TREA

Electrical connector capable of generating repelling and drawing forces between parts

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Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6231359
  • Patent Number
    6,231,359
  • Date Filed
    Friday, August 6, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 15, 2001
    23 years ago
Information
Abstract
An electrical connector assembly consists of a first connector having a driven member rotatably supported thereon and a resilient member provided between the first connector and the driven member; and a second connector having a drive means which engages with and drives the driven member into rotation to bias the resilient member, wherein the resilient member, when biased, produces a repulsion force and a drawing force in order, the repulsion force and the drawing force acting through the driven member on the second connector in directions of repelling and drawing the second connector, respectively. A reliable coupling with a low force and an improved working efficiency are attained.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




This invention relates to an electrical connector assembly, and more particularly to a pair of connectors reliably coupleable with each other by means of a resilient member provided on one of the connectors, and the resilient member being operable for repelling and drawing the other connector in the course of coupling the connectors.




2. Description of the Related Art




On a vehicle, such as an automobile, there are installed many electronic components for control purposes which are electrically connected by means of wiring harnesses, flat cables, and the like. These wiring harnesses, and the like, are used with various kinds of connectors which have water-proofness to be usable under severe conditions, such as submergence, and which are designed to be easily fitted and detached, making allowance for the assembly and maintenance of the vehicle.




Such a conventional pair of connectors, one provided on the electronic component and the other on the wiring harness, or the like, however, are often coupled in an incompletely-fitted condition, with terminals inside maintained out of contact with each other, though not noticeable from outside. If assembly, testing and maintenance operations are effected with such an incomplete connection overlooked, a failure of performance of such electronic equipment may be caused.




As a countermeasure to the above, connectors with an incomplete fitting detection mechanism have been proposed, in which mechanism a spring is contained in one of the mating connectors, and by making use of the repulsion force of the spring, the other connector is pushed out in case of incomplete fitting.




With the incomplete fitting detection mechanism as mentioned above, however, in order to push out the other connector, a spring is selected as that contained in the one connector which has a larger repulsion force than a terminal insertion or drawing-out force. As a result, the connector insertion force required in coupling the connectors often becomes twice or more the terminal insertion or drawing-out force, resulting in a poor working efficiency.




Further, because of the large connector insertion force required, the incomplete fitting detection mechanism is not suited for use with a multipolar connector involving many terminals.




Thus, there still remains improvement to be made to prevent an incomplete coupling of connectors and to reliably and easily couple connectors including multipolar connectors.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




This invention has been accomplished to overcome the above drawbacks and an object of this invention is to provide a connector assembly in which a pair of connectors are reliably coupled with an improved working efficiency by the structure that a repulsion force is produced when the connectors are in an incomplete fitted condition, which repulsion force repels the connectors from each other so as to prevent an incomplete coupling, and a drawing force is produced at a later stage of the fitting which draws the connectors to each other in the direction of their complete coupling.




In order to attain the object, according to this invention, there is provided an electrical connector assembly which comprises: a first connector including a driven member rotatably supported thereon and a resilient member provided between the first connector and the driven member; and a second connector including a drive means which, during fitting the first and second connectors, engages with and drives the driven member into rotation to bias the resilient member, wherein the resilient member, when biased, produces a repulsion force and a succeeding drawing force, the repulsion force and the drawing force acting through the driven member on the second connector in directions of repelling and drawing the second connector, respectively.




Preferably, the driven member has a slide guide means, and the resilient member is at a first end supported on the first connector and at a second end engaged with the slide guide means to be slidable between one and the other ends of the slide guide means to cause a switch from the repulsion force to the drawing force.




Preferably, the slide guide means comprises a straight slide slit.




Preferably, the slide guide means comprises a slide slit bent at an intermediate portion thereof into two straight portions, both inclined toward a side opposite the second connector.




Preferably, the driven member has a cutout for sliding engagement therein of the drive means, and the repulsion force and the drawing force, when the drive means is engaged in the cutout, act through the driven member on the drive means and thus the second connector.




Preferably, the resilient member comprises a tension spring.




Advantageously, the second connector further includes an urged means, and the drive means and the urged means, during fitting the first and second connectors, come into engagement in succession with a first end and a second end of the driven member, respectively, and while the drive means engages with the first end of the driven member, the driven member is rotated in a direction to bias the resilient member and produce the repulsion force which acts through the first end of the driven member on the drive means in the direction of repelling the second connector and, when the drive means disengages from the first end of the driven member, the driven member is rotated in a reverse direction by a resilient force of the resilient member to produce the drawing force and the urged means engages with the second end of the driven member such that the drawing force acts on the urged means in the direction of drawing the second connector.




Preferably, the drive means and the urged means are disposed on opposite sides of an axis of the second connector, the drive means being at a position closer to the first connector than the urged means.




Advantageously, the resilient member is a compression spring and is disposed between the first connector and the driven member at the first end side where the drive means engages.




Preferably, the compression spring is at one end thereof directly supported on the driven member at the first end side.




Preferably, the compression spring is at one end supported through a support on the first connector and at the other end operably engageable with the driven member at the first end side through a closed end indirect member fitted over the compression spring, the indirect member being longitudinally slidable in the support.




Preferably, the compression spring is internally supported by a collapse-preventing pin-like element around which the compression spring is retained.




Advantageously, the resilient member is a tension spring and disposed between the first connector and the driven member at the second end side where the urged means engages.




Preferably, the driven member is rotatable about a shaft provided on the first connector, which shaft is provided with a rotation regulating means for restricting a rotational position of the driven member at least prior to fitting the first and second connectors.




Advantageously, the first and second connectors, after completion of coupling, are decoupleable in reverse order, if desired for maintenance purposes, or the like, with the drawing force first acting through the driven member on the second connector and the repulsion force then acting through the driven member on the second connector during detaching the first and second connectors.




The above and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a first conceptual view for first and second embodiments of a connector assembly according to this invention, showing in vertical section essential portions of the connectors at the start of their coupling;





FIG. 2

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors of

FIG. 1

, shown in a halfway fitted condition;





FIG. 3

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors of

FIG. 1

, shown in a full fitted condition;





FIG. 4

is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of a connector assembly according to this invention;





FIG. 5

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors of the connector assembly of

FIG. 4

;





FIG. 6

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 5

;





FIG. 7

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors of

FIG. 5

, shown in a halfway fitted condition;





FIG. 8

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 7

;





FIG. 9

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a condition proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 7

;





FIG. 10

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 9

;





FIG. 11

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a condition further proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 9

;





FIG. 12

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 11

;





FIG. 13

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a full fitted condition;





FIG. 14

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 13

;





FIG. 15

is an essential portion vertical section of a second embodiment of a connector assembly according to this invention, shown with the connectors separated;





FIG. 16

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 15

;





FIG. 17

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a halfway fitted condition;





FIG. 18

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 17

;





FIG. 19

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a condition proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 17

;





FIG. 20

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 19

;





FIG. 21

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a condition further proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 19

;





FIG. 22

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 21

;





FIG. 23

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a full fitted condition;





FIG. 24

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 23

;





FIG. 25

is a second conceptual view for a third embodiment of a connector assembly according to this invention, showing in vertical section essential portions of the connectors at the start of their coupling;





FIG. 26

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a halfway fitted condition proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 25

, where a repulsion force is acting;





FIG. 27

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a condition proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 26

, where a drive portion is disengaged from a driven member;





FIG. 28

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a condition further proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 27

, where a drawing force starts to act;





FIG. 29

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a condition further proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 28

, where the drawing force is acting;





FIG. 30

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a full fitted condition;





FIG. 31

is an exploded perspective view of a third embodiment of a connector assembly according to this invention;





FIG. 32

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors of

FIG. 31

;





FIG. 33

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 32

;





FIG. 34

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a halfway fitted condition;





FIG. 35

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 34

;





FIG. 36

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a condition proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 34

;





FIG. 37

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 36

;





FIG. 38

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a condition further proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 36

;





FIG. 39

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 38

;





FIG. 40

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a full fitted condition;





FIG. 41

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 40

;





FIG. 42

is a third conceptual view for a fourth embodiment of a connector assembly according to this invention, showing in vertical section essential portions of the connectors at the start of their coupling;





FIG. 43

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a halfway fitted condition proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 42

, where a repulsion force is acting;





FIG. 44

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a condition proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 43

, where a drive portion is disengaged from a driven member;





FIG. 45

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a condition further proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 44

, where a drawing force starts to act;





FIG. 46

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a condition further proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 45

, where the drawing force is acting;





FIG. 47

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a full fitted condition;





FIG. 48

is an exploded perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a connector assembly according to this invention;





FIG. 49

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors of

FIG. 48

;





FIG. 50

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 49

;





FIG. 51

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a halfway fitted condition;





FIG. 52

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 51

;





FIG. 53

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a condition further proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 51

;





FIG. 54

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 53

;





FIG. 55

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a condition further proceeded from the condition of

FIG. 53

;





FIG. 56

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in

FIG. 55

;





FIG. 57

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors, shown in a full fitted condition; and





FIG. 58

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in FIG.


