JPH07220811A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a connector which attains the high density mounting of a contact housed in an insulating housing has guide members having remarkably little possibility of deformation and damage of locking-arms locked to opposite connectors. CONSTITUTION:A guide member 70 for guiding contact portions of male-type contacts and retaining the array has a side plate 70 extending perpendicularly to a front plate 70, disposed at end portions of the front plate 70. A locking-arm 92 for moving the guide member 70 to the side of tip of a fitting recess portion 46 of a connector 40 when a connector 10 detaches from a connector 40, being locked to a protrusion 32 of the opposite connector 18, extends in cm direction opposite to the direction of extension of the side plate 78 from vicinity of o free end of the side plate 78. Apparent length of arms 92, 94, 96 protruding beyond the surface 80 of he front plate 72 are short, so that the arms 92, 94, 96 hardly suffer from deformation or damage.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector having a guide member that guides a contact portion of a male contact to facilitate fitting with a mating contact.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a male contact has a contact portion that projects into a fitting recess of a connector housing that accommodates the male contact, and is therefore easily deformed due to a collision with a mating connector housing. If the contact portion of the male contact is deformed, proper mating with the female contact of the mating connector cannot be achieved. Therefore, in particular, in order to maintain the alignment of the contact portion of the male contact, a connector having a guide member has been conventionally used.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a conventional example of a connector having such a guide member (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-116985). The female connector 200, which accommodates the contact pin (male contact) 202, accommodates the guide member 220 in the fitting recess 204 slidably along the wall 206 forming the fitting recess 204. The guide member 220 has contact pins 202.
A guide plate portion 222 that supports the vicinity of the tip of the contact pin 202 to keep the contact pins 202 aligned, and an end wall 224 that extends from the end portion of the guide plate portion 222 along the wall 206 that forms the fitting recess 204. Have. A first protrusion 226 is formed on the outer side of the root of the end wall 224 to prevent the guide member 220 from moving accidentally by being locked in a holding hole 208 formed in the wall 206. The mating protrusion 232 on the male connector 230 is the mating recess 20 on the female connector 200.
When the front surface of the fitting convex portion 232 comes into contact with the guide plate portion 222 of the guide member 220, the first protrusion 226 is moved to the second portion of the wall 206.
After overcoming the protrusion 210, the guide member 220
Retreat while guiding 202.

When the connector 220 is inserted and removed a plurality of times, if the guide member 220 remains retracted inside the fitting recess 204, the male connector 230 is removed and then the male connector 230 is inserted. Meanwhile, the contact pin 202 is not protected. Therefore, a locking arm 234 is provided on the male connector 230 so that the male connector 230 is locked in the locking hole 228 of the end wall 224 of the guide member 220 when the connectors 200 and 230 are fitted to each other. The guide member 220 is advanced to the initial position shown in FIG. The locking arm 234 is securely locked in the locking hole 228 by coming into contact with the pressing plate 212 penetrating the guide plate 222 when the connectors are fitted together. Presser plate 212
By the cooperation of the locking arm 234 and the locking hole 228, the guide member 220 is always in the initial position when the female connector 200 is not fitted and protects the contact pin 202 and maintains its alignment.

[0005]

However, in the above-described connector, since the contacts cannot be arranged in the space occupied by the holding plate 212 and the locking arm 234, it is difficult to mount the contacts at high density. Further, since the pressing plate 212 and the locking arm 234, especially the locking arm 234 have a large protruding length, the guide member 22
There is a problem that there is a high risk of deformation or damage when 0 is handled alone or when the connector is in a non-fitted state.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a connector which solves the above-mentioned problems, that is, a connector which can achieve high-density mounting of contacts and which is not easily deformed or damaged by the mechanism for returning the guide member of the male contact. To aim.

[0007]

A connector of the present invention guides a female insulating housing having a fitting recess for receiving a male connector and a contact portion of a male contact projecting into the fitting recess. A guide member having a plurality of holes formed therein and a locking arm for locking the male connector, and a guide member movable in the fitting recess along the fitting direction of the male connector. In the connector, the guide member has a side plate extending from the end of the guide plate along the fitting direction, and the locking arm extends from the free end of the side plate. It is characterized in that it extends in the opposite direction to the outgoing direction.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the connector of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a guide member used in the connector of FIG. Figure 3
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a female connector that accommodates the guide member of FIG. 2.

