JP4978551B2 - Lever type connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever-type connector.

As a lever-type connector, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known. This includes a male housing having a hood portion, a female housing that can be fitted to the male housing, and a lever that is rotatably mounted on the male housing. It is set as the structure pulled near to a fitting direction. The lever includes an operation unit that is picked and operated during rotation, and a pair of arm units that protrude from both ends of the operation unit. Lock portions are formed on both side surfaces of the male housing, and lock receiving portions are formed on both arm portions. When the lever reaches the rotation completion position, the lock receiving portions are elastically engaged with the lock portions. Thus, the rotation of the lever is restricted, and the detachment of both housings is also restricted.
JP 2006-344473 A

  By the way, a lever or a housing may be deformed by a heat effect after molding. If the lever or the like is deformed, even if the lock portion is locked by the lock portion and the lock receiving portion, the two housings do not reach the normal fitting state, and the second housing has the normal depth in the hood portion. It does not fit in. For this reason, a gap in the fitting direction is generated between the two housings, and there is a risk that the terminal fittings accommodated in the two housings may slide and wear due to vibration or the like.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to prevent the two housings from being half-fitted.

As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is directed to a first housing, a second housing that can be fitted to the first housing, and a lever that is rotatably mounted on the first housing. The lever includes an operation portion and a cam portion, and the second housing includes an operation receiving portion and a cam receiving portion, and the lever is rotated while holding the operation portion. Accordingly, the cam portion and the cam receiving portion are engaged with each other, and the two housings are drawn toward the normal fitting position, and the operation portion is rotated from the middle of the rotation of the lever. engaged with the operation receiving section to the end position, the pushing portion of the second housing pushes the normal direction of fitting the first housing is formed Rutotomoni, the first housing or the second housing A lock portion is formed, and the operation portion is formed with a lock receiving portion that holds the lever in a rotation-restricted state by being locked to the lock portion at the rotation completion position. , Characterized by being located adjacent to the lock receiving portion .

The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, the push-in portions are located in pairs on both sides of the lock receiving portion .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, when the two housings are in a properly fitted state, the front end in the fitting direction of the first housing and the rear end in the fitting direction of the second housing. It is characterized by the fact that and are connected to each other.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect , the first housing has a cylindrical hood portion, and the operation receiving portion has the two housings in a properly fitted state. In this case, the hood part is also used as a squeeze restricting part that covers the tip end side of the hood part in the bulging direction and restricts the hood part from squeezing .

<Invention of Claim 1>
From the middle of the rotation of the lever to the rotation completion position, the push-in portion engages with the operation receiving portion and pushes the second housing in the normal fitting direction with the first housing, so the lever reaches the rotation completion position. As a result, both housings can be brought into a normal fitting state.
In addition, even if the lever is deformed due to thermal influences, etc., the push-in part is located adjacent to the lock receiving part. When the lever reaches the rotation completion position due to the engagement between the receiving portion and the lock portion, the two housings can be more reliably brought into the normal fitting state.

<Invention of Claim 2 >
Since the pushing portions are located in pairs on both sides of the lock receiving portion, the pushing operation to the second housing can be performed with a good balance.

<Invention of Claim 3 >
When both housings are in a normal fitting state, the front end in the fitting direction of the first housing and the rear end in the fitting direction of the second housing are flush with each other. It can be known that the housing is in a properly fitted state.

<Invention of Claim 4 >
Since the operation receiving portion also serves as a wrinkle restricting portion that restricts the wobbling of the hood portion, the configuration can be simplified rather than providing the operation receiving portion and the wobbling restricting portion separately.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector according to this embodiment includes a pair of male and female housings 10 and 30 that can be fitted to each other, and a lever 60 that is rotatably mounted on the male housing 30 (corresponding to the first housing of the present invention). ing. In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the fitting surface side of both housings 10 and 30 is the front.

  The female housing 10 (corresponding to the second housing of the present invention) is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a housing body 11 having a flat rectangular block shape elongated in the width direction, and a housing body 11 And a cap-shaped front holder 12 that covers the front surface. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of cavities 13 are formed in the housing body 11 so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction. A female terminal fitting 90 is inserted into each cavity 13 from the rear, and the normally inserted female terminal fitting 90 is retained and locked by a lance 14 formed on the inner wall of the cavity 13 so as to be deflectable. A plurality of electric wires 91 connected to the female terminal fitting 90 are led out from the rear surface of the housing body 11. A plurality of tab insertion openings 17 are formed in the front surface of the front holder 12 at positions corresponding to the cavities 13.