57


.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Embodiments of this invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings.





FIGS. 1

to


3


are first conceptual views for the first and second embodiments of a connector assembly according to this invention. The first and second embodiments of this invention will be later described with reference to

FIGS. 4

to


14


and

FIGS. 15

to


24


, respectively. First, the first concept will be described.





FIG. 1

is a vertical section of essential portions of connectors according to this invention,

FIG. 2

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors in a halfway fitted condition, and

FIG. 3

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors fully coupled.




In

FIG. 1

, denoted


1


is a connector assembly made up of a male connector


2


and a female connector


3


fittable to each other. For simplicity of description, female and male wired terminals of known structure, which are received in the respective male and female connectors


2


,


3


, a known locking mechanism, and the like, for these connectors are omitted.




The male connector


2


includes a housing


4


of synthetic resin with an empty space


4




b


formed therein, the empty space opening at the front end


4




a


of the housing on a fitting side with the female connector


3


, a driven member


6


rotatable about a shaft


5


provided on an inner side wall


4




c


of the housing


4


, and a spring


7


provided between the housing


4


and the driven member


6


. The side wall


4




c


is formed with a slit


8


extending inwardly from the front end


4




a


. The housing


4


is provided on the inner rear wall


4




d


with an inwardly projected U-shaped support


9


for the spring


7


.




The driven member


6


takes the form of a rectangular flat plate and is rotatably supported at an intermediate portion thereof on the shaft


5


. The driven member


6


has a slide slit


10


extending along one side edge between one end


6




a


and the other end


6




b


thereof. A U-shaped cutout


11


is formed at the one end


6




a


of the driven member


6


.




The spring


7


, a known tension spring, is at one end


7




a


supported in a hooked manner on the support


9


and, at the other end


7




b


, slidably supported in a hooked manner in the slide slit


10


.




The spring


7


is normally stretched to some extent to pull, as shown in

FIG. 1

, at one end


10




a


of the slide slit


10


located on the other end


6




b


side of the driven member


6


so that the driven member


6


has its one end


6




a


inclined on the female connector


3


side, and that one wall


11




a


of its cutout


11


is located in the slit


8


and the other end


11




b


outside the slit


8


.




The shaft


5


is provided with not-shown rotation regulating means for restricting the rotation of the driven member


6


.




The female connector


3


includes a housing


13


of synthetic resin with a hollow receiving section


12


formed therein for receiving the male connector


2


and a drive portion


14


projecting on an inner wall


12




a


of the receiving section


12


, the drive portion


14


being capable of sliding in the slit


8


into and out of the cutout


11


when fitting the connectors


2


and


3


.




The coupling operation of the above connectors


2


and


3


will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 1

to


3


.




As shown in

FIG. 1

, the male connector


2


and the female connector


3


are arranged with their front end


4




a


and receiving section


12


opposed, followed by moving the female connector


3


in the direction of an arrow P


1


to start the coupling.




As shown in

FIG. 2

, as the male connector


2


is received into the receiving section


12


of the female connector


3


, the female connector drive portion


14


slides in the slit


8


and comes into abutment against the one wall


11




a


of the cutout


11


. As the female connector


3


is further pushed, the drive portion


14


engages in the cutout


11


and presses on the one wall


11




a


to rotate the driven member


6


counterclockwise on the drawing, stretching the spring


7


, at which time addition is made to the pulling force of the spring


7


, with the result that the other end


7




b


of the spring


7


slides in the slide slit


10


so as to escape the added pulling force.




During when the other end


7




b


of the spring


7


is located between the end


10




a


of the slide slit


10


(

FIG. 1

) and a position near the shaft


5


(FIG.


2


), the added pulling force of the spring


7


acts on the driven member


6


in the direction of its clockwise rotation, with the result that a repulsion force is produced at the one end


6




a


side of the driven member


6


which tends to push the female connector


3


outwardly.




Thus, in the halfway fitted condition, as shown in

FIG. 2

, the repulsion force produced at the one end


6




a


side of the driven member


6


acts on the drive rod


14


to push out the female connector


3


, thereby to prevent an incomplete coupling.




If the female connector


3


is further pushed in the direction of the arrow P


1


, the other end


7




b


of the spring


7


slides rapidly to the end


10




b


of the slide slit


10


, and the connectors


2


and


3


are placed in a full fitted condition.




At this time, the spring


7


, due to its restoring nature, pulls at the one end


6




a


side of the driven member


6


, causing a drawing force which acts through the cutout


11


on the drive portion


14


in the direction of drawing the female connector


3


. A reduction is thus made in the force required for the fitting operation and a so-called low coupling force connector assembly is attained, leading to an improved working efficiency.




To decouple the connectors


2


,


3


, the above operation is reversed, and on moving the female connector


3


in the direction opposite the arrow P


1


in

FIG. 3

, the drive portion


14


presses on the other wall


11




b


of the cutout


11


to rotate the driven member


6


clockwise, at which time the spring


7


is stretched to pull the driven member


6


with an increased pulling force.




As the female connector


3


is further moved in the direction opposite the arrow P


1


to rotate the driven member


6


clockwise, the other end


7




b


of the spring


7


slides in the slide slit


10


to the position shown in

FIG. 2

in the same manner as described above so as to escape the increased pulling force of the spring


7


. On further moving the female connector


3


in the direction opposite the arrow P


1


, the other end


7




b


of the spring


7


slides rapidly in the slide slit


10


to its end


10




a


, as shown in FIG.


1


. At this time, the spring


7


, due to its restoring nature, pulls at the other end


6




b


side of the driven member


6


, which in turn causes a repulsion force at the one end


6




a


side of the driven member


6


which acts through the cutout


11


on the drive portion


14


in the direction of pushing out the female connector


3


. Thus, the female connector


3


can be detached with a low force.




Thus, as described above with reference to

FIGS. 1

to


3


, by the other end


7




b


of the spring


7


which slides between the opposite ends


10




a


,


10




b


of the slide slit


10


, the repulsion force and the drawing force for the female connector


3


can be switched during the process of rotation of the driven member


6


. Thus, in a halfway fitted condition, the repulsion force is produced which tends to push out the female connector


3


to thereby prevent an incomplete coupling, and subsequently, as the coupling proceeds, the drawing force is produced with which the connectors


2


,


3


are drawn together, leading to a reliable coupling and an improved working efficiency.




A first embodiment of a connector assembly according to this invention will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 4

to


14


.





FIG. 4

is an exploded perspective view of the connector assembly according to the first embodiment, with the connector assembly shown upside down for convenience of explanation,

FIG. 5

is a vertical section of an essential portion the connector assembly of

FIG. 4

, and

FIG. 6

is a horizontal section of an essential portion of the connector assembly of FIG.


5


.




In

FIG. 4

, denoted as


21


is a connector assembly which is made up of a female connector


22


and a male connector


23


fittable to each other. The female connector


22


includes a driven member


25


with a shaft


24


and a tension spring


26


. The male connector


23


has a drive portion


28


formed on its housing


27


.




The female connector


22


has a rectangular receiving section


29


formed therein which opens at the front end


29




a


for receiving the housing


27


of the male connector


23


, and a terminal accommodating section


31


with a row of known male terminals


30


accommodated therein (only one is shown in FIG.


5


), the terminal accommodating section


31


adjoining the receiving section


29


at the rear end.




The female connector


22


internally has an empty space


32


in communication with the receiving section


29


, which empty space is defined below the terminal accommodating section


31


(FIG.


5


), and a triangular-shaped support


33


provided integrally on an part of inner rear wall


32




a


of the empty space


32


.




A shaft hole


29




c


for the shaft


24


is provided in one wall


29




b


of the receiving section


29


, the shaft hole having a pair of recesses


29




d


,


29




d


formed at its circumferential edge which cooperate with a later-described pair of rotation regulating projections


24




b


,


24




b


of the shaft


24


to regulate the rotation of the driven member


25


. The wall


29




e


opposed to the one wall


29




b


has a recess


29




f


extending inwardly from the front end


29




a


in a stepped manner (

FIG. 4

) and a rectangular locking hole


29




g


formed therethrough on an inboard side of the stepped recess


29




f


.




The support


33


is provided with a throughhole


33




a


to which the spring


26


is at one end


26




a


anchored. Denoted


32




b


is a work window for use in mounting the spring


26


.




