JP2008186598A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect whether a sub-connector is correctly fitted to a connector or not. <P>SOLUTION: This connector F is equipped with a housing body 10 having a housing space 11, and a sub-connector 20 housed in the housing space 11. Detection holes 13 formed so as to pass through wall parts 12A, 12B composing the housing space 11 and disposed in the middle of the path of the sub-connector 20 entering into the housing space 11 is formed in the housing body 10. If a probe 64 for detection is inserted in the detection hole 13, based on whether the probe 64 abuts on the sub-connector 20 or not (that is, the reachable depth of the probe 64), whether the sub-connector 20 is assembled into a normal housing position or not can be detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

Patent Document 1 describes a connector composed of a plurality of sub-connectors. This connector has a structure in which a plurality of receiving spaces are formed in a housing body, and a sub-connector is received in each receiving space.
JP 2005-141927 A

As described above, in the connector in the form in which the sub-connector is accommodated in the accommodating space, the accommodated sub-connector is hidden inside the housing main body, so whether or not the sub-connector is accommodated to the correct position with respect to the accommodating space. There is a circumstance that it cannot be confirmed visually.
The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide means for detecting whether or not a sub-connector is correctly assembled.

  As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a connector comprising a housing body having a housing space and a sub-connector housed in the housing space, wherein the housing body has the housing. It is characterized in that a detection hole penetrating a wall portion constituting the accommodation space is formed in the middle of the entry path of the sub connector with respect to the space.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a lever that moves along an outer surface of the wall portion in which the detection hole is formed is attached to the housing body, and the lever or the housing The main body is elastically deformed when the lever is out of a fitting position where the housing main body and the mating connector are properly fitted, and elastically returns when the lever is in the fitting position. An elastic locking piece for holding the lever at the fitting position is provided, and the lever has a through hole corresponding to the detection hole only when the lever is at the fitting position. It has a characteristic where it exists.

<Invention of Claim 1>
When a detection probe is inserted into the detection hole, it is possible to detect whether or not the sub-connector is assembled at the proper accommodation position based on the maximum insertion depth of the probe.

<Invention of Claim 2>
Whether or not the lever is held at the fitting position can be detected based on whether or not the through hole corresponds to the detection hole. And when it turns out by this detection result that the lever has come off from the fitting position, if the lever is moved to the fitting position, it can be avoided that the elastic locking piece remains elastically bent.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11. The female connector F of the present embodiment (the connector of the present invention) is a fit between the housing body 10 made of synthetic resin, the plurality of sub-connectors 20, and the male connector M (the mating connector which is a constituent of the present invention). -It is comprised with the lever 30 for performing detachment | leave.
The housing body 10 as a whole has two left and right accommodation spaces 11 that are long in the left-right direction and open to the rear surface (the surface opposite to the fitting with the male connector M). A female terminal fitting (not shown) is attached between the two housing spaces 11 in the housing body 10.

  Each accommodating space 11 includes four front and rear peripheral walls and one front wall, and among the four peripheral walls, an upper surface wall 12A (a wall portion which is a constituent element of the present invention) and a lower surface wall 12B (the present invention). Two detection holes 13 are formed on each of the left and right sides of the wall portion, which is a structural requirement. The right detection hole 13 is arranged at the right end near the rear end edge (opening edge of the accommodation space 11), and the left detection hole 13 is arranged at the left end near the rear end edge (opening edge of the accommodation space 11). Each detection hole 13 has a horizontally long rectangle penetrating the upper surface wall 12A and the lower surface wall 12B in the vertical direction (that is, a direction perpendicular to the wall surfaces of the upper surface wall 12A and the lower surface wall 12B).

