Abstract:
An electrical connector has a protective cover which moves slidably between a first position, which exposes a plurality of metal terminals to corresponding portions of a printed circuit board, and a second position, which covers the terminals. Unless the connector is inserted properly, the protective cover will cover the terminals, preventing contact with the printed circuit board. A detecting piece on a mating connector housing the printed circuit contacts moves the protective cover when the connector is inserted into the mating connector.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to an electrical connector of the type in which a resilient contact piece of each terminal is exposed from a terminal-receiving chamber of a connector housing when the terminal is received in the terminal-receiving chamber. 
     Conventionally, it is well known to fit a connector, in which resilient contact pieces are exposed from respective terminal-receiving chambers, in a receiving space in a mating connector having a printed circuit board attached thereto, thereby making an electrical connection between the two connectors. The connector used for this purpose has an open portion in the terminal-receiving chamber, and the resilient contact piece of the terminal is exposed from this open portion. As a result, the resilient contact piece is liable to be affected by an external force, and is susceptible to damage or deformation, which may cause imperfect contact. 
     In view of the above, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 10470/82 proposes a technique, shown in FIG. 16, in which a protective cover e is provided slidably within grooves b, which in turn are provided in opposite side portions of a connector housing a. Sliding the cover e opens and closes an exposing surface of a resilient contact piece d of each terminal c. When the connector is in its non-fitted condition, the protective cover e is closed to protect the resilient contact pieces d. On the other hand, when the connector is to be fitted or engaged in a mating connector f mounted on a meter for an automobile or the like, the protective cover e is urged upwardly, as indicated by arrow P, to expose the resilient contact pieces d, and the connector is fitted in a receiving space q in the mating connector f to urge the resilient contact pieces d into contact with conductors i on a printed circuit board h, thereby making an electrical connection. 
     However, in the just-described structure, even when the terminal c is inserted imperfectly into the connector housing a, the connector can be fitted in the mating connector f, resulting in an imperfect connection. 
     Further, the protective cover e can be opened and closed easily, and therefore there are occasions when the protective cover e is opened accidentally, exposing the resilient contact pieces d and subjecting them to damage or deformation. 
     Still further, when the connector a is to be withdrawn from the mating connector f, the protective cover e remains opened to expose the resilient contact pieces d, and therefore the resilient contact pieces may be damaged or deformed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the foregoing, it is an object of this invention to provide a connector having a protective cover which prevents an imperfect insertion of a terminal, will not be opened accidentally, and is closed automatically upon withdrawal of the connector from a mating connector. 
     The above and other objects have been achieved by a connector wherein a detecting space is provided adjacent to a terminal-receiving chamber; a flexible retainer piece for retaining a terminal received in the terminal-receiving chamber is provided in displaceable fashion between the terminal-receiving chamber and the detecting space; a protective cover comprises a cover body, a detecting member, and a connecting lever interconnecting the cover body and the detecting member; the detecting member is movably received in the detecting space; and, when the terminal is inserted imperfectly into the terminal-receiving chamber, the flexible retainer piece prevents the detecting member from advancing. 
     A drive projection, abutting the protective cover so as to open the cover, is provided on a mating connector. Also, there is provided a communicating passage which intersects the plane opened and closed by the protective cover and extends through the connector housing. The protective cover has an engaging lever extending through the communicating passage. A locking arm is mounted on the connector housing, the locking arm having at one end an engaging portion engageable with the engaging lever, a manipulating portion at the other end thereof, and a flexible support post intermediate the opposite ends thereof by which the locking arm is secured to the connector housing. 
     In a further modified form of the invention, the protective cover has a retaining portion, and the mating connector has a retaining portion for retaining engagement with the retaining portion of the protective cover. 
     When the terminal is inserted imperfectly, the distal end of the flexible retainer piece for the terminal is projected into the detecting space so as to prevent advancement of the detecting member. Therefore, the protective cover is not opened. Since the protective cover thus is not opened, fitting the connector into the mating connector is impossible, thus preventing imperfect connection between the two connectors. 
     When the connector is to be inserted or fitted, the protective cover is urged by the drive projection, formed on the mating connector, to be opened. Therefore, there is no possibility of damaging a printed circuit board. 
     To prevent accidental opening of the protective cover, the engaging lever formed on the protective cover is engaged with the engaging portion, formed on one end of the flexible retainer piece, to prevent movement of the protective cover in its opening direction, thereby preventing such accidental opening. 