The driven member


25


, constituted by a triangular-shaped plate of synthetic resin, has, in addition to the shaft


24


, a cutout


35


and a slide slit


36


, the shaft


24


being fittable into the shaft hole


29




c


to rotatably support the driven member


25


inside the receiving section


29


.




The shaft


24


is of circular cross section and has a vertical slit


24




a


extending from the top end toward the driven member


25


. The pair of rotation regulating projections


24




b


,


24




b


are provided on opposite sides of the slit at the top end of the shaft


24


.




The cutout


35


is of U-shape and provided at the entrance with tapers


35




a


,


35




a


and extends from a first side edge


25




a


of the driven member


25


in parallel to a second side edge


25




b


of same. The slide slit


36


has one end


36




a


and the other end


36




b


, extends along a third side edge


25




c


of the driven member


25


and has a small width as compared with the cutout


35


.




The shaft


24


is located on the axis (not shown) of the cutout


35


. That part of the driven member


25


including the slide slit


36


is formed at a one-step lower level in thickness direction than the remainder of the driven member


25


for hooking engagement of the other end


26




b


of the spring


26


in the slide slit


36


.




The male connector


23


includes a housing


27


of substantially rectangular shape with a rectangular-shaped terminal accommodating section


38


formed therein for receiving a row of known female terminals


37


(only one is shown in FIG.


5


). The housing


27


has a drive portion-containing space section


39


formed at one vertical side of the terminal accommodating section


38


, the drive portion-containing space section containing the drive portion


28


. At the other vertical side of the terminal accommodating section


38


is pro vided a locking arm


40


.




The drive portion-containing space section


39


is laterally defined by side walls


39




a


,


39




a


of the housing


27


, and the drive portion


28


is located therein at such position as will enter the cutout


35


when coupling the connectors


22


,


23


.




The drive portion


28


consists of a ring-shaped seat


28




a


and a pin


28




b


of substantially circular cross section errected on the seat


28




a.






The locking arm


40


is of known structure and is provided with a locking projection


40




a


for locking engagement in the locking hole


29




g.






The assemblage of the female and male connectors


22


and


23


will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 5 and 6

.




First, description is made of the female connector


22


.




As shown in

FIG. 5

, the terminal receiving section


31


has wired male terminals


30


locked therein with related lances


31




b


. The electrical contact


30




a


of each male terminal


30


is located protruding into the receiving section


29


.




The driven member


25


is mounted on the inner side of the one wall


29




b


of the receiving section


29


, with its shaft


24


fitted in the shaft hole


29




c


. The spring


26


, one end


26




a


thereof attached to the support


33


, is at the other end


26




b


slidably engaged in the slide slit


36


at the one end


36




a


. The spring


26


is normally stretched to some extent to pull at the one end


36




a


of the slide slit


36


.




The shaft


24


and the support


33


, as indicated in

FIG. 6

, are located on the same axis (not shown) of the female connector


22


. The driven member


25


has its cutout


35


located on a side closer to the male connector


23


. Thus, the driven member


25


is disposed so that its first to third side edges


25




a


to


25




c


are inclined relative to the not-shown axis of the female connector


22


. Due to the rotation regulating projections


24




b


,


24




b


which restrict the rotation of the driven member


25


, the spring


26


is disposed inclinedly to the not-shown axis of the female connector


22


, as shown in FIG.


6


.




Description will now be made of the male connector


23


.




As shown in

FIG. 5

, the terminal accommodating section


38


has wired female terminals


37


locked therein with related lances


38




a.






The drive portion


28


is located at an offset position from the axis (not shown) of the male terminal


23


, as shown in

FIG. 6

, so as to enter the cutout


35


as mentioned above.




The coupling operation of the female and male connectors


22


and


23


will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 5

to


14


, each two of which, for example,

FIGS. 5 and 6

,

FIGS. 7 and 8

, . . . are paired, odd figures being longitudinal sections and even figures being horizontal sections showing essential portions in the related odd figures.




The female connector


22


and the male connector


23


are arranged in opposed relation to be coupled, as shown in

FIGS. 5 and 6

, followed by moving the male connector


23


in the direction of an arrow P


2


to start the coupling.




If the male connector


23


advances halfway into the receiving section


29


of the female connector


22


, as shown in

FIGS. 7 and 8

, the male connector drive portion


28


arrives at the tapers


35




a


,


35




a


at the entrance of the cutout


35


(FIG.


8


), at which time the male and female terminals


30


and


37


are still not in contact with each other (FIG.


7


).




On further pushing the male connector


23


in the direction of the arrow P


2


, the male connector drive portion


28


engages and slides in the cutout


35


, while causing a clockwise rotation of the driven member


25


as illustrated in the drawing. The spring


26


is stretched in compliance therewith, with the result that an addition is made to its pulling force.




If the driven member


25


is rotated up to the position, as shown in

FIG. 10

, in which the direction of the axis of the slide slit


36


is perpendicular to the not-shown axis of the female connector


22


, the other end


26




b


of the spring


26


slides to a position near the above not-shown axis so as to escape the added pulling force of the spring


26


, at which time the male terminal


30


is, at its electrical contact


30




a


, in contact, or almost in contact with the female terminal


37


(FIG.


9


).




Until the other end


26




b


of the spring


26


slides to the position, as shown in

FIG. 10

, the spring


26


, due to its restoring nature, acts on the driven member


25


in the direction of its counterclockwise rotation, thereby to concurrently produce a repulsion force which acts through the driven member


25


(at the cutout


35


) on the drive portion


28


to push the male connector


23


outwardly.




Thus, in the halfway fitted condition as shown in

FIGS. 9 and 10

, due to the repulsion force acting on the male connector drive portion


28


, the male connector


23


tends to be pushed out, thereby to prevent effecting an incomplete coupling.




If the male connector


23


is further pushed in, the drive portion


28


continues to slide in the cutout


35


to further rotate the driven member


25


clockwise as shown in

FIGS. 11 and 12

, during which the inclination of the slide slit


36


relative to the axis of the connectors switches (FIG.


12


), so that the other end


26




b


of the spring


26


slides rapidly to the other end


36




b


of the slide slit


36


(FIG.


12


). Concurrently, the male and female terminals


30


and


37


start to be connected (FIG.


11


).




The spring


26


, due to its restoring nature, pulls at the other end


36




b


of the slide slit


36


, causing a drawing force at the cutout


35


which acts on the drive portion


28


in the direction of pulling the male connector


23


. A reduction is thus made in the force required for inserting the male connector


23


.




If the male connector


23


is further pushed in the direction of the arrow P


2


, as shown in

FIGS. 13 and 14

, the male connector drive portion


28


slides, under the above drawing force, in the cutout


35


, while causing a continued rotation of the driven member


25


until it reaches the innermost part of the cutout


35


(FIG.


14


). By the time the driven member


25


is rotated to the position as shown in

FIG. 14

, the female and male connectors


22


,


23


are fully coupled together with a low insertion force, completing the connection of the male and female terminals


30


,


37


(FIG.


13


).




To decouple the connectors


22


,


23


, the above operation is effected in reverse order, and on moving the male connector


23


in the direction opposite the arrow P


2


in

FIG. 14

, the male connector drive portion


28


presses at the cutout


35


to rotate the driven member


25


counterclockwise, at which time the spring


26


is stretched to draw the driven member


25


with an increased pulling force.




As the male connector


23


is moved in the direction opposite the arrow P


2


and the driven member


25


is rotated, the other end


26




b


of the spring


26


slides in the slide slit


36


to the position shown in

FIG. 10

in a manner similar to that described above so as to escape the increased pulling force. On further moving the male connector


23


in the direction opposite the arrow P


2


, the other end


26




b


of the spring


26


slides rapidly to the one end


36




a


of the slide slit


36


as shown in FIG.


8


. At this time, the spring


26


, due to its restoring nature, pulls at the one end


36




a


of the slide slit


36


, causing a repulsion force which acts through the driven member


25


(at the cutout


35


) on the drive portion


28


in the direction of pushing out the male connector


23


. Thus, the male connector


23


can be detached with a low force.




Thus, as described above with reference to

FIGS. 4

to


14


, by the other end


26




b


of the spring


26


which slides between the opposite ends


36




a


,


36




b


of the slide slit


36


, the repulsion force and the drawing force for the male connector


23


can be switched during the process of rotating the driven member


25


. In other words, in a halfway fitted condition, a repulsion force is produced which acts on the male connector


23


in the direction of its separation to thereby prevent an incomplete coupling, and subsequently, as the coupling operation proceeds, a drawing force is produced which acts on the male connector


23


in the direction of its complete coupling with the female connector


22


, leading to a reliable coupling and an improved working efficiency.




A second embodiment of a connector assembly according to this invention will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 15

to


24


.





FIG. 15

is a vertical section of an essential portion of the connectors according to the second embodiment, and

FIG. 16

is a horizontal section of the essential portions in FIG.


