Patent Publication Number: US-6666710-B2

Title: Connector and a connector assembly

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a connector and to a connector assembly with a partial connection preventing function. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A connector for an airbag circuit of an automotive vehicle or for other critical circuits may be constructed to prevent the connector from being left partly connected during a connecting operation. U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,542 and FIGS. 14 and 15 herein show such a connector. With reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, the connector has a male housing  1  and a female housing  2 . A lock arm  3  is formed on the male housing  1  and is deformed resiliently while moving onto a lock  4  on the female housing  2  as the housings  1 ,  2  are connected. A slider  5  is assembled with the male housing  1  and is held by the deformed lock arm  3  so as not to move backward. A spring  6  in the slider  5  is compressed by a rib  7  of the female housing  2  and accumulates a biasing force for separating the housings  1 ,  2 . The biasing force of the spring  6  is released if the connecting operation is interrupted with the housings  1 ,  2  only partly connected, and the housings  1 ,  2  are separated forcibly. 
     The lock arm  3  returns to engage the lock  4  when the connectors  1 ,  2  are connected properly. Additionally, the lock arm  3  disengages from the slider  5  during the return of the lock arm  3 . Thus, the biasing force of the spring  6  is released to move the slider  5  back. At this time, a restricting portion  8  of the slider  5  enters a deformation space above the lock arm  3  and prevents the lock arm  3  from being deformed. In this way, the housings  1 ,  2  are held in their connected condition, and connection reliability of the airbag circuit can be improved. 
     The two housings  1 ,  2  may have to be separated for maintenance or for some other reason. Thus, the slider  5  is moved forward to retract the restricting portion  8  forward from the lock arm  3 . The lock arm  3  then is deformed and disengaged from the lock  4  and the male housing  1  is pulled back. 
     The separation of the two housings  1 ,  2  requires the slider  5  to be moved forward and then requires the male housing  1  to be moved back. However, operability has not been good because the male housing  1  and the slider  5  must be operated in completely opposite directions. 
     The present invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object thereof is to improve separation operability. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a connector with a housing that is connectable with a mating housing of a mating connector. The housing has a lock arm that moves onto a lock on the mating housing and deforms resiliently in the process of connecting the two housings. The lock arm returns to engage the lock when the housings are connected properly. A slider is movable forward and backward substantially along a connecting direction of the housings between a deformation preventing position where the slider prevents deformation of the lock arm and a deformation permitting position where the slider permits deformation of the lock arm. The slider engages the resiliently deformed lock arm in the process of connecting the housings and is prevented from moving forward from the deformation permitting position. A pivotal member is pivotal about an axis arranged at an angle, and preferably a right angle, to the connecting direction. The pivotal member has a first end directly or indirectly pushed by a pushing portion of the mating housing in the process of connecting the two housings. At least one biasing member is provided between the slider and the second end of the pivotal member provided behind the slider. The biasing member is deformed resiliently and accumulates a biasing force to separate the housings as the slider and the second end of the pivotal member are displaced toward each other. 
     The lock arm is deformed resiliently and moves onto the lock when the two housings are connected. The deformed lock arm engages the slider to prevent the slider from moving forward from the deformation permitting position toward the deformation preventing position. The first end of the pivotal member is pushed by the pushing portion of the housing in this state. Thus, the pivotal member is pivoted about its supported portion, and the first end of the pivotal member is displaced back and the second end thereof is displaced forward. At this time, the biasing member is pushed forward by the second end of the pivotal member and is compressed resiliently between the slider and the pivotal member. 
     If the connecting operation is interrupted halfway, the biasing force accumulated in the biasing member is released to separate the two housings forcibly. This prevents the two housings from being left partly connected. 
     The lock arm returns to engage the lock when the housings are connected properly and the slider is freed from its locked state by the lock arm. Thus, the biasing force accumulated in the biasing member thus far is released to move the slider forward to the deformation preventing position. At this stage, the slider prevents the resilient deformation of the lock arm. Accordingly, the two housings are held firmly and properly connected with each other. 
