 32 may be a tab-shaped terminal.

Sectional view of the male and female connectors before they are mated Sectional view of the male and female connectors after they are mated Cross-sectional view of the male and female connectors before they are mated Sectional view of the male and female connectors after they are mated The top view which showed the state which fitted by the attitude | position inclined with respect to the regular fitting attitude | position Sectional view showing the state of mating when mating is performed in a regular mating posture Front view of female housing Plan view of both male and female housings Side view of both male and female housings Bottom view of female housing Front view of male connector Side view of the male and female connectors in a properly mated state

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Male connector 11 ... Male housing 12 ... Male terminal 15 ... Lock receiving part 30 ... Female connector 31 ... Female housing 32 ... Female terminal 40 ... Lock arm 41a ... Protrusion 41b ... C surface 42 ... Lock part P ... Leading part of female housing

Claims (3)

A female housing that can be fitted inside the male housing;
A female terminal connectable to a male terminal provided to protrude inside the male housing;
A female connector provided with a lock arm that locks the male and female housings into a fitted state by engaging with a lock receiving portion provided in the male housing,
The lock arm is provided to protrude forward on the upper surface of the female housing, is provided with a lock portion that can be locked with the lock receiving portion, and is provided to protrude forward from the lock portion. When the mating operation is performed in an inclined posture, it includes a protrusion for preventing twisting that prevents the female housing from contacting the male terminal by interfering with the lock receiving portion .
A pair of the kink preventing projections are provided side by side, and a space penetrating in the vertical direction is formed inside the pair of kink preventing projections . The anti-projections pair of prying is claimed in claim 1, wherein the interlocking portions and the fitting operation is performed in the normal mating posture received inside with respect to the male housing to guide the connecting operation Female connector. 3. The female connector according to claim 1, wherein a C surface is formed at a front end corner portion of the opposing surfaces of the two kink preventing projections.

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