JP2002270291A - Lever type connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively prevent deformation of a lever. SOLUTION: Proximal ends 31A of both arm portions 31 attempts to spread during pivoted operation of a lever 30 to be controlled at a control wall 40. A portion easiest to spread is a portion corresponding to on a line X perpendicularly drawn from a shaft, 15 to a fitting surface 19. Since an external peripheral edge of a forming region of a cam groove 35 successively passes through the line X, the exterior peripheral edge becomes the portion easiest to spread. Since the external peripheral edge of the forming region of the cam groove 35 is in a form of an arc 38 having a certain radius from a pivoted center, the portion easy to deform comes to be always received by the external peripheral edge in the vicinity of a position forming a through-groove 18 in the control wall 40. Since this portion is fixed to a side surface of a male housing 10 by connecting walls 43A, 43B and becomes a joint portion having high stiffness, the portion easiest to spread is always received by a high-stiffness portion of the control wall 40 to effectively prevent spread deformation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a lever-type connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an example of a lever type connector,
The one shown in FIG. 8 is known. In this connector, a bifurcated plate-shaped lever 2 is supported on one connector housing 1 so as to be rotatable about a shaft 3, and a cam groove 4 is formed on the proximal end side of the lever 2. The outer surface of the connector housing 1 is provided with a bag-shaped (opening on the lower side in the figure) regulating wall 5 which covers the lever 2 while allowing the proximal end of the lever 2 to rotate. When the lever 2 is at the start position, the follower pin of the mating connector housing (not shown) is engaged with the cam groove 4, and then the lever 2 is moved to the end position in FIG. When rotated clockwise toward the position, the mating connector housing is gradually drawn and fitted by the cam function. Further, the outward deformation of the lever 2 caused by the fitting resistance at that time is restricted by the restricting wall 5, so that the function of reducing the fitting force can be exhibited. A lever-type connector provided with such a regulating wall 5 is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-126379.

[0003]

By the way, in the lever 2 of this type, the shape of the base end side, particularly the outer peripheral edge 6 of the cam groove 4 forming area, is generally formed along the cam groove 4. Met. This is for the purpose of reducing the size of the lever 2 by cutting the outer peripheral edge 6 while leaving a minimum width in terms of strength around the cam groove 4. On the other hand, when the lever 2 is rotated, the portion that is most likely to spread on the base end side is
It has been found that the portion corresponds to a line X that is lowered from the rotation center axis 3 at right angles to the mating surface 7 with the mating connector housing.

Therefore, the outer peripheral edge 6 on the base end side of the lever 2
In the prior art formed following the cam groove 4, especially when the lever 2 reaches the end of the rotation, as shown in FIG. Is located on the above-mentioned line X, and mainly spreads at this portion. However, since the receiving portion of the regulating wall 5 that receives the expanded portion is located at a position (dimension L) away from the base portion of the regulating wall 5, that is, the portion 5A fixed to the connector housing 1, the rigidity is poor here. As a result, there is a problem that the spreading deformation cannot be effectively controlled and the function of reducing the fitting force cannot be sufficiently exhibited. The present invention has been completed on the basis of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to suppress the deformation of the lever more effectively and sufficiently exert the function of reducing the fitting force.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a lever having a cam groove is rotatably supported on one of a pair of connector housings. In addition, a bag-shaped regulating wall is provided to cover the vicinity of the cam groove forming portion of the lever while allowing rotation, and the lever is turned while the follower pin of the other connector housing is engaged with the cam groove. A lever-type connector, wherein the other connector housing is drawn and fitted by being moved, and the deformation of the lever to the outer surface side due to the fitting resistance is regulated by the regulation wall. Is characterized in that the outer peripheral edge of the cam groove forming region is formed in an arc shape that is substantially equidistant from the rotation center of the lever. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the one connector housing has a surface on one side of the fitting surface with the other connector housing,
A moving area of the operating end of the lever is set,
It is characterized in that a bracket for attaching the one connector housing to the fixing portion is provided on the opposite surface. A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second aspect, a drain hole is formed at a deep bottom of the regulating wall.

[0007]

<Function and Effect of the Invention><Invention of claim 1> When the lever is rotated to assist the fitting, the portion that is most likely to be deformed to the outer surface side due to the fitting resistance is from the center axis of the rotation. This is a portion corresponding to a line lowered at right angles to the mating surface with the mating connector housing. In other words, the outer peripheral edge of the cam groove forming region is a portion that is likely to be sequentially deformed as the lever rotates. According to the present invention, since the outer peripheral edge of the cam groove forming region is formed in an arc shape that is substantially equidistant from the center of rotation, the easily deformable portion is always received at the base side of the regulating wall. . That is, in the entire region of the rotation region of the lever, the most easily deformable portion of the lever is received by the rigid portion of the regulating wall, and the deformation is effectively suppressed in the entire region of the rotation region of the lever. The resultant force reduction function can be sufficiently exhibited.