15


.




In

FIGS. 15 and 16

, denoted


51


is a connector assembly which is made up of a female connector


52


and a male connector


53


fittable to each other. The female connector


52


includes a driven member


55


with a shaft


54


and a tension spring


56


. The male connector


53


has a drive portion


58


formed on its housing


57


.




The female connector


52


has a rectangular receiving section


59


formed therein which opens at the front end


59




a


for receiving the housing


57


of the male connector


53


, and a terminal accommodating section


61


with a row of known male terminals


60


accommodated therein (only one is shown in FIG.


15


), the terminal accommodating section


61


adjoining the receiving section


59


at the rear e nd.




The female connector


52


internally has an empty space


62


in communication with the receiving section


59


, which empty space is defined below the terminal accommodating section


61


(FIG.


15


), and a triangular-shaped support


63


provided integrally on an inner rear wall


62




a


of the empty space


62


.




A shaft hole


59




c


(

FIG. 15

) for the shaft


54


is provided in one wall


59




b


of the receiving section


59


, the shaft hole having a pair of recesses


59




d


,


59




d


formed at its circumferential edge which cooperate with a later-described pair of rotation regulating projections


54




b


,


54




b


of the shaft


54


to restrict the rotation of the driven member


55


. The wall


59




e


opposed to the one wall


59




b


has a recess


59




f


(

FIG. 15

) extending inwardly from the front end


59




a


in a stepped manner and a rectangular locking hole


59




g


(

FIG. 15

) formed therethrough on an inboard side of the stepped recess


59




f.






The support


63


is provided with a throughhole


63




a


for hooking engagement therein of one end


56




a


of the spring


56


. Denoted


62




b


(

FIG. 15

) is a work window for use in mounting the spring


56


.




The driven member


55


, constituted by a triangular-shaped plate of synthetic resin, has, in addition to the shaft


54


, a cutout


65


and a slide slit


66


, the shaft


54


being fittable into the shaft hole


59




c


(

FIG. 15

) to rotatably support the driven member


55


inside the receiving section


59


.




The shaft


54


is of circular cross section (

FIG. 15

) and has a vertical slit


54




a


(

FIG. 15

) extending from the top end toward the driven member


55


. The pair of rotation regulating projections


54




b


,


54




b


are provided on opposite sides of the slit


54




a


at the top end of the shaft


54


.




The cutout


65


is of U-shape and provided at the entrance with tapers


65




a


,


65




a


and extends from a first side edge


55




a


of the driven member


55


in parallel to a second side edge


55




b


of same.




The slide slit


66


, as shown in

FIG. 16

, is bent at an intermediate portion thereof into two straight portions, a first slit


66




c


and a second slit


66




d


, extends along a similarly bent or doglegged third side edge


55




c


of the driven member


55


, and has one end


66




a


on the first slit


66




c


side and the other end


66




b


on the second slit


66




d


side. The slide slit


66


has a small width as compared with the cutout


65


.




The shaft


54


is located on the axis (not shown) of the cutout


65


. That part of the driven member


55


including the slide slit


66


is formed at a one-step lower level in thickness direction than the remainder of the driven member


55


for hooking engagement of the other end


56




b


of the spring


56


in the slide slit


66


(FIG.


15


).




The male connector


53


, as shown in

FIG. 15

, includes a housing


57


of substantially rectangular shape with a rectangular-shaped terminal accommodating section


68


formed therein for receiving a row of known female terminals


67


(only one is shown in FIG.


15


). The housing


57


has a drive portion-containing space section


69


formed at one vertical side of the terminal accommodating section


68


, the drive portion-containing space section containing the drive portion


58


. At the other vertical side of the terminal accommodating section


68


is provided a locking arm


70


.




The drive portion-containing space section


69


, as shown in

FIG. 16

, is laterally defined by side walls


69




a


,


69




a


of the housing


57


, and the drive portion


58


is located therein at such position as will enter the cutout


65


when coupling the connectors


52


,


53


.




The drive portion


58


consists of a ring-shaped seat


58




a


and a pin


58




b


of circular cross section errected on the seat


58




a.






The locking arm


70


is of known structure and is provided with a locking projection


70




a


for locking engagement in the locking hole


59




g.






The assemblage of the female and male connectors


52


and


53


will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 15 and 16

.




First, description is made of the female connector


52


.




As shown in

FIG. 15

, the terminal receiving section


61


has wired male terminals


60


locked therein with related lances


61




b


. The electrical contact


60




a


of each male terminal


60


is located protruding into the receiving section


59


.




The driven member


55


is mounted on the inner side of the one wall


59




b


of the receiving section


59


, with its shaft


54


fitted in the shaft hole


59




c


. The spring


56


, one end


56




a


thereof attached to the support


63


, is at the other end


56




b


slidably engaged in the slide slit


66


at the one end


66




a


. The spring


56


is normally stretched to some extent to pull at the one end


66




a


of the slide slit


66


.




The shaft


54


and the support


63


, as indicated in

FIG. 16

, are located on the same axis (not shown) of the female connector


52


. The driven member


55


has its cutout


65


located on a side closer to the male connector


53


. Thus, the driven member


55


is disposed so that its first to third side edges


55




a


to


55




c


are inclined relative to the not-shown axis of the female connector


52


. Due to the rotation regulating projections


54




b


,


54




b


which restrict the rotation of the driven member


55


, the spring


56


is disposed inclined to the not-shown axis of the female connector


52


as shown in FIG.


16


.




Description will now be made of the male connector


53


.




As shown in

FIG. 15

, the terminal accommodating section


68


has wired female terminals


67


locked therein with related lances


68




a.






The drive


58


is located at an offset position from the axis (not shown) of the male terminal


53


as shown in

FIG. 16

so as to enter the cutout


65


as mentioned above.




The coupling operation of the female and male connectors


52


and


53


will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 15

to


24


, each two of which, for example,

FIGS. 15 and 16

,

FIGS. 17 and 18

, . . . are paired, odd figures being longitudinal sections and even figures being horizontal sections showing essential portions in the related odd figures.




The female connector


52


and the male connector


53


, as shown in

FIGS. 15 and 16

, are arranged in opposed relation to be coupled, followed by moving the male connector


53


in the direction of an arrow P


3


to start the coupling.




If the male connector


53


advances halfway into the receiving section


59


of the female connector


52


as shown in

FIGS. 17 and 18

, the male connector drive portion


58


arrives at the tapers


65




a


,


65




a


at the entrance of the cutout


65


(FIG.


18


), at which time the male and female terminals


60


and


67


are still not in contact with each other (FIG.


17


).




On further pushing the male connector


53


in the direction of the arrow P


3


, the male connector drive portion


58


engages and slides in the cutout


65


, while causing a clockwise rotation of the driven member


55


on the drawing. The spring


56


is stretched in compliance therewith, with the result that an addition is made to its pulling force.




If the driven member


55


is rotated up to the position as shown in

FIG. 20

in which the direction of axis the of the first slit


66




c


is perpendicular to the not-shown axis of the female connector


52


, the other end


56




b


of the spring


56


slides to a position near the above not-shown axis so as to escape the added pulling force, at which time the male terminal


60


is, at the tip end of its electrical contact


60




a


, in contact, or almost in contact, with the female terminal


67


(FIG.


19


).




Until the other end


56




b


of the spring


56


slides to the position as shown in

FIG. 20

, the spring


56


, due to its restoring nature, acts on the driven member


55


in the direction of its counterclockwise rotation, thereby to concurrently produce a repulsion force which acts through the driven member


55


(at the cutout


65


) on the drive portion


58


to push the male connector


53


outwardly.




Thus, in the halfway fitted condition as shown in

FIGS. 19 and 20

, due to the repulsion force acting on the male connector drive portion


58


, the male connector


53


tends to be pushed out, thereby to prevent an incomplete coupling.




If the male connector


53


is further pushed in the direction of the arrow P


3


, as shown in

FIGS. 21 and 22

, the drive portion


58


continues sliding in the cutout


65


to further rotate the driven member


55


clockwise, during which the inclination of the slide slit


66


, especially at the second slit


66




d


, turns largely relative to the axis of the connectors, with the result that the other end


56




b


of the spring


56


slides rapidly to the other end


66




b


of the slide slit


66


(FIG.


22


). At this time, the male and female terminals


60


and


67


start to be connected together (FIG.


21


). Further, because the spring


56


, due to its restoring nature, pulls at the other end


66




b


of the slide slit


66


, a drawing force is produced which acts through the driven member


55


(at the cutout


65


) on the drive


58


portion in the direction of drawing the male connector


53


. A reduction is thus made in the force required for coupling the connectors together.




