JP4910201B2 - Connector lock device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector lock device used when, for example, connector bodies mounted on separate printed boards are prevented from coming off while being fitted to each other.

  Conventionally, as a board connecting connector, as shown in FIG. 6, a plug that is the other connector body 2 is provided in a recess 3 provided in one connector body 1 of a pair of connector bodies 1 and 2 mounted on separate boards. The protrusion 4 is inserted and fitted, and the concave portion 3 and the convex portion 4 are configured to have contacts 5 and 6 that are in contact with each other and electrically connected to each other in the fitted state. Has been.

  In this connector, a locking device is used that prevents the connector main bodies 1 and 2 from coming off while being fitted to each other. In this conventional locking device, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, one connector main body 1 is provided with an elastic locking piece 7 and the other connector main body 2 is provided with a locking projection 8, and both connector main bodies are mutually connected. At the time of fitting, the locking projection 8 pushes the elastic locking piece 7 and moves relative to the back side thereof, so that they are engaged and prevented from coming off.

  This locking device includes a half-lock type (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2) that is disengaged by forcibly pulling away both connector bodies 1 and 2 as shown in FIG. 6, and an elastic locking piece 7 as shown in FIG. There is a complete lock type (for example, Patent Document 3) that does not come off unless it is removed from the locking projection 8 using some tool.

JP 2001-338711 A JP 2005-203139 A JP 2006-244955 A

  This half-lock type can be easily removed when an unexpected external force is applied, but the complete lock type is safer than the half-lock type because it cannot be removed without special operation. There is an advantage that is high.

  However, in recent years, with the enhancement of functionality and miniaturization of portable electronic devices, the conventional full-lock type device described above uses a cantilevered substantially straight plate-like elastic locking piece. If the overall thickness (height) when the connector is fitted is reduced due to the demand of the connector, the deformation stroke at the time of locking and unlocking the locking protrusion cannot be increased, and if the deformation stroke is increased, the plate The pressure has to be reduced, making it difficult to obtain the necessary elastic modulus, which hinders the complete locking performance.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and has been made for the purpose of providing a connector lock device that can satisfy the demand for a thin connector and can sufficiently exhibit a complete lock function.

  The feature of the invention according to claim 1 that solves the conventional problems as described above and achieves the initial object is that the convex portion on the other side is fitted into the concave portion on one side, and the concave portion and the convex portion are provided. Between a pair of connector bodies that are electrically connected when the contacts come into contact with each other, one of the connector bodies is provided with a fixed lock claw, and the other connector body is engaged with the fixed lock claw so that the gap between the two bodies is removed. With a movable locking piece to stop,

  By fitting the concave portion and the convex portion of both connector bodies, the fixed lock claw slides against the movable locking piece, moves away the locking piece, moves relative, and the fitting is completed. In the connector lock device in which the fixed lock claw and the movable locking piece are engaged so as not to be detached,

  The movable locking piece is integrally formed with a movable locking piece support fitting fixed to the other connector body, and the movable locking piece support fitting is fixed to the housing of the other connector body. It has a spring piece part that is folded forward and downward from the upper edge of the part and whose tip is curved upward,

  The movable locking piece is provided integrally with the tip of the spring piece.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, a horizontally long movable locking piece support portion extending on both sides of the spring piece portion is provided integrally with the upward tip portion of the spring piece portion. A pair of the movable locking pieces are integrally provided at both ends of the lower edge of the stopper supporting portion, and the one connector body is provided with a pair of fixed locking claws corresponding to the pair of movable locking pieces. is there.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of any one of the first and second aspects, when the two connector main bodies are in a fitted state, the spring piece portion, A jig insertion part is formed between the opposite one of the connector body surfaces, and by pushing the jig into the jig insertion part, the spring piece is moved to a position where the movable locking piece is released from the fixed lock claw. It is to be transformed into.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the structure of any one of the first to third aspects, the spring piece portion is formed on an upper edge of the support piece main body portion of the movable locking piece support fitting. It is integrally formed and integrally formed at the front end of the overhanging piece portion that projects forward of the support piece main body portion, and the tip of the spring piece portion is below the overhanging portion and faces upward.

