JP2003297481A - Lever type connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To repeatedly display a fitting detection function. <P>SOLUTION: An elastic piece 50 is integrally provided on a lever 30, a butting part 57 is provided on a female housing 10 and a pressurizing part 55 is provided on the lever 30 itself. When the lever 30 is turned, the elastic piece 50 first hits the butting part 57, deflected and deformed around a base end part 50A as its fulcrum, and when it reaches immediately before a terminal position, a hook part 51 is deflected and deformed with the neighborhood of a root 51A as its fulcrum as the pressurizing part 55 pressurizes the hook part 51. When the turning of the lever 30 is stopped on the way, it is returned toward the initial position side by elastic force accumulated on the elastic piece 50. When the lever 30 is revolved to the terminal position, a lock piece 41 is fitted on a projected part 18 and locked. The elastic piece 50 is left in a deflected and deformed state, but, as it is deformed at two points such as the base end part 50A and the root 51A of the hook part 51, stress accompanying deformation is dispersed and its plastic deformation is avoided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lever type connector having a fitting detection function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A lever-type connector is used to assist the fitting force in a connector requiring a high fitting force such as a multipolar connector. For example, a male and female male housing is provided with a lever provided with a cam groove so as to be rotatable, and the other female housing is provided with a follower that fits into the cam groove, so that the follower faces the cam groove and turns the lever. When operated dynamically, the follower is pressed by the side surface of the cam groove to move in the cam groove, the two housings are drawn together and fitted together, and when properly fitted, the follower is provided between the lever and one housing. It is designed to be locked by the locked mechanism.

Even with such a lever-type connector, the pivoting operation of the lever may be interrupted before the two housings are properly fitted, and the lever-type connector may be left in the half-fitted state. In order to avoid this, conventionally, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
The thing described in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 230850 is known. As shown in FIG. 9, the spring piece 2 is integrally provided on the lever 1 and the male housing 3 supporting the lever 1 is abutted against the spring piece 2 before the lever 1 reaches the end. In the structure provided with the portion 4, the lever 1 is rotated while elastically deforming the spring piece 2 before reaching the end,
When the male and female housings 3 and 5 are rotated until they are properly fitted, they are locked, while when the lever 1 is not rotated to the proper end position and therefore is not locked, the lever 2 is restored by the restoring elastic force. 1 is pushed back, so that it is notified that both housings 3 and 5 are in the half-fitted state.

[0004]

Here, in the conventional one, the spring piece 2 is bent and deformed with its root 2A side as a fulcrum, but even after the spring piece 2 is properly fitted and locked, the spring piece 2 is fixed.
Since it has a structure in which the spring piece 2 remains deformed, the spring piece 2 may be plastically deformed in the vicinity of the root 2A, that is, sag, particularly in a high temperature atmosphere such as an engine room. This becomes more remarkable as the spring piece 2 itself becomes smaller as the connector becomes smaller. Therefore, there is a problem that it is not possible to expect the spring piece 2 to exhibit the function of detecting the fitting when the fitting operation is performed again after the fitting of the housings 3 and 5 is removed for maintenance or the like. . The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a lever-type connector that can exert a repeated fitting detection function.

[0005]

As a means for achieving the above object, a lever-type connector according to the invention of claim 1 is provided in one connector housing of a pair of connector housings fitted with each other. A lever having a cam surface is rotatably provided, and a follower is provided on the other connector housing, and both connector housings are provided by a cam action between the cam surface and the follower in accordance with a turning operation of the lever. And a connector is provided with locking means for locking the levers when the levers are rotated to the end positions where the connector housings are properly fitted. In the lever, an elastic piece is integrally formed. The lever is provided and is engaged with the elastic piece to elastically deform when the lever is rotated toward the terminal position side. Rukoto by which engagement means are provided for energizing the urging force of the return direction to the lever, and the resilient piece is characterized at where the structure has a deformable multiple locations as a fulcrum.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the one connector housing is provided with an abutting portion for abutting the elastic piece, and the lever has a tip end side of the elastic piece. And a pressing portion corresponding to the pressing portion is provided. With the rotation of the lever, the elastic piece is first brought into contact with the abutting portion to be flexibly deformed with its base end side as a fulcrum, and The pressing portion presses the tip end side of the elastic piece to bend and deform with the vicinity of the abutting portion to the abutting portion as a fulcrum.

