Half-fitting prevention connector

Details Half-fitting prevention connector Half-fitting prevention connector

1999-09-03

2001-06-19

Patel, Tulsidas (Department: 2839)

Electrical connectors

With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in...

Retaining means

Reexamination Certificate

active

06247955

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a half-fitting prevention connector, used to electrically connect wire harnesses in an automobile and others, in which a half-fitted condition is prevented by a resilient force of a resilient member, and also damage to the connector is prevented.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. 10-254119, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various half-fitting prevention connectors have heretofore been known. For example, a half-fitting prevention connector, disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 9-134757, will be described.
As shown in
FIG. 8
, the related half-fitting prevention connector
61
comprises a first connector
62
, in which connector terminals
78
, connected respectively to wires of a wire harness, are mounted, and a second connector
63
in which connector terminals
79
for contact respectively with the connector terminals
78
are mounted. The second connector
63
comprises a housing body
64
, and a slider
65
which is attached to the outer periphery of the housing body
64
for sliding movement in an axial direction, and is resiliently urged forward.
An engagement groove
67
and a retaining projection
68
are provided at a front end portion of a housing of the first connector
62
, and an elastic lock arm
70
, having a lock portion
69
for engagement in the engagement groove
67
, is provided at a front end portion of the housing of the second connector
63
.
The slider
65
is resiliently urged forward in the axial direction so as to control the flexing (elastic deformation) of the lock arm
70
and also to prevent a half-fitted condition, and an abutment portion
71
for abutting engagement with the retaining projection
68
is provided at the front end of the slider
65
. This abutment portion
71
is provided at a cantilever arm
72
connected to a rear end portion of the slider
65
, and this cantilever arm
72
can be elastically deformed outwardly, and has a rectangular slide hole
73
formed through a central portion thereof.
A cantilever arm-pressing projection
74
is formed at that portion of the housing body
64
corresponding to the slide hole
73
. The male connector terminals
78
project into an internal space
75
of the first connector, and the female connector terminals
79
are received respectively in terminal receiving chambers
76
in the housing body
64
.
In the half-fitting connector
61
of the above construction, as the first and second connectors
62
and
63
are fitted together as shown in
FIG. 9
, the abutment portion
71
, formed at the distal end of the cantilever arm
72
formed on the slider
65
, is first brought into abutting engagement with the retaining projection
68
formed on the housing
66
of the first connector
62
.
Then, when the housing body
64
of the second connector
63
is further pushed in the fitting direction, only the housing body
64
advances in the fitting direction, with the slider
65
kept stopped. As a result, the front portion of the lock arm
70
is exposed from the slider
65
, and therefore can be flexed upwardly as shown in FIG.
10
. Then, when the housing body
64
is further pushed, the lock portion
69
slides onto the front end portion of the mating housing
66
.
Then, immediately before the lock portion
69
is brought into engagement in the engagement groove
67
, the cantilever arm-pressing projection
74
presses the abutment portion
71
to cancel the retaining engagement of the abutment portion
71
with the retaining projection
68
as shown in
FIG. 11
, and therefore the lock portion
69
is engaged in the engagement groove
67
, and at the same time the slider
65
advances under the influence of the resilient force to cover the lock portion
69
, thereby preventing the disengagement of the lock portion.
If the fitting force is removed before the abutment portion
71
is disengaged from the engagement projection
68
, the housing body
64
is pushed back in an anti-fitting direction under the influence of the resilient force acting on the slider
65
. Therefore, such a half-fitted condition of the two connectors can be easily detected.
For canceling the fitted condition of the first and second connectors
62
and
63
, the slider
65
is returned rearward, and as a result, the housing body
64
is also returned since a slide range-limiting mechanism (not shown) is provided between the slider
65
and the housing body
64
. At this time, the lock portion
69
is not covered with the slider
65
, and the lock portion
69
has a rear slanting surface, and therefore the lock portion
69
is disengaged from the engagement groove
67
while flexing the lock arm
70
outwardly. When the slider
65
is released after the first and second connectors
62
and
63
are disconnected from each other, the slider
65
is moved in the disconnecting direction under the influence of the resilient force.
However, in the above half-fitting prevention connector
61
, when the abutment portion
71
of the slider
65
is to be disengaged from the retaining projection
68
during the fitting operation as shown in
FIG. 11
, the cantilever arm
72
is flexed about a flexing axis C as shown in FIG.
12
. In this case, if an abutment surface
71
a
of the abutment portion
71
and a retaining surface (abutment surface)
68
a
of the retaining projection
68
are both vertical, one or both of the two is subjected to chipping or deformation at a lap portion L, thus inviting a problem that the reliability and durability are much lowered.
And besides, the cantilever arm
72
is formed on the slider
65
slidably attached to the outer periphery of the housing body
64
, and therefore there is a possibility that the slider is deformed or damaged upon accidental impingement of an external object, which leads to a malfunction, and this results in a problem that the reliability and durability are further lowered.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
With the above problems in view, it is an object of the present invention to provide a half-fitting prevention connector in which part of a housing is prevented from deformation and damage during a fitting operation, and a malfunction due to an accidentally-impinging object is prevented, thereby achieving excellent reliability and durability.
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 first connector including a first housing having an engagement groove and a retaining projection which are provided at a front end portion of the first housing, a second connector fittable to the first connector, the second connector including a second housing having an elastic lock arm, a front end of the elastic lock arm having a lock portion engaged with the engagement groove of the first housing when the first connector is fitted to the second connector, a slider attachable to the second housing, the slider being resiliently urged in an axial direction thereof when the slider is attached to the second housing, the slider including an elastic cantilever arm, and an abutment portion formed at a front end of the cantilever arm of the slider, the abutment portion having an abutment surface which abuts against an abutment surface of the retaining projection of the first housing when the first connector is fitted to the second connector. In the half-fitting prevention connector, the abutment surface of the abutment portion and the abutment surface of the retaining projection are substantially slanting surfaces which are substantially formed along an imaginary circle having its center at the axis of flexing of the cantilever arm. In other words, the abutment surface of the abutment portion and the abutment surface of the retaining projection are formed substantially in conformance with a locus of the flexing of the front end of the cantilever arm.
Therefore, when the abutment portion of the slider, abutte

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