  In the present invention, by fitting the two connector main bodies to be fitted to each other, the fixed lock claw is brought into sliding contact with the movable locking piece, and the locking piece is moved away relative to each other, and the fitting is completed. In the state, the fixed locking claw and the movable locking piece are engaged with each other so that they cannot be removed, and the movable locking piece is fixed to any connector body. Molded integrally with one support bracket, and the movable locking piece support bracket is folded forward and downward from the upper edge of the support piece body fixed to the housing of the other connector body, and the tip is bent upward. By providing the movable locking piece integrally with the distal end portion of the spring piece portion, the length of the spring piece portion can be made longer even in a connector housing having a small thickness, and an appropriate elastic modulus can be obtained. And having a stroke Can be the result, greatly contributes to the thinning of the connector.

  Further, in the present invention, a horizontally long movable locking piece support portion extending on both sides of the spring piece portion is provided integrally with the upward end portion of the spring piece portion, and a pair of the movable pieces are provided at both ends of the lower edge of the movable locking piece support portion. A locking piece is provided integrally, and the one connector body is provided with a pair of fixed locking claws corresponding to the pair of movable locking pieces, whereby a more stable complete lock state can be obtained.

  Further, in the present invention, when the two connector main bodies are in a fitted state, a gap between the spring piece portion and one connector main body surface facing this is used as a jig insertion portion. By pushing the jig, the spring piece part is deformed so that the movable locking piece is moved to the position where it is released from the fixed lock claw. This is easily done by using a shaped jig.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the spring piece portion is integrally formed with the upper edge of the support piece main body portion of the movable locking piece support fitting, and is integrated with the front end of the protruding piece portion that projects forward of the support piece main body portion. Since the tip of the spring piece portion is below the overhanging portion and faces upward, a narrow space can be used more effectively, contributing to downsizing.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of the connector for board | substrate connection which implemented the connector locking device which concerns on this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the state which fitted the plug and socket same as the above. It is an expanded sectional view of a locking device part same as the above. It is a perspective view from the front upper part which expands and shows the movable locking piece support metal fitting same as the above. It is a perspective view from the back lower part. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing the conventional half lock type connector lock device. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing the conventional complete lock type connector lock device.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples shown in the drawings. 1 to 5 show an example of a board connecting connector in which a connector locking device according to the present invention is implemented. This board connecting connector has a pair of connector bodies that are surface-mounted on separate printed circuit boards (not shown). Hereinafter, in this embodiment, one connector body is referred to as a socket 10 and the other connector body is referred to as a plug 11.

  The socket 10 is formed with a pair of plug fitting grooves 13 in a socket housing 12 molded by an insulating synthetic resin, and a plurality of contacts 14, 14. .... are arranged side by side. The terminal part 14a of each contact is projected on both sides of the bottom surface of the socket housing 12, and the socket 10 is surface-mounted by being soldered to the board.

  The plug 11 is integrally formed with a plug housing 15 molded with an insulating synthetic resin, and a pair of ridges 16 that fit into the plug fitting grooves 13 of the socket 10. The contacts 17, 17... Contacting the 14, 14. The terminal portions 17a of the respective contacts 17, 17... Are protruded from both sides of the top surface of the plug 11, and are soldered to a substrate different from the socket 10 so as to be surface-mounted. It has become.

  Then, by fitting the protrusion 16 of the plug into the plug fitting groove 13, the corresponding contacts 14, 17 are brought into contact with each other and are electrically connected. The two substrates are electrically connected.

  The left and right ends of the socket 10 and the plug 11 are provided with connector lock devices that completely lock the socket 10 and the plug 11 in a state in which both are fitted.

  This locking device includes lock claw holding portions 20 and 20 formed at both ends of the plug housing, and plug end fitting recesses 21 and 21 which are opened at upper surfaces of both ends of the socket housing and into which the lock claw holding portions 20 and 20 are fitted. And have.

