This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-179534, filed Nov. 9, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
The present invention relates to an electrical connector having a mating detecting member for detecting a state of being mated with a counterpart connector.
Known electrical connectors of this kind include, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1, which is an electrical connector matingly connected to a counterpart connector in a frontal manner. In the electrical connector of said Patent Document 1, a mating detecting member is retained in a housing in a state that permits movement relative to said housing in the forward-backward direction between an advanced position (a primary locking engagement position) and a retracted position (a provisional locking engagement position). Once the electrical connector is matingly connected to a counterpart connector, said mating detecting member is pushed forward and moves toward the advanced position. Then, based on the fact that the mating detecting member has moved to the advanced position, it is detected that the electrical connector has been properly matingly connected to the counterpart connector.
The housing has locking arms that extend toward the rear and are resiliently displaceable in the vertical direction. When the connectors are in the mated state, said locking arms are capable of engaging and locking with a counterpart housing using locking portions provided at their rear ends. The mating detecting member has detecting locking arms that extend toward the front and are resiliently displaceable in the vertical direction. The detecting locking arms have engaging portions capable of lockingly engaging, from the rear, the locking portions of the locking arms in their free state when the mating detecting member is located in the retracted position.
Due to the fact that, in said Patent Document 1, the detecting locking arms are located in the retracted position in the unmated state of the connectors, in which no mating connection to a counterpart connector is in effect, for example, such as when the electrical connector is not in use, etc., even if a forwardly directed external force were to act on the mating detecting member, the engaging portions of the detecting locking arms will abut and engage, from the rear, the locking portions of the locking arms of the housing in their free state, thereby preventing movement of the mating detecting member toward the advanced position.
However, in the event that, with the connectors in an unmated state, the locking arm portions of the housing are placed in a resiliently displaced state as a result of being inadvertently subjected to an exterior force, the mating detecting member will end up moving to the advanced position should a forwardly directed external force act on the mating detecting member, because the engaging portions of the detecting locking arms are not lockingly engaged with the locking portions of the detecting locking arms. If the mating detecting member should end up moving to the advanced position in the unmated state of the connectors, a procedure involving temporarily returning the mating detecting member located in the advanced position back to the retracted position will have to be performed thereafter when matingly connecting the electrical connector to the counterpart connector. Consequently, additional time and effort will be needed when performing the procedure of electrical connector mating and, as a result, work efficiency will decrease.
With these considerations in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector in which movement of the mating detecting member toward the advanced position in the unmated state of the electrical connectors can be adequately prevented.
(1) The inventive electrical connector, which is an electrical connector matingly connected to a counterpart connector in a frontal manner, has a housing, a plurality of terminals arranged side by side in the connector width direction and retained within the housing, and a mating detecting member which is retained in the housing in a state that permits movement relative to the housing in the forward-backward direction between an advanced position and a retracted position and which is used to detect a state of being mated with a counterpart connector.
In such an electrical connector according to the present invention, the housing has a locking arm portion which extends in the forward-backward direction and is resiliently displaceable in the vertical direction, and which is lockingly engageable with a counterpart connector in the forward-backward direction; the mating detecting member has an operating portion provided in the rear portion of the mating detecting member, resilient arm portions which extend in the forward-backward direction along the locking arm portion and are resiliently displaceable in the vertical direction, engaging portions protruding in the connector width direction from the rear portions of the resilient arm portions, and an abutment portion formed at the front end of the mating detecting member below the locking arm portion; the operating portion, in its rear end portion, has a pressure-receiving portion intended for receiving pressing operations from the rear; the engaging portions are provided at locations offset upwardly from the pressure-receiving portion and, when the mating detecting member is located in the retracted position, are positioned in a manner that permits locking engagement, from the rear, with sections of the housing other than the locking arm portion; and, when pressure is applied from the rear to the pressure-receiving portion of the operating portion of the mating detecting member located in the retracted position, the location of locking engagement of the engaging portions and the housing is used as a fulcrum to displace the front end of the mating detecting member upward and abut said abutment portion against part of the locking arm portion from the rear.
In the present invention, the engaging portions provided in the mating detecting member are positioned in a manner that permits locking engagement from the rear with sections of the housing other than the locking arm portion. Namely, the sections lockingly engageable by the engaging portions from the rear are immovable sections that are never resiliently displaced within the housing. Therefore, when the mating detecting member is pushed forward in the unmated state of the connectors, the engaging portions of the mating detecting member lockingly engage the housing from the rear in a reliable manner and, since this state is maintained, movement of the mating detecting member toward the advanced position is adequately prevented.