  The upper wall 12A and the lower wall 12B are both in the left-right direction that connects the inner wall 14 and the outer wall 15 that are arranged in parallel to each other so that the hollow portion 16 is sandwiched between them, and the rear edges of the inner wall 14 and the outer wall 15. It is comprised by the elongate connection part 17 (refer FIG. 6), and the upper rear surface of the inner wall 14, the rear-end surface of the outer wall 15, and the rear surface of the connection part 17 are continuing on the same surface. The rear end edge of the inner wall 14 and the rear end edge of the outer wall 15 are each formed with a rectangular notch 18 that is notched so as to open rearward over the entire thickness of the inner wall 14 and outer wall 15. Yes. The cutout portion 18 of the inner wall 14 and the cutout portion 18 of the outer wall 15 have the same shape and size, and are arranged so as to correspond to each other in the vertical direction (inner and outer directions). The substantially front half region of the notch 18 is located in front of the connecting portion 17, the substantially front half region of the notch 18, and the front of the connecting portion 17 in the hollow portion 16, and the approximately notch 18. The detection hole 13 penetrating the upper surface wall 12A and the lower surface wall 12B in the vertical direction is constituted by a portion corresponding to the front half region. In addition, the inner and outer portions (portions corresponding to the inner wall 14 and the outer wall 15) of the detection hole 13 have a form opened rearward, that is, a form visible from the rear.

  The sub-connector 20 has a block shape as a whole, and can be assembled to the two left and right accommodation spaces 11 from the rear. A plurality of female terminal fittings (not shown) are inserted into the subconnector 20 from the rear, and the electric wires 21 connected to the female terminal fittings are led out from the rear end face 20R of the subconnector 20 to the rear. In a state where the sub-connector 20 is correctly inserted to the normal position in the accommodation space 11, the rear end surface 20R of the sub-connector 20 is positioned in front of the detection hole 13 (back of the accommodation space 11), and the sub-connector 20 in the front-rear direction. The rear end face 20 </ b> R and the opening edge on the front side of the detection hole 13 are set to be substantially the same position. Therefore, the sub-connector 20 cannot be visually observed through the detection hole 13 in the normal fitting state in which the sub-connector 20 is correctly accommodated in the normal fitting position. In other words, when the sub-connector 20 is in a half-fitted state (a state in which the sub-connector 20 has not reached the normal fitting position when inserted into the accommodation space 11 from the rear), the upper surface of the sub-connector 20 or The rear end of the lower surface is visible.

  The lever 30 is made of synthetic resin, and includes a pair of upper and lower plate-like arm portions 31 that move horizontally along the outer surface of the upper surface wall 12A and the outer surface of the lower surface wall 12B, and an operation unit 32 that connects both arm portions 31. And the bearing hole 33 of the arm portion 31 is fitted to the support shaft 19 of the upper surface wall 12A and the lower surface wall 12B, so that the position between the standby position and the fitting position is centered on the vertical axis. Is supported by the housing body 10 so as to rotate horizontally. A cam groove 34 is formed on the inner surface of the arm portion 31, and an inlet 34 </ b> E of the cam groove 34 is opened at the outer peripheral edge of the arm portion 31. When the lever 30 is in the standby position (see FIG. 1), the inlet 34E of the cam groove 34 opens forward (opposite to the opening of the accommodation space 11), and the housing body 10 is connected to the hood portion 50 of the male connector M. The cam follower 51 of the male connector M can enter the cam groove 34 with the insertion. When the hood portion 50 is shallowly fitted to the housing body 10 and the lever 30 is rotated from the state in which the cam follower 51 enters the inlet 34E of the cam groove 34 to the fitting position (see FIGS. 4 and 5), the cam The male connector M and the female connector F are attracted by the cam action caused by the engagement between the groove 34 and the cam follower 51, and when the lever 30 reaches the fitting position, both the connectors F and M are brought into the normal fitting state.

  Further, the arm portion 31 is formed with an elastic locking piece 35 for holding the lever 30 at the standby position and the fitting position. When the lever 30 is in the standby position, the elastic locking piece 35 is engaged with the receiving portion 38 formed on the upper surface wall 12A and the lower surface wall 12B from diagonally forward so that the lever 30 is fitted. The rotation to the position side is restricted. When locked to the receiving portion 38, the elastic locking piece 35 is in a free state where it does not elastically deform. Further, in the state where the lever 30 is in the fitting position, the elastic locking piece 35 is elastically returned to the free state and locked to the holding portions 39 of the upper surface wall 12A and the lower surface wall 12B from obliquely rearward. By the stopping action, the lever 30 is restricted from rotating to the standby position side and is held at the fitting position. In a state where the lever 30 is located slightly on the standby position side from the fitting position, that is, in a half-fitted state where the connectors F and M do not reach normal fitting, as shown in FIG. The stop piece 35 rides on the outer surface of the receiving portion 38 or the holding portion 39 and is elastically deformed upward or downward (a direction intersecting the rotation direction of the lever 30). When the hood portion 50 is fitted to the housing body 10 with the lever 30 in the standby position, the tip of the hood portion 50 that has entered the hollow portion 16 between the inner wall 14 and the outer wall 15 as shown in FIG. However, since the elastic locking piece 35 is pushed and elastically deformed in the direction of disengagement from the receiving portion 38, the lever 30 at the standby position is allowed to rotate toward the fitting position.