[0007]

<Advantages and effects of the invention><Invention of claim 1> When the lever is rotated toward the end position to fit both connector housings, the elastic piece engages with the engaging means and elastically deforms, Stores the biasing force of the lever in the return direction. When the lever is held in the half-fitted state, the lever is returned by the biasing force stored in the elastic piece, and the half-fitting is detected. When the lever is properly rotated to the terminal position, it is locked by the locking means. When locked, the elastic piece is left in an elastically deformed state, but since the elastic piece is deformed with multiple points as fulcrums, the stress associated with the deformation is dispersed, and plastic deformation or fatigue Are avoided and kept within elastic limits. As a result, the elastic piece can repeatedly exhibit the fitting detection function.

<Invention of Claim 2> When the lever is rotated toward the end position, the elastic piece first comes into contact with the abutting portion to be flexibly deformed with its base end side as a fulcrum, and then pressed. When the portion presses the tip end side of the elastic piece, it is flexibly deformed with the vicinity of the contact portion to the abutting portion as a fulcrum. The elastic piece is deformed with two points as fulcrums, and the stress is dispersed.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
Through 8 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lever-type connector of the present embodiment includes a female connector housing 10 (hereinafter referred to as a female housing), a male connector housing 20 (hereinafter referred to as a male housing), and a female connector housing 20. The lever 30 is attached to the housing 10. These are molded from a synthetic resin material. In the following, each housing 10,
In FIG. 20, the fitting surface side will be described as the front.

The female housing 10 has a shape in which a large hood portion 12 that is open forward is formed around the tower portion 11. Inside the tower portion 11, a female terminal fitting (not shown) is provided.
Is inserted from the rear and housed. Male housing 2
0 is a device direct connection type, and the small hood part 2
1 is formed in a protruding shape, and this small hood portion 21
Can be fitted into an annular space between the tower portion 11 and the large hood portion 12 of the female housing 10. A male-side terminal fitting is mounted on the male housing 20 with a tab at the tip protruding into the small hood portion 21.

A lever 30 is mounted on the female housing 10. The lever 30 is formed in a gate shape in which the distal ends of a pair of left and right plate-shaped arm portions 31 are connected by an operation portion 32, and is mounted so as to straddle the female housing 10 and opened in the arm portion 31. The shaft hole 33 is rotatably supported by being fitted into the support shafts 14 projecting from both side surfaces of the large hood portion 12. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the operating portion 32 can be rotated between an initial position in which the operating portion 32 stands up and an end position in which the operating portion 32 falls down as shown in FIG.

A predetermined curved cam groove 34 is formed on the inner surface of the arm portion 31 of the lever 30.
The left and right side surfaces of the small hood portion 21 of the male housing 20 are provided with a pair of follower pins 23 fitted in the respective cam grooves 34.
Is projected. Large hood portion 12 of female housing 10
The left and right side surfaces of the engaging groove 15 are formed with locking grooves 15 that double as escape grooves for the follower pins 23 and are cut inward from the front edge. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, when the lever 30 is in the initial position described above, the inlet 35 of the cam groove 34 is
However, it aligns with the locking groove 15 and opens straightly toward the front so that the follower pin 23 can be introduced into the cam groove 34 when the housings 10 and 20 are fitted together.

The engaging groove 15 which also serves as the above-mentioned escape groove is
As shown in FIG. 2, the upper edge side is formed wider than the inlet 35 of the cam groove 34, and the upper edge is the locking edge 15A. On the other hand, on the lever 30 side, a locking projection 36 is formed so as to project inward so as to be along the upper groove edge of the inlet 35 of the cam groove 34. When the lever 30 described above takes the initial position, the locking projection 36 is locked in the locking groove 15.
It is adapted to be fitted into the inside from the outer surface side, to be caught by the locking edge 15A, and to be held in a state in which the lever 30 is restricted from rotating in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2 from the initial position. On the other hand, on the male housing 20 side, a release portion 24 for releasing the engagement of the engagement projection 36 with the engagement groove 15 is provided at the base of the follower pin 23.