  A pair of left and right guide ribs 15 protrude from the upper and lower surfaces of the housing body 11. The guide ribs 15 have different positions in the width direction on the upper and lower surfaces of the housing body 11, thereby preventing the housings 10 and 30 from being vertically inverted and misfitting. A pair of cylindrical cam followers 16 protrude from the left and right side surfaces of the housing body 11 at positions close to the front holder 12.

  In addition, a pair of left and right operation receiving portions 18 are formed on the upper surface of the housing body 11 at the center in the width direction and at the rear end. The operation receiving portion 18 has a rectangular block shape as a whole, and has a hollow portion 19 that opens across two surfaces of the inner surface facing the front surface. The upper wall of the hollow portion 19 is a covering wall 21 that covers a hood portion 32 (described later) of the mating male housing 30 from above when both housings 10 and 30 are properly fitted. The upper surface and the rear surface of the operation receiving portion 18 are connected at a substantially right angle, and a pushing portion 71 (described later) of the lever 60 is slidable on the corner portion 22. Further, auxiliary plates 23 are integrally joined to the left and right outer surfaces of the operation receiving portion 18.

  On the other hand, the male housing 30 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a flat terminal accommodating portion 31 that is elongated in the width direction, and a horizontally long rectangular tube shape that protrudes forward from the front end of the terminal accommodating portion 31. The entire female housing 10 can be fitted into the hood portion 32. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of cavities 33 are formed in the terminal accommodating portion 31 so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction. A male terminal fitting 95 is inserted into each cavity 33 from the rear, and the normally inserted male terminal fitting 95 is retained and locked by a lance 34 formed on the inner wall of the cavity 33 so as to be able to bend. The tab 96 is disposed so as to protrude into the hood portion 32. A plurality of electric wires 92 connected to the male terminal fitting 95 are led out from the rear surface of the terminal accommodating portion 31. Further, on both upper and lower surfaces of the male housing 30, rib receiving portions 35 that receive the guide ribs 15 are formed at positions corresponding to the guide ribs 15 so as to extend in the front-rear direction.

  On both the left and right side surfaces of the male housing 30, a pair of shaft portions 36 that rotatably support the lever 60 are formed at positions near the terminal accommodating portion 31 of the hood portion 32. At the projecting end of the shaft portion 36, a retaining piece 37 that restricts the lever 60 from being pulled out is formed to protrude sideways. In addition, on both left and right side walls of the hood portion 32, introduction grooves 38 into which the cam followers 16 can enter are formed to extend in the front-rear direction and open to the front end. A pair of outer walls 39 are formed on the left and right outer surfaces of the hood portion 32 so as to cover the entrance side of the introduction groove 38 from the outside.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the front ends of the upper and lower walls of the hood portion 32 are formed with cut portions 41 that recede leaving the central portion in the width direction and both end portions in the width direction. A lock portion 42 is formed between the left and right cut portions 41 at the center in the width direction of the upper and lower walls of the hood portion 32. A rectangular entry piece 43 that is thinner than the surroundings is formed on the base portion on the left and right sides of the lock portion 42 so as to protrude. The entry piece 43 is formed by notching the upper surface side, and enters the hollow portion 19 of the operation receiving portion 18 when both the housings 10 and 30 are in the normal fitting state.

  The lever 60 is made of synthetic resin and has a plate shape as a whole. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. It consists of the part 62, and it mounts | wears with respect to the male housing 30 so that it may straddle from back. The lever 60 is located between an initial rotation position where the operation portion 61 is located at the rear end portion of the male housing 30 and a rotation completion position where the operation portion 61 is located at the rear end portion of the counterpart female housing 10. It can be turned.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a shaft hole 63 that receives the shaft portion 36 is formed in the arm portion 62 so as to penetrate therethrough. A concave step portion 64 is formed around the outer hole of the shaft hole 63, and the retaining piece 37 of the shaft portion 36 is slidably accommodated in the concave step portion 64. Further, the arm portion 62 is formed with a cam groove 65 (corresponding to the cam portion of the present invention) that can be engaged with the cam follower 16. The entrance of the cam groove 65 is directed forward and communicated with the introduction groove 38 at the initial rotation position.