     The two properly connected housings can be separated by first moving the slider back from the deformation preventing position to the deformation permitting position. The housing then can be pulled back from the mating housing and the lock arm is deformed resiliently to disengage from the lock. 
     The biasing member is pushed forward and is deformed by the pivotal member in the connecting process. Thus, the slider can be moved forward by the biasing force of the biasing member released when the two housings are connected properly. Separation operability is good since the slider is operated in the same direction as the connector housing is separated. 
     The slider, in the deformation preventing position, preferably is in a deformation space for the lock arm to prevent deformation of the lock arm and the slider, in the deformation permitting position, is retracted from the deformation space to permit the resilient deformation of the lock arm. 
     The lock arm and the lock may have a semi-locking construction. More particularly, at least one of the lock arm and the lock may have an unlocking guide surface for guiding disengagement of the lock arm from the lock by resiliently deforming the lock arm when a force of a specified intensity or higher acts to move the housing back. Thus, the lock arm is deformed when the slider is moved back from the deformation preventing position to the deformation permitting position during separation of the housings, and is guided through a disengagement from the lock by the unlocking guide surface. Accordingly, the lock arm is freed automatically from the locked state and separation operability is good. 
     The housing preferably comprises a support for supporting the pivotal member in a posture held substantially in contact with the biasing member before the two housings are connected. 
     The biasing member can be pushed and resiliently deformed by the second end of the pivotal member when the two housings are connected. 
     The slider comprises a holding arm for preventing the slider from moving forward from the deformation permitting position. The holding arm is engaged resiliently with at least one holding portion on the housing. At least one of the holding arm and the holding portion has a disengagement guiding surface for guiding the disengagement of the holding arm from the holding portion by resiliently deforming the holding arm when a force of a specified intensity or higher acts to move the slider forward. 
     The slider can be held at the deformation permitting position until the connectors are connected. Thus, the connecting operation can be performed with the slider at the deformation permitting position and operability is good. The holding arm and the holding portion have a semi-locking construction. Thus, the holding arm is deformed when the biasing force of the biasing member acts to move the slider forward during the connecting operation and is guided to be disengaged from the holding portion by the disengagement guiding surface. As a result, the slider is permitted to move forward to the deformation preventing position and separation operability is good. 
     A movable member may be movable on the housing, and the pivotal member may be pushed by the pushing portion of the mating housing via the movable member. 
     The pivotal member preferably is at an initial position before the connector housings are connected, and a spring contact portion of the pivotal member is held in contact with the biasing member. At least one portion of the pivotal member preferably is held in contact with at least one support of the housing. Thus, the pivotal member is supported at the inclined initial position. 
     A pushable portion of the pivotal member preferably is held in contact with the moving member when the pivotal member is at the initial position. 
    
    
     These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that even though embodiments are separately described, single features thereof may be combined to additional embodiments. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of a female housing, a slider, a pivotal member and a spacer according to one embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of the female housing, the slider, the pivotal member and the spacer. 
     FIG. 3 is a rear view of the female housing, the slider, the pivotal member and the spacer. 
     FIG. 4 is a section along  4 — 4  of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5 is a section along  5 — 5  of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 6 is a front view showing a state where the slider and the like are mounted into the female housing. 
     FIG. 7 is a front view showing the state where the slider and the like are mounted into the female housing. 
     FIG. 8 is a section along  8 — 8  of FIG.  6 . 
     FIGS.  9 (A) and  9 (B) are sections along  9 A— 9 A and  9 B— 9 B of FIG. 6 showing a state before the two housings are connected, respectively. 
     FIG.  10 (A) is a section similar to FIG.  9 (A) showing a state where a front end surface of a receptacle comes into contact with the spacer during a connecting operation of the two housings, and FIG.  10 (B) is a section similar to FIG.  9 (B) showing a state before the pivotal member is pivoted from an initial position during the connecting operation of the two housings. 
     FIG.  11 (A) is a section similar to FIG.  9 (A) showing a state where the two housings are properly connected and a locking projection is disengaged from the slider, and FIG.  11 (B) is a section similar to FIG.  9 (B) showing a state where the two housings are properly connected and compression coil springs are resiliently compressed by the pivotal member displaced to a pushed position. 