If the male connector


53


is further pushed in the direction of the arrow P


3


, as shown in

FIGS. 23 and 24

, the drive portion


58


slides, under the above drawing force, in the cutout


65


, while causing a continued rotation of the driven member


55


until it reaches the innermost part of the cutout


65


. By the time the driven member


55


is rotated to the position as shown in

FIG. 24

, the female and male connectors


52


,


53


are fully coupled together with a low insertion force, completing the connection of the male and female terminals


60


,


67


(FIG.


23


).




To decouple the connectors


52


,


53


, the above operation is effected in reverse order, and on moving the male connector


53


in the direction opposite the arrow P


3


in

FIG. 24

, the male connector drive portion


58


presses at the cutout


65


to rotate the driven member


55


counterclockwise, at which time the spring


56


is stretched to draw the driven member


55


with an increased pulling force.




As the male connector


53


is moved in the direction opposite the arrow P


3


and the driven member


55


is rotated, the other end


56




b


of the spring


56


slides in the slide slit


66


to the position shown in

FIG. 20

in a manner similar to that described above so as to escape the increased pulling force. On further moving the male connector


53


in the direction opposite the arrow P


3


, the other end


56




b


of the spring


56


, due to the first slit


66




c


which inclines largely relative to the axis of the connectors, slides at a dash to the one end


66




a


of the slide slit


66


as shown in FIG.


18


. At this time, the spring


56


, due to its restoring nature, pulls at the one end


66




a


of-the slide slit


66


, causing a repulsion force which acts through the driven member


55


(at the cutout


65


) on the drive portion


58


in the direction of pushing out the male connector


53


. Thus, the male connector


53


can be detached with a low force.




Thus, as described above with reference to

FIGS. 15

to


24


, by the other end


56




b


of the spring


56


which slides between the opposite ends


66




a


,


66




b


of the bent slide slit


66


, the repulsion force and the drawing force for the male connector


53


can be switched during the process of rotation of the driven member


55


. In other words, in a halfway fitted condition, a repulsion force is produced which acts on the male connector


53


in the direction of its separation to thereby prevent an incomplete coupling, and subsequently, as the coupling operation proceeds, a drawing force is produced which acts on the male connector


53


in the direction of its complete coupling with the female connector


52


, leading to a reliable coupling and an improved working efficiency.





FIGS. 25

to


30


are second conceptual views for the third embodiment of a connector assembly according to this invention. The third embodiment of this invention, which is based on the second concept, will be later described with reference to

FIGS. 31

to


41


. First, the second concept will be described.





FIG. 25

is a vertical section of essential portions of connectors according to this invention,

FIG. 26

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors halfway fitted and under repulsion,

FIG. 27

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors in a condition where their drive portion and driven member are disengaged,

FIG. 28

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors at the start of a drawing force,

FIG. 29

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors under the drawing force, and

FIG. 30

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors fully coupled.




In

FIG. 25

, denoted


81


is a connector assembly made up of a female connector


82


and a male connector


83


fittable to each other. For simplicity of description, male and female wired terminals of known structure which are received in the respective female and male connectors


82


,


83


, a known locking mechanism, and the like, for these connectors are omitted.




The female connector


82


includes a housing


84


of synthetic resin with a receiving section


84




b


formed therein, the receiving section


84




b


opening at the front end


84




a


of the housing


84


on a fitting side with the male connector


83


, a driven member


86


rotatable about a shaft


85


provided on an inner side wall


84




c


of the housing


84


, and a spring


87


provided between the housing


84


and the driven member


86


, the receiving section


84




b


internally having a support


89


for the spring


87


.




The driven member


86


is of rod-like shape and is rotatably supported at an intermediate portion thereof between one end


86




a


and the other end


86




b


by the shaft


85


.




The spring


87


, a known compression spring, is at one end


87




a


rotatably or fixedly supported on the support


89


and at the other end


87




b


rotatably or fixedly supported on the one end


86




a


of the driven member


86


.




The shaft


85


is provided with not-shown rotation regulator means for restricting the rotation of the driven member


86


.




The male connector


83


includes a housing


93


of synthetic resin which is received in the receiving section


84




b


of the female connector


82


. The housing


93


has a projecting drive portion


94


of substantially circular cross section which, during coupling with the female connector


82


, comes into contact with the one end


86




a


of the driven member


86


, and a projecting urged portion


95


of substantially circular cross section at which, during coupling, the male connector


83


is urged by the other end


86




b


of the driven member


86


.




The coupling operation of the above connectors


82


and


83


will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 25

to


30


.




The female connector


82


and the male connector


83


are arranged in opposed relation to be coupled, as shown in

FIG. 25

, followed by moving the male connector


83


in the direction of an arrow P


4


to start the coupling.




As the male connector


83


advances into the female connector


82


, the male connector drive portion


94


comes into contact with the driven member


86


to rotate same counterclockwise on the drawing, compressing the spring


87


, as shown in FIG.


26


. At this time, the compressed spring


87


, due to its restoring nature, produces a repulsion force which acts through the driven member


86


(at the one end


86




a


side) on the drive portion


94


in a direction which tends to repel and push out the male connector


83


, with the result that an incomplete coupling can be prevented.




If the male connector


83


is further pushed in the direction of the arrow P


4


, the drive portion


94


, as shown in

FIG. 27

, disengages from the driven member


86


to release the driven member its counterclockwise rotation, and the spring


87


urges the driven member


86


to rotate in a clockwise direction as shown in FIG.


28


. Concurrently with the above, a drawing force is generated which acts through the driven member


86


at the other end


86




b


side on the urged portion


95


in the direction of drawing the male connector


83


. In other words, as shown in

FIG. 29

, the other end


86




b


of the driven member


86


abuts against and presses on the urged portion


95


to push the latter and thus the male connector


83


deeper into the female connector


82


. The male connector


83


is thus pushed in the direction of the arrow P


4


under the drawing force into a full fitted position with the female connector


82


as shown in FIG.


30


.




A reduction is thus made in the force required for the fitting operation and a so-called low coupling force connector assembly is attained, leading to an improved working efficiency.




To decouple the connectors


82


,


83


, the above operation is effected in reverse order, and on moving the male connector


83


in the direction opposite the arrow P


4


in

FIG. 30

, the urged portion


95


presses on the other end


86




b


of the driven member


86


and rotates the driven member


86


counter-clockwise, at which time the spring


87


is compressed to add to its pushing force and produce a drawing force at the other end


86




b


of the driven member


86


.




As the male connector


83


is further moved in the direction opposite the arrow P


4


, the urged portion


95


, as shown in

FIG. 27

, disengages from the driven member


86


to release the driven member from the counterclockwise rotation, and the spring


87


urges the driven member


86


to rotate in the clockwise rotation as shown in

FIG. 26

, at which time the driven member


86


at the one end


86




a


comes into contact with the drive portion


94


. The repulsion force produced by the compressed spring


87


thus acts on the drive portion


94


in the direction of pushing out the drive portion and thus the male connector


93


. Consequently, as shown in

FIG. 25

, the male and female connectors


83


and


82


can be decoupled with a low force.




Thus, as described above with reference to

FIGS. 25

to


30


, while the drive portion


94


is pressing on the driven member


86


, the compressed spring


87


causes a repulsion force at the one end


86




a


side of the driven member


86


which acts on the drive portion


94


in the direction of repelling the male connector


83


, and when the driven member


86


is disengaged from the drive portion


94


, the spring


87


urges the driven member


86


to rotate in reverse direction so that its other end


86




b


abuts against, and acts on, the urged portion


95


in the direction of pushing the male connector


83


into a fitted condition with the female connector


82


.




Thus, with the arrangement as described above, through cooperation of the drive portion


94


and the urged portion


95


with the driven member


86


, the male connector repelling force and drawing force can be produced in order, leading to a reliable coupling with a low force and an improved working efficiency.




A third embodiment of a connector assembly according to this invention will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 31

to


41


.





FIG. 31

is an exploded perspective view of the connector assembly according to the third embodiment, with the connector assembly shown upside down for convenience of explanation,

FIG. 32

is an essential portion vertical section of the connector assembly of

FIG. 31

, and

FIG. 33

is an essential portion horizontal section of the connector assembly of FIG.


32


.




In

FIG. 31

, denoted


101


is a connector assembly which is made up of a female connector


102


and a male connector


103


fittable to each other. The female connector


102


is provided with a driven member


105


with a shaft


104


, a tension spring


106


, and an indirect member


112


. The male connector


103


has a drive portion


108


and an urged portion


115


, both formed on its housing


107


.




The female connector


102


includes a rectangular receiving section


109


which opens at the front end


109




a


for receiving the housing


107


of the male connector


103


, a terminal accommodating section


111


with a row of known male terminals


110


accommodated therein (only one is shown in FIG.