Further, in the mating detecting member according to the present invention, the engaging portions are provided at locations offset upwardly from the pressure-receiving portion intended for receiving pressing operations from the rear. Therefore, when the engaging portions lockingly engage the housing from the rear, the location of locking engagement of the engaging portions and the housing is used as a fulcrum to displace the front end of the mating detecting member upward. In addition, in the present invention, the abutment portion formed at the front end of the mating detecting member abuts part of the locking arm portion from the rear. That is to say, forward movement of the mating detecting member is prevented in a more reliable manner because not only is the aforementioned housing lockingly engaged with the aforementioned engaging portions, but the aforementioned abutment portion and the aforementioned part of the locking arm portion are also in abutment.
(2) In the invention of (1), part of the locking arm portion may be formed as a stepped portion.
(3) In the inventions of (1) or (2), the locking arm portion may be adapted to be resiliently displaced downward as a result of abutment against the counterpart connector and the operating portion may be placed in a state that permits abutment against the locking arm portion from the rear when the electrical connector is partially mated with the counterpart connector. When such an arrangement is adopted, pushing the operating portion of the mating detecting member forward in the partially mated state of the connectors causes said operating portion to abut the locking arm portion from the rear and apply pressure to said locking arm portion, thereby making it possible to move the housing forward simultaneously with the forward movement of the mating detecting member. Therefore, just by performing a single operation of pushing the operating portion of the mating detecting member forward, the mating detecting member can be moved to the advanced position while matingly connecting the housing to the counterpart connector. As a result, the work efficiency of the operation of connector mating is improved.
(4) In the invention of (3), the operating portion may be placed in a state that permits abutment, from the rear, against the rear end face of the resiliently downwardly displaced locking arm portion with the front end face of the operating portion.
(5) In the inventions of (2) to (4), the stepped portion may be formed over the entire extent of the locking arm portion in the connector width direction, and the abutment portion may be formed within a range corresponding to the entire extent of the locking arm portion in the connector width direction. Adopting such an arrangement makes it possible to reliably prevent forward movement of the mating detecting member in the unmated state of the connectors because the surface area of the abutment of the abutment portion against the stepped portion is increased. In addition, since the abutment force is distributed in proportion to the size of the surface area of the abutment, the load applied to the aforementioned stepped portion and the aforementioned abutment portion is reduced and damage to said stepped portion and said abutment portion can be adequately avoided.
The present invention can provide an electrical connector in which movement of the mating detecting member toward the advanced position in the unmated state of the electrical connectors can be adequately prevented.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The connector 1, which is an electrical connector for cables that retains a plurality of terminals 20 having cables C connected thereto that extend in the forward-backward direction (X-axis direction), is matingly connected to a counterpart connector 2 in a frontal manner (on the X1 side). The counterpart connector 2 is an electrical connector for circuit boards mounted on a mounting face of a circuit board (not shown). In the present embodiment, the X1 direction of the X-axis direction (forward-backward direction) is “forward,” and the X2 direction is “backward.” In addition, the Y-axis direction, which is at right angles to the forward-backward direction (X-axis direction) in a plane (the XY plane) parallel to the mounting face of the circuit board, is the connector width direction, and the Z-axis direction, which is normal to the mounting face of the circuit board, is the vertical direction (with the Z1 direction being “up,” and the Z2 direction being “down”).
The connector 1 has a housing 10, a plurality of terminals 20 arranged and retained within the housing 10 such that the terminal array direction is the connector width direction, and a mating detecting member 30 retained in the housing 10 in a state that permits movement relative to the housing 10 in the forward-backward direction between an advanced position (see
The housing 10, which is made of plastics or other electrically insulating materials, has a generally rectangular parallelepiped-like exterior configuration whose longitudinal direction is the connector width direction. As shown in
A locking arm portion 12, which is resiliently displaceable in the vertical direction, is provided on the top face of the housing 10 at an intermediate location in the connector width direction. The locking arm portion 12 has a cantilevered configuration extending toward the rear from the top face of the front end of the housing 10 to the location of the rear end of the housing 10. A locking portion 12A, which is used for locking to the counterpart connector 2, is provided protruding from the top face of the locking arm portion 12 at an intermediate location of the locking arm portion 12 in the forward-backward direction. The locking portion 12A has a front end face, which is an inclined surface sloping downward as one moves forward, and a rear end face, which is a surface normal to the forward-backward direction (see
As shown in
As shown in
A plurality of guiding groove portions 13 are formed in the top face of the housing 10 on the opposite sides of the locking arm portion 12 in the connector width direction. The guiding groove portions 13, i.e., sections intended for guidance by the hereinafter-described guiding protrusions 42A of the counterpart connector 2 during insertion into and removal from the counterpart connector 2, are formed extending in the forward-backward direction. A restricting portion 14 that extends above the locking arm portion 12 in a manner to straddle the locking arm portion 12 in the connector width direction is provided on the top face of the rear portion of the housing 10. The restricting portion 14 is adapted to restrict upward displacement of the locking arm portion 12 in excess of a predetermined amount.