     Further, by retaining the protective cover relative to the mating connector, the protective cover is returned to close the exposing portion of the resilient contact piece without fail when the fitting of the connector is released, thus positively protecting the resilient contact piece. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view, partly in section, of a connector provided in accordance with the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the connector of FIG. 1 and a mating connector; 
     FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the fitting of the connector of FIG. 1 in the mating connector; 
     FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, but showing an imperfect fitting condition; 
     FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a modified form of the invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the fitting of the connector of FIG. 6 in the mating connector; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a modified protective cover; 
     FIG. 9 is a partly-broken, exploded perspective view, showing another modified connector; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a locking arm; 
     FIG. 11 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 12 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the fitting of the connector of FIG. 9 in the mating connector; 
     FIG. 13 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a further modified connector; 
     FIG. 14 is a vertical cross-sectional view, showing the fitting of the connector of FIG. 13 in the mating connector; 
     FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view, showing the connector of FIG. 13 and the mating connector; and 
     FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view, showing a conventional connector and a mating connector. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The invention now will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 1 to 5, reference character A denotes a connector, reference character B a protective cover for opening and closing exposing portions of terminals of the connector A, reference character C a mating connector mounted on a meter for an automobile or the like, and reference character D a wire harness connected to the terminal of the connector. 
     In FIG. 1, a plurality of juxtaposed terminal-receiving chambers 2 are provided in a connector housing 1 of the connector A. When the terminal 3 is received in the terminal-receiving chamber 2, a resilient contact piece3a of the terminal 3 is exposed from an open portion 2a of the terminal-receiving chamber 2. A detecting space 4 is provided adjacent to the terminal-receiving chamber 2, that is, between the terminal-receiving chamber 2 and a bottom plate 5. 
     In FIG. 2, a notch 2c, formed in a bottom wall 2b of the terminal-receivingchamber 2, communicates with the detecting space 4. A flexible retainer piece 6 for the terminal is formed integrally with a peripheral wall portion 2d forming the terminal-receiving chamber, and is disposed in the notch 2c. In a natural condition, a retaining portion 6a provided at the distal end of the flexible retainer piece 6 is projected into the terminal-receiving chamber 2. However, when the retainer piece 6 receives a pressing or urging force from the side of the terminal-receiving chamber2, the distal retaining portion 6a is projected into the detecting space 4 via the notch 2c . 
     Grooves 7a, along which the protective cover B is slidable, are formed respectively in opposing side walls 7 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 1) of the connector housing 1. A retainer projection 7b is formed in the vicinity of the inlet of the groove 7a. A slit 7c is formed in the side wall 7 to form a flexible portion 7d, and therefore that portion disposed adjacent to the inlet of the groove 7a allows easy insertion of the protective cover B. 
     Referring again to FIG. 1, a communicating passage 8, formed in the connector housing 1, substantially perpendicularly intersects the plane opened and closed by the protective cover B (that is, the plane passing through the opposing grooves 7a), and communicates with the detecting space 4. A retainer projection 8a is formed in the vicinity of the inlet of the communicating passage 8. 
     The protective cover B includes a cover body 9, a detecting member 10, and a connecting lever 11 interconnecting the cover body 9 and the detecting member 10. The protective cover B is attached to the connector housing 1 in such a manner that the opposite ends of the cover body 9 are inserted into respective grooves 7a, the detecting member 10 is inserted into the detecting space 4, and the connecting lever 11 is inserted into the communicating passage 8. Slits 9c fit around respective partition walls 2f. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, the mating connector C has a receiving space 12 for receiving the connector A. A printed circuit board 13 for pressing contactwith the resilient contact pieces 3a of the terminals 3 is bonded to the mating connector C along the receiving space 12. A drive projection 12a, abutting the detecting member 10 of the protective cover B, is provided atthe bottom portion of the receiving space 12, and is upstanding in the direction of insertion of the connector A. The drive projection 12a may have either a plate-like shape or a rod-like shape. 
     Assembly of the connector A now will be described. First, the terminal 3, to which the wire harness D already has been connected, is inserted into the terminal-receiving chamber 2 of the connector housing 1, so that the distal retaining portion 6a of the flexible retainer piece 6 is received in a retaining hole 3b (see FIG. 5) in the terminal 3. Therefore, the terminal 3 received in the terminal-receiving chamber 2 is stopped by a front wall 2e (FIG. 2) of the terminal-receiving chamber 2 serving as a stopper, and is prevented by the flexible retainer piece 6 from retracting. The resilient contact piece 3a of the terminal 3 is kept exposed from the open portion 2a of the terminal-receiving chamber 2. 
     Then, the protective cover B is moved in the direction of arrow P, and is attached to the connector housing 1 in such a manner that the opposite ends of the cover body 9 are inserted into respective grooves 7a, the detecting member 10 is inserted into the detecting space 4, and the connecting lever 11 is inserted into the communicating passage 8, as described above. The cover body 9 flexes the flexible portions 7d of the grooves 7a, and slides over the projections 7b so as to be inserted forcibly, thereby closing the exposing portion of each resilient contact piece 3a. Then, the projections 7b are brought into engagement with a retaining end 9a of the cover body 9, thereby preventing accidental disengagement of the protective cover B from the connector housing 1. 
     At the same time, as shown in FIG. 2, the projection 8a in the communicating passage 8 is engaged with the connecting lever 11 of the protective cover B, thereby preventing movement of the protective cover B in the opening direction (that is, in the direction of arrow P). Thus, theprotective cover B is retained provisionally in its closed condition, and will not be opened accidentally. 
     To open the protective cover B, a force, acting in the direction of arrow Pand being sufficient to cause the connecting lever 11 to slide over the projection 8a, is applied to the protective cover B, for example, through a handgrip 9b (FIG. 1). The connecting lever 11 slides over the projection8a and advances along the communicating passage 8, and the cover body 9 opens the exposing portion of each resilient contact piece 3a. 
     Next, the fitting or inserting the connector A, kept in the condition of FIG. 2, into the mating connector C will be described, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. 
     When the fitting end of the connector A is inserted in the receiving space 12 in the mating connector C shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the distal end of thedrive projection 12a is inserted into the detecting space 4, and is broughtinto engagement with the detecting member 10. In this condition, when the force is applied further in the direction of fitting of the connector A, the drive projection 12a urges the detecting member 10, so that the connecting lever 11 slides over the projection 8a and advances along the communicating passage 8 (FIG. 2). At this time, the protective cover B is moved in the opening direction to open the exposing surface of each resilient contact piece 3a. 
     At the time of this opening operation, the connector A is fitted in the receiving space 12 in the mating connector C, and the resilient contact pieces 3a are pressed into contact with circuit conductors 13a on the printed circuit board 13, thereby making electrical connection. Since the pressing force is not applied directly to the printed circuit board 13, the board is not subjected to damage. Finally, a retaining portion 14a of a flexible retainer piece 14, formed on the lower portion of the connectorA, is engaged with a retaining portion 15 on the mating connector C, thus completing the fitting of the connector A. 
     To withdraw the connector A from the mating connector C, a manipulating portion 14b, provided on the distal end of the flexible retainer piece 14,is pressed in a direction of arrow Q to release the engagement between the retainer portion 14a and the retainer portion 15, and then the connector Ais withdrawn. 
     FIG. 5 shows a condition of imperfect insertion of the terminal 3 into the connector A. In this case, the flexible retainer piece 6 for the terminal abuts the lower surface of the terminal 3, and is urged downwardly. The distal retaining portion 6a is projected into the detecting space 4. In this condition, if it is intended to open the protective cover B, the detecting member 10 abuts the retaining portion 6a of the flexible retainer piece 6, and cannot advance. The drive projection 12 of the mating connector C is held in contact with the detecting member 10 of the protective cover B. Therefore, the fitting of the connector A also is prevented, thus avoiding an imperfect connection. That is, the detecting member 10 checks whether the terminal 3 is inserted completely into the connector A. 
     Conventionally, even if the terminal 3 is inserted imperfectly, the connector can be fitted, causing an imperfect connection of the connector.However, with the construction of the invention as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the fitting of the connector is prevented positively if the terminal is imperfectly inserted. 
     FIGS. 6 to 8 show a modified form of the invention. While most parts of this embodiment are similar to those of the preceding embodiment of FIG. 1, the embodiment differs in that, instead of the drive projection 12a provided in the receiving space 12 of the mating connector C, a drive projection 12b is provided in the vicinity of the inlet of the receiving space 12, the drive projection 12b extending through the printed circuit board 13. When the connector A is to be fitted in the connector C, the drive projection 12b urges the handgrip 9b formed on the protective cover B, thereby opening the protective cover B. 
     In the construction shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, since it is not necessary to urge the detecting member 10 directly, the detecting member 10 can be disposed inwardly of the cover body 9, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Therefore, the imperfect insertion of the terminal 3 can be detected at anearlier stage of the fitting of the connector. 
     FIGS. 9 to 12 show another modified form of the invention. In this embodiment, the protective cover B is locked in its closed condition, and if this locking is not released, the protective cover B cannot be opened. The purpose of this embodiment is to enhance the protection of the resilient contact pieces 3a. 
     In this embodiment, a through passage 16, substantially perpendicular to the plane opened and closed by the protective cover B (that is, the plane passing through the opposite grooves 7a), is formed through a connector housing 1. A locking arm 17 is provided below the through passage 16, thatis, on the outer surface of the bottom plate 5 of the connector housing 1. As shown in FIG. 10, the locking arm 17 is supported intermediate oppositeends thereof on the bottom plate 5 by a pair of upstanding flexible supportposts 17a and 17a disposed respectively on the opposite sides of the through passage 16. The locking arm 17 has at its left-hand end a retaining portion 17b for engaging a retaining portion of the mating connector C. An engaging portion 17c in the form of a recess having a substantially right-angular corner is formed in the retaining portion 17b.The right-hand end of the locking arm 17 serves as a manipulating portion 17d. 
     An engaging lever 18 extends perpendicularly from the cover body 9 of the protective cover B, the engaging lever 18 extending through the through passage 16. The distal end of the engaging lever 18 is engageable with theengaging portion 17c of the locking arm 17. 
     As shown in FIG. 11, the protective cover B is received in the connector housing 1. In this condition, the protective cover B is prevented from disengaging the connector housing 1 because of the engagement between the projection 7b and the end 9a of the cover body 9. Also, the protective cover B is prevented from advancing because of the engagement between the engaging lever 18 and the engaging portion 17c. Thus, the protective coverB is locked in its closed position. 
     To fit this connector A in the mating connector C, the distal end of the locking arm 17 first is abutted against a retaining projection 19 formed on the mating connector C. Then, when the connector A is pushed further, the distal end of the locking arm 17 is displaced or moved in a direction of arrow S because of contact of its inclined surface with the inclined surface of the retaining projection 19. As a result, the engagement between the engaging portion 17c and the engaging lever 18 is released. Subsequently, the distal end of the retaining projection 19 urges the engaging lever 18, so that the protective cover B is opened by the retaining projection 19. At the same time, the connector A is fitted in the mating connector C. This fitting condition is maintained by the engagement between the retaining projection 19 and the retaining portion 17b. Therefore, electrical connection between the circuit conductors 13a on the printed circuit board 13 and the resilient contact pieces 3a of theterminals is maintained. 
     Next, the releasing of the fitting of the connector A in the mating connector C will be described. When a force acting in a direction of arrowR (FIG. 12) is applied to the manipulating portion 17d of the locking arm 17, the retaining portion 17b is displaced in the direction of arrow S, sothat the engagement between the retaining projection 19 and the retaining portion 17b is released. Therefore, by withdrawing the connector A upwardly, the fitting of the connector A can be released. The protective cover B is caused to move downwardly by its own weight to close the exposing surfaces of the resilient contact pieces 3a. The distal end of the engaging lever 18 is engaged in the engaging portion 17c, thus recovering the condition shown in FIG. 11. 
     In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 to 12, even if an external force is applied to the protective cover B, the protective cover B will not be opened, and the resilient contact pieces 3a of the terminals 3 can be protected positively. 
     FIGS. 13 to 15 show a further modified form of the invention. This embodiment is designed to prevent damage to the resilient contact pieces 3a by the protective cover B failing to be closed automatically, and hencekept open upon releasing the fitting of the connector A in the mating connector C. The connector A in this embodiment is generally similar in construction to that shown in FIG. 1, the difference being that the handgrip 9b of the protective cover B shown in FIG. 1 is modified to have a retaining function so as to serve as a retaining portion 9c. The mating connector C has an upstanding retaining portion 20 extending through the printed circuit board 13. When the connector A is fitted in the mating connector C, the retaining portion 9c and the retaining portion 20 are engaged with each other in a manner shown in FIG. 14. 
     In the condition shown in FIG. 14, when the connector A is to be detached from the mating connector C, the protective cover B is moved in its closing direction (i.e., a direction of arrow P&#39;) as the releasing of the fitting of the connector A proceeds, because the retaining portion 20 of the mating connector C is engaged with the retaining portion 9c of the protective cover B. When this fitting is released, the closed condition shown in FIG. 3 is restored. Therefore, when the fitting of the connector A is released, the protective cover B is brought into its closed conditionwithout fail, and therefore forgetting to close the exposing surfaces of the resilient contact pieces 3a can be prevented positively. 
     If a drive projection 12a similar to that shown in FIG. 4 is provided on the mating connector C, the drive projection 12a urges the detecting member 10 to open the protective cover B when the connector A is being fitted in the mating connector C. 
     In the present invention, the above embodiments can be suitably combined toobtain a connector capable of achieving all of the advantageous effects described, including the following: 
     (1) When the terminal is inserted imperfectly, the protective cover will not be opened, thereby preventing imperfect connection. 
     (2) When the connector is to be fitted in the mating connector, the protective cover abuts the drive projection or the urging projection provided on the mating connector, and therefore the printed circuit board is not subjected to an unnecessary force and will not be damaged. 
     (3) The protective cover can be maintained in its closed condition, and will not be opened accidentally, thus avoiding deformation or damage of the resilient contact pieces. 
     (4) When the fitting of the connector in the mating connector is released, the protective cover is closed automatically, and therefore damage to the resilient contact pieces resulting from forgetting to close the protectivecover is prevented. 
     While the invention has been described in detail above with reference to a preferred embodiment, various modifications within the scope and spirit ofthe invention will be apparent to people of working skill in this technological field. Thus, the invention should be considered as limited only by the scope of the appended claims.