A lever side lock portion 40 is provided at the center of the operation portion 32 of the lever 30 in the lateral width direction so as to lock the lever 30 at the end position, and the lever side lock portion 40 is provided with a lock piece 41. ing. The lock piece 41 has a lock groove 42 therebetween and is formed so as to be cantilevered and deformable. On the other hand, a housing-side lock portion 17 that abuts the lever-side lock portion 40 is provided at the center of the rear edge of the upper surface of the female housing 10 in the lateral width direction. As shown in FIG. 7, the housing-side lock portion 17 is provided with a protrusion 18 that can be fitted into the lock groove 42 of the lock piece 41. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, when the housings 10 and 20 are properly fitted together, that is, when the lever 30 is rotated to the end position, the lever-side lock portion 40 strikes the housing-side lock portion 17. At this time, the lock piece 41 rides over while bending and deforming the protrusion 18, and the protrusion 18 is fitted into the lock groove 42 to lock the protrusion.

The lever 30 is provided with a pair of left and right elastic pieces 50 which function to detect whether or not the lever 30 has been rotated to the normal end position. Therefore, on the inner surfaces of both arm portions 31 of the lever 30,
As shown in FIG. 3, a recess 53 is formed in a region (upper part in the same drawing) that is substantially opposite to the region in which the cam groove 34 is formed across the shaft hole 33 so as to be cut to a predetermined thickness. ing. In detail, the recess 53 has peripheral walls 54 on the lower side and the left side in FIG. 3, and the peripheral edge on the upper right side is open.
On the open edge side (right end side) of the peripheral wall 54 on the lower side of FIG. 3 in the recess 53, the elastic piece 50 is integrally provided so as to project. The elastic piece 50 is formed in a cantilever shape that faces the upper left of the same figure, and can be flexibly deformed in the direction along the bottom surface of the recess 53, and its tip is bent downward. The hook portion 51 is formed.

On the other hand, the large hood portion 12 of the female housing 10
As shown in FIG. 4, abutting portions 57 are provided on the left and right side surfaces of the apron at a position close to the upper end on the rear edge side. The abutting portion 57 can project into the recess 53 of the lever 30. Specifically, as will be described later, when the lever 30 is rotated by a predetermined angle from the initial position to the terminal position, the elastic piece 50 is moved. It is possible to hit. Further, in the peripheral wall 54 on the lower side of FIG. 3 in the concave portion 53 of the lever 30 described above, the left side portion in the figure is formed so as to approach the cam groove 34 side, and this portion is formed. It is a pressing portion 55 that presses the hook portion 51.

This embodiment has the structure as described above,
Next, the operation will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the lever 30 is attached to the female housing 10 at an initial position. At this time, the inlet 35 of the cam groove 34 is opened straight forward. From this state, the female housing 10 is fitted toward the male housing 20 as shown by the arrow in FIG. At the beginning of mating, as shown in FIG.
The follower pin 23 enters the inlet 35 of the cam groove 34.
Along with that, the release portion 24 sneaks into the inside of the locking projection 36, and while opening and deforming the arm portion 31 of the lever 30, the locking projection 36 is displaced to the outside of the locking groove 15 and pushed out. The rotation restriction of is released. When the female housing 10 is further pushed in, the follower pin 23 presses the slope 34A at the back of the entrance 35 of the cam groove 34, whereby the lever 30 is rotated by a small angle, and the follower pin 23 is engaged with the back side of the retaining projection 37. Stopped, female housing 1
0 is retained in the retaining state.

Next, put a finger on the operating portion 32 to move the lever 30.
Is rotated clockwise in FIG. 5, the follower pin 23
By the cam action between the cam groove 34 and the cam groove 34, the female housing 10 is drawn toward the male housing 20 and gradually fitted. When the lever 30 is rotated about half,
As shown in FIG. 7, the elastic piece 50 provided on the lever 30 hits the abutting portion 57, and with the subsequent rotation, the elastic piece 50 is flexibly deformed with its base end portion 50A as a fulcrum, as shown in FIG. To do. When the lever is rotated to the position immediately before the terminal position, as shown in the figure, the pressing portion 55 provided on the peripheral wall 54 of the recess 53 of the lever comes into contact with the hook portion 51 at the tip of the elastic piece 50, and the subsequent rotation is continued. Accordingly, this time, the elastic piece 50 is flexibly deformed so that the hook portion 51 approaches the abutting portion 57 with the vicinity of the root 51A of the hook portion 51 that abuts the abutting portion 57 as a fulcrum.