As shown in
In addition, a disengagement-preventing protrusion 16 used to prevent inadvertent rearward disengagement of the mating detecting member 30 from the housing 10 (see
As shown in
The base portion 31 has a plate-like configuration having a generally rectangular parallelepiped-like external shape whose longitudinal direction is the forward-backward direction. As shown in
The operating portion 32 is provided protruding from the top face of the rear end portion of the base portion 31. In its rear end portion (which is a section having a rear end face normal to the forward-backward direction), the operating portion 32 has a pressure-receiving portion 32A intended for receiving pressing operations from the rear. The resilient portions 33 have resilient arm portions 33A at two locations spaced apart in the connector width direction or, more specifically, at two locations on the opposite external sides of the locking arm portion 12 of the housing 10. That is to say, the spacing between the two resilient arm portions 33A is slightly larger than the width dimensions of the locking arm portion 12.
The two resilient arm portions 33A have a cantilevered configuration extending toward the rear from the top face of the front end of the base portion 31 to a location slightly forward of the operating portion 32. Protrusions 33B capable of lockingly engaging the counterpart connector 2 are provided protruding from the top faces of the resilient arm portions 33A at intermediate locations of the resilient arm portions 33A in the forward-backward direction. When viewed in the connector width direction, the protrusions 33B protrude in a generally triangular configuration. That is to say, the protrusions 33B have front end faces that constitute inclined surfaces sloping downward as one moves forward, and rear end faces that constitute inclined surfaces sloping downward as one moves rearward (see
The rear end portions of the two resilient arm portions 33A are coupled by a rear coupling portion 33C extending in the connector width direction. In addition, as shown in
The engaging portions 34 protrude outwardly in the connector width direction from the rear portion of each resilient arm portion 33A. As shown in
As shown in
The mating detecting member 30 is attached to the housing 10 by insertion from the rear. Specifically, the front portion of the base portion 31 is inserted from the rear into the space between the top face of the housing 10 and the locking arm portion 12 and, furthermore, the guided plate portions 31C of the base portion 31 are inserted from the rear into the guiding groove portions 15A of the housing 10. In this manner, the guided plate portions 31C of the mating detecting member 30 are guided forward by the guiding groove portions 15A. Since in the present embodiment the two resilient arm portions 33A are located on the opposite external sides of the locking arm portion 12 of the housing 10 in the connector width direction, when the mating detecting member 30 is moved forward, the locking arm portion 12 enters between the two resilient arm portions 33A from the front. Further, at the moment when, upon clearing the disengagement-preventing protrusion 16, the front coupling portion 31B of the mating detecting member 30 is brought in front of said disengagement-preventing protrusion 16 and is enabled to lockingly engage said disengagement-preventing protrusion 16 from the front, the attachment of the mating detecting member 30 is complete (see
At such time, the mating detecting member 30, which is disposed in the retracted position, is prevented from rearwardly disengaging from the housing 10 by the locking engagement of the front coupling portion 31B with the disengagement-preventing protrusion 16 from the front. In addition, in this retracted position, the engaging portions 34 of the mating detecting member 30, located slightly to the rear of the engageable portions 17 of the housing 10, face the engageable portions 17 from the rear. Therefore, even if a forwardly directed external force inadvertently acts on the mating detecting member 30, forward movement of the mating detecting member 30 will be restricted by the locking engagement of the engaging portions 34 with the engageable portions 17 from the rear.
As shown in
The counterpart housing 40, which is made of plastics or other electrically insulating materials, has a generally rectangular parallelepiped-like exterior configuration whose longitudinal direction is the connector width direction. A rearwardly open receiving portion 41 capable of receiving the connector 1 is formed in the counterpart housing 40. Guiding protrusions 42A are formed on the top wall 42 of the counterpart housing 40 at locations corresponding to the guiding groove portions 13 of the connector 1 in the connector width direction. The guiding protrusions 42A form ridges that extend in the forward-backward direction while protruding downwardly from the bottom face of the top wall 42. The guiding protrusions 42A are adapted to enter the guiding groove portions 13 of the connector 1 from the front and guide the connector 1 forward during connector mating.
The rear end portion of the top wall 42 protrudes downwardly at least at locations corresponding to the locking portion 12A and protrusions 33B of the connector 1 in the connector width direction. In the present embodiment, a protruding section at a location corresponding to the locking portion 12A is formed as a lockable portion 42B lockingly engageable with the locking portion 12A (see
The counterpart terminals 50, which are formed by bending metal strips, are retained in the counterpart housing 40 while being arranged in alignment with the terminals 20 of the connector 1. As shown in
As shown in
The operation of matingly connecting the connector 1 and the counterpart connector 2 will now be described with reference to
In addition, in the present embodiment, the engaging portions 34 of the mating detecting member 30 are provided at locations offset upwardly from the pressure-receiving portion 32A of the operating portion 32. Therefore, as shown in
In this manner, in the present embodiment, even if a forwardly directed external force inadvertently acts on the mating detecting member 30 located in the retracted position in the unmated state of the connectors, forward movement of the mating detecting member 30 will be adequately prevented. Therefore, the procedure of returning the mating detecting member already moved to the advanced position back to the retracted position, as in the prior art, becomes unnecessary because the mating detecting member 30 will reliably be in the retracted position when the operation of mating connection of the connector 1 and the counterpart connector 2 is initiated, and the work efficiency of the operation of mating connection of the connectors can be increased.
Although in the present embodiment the abutment portion 35 of the mating detecting member 30 is provided at a location where the front end face thereof forms part of the front end face of the mating detecting member 30, it is not essential to provide the abutment portion in such a location and the abutment portion may be provided, for example, at a location slightly to the rear of the front end face of the mating detecting member. In other words, it should be sufficient to provide the abutment portion at the front end of the mating detecting member, so long as it is adapted to abut part of the locking arm portion from the rear when the front end of the mating detecting member is displaced upward.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the abutment portion 35 is formed over the entire range between the two resilient arm portions 33A in the connector width direction. That is to say, the abutment portion 35 is formed within a range corresponding to the entire extent of the stepped portion 12B of the locking arm portion 12 in the connector width direction, or more specifically, within a range comprising the entire extent of the stepped portion 12B. Therefore, forward movement of the mating detecting member 30 in the unmated state of the connectors can be reliably prevented because the surface area of the abutment between the abutment portion 35 and the stepped portion 12B is increased. In addition, since the abutment force is distributed in proportion to the magnitude of the surface area of the abutment, the load applied to the abutment portion 35 and the stepped portion 12B is reduced and damage to the abutment portion 35 and the stepped portion 12B can be adequately avoided.
As shown in
As shown in
As the connector 1 moves further forward and the locking portion 12A passes the location of the lockable portion 42B and reaches a location forward of the lockable portion 42B, as shown in
Next, the operating portion 32 of the mating detecting member 30 is pushed toward the front, in other words, a forwardly directed operating force is applied to the pressure-receiving portion 32A, thereby moving the mating detecting member 30 toward the advanced position. In view of the fact that, as described above, the engaging portions 34 are located downwardly of the engageable portions 17, the engaging portions 34 do not lockingly engage the engageable portions 17 and the mating detecting member 30 moves toward the front in an unimpeded manner. As shown in
In addition, when the mating detecting member 30 moves toward the advanced position, the protrusions 33B pass the location of the projecting edge portion 42C and reach locations forward of the projecting edge portion 42C while, at the same time, the engaging portions 34 pass the locations of the engageable portions 17 and reach locations forward of the engageable portions 17, whereupon the resilient arm portions 33A return to their free state. As a result, as shown in
If during the operation of connector mating, immediately prior to initiating the operation of forwardly pushing the mating detecting member 30 located in the retracted position, the connector 1 is not fully mated with the counterpart connector 2, i.e., in the event of a partially mated state, such as the one illustrated in
As shown in
It should be noted that pushing the mating detecting member 30 and the housing 10 simultaneously in the partially mated state of the connectors, as described above, is not essential and, needless to say, the housing 10 may be moved forward alone and mated with the counterpart connector 2 first, while the mating detecting member 30 may be moved forward thereafter.
When disengaging the connector 1 from the counterpart connector 2, first, the mating detecting member 30 may be pulled rearwardly to move it to the retracted position, and the connector 1 may be then pulled rearwardly to disengage it from the counterpart connector 2.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2022-179534 | Nov 2022 | JP | national |