32


), the terminal accommodating section


111


adjoining the receiving section


109


at the rear end, and a rectangular support


113


which has slits


113




a


,


113




a


(

FIG. 33

) and in which the indirect member


112


is slidable.




A shaft hole


109




c


for the shaft


104


is provided in one wall


109




b


of the receiving section


109


, the shaft hole having a pair of recesses


109




d


,


109




d


formed at its circumferential edge which cooperate with a later-described pair of rotation regulating projections


104




b


,


104




b


of the shaft


104


to restrict the rotation of the driven member


105


. The wall


109




e


opposed to the one wall


109




b


has a recess


109




f


extending inwardly from the front end


109




a


in a stepped manner and a rectangular locking hole


109




g


formed there-through on an inboard side of the stepped recess


109




f.






The support


113


is of closed-end cylindrical shape, and has the slits


113




a


,


113




a


at opposite sides, and a round pin-like rod member


113




c


which extends from the bottom wall


113




b


of the support


113


into the interior of the spring


106


to prevent a collapse of the spring.




The indirect member


112


is of closed-end cylindrical shape capable of receiving the other end


106




b


of the spring


106


and is provided on its periphery with projections


112




a


,


112




a


slidable in the slits


113




a


,


113




a


(FIG.


33


). The closed-end constituting front end wall


112




b


of the indirect member


112


has a flat surface engageable with the driven member


105


.




The driven member


105


, which is constituted by a cam-like plate of synthetic resin, has a first engagement portion


105




a


for the drive portion


108


, a second engagement portion


105




b


for the urged portion


115


, a cam portion


105




c


for the indirect member


112


, and the shaft


104


which is fitted into the shaft hole


109




c


to rotatably support the driven member


105


inside the receiving section


109


.




The shaft


104


is substantially of circular cross section and has a vertical slit


104




a


extending from the top end toward the driven member


105


. The pair of rotation regulating projections


104




b


,


104




b


are provided on opposite sides of the slit at the top end of the shaft


104


.




The male connector


103


includes a rectangular housing


107


with a rectangular-shaped terminal accommodating section


118


formed therein for receiving a row of known female terminals


117


(only one is shown in FIG.


32


). The housing


107


has a drive portion-containing space section


119


formed at one vertical side of the terminal accommodating section


118


, the drive portion-containing space section containing the drive portion


108


and the urged portion


115


. At the other vertical side of the terminal accommodating section


118


is provided a locking arm


120


. The drive portion-containing space section


119


is laterally defined by side walls


119




a


,


119




a


of the housing


107


, and the drive portion


108


and the urged portion


115


are located therein at such positions as will come into contact with the first engagement portion


105




a


and the second engagement portion


105




b


of the driven member


105


, respectively, when fitting the connectors


102


,


103


. The drive portion


108


consists of a ring-shaped seat


108




a


and a pin


108




b


of circular cross section errected on the seat


108




a


. The urged portion


115


is a pin member located adjoining the side wall


119




a


and having a U-shaped cross section. The locking arm


120


is of known structure and is provided with a locking projection


120




a


for locking engagement in the locking hole


109




g.






The assemblage of the female and male connectors


102


and


103


will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 32 and 33

.




First, description is made of the female connector


102


.




As shown in

FIG. 32

, the terminal receiving section


111


has wired male terminals


110


locked therein with related lances


111




b.


The electrical contact


110




a


of the male terminal


110


is located protruding into the receiving section


109


.




The driven member


105


is mounted on the inner side of the one wall


109




b


of the receiving section


109


, with its shaft


104


fitted in the shaft hole


109




c


. As shown in

FIG. 33

, the spring


106


is sleeved over the rod member


113




c


inside the support


113


, and the indirect member


112


, which receives the other end


106




b


side of the spring


106


, is longitudinally slidably mounted in the support


113


.




The shaft


104


and the support


113


, as indicated in

FIG. 33

, are offset from the axis (not shown) of the female connector


102


. The driven member


105


has its first engagement portion


105




a


located on a side closer to the male connector


103


.




Description will now be made of the male connector


103


.




As shown in

FIG. 32

, the terminal accommodating section


118


has wired female terminals


117


locked therein with related lances


118




a.






The drive portion


108


and the urged portion


115


are located on opposite sides of the not-shown axis of the male connector


103


such that, as described above, the drive portion


108


comes into abutment against the first engagement portion


105




a


of the driven member


105


and the urged portion


115


comes into abutment against the second engagement portion


105




b.






The coupling operation of the female and male connectors


102


and


103


will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 32

to


41


, each two of which, for example,

FIGS. 32 and 33

,

FIGS. 34 and 35

, . . . are paired, odd figures being longitudinal sections and even figures being horizontal sections showing essential portions of the related odd figures.




As shown in

FIGS. 32 and 33

, the female connector


102


and the male connector


103


are disposed in opposed relation capable of fitting together, and the male connector


103


is moved in the direction of an arrow P


5


to start the coupling. As shown in

FIGS. 34 and 35

, when the drive portion


108


of the male connector


103


comes into contact with and presses on the first engagement portion


105




a


of the driven member


105


, the driven member


105


rotates clockwise on the drawing, compressing the spring


106


through the indirect member


112


. At this time, the male and female terminals


110


and


117


are still not in contact with each other (FIG.


34


).




When compressed, a repulsion force is produced at the spring


106


which acts through the first engagement portion


105




a


of the driven member


105


in a direction which tends to push back the male connector


103


outwardly. Accordingly, in a halfway fitted condition as shown in

FIGS. 34 and 35

, the male connector


103


is pushed out, thereby to prevent an incomplete fitting of the connectors


102


,


103


.




If the male connector


103


is further pushed in the direction of the arrow P


5


, as shown in

FIGS. 36 and 37

, the drive portion


108


disengages from the driven member


105


to release the latter from the clockwise rotation, and the driven member


105


, as shown in

FIG. 38

, is urged by the spring


106


to rotate in a counterclockwise direction. At this time, as shown in

FIGS. 38 and 39

, a drawing force is produced which acts through the second engagement portion


105




b


of the driven member


105


on the urged portion


115


in the direction of drawing same and thus the male connector


103


. Concurrently, the male and female terminals


110


and


117


start to be connected together (FIG.


38


). The male connector


103


is further pushed in the direction of the arrow P


5


under the drawing force until fully coupled with the female connector


104


as shown in

FIGS. 40 and 41

.




The male and female connectors


102


,


103


are thus coupled together with a low force, leading to an improved working efficiency.




To decouple the female and male connectors


102


,


103


, the above operation is effected in reverse order. More specifically, on moving the male connector


103


in the direction opposite the arrow P


5


in

FIG. 41

, the urged portion


115


drives the driven member


105


to rotate clockwise on the drawing, compressing the spring


106


. The compressed spring


106


abuts through the indirect member


112


against the cam portion


105




c


with an increased repulsion force, while at the same time generating a drawing force at the second engagement portion


105




b


side which acts on the urged portion


115


in the direction of pulling back the male connector


103


.




If the male connector


103


is further moved in the direction opposite the arrow P


5


, as shown in

FIG. 37

, the urged portion


115


disengages from the driven member


105


to release the latter from the clockwise direction, and the spring


106


, as shown in

FIG. 35

, urges the driven member


105


to rotate counterclockwise, with its first engagement portion


105




a


pushing the drive portion


108


outwardly. The male connector


103


, as shown in

FIG. 33

, is thus detached from the female connector


102


with a low force.




Thus, as described above with reference to

FIGS. 31

to


41


, in the coupling operation, while the drive portion


108


is pressing on the first engagement portion


105




a


of the driven member


105


, the compressed spring


106


causes a repulsion force which acts through the first engagement portion


105




a


on the drive portion


108


in the direction of repelling the male connector


103


, and when the drive portion


108


disengages from the driven member


105


, the spring


106


urges the driven member


105


to rotate in reverse direction so that its second engagement portion


105




b


acts on the urged portion


115


in the direction of drawing the male connector


103


into a fitted condition with the female connector


102


.




Thus, with the arrangement as described above, through cooperation of the drive portion


108


and the urged portion


115


with the driven member


105


, the male connector repelling force and drawing force can be produced in order, leading to a reliable coupling with a low force and an improved working efficiency.





FIGS. 42

to


47


are third conceptual views for a fourth embodiment of a connector assembly according to this invention. The fourth embodiment of this invention will be later described with reference to

FIGS. 48

to


58


. First, the third concept will be described with reference to

FIGS. 42

to


47


.





FIG. 42

is a vertical section of essential portions of connectors according to this invention,

FIG. 43

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors halfway coupled and under repulsion,

FIG. 44

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors in a condition where their drive and driven member are disengaged,

FIG. 45

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors at the start of a drawing force,

FIG. 46

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors under the drawing force, and

FIG. 47

is an essential portion vertical section of the connectors fully coupled.




In

FIG. 42

, denoted


131


is a connector assembly made up of a female connector


132


and a male connector


133


fittable to each other. For simplicity of description, male and female wired terminals of known structure, which are received in the respective female and male connectors


132


,


133


, and a known locking mechanism, and the like, for these connectors are omitted.




The female connector


132


includes a housing


134


of synthetic resin with a receiving section


134




b


formed therein, the receiving section


134




b


opening at the front end


134




a


of the housing


134


on a fitting side with the male connector


133


, a driven member


136


rotatable about a shaft


135


provided on an inner side wall


134




c


of the housing


134


, and a spring


137


provided between the housing


134


and the driven member


136


, the receiving section


134




b


internally having a support


139


for the spring


137


.




The driven member


136


is of rod-like shape and is rotatably supported at an intermediate portion thereof between one end


136




a


and the other end


136




b


by the shaft


135


.




The spring


137


, a known tension spring, is at one end


137




a


rotatably or fixedly supported on the support


139


and at the other end


137




b


rotatably or fixedly supported on the other end


136




b


of the driven member


136


.




The shaft


135


is provided with not-shown rotation regulator means for restricting the rotation of the driven member


136


.




The male connector


133


includes a housing


143


of synthetic resin which is received in the receiving section


134




b


of the female connector


132


. The housing


143


has a projecting drive portion


144


of substantially circular cross section which, during coupling with the female connector


132


, comes into contact with the one end


136




a


of the driven member


136


, and a projecting urged portion


145


of substantially circular cross section at which, during coupling, the male connector


133


is urged by the other end


136




b


of the driven member


136


.




The coupling operation of the above connectors


132


and


133


will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 42

to


47


.




The female connector


132


and the male connector


133


are arranged in opposed relation to be coupled as shown in

FIG. 42

, followed by moving the male connector


133


in the direction of an arrow P


6


to start the coupling.




As the male connector


133


advances into the female connector


132


, the male connector drive portion


144


comes into contact with the driven member


136


to rotate same counterclockwise on the drawing, stretching the spring


137


. At this time, the stretched spring


137


, due to its restoring nature, pulls at the other end


136




b


of the driven member


136


, producing a repulsion force at the one end


136




a


side of the driven member


136


which acts on the drive portion


144


in a direction which tends to repel and push out the male connector


133


, with the result that an incomplete coupling can be prevented.




If the male connector


133


is further pushed in the direction of the arrow P


6


, the drive portion


144


, as shown in

FIG. 44

, disengages from the driven member


136


to release the driven member from its counterclockwise rotation, and the spring


137


urges the driven member


136


in a clockwise direction as shown in FIG.


45


. Concurrently with the above, a drawing force is generated at the other end


136




b


side of the driven member


136


which acts on the urged portion


145


in the direction of drawing the male connector


133


. In other words, as shown in

FIG. 46

, the other end


136




b


of the driven member


136


abuts against and presses on the urged rod


145


to push the latter and thus the male connector


133


deeper into the female connector


132


. The male connector


133


is thus pushed in the direction of the arrow P


6


under the drawing force into a full fitted position with the female connector


132


as shown in FIG.


47


.




A reduction is thus made in the force required for the fitting operation and a so-called low coupling force connector assembly is attained, leading to an improved working efficiency.




To decouple the female and male connectors


132


,


133


, the above operation is effected in reverse order. More specifically, on moving the male connector


133


in the direction opposite the arrow P


6


in

FIG. 47

, the urged portion


145


presses on the other end


136




b


of the driven member


136


and rotates the driven member


136


counterclockwise on the drawing. The spring


137


is concurrently stretched and, due to its restoring nature, pulls at the other end


136




b


of the driven member


136


.




As the male connector


133


is further moved in the direction opposite the arrow P


6


, the urged portion


145


, as shown in

FIG. 44

, disengages from the driven member


136


to release the driven member


136


from the counterclockwise rotation, and the spring


137


urges the driven member


136


to rotate in the clockwise rotation as shown in

FIG. 43

, at which time the driven member


136


at the one end


136




a


comes into contact with the drive portion


144


. The repulsion force produced at the one end


136




a


side of the driven member


136


acts on the drive rod


144


in the direction of pushing out the drive portion and thus the male connector


133


. Consequently, as shown in

FIG. 42

, the male and female connectors


133


and


132


can be decoupled with a low force.




Thus, as described above with reference to

FIGS. 42

to


47


, in the fitting operation, while the drive portion


144


is pressing on the one end


136




a


of the driven member


136


, the stretched spring


137


, due to its restoring nature, causes a repulsion force at the one end


136




a


side of the driven member


136


which acts on the drive portion


144


in the direction of repelling the male connector


133


, and when the drive portion


144


disengages from the driven member


136


, the spring


137


urges the driven member


136


to rotate in reverse direction so that its other end


136




b


abuts against and acts on the urged portion


145


in the direction of pushing the male connector


133


into a fitted condition with the female connector


132


.




Thus, with the arrangement as described above, through cooperation of the drive portion


144


and the urged portion


145


with the driven member


136


, the male connector repelling force and drawing force can be produced in order, leading to a reliable coupling with a low force and an improved working efficiency.




A fourth embodiment of a connector assembly according to this invention will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 48

to


58


.





FIG. 48

is an exploded perspective view of the connector assembly according to the fourth embodiment, with the connector assembly shown upside down for convenience of explanation,

FIG. 49

is an essential portion vertical section of the connector assembly of

FIG. 48

, and

FIG. 50

is an essential portion horizontal section of the connector assembly of FIG.


49


.




In

FIG. 48

, denoted


151


is a connector assembly which is made up of a female connector


152


and a male connector


153


fittable to each other. The female connector


152


is provided with a driven member


155


with a shaft


154


and a tension spring


156


. The male connector


153


has a drive portion


158


and an urged portion


165


, both formed on its housing


157


.




The female connector


152


includes a rectangular receiving section


159


which opens at the front end


159




a


for receiving the housing


157


of the male connector


153


, and a terminal accommodating section


161


with a row of known male terminals


160


accommodated therein (only one is shown in FIG.


49


), the terminal accommodating section


151


adjoining the receiving section


159


at the rear end.




The female connector


152


internally has an empty space


162


in communication with the receiving section


159


, which empty space is defined below the terminal accommodating section


161


(FIG.


49


), and a triangular-shaped support


163


provided integrally on an inner rear wall


162




a


of the empty space


162


.




A shaft hole


159




c


for the shaft


154


is provided in one wall


159




b


of the receiving section


159


, the shaft hole having a pair of recesses


159




d


,


159




d


formed at its circumferential edge which cooperate with a later-described pair of rotation regulating projections


154




b


,


154




b


of the shaft


154


to restrict the rotation of the driven member


155


. The wall


159




e


opposed to the one wall


159




b


has a recess


159




f


extending inwardly from the front end


159




a


in a stepped manner and a rectangular locking hole


159




g


formed therethrough on an inboard side of the stepped recess


159




f.






The support


163


is provided with a throughhole


163




a


to which the spring


156


is at one end


156




a


anchored. Denoted


162




b


is a work window for use in mounting the spring


156


.




The driven member


155


, which is constituted by a cam-like plate of synthetic resin, has a first engagement portion


155




a


for the drive portion


158


, a second engagement portion


155




b


for the urged portion


165


, and the shaft


154


which is fitted into the shaft hole


159




c


to rotatably support the driven member


155


inside the receiving section


159


. The spring


156


is at the other end


156




b


rotatably coupled to the second engagement portion


155




b


of the driven portion


155


.




The shaft


154


is substantially of circular cross section and has a vertical slit


154




a


extending from the top end toward the driven member


155


. The pair of rotation regulating projections


154




b


,


154




b


are provided on opposite sides of the slit at the top end of the shaft


154


.




The male connector


153


includes a rectangular housing


157


with a rectangular-shaped terminal accommodating section


168


formed therein for receiving a row of known female terminals


167


(only one is shown in FIG.


49


). The housing


157


has a drive portion-containing space section


169


formed at one vertical side of the terminal accommodating section


168


, the drive portion-containing space section containing the drive portion


158


and the urged portion


165


. At the other vertical side of the terminal accommodating section


168


is provided a locking arm


170


.




The drive portion-containing section


169


is laterally defined by side walls


169




a


,


169




a


of the housing


157


, and the drive portion


158


and the urged portion


165


are located therein at such positions as will come into contact with the first engagement portion


155




a


and the second engagement portion


155




b


of the driven member


155


, respectively, when fitting the connectors


152


,


153


.




The drive portion


158


consists of a ring-shaped seat


158




a


and a pin


158




b


of substantially circular cross section errected on the seat


158




a


. The urged portion


165


is a pin member located adjoining the side wall


169




a


and having a U-shaped cross section.




The locking arm


170


is of known structure and is provided with a locking projection


170




a


for locking engagement in the locking hole


159




g.






The assemblage of the female and male connectors


152


and


153


will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 49 and 50

.




First, description is made of the female connector


152


.




As shown in

FIG. 49

, the terminal receiving section


161


has wired male terminals


160


locked therein with related lances


161




b


. The electrical contact


160




a


of the male terminal


160


is located protruding into the receiving section


159


.




The driven member


155


is mounted on the inner side of the one wall


159




b


of the receiving section


159


, with its shaft


154


fitted in the shaft hole


159




c


. The spring


156


having one end


156




a


supported on the support


163


is at the other end


156




b


coupled to the second engagement portion


155




b


of the driven member


155


. The spring


156


is normally stretched to some extent to pull the driven member


155


.




The shaft


154


and the support


163


, as indicated in

FIG. 50

, are offset from the axis (not shown) of the female connector


152


. The driven member


155


has its first engagement portion


155




a


located on a side closer to the male connector


153


.




Description will now be made of the male connector


153


.




As shown in

FIG. 49

, the terminal accommodating section


168


has wired female terminals


167


locked therein with related lances


168




a.






The drive portion


158


and the urged portion


165




d


are located on opposite sides of the not-shown axis of the male connector


153


such that, as described above, the drive portion


158


comes into abutment against the first engagement portion


155




a


of the driven member


155


and the urged portion


165


comes into abutment against the second engagement portion


155




b.






The coupling operation of the female and male connectors


152


and


153


will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 49

to


58


, each two of which, for example,

FIGS. 49 and 50

,

FIGS. 51 and 52

, . . . are paired, odd figures being longitudinal sections and even figures being horizontal sections showing essential portions of the related odd figures.




The female connector


152


and the male connector


153


are arranged in opposed relation to be coupled, as shown in

FIGS. 49 and 50

, followed by moving the male connector


153


in the direction of an arrow P


7


to start the coupling.




As the male connector


153


advances into the female connector


152


, the male connector drive rod


158


comes into contact with the first engagement portion


155




a


of the driven member


155


to rotate the driven member clockwise on the drawing, stretching the spring


156


. At this time, the male and female terminals


160


and


167


are still not in contact with each other (FIG.


51


).




The stretched spring


156


pulls at the second engagement portion


155




b


of the driven member


155


, producing a repulsion force at the first engagement portion


155




a


side of the driven member


155


which acts on the drive rod


158


in the direction of repelling the male connector


153


. Thus, in a halfway fitted condition as shown in

FIGS. 51 and 52

, the male connector


153


is pushed out, thereby to prevent an incomplete fitting of the connectors


152


,


153


.




If the male connector


153


is further pushed in the direction of the arrow P


7


, the drive portion


158


, as shown in

FIGS. 53 and 54

, disengages from the driven member


155


to release the latter from the counterclockwise rotation, and the spring


156


urges the driven member


155


to rotate in a counterclockwise direction as shown in FIG.


56


. At this time, as shown in

FIGS. 55 and 56

, a drawing force is produced which acts through the second engagement portion


155




b


of the driven member


155


on the urged portion


155


in the direction of drawing same and thus the male connector


153


. Concurrently, the male and female terminals


160


and


167


start to be connected together (FIG.


55


). The male connector


153


is thus pushed in the direction of the arrow P


7


under the drawing force into a full coupled position with the female connector


152


as shown in

FIGS. 57 and 58

.




A reduction is thus made in the force required for the coupling operation and a so-called low coupling force connector assembly is attained, leading to an improved working efficiency.




To decouple the female and male connectors


152


,


153


, the above operation is effected in reverse order. More specifically, on moving the male connector


153


in the direction opposite the arrow P


7


in

FIG. 58

, the urged portion


165


drives the driven member


155


to rotate clockwise on the drawing, stretching the spring


156


. The stretched spring


156


, due to its restoring nature, pulls at the second engagement portion


155




b


of the driven member


155


, generating a drawing force which acts on the urged portion


165


in the direction of pulling back the male connector


153


.




If the male connector


153


is further moved in the direction opposite the arrow P


7


, the urged rod


155


, as shown in

FIG. 54

, disengages from the driven member


155


to release the latter from the clockwise rotation, and the spring


156


, as shown in

FIG. 52

, urges the driven member


155


to rotate counterclockwise, with its first engagement portion


155




a


pushing the drive portion


158


outwardly. The male connector


153


, as shown in

FIG. 50

, is thus detached from the female connector


152


with a low force.




Thus, as described above with reference to

FIGS. 48

to


58


, in the fitting operation, while the drive portion


158


is pressing on the first engagement portion


155




a


of the driven member


155


, the stretched spring


156


, due to its restoring nature, causes a repulsion force at the first engagement portion


155




a


of the driven member


155


which acts on the drive portion


158


in the direction of repelling the male connector


153


, and when the drive portion


158


disengages from the driven member


155


, the spring


156


urges the driven member


155


to rotate in reverse direction so that its second engagement portion


155




b


abuts against and acts on the urged portion


165


in the direction of pushing the male connector


153


into a fitted condition with the female connector


152


.




Thus, with the arrangement as described above, through cooperation of the drive portion


158


and the urged portion


165


with the driven member


155


, the male connector repelling force and drawing force can be produced in order, leading to a reliable coupling with a low force and an improved working efficiency.




Having now fully described the invention, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth herein.



Claims
  • 1. An electrical connector assembly comprising:a first connector including a driven member rotatably supported thereon and a resilient member provided between said first connector and said driven member; and a second connector including a drive means which, during fitting said first and second connectors, engages with, and drives, said driven member into rotation to bias said resilient member, said driven member having an elongated slit with closed ends defining a slide guide, and said resilient member being at a first end of said slit supported on said first connector and at a second end engaged with said slide guide to be slidable between opposite ends of said slide guide to cause a switch from a repulsion force to a drawing force, and wherein said resilient member, when biased, produces consecutively said repulsion force and said drawing force on said driven member, said repulsion force and said drawing force acting through said driven member on said second connector alternatively in opposite directions for alternately repelling and drawing said second connector with respect to said first connector.
  • 2. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein said slide guide comprises a straight slide slit.
  • 3. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein said slide guide comprises a slide slit bent at an intermediate portion thereof into two straight portions, both inclined toward a side opposite said second connector.
  • 4. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein said driven member has a cutout for sliding engagement therein of said drive means, and said repulsion force and said drawing force, when said drive means is engaged in said cutout, act through said driven member on said drive means and thus on said second connector.
  • 5. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 1 wherein said resilient member comprises a tension spring.
  • 6. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein said second connector further includes an urged means, and wherein said drive means and said urged means, during fitting said first and second connectors, come into engagement in order with a first and a second ends of said driven member, respectively, and during when said drive means engages with said first end of said driven member, said driven member is rotated in a direction to bias said resilient member and produce said repulsion force which acts through said first end of said driven member on said drive means in said direction of repelling said second connector, and when said drive means disengages from said first end of said driven member, said driven member is rotated in reverse direction by a resilient force of said resilient member to produce said drawing force and said urged means engages with said second end of said driven member such that said drawing force acts on said urged means in said direction of drawing said second connector.
  • 7. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 6, wherein said drive means and said urged means are disposed on opposite sides of an axis of said second connector, said drive means being at a position closer to said first connector than said urged means.
  • 8. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 6, wherein said resilient member is a compression spring and disposed between said first connector and said driven member at said first end side where said drive means engages.
  • 9. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 8, wherein said compression spring is at an end thereof directly supported on said driven member at said first end side.
  • 10. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 8, wherein said compression spring is at one end supported through a support on said first connector and at the other end operably engageable with said driven member at said first end side through a closed-end indirect member fitted over said compression spring, said indirect member being longitudinally slidable in said support.
  • 11. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 10, wherein said compression spring is internally supported by a collapse-preventing pin-like element around which said compression spring is retained.
  • 12. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 6, wherein said resilient member is a tension spring and disposed between said first connector and said driven member at said second end side where said urged means engages.
  • 13. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein said driven member is rotatable about a shaft provided on said first connector, which shaft is provided with a rotation regulating means for restricting a rotational position of said driven member at least prior to fitting said first and second connectors.
  • 14. The electrical connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first and second connectors, after completion of coupling, are decoupleable in reversed order with said drawing force first acting through said driven member on said second connector and said repulsion force then acting through said driven member on said second connector during detaching said first and second connectors.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
10-225870 Aug 1998 JP
US Referenced Citations (3)
Number Name Date Kind
5545047 Okada et al. Aug 1996
5569041 Sonobe et al. Oct 1996
5820399 Shirouzu et al. Oct 1998
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number Date Country
10-50408 Feb 1998 JP