<Invention of Claim 2> In a state where one connector housing is attached to the fixing portion in advance, the lever can be rotated to assist the fitting of both connector housings. <Invention of claim 3> Even when one of the connector housings is used in a state where the opening side of the regulating wall faces upward, the water drain hole is formed in the inner bottom of the connector housing, so that the water is removed. Is prevented from accumulating.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
7 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the lever-type connector according to the present embodiment has a female connector housing 20 (hereinafter, referred to as a male housing) with respect to a male connector housing 10 (hereinafter, referred to as a male housing) arranged upward.
(Referred to as a female housing) can be fitted downward, and the operation of the lever 30 assists in fitting the two housings 10 and 20 together.

The male housing 10 is made of synthetic resin,
A hood portion 12 is provided on an upper surface of the main body portion 11 so as to project therefrom. As shown in FIG. 2, a cavity 13 into which a relatively large male terminal fitting is inserted from below, and a subhousing (not shown) in which a small male terminal fitting is mounted in the main body 11, as shown in FIG. Similarly, a mounting hole 14 to be inserted from the lower surface side is formed, and each male terminal fitting is accommodated with the tab protruding into the hood portion 12.

The female housing 20 is also made of synthetic resin, and is formed in a block shape that can be fitted almost tightly from the upper surface side into the hood portion 12 of the male housing 10 described above. Although not shown in detail, the female housing 20 has a cavity for inserting a relatively large female terminal fitting from the top side, and a sub-housing in which a small female terminal fitting has been mounted in advance from the top side. A hole is formed.

A lever 30 is mounted on the male housing 10. The lever 30 is made of synthetic resin, has a pair of plate-shaped arms 31, and is formed in a bifurcated shape as a whole by connecting the tapered ends of the levers 31 with an operation unit 32. . A bearing hole 33 is opened at the base end 31A of each of the arms 31. This lever 30 is mounted from the left side of FIG. 1 so as to straddle the male housing 10, and the two bearing holes 33 are fitted to the shaft 15 erected on the side surface of the male housing 10, whereby the starting end position (see FIG. 5) ) And an end position (see FIG. 7). The left side surface of the hood portion 12 is extended, so that the operating portion 32 of the lever 30 at the start end position is provided.
A receiving portion 16 for receiving the operating portion 32 of the lever 30 at the end position is formed on the left bottom surface of the main body portion 11.

On one side of the bearing hole 33 in the arm portion 31 of the lever 30 described above, a cam groove 35 whose distance from the bearing hole 33 is gradually reduced is formed. Start end 3 of cam groove 35
On the 5A side, an inlet 36 is formed on the back surface so as to open to the outer peripheral edge. On the other hand, follower pins 21 that can be fitted into the cam grooves 35 are set up on both side surfaces of the female housing 20. The bearing hole 3 in the hood portion 12
Above 3, a vertical insertion groove 18 through which the follower pin 21 can be inserted is cut open at the upper edge. When the lever 30 is at the start position, the cam groove 35
The opening 36 of the cam groove 35 opens upward in alignment with the insertion groove 18 and is turned to the end position.
Reach a position corresponding to the insertion groove 18.

At the base end 31A of the arm 31 constituting the lever 30, the outer side of the position where the cam groove 35 is provided is bulged. In particular, the cam groove 35 is extended from the start end 35A to the end end 35B. The outer edge of the area slightly over the bearing hole 3
3 is formed in an arc shape (arc-shaped portion 38) having a constant radius R. On the other hand, the shaft 1 in the male housing 10
The control walls 40 for inserting and housing the base 30A of the arm portion 31 of the lever 30 are inserted into both side surfaces where the lever 5 is raised.
Is provided. As shown by a chain line in FIG. 1, the restricting wall 40 is formed in a mountain shape with the vertex facing right as a whole, and is provided at intervals substantially equal to the plate thickness of the arm portion 31.

The regulating wall 40 extends from a position slightly below the right apex to a position near the position where the insertion groove 18 is formed in the outer peripheral edge thereof, and corresponds to the arc-shaped portion 38 of the arm portion 31 of the lever 30 described above. It is formed in an arc shape (arc-shaped portion 41). The restricting wall 40 is connected to the connecting walls 43A, 43 on both sides of the outer peripheral edge of the position where the insertion groove 18 is formed.
3B, the connecting wall 43 slightly below the vertex on the right side
C, and is fixed to the side surface of the male housing 10 by a connection wall 43D at a lower position near the vertical edge. Also,
The left vertical edge is open over the entire length. Thus, the lever 30 is rotatably mounted with the base end 31A of the arm portion 31 housed in the regulating wall 40 and the tip protruding from the left opening 45.

On the right side of the male housing 10, a bracket 46 for attaching the male housing 10 to a fixed portion of the device 50 (see FIG. 5) is integrally formed. As shown in FIG. 4, the bracket 46 has a shape in which an elastic locking piece 48 is provided on a ceiling surface of a dead end guide rail 47, and is attached to a mounting plate 51 protruding from a device 50. When the guide rail 47 was inserted while the elastic locking piece 48 was bent and deformed, and was pushed until it hit the abutting portion 47A, the elastic locking piece 48 was deformed and the hook portion 49 was opened in the mounting plate 51. Lock hole 52
And the bracket 46 is attached to the attachment plate 51 of the device 50.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. First, the lever 30 is assembled to the male housing 10 and held at the start position, and is attached to the device 50 by the bracket 46 in an upward posture as shown in FIG. Next, the female housing 20 faces down and is fitted into the hood portion 12 of the male housing 10. Accordingly, the follower pin 21 erected on the female housing 20 passes through the insertion groove 18 of the hood portion 12 and fits into the starting end 35A of the cam groove 35 from the entrance 36.

