JPH04136881U - Connector lock mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] The purpose is to provide a locking mechanism for a connector that does not increase in size in the height direction and thereby saves space. [Structure] An elastic member 24 extending in the direction of arrow (D) is provided on the peripheral edge 23 of the opening 22 of the female housing 20 into which the male housing 10 is inserted, and furthermore, at the tip of this elastic member 24, the male housing 10 is inserted. Since the locking piece 25 is provided in a position that projects into the path and is locked in the locking groove 26 of the male housing 10, as a result, the locking mechanism is fixed in the height direction (arrow (A) direction). However, it does not need to be large in size, and as a result, it is possible to save space.

Description

[Detailed explanation of the idea]

0001

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a connector used in automobiles and the like.

0002

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, this type of connector has the configuration shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. ing. This connector includes a female housing 1 to which a male terminal (not shown) is attached, and a female end. and a male housing 2 to which a child (not shown) is attached. When the housing 2 is inserted into the female housing 1, the male terminal of the female housing 1 It is designed to be connected to the female terminal of the male housing 2. Further, the upper part of the male housing 2 is provided with a A lever 3 having elasticity is provided on the upper part of the female housing 1. When the male housing 2 is inserted into the housing 1 in the direction of arrow (c), the lever A locking member 4 for locking 3 is provided.

0003 The lever 3 on the male housing 2 side is connected to the front side of the male housing 2 in the insertion direction. It has convex portions 5 and 6 that protrude upward, respectively, on the rear side in the entry direction. A concave portion 7 is formed between the convex portion 5 and the convex portion 6. Further, the locking member 4 on the female housing 1 side is a female housing into which the male housing 2 is inserted. Formed in a part of the opening (not shown) of the housing 1 and into which the male housing 2 is inserted. It is located on the path that the lever 3 passes through at the time. In the locking mechanism of the connector configured in this way, the male housing 2 is When inserted into the female housing 1 in the direction of arrow (C), it is located on the front side in the insertion direction. The convex portion 5 of the lever 3 is pressed against the locking member 4 from the direction of the arrow (b). The lever 3 is elastically deformed in the direction of arrow (b), and the convex portion 5 of the lever 3 engages with the locking portion. material 4 is allowed to pass through. Further, after the convex part of the lever 3 passes the locking member 4, the concave part of the lever 3 A locking member 4 is disposed at 7, which prevents the lever from being elastically deformed in the direction of the arrow (b). As the bar 3 returns to the direction of arrow (A), the locking member 4 moves forward and backward in the recess 7. The two convex portions 5 and 6 at restrict movement. That is, the male housing 2 is not moved by the locking member 4 on the female housing 1 side. By restricting the movement, it is fixed in the inserted state inside the female housing 1. ing.

0004

[Problem that the idea aims to solve]

By the way, in the connector configured as above, the female housing 1 and the male housing At each upper position with housing 2, there is a locking mechanism (labeled 3 to 7), it becomes larger in the height direction, and this This locking mechanism takes up space for installing one or two terminals. This caused a problem in that the entire connector became larger.

[0005] This idea was made in view of the above circumstances, and was designed to increase the height in the height direction. A locking mechanism for connectors that does not need to be molded, thereby saving space. The purpose is to provide.

[0006]

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention comprises a female housing to which one cable terminal is attached, and a female housing to which said cable terminal is attached. The other cable terminal paired with the cable terminal is attached and inserted into the female housing. the other cable terminal is connected to the one cable terminal when A connector having a male housing, The male housing is placed around the periphery of the opening of the female housing into which the male housing is inserted. In addition to providing an elastic member that extends in the opposite direction to the direction in which the ring is inserted, At the tip of the elastic member, a locking piece that protrudes into the insertion path of the male housing is provided. established, On the other hand, when the male housing is inserted into the female housing, the elastic portion A locking groove is provided to be locked to a locking piece of the material.

[0007]

[Effect]

According to the present invention, when the male housing is inserted into the female housing, the male housing The locking piece at the tip of the elastic member that protrudes into the insertion path of the male housing Displaced towards. In addition, when the insertion of the male housing into the female housing is completed, elastic deformation will occur. The locking piece that was located outside the insertion path of the male housing has now been inserted into the locking groove of the male housing. The male housing is fixed within the female housing. Furthermore, the elastic member is oriented in a direction opposite to the direction in which the male housing is inserted. The locking piece extends into the insertion path of the male housing. As a result, these locking mechanisms are It is possible to increase the size in the direction (direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the male housing). do not have.

[0008]

【Example】

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. First, see FIG. 2 for the terminal 11 (male terminal) fixed to the male housing 10. and explain. This female terminal 11 has a wire barrel 12 and an insulation barrel 13. Moreover, these wire barrel 12 and insulation barrel 13 are crimped. By doing so, the conductor of the cable 16 in which the conductor 15 is exposed from the insulation coating 14 is The body portion and the insulating coating portion are each fixed. Further, this terminal 11 is inserted into a terminal insertion portion 17 formed inside the male housing 10. It can be inserted and removed freely, and when the terminal 11 is inserted into the terminal insertion part 17, the terminal 11 so that the stepped portion 11A is locked to the lance 18 formed in the terminal insertion portion 17. It has become. Further, the insulation coating portion 14 of the cable 16 is located at a rear position of the terminal 11 and When the terminal 11 is inserted into the male housing 10, the male A waterproof seal 19 is provided that contacts the inner surface of the housing 10. With the above configuration, the male housing 10 to which the terminal 11 is fixed is connected to the female housing. When inserted into the male housing insertion part 21 of the housing 20, the tip of the terminal 11 An electrical connection located at the terminal 30 (male end) also secured to the female housing 20 terminals 11 and 30 are electrically connected to each other. This is the state of affairs.

[0009] Next, a locking machine that connects the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 to each other is provided. I will explain the structure. The male housing 10 is inserted into the female housing 20 from the direction of the arrow (C). A housing insert 21 is provided, and furthermore, at the entrance of this male housing insert 21, As shown in FIG. It extends in the direction opposite to the direction in which the housing 10 is inserted (arrow (d) direction). An elastic member 24 having elasticity is provided. This elastic member 24 has a locking piece 25 that protrudes into the insertion path of the male housing 10. It has this at its tip. On the other hand, the male housing 10 is connected to the female housing on the rear side of the male housing 10. A locking groove 26 is provided that locks the locking piece 25 when inserted into the locking piece 20. When the locking piece 25 is locked in the locking groove 26, the male housing 1 0 is fixed to the female housing 20.

0010 Further, in the male housing insertion portion 21 of the female housing 20, a housing A rule 27 is provided. This housing seal 27 is attached to the male housing 10. The locking piece 2 is provided at the front in the insertion direction and is locked in the locking groove 26. 5 from shaking. In this embodiment, the elastic member 24 is attached to the female housing 2 as shown in FIG. Although the female housing 20 is provided integrally with the female housing 20, it is not limited to this and may be provided separately. It may be fixed by adhesive.

[0011] The operation of the locking mechanism of the connector configured as above will be explained step by step. do. (1) Connect the male housing 10 to which the terminal 11 is fixed to the male housing 10 to which the terminal 30 is also fixed. Insert it into the male housing insertion part 21 of the female housing 20 from the direction of arrow (C). Then, the locking piece 25 of the elastic member 24 is connected to the inclined part of the male housing 10 (indicated by reference numeral 10A). ) and is displaced in the direction of arrow (a). (2) Furthermore, insert the male housing 10 into the female housing 20 in the direction of arrow (c). If it is inserted toward the end, the state shown in FIG. 2 will be obtained. That is, the front part of the male housing 10 is the housing seat located in front of the male housing insertion portion 21 of the female housing 20. It is in contact with the lever 27. Note that at this time, the locking piece 2 at the tip of the elastic member 24 5 is supported by a protrusion (indicated by reference numeral 10B) of the male housing 10. , is not locked in the locking groove 26 of the male housing 10. (3) Then, in the state shown in FIG. 2, further move the male housing 10 in the direction of the arrow (C). When pushed in the direction, the housing seal 27 is deformed and the male housing 1 0 moves by a minute amount in the direction of the arrow (c). This allows the tip of the elastic member 24 to engage. The stopper piece 25 is removed from the protrusion (indicated by reference numeral 10B) of the male housing 10, and as shown in FIG. As shown, the locking piece 25 of the elastic member 24 fits into the locking groove 26 of the male housing 10. It will be locked. Note that in this state, terminals 11 and 30 are connected to each other. is in a state of