  The plug-side lock claw holding portion has a pair of fixed lock claws 22, 22 protruding substantially horizontally at both end faces of the plug, and fixed to the plug-end fitting recesses 21, 20 on the socket side. Movable locking pieces 23 and 23 protrude obliquely downward at positions corresponding to the lock claws 22 and 22.

  When the plug is inserted into the socket, when the fixed lock claws 22, 22 are elastically deformed by pressing the movable locking pieces 23, 23 and are fitted to a predetermined depth, the fixed lock claws 22, When 22 reaches the lower side of the movable locking pieces 23, 23, the movable locking pieces 23, 23 project to the upper side of the fixed locking claws 22, 22 by their own elasticity, and as shown in FIG. The socket 10 and the plug 11 are prevented from being detached from each other.

  In this retaining state, the movable locking piece 23 that faces obliquely downward is in contact with the upper surface of the fixed locking claw 22 that is horizontally disposed, so that either the movable locking piece 23 or the fixed locking claw 22 is not destroyed as it is. As long as the engagement is not released, a so-called complete lock state is established.

  The fixed lock claws 22, 22 are formed integrally with the lock claw metal fitting 30. The lock claw fitting 30 has a rectangular plate-like vertical support piece 31, and a tongue piece formed in a horizontally bent shape near the center of both ends of the lower edge is fixed to the lock claw 22, 22. It is said. The support piece 31 is prevented from coming off by being press-fitted into a press-fitting groove 32 formed on the upper surface of the plug housing 15.

  A stopper piece 33 is integrally formed on the upper edge of the support piece portion 31 by bending it in the horizontal direction and extending along the upper surface of the plug housing 15. When the force in the detaching direction is applied, the downward movement of the support piece 31 is prevented.

  The movable locking pieces 23, 23 are formed integrally with one movable locking piece support fitting 40. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the movable locking piece support fitting 40 has a support piece portion 41 formed by bending a plate material into a U-shape. The support piece 41 has a support piece main body 42 whose length direction is parallel to both end faces of the socket housing 12 and whose width direction is vertical, and both ends of the support piece body 41 that are parallel to each other and bent at right angles in the same direction. It consists of one piece 43 and 43, and this is inserted and assembled in a U-shaped concave groove 44 formed in the socket housing 12.

  A projecting piece 45 protrudes from the lower edges of the both end piece parts 43, 43 and is inserted into a through part 44 a formed below the concave groove 44.

  A tongue piece 45 for solder is integrally formed at the lower edge of the central portion of the support piece main body 42, and a tip portion thereof is bent in parallel with the bottom surface of the socket housing 12, and is surface-mounted by soldering on the socket side substrate. It has become so.

  The support piece main body 42 is integrally formed with an overhanging piece portion 46 having a shape in which the upper edge of the center portion is extended and horizontally bent toward the center side of the socket housing. A spring piece 47 is formed by extending the center of the leading edge of the protruding piece 46.

  The spring piece portion 47 has a substantially semicircular arc-shaped portion 47a that protrudes forward of the protruding piece portion 46 and is curved downward. The tip of the arcuate portion 47a is below the overhanging piece portion 46 and folded upward, and a horizontally long movable locking piece support portion 48 is integrally provided at the tip, that is, the tip of the spring piece portion 47.

  The movable locking piece support portion 48 is below the overhanging portion 46, and the width direction thereof is directed in the vertical direction, and the movable locking piece support portion 48 is moved to the lower edge portions of both ends of the movable locking piece support portion 48. The locking pieces 23, 23 are integrally formed in a projecting arrangement, and their tips protrude from the spring piece portion 47 at the center and obliquely downward on the front side, that is, obliquely downward on the center side of the socket housing. .

  In the connector lock device configured as described above, when the plug 11 is fitted in the socket 10, the fixed lock claws 22, 22 come into contact with the inclined surfaces of the movable locking pieces 23, 23 in the middle thereof. Press. At this time, the movable locking pieces 23, 23 are retracted by the bending of the spring piece portion 47 integrated with the movable locking pieces 23, 23 by the horizontal component force, and the fixed locking claws 22, 22 are moved to the tips of the movable locking pieces 23, 23. When moved downward, the movable locking pieces 23 and 23 are restored by their own elasticity, and the upward movement of the fixed lock claws 22 and 22 is prevented.