From this state, a finger is put on the operation unit 32, and the lever 30 is rotated downward (counterclockwise in FIG. 5) about the shaft 15. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the female housing 20 is gradually drawn into the hood portion 12 by the follower pins 21 being sequentially pressed by the outer side edges of the cam grooves 35. When the lever 30 is rotated to the end position shown in FIG.
5 and the male and female housing 1
0, 20 are in a state of being properly fitted.

During the rotation operation of the lever 30, the two arm portions 3 are caused by the fitting resistance of the two housings 10, 20.
The base end portion 31A side of the first member expands outward and attempts to deform, which is regulated by the regulating wall 40. In this case, the portion which is most easily spread and deformed on the base end portion 31A side of the arm portion 31 is moved from the shaft 15 at the center of rotation to the mating female housing 20.
Specifically, the outer peripheral edge of the area where the cam groove 35 is formed is sequentially moved with the rotation of the lever 30 along the line X. Since it passes above, the entire length of the outer peripheral edge of the area where the cam groove 35 is formed becomes a portion that is likely to be sequentially deformed.

In this embodiment, the outer peripheral edge of the area where the cam groove 35 is formed has a constant radius R from the center of rotation (the bearing hole 33).
Therefore, the easily deformable portion is always received by the outer peripheral edge of the regulating wall 40 near the position where the insertion groove 18 is formed. Since this portion is fixed to the side surface of the male housing 10 by the connecting walls 43A and 43B and is a root portion having high rigidity, the arm portion is turned while the lever 30 is rotated from the start position to the end position. The portion that is most likely to spread at 31 is always received by the rigid portion of the regulating wall 40. As a result, the spreading deformation of the arm portion 31 is effectively suppressed over the entire rotation range of the lever 30, and the function of reducing the fitting force can be sufficiently exhibited.

In this embodiment, the male housing 10
The movement area of the operating part 32 of the lever 30 is set on one side of the mating surface 19 with the mating female housing 20 in the above, and a bracket 46 is formed on the opposite side.
It has a structure that can be attached to the device 50. Therefore, in a state where the male housing 10 is attached to the device 50 in advance, the lever 30 is rotated to operate the two housings 1.
It can be used for fitting 0 and 20 and is excellent in usability. Further, the male housing 10 may be mounted and used with the opening 45 of the regulating wall 40 facing upward. In this case, the bottom portion is provided between the connecting walls 43B and 43C, and between the connecting walls 43B and 43C. Since a gap is provided between 43C and 43D, the gap is formed as a drain hole 55.
Thus, accumulation of water in the regulation wall 40 is prevented.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) The present invention can be similarly applied to the case where a lever is provided on the female housing side, contrary to the above embodiment. (2) The present invention can be widely applied not only to a device-mounted connector but also to a general lever-type connector in which a mating force is reduced by a cam action.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the male housing.

FIG. 3 is a left side view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a right side view thereof.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway front view at the start of lever rotation.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway front view during the rotation.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway front view at the end of the rotation.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Male housing (one connector housing) 12 ... Hood part 15 ... Shaft 18 ... Insertion groove 19 ... Fitting surface 20 ... Female housing (other connector housing) 21 ... Follower pin 30 ... Lever 31 ... Arm part 31A ... Base end Part 32 ... Operation part 33 ... Bearing hole 35 ... Cam groove 35A ... Start end part 35B ... End part 38 ... Circular part 40 ... Regulatory wall 43 ... Connecting wall 46 ... Bracket 50 ... Equipment (fixing part) 51 ... Mounting plate 55 … Water drain hole

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5E021 FA05 FA09 FC06 FC25 FC31 FC40 HB03 HB05 5E087 EE14 FF02 FF06 LL04 LL11 LL26 LL33 MM09 MM11 MM18 RR06 RR12 RR25

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. One of a pair of connector housings includes:
A lever having a cam groove is rotatably supported, and a sack-like regulating wall is provided to cover the vicinity of the cam groove forming portion of the lever while allowing rotation, and the other connector is provided in the cam groove. By rotating the lever while the follower pin of the housing is engaged, the other connector housing is drawn and fitted, and
In the lever-type connector in which the deformation to the outer surface side of the lever due to the fitting resistance is restricted by the restricting wall, an outer peripheral edge of the cam groove forming region of the lever is positioned at the center of rotation of the lever. A lever-type connector, which is formed in an arc shape that is substantially equidistant from the lever. 2. A moving area of the operating end of the lever is set on one surface of the one connector housing with respect to a fitting surface of the one connector housing with the other connector housing. The lever-type connector according to claim 1, further comprising a bracket for attaching the connector housing to the fixed portion. 3. The lever-type connector according to claim 1, wherein a drain hole is formed at a deep bottom of the regulating wall.