  A thin arc-shaped piece 66 that enters the inside of the outer wall during rotation is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the arm portion 62. When the arc-shaped piece 66 enters the outer wall, the expansion of the arm portion 62 is restricted. Inside the arm portion 62, an elastic locking piece 67 for retaining the lever 60 at the initial rotation position is formed so as to be able to be bent.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a lock receiving portion 68 that is locked to the lock portion 42 at the rotation completion position is formed on the inner surface of the operation portion 61 in the center in the width direction. The lock receiving portion 68 has a lock piece 69 that can be bent, and the lock piece 69 can be elastically locked to the lock portion 42. A pair of left and right pushing portions 71 are formed on the inner surface of the central portion in the width direction of the operation portion 61 at adjacent positions on both sides of the lock receiving portion 68. The push-in portion 71 has a plate shape along the height direction (the rotation direction of the lever 60), and in the middle of the rotation of the lever 60, specifically, from the end of rotation to the rotation completion position, the corner of the operation receiving portion 18 is formed. The portion 22 is slidably engaged. As shown in FIG. 2, the inner edge of the pushing portion 71 is a tapered pressing surface 72 that applies a pressing force forward (to the male housing 30 side) with respect to the operation receiving portion 18 in the turning process of the lever 60. In the rotation completion position, it is arranged obliquely rearward and obliquely downward. Further, a flat surface 73 arranged horizontally at the rotation completion position is formed on the inner surface of the central portion in the width direction of the operation unit 61. The flat surface 73 is continuous with the pressing surface 72 of the pushing portion 71, and the crossing angle with the pressing surface 72 forms an obtuse angle.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
The female terminal fitting 90 with the electric wire 91 is accommodated in the female housing 10, the male terminal fitting 95 with the electric wire 92 is accommodated in the male housing 30, and the lever 60 is rotated by the locking by the elastic locking piece 67. Leave in the initial position. In this state, as shown in FIG. 1, both housings 10 and 30 are opposed to each other. Then, the front portion of the female housing 10 is shallowly fitted into the hood portion 32, and the cam follower 16 is made to enter the inlet groove 38 and the entrance of the cam groove 65. Next, while picking the operation portion 61, the lever 60 is turned clockwise around the shaft hole 63 (shaft portion 36) toward the rotation completion position. In the turning process, the cam follower 16 relatively moves along the cam groove 65, and the fitting operation of the housings 10 and 30 is advanced by the cam action exerted thereby.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the pushing portion 71 reaches the position where it covers the operation receiving portion 18 of the female housing 10 at the end of rotation, the corner of the operation receiving portion 18 is in the middle of the inclination of the pressing surface 72 of the pushing portion 71. The part 22 is positioned so as to be able to contact. When the lever 60 is further rotated toward the rotation completion position from this state, the pressing surface 72 of the pushing portion 71 slides on the corner portion 22 of the operation receiving portion 18, and the corner portion 22 is inclined end 77 of the pressing surface 72. The female housing 10 is pushed in the direction of deepening the fitting with the male housing 30, that is, in the normal fitting direction.

  When the lever 60 reaches the rotation completion position, the lock receiving portion 68 is elastically locked to the lock portion 42, the lever 60 is held in the rotation restricted state, and both the housings 10, 30 are held in the release restricted state. Is done. As shown in FIG. 3, at the rotation completion position, the upper surface of the operation receiving portion 18 and the flat surface 73 of the operation portion 61 are close to or in contact with each other, and the corner portion 22 of the operation receiving portion 18 is the pushing portion 71. To the inclined terminal end 77 of the pressing surface 72, and both the housings 10, 30 are properly fitted. In such a normal fitting state, the front surfaces of both housings 10 and 30 abut each other, and rattling between both housings 10 and 30 is substantially eliminated. In addition, both male and female terminal fittings 90 and 95 are electrically connected at a normal depth.

