JPH03214575A - Electric connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a detent member from moving unintentionally by furnishing the detent member at an opening near the tail of a housing, furnishing a cam mechanism in the neighborhood of this opening and at its mating surface of the detent member, which mechanism slides the detent member between two detaining positions. CONSTITUTION:A guide ridge 54 and a detent boss 53 on a detaining member 50 are located at guide groove 25a and guide notch 24 in a housing 10, and the detaining member 50 is fitted in an opening at the tail of the housing 10. When the detaining member 10 is intruded into the housing 10 until the front end face of a rear half high stepped part 51 of this detaining member 50 butts with the rear end face of the housing 10, the detent boss 53 is detained with the top of No.1 part 23a of a can groove 23, and there is no risk of the detaining member 50 moving to the final securing position. Then the detaining member 50 is depressed, and if further depressed, the detent boss 53 slides along the cam groove 23 from its No.1 part 23a to No.2 part 23b to come into detention with the tail end, and thus a female terminal 100 is hindered from moving backward of the housing 10. This prevents the detaining member from moving unintentionally.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly, the present invention relates to an electrical connector that engages with an electrical terminal inserted into a terminal accommodating chamber of a housing and connects the terminal in a direction opposite to the insertion direction of the terminal. This invention relates to an electrical connector equipped with a locking member to prevent it from being pulled out. (Prior art) Conventionally, as this type of connector, for example,
The one described in No.-58470 is known. In this connector, a locking member (subasa) is used as a means for engaging the electrical terminals inserted into the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers of the housing and preventing the terminals from being pulled out in a direction opposite to the insertion direction. An electrical connector is disclosed. This locking member is movable with respect to the housing from a temporary locking (temporary insertion) position to a final locking (main insertion) position. At the temporary locking position of the locking member, the terminal can be inserted into each terminal accommodating chamber, and at the final locking position, a part of the terminal locking member inserted into each terminal storage chamber is engaged, and the terminal can be inserted into each terminal accommodating chamber. It is designed to prevent the terminal from coming out in the direction opposite to the insertion direction.

[Invention or problem to be solved]

However, the prior art 3, including the connector described in the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 63-58470, does not include a means for holding the locking member in the temporarily fixed position with respect to the housing. Therefore, for example, when a connector manufacturer is transporting a connector with a locking member temporarily fixed to the housing to be supplied to a consumer, the locking member may inadvertently move toward the housing side for some reason. Sometimes I have to put it away. Also, such a situation may occur when the connector is handled by the consumer. If such a situation occurs, it will not be possible to assemble the electrical terminal into the housing sink, and it will be necessary to return the locking member to the temporary position. Reduces work efficiency such as installation.

By the way, in this type of connector, the electrical terminals are
The structure is such that it is assembled into the housing at the temporary fixing position, immovably engaged with the terminal accommodating chamber at the final fixing position, and cannot be assembled into the housing at the final fixing position. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to prevent the locking member from inadvertently moving from the temporary locking position to the permanent locking position.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The electrical connector of the present invention for solving the above problems has a locking member located at an opening near the rear end of the housing. A cam mechanism is provided near the opposite surface of the locking member to slide the locking member between a first locking position M and a second locking position. a cam extending in a first direction that intersects at an appropriate angle with the terminal insertion direction from the first locking position into the terminal accommodating chamber, and in a second direction that substantially coincides with the terminal insertion direction and leads to the second locking position; and a sliding portion on the other side for sliding contact with the cam portion.

[For production]