In FIG. 1, the electrical connector comprises a male connector 10 and a female connector 40, which are screwed together by a nut (not shown) fixed in the male connector 10 and a bolt 110 of the female connector 40. Both connectors 10 and 40 are fitted. The male connector 10 has an insulating housing 12 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. Accommodates contacts (not shown). Locking members 24 and 25 for preventing the female contacts from coming off are inserted into the opposite side surfaces 20 and 22 of the insulating housing 12, respectively. The female contact is locked by a housing lance (not shown) formed in the cavity 18 and double locked by a locking member 24. Locking member 24
A chamfer 26 is formed at one corner of the above, and a chamfer is formed at a position (mirror symmetrical position) indicated by the numeral 28 on another locking member 25 shown by a broken line. Since the two locking members 24 and 25 have chamfers 26 and 28 at different positions, polarity (direction) is imparted. Therefore, the locking member
24 cannot be inserted into the locking member insertion hole (not shown) of the opposite side surface 22, and another locking member 25 cannot be inserted into the locking member insertion hole 30 of the side surface 22. The shape for imparting the polarity is not limited to chamfering, and may be another shape such as an L-shaped recess or an arc surface.

The female connector 40 is a female insulating housing 42.
And has tabs (male) contacts (not shown) housed in a number of cavities 44 of the insulating housing 42. The fitting recess 46 of the insulating housing 42 is defined by four side walls 48, 50, 52, 54. Opposite sides 5 of the insulating housing 42
A locking member 60 (only one of which is shown) is inserted into each of 6 and 58 into a locking member insertion hole 62 (only one of which is shown) to prevent the tab contact from coming off. A chamfer 61 is formed on the locking member 60 similarly to the locking member 24. The locking member 60 has a different size from the locking member 24. Therefore, the locking member 60
Does not fit even when it is inserted into the locking member insertion hole 30 of the male connector housing 12, and makes the operator recognize that the insertion is wrong. On the contrary, the locking member 24 cannot be inserted into the locking member insertion hole 62 of the female connector housing 42. The connector
It is difficult to recognize the fitting directionality because 10 and 40 are formed substantially symmetrically about the center, but for example, the locking members 24 and 60 are black and the locking members 24 and 60 facing each other are locked. If the locking members on the same side are colored the same as the members are colored yellow, the fitting direction can be easily recognized.

In the fitting concave portion 46 of the female connector housing 42, from the bottom surface thereof, a cylindrical portion 64 and a plurality of (in this embodiment, 4
(Book) post 66 projects. The tubular portion 64 covers and protects the screw portion 112 of the bolt 110. In addition, the tubular portion 64 and the post 66
Is formed longer than the contact portion (not shown) of the tab contact protruding from the bottom surface of the fitting recess 46, and protects the tab contact contact portion from the so-called “twisting” of the male connector 10.

The guide member 70 is accommodated in the fitting recess 46 of the insulating housing 42 so as to be slidable along the side walls 46, 48, 50 and 52. 1 to 3, the guide member 70 includes a substantially rectangular guide plate portion 72 and two opposite sides 7 of the guide plate portion 72.
It has guide plates 72 and side plates 78, 78 extending substantially at right angles from 4, 76. A large number of holes 84 (most of which are omitted in FIG. 1) corresponding to the large number of cavities 44 of the insulating housing 42 and extending from the front surface 80 to the rear surface 82 are formed in the guide plate portion 72. The hole 84 is for supporting and guiding the contact portion (not shown) of the tab contact as in the conventional example to prevent the deformation or damage thereof. The guide plate portion 72 is further formed with a cylindrical portion insertion hole 86 and a post insertion hole 88. At the approximate center of the back surface 82 of the guide plate portion 72, between the two sides 74 and 76 (see FIG. 2A).
Is formed in the vertical direction). Since the guide plate portion 72 is reinforced by the protruding portion 90 that vertically cuts the guide plate portion 72, the bending and twisting of the guide plate portion 72 are reduced.

The side plates 78, 78 of the guide member 70 face each other 2
It extends from the sides 74 and 76 in the same direction. Therefore, FIG. 2 (B)
As shown in FIG. 5, the guide plate portion 72 and the two side plates 78, 78 form a U-shaped cross section. Due to this structure, the above-mentioned protrusion 90
At the same time, the guide plate portion 72 is reinforced to prevent the guide plate portion 72 from bending and twisting. From the free end side of each side plate 78, a plurality of flexible arms 92, 94, 96 extend in a direction opposite to the extending direction of the side plate 78. These arms 92, 94, 96 are cantilever beams whose fixed ends are the free ends of the side plates 78, and do not extend directly from the sides 74, 76 of the guide plate portion 72. Therefore, the arms 92, 94,
Compared with the case where 96 directly extends from the guide plate portion 72, the apparent protruding length from the surface 80 of the guide plate portion 72 becomes shorter by the extension length of the side plate 78. Therefore, when the female connector 40 (FIG. 1) is in a non-fitted state or when the guide member 70 is handled alone, the risk of deformation or damage of the arms 92, 94, 96 is reduced. Further, since the arms 92, 94, 96 are formed at the end portions of the guide plate portion 72, the number of cavities of the contacts is not sacrificed, and the side walls 48, 52 when accommodated in the insulating housing 42. Protected by. In addition, the arm
92, 94, 96 are connected to the guide plate portion 72 via a side plate 78 having a slight flexibility. Therefore, as compared with the case of directly extending from the guide plate portion 72, the flexible length is increased, the stress concentration generated in the arms 92, 94, 96 can be avoided, and the durability of the arms 92, 94, 96 is improved. improves. Guide posts 98 are integrally formed with the side plates 78 near both ends of each side plate 78 in the longitudinal direction. With this guide post 98, the guide member 70
Can move without inclining with respect to the extending direction of the contact portion (not shown) of the tab contact.