  Each of the front and rear arm portions 31 is formed with a through hole 36 that vertically penetrates from the outer surface to the inner surface of the arm portion 31. The through hole 36 is positioned so as to correspond (align) with the detection hole 13 in a state where the lever 30 is correctly held at the fitting position, and has a horizontally long rectangular shape that is slightly larger than the detection hole 13. Therefore, in the state where the lever 30 is in the fitting position, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the entire detection hole 13 and the opening edge of the detection hole 13 can be visually observed through the through hole 36 (arms). The inside of the accommodation space 11 can be seen from the outer surface side of the part 31). When the lever 30 is moved to the standby position side from the fitting position, the through hole 36 is inclined with respect to the detection hole 13 as shown in FIGS. A state in which only a part of the detection hole 13 corresponds to the opening region, or a state in which all the detection holes 13 are out of the opening region of the through hole 36 (the entire opening region of the detection hole 13 from the through hole 36) Is invisible).

  The female connector F of the present embodiment can detect whether the sub-connector 20 is assembled to the housing body 10 and whether the lever 30 is properly held at the fitting position by using the detection jig 60. It has become. The detection jig 60 includes a horizontal placement portion 61 and a positioning wall 62 that rises at a substantially right angle from a side edge of the placement portion 61, and a guide hole 63 penetrating in the horizontal direction is formed in the positioning wall 62. ing. When the female connector F is set in the detection jig 60, the sub-connector 20 is assembled in the accommodating space 11, and the lever 30 is held in the fitting position so that the front surface of the housing body 10 faces downward. The upper surface wall 12 A or the lower surface wall 12 B of the housing body 10 and the outer surface of one arm portion 31 of the lever 30 are brought into close contact with the positioning wall 62. The detection jig 60 is provided with a positioning portion (not shown) for determining the position of the housing body 10 in the left-right direction.

  When the female connector F is set in this way, either the upper or lower detection hole 13 is positioned so as to correspond to the guide hole 63. The detection work is performed in this state. In the detection operation, the probe 64 is inserted into the guide hole 63 from the outer surface side of the positioning wall 62. At this time, if the lever 30 is correctly held in the fitting position, the probe 64 inserted into the guide hole 63 passes through the through hole 36 of the lever 30 and is further inserted into the detection hole 13. When the sub-connector 20 is properly fitted in the receiving space 11, the probe 64 does not interfere with the sub-connector 20 as shown in FIG. 6, and the receiving space is deep along the rear end surface 20R of the sub-connector 20. 11 is entered. At this time, the insertion depth of the probe 64 is maximum, and the base end surface of the probe 64 is flush with the outer surface of the positioning wall 62. It can be seen from the insertion depth of the probe 64 that the lever 30 is held in the fitting position and the sub-connector 20 is properly fitted in the receiving space 11.

  Now, when the lever 30 is held in the fitting position, but the sub-connector 20 is in the half-fitted state, the probe 64 has a guide hole 63 and a through hole 36 as shown in FIG. When it penetrates and enters the detection hole 13, it strikes the outer surface of the sub-connector 20, and entry into the accommodation space 11 is restricted. At this time, the base end portion of the probe 64 protrudes from the outer surface of the positioning wall 62, and due to this protruding dimension, the lever 30 is held in the fitting position, but the sub-connector 20 is not properly fitted. I understand.

  When the lever 30 is shifted from the fitting position to the fitting position side, the probe 64 hits the outer surface of the arm portion 31 when passing through the guide hole 63 and enters the through hole 36 as shown in FIG. Is restricted from entering. At this time, the probe 64 protrudes greatly from the positioning wall 62, and the protruding dimension is larger than when the lever 30 is in the fitting position and the sub connector 20 is in the half-fitted state. Then, it can be seen that the lever 30 is not properly held in the fitting position by this protruding dimension. Note that. In this case, although the fitting state of the sub-connector 20 cannot be detected, if it is detected that the lever 30 is held in the fitting position and then the probe 64 is inserted again, the positioning wall of the probe 64 at that time The fitting state of the sub-connector 20 can be detected based on the projecting dimension from 62 (the maximum depth at which the probe 64 can be inserted).

  In addition, the fitting detection of the sub connector 20 and the position detection of the lever 30 can be performed using only the probe 64 without using the detection jig 60. Further, without using the probe 64, the work of visually checking the positional relationship between the through hole 36 and the detection hole 13, and the work of visually checking the state of the sub-connector 20 in the accommodation space 11 through the through hole 36 and the detection hole 13, Detection can be performed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the housing body 10 is configured to penetrate the upper surface wall 12 </ b> A and the lower surface wall 12 </ b> B constituting the accommodation space 11, and is disposed in the middle of the entry path of the sub-connector 20 with respect to the accommodation space 11. Since the detection hole 13 is formed, it is possible to detect whether or not the sub-connector 20 is assembled at the proper accommodation position based on the maximum insertion depth of the probe 64 inserted into the detection hole 13. .
Further, since the through hole 36 that can correspond to the detection hole 13 is provided in the arm portion 31 of the lever 30, the lever 30 is held at the fitting position based on whether or not the through hole 36 corresponds to the detection hole 13. It can be detected whether or not. When it is determined from the detection result that the lever 30 is out of the fitting position, the elastic locking piece 35 remains elastically bent if the lever 30 is moved to the fitting position. Can be avoided.

<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 above embodiment, the probe does not hit the sub-connector when the sub-connector is accommodated in the normal position, and the probe does not hit the sub-connector when the sub-connector does not reach the normal accommodation position. However, according to the present invention, the probe may abut against the sub-connector both in the state where the sub-connector is accommodated in the regular position and in the state where it does not reach the regular accommodation position.
(2) In the above-described embodiment, the connector in which the lever is provided on the housing body has been described. However, according to the present invention, the present invention can also be applied to a connector in which no lever is provided in the housing body.
(3) In the above embodiment, the connector in which the lever is rotatably attached to the housing main body has been described. However, according to the present invention, the connector is attached so that the lever slides relative to the housing main body. It can also be applied to.
(4) In the above embodiment, the case where the elastic locking piece is formed on the lever has been described. However, according to the present invention, the elastic locking piece may be formed on the housing body.
(5) In the above embodiment, the detection through hole is formed in the lever. However, according to the present invention, the detection through hole may not be provided in the lever.

The top view showing the state which removed the female connector and the male connector in Embodiment 1 Horizontal cross section of female connector Front view of male connector Top view of the female connector showing the lever in the mating position Top view of the female connector showing the lever in the mating position Sectional drawing of the state which has set the female connector represented by the XX cross section of FIG. 5 to the detection jig, and is performing the detection work A plan view of the female connector showing a state where the lever is positioned between the standby position and the mating position. Sectional drawing of the state which has set the female connector represented by the YY line cross section of FIG. 5 to the detection jig, and is performing the detection operation | work Sectional drawing showing the state in which the elastic locking piece is elastically deformed when the lever is positioned between the standby position and the fitting position Sectional view showing the detection operation when the lever is in the mating position and the sub-connector is half mated Sectional drawing showing the state in which the elastic locking piece is elastically deformed by the hood part

Explanation of symbols

F ... Female connector (connector)
M ... Male connector (mating connector)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Housing main body 11 ... Accommodating space 12A ... Upper surface wall (wall part)
12B ... bottom wall (wall)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 ... Detection hole 20 ... Subconnector 30 ... Lever 35 ... Elastic locking piece 36 ... Through-hole

Claims (2)

A housing body having a receiving space;
In a connector comprising a sub-connector housed in the housing space,
The housing main body is formed with a detection hole penetrating through a wall portion constituting the housing space in the middle of an entry path of the sub-connector with respect to the housing space. A lever that moves along the outer surface of the wall portion where the detection hole is formed is attached to the housing body,
The lever or the housing main body is elastically deformed when the lever is at a position out of a fitting position where the housing main body and the mating connector are properly fitted, and the lever is moved to the fitting position. There is provided an elastic locking piece that elastically recovers and holds the lever in the fitting position when there is,
The connector according to claim 1, wherein a through hole corresponding to the detection hole is formed in the lever only when the lever is in the fitting position.

Images