JPH0355950B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to electrical connectors, and more particularly to electrical connectors having a movable guide plate within a plug housing.

<Prior Art> Normally, male contacts are held by simply being accommodated in a cavity in a plug housing, so there is a slight play between the male contacts and the cavity wall. It moves freely. As a result, if the male contact moves vertically or horizontally when the plug housing and cap housing are mated together, the tip of the contact part may be located outside the contact part of the female contact housed in the cap housing. In order to prevent the problem of deformation due to collision with the wall, the male contact is moved inside the plug housing in the mating direction while holding the contact part of the male contact inside the plug housing. A straightening contact retainer is provided.

This retaining device must be in a position to hold the tips of the contact parts of the male contacts in place when both housings are mated, but when they are mated, it must be moved to a position that does not interfere with the contact between both contacts. Traditionally,
As shown in Utility Model Publication No. 56-37344, a slidable holding device is biased toward the tip of the contact part using a spring, and when the fitting is released, the elastic force of the spring automatically releases the holding device. The holding device was configured to move to the tip position of the contact portion and return. However, this configuration has the disadvantage that the number of parts and assembly man-hours increase because a spring is required.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that does not increase the number of parts and the number of assembly steps.

<Means for Solving the Problem> An electrical connector for engaging a supplementary electrical connector to make an electrical connection, the electrical connector having an insulating structure having a passageway formed therethrough and having electrical contacts disposed in the passageway. a housing for engaging the contacts and retaining the contacts in the passageway; and a movable guide plate disposed within the housing and having an aperture for coupling the electrical connector to the supplemental electrical connector. When electrically coupling the electrical connector and the supplementary electrical connector such that the movable contact guide moves along the housing from the outside to the inside, the guide plate is moved so that the distal end of the contact portion of the contact a movable contact guide through which the contact portions of the contacts are aligned and guided to make electrical contact with the contact portions of the supplemental contacts in the supplemental electrical connector; characterized in that a contact guide retains the housing lance when the contacts are connected.

<Example> Hereinafter, an example of an electrical connector assembly using an electrical connector according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The electrical connector assembly includes a first housing 10 integrally molded from an electrically insulating plastic material and a second housing 20 forming a complementary electrical connector. The first housing 10 has two
Through-hole cavities 11 are formed, each cavity 11 receiving and holding a male contact 13 having an insulated conductor 12 connected to its terminal end.
The second housing 20 has two through cavities 2.
1 is formed, and each cavity 21 receives and holds a female contact 23 which, like the male contact 13, is terminated with an insulated conductor 22.

As shown in FIG. 5b, the male contact 13
is stamped and formed, and includes a main body portion 131 having a box-shaped cross section and a double-thickness tab-shaped contact portion 132 extending from the main body portion 131.
31 is formed with a hole 133 for receiving the protrusion 15 of the lance 14, which is a housing lance for fixing the male contact 13 to the cavity 11 in the first housing 10 and preventing it from retreating. is provided with a claw 134 for preventing the contact 13 from being inserted into the cavity 11 upside down. As shown in FIG. 5a, the female contact 23 is stamped and formed, and includes a contact portion 231 with a box-shaped cross section.
1 by the leaf 232 folded back from the front end,
Contact portion 132 of inserted male contact 13
are brought into pressure contact with two protrusions 234 formed on the upper wall 233 of the contact portion 231 to establish electrical connection. The upper wall 233 on which the protrusions 234 are formed has two protrusions 2
34, the end is not cut between the side walls 23
5, and a convex portion is formed at the end. The side wall 235 has a hole 236 at a position where the end of the upper wall 233 contacts, and this hole 236
The end of the top wall 233 is inserted into the side wall 233, and the side wall 235 is bent at this position until it touches the top surface of the top wall to hook the end of the top wall 233. Due to the structure of the contact portion 231 of the female contact 23, when the contact portion 132 of the male contact 13 is inserted into the contact portion 231 of the female contact 23, the upper wall 233 opens outward to hold the contact portion 132. This prevents the ability to do so from decreasing. Note that the conductor wires 12 and 22 connected to both contacts 13 and 23, respectively, are surrounded by sealing rubber 135 and 237, which seals the cavity and prevents moisture from entering when the contact is inserted into the cavity. work to do.

A cavity 21 of the second housing 20 is defined by an annular inner wall 24 of the housing 20 . Further, an outer wall 25 surrounds this inner wall 24, and a cavity 26 extending between the inner wall 24 and the inner wall 24 is defined. An elastic lance 27 extends forward from the housing 20 in the cavity 21 in the insertion direction of the contact 23, and this lance 27 includes a protrusion 28 that engages with the upper wall 233 of the contact portion 231 of the contact 23. The front end of the cavity 21 communicates with the outside through a through hole 29 that is large enough to allow the contact portion 132 of the male contact 13 to pass through.
The contact portion 132 of the male contact 13 is inserted through the through hole 28 and comes into contact with the contact portion 231 of the female contact 23 . The inner wall 24 is the cavity 2
A groove 30 is provided on the side facing 6, into which a protrusion 52 of a holding device 40, which will be described later, is inserted.
Further, a gasket 31 is arranged around the inner wall 24,
When the first housing 10 and the second housing 20 are fitted together, the gasket 31 prevents moisture from entering the cavities 11 and 21.

The first housing 10 includes an elastic lance 14 extending from the cavity 11 in the insertion direction of the contact 13.
The lance 14 is formed with a protrusion 15 that is received and engaged with the hole 133 of the contact 13 to prevent the contact 13 from retreating. can. Additionally, the wall 16 of the housing 10 is parallel to the lance 14.
is extended, and the wall 16 serves as a guide when inserting the contact 13, and also serves as a guide for a holding device 40 corresponding to a movable guide plate, which will be described later. Further, the plug housing 10 is provided with a shroud 17 so as to surround the wall 16 and the lance 14. The shroud 17 defines a cavity 18, and when both the housings 10 and 20 are fitted, It is received in the cavity 26 and is formed to contact the gasket 31 and the inner surface of the outer wall 25 at the same time.

A holding device 40 movable in contact with the inner surface of the shroud 17 is received in the cavity 18 , and the holding device 40 includes a holding plate 41 and a first guide 42 . The holding plate 41 is integrally molded with the first guide 42 and is formed to move in parallel within the cavity 18 while being held in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction, and has a contact area for the male contact 13 near the center. Hole 4 through which part 132 is inserted
Equipped with 3. The guide 42 is divided into two parts so as to hold the lance in that state with the wall 16 and the lance 14 in between, and the shroud 17 and the lance 14.
Alternatively, it is configured to move within the cavity 18 between the wall 16 and the wall 16 . A groove 19 is provided in the wall 16, and a protrusion 44, which is a latching arm, provided on a guide 42 is inserted into the groove 19, and when the guide 42 moves forward in the fitting direction, that is,
When the connector is disconnected, this protrusion 44
is latched onto the end 19a of the ungrooved wall 16 and acts as a stop device to keep the retaining device 40 in place and to prevent it from being removed from the first housing 10. End 1 of wall 16
9a is a free end, and a hole 45 is provided in the holding plate 41 adjacent to the inner surface of the guide 42, and a thin rod-shaped jig is inserted through this hole 45 to connect the end 19a to the second By lifting upward in the figure, the engagement between the end portion 19a and the protrusion 44 can be released. For this reason, the end portion 19a is formed in a tapered shape so that the jig can be easily inserted between the end portion 19a and the guide. Further, since the inner surface of the guide 42 sandwiches the lance 14, the guide 42 works to press the lance 14 and prevent it from floating up.

On the other hand, on the opposite side of the holding plate, a second guide 46 integrally molded with the holding plate 41 is provided, and the second guide 46 has an engaging portion 47 that is a latch arm that can be freely engaged with the end in the fitting direction. Equipped with.
The engaging portion 47 engages with an end of a recess 49 formed on the inner surface of the shroud 17 in the distal direction, and the retaining device 40
By keeping the holding device 40 at a certain position, the holding plate 41 holds the tip of the contact portion 132 of the male contact 13 at an appropriate position. This means that contact 1
3 contact portion 132 and contact portion 23 of contact 23
1 will be properly aligned. When the engaging portion 47 rides on the end of the recess 49, it moves to the position shown by the broken line in FIG. 1 to form the recess 50.
When the housings are fitted, the protrusion 32 formed on the inner wall 24 of the second housing 20 fits into this recess 50. In this way, the engaging portion 47 works together with the protrusion 32 as an engaging device. In addition, the second guide 46
A portion of the holding plate 41 is cut out, and an engaging portion 51, which is a flexible latch arm, is provided parallel to the notch and protrudes from the holding plate 41, so that the engaging portion 51 is supported in a cantilevered state. . Engagement part 51
A protrusion 52 is provided at the tip of the protrusion 52.
The engagement portion is formed at an obtuse angle, and when the housings are fitted, the second housing 20 is inserted into the groove 30 provided on the inner wall 24 of the second housing 20 and engaged with the end thereof. This engaging portion 51 also functions as an engaging device together with the groove 30.