In the initial position of the guide member 70 shown in FIG. 3, the tip of the U-shaped third arm 96 has an insulating housing.
By contacting the third protrusion 104 of the side wall 48 (52) of 42,
The guide member 70 is prevented from being separated from the insulating housing 42. In addition, the inner ends 92a of the tips of the pair of substantially L-shaped first arms 92 come into contact with the tips 100a of the first protrusions 100 of the side walls 48 (52), so that the inside of the fitting recess 46 (see FIG. 3) to prevent the guide member 70 from moving downward. First arm 92
An inclined surface 92b is formed on the tip inner side portion 92a, and an inclined surface 100b corresponding to the inclined surface 92b is formed on the tip portion 100a of the first protrusion 100. When the inclined surfaces 92b and 100b come into contact with each other, the first arm 92 causes the side wall 48 (5
Bending in the direction away from 2) is prevented. Further, the extending direction of the inner tip portion 92a of the first arm 92 is not orthogonal to the surface of the side wall 50, but is slightly inclined toward the front plate 72 side. Moreover, the tip portion 100a of the first protrusion 100 also inclines corresponding to this inclination. Due to the mutual engagement of the slanted tip inner side portion 92a and the tip end portion 100a, the engagement with the first protrusion 100 unless the tip outer side portion 92c of the first arm 92 engages with the substantially diamond-shaped protrusion 32 of the male connector 10. It does not come off.

The male connector 10 enters the fitting recess 46 of the female connector 40, and the substantially rhombus 32 engages with the tip outer side portion 92c of the first arm 92 to expand the pair of first arms 92. When opened, the engagement between the first arm 92 and the first protrusion 100 is released. At the same time, the projections 34 on the side surfaces 20, 22 of the male connector 10 and the projections 106 in the grooves 105 inside the side walls 50, 54 of the female connector 40 are engaged to temporarily lock both connectors 10, 40. To do. Both connectors
Due to the inertia of the guide member 70 that abuts the female connector 40 that enters when the provisional locking of 10 and 40 is performed, the tab contact (not shown) causes the receptacle (female) contact (not shown) in the male connector 10 to be inserted. There is a possibility that only the guide member 70 may move to the retracted position before the regular fitting is started. In this case, since the tab contact is not sufficiently supported and guided, there is a risk of colliding with the receptacle contact or the male connector mating surface 16. Therefore, the guide member
The U-shaped second arm 94 of 70 abuts on the steep slope 102a of the second protrusion 102 of the side wall 48 to prevent movement of the guide member 70 alone. That is, when the first arm 92 and the first protrusion 100 are disengaged by the substantially diamond-shaped protrusion 32 of the male connector 10, the guide member 70 is slightly retracted (moved in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 3).
Then, the second arm 94 comes into contact with the steep slope 102a of the second protrusion 102 to temporarily stop the guide member 70. Next, when the male connector 10 is further advanced against the engagement of the second arm 94 and the second protrusion 102 by the screw engagement of the bolt 110 and the nut (not shown), the second arm 94 causes the second protrusion to move. After passing over 102, the guide member 70 can be moved to the deepest retracted position of the fitting recess 46. The movement of the guide member 70 from the initial position to the retracted position is smooth due to the sliding of the arms 92, 94, 96 and the side walls 48, 52 and the fitting of the guide post 98 and the post guide portion 108 of the female connector 40. . When the two connectors 10 and 40 are temporarily locked, the first arm 92 rides over the substantially diamond-shaped projection 32 of the male connector 10 and engages with the rear slope 32a (FIG. 1) of the male connector 10, which will be described later. The guide member 70 can be moved forward (moved in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 3) with the removal of the male connector 10.

When the male connector 10 is moved in the direction of withdrawing from the female connector 40 by rotating the bolt 110 in the reverse direction, the first arm 92 and the protrusion 32 are engaged to follow the male connector 10 and guide it. The member 70 advances. At this time, the first arm 92 and the second arm 94 are respectively connected to the first protrusion 100.
Since the gentle slope 100c and the gentle slope 102b of the second projection 102 are engaged to get over the first projection 100 and the second projection 102, the guide member 70 can be advanced relatively easily. When the guide member 70 reaches the initial position shown in FIG. 3, the third arm 96 comes into contact with the third protrusion 104 to prevent the guide member 70 from advancing. Therefore, the protrusion 32 of the male connector 10 and the first arm
92 is disengaged and only male connector 10 is female connector 40
It becomes possible to leave from. In this way, the cooperation of the plurality of arms and the protrusions makes it possible to maintain the initial position of the guide member 70, advance it, and prevent it from coming off. If the tool insertion grooves 97 and 107 are formed at positions adjacent to the tip of the third arm 96 and the third protrusion 104, the guide member 70 can be easily removed from the female connector 40.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the female connector after assembly. 1 and 4, the female connector 40 further includes a bolt holding housing 120 and an electric wire cover 130 to be attached if necessary. The bolt holding housing 120 holds the bolt 110 by locking the elastic arm 124 formed in the through hole 122 and the first step portion 114 of the bolt 110. The bolt 110 is inserted into a bolt insertion hole (not shown) communicating with the opening 64a (FIG. 1) of the cylindrical portion 64 of the female connector housing 42, and a metal fitting (not shown) embedded in the housing 42 is inserted into the bolt 110. 2nd step 11
The bolt 110 and the bolt holding housing 120 are fixed on the housing 42 by being locked to the bolt 6. A well-known separate indicator 124 is attached to the bolt holding housing 120 in order to prevent the screw portion 112 and the housings 12 and 42 from being damaged by over-tightening the bolt 110.

The wire cover 130 is for drawing out a wire group (not shown) extending from the wire insertion surface 68 of the female connector housing 42 in a predetermined direction. Wire cover 130
Four cutouts 132 are formed in the wire, and the wire group can be oriented in any direction. Wire cover
130 has four locking claws 134, and four locking protrusions formed on the side surfaces 56 and 58 of the female connector housing 42.
It is fixed on the female connector housing 42 by engaging with 69 (one not shown). Further, the wire cover 130 has a downwardly facing cylindrical portion 136 formed substantially at the center thereof. This cylindrical portion 136 is used when the wire cover 130 is attached to the female connector housing 42.
It has a diameter that overlaps with 120 cylindrical flanges 126. The wire insertion surface is formed by overlapping the cylindrical part 136 and the cylindrical flange 126.
An electric wire (not shown) extending from 68 does not enter the opening 138 formed by the cylindrical portion 136. Therefore, when the head 118 of the bolt 110 is rotated by a tool (not shown) such as an impact wrench, the electric wire is prevented from being entangled with the tool or the bolt head 118.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above.
It goes without saying that various modifications and changes can be made as necessary without departing from the essence of the present invention. For example, the first arm 92 may be locked in the recess instead of the protrusion 32 of the male connector 10.

Further, the guide plate portion of the guide member is not limited to a rectangle, but may be a polygon such as a triangle or a square.
Alternatively, other shapes such as a circle, an ellipse, and a cocoon shape may be used.

[0021]

According to the present invention, since the locking arm of the guide member is formed at a position that does not affect the arrangement of the contacts, there is an advantage that high-density mounting of the contacts can be achieved. Further, since the locking arm extends in the opposite direction to the side plate from the vicinity of the free end of the side plate extending from the end of the guide member front plate, the length protruding from the front plate is very small. Therefore, when the connector is not fitted, or when the guide member is handled alone, the possibility that the locking arm is deformed or damaged is extremely small. Further, since the guide member is reinforced by the side plate, harmful twisting and bending of the guide plate portion of the guide member are reduced, and smooth movement of the guide member and guideability of the male contact are improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a connector with a guide member of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a guide member used in the connector of FIG. 1, (A) a plan view, (B) a sectional view taken along line BB of (A), (C) a front view, (D) (A). 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a female connector that accommodates the guide member of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the female connector after assembly.

FIG. 5 shows a conventional example of a connector with a guide member,
(A) It is sectional drawing of a non-fitting state, (B) It is sectional drawing of a fitting state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Male connector 42 Insulated housing 46 Fitting recess 70 Guide member 72 Guide plate 78 Side plate 84 Hole 92 Locking arm (first arm)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A female insulating housing having a fitting recess for receiving a male connector, and a guide plate portion having a plurality of holes for guiding a contact portion of a male contact protruding into the fitting recess. And a connector having a locking arm that locks with the male connector, the guide member being movable in the fitting recess along the fitting direction of the male connector, wherein the guide member is The side plate extends from the end of the guide plate along the fitting direction, and the locking arm extends from the free end side of the side plate in a direction opposite to the extending direction of the side plate. A connector characterized by that.