  Further, when the lever 60 is in the rotation completion position and both the housings 10 and 30 are in the normal fitting state, the front end of the male housing 30, that is, the open end of the hood portion 32, and the rear end of the female housing 10 Are in line. Therefore, by visually recognizing or tapping this state, it can be known that both housings 10 and 30 are in a properly fitted state. Conversely, if the state where the front end of the male housing 30 and the rear end of the female housing 10 are displaced in the front-rear direction is visually confirmed or touched, the two housings 10 and 30 are not half-fitted so that they do not reach the normal fitting state. It can be determined that the state is present. That is, according to this embodiment, it is possible to detect the fitting state of both housings 10 and 30 by confirming the state of the end surfaces of both housings 10 and 30 in the fitting state.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 2, when the pushing portion 71 reaches the position where it covers the operation receiving portion 18 at the final stage of the rotation of the lever 60, the entry piece enters the front opening of the hollow portion 19 of the operation receiving portion 18. 43 faces directly. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, when the lever 60 reaches the rotation completion position, the entry piece 43 enters deeply into the hollow portion 19, and the covering wall 21 of the hollow portion 19 covers the entry piece 43. Therefore, even if a squeezing force in the bulging direction acts on the hood portion 32, the entry piece 43 abuts against the inner surface of the cover wall 21 of the hollow portion 19 and restricts the hood portion 32 from bulging. The rolling-up of the part 32 is prevented. That is, the operation receiving portion 18 has a structure that also serves as a wrinkle restricting portion that restricts wobbling of the hood portion 32.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the female housing 10 is pushed into the male housing 30 side by engaging the pushing portion 71 with the operation receiving portion 18 from the middle of the turning of the lever 60 to the turning completion position. Thus, both housings 10 and 30 can reach the normal fitting state. As a result, the housings 10 and 30 are prevented from being half-fitted. Even if both housings 10 and 30 are in a semi-fitted state, the fitting state of both housings 10 and 30 can be detected by checking the state of the end surfaces of both housings 10 and 30. , 30 can be avoided from being left in the half-fitted state.

  In this case, even if the lever 60 is deformed due to a thermal effect or the like, since the pushing portion 71 is positioned adjacent to the lock receiving portion 68, the amount of deformation from the lock receiving portion 68 to the pushing portion 71 is kept small. It is done. As a result, when the lever 60 reaches the rotation completion position due to the locking of the lock receiving portion 68 and the lock portion 42, both the housings 10 and 30 can be surely brought into the normal fitting state. Moreover, since the push-in portions 71 are located in pairs on both sides of the lock receiving portion 68, the balance of the push-in operation into the female housing 10 is good.

  Further, since the operation receiving portion 18 also serves as a wrinkle restricting portion that restricts the wobbling of the hood portion 32, the configuration can be simplified as compared with the case where the operation receiving portion 18 and the wrinkle restricting portion are separately provided. .

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) The lock portion may be formed on the female housing (second housing) side.
(2) The pressing surface of the pressing portion may be a curved surface.
(3) The operation receiving portion does not need to take a special shape as long as the female housing can be pushed in the normal fitting direction with the male housing by engaging with the push-in portion. It may be a flat continuous form.
(4) The operation receiving portion does not have to be used as the droop restricting portion.
(5) The lever may be attached to the female housing.

In Embodiment 1 of this invention, it is a side view which shows the state before both male and female housings are fitted. It is a sectional side view which shows the state which reached the position where the pushing-in part covered the operation receiving part at the last stage of rotation of a lever. It is a sectional side view which shows the state which the lever reached the rotation completion position and both housings reached the regular fitting position. It is a front view of the male housing which mounted | wore with the lever in the rotation initial position. It is a top view of the male housing which mounted | wore with the lever in the rotation initial position. It is a front view of a female housing. It is a top view of a female housing.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Female housing (second housing)
16 ... Cam follower (cam receiving part)
18 ... Operation receiving portion 19 ... Hollow portion 30 ... Male housing (first housing)
32 ... hood part 43 ... entry piece 60 ... lever 61 ... operation part 62 ... arm part 65 ... cam groove (cam part)
71 ... Pushing part 72 ... Pressing surface

Claims (4)

A first housing; a second housing that can be fitted into the first housing; and a lever that is rotatably attached to the first housing.
The lever is formed with an operation portion and a cam portion, and the second housing is formed with an operation receiving portion and a cam receiving portion, and by rotating the lever while grasping the operation portion, The cam portion and the cam receiving portion are engaged with each other, and the two housings are drawn toward a normal fitting position,
Wherein the operation portion engages with said operation receiving unit from the middle rotation of the lever toward rotation ending position, the pushing portion for pushing the second housing into the normal direction of fitting the first housing Ru is formed With
The first housing or the second housing is formed with a lock portion, and the operation portion is held by the lock portion at the rotation completion position to hold the lever in a rotation restricted state. A lever-type connector , wherein a lock receiving portion is formed, and the push-in portion is positioned adjacent to the lock receiving portion . The lever-type connector according to claim 1, wherein the push-in portions are located in pairs on both sides of the lock receiving portion . 3. The front end in the fitting direction of the first housing and the rear end in the fitting direction of the second housing are flush with each other when the two housings are in a normal fitting state. Lever type connector. The first housing has a cylindrical hood portion, and the operation receiving portion covers the front end side of the hood portion in the bulging direction when the two housings are in a normal fitting state. The lever-type connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the lever-type connector is also used as a squeezing restriction part that restricts squeezing of the hood part .

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