     FIGS.  12 (A) and  12 (B) are sections similar to FIGS.  9 (A) and  9 (B) showing a state where the slider is at a deformation preventing position. 
     FIG.  13 (A) is a section similar to FIG.  9 (A) showing a state where a lock arm is deformed resiliently during a separating operation of the two housings, and FIG.  13 (B) is a section similar to FIG.  9 (B) showing a state where the slider is at a deformation permitting position and the springs are compressed. 
     FIGS.  14 (A) and  14 (B) are a section along a lock arm and a section along a spring showing a partly connected state of a prior art connector. 
     FIGS.  15 (A) and  15 (B) are a section along the lock arm and a section along the spring showing a properly connected state of the prior art connector. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A connector according to the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to  13 , and is intended for use in an airbag circuit of an automotive vehicle. The connector includes a male housing  10  connected with a piece of equipment and a female housing  20  provided at ends of unillustrated wires. The male and female housings  10 ,  20  are connectable with each other. In the following description, engaging sides of the two housings  10 ,  20  are referred to as the front and reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 9 concerning vertical direction. 
     The male housing  10  is made e.g. of a synthetic resin and, as shown in FIG. 9, has a forwardly projecting substantially tubular receptacle  11 . Four substantially tab-shaped male terminals  12  project from the back wall of the male housing  10  and are surrounded by the receptacle  11 . A lock  13  projects up substantially at the widthwise center of the upper surface of the receptacle  11 . The front end surface of the lock  13  is sloped upward to the back so that the lock arm  28  can easily move onto the lock  13 . 
     The female housing  20  is made e.g. of a synthetic resin and, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, has a terminal accommodating portion  21  for accommodating female terminal fittings (not shown) that are connected with the wires. A fitting groove  22  is formed around the terminal accommodating portion  21  and the receptacle  11  of the male housing  10  fits into the fittable grooves  22  from the front. 
     Four cavities  23  are formed substantially side by side in the terminal accommodating portion  21 , as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and are dimensioned to receive the female terminal fittings. A longitudinal middle part of the terminal accommodating portion  21  and an area behind this middle part are widened laterally to form steps. A retainer  24  is mounted sideways on the front stepped portion and enters the cavities  23  to lock the female terminal fittings in the cavities  23 . The receptacle  11  is fittable into the fitting groove  22  and onto the outer peripheral surface of the rear stepped portion. A seal ring  25  is fit on the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion  21  immediately before the rear stepped portion and is squeezed between the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion  21  and the inner peripheral surface of the receptacle  11  for providing a watertight fit between the two housings  10 ,  20 . The retainer  24  is before the seal ring, and hence prevents the seal ring  25  from coming out. A guiding wall  26  projects back from the rear bottom end of the terminal accommodating portion  21  and is coupled to inner walls  31  for guiding the insertion of the female terminal fittings into the respective cavities  23 . 
     The upper wall  27  has substantially the same length as the terminal accommodating portion  21  and is coupled to the upper surface of the rear portion of the terminal accommodating portion  21 . The fitting groove  22  separates the front half of the upper wall  27  from the terminal accommodating portion  21 , as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. A widthwise middle of the upper wall  27  is raised to form a step, and a cantilevered lock arm  28  is formed by two slits of a specified depth at positions on the opposite side of the raised part. A hook  29  projects from the lower surface of a front end of the lock arm  28  and is engageable with the lock  13 . The lock arm  28  is resiliently deformable about the back ends of the slits and retracts into a deformation space S located above. An upwardly and backwardly sloped unlocking guide surface  29   a  is formed at the rear end of the hook  29  and is engageable with the lock  13 . Thus, the lock arm  28  and the lock  13  have a semi-locking construction. A locking projection  30  projects from the upper surface of the front end of the lock arm  28  at the opposite side of the hook  29 , and the rear end surface of the locking projection  30  is engageable with the front end surface of the slider  70  during the resilient deformation of the lock arm  28 . 