When assembling the first housing 10,
First, the male contact 13 is inserted into the cavity 11 of the first housing 10, the protrusion 15 of the lance 14 is engaged with the edge of the hole 133 of the contact 13, and the cavity 11 is sealed with the seal rubber 135. Note that even if you accidentally insert the contact 13 into the cavity 11 upside down,
The claw 134 collides with the rear end of the wall 16, making it impossible to attach the contact. Next, the holding device 40 is
The guide 42 is inserted into the cavity 18 so as to sandwich the lance 14 and the wall 16, and the protrusion 44 is inserted into the end 19a.
engage with. Immediately thereafter, the engaging portion 47 collides with the end of the recess 49, so the protective device 40 is moored at a fixed position and the holding plate 41 is moved to the contact portion 13.
This will hold the tip of 2 in place.

The assembly of the second housing 20 is performed using the cavity 2
Insert the female contact 23 into the lance 28
and the end of the contact portion 231, the cavity 21 is sealed with the seal rubber 237, and the gasket 3 is closed.
1 is housed in the cavity 26 to complete the process.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the fitting procedure for both housings. As shown in FIG. 3, when the shroud 17 is inserted into the cavity 26, the contact portion 132 is held in an appropriate predetermined position by the retaining plate 41, so that the contact portion 132 is attached to the surrounding wall surface. It is inserted into the through hole 29 without colliding,
Leaf 232 and wall 234 of female contact 23
You will be able to insert it accurately between. At this time, since the engaging portion 47 is engaged with the recess 49 of the shroud 17, the holding device 40 does not immediately retreat toward the inside of the first housing 10, and the protrusion 52 of the engaging portion 51 engages with the inner wall 29. The contact portion 132 remains in that position until the contact portion 132 is inserted into the groove 30.
This facilitates insertion into the through hole 29.

After the fitting side end of the inner wall 24 contacts the holding plate 41, when the fitting of both housings 10 and 20 is further advanced, the force of pushing the inner wall 24 causes the engaging part 47 to move from the recess 49 to the shroud 17. The holding device 40 is pushed into the housing 10 by riding on the inner surface of the holding device 40 and disengaging from the holding device 40 . By retracting the holding device 40, the contact portion 132 protrudes from the hole 43 of the holding plate 41 and advances between the leaf 232 and the wall 234 of the female contact 23. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the fitting is completed, and the holding device 40 does not obstruct the fitting in any way.

The fitting is released by pulling both housings 12 and 23 in opposite directions. At this time, the engaging portion 47 and the protrusion 32 engage with each other, and the groove 3
0 and the protrusion 52 engage, the holding device 40 moves together with the second housing 20. When the protrusion 44 moves along the groove 19 of the wall 16 and collides with the end portion 19a and stops, the engaging portion 4
7 falls into the recess 49 and is disengaged from the protrusion 32. Further, the protrusion 52 is formed at an obtuse angle and the groove 3
Since the engagement with the end of 0 is easily released,
The retaining device 40 remains in the cavity 18 and only the second housing 20 is pulled out from the first housing 10. The reason why the locking devices are provided at opposing positions in this way is to prevent the holding plate from being tilted due to being pulled at one end, thereby preventing the protection device from moving smoothly. Since the engaging portion 47 engages with the end of the groove 49, the holding device 40 is held at a constant position without moving back inside the cavity 18. As a result, when the fittings are not fitted, the tip of the contact portion 132 is always held at an appropriate predetermined position (original position) by the holding plate 41.