Due to the elastic deformation of the elastic piece 50, an urging force for rotating the lever 30 in the direction of returning the lever 30 to the initial position is stored in the elastic piece 50. Therefore, if the rotation operation is stopped before the lever 30 reaches the end position, the restoring elastic force stored in the elastic piece 50 causes the lever 30 to return toward the initial position side. It is detected that it has not been rotated to the normal end position. Then, the lever 30 is rotated again toward the end position.

On the other hand, when the lever 30 is rotated to the end position, the lock groove 42 of the lock piece 41 is, as shown in FIG.
The lever 30 is locked by fitting the protrusion 18 therein, and thus the housings 10 and 20 are held in a properly fitted state. When the lever 30 is locked at the end position in this way, the elastic piece 50 is left in a flexurally deformed state, but the elastic piece 50 has a proximal end portion 50A and a hook portion 51.
Since the deformation is performed by using two points such as the base 51A of the fulcrum as fulcrums, the stress associated with the deformation is dispersed at the two points, and plastic deformation, that is, fatigue near each fulcrum is avoided.

That is, in this embodiment, the elastic piece 50 that functions to detect whether or not the lever 30 is rotated to the regular end position is flexibly deformed when the lever 30 is locked at the end position. It is kept as it is,
Since the elastic piece 50 is flexibly deformed using two points as fulcrums, it is possible to disperse the stress associated with the deformation, and the elastic piece 50 itself is small or used in a high temperature atmosphere. Even in this case, the elastic piece 50 is prevented from sagging as much as possible and is kept within the elastic limit. Therefore, when the housings 10 and 20 are removed from each other for maintenance and the like and the housings 10 and 20 are fitted again, the elastic piece 50 can repeatedly perform the fitting detection function.

<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 to the above, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) The number of fulcrums at the time of elastic deformation of the elastic piece may be three or more. (2) The means for locking the lever at the terminal position may be provided between the lever and the mating male housing. (3) The lever may be mounted on the male housing side depending on the shape of the male and female housings.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a male and female housing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of a male and female housing before fitting.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a lever.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a male and female housing before fitting.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the initial state of mating.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the lever during rotation.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the lever is rotated to a position just before the terminal position.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the lever is rotated to a terminal position and locked.

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway side view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Female housing (one connector housing) 18 ... Projection 20 ... Male housing (other connector housing) 23 ... Follower Pin 30 ... Lever 31 ... Arm part 34 ... Cam groove 41 ... Lock piece 42 ... Lock groove 50 ... Elastic piece 50A ... Base end (of elastic piece 50) 51 ... Hook part 51A ... Root (of hook portion 51) 55 ... Pressing part (engaging means) 57 ... Abutting part (engaging means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A lever having a cam surface is rotatably provided on one connector housing of a pair of connector housings fitted to each other, and a follower is provided on the other connector housing, When both lever housings are fitted by the cam action between the cam surface and the follower in accordance with the turning operation of the lever, when the lever is turned to the terminal position where the both connector housings reach the normal fitting. In the one provided with a locking means for locking the lever, the lever is integrally provided with an elastic piece,
Engagement means is provided for accumulating an urging force in the returning direction in the lever by engaging with the elastic piece and elastically deforming the elastic piece as the lever is rotated toward the end position side. The lever-type connector is characterized in that the elastic piece is deformable around a plurality of fulcrums. 2. The one connector housing is provided with an abutting portion for abutting the elastic piece, and the lever is provided with a pressing portion capable of pressing the tip end side of the elastic piece. With the rotation of the lever, the elastic piece is first contacted with the abutting portion to be flexibly deformed with its base end side as a fulcrum, and subsequently, the pressing portion presses the distal end side of the elastic piece. 2. The lever-type connector according to claim 1, wherein the lever-type connector is configured to be flexibly deformed around a contact portion to the abutting portion as a fulcrum.