     Two inner walls  31  project back and up at the opposite sides of the rear end surfaces of the terminal accommodating portion  21  and the upper wall  27 , and a rear wall  32  projects out sideways from the rear end of each inner wall  31 , as shown in FIGS. 1,  2  and  5 . An outer wall  33  is provided at the outer side end of each rear wall  32  and projects more forward than the inner walls  31  and more down than the inner walls  31  and the rear walls  32 . The outer walls  33  are stepped and only upper parts of the outer walls  33  have their front ends aligned with the inner walls  31 . The upper ends of the outer walls  33  are coupled to the inner walls  31  and the rear walls  32  by a ceiling wall  34 . The bottom wall  35  bridges the front bottom ends of the outer walls  33  and has opposite lateral ends standing along the outer walls  33 . 
     The bottom wall  35  extends from the rear end of the terminal accommodating portion  21  substantially to the front stepped portion of the terminal accommodating portion  21 . An extending portion  35   a  extends forward and up from a part of the bottom wall  35  corresponding to the terminal accommodating portion  21  with respect to widthwise direction. The front end of the extending portion  35   a  has a front end substantially aligned with the front end of the terminal accommodating portion  21 . The fitting groove  22  for receiving the receptacle  11  is immediately inside the extending portion  35   a . Two narrow ribs  36  project back from the opposite sides of the rear surface of the extending portion  35   a  as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. A rear end of the bottom wall  35  is partially thinned. 
     A substantially rectangular opening  37  is formed at a lower part of the rear surface of the female housing  20  and is substantially surrounded by the guiding wall  26 , the inner walls  31 , the rear walls  32 , the outer walls  33  and the bottom wall  35 , as shown in FIG. 3. A spacer  50  is mountable into the female housing  20  from behind through the opening  37 . The spacer  50  is a substantially flat plate and is made e.g. of a synthetic resin and is slightly wider than a space between the two outer walls  33 . Opposite sides of the spacer  50  are cut off from the front for a length substantially equal to the length of the ribs  36  as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The spacer  50  is mounted between the bottom wall  35  and the rear stepped portion of the terminal accommodating portion  21  in the female housing  20 . An entering portion  51  is formed at the upper half of the spacer  50  and projects in from the extending portion  35   a  and enters the fitting groove  22 , as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9. The entering portion  51  is pushable by a front end  10   a  of the receptacle  11  of the male housing  10  during connection of the housings  10 ,  20 . The spacer  50  is movable forward and back substantially along a connecting direction CD of the two housings  10 ,  20  between an initial position (see FIG. 9) and a pushed position (see FIG.  12 ). The front middle of the spacer  50  contacts the rear surface of the extending portion  35   a  of the bottom wall  35  and the front surfaces of its opposite sides contact the rear of the ribs  36  when the spacer is in the initial position as shown in FIG.  4 . The pushed position (see FIG. 12) is reached by moving the spacer  50  back from the initial position. 
     The connector also includes a substantially U-shaped pivotal member  60  made e.g. of a synthetic resin. The pivotal member  60  has substantially the same width as the spacer  50  and includes a pair of vertically-extending arms  61  and a coupling  62  that couples the inner surfaces of the bottom ends of the arms  61 , as shown in FIGS. 1,  4  and  5 . Upper and lower ends of each arm  61  are rounded, and a front part of the upper end of each arm  61  is cut off to form a spring contact  63  with a pair of substantially straight surfaces  63   a  aligned substantially normal to each other. A leading end  63   a  of each spring contact  63  defines a pointed claw. The bottom end of each arm  61  is cut off to have a substantially straight rear surface, and the coupling  62  is coupled to a portion before the straight rear surface. The front surfaces of the arms  61  and the coupling  62  are rounded, and the rear surface of the coupling  61  also is rounded. 
     A cylindrical shaft  64  projects sideways from the outer side surface of each arm  61  slightly above the longitudinal middle of the arm  61  and below the spring contact  63 . The coupling  62  is behind the rear stepped portion and the fitting groove  22  of the terminal accommodating portion  21  when the pivotal member  60  is mounted into the female housing  20 . The two arms  61  are surrounded by the inner walls  31 , the rear walls  32 , the outer walls  33 , the ceiling wall  34  and/or the bottom wall  35 , and the two shafts  64  are fit into substantially round shaft holes  38  formed in both outer walls  33  as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The pivotal member  60  is supported to pivot about the shafts  64  forward and backward substantially along the connecting direction CD between an initial position (see FIG. 9) where the arms  61  are inclined backward and a pushed position (see FIG. 12) where the arms  61  are inclined forward. Thus, the pivotal member  60  is pivotable about the shaft  64  and the shaft holes  38  defining a pivotal axis aligned substantially normal to the connecting direction CD. The bottom ends of the arms  61  and the coupling  62  define a pushable portion  65  that normally is held in contact with a rear end surface  52  of the spacer  50  in the mounted state of the pivotal member  60 . The pushable portion  65  can be pushed back by the spacer  50  as the spacer  50  is pushed back by the front end surface  10   a  of the receptacle  11  fit into the fittable groove  22 . 
     The pushable portion  65  is held in contact with the rear end surface  52  of the spacer  50  when both the spacer  50  and the pivotal member  60  are at the initial position. Additionally, both straight surfaces  63   a  of each spring contact  63  are held in contact with the rear end surface and the bottom surface of a corresponding compression coil spring  80  as shown in FIG.  9 (B). At this stage, the rear surfaces of the arms  61  above the shafts  64  are held in contact with supports  39  projecting from the rear walls  32 , and the pivotal member  60  is supported at the initial position where it is inclined backward. Each support  39  has a substantially triangular cross section and the front vertex is substantially at the same position as the shaft hole  38  with respect to the height direction. The pushable portion  65  is held in contact with the rear end surface  52  of the spacer  50  when both the spacer  50  and the pivotal member  60  are at the pushed position, whereas leading ends  63   b  of the spring contacts  63  are held substantially in contact with the rear end surfaces of the compression coil springs  80 . Further, a part of the pivotal member  60  below the shafts  64  is caused to escape into a space below the supports  39 . The pivotal member  60  is pivotal about the shaft  63  and the shaft hole  38 . Thus, the pivotal member  60  can convert a backward movement of the pushable portion  65  into a forward movement of the spring contact  63  to compress the compression coils springs  80 . Conversely, a resilient expansion of the compression coil springs  80  pushes the spring contact  63  back. This backward movement is converted in a forward movement of the pushable portion  65  directly interacting with the male housing  10 . 
     A rectangular frame-shaped slider  70  is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and is assembled to surround the female housing  20 . An operable portion  71  bulges out over the entire periphery of the slider  70  slightly before the rear end. The operable portion  71  can be pushed or pulled during the connecting or separating operations (see FIG. 9 or  12 ). Bulges  72  project in from the inner surfaces of the opposite sides of the slider  70  for surrounding the opposite sides of the fitting groove  22  of the female housing  20  in the assembled state of the slider  70 , as shown in FIG.  6 . The bulges  72  are provided over a length from the front end of the slider  70  to a position slightly before the outer walls  33 , as shown in FIG.  8 . 
     The upper part of the slider  70  is thinned to form steps at portions corresponding to the lock arm  28  of the female housing  20  and the opposite sides of the lock arm  28 , and two holding arms  73  project from the bottom surfaces of the thinned opposite sides as shown in FIG.  1 . Each holding arm  73  is cantilevered back, as shown in FIG. 4, and is resiliently deformable upwardly. A hook  74  projects from the lower surface of the projecting end of each holding arm  73 . Two stoppers  75  project at the bottom surface of the rear part of the thinned portion corresponding to the lock arm  28 . A portion of the upper part of the slider  70  behind the operable portion  71  is raised slightly and thinned, and the ceiling wall  34  of the female housing  20  can be brought into contact with an inner stepped portion there. 
     The slider  70  is assembled on the female housing  20  so that the hooks  74  of the holding arms  73  engage holding projections  40  at positions on the upper wall  27  at opposite sides of the lock arm  28 , as shown in FIG.  9 (A). At this stage, the slider  70  is in a deformation permitting position with the upper portion of the slider  70  retracted back from the deformation space S for the lock arm  28 . Thus, the lock arm  28  can deform. On the other hand, the slider  70  can be moved forward to a deformation preventing position where a deformation preventing portion  70   a  on the upper part of the slider  70  is in the deformation space S (see FIG.  12 (A)). Thus, the lock arm  28  cannot deform. At this time, the stoppers  75  contact first front-stop projections  41  on the upper surface of the lock arm  28 . Disengagement guiding surfaces  74   a  that slope up and to the front are formed on the front surfaces of the hooks  74 . The disengagement guiding surfaces  74   a  engage the holding projections  40  with a semi-locking construction. 
     Two spring accommodating recesses  76  are formed on opposite upper corners of the slider  70  and open backward, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 for accommodating a pair of compression coil springs  80 . The back walls of the spring accommodating recesses  76  define receiving portions  76   a  for receiving the front ends of the compression coil springs  80 . The compression coil springs  80  can be held by the surrounding walls of the spring accommodating recesses  76  so as not to shake in a direction inclined to the connecting direction CD. A bottom part of the surrounding wall of each spring accommodating recess  76  is cut over a specified depth so as not to interfere with the pivotal member  60  (see FIG.  9 ). 
     An escaping hole  77  penetrates a rear portion of the bottom part of the slider  70  at a widthwise middle position. The escaping hole  77  permits the escape of a second front-stop projection  42  on the bottom surface of the bottom wall  35  of the female housing  20  as the slider  70  is assembled as shown in FIG.  9 (A). The second front-stop projection  42  abuts against the rear edge of the escaping hole  77  when the slider  70  reaches the deformation preventing position (see FIG.  12 (A)). A rear-stop wall  78  projects up from the front end of the bottom part of the slider  70 , and contacts the front surface of the bottom wall portion  35  (excluding the extending portion  35   a ) of the female housing  20 . 
     The female connector is assembled from the state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 by inserting the spacer  50  from behind through the opening  37  and to the initial position in the female housing  20 . The pivotal member  60  then is inserted from behind through the opening  37  and into the female housing  20 . The pivotal member  60  is disposed in the initial position and is inclined back with the shafts  64  fit into the corresponding shaft holes  38 . At this time, the pivotal member  60  is supported at the initial position by the contact of the pushable portion  65  with the rear end surface  52  of the spacer  50  and the contact of the rear surfaces of the upper parts of the arms  61  with the corresponding supports  39 . 
     The compression coil springs  80  are accommodated in the spring accommodating recesses  76  of the slider  70 . The slider  70  then is assembled with the female housing  20  from the front into the deformation permitting position. In this process, the holding arms  73  are at the opposite sides of the lock arm  28  and deform resiliently up as the hooks  74  move onto the holding projections  40 . The hooks  74  move over the holding projections  40  when the slider  70  reaches the deformation permitting position. Thus, the holding arms  73  return and the disengagement guiding surfaces  74   a  of the hooks  74  engage the rear surfaces of the holding projections  40 . In this way, the slider  70  cannot move forward along the connecting direction CD from the deformation permitting. At this time, each compression coil spring  80  has its rear end held in contact with both substantially straight surfaces  63   a  of the corresponding spring contact  63  and is held slightly resiliently compressed between the receiving portion  76   a  and the spring contact  63  as shown in FIG.  9 (B). The female terminal fittings, the retainer  24 , the seal ring  25 , etc. are mounted into the female housing  20 . 
     The male and female housings are connected by pushing the operable portion  71  of the slider  70  forward while the receptacle  11  of the male housing  10  and the fitting groove  22  of the female housing  20  are opposed to each other. The connecting operation may be performed by pushing the rear end of the female housing  20 . The hook  29  of the lock arm  28  moves onto the lock  13  as the receptacle  11  enters the fitting groove  22  and resiliently deforms the lock arm  28 . At this stage, the front end of the lock arm  28  and the locking projection  30  move up into the deformation space S and the rear end surface of the locking projection  30  engages the front end surface of the upper part of the slider  70  to prevent the slider  70  from moving forward from the deformation permitting position, as shown in FIG.  10 . The front end surface  10   a  of the receptacle  11  then contacts the entering portion  51  of the spacer  50 . The spacer  50  is pushed back by the front end surface  10   a  of the receptacle  11  as the connecting operation proceeds, and the pushable portion  65  of the pivotal member  60  is pushed back by the rear end surface  52  of the spacer  50  as the spacer  50  is moved back. The pivotal member  60  then pivots about the shafts  64 . Thus, the spring contacts  63  at the upper end are displaced forward and the rear ends of the compression coil springs  80  are pushed forward by the claw-shaped leading ends  63   b . The front ends of the compression coil springs  80  are received by the receiving portions  76   a  of the slider  70  and are prevented from moving forward. Thus, the compression coil springs  80  are compressed resiliently between the receiving portions  76   a  and the spring contacts  63  moving forward with respect to the receiving portions  76   a  and biasing forces to separate the two housings  10 ,  20  accumulate gradually in the compression coil springs  80  (see FIG.  11 (B)). 
     The connecting operation could be interrupted halfway. In this situation, the biasing forces accumulated in the compressed coil springs  80  are released and the pushable portion  65  of the pivotal member  60  pushes the front end surface  10   a  of the receptacle  11  back via the spacer  50  to separate the housings  10 ,  20 . This prevents the two housings  10 ,  20  from being left partly connected. 
     When the two housings  10 ,  20  are connected to proper depth, the hook  29  of the lock arm  28  moves over the lock  13  and resiliently returns. Thus, the unlocking guide surface  29   a  of the hook  29  is engaged with the rear end surface of the lock  13 , as shown in FIG.  11 . The locking projection  30  is disengaged from the front end surface of the slider  70  as the lock arm  28  returns, thereby freeing the slider  70  to move along the connecting direction CD. At this time, the pivotal member  60  is held at the forwardly inclined pushed position by the front end surface  10   a  of the receptacle  11  acting through the spacer  50  which is at its pushed position. Accordingly, biasing forces accumulated in the compression coil springs  80  are released and move the slider  70  forward. The holding arms  73  receive these forces and are guided by the disengagement guiding surfaces  74   a  to undergo a resilient deformation. Thus, the hooks  74  disengage from the holding projections  40 . As a result, the biasing forces of the compression coil springs  80  move the slider  70  forward from the deformation permitting to the deformation preventing position. 
     The deformation preventing portion  70   a  enters the deformation space S when the slider  70  reaches the deformation preventing position. Thus, the deformation preventing portion  70   a  faces the locking projection  30  from above and is held substantially in contact with the locking projection  30 , as shown in FIG.  12 . Accordingly, the lock arm  28  is prevented from being deformed away from the lock  13  and the housings  10 ,  20  are held firmly and properly connected. In this state, the compression coil springs  80  are held with their front and rear ends in contact with the receiving portions  76   a  and the leading ends  63   b  of the spring contacts  63  of the pivotal member  60  located at its pushed position. The stoppers  75  contact the corresponding first front-stop projections  41  and the rear edge of the escaping hole  77  contacts the second front-stop projection  42  to prevent the slider  70  from moving forward from the deformation preventing position. In the properly connected state, the seal ring  25  contacts the inner peripheral surface of the receptacle  11  and the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion  21  to provide watertightness between the two housings  10  and  20 . 
     The two housings  10 ,  20  may be separated for maintenance or other reason. In such a case, the operable portion  71  of the slider  70  is gripped and pulled back from the deformation preventing position while compressing the compression coil springs  80 . The rear-stop wall  78  engages the bottom wall  35  when the slider  70  reaches the deformation permitting position. An operation force of a specified intensity or higher is exerted on the slider  70  and acts to move the female housing  20  back from the male housing  10 . The lock arm  28  and the lock projection  13  have the above-described semi-locking construction. As a result, the lock arm  28  is guided by the unlocking guide surface  29   a  of the hook  29  and deforms to disengage the hook  29  from the lock  13 , as shown in FIG.  13 . Thus, the female housing  20  is moved back and separated from the male housing  10 . In this way, an operation of moving the slider  70  back to the deformation permitting position, an operation of resiliently deforming the lock arm  28  and an operation of separating the two housings  10 ,  20  can be performed at once by one operation of pulling the slider  70 . 
     As described above, the compression coil springs  80  are pushed forward by the pivotal member  60  and are compressed resiliently during the connecting process. Thus, the slider  70  can be moved forward by the biasing forces of the compression coil springs  80  that are released when the housings  10 ,  20  are connected properly. Therefore, separation operability is good since the slider  70  is operated in the same direction as the female housing  20  is moved during separation. Further, the ability to move the slider  70  forward is controlled using the lock arm  28  whose movement is linked with the connecting operation. Thus, the slider  70  can be operated at a proper timing, thereby improving the operation reliability of a partial connection preventing function. Furthermore, the pushable portion  65  of the pivotal member  60  is pushed by the front end surface  10   a  of the receptacle  11  of the male housing  10  via the spacer  50 . Thus, the construction of the male housing  10  can be simplified. 
     The lock arm  28  and the lock  13  have a semi-locking construction. As a result, the lock arm  28  is deformed and guided out of engagement with the lock  13  by the unlocking guide surface  29   a  of the hook  29  as the slider  70  is moved back from the deformation preventing position to the deformation permitting position during separation of the housings  10 ,  20 . Therefore, separation is more efficient than a case where the operation of deforming the lock arm must be performed separately. 
     Further, the pivotal member  60  is supported by the supporting portions  39  at the initial position where the spring contacts  63  are held in contact with the rear ends of the compression coil springs  80 . Thus, the compression coil springs  80  can be pushed securely and compressed resiliently by the spring contacts  63  of the pivotal member  60  upon connecting the two housings  10 ,  20 . 
     The slider  70  can be held at the deformation permitting position by the engagement of the holding arms  73  with the holding projections  40 . Thus, the connecting operation can be performed with the slider  70  at the deformation permitting position to provide good operational efficiency. Further, the semi-locking construction provides the disengagement guiding surfaces  74   a  on the hooks  74  of the holding arms  73  engageable with the holding projections  40 . Thus, the holding arms  73  can be disengaged automatically from the holding projections  40  taking advantage of the biasing forces of the compression coil springs  80  and operability is better as compared to a case where the operation of resiliently deforming the lock arm needs to be performed separately. 
     The invention is not limited to the above described and illustrated embodiment. For example, the following embodiments are also embraced by the technical scope of the present invention as defined by the claims. Beside the following embodiments, various changes can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the claims. 
     The shafts on the outer sides of the arms are fit into the shaft holes in the outer walls to support the pivotal member in the foregoing embodiment. However, the pivotal member may be supported by fitting shafts on the rear ends of the arms into recesses formed in the supports from the front. With such an arrangement, the pivotal member can be mounted more easily into the female housing. 
     The pivotal member has the shafts and the female housing has the shaft holes in the foregoing embodiment. Conversely, the pivotal member may be provided with the shaft holes and the female housing may be provided with the shafts. Further, the shafts and the shaft holes may have a semicircular, rectangular or like cross section. An arrangement in which the shaft holes have an oblong cross section and the shafts slide in the shaft holes as the pivotal member is pivoted also is embraced by the present invention. 
     The connector includes the spacer in the foregoing embodiment. However, the spacer may be omitted and the pushable portion of the pivotal member may be pushed directly by the receptacle of the male housing. 
     The unlocking guide surface is on the lock arm in the foregoing embodiment, but may be on the lock or on both the lock arm and the lock. 
     The disengagement guiding surfaces are provided on the holding arms in the foregoing embodiment. However, they may be provided on the holding projections or on both the holding arms and holding projections 
     Although the slider, the compression coil springs, the pivotal member and the like are assembled with the female housing in the foregoing embodiment, they may be assembled with the male housing according to the invention. 
     Compression coil springs are shown as the biasing members in the foregoing embodiment. However, leaf springs, resilient rods or the like may, be used instead or additionally as biasing members. 
     Although the connector has a watertight seal ring in the foregoing embodiment, the invention is also applicable to non-watertight connectors.