6 and 7 show an embodiment in which the housing is provided with two rows of contacts. In the figure, numbers with a prime mark ' refer to the same members as numbers without a prime mark. This embodiment is particularly different from the previously described embodiments in that the first guide 40' is divided into three parts, and instead of using the structure of the engagement part 51 and the groove 30 in the engagement device, both In both cases, the engagement between the engaging portion 47' and the protrusion 32' is used to pull the holding device 40' back to its original position when the connector is uncoupled.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment in which the contacts are arranged in one row, and in the figure, the numbers with a prime mark "" indicate the same members as those in the previous embodiment. indicates a lock plate, and this lock plate 80 is inserted into a gap 81 between a lance (corresponding to the lance 27 in FIG. 1) in the second housing 20'' and the inner wall 24''. Therefore, it works to hold down the lance and prevent it from lifting up.A latch 82 is provided on the upper surface of the second housing 20'', and a latch 82 is provided on the upper surface of the second housing 20''.
A notch 83 is provided on the top surface of the holder to engage a latch 82.

<Effects of the Invention> As explained above, according to the present invention, other structural members such as springs are not required to return the retainer to its original position, so the number of parts and assembly man-hours can be reduced. can.

By providing the holding plate, the contact portion of the male contact can be held in a proper position, and slight deformation of the contact portion can be corrected. Furthermore, when assembling the first housing, it can be visually confirmed by the length of the contact portion of the male contact protruding from the holding plate that the male contact is not completely installed in the cavity. moreover,
Since the contact portion is not exposed to the outside by the holding plate, the contact portion is protected.

The provision of the guide prevents the guide from colliding with the raised lance if the male contact is not completely seated in the cavity.
It is possible to check whether contacts are incompletely attached. Also,
By pressing the lance with the guide, the lance is prevented from floating up.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 8 show embodiments of the present invention,
Figure 1 is a central sectional view of both housings, Figures 2A to 2C are perspective views of the holding device, and Figures 3 and 4.
The figure is a sectional view for explaining the fitting operation of the housing, Figures 5a and b are perspective views of the contact, and Figure 6 is a perspective view of the contact.
Figures 7 and 7 are schematic diagrams illustrating an electrical connector assembly accommodating two rows of contacts;
The figure is an exploded perspective view for explaining another electrical connector that accommodates one row of contacts. 10... First housing, 13... Male contact, 17... Shroud, 20... Second housing,
23... Female contact, 30... Groove, 32... Protrusion, 40... Holding device, 41... Holding plate, 42
...first guide, 43...hole, 47...engaging portion, 51...
Engaging portion, 52...Protrusion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An electrical connector that engages with a supplementary electrical connector to make an electrical connection, the insulating housing having a passageway formed therethrough and having an electrical contact disposed in the passageway. a housing lance that engages the contact and retains the contact within the passage; a movable guide plate disposed within the housing and having an aperture, the electrical connector and the supplementary electrical connector; the guide plate when electrically coupling the electrical connector and the supplementary electrical connector such that the movable contact guide moves along the housing from the exterior to the interior while the electrical connector is connected to the housing; a distal end portion of the contact portion of the contact passes therethrough, thereby aligning and guiding the contact portion of the contact to make electrical contact with the contact portion of the supplemental contact in the supplemental electrical connector. The movable contact guide is equipped with a contact guide.
an electrical connector that retains the housing lance when the contacts are connected; 2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein a device for retaining the movable contact guide outside of the housing when the electrical connector and the supplementary electrical connector are disconnected. An electrical connector provided between the housing and the movable contact guide. 3. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the device for retaining the movable contact guide externally of the housing includes a latching arm disposed within a groove in the inner surface of the housing. 4. The electrical connector of claim 1, further comprising a device between the movable contact guide and the supplementary electrical connector,
the movable contact guide from the interior of the housing when the electrical connector and the supplemental electrical connector are connected, and from the exterior of the housing when the electrical connector and the supplemental electrical connector are disconnected; Electrical connector to move up to. 5. The electrical connector of claim 4, wherein the device for moving the movable contact guide from the interior to the exterior of the housing includes a flexible latch arm having a protrusion projecting from the movable contact guide. and locating the latch arm in a groove within the supplemental electrical connector. 6. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the device for moving the movable contact guide from the interior to the exterior of the housing moves the latch arm engageable with the protrusion of the supplementary electrical connector to the movable contact guide. Electrical connector with contact guide. 7. In the electrical connector according to claim 1, a stopping device is provided between the housing and the movable contact guide to stop the movable contact guide outside the housing, and further . An electrical connector, wherein a device is provided between the movable contact guide and the housing for retaining the movable contact guide outside the housing.