  In this way, the unlocking after the complete locking state is achieved by pressing the arc upper portion 47a of the spring piece portion 47 with a flathead screwdriver or a dedicated jig so that the spring piece portion 47 is moved by the movable locking pieces 23, 23. It is made by bending until it retracts from the upper side of the fixed lock claws 22 and 22.

  In this locking device, a spring piece portion 47 is formed from the upper edge of the movable locking piece support fitting 40 in the forward and downward direction, and the movable locking piece support portion 48 is formed at the tip portion of the spring piece portion 47 folded upward. Since the movable locking piece 23 projects from the lower edge, the spring piece portion can be formed to a length close to the thickness of the socket housing 12, and the thickness of the socket housing 12 can be reduced. Even when it is made small, the amount of deflection and the elastic modulus can be formed to be appropriate values.

  In addition, the space | interval with the spring piece part 47 is set beforehand as the reaction force receiving part 50 for unlocking operation for the center part of the end surface of the plug housing 15, and the jig | tool 51 of the predetermined thickness according to this is manufactured. Thus, as shown by a temporary line in FIG. 3, the lock can be released by a simple operation only by inserting the jig 51.

10 Socket (one connector body)
11 Plug (the other connector body)
12 socket housing 13 plug fitting concave groove 14 contact 14a terminal 15 plug housing 16 ridge 17 contact 17a terminal 20 lock claw holding portion 21 plug end fitting concave portion 22 fixed lock claw 23 movable locking piece 30 lock Claw fitting 31 Support piece portion 32 Press fit groove 33 Stop piece 34 Vertical groove 40 Movable locking piece support fitting 41 Support piece portion 42 Support piece main body portion 43 End piece portion 44 Concave groove 44a Through portion 45 Solder tongue piece 45 Overhang piece portion 47 Spring piece portion 47a Arc-shaped portion 48 Movable locking piece support portion 50 Reaction force receiving portion 51 Jig

Claims (4)

The convex part on the other side fits into the concave part on one side, and the contacts provided on the concave part and the convex part are in contact with each other, so that the electrical connection is made between the pair of connector bodies, and the one main body is fixedly locked. A movable locking piece that includes a claw and engages the fixed lock claw with the other connector main body to prevent the main body from coming off,
By fitting the concave portion and the convex portion of both connector bodies, the fixed lock claw slides against the movable locking piece, moves away the locking piece, moves relative, and the fitting is completed. In the connector lock device in which the fixed lock claw and the movable locking piece are engaged so as not to be detached,
The movable locking piece is integrally formed with a movable locking piece support fitting fixed to the other connector body, and the movable locking piece support fitting is fixed to the housing of the other connector body. It has a spring piece part that is folded forward and downward from the upper edge of the part and whose tip is curved upward,
A connector locking device comprising the movable locking piece integrally with the tip of the spring piece.   A horizontally long movable locking piece support portion extending on both sides of the spring piece portion is provided integrally with the upward tip portion of the spring piece portion, and a pair of the movable locking pieces are integrated with both ends of the lower edge of the movable locking piece support portion. The connector locking device according to claim 1, wherein the one connector body is provided with a pair of fixed lock claws corresponding to the pair of movable locking pieces.   When the two connector main bodies are in a fitted state, the spring piece portion and the surface of one connector main body facing each other are used as a jig insertion portion, and a jig is pushed into the jig insertion portion. 3. The connector lock device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the spring piece portion is deformed so that the movable locking piece is moved to a position where it is disengaged from the fixed lock claw.   The spring piece portion is integrally formed on the upper edge of the support piece main body portion of the movable locking piece support metal fitting, and is integrally formed at the front end of the protruding piece portion protruding forward of the support piece main body portion. The connector lock device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a tip of the portion is below the projecting portion and faces upward.

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