0012 (4) After this, push the male housing 10 in the direction of arrow (c). When the operation is released (i.e., the operator releases his/her finger), the deformed housing shell Due to the force of the ball 27 returning to its original shape, the male housing 10 is slightly bent. The locking groove 26 of the male housing 10 is pushed back in the direction indicated by the mark (d). The locking piece 25 of the elastic member 24 comes into close contact. That is, the male housing 10 is secured by the housing seal 27 and the locking piece 25. It is pressed from both sides, and as a result, the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 and is prevented from rattling. Note that the male housing 10 is removed from the female housing 20 that has been combined as described above. When the male housing 10 is in the state shown in Fig. 3, push it in the direction of the arrow (c). Then, the housing seal 27 is deformed, and in this state, as shown in FIG. , push up the locking piece 25 of the elastic member 24 in the direction of arrow (A) until the locking piece 25 is It is preferable to release the state of being engaged with the locking groove 26. And in this state, the male housing When the ring 10 is pulled out in the direction of arrow (d), the male housing 10 is inserted into the female housing 2. It can be removed from 0.

[0013] As explained in detail above, according to the connector locking mechanism shown in this embodiment, At the peripheral edge 23 of the opening 22 of the female housing 20 into which the male housing 10 is inserted, An elastic member 24 extending in the direction of arrow (d) is provided, and at the tip of this elastic member 24, The male housing 10 is positioned so as to protrude into the insertion path of the male housing 10. Since the locking piece 25 is provided to be locked in the locking groove 26, as a result, the locking mechanism does not increase in size in the height direction (directions of arrows (a) and (b)), which saves time. This has the effect of allowing you to pace yourself. In addition, a housing seal 27 provided in the male housing insertion portion 21 , the male housing 10 is in close contact between the housing seal 27 and the locking piece 25. The male housing 10 can be fixed to the female housing 20. The connected terminals 11 and 30 are prevented from rattling, and unnecessary Vibration is prevented and the life of the connector is extended as a result. That's what you get.

[0014]

[Effect of the idea]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the elastic member is The locking member is provided so as to extend in a direction opposite to the direction in which the locking member is inserted. The piece is located in a position that projects into the insertion path of the male housing. As a result, these locking mechanisms are (orthogonal direction), which saves space. You can get the desired effect.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1] External view of the connector.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a process in which the male housing is inserted into the female housing.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a state in which the male housing has been completely inserted into the female housing.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a conventional connector in a state before the male housing is inserted into the female housing.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional connector in which a male housing is inserted into a female housing.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Male housing, 11... Terminal, 22... Opening, 23... Peripheral part, 24... Elastic member, 25... Locking piece, 26... Locking groove, 30... Terminal.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A female housing (20) to which one cable terminal (30) is attached, and when the other cable terminal (11) forming a pair with the cable terminal is attached and inserted into the female housing, A connector comprising a male housing (10) in which the other cable terminal is connected to the one cable terminal, and an opening periphery (23) of the female housing into which the male housing is inserted.
is provided with an elastic member (24) extending in the direction (d) opposite to the direction in which the male housing is inserted, and a distal end of the elastic member is provided with an elastic member (24) that extends in the insertion path of the male housing. A protruding locking piece (25) is provided, and the male housing is provided with a locking groove (26) that is locked with the locking piece of the elastic member when inserted into the female housing. A connector lock mechanism characterized by: