Electrical connectors – With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in... – Retaining means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-26
2001-07-10
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in...
Retaining means
C439S352000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06257915
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a half-fitting prevention connector which is among those connectors, extensively used for connection to wire ends of a wire harness in an automobile, and is capable of detecting a half-fitted condition. More particularly, the present invention relates to such a half-fitting prevention connector provided with a resilient member for producing a force to move one of two connectors away from the other in a half-fitted condition.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. 11-304267, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various electronic equipments have been mounted on various automobiles, and various connectors have been extensively used for connecting such electronic equipments together and for connecting wire harnesses together. In a production process or at the time of maintenance, two connectors are fitted together to be electrically connected together. However, if the two connectors are not completely fitted together, the electrical connection therebetween is improper, and besides the two connectors thus fitted together are withdrawn or disengaged from each other. Therefore, there has heretofore been proposed a half-fitting prevention connector of the type in which the two connectors are retained relative to each other in a completely-fitted condition so as to prevent the two connectors from being easily disengaged from each other.
One example of conventional half-fitting prevention connectors will now be described with reference to
FIGS. 9 and 10
. This half-fitting prevention connector is of such a construction that a male connector (one connector)
51
and a mating female connector (the other connector)
52
, when fitted together, are prevented from being kept in a half-fitted condition.
The male connector
51
includes a connector housing
53
which has terminal receiving chambers (each in the form of a through hole) for respectively receiving a predetermined number of female terminals
80
, and also has terminal insertion ports open to the front side thereof. This male connector further includes an exclusive-use housing formed at an upper portion of the connector housing
53
, and a slider
60
, having a resilient member (not shown) is slidably mounted in this exclusive-use housing.
The female connector
52
includes a housing
71
which has terminal receiving chambers (each in the form of a through hole) for respectively receiving a predetermined number of male terminals, and also has terminal insertion ports open to the front side thereof. A pair of stopper projections
72
for abutting engagement with an abutment projection
64
on the slider
60
during the connector fitting operation are formed on an upper surface of the housing
71
. A slanting projection
73
, having a slanting surface for elastically deforming a lock arm
56
, is formed between the stopper projections
72
and
72
. An engagement groove
74
, in which a housing lock
58
can be engaged, is provided at a rear end of the slanting projection
73
.
FIG. 9
shows a completely-fitted condition of the male and female connectors
51
and
52
. For canceling the fitted condition, the slider
60
is withdrawn in a direction of arrow F while pressing a pressing portion
65
of the slider
60
by the finger or the like. As a result, a slider arm
62
of the slider
60
slides over a slanting surface of a lock beak
57
, and is elastically deformed upwardly as shown in FIG.
10
. The abutting engagement of a displacement prevention projection, provided on the housing lock
58
, with a displacement prevention portion of the slider
60
is canceled, so that the free end of the housing lock
58
can be displaced. Then, the disengaging force is caused to act between the two connectors, so that the housing lock
58
(formed at the distal end of the lock arm
56
), retainingly engaged in the engagement groove
74
, is elastically deformed upwardly, thus canceling the retained condition. In this condition, the body of the female connector
52
, held with the hand, is withdrawn rearwardly, and by doing so, the female connector
52
can be easily withdrawn from the male connector
51
.
In the above conventional connector, however, for canceling the fitted condition of the male and female connectors
51
and
52
, it is necessary to move the slider
60
from the upper side and to disengage the housing lock
58
from the slanting projection
73
. Therefore, there has been encountered a problem that the efficiency of the operation for canceling the fitted condition of the male and female connectors
51
and
52
can not be easily enhanced.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
With the above problem in view, it is an object of the present invention to provide a half-fitting prevention connector in which two connectors, when fitted together, are prevented from being kept in a half-fitted condition, and besides a canceling operation can be carried out easily.
To achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a half-fitting prevention connector which comprises:
a pair of first and second connectors fittable to each other;
wherein the first connector includes:
a slider receivable in a slider receiving portion formed at an upper portion of a housing of the first connector, the slider comprising:
a resiliently-deformable bendable portion having an abutment portion formed at a distal end of the slider, and
a contractible spring portion provided at a rear portion of the slider;
a push-up projection formed on an inner surface of the slider receiving portion so as to resiliently deform the bendable portion of the slider; and
a cancellation operating portion which can be swingingly moved about one end of the housing so as to push up the push-up projection,
wherein the second connector includes a retaining portion provided at one end of a housing of the second connector,
wherein when the second connector is fitted relative to the first connector, the retaining portion abuts against the abutment portion of the slider to compress the slider, and
wherein when the two connectors are completely fitted together, the retaining portion is engaged in a retaining hole formed in the bendable portion.
Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, preferably, the slider includes a base plate, which is movable in accordance with the expansion and contraction of the spring portion, and has the retaining hole, and guide projections which are formed respectively on wall portions, formed respectively at opposite side edges of the base plate, so as to guide the movement of the base plate.
In the half-fitting prevention connector of the above construction, when the first and second connectors are fitted together, the abutment portion of the slider, received in the housing of the first connector, abuts against the retaining portion, formed on the housing of the second connector, in a half-fitted condition of the two connectors. The slider can be expanded and contracted because of its own resiliency, and therefore the slider, when pushed by the retaining portion, produces a resilient force tending to push the first connector back, and therefore a half-fitted condition of the first and second connectors can be positively detected.
When the fitting operation further proceeds, the spring portion of the slider is compressed by the retaining portion, and the base plate is displaced, and the bendable portion is resiliently deformed by the push-up projection, and slides past the retaining portion, so that the push-up projection and the retaining portion are engaged with each other in the retaining hole, thus achieving the completely-fitted condition.
For canceling the fitted condition, the free end of the cancellation operating portion is pressed down, so that the bendable portion is lifted and bent by the opposite end portion of the cancellation operating portion. In this condition, when the first and second connectors are moved
Nguyen Son V.
Sircus Brian
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
Yazaki -Corporation
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