Electrical connectors – With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in... – Retaining means
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-03
2004-01-20
Ta, Tho D. (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in...
Retaining means
C439S489000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06679719
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a half-fitting prevention connector, and more particularly to a half-fitting prevention connector in which when a pair of female and male connector housings are fitted together, a half-fitted condition of the female and male connector housings is detected by determining whether or not a fitting detection member, mounted on one of the connector housings, can be slid into a proper fitting detection position.
2. Related Art
In a conventional half-fitting prevention connector
1
shown in
FIG. 15
, when a pair of female and male connector housings F and M are fitted together, a half-fitted condition of the female and male connector housings F and M is detected by determining whether or not a lock confirmation slider S, mounted on the male connector housing (first connector housing) M, can be slid into a proper fitting detection position (see JP-A-3-285280).
A lock arm
2
extends rearwardly from a front end of an outer peripheral wall of the male connector housing M through its rising proximal end portion
2
a
, and a retaining projection
2
b
is formed on an intermediate portion of this lock arm, and a grasp portion
2
c
is formed at a rear end of the lock arm.
A lock detection arm
3
, having a stopper
3
a
and a support guide
3
b
, is formed on the lock confirmation slider S.
The female connector housing F includes a lock chamber
4
having a retaining portion
4
a
for engagement with the retaining projection
2
b
of the lock arm
2
.
FIG. 15A
shows a condition in which the male connector housing M, having the lock confirmation slider S mounted thereon, and the female connector housing F are initially fitted together, and the lock detection arm
3
is held in an initial position, with the stopper
3
a
abutted against the retaining projection
2
b
of the lock arm
2
and also with the support guide
3
b
supporting the retaining projection
2
b.
FIG. 15B
shows a condition in which the male connector housing M is further inserted into the female connector housing F, and the lock arm
2
is elastically deformed downwardly, and the retaining projection
2
b
is held in sliding contact with a tapering guide portion
4
b
of the retaining portion
4
a
of the lock chamber
4
.
FIG. 15C
shows a condition in which the female and male connector housings F and M are completely fitted together, and the retaining projection
2
b
of the lock arm
2
is lockingly engaged with the retaining portion
4
a
, and the lock confirmation slider S has moved into a lock confirmation position. Therefore, it is confirmed that the female and male connector housings F and M are not in a half-fitted condition, but are completely fitted together.
In the above conventional half-fitting prevention connector
1
, however, the fitted condition of the female and male connector housings F and M is judged by the position of the lock confirmation slider S, that is, by confirming whether the slider is located in the initial position or the lock confirmation position.
Therefore, it is necessary and essential that the lock confirmation slider S should be positively located in the initial position before the female and male connector housings F and M are fitted together, and when the lock confirmation slider S was disposed in other position than the initial position before the fitting operation, a half-fitted condition could not be detected in some cases.
Namely, before the fitting operation of the half-fitting prevention connector
1
, the lock confirmation slider S is held in the initial position, with the stopper
3
a
of the lock detection arm
3
a
abutted against the retaining projection
2
b
of the lock arm
2
. However, the lock arm
2
has a cantilever configuration, and extends rearwardly through its rising proximal end portion
2
a
, and therefore can be easily elastically deformed. Therefore, there was encountered a problem that when the lock arm
2
was elastically deformed upwardly (in the drawings), for example, by inadvertent contact, the retaining projection
2
b
was disengaged from the stopper
3
a
, so that the lock confirmation slider S was displaced forwardly from the initial position.
And besides, generally, each of the female and male connector housings F and M and the lock confirmation slider S is produced by injection molding of a resin, and unless the male connector housing M and the lock confirmation slider S are produced highly precisely, there has been encountered a problem that the amount of engagement between the retaining projection
2
b
and the stopper
3
a
is small when the male connector housing M and the lock confirmation slide S are combined together, so that it is difficult to hold the lock confirmation slider S in the initial position.
For fitting the female and male connector housings F and M not in a half-fitted condition but in the completely-fitted condition, it is necessary that the male connector housing M can be smoothly inserted and fitted into a predetermined position in the female connector housing F without being caught.
However, in the above half-fitting prevention connector
1
, there is provided no guide member, and the female and male connector housings F and M guide each other merely through their bodies, and therefore in some cases, the male connector housing M was, in some cases, inclined during the fitting of this housing M into the female connector housing F. As a result, the axes of the female and male connector housings F and M were out of alignment with each other, so that it became difficult to fit the two connector housings together, and this was one cause of the half-fitted condition of the female and male connector housings F and M.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide a half-fitting prevention connector in which before female and male connector housings are fitted together, a fitting detection member is positively located in an initial position, and when fitting the female and male connector housings together, the two connector housings can be completely fitted together easily and positively, and besides the fitted condition can be confirmed.
(1) The above problems have been solved by a half-fitting prevention connector comprising:
a first connector housing having a flexible lock arm;
a second connector housing having an engagement portion for a first engagement with a lock portion of the flexible lock arm, and connectable to the first connector housing by the first engagement of the lock portion with the engagement portion when the second connector housing is fitted relative to the first connector housing;
a fitting detection member including a detection member body of a substantially tubular shape, fitted on an outer periphery of the first connector housing so as to slide in a fitting direction of the first and second connector housings, and a positioning retaining portion for a second engagement with the lock portion to hold the detection member body in an initial position; and
a flexible lock arm-holding portion provided on the fitting detection member for preventing the flexible lock arm from being moved in a direction to cancel the second engagement of the lock portion with the positioning retaining portion.
In the half-fitting prevention connector of the above construction, before the first connector is fitted in the second connector housing, the fitting detection member, mounted on the first connector housing, is held in the initial position by the engagement of the positioning retaining portion with the lock portion. At this time, the flexible lock arm-holding portion prevents the flexible lock arm, having the lock portion, from being elastically deformed in the direction to cancel the engagement of the lock portion with the positioning retaining portion.
Therefore, before the first and second connector housings are fitted together, the flexible lock arm will not be elastically deformed, for example, by inadvertent contact with other part, and therefore the engagement of the lock portion with the positioning retain
Endo Tomomi
Taguchi Naoto
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
Ta Tho D.
Tsukerman Larisa
Yazaki -Corporation
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