In the electrical connector of the present invention having the above configuration, first, the locking member is temporarily secured by positioning the locking member in the first locking position with respect to the housing. In this temporarily fixed position, even if the locking member is pressed in its forward direction, it is prevented from sliding in that direction. In the temporarily secured position, the terminal can be inserted into the terminal receiving chamber from the rear end of the housing. When the locking member is pressed in the direction (first direction) intersecting the forward direction of the locking member at the temporary locking position and further pressed in the terminal insertion direction (second direction), it slides to the permanent locking position. and stop at that position. Therefore, the locking member prevents the terminal accommodated in the accommodation chamber from moving toward the rear of the housing.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, the connector includes an insulative housing 10 and an insulative locking member 50, each made of plastic material. Housing IO is from rear end 12 to front end 1
3 and has a large number of terminal accommodating chambers 11 arranged vertically and horizontally. An opening 14 extends around the rear end surface of the housing 10. The opening 14 includes an upper wall 16 having a recess 15 in the center, side walls 17, and a lower wall 18, and a locking member 50 is fitted into the opening 14. An elastic locking lever 19 that is continuous with the front end 13 and extends to the rear end 12 is located in the recess 15 of the opening 14, and the locking lever has a pressing portion 20 at the rear end and a locking portion 21 in the vicinity thereof. ing. The locking lever 19 engages with a housing that is complementary to the housing 10 and will be described later. Upper wall 16 of opening 14
A locking hole 22 is provided on both sides of the locking member 50, and a locking protrusion 52 that engages with the locking hole 22 is provided in the second half high step portion 51 on both sides of the upper surface of the locking member 50. Approximately L-shaped cam grooves 23 are formed in two upper and lower stages on both side walls 17 of the opening 14, and locking protrusions (cam followers) 53 that slide along the cam grooves 23 are formed on both sides of the locking member 50. Each is provided. The cam groove 23 is comprised of a first portion 23a that is slightly rearwardly inclined and extends in the vertical direction, and a second portion 23b that extends substantially horizontally. A locking protrusion 53 is provided on the inner surface of both side walls 17 of the opening 14.
A guide recess 24 is provided to guide the cam groove 23 to the cam groove 23. Furthermore, guide grooves 25a and 25b are formed on the inner surfaces of both side walls 17 of the opening 14 and extend from the front end to the rear end thereof, and guide grooves 25a and 25b extend from the front end to the rear end on both side surfaces of the locking member 50, respectively.
A guide protrusion 54 that slides into each of the guide ridges 25b is provided. Furthermore, a guide groove 26 is formed on the inner surface of both side walls 17 of the opening 14 and extends from the front end to the vicinity of the rear end, and a guide groove 26 is formed on both sides of the locking member 50 and extends halfway from the front end to the rear end. A guide protrusion 55 is provided, which has a vertical width smaller than the radius of the groove 26 and is slidably fitted therein.

The lower wall 18 of the opening 14 has locking grooves 27 extending from the vicinity of its front end to the rear end on both sides and the center thereof, and the ribs 56 projecting from both sides and the center of the lower surface of the locking member 50 have locking grooves 27. Each locking protrusion 57 is provided to engage with each other. Elastic legs 58 are provided extending downwardly on both sides from a rib 56 at the center of the lower surface of the locking member 50. A recess 59 that fits into the lower surface of the recess 15 of the opening 14 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the locking member 50 . The locking member 50 has a number of cavities 60 corresponding to the terminal accommodating chambers 11 of the housing 10.
have.

Next, please refer to Figures 2, 3, and 6 to 9. First, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
0, respectively, and fit the locking member 50 into the rear end opening of the housing 10. In this preliminary position, the elastic leg 58 of the locking member 5R maintains its natural state. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the locking member 5 is held in the preliminary position until the front end surface of the second half high step portion 51 of the locking member 50 abuts against the rear end surface of the housing 10.
0 into the housing 10, the locking protrusion 53 of the locking member 50 engages the first portion 23 of the cam groove 23 of the housing 10.
engage the upper end of a. Therefore, unless an artificial operation such as pressing the locking member 50 against the elasticity of the elastic leg 58 is performed, the locking member 50 will not move to the final locking position described later. The elastic leg 58 has the locking protrusion 53 in the cam groove 2.
It may be designed so that when it engages with the first portion 23a of No. 3, it is appropriately pressed downward, and the elasticity of the elastic leg acts appropriately for this engagement. In the present invention, the position where the locking protrusion 53 engages with the first portion 23a of the cam groove 23 is called temporary locking. In this temporarily fixed position, the terminal receiving chamber 11 of the housing 10 is
The terminal accommodating chamber 11 and the cavity 60 are aligned in the horizontal direction so that the female terminal 100 to which the electric wire 101 is electrically connected can be inserted.

Generally, the connector manufacturer supplies the connector in this temporarily secured state to the connector consumer, and in this temporarily secured state, the female terminal 100 (see FIG. 1) is inserted from the cavity 60 of the locking member 50 to the terminal of the housing 10. Inserted into containment chamber 11. The elastic lance 28 provided in the terminal accommodating chamber 11 engages with the upper surface of the female terminal 100 inserted in this manner, approximately at the center thereof. In addition, the large female terminal 100 located on the right side in FIG. .

Finally, as shown in FIG. 8, the locking member 50 is pushed down against the temporary position, and as shown in FIG. 9 (see FIG. 3), when pushed down further, the locking member 50
The locking protrusion 53 extends along the cam groove 23 into the first portion 23 of the cam groove 23.
a to its second portion 23b;
Engage with the end of b. In this position, the cavity 60 of the locking member 50 is shifted downward with respect to the terminal accommodating chamber l1 of the housing 10, and the inner surface of the rib of the locking member 50 that defines the cavity 60 is behind the female terminal 100. It is located close to the end and prevents the female terminal 100 from moving toward the rear of the housing 10 (to the left in the figure).

In the present invention, as described above, the locking member 50 is connected to the female terminal 100.
The position where the housing 10 is engaged with the housing so as to prevent the rearward movement of the housing 10 is called a final stop. In this final locking position, the guide protrusion 54 of the locking member 50 moves from the upper guide groove 25a of the housing 10 to the lower guide groove 25b, and the locking protrusion 52, guide protrusion 55 of the locking member 50, The protrusion 57 is connected to the locking hole 22 of the housing 10 and the guide groove 2.
6, engage with the locking grooves 27, respectively. In addition, the locking member 5
0 elastic leg 58 connects the lower surface of the locking member with the eight housing 10.
It is pressed into a flat state between it and the lower wall of the rear end opening section.

As mentioned above, the locking member 50 engaged with the housing lO
To remove it, simply reverse the above procedure, but
At this time, since the restoring force of the elastic leg 58 of the locking member 5o acts, the locking member can be returned to the position of the locking member 50 relative to the housing 10 shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. The elastic legs 58 smooth the operation when the locking member 50 is engaged with the housing 10, and the locking protrusion 53 of the locking member 50 is connected to the first portion 23a of the cam groove 23.
or#! It has a function of reliably maintaining the state of engagement with the second portion 23b, and particularly a function of preventing the locking member 50 from moving inadvertently from the temporary locking position to the permanent locking position. From this point of view, it is preferable to provide the elastic legs 58, but such points can be secured to a certain extent by increasing the design accuracy of each part of the housing 10 and the locking member 50, so the present invention However, the elastic leg 58 is not an essential requirement.

When the elastic leg 58 is provided, as described above, the elastic leg 58 is in a flat state between the lower surface of the locking member and the lower wall of the rear end opening of the housing 10 at the final locking position of the locking member 50. If it remains in a pressed state, it may cause problems. For example, if the elastic leg 58 remains in such a state for a relatively long period of time, or if the connector or the surrounding relatively high temperature comes into contact with the connector in such a state, the elastic leg 58
However, there are times when things end up taking on the form of such a state, or in other words, permanent distortion of that form occurs. If this happens, the elasticity of the elastic rectangle 58 will be lost, so when performing maintenance or the like, the locking member 50 may be
If the former is pulled out from zero and the former is engaged with the latter again, the elastic rectifier 58 may no longer be able to perform its function. Since the elastic leg 58 does not need to have its elasticity especially in the fully fixed state, it is preferable that the elastic leg 58 has a means for preventing the elasticity from being lost as described above.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, grooves or holes 30 into which the free ends and the vicinity thereof of the elastic legs 58 fall are formed on both sides of the lower wall 18 of the opening 14 of the housing 10 at the final stop position. (The position is also indicated by the chain line 30° in Figure 1). As is clear from FIG. 5, in the final locking position, the elastic leg 58
He is in a natural state of being depressed. In this case, elastic leg 5
It may be designed so that the elasticity of No. 8 acts slightly.

The angle between the first portion 23a and the second portion 23b of the cam groove 23 may be a right angle, but! As shown in Figures s6 to 9, if the angle is smaller than 90 degrees, the locking member 50 can be moved diagonally downward, so that the rear end of the female terminal 1 and 0 can be slightly Even if the housing IC protrudes toward the rear end, the movement of the locking member 50 causes the female terminal 1 to
00 can be aligned by pressing the rear end inward of the housing 10.

For reference, FIGS. 1O to 12 show connectors that are complementary to the connectors already described. This connector is made from insulating material,
0, includes a movable member 200 and a locking member 250. The housing 150 has a fitting part 151 for the housing 10 described above at the front, and terminal accommodating chambers 152 arranged in two upper and lower stages at the rear. The cam groove 23 of the housing 10 described above is located in the rear end opening 153 of the housing 15ro.
Cam groove I having the same function as the locking hole 22 and the locking groove 27
54, a locking hole 155, and a locking groove 156 are provided, respectively. Further, the locking member 250 is provided with locking projections 251 & 252, 253 having the same function as the locking projections 52, 53, 57 of the locking member 50 described above. The locking member 250 is connected to the terminal accommodating chamber 15 of the housing 150.
It has the same number of cavities 254 as 2.

The movable member 200 is housed in the fitting part 151 of the housing 150, and has a bottle insertion hole 201 in the plate surface, and first, second, and third locking arms 202 in order from the top to the bottom on one side.
203, 204. and the first one from the bottom to the top on the other side. 2nd S and 3rd locking arms 202, 203
, 204 are provided. Each first locking arm 202
The distal ends thereof abut against locking protrusions 157 provided on both inner surfaces of the front end of the fitting portion 151 of the housing 15, thereby preventing the movable member 200 from coming off in the forward direction. each second
The locking arm 2ro 3 has a groove 205 that slidably engages with a triangular locking protrusion 29 provided on both sides of the housing 10 (see FIG. 1), and has the function described below. Each third locking arm 204 has a groove 206 in the housing 15.
Triangular locking protrusions 158 provided on both inner surfaces of the front end of 0
The movable member 200 is slidably engaged with the housing 15.
0 from entering too deeply into the fitting part 151.

As shown in FIG. 12, the movable member 200 is moved to the housing sink 1.
The third locking arm 204 is housed in the fitting portion 151 of the third locking arm 204.
The locking protrusion 158 is engaged with the tip of the groove 206 of the housing 150, the male terminal 300 is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber 152 of the housing 150, and the elastic lance 159 is engaged therewith.
0 tip pin 301 into the bottle insertion hole 20 of the movable member 280.
1 and slide the locking member 250 to the final locking position to assemble these members. In this assembled state, the male terminal 300 is
The pin 301 is positioned and held so as to correctly match and face the center of the tip of the female terminal 100 described above. Next, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, when the assembled housing 10 is fitted into the fitting part 151 of the housing 150, the pin 301 of the male terminal 30 is located at the center of the tip of the female terminal 100. When the movable member 200 is inserted normally and electrically connected, the movable member 200 is pushed back by the front end of the housing 10 and finally abuts against the back wall surface of the fitting part 151, so that the locking part 15 of the housing 150 is connected to the housing 10.
engages with the locking portion 21 of the locking layer 19 of the housing 1
Maintain a mating condition of 0.150. In this way, the movable member 200 has the role of positioning and holding the pin so that the pin 301 of the male terminal 300 can be properly inserted into the tip of the female terminal 100 without colliding with it. It retreats at the same time as it detects the damage, and does not prevent the housing 10 from entering the predetermined position of the housing 150. At this time, the locking protrusion 29 (see FIG. 1) of the housing 10 is located in the groove 205 of the second locking arm 203 (not shown).

The housings 10 and 15 are pressed when the locking lever 19 is pressed.
0 from the other or both from each other to unmate them. During this separation, since the locking protrusion 29 of the housing 10 is engaged with the tip of the groove 205 of the second locking arm 203, the housing
0,150, the movable member 200 that had retreated returns to a predetermined position within the fitting portion 151, that is, the 12th
It will be pulled back to the position shown in the figure.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the electrical connector of the present invention, in the first locking position, which is the temporary locking position of the locking member, the locking member is provided on one of the housing and the locking member and extends in the first direction intersecting the terminal insertion direction at an appropriate angle. Since the cam sliding contact portion provided on the other side of the housing and the locking member engages with the cam portion, no matter how strongly the locking member is pressed in the terminal insertion direction at the temporary locking position, it will slide in that direction. That's not true.

Moreover, unless the locking member is slid by aligning the cam sliding contact portion with the cam portion extending in the second direction that substantially coincides with the terminal insertion direction, the locking member is in the second locking position at the wooden stop position. There is no risk of it sliding to the stop position by itself.

Therefore, when the connector is shipped and transported with the locking member temporarily secured to the housing, it is possible to prevent the locking member from inadvertently moving from the temporary position to the final position and being permanently secured. I can do something.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is an isolated perspective view of the housing, locking member, and female terminal. Figure 2 is a rear side view with the locking member preliminarily fitted into the housing. Figure 3 is a rear side view of the locking member fully fitted into the housing and fully locked. FIG. 4 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2, showing another embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 3, showing the embodiment of FIG. 4; 6 to 9 are cross-sectional views taken along the line X--X in FIG. 3, showing the positional relationship between the locking member from the time of preliminary fitting to the housing to the time of final locking. FIG. 10 shows a complementary housing sink for the housing;
FIG. 3 is an isolated perspective view of a movable member, a locking member, and a male terminal to be incorporated into this. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a portion of the complementary housing and a movable member that engages therewith. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the complementary housing in which the movable member, locking member, and male terminal are assembled. FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 are sectional views showing the process of fitting the two assembled housings together and the state in which the fitting is completed, respectively. 10: Housing 11: Terminal accommodation chamber, 14: Opening portion 23: Cam portion 50: Locking member 53: Cam sliding contact portion (locking protrusion) 10
0: Terminal Hini Nini 1 FIG. 4 FIG. 5 Zshi12

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] An insulating housing having a plurality of electrical terminal accommodating chambers, an electrical terminal inserted into each of the terminal accommodating chambers from the rear end of the housing toward the front end thereof, and From the first locking position in the opening near the rear end to the second
an insulating locking member that slides into a locking position to prevent the terminal from moving toward the rear of the housing, the electrical connector comprising: an opening near a rear end of the housing; a cam mechanism that slides the locking member between the first locking position and the second locking position on the opposing surface; a cam portion extending in a first direction intersecting the terminal insertion direction at an appropriate angle and a second direction substantially coinciding with the terminal insertion direction and reaching the second locking position; and a cam sliding contact with the cam portion on the other side. The connector is characterized by comprising: