Abstract:
A connector used for connecting automotive wiring harnesses consists of a first connector housing fittable to a second connector housing; a resilient locking means provided on the first connector housing, which rises at its forward base portion and extends rearwardly in a fitting direction of the first and second connector housings, the locking means including an operating means; a deformation prevention means provided on the first connector housing, within a width of the locking means for preventing an external force from acting on the locking means; and catching prevention means provided on laterally opposite sides of the operating means. The deformation prevention means protects the locking means from an external force.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a connector for connecting automotive wiring harnesses and the like, and more particularly to a connector in which a resilient locking arm for locking female and male connector housings is protected from deformation. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In FIG. 5, there is shown a male connector housing a with terminal receiving cavities a 1  formed therein. Terminal lugs of a female type attached to wire ends of a wiring harness are received and locked in these terminal receiving cavities. The male connector housing a is fitted to a mating female connector housing containing terminal lugs of a male type (not shown) therein. On its upper wall, the male connector housing a has a resilient locking arm b which is elastically vertically movable relative to the upper wall and which engages with a female connector housing locking portion thereby to lock the connector housings together. 
     With the male connector housing a, if the resilient locking arm b is provided exposed on the housing upper wall, wires tend to catch an operating grip b 1  at the rear end of the locking arm during assembly of the connector including insertion and locking of terminals, storage and transportation of wiring harnesses with such connectors, and the like, so that a sudden external force acts on, and damages to the resilient locking arm b. Arm protector walls c, c are thus provided on laterally opposite sides of the resilient locking arm b. 
     The male connector housing a′ as shown in FIG. 6 has, in place of such arm protector walls c, a vertical recess d provided in an upper wall thereof for protecting a resilient locking arm b′ therein. 
     Further, the male connector housing a as shown in FIG. 7 is featured by a pair of arm protector walls c, c provided on opposite sides of a resilient locking arm b″ and a protector bridge e which links the protector walls at a rear side thereof. 
     With the conventional male connector housings a, a′, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, however, a foreign body of a width smaller than that w between the protector walls c, c, or that of the vertical recess d, for example, a branch of a wiring harness, may enter between the protector walls c, c or the vertical recess d, resulting in an external force causing deformation of the resilient locking arms b or b′. 
     With the male connector housing a″ of FIG. 7, the bridge e disposed on the protector walls c, c to cover the locking arm b″ adds to the height of the connector housing. In addition, the operating grip b 1 ″ needs be located outside, beyond the bridge e, for the operation of the locking arm b″. As a result, the connector becomes large in size, not complying with an increasing demand of miniaturization. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention has been accomplished to overcome the above drawbacks and an object of this invention is to provide a connector in which a foreign body of a width smaller than a width of resilient locking means is prevented from coming inside the width of the locking means and exerting a sudden external force on the locking means, and which suppresses an increase in the connector size. 
     In order to attain the object, according to this invention, there is provided a connector which comprises: a first connector housing fittable to a second connector housing; a resilient locking means for locking the first and the second connector housings together, provided on an outer wall of the first connector housing, the resilient locking means rising at a forward base portion thereof and extending rearwardly in a fitting direction of the first and the second connector housings, the resilient locking means including an operating means provided at a rear end thereof; a deformation prevention means provided on the outer wall of the first connector housing, within a width of the resilient locking means for preventing an external force from acting on the resilient locking means; and catching prevention means provided on laterally opposite sides of the operating means for keeping the operating means from catching a foreign body. 
     Preferably, the resilient locking means comprises a pair of resilient locking arms extending parallel to each other in the fitting direction of the first and the second connector housings, the operating means interconnects the pair of resilient locking arms at an end of the locking arms, and the deformation prevention means is interposed between the pair of resilient locking arms. 
     Preferably, the deformation prevention means comprises a horizontal rib extending parallel to the resilient locking arms and a vertical rib provided at a rear end of the horizontal rib, the vertical rib standing upright on a front side of the operating means. 
     Preferably, the operating means has a recess formed at a front side thereof and the vertical rib is located standing upright in side the recess. 
     Preferably, the connector further comprises a pair of locking segments provided on the respective resilient locking arms and together constituting a locking frame engageable with a corresponding locking means provided on the second connector housing to lock the first and the second connector housings together. 
     Preferably, the deformation prevention means comprises a vertical rib standing upright inside a recess formed at a front or a rear side of the operating means. 
     Preferably, the connector further comprises a locking frame provided in one piece on the resilient locking arms and engageable with a corresponding locking means provided on the second connector housing to lock the first and the second connector housings together. 
     Preferably, the operating means has a height greater than that of the locking frame provided on the resilient locking arms. 
     Preferably, the horizontal rib and the vertical rib have heights substantially flush with, or slightly greater than, those of the resilient locking arms and the operating means, respectively. 
     The above and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of female and male connector housings, shown separated, according to one embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 2A is a front view of the male connector housing of FIG. 1, showing its operation; 
     FIG. 2B is a partially sectional view taken along the line X—X of FIG. 2A; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a male connector housing according to another embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a male connector housing according to yet another embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an example of a conventional male connector housing; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another example of a conventional male connector housing; and 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of yet another example of a conventional male connector housing. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiments of this invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings. 
     In FIGS. 1 and 2, denoted A and B are male connector housing and female connector housing, respectively, both made of synthetic resin. The male connector housing A has rows of terminal receiving cavities  1  formed therein in two tiers in which female terminal lugs (not shown) are received and locked, and a front holder  2  fitted in the housing front end opening to double-lock the female terminal lugs. The female connector housing B includes a housing body  3 , terminal receiving cavities  4  formed in the housing body for receipt therein of male terminal lugs (not shown) corresponding to the female terminal lugs, and a hood  5  provided at the front of the housing body for receiving the male connector housing A. 
     The male connector housing A has insertion guide walls  7 ,  7  at left and right sides on its upper wall  6  and a pair of resilient locking arms  8  located between the insertion guide walls, the locking arms having a central space S therebetween. The insertion guide walls  7 ,  7  also serve as protector walls for the locking arms  8  and have a pair of opposed catching preventors  13 ,  13  at the rear end. Located at a center between the pair of locking arms  8  is a deformation prevention member  14 . 
     The resilient locking arms  8 ,  8  rise at their forward base portions  10  and extend rearwardly, and have a pair of left and right locking segments  11  provided prominent on their top surfaces at a rear portion and an operating grip  12  provided at their rear end which integrally interconnects the locking arms  8 ,  8 . The left and right locking segments  11  together form a locking frame  11   a.  The operating grip  12  is located at a position higher than the locking segments  11  on the arm top surfaces  9  and is pressed and released to elastically move the locking arms  8  up and down relative to the upper wall  6  of the male connector housing A. On opposite sides of the operating grip  12  are located the catching preventors  13 ,  13 . 
     The catching preventors  13  are hook-shaped rigid bodies facing each other with the operating grip  12  located therebetween and each has an upper surface  13   a  flush with or higher than the operating grip  12 . The deformation prevention member  14  consists of a horizontal rib  14   a  located at a center between the resilient locking arms  8 ,  8  and extending close to the operating grip  12  and a vertical rib  14   b  located inside a recess  12   a  formed at the front side of the operating grip  12 . The horizontal rib  14   a  and the vertical rib  14   b  preferably have heights flush with, or slightly greater than, the locking arms  8 ,  8  and the operating grip  12 , respectively. 
     The hood  5  of the female connector housing B has a locking chamber  16  formed at a center of its upper side for receiving the resilient locking arms  8 . The locking chamber  16  is provided on its ceiling wall  16   a  with a locking projection  17  which engages in the locking frame  11  to lock the female and male connector housings B and A together. On laterally opposite sides of the locking chamber  16  are located insertion guide chambers  15  with guide grooves  15   a  formed therein for the insertion guide walls  7  of the male connector connector housing A. 
     With the construction as mentioned above, to fit the male connector housing A to the hood  5  of the female connector housing B, the insertion guide walls  7  are advanced into the respective guide grooves  15   a  and the resilient locking arms  8  into the locking chamber  16 , during which the locking projection  17  contacts the locking frame  11  to depress the locking frame  11  and thus the locking arms  8  toward the male connector housing upper wall  6  until the locking projection  17  rides over the locking frame  11 , at which time the locking frame  11  resiliently returns to its original position so that the locking projection  17  engages in the locking frame  11  to lock the male and female connector housings A and B together and to bring the female and male terminals lugs into contact with each other. 
     With the male connector housing A in an unused or uncoupled condition with the female connector housing B, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, if a wiring harness WH of a diameter R smaller than a locking width L between the locking arms  8 ,  8  is moved or pressed in parallel at the resilient locking arms  8 , the wiring harness WH is stopped on the forward end of the horizontal rib  14   a  of the deformation prevention member  14  and the upper end of the vertical rib  14   b,  so that the load of the wiring harness WH does not directly act on the resilient locking arms  8 . Deformation and/or collapse of the locking arms  8  by an external force is thus precluded. 
     In the case of a wiring harness of a diameter equal to, or greater than, the locking width L, such wiring harness will be stopped, not only by the deformation prevention member  14  but also by the catching preventors  13  to protect the resilient locking arms  8 . 
     FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of this invention. In this embodiment, a deformation prevention member  14 ′ of a male connector housing A′, with the horizontal rib  14   a  being omitted, consists of the vertical rib  14   b  which is located inside a recess  12   a ′ formed at a central rear side of the operating grip  12 . Since there does not exist the horizontal rib  14   a  between the pair of locking arms  8 ,  8 , unlike the locking frame  11  in the preceding example which is made up of the locking segments  11   a,  a locking frame  11 ′ is provided in one piece on the locking arms  8 ,  8 . Incidentally, it is also possible to locate the deformation prevention member  14 ′ (vertical rib  14   b ) on the front side of the operating grip  12  as in the preceding example. 
     With the male connector housing A′, as is described in connection with FIGS. 2A and 2B, if the wiring harness WH of the diameter R is moved at the resilient locking arms  8 , the wiring harness is stopped on the deformation prevention member  14 ′ located inwardly of the operating grip  12 , thereby to prevent the locking arms  8  from undue deflection toward the housing upper wall  6  and deformation and/or collapse. 
     FIG. 4 shows yet another embodiment of this invention in which a deformation prevention member  14 ″ of a male connector housing A″ is provided in the form of a horizontal rib located at a center between the locking arms  8 ,  8 , the vertical rib  14   b  being omitted. The horizontal rib  14 ″ extends up to a point close to the locking frame  11 ′. 
     With the male connector housing A″, if an end of the wiring harness WH of the diameter R is moved or pressed at a front half or the forward base portion  10  side of the resilient locking arms  8 , the wiring harness is stopped on the deformation prevention member  14 ″ to thereby preclude an adverse action on the locking arms  8 . 
     While in the above examples, the resilient locking means is shown to be the pair of separate resilient locking arms  8 ,  8 , it is also possible to use a single resilient locking means, such as those in FIGS. 5 and 6, especially in such a case in which the deformation prevention member  14 ′, as shown in FIG. 3, is employed. 
     As mentioned hereinabove, according to this invention, because a deformation prevention member is provided on one connector housing, within a width of the resilient locking means, if an elongated object, such as a wiring harness of a diameter smaller than the width of the resilient locking means, is accidentally pressed in parallel at the locking means, its load acts on the deformation prevention member, with the result that the locking means is free of an external force which would otherwise cause unintentional depression or collapse of the locking means. Moreover, the present invention achieves the result that the connector is prevented from becoming large in size. 
     Having now fully described the invention, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth herein.