JP2005166575A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance an engagement function between connectors by a lever. <P>SOLUTION: A female housing 20 is assembled to a make housing 10 attached to a panel P. To a side surface of the female housing 20, a lever 24 for mutually drawing both housings 10, 20 by a cam action between the female housing 20 and the male housing 10 so as to be a regularly engaged state, is attached. The lever 24 is provided with a release operation part 40 which can be locked with respect to a lock section 30 at an engagement completion position. A lock release direction of the lever 24 in this operation part 40, is set to a direction approximately perpendicular to the acting direction of a specific external-force going to move toward and act on the operation part 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  As shown in FIG. 5, this type of connector includes a standby connector housing 2 attached to the panel 1 and an assembly connector housing 3 fitted to the standby connector housing 2. A male terminal fitting (not shown) is accommodated in the standby-side connector housing 2, while a female terminal fitting (not shown) is accommodated in the assembly-side connector housing 3. , 3 are connected to each other so that the terminal fittings are connected to each other.

Here, the assembly-side connector housing 3 is pivotable with a lever 4 that exerts a cam action with the standby-side connector housing 2 and pulls the two connector housings 2 and 3 together to bring them into a properly-fitted state. In addition to being attached, an elastic deflecting piece 5 that prevents the lever 4 from rotating is provided in order to keep both the connector housings 2 and 3 in the normal fitting positions. The elastic deflecting piece 5 is provided in a cantilever shape with kerfs (not shown) on both sides of the housing side wall, and the lever 4 is moved from the locked state to the unlocked state at the extended tip side. A release operation unit 6 capable of switching operation is provided. As an example of such a connector, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known.
JP 2001-244014 A

Although the thing of the said patent document can perform the switching of the lock | rock of the lever 4 and its cancellation | release easily, the more useful thing was desired.
It is an object of the present invention to further enhance the fitting function between connectors using a lever.

  As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 comprises a female connector housing in which a female terminal fitting is accommodated and a male connector housing in which a male terminal fitting is accommodated. One of the two connector housings is provided with a gate-shaped lever as a whole by connecting a pair of leg portions by a turning operation portion, and based on the turning operation of the lever. The male and female connector housings are drawn together by a cam mechanism to be in a properly fitted state, wherein the one connector housing is provided with a lock portion, and the lever is provided with both the male and female connectors. When the housing reaches a proper fitting position, it engages with the lock portion and is locked with respect to the one connector housing. In addition, a release operation unit capable of switching the lock state to the lock release state is provided, and the unlocking direction of the lever in the release operation unit is a direction substantially orthogonal to a specific external force acting direction toward the release operation unit. It is characterized by the configuration set to.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the release operation portion is provided in the rotation operation portion, and both the male and female connector housings are properly connected to the rotation operation portion. It has a feature in that a collar portion that can cover the space on the side on which the external force acts in the release operation portion is projected when the fitting position is reached.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the fitting operation according to claim 2, wherein the flange portion has an upward slope in the fitting operation direction when the lever is fitted to the fitting completion position. And a return operation surface having an upward slope in the return operation direction when the lever is operated to return to the initial rotation position.

<Invention of Claim 1>
Since the unlocking direction of the lever in the release operation unit is set in a direction substantially orthogonal to the specific external force acting direction toward the release operation unit, the release operation unit is unlocked depending on the external force toward the release operation unit. This prevents the lever from being locked.

<Invention of Claim 2>
When the male and female connector housings reach the proper mating position, the pivoting operation part is provided with a flange that can cover the space on the side where the external force acts in the release operation part. The external force toward the operation part interferes with the collar part and the engagement with the release operation part is restricted.

<Invention of Claim 3>
When operating the lever toward the mating completion position, press the mating operation surface of the buttock, and when operating the lever back toward the initial rotation position, press the return operation surface. Therefore, it is excellent in operability.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector of the present embodiment includes a male connector housing (hereinafter referred to as a male housing 10) as a standby connector housing attached to the panel P, and an assembly-side connector housing fitted to the male housing 10. A female connector housing (hereinafter referred to as female housing 20). In the following, the fitting surface side of both the male and female housings 10 and 20 is referred to as the front side.

  First, the male side housing 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the male side housing 10 is fitted from the rear side of the panel into a mounting port PA provided in the panel P so as to be opened. It is locked by the locking claw 15 at the opening edge of the attachment port PA. The male housing 10 includes a main body portion 11 provided with a plurality of cavities 14 inside, and a hood portion 12 formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape in front of the main body portion 11. A male terminal fitting (not shown) can be accommodated in the cavity 14 of the main body 11.

  On the other hand, the hood portion 12 is formed to be slightly larger than the main body portion 11, and is arranged in a state in which tip portions of a plurality of male terminal fittings corresponding to the cavities 14 protrude inside. A female housing 20 is fitted into the hood portion 12, and a pair of follower pins 13 fitted into a cam groove W of a lever 24 attached to the outer surface of the female housing 20 protrudes from the inner surface of the hood portion 12. It is installed.

  Next, the female housing 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the female housing 20 covers a housing main body 21 having a fitting surface, and covers the entire outer surface excluding the fitting surface while covering the housing main body 21 from the rear surface side. The grommet 22 attached to the grommet 22, the grommet cover 23 attached to the outside of the grommet 22, and the grommet cover 23 are attached to the side surfaces of the grommet cover 23. And a lever 24 for drawing. When the lever 24 reaches the mating completion position, the two housings 10 and 20 are in a proper mating state so that the terminal fittings are connected to each other.

  The lever 24 is formed in a gate shape as a whole by connecting a pair of leg portions 24A by a rotation operation portion 24B. Both leg portions 24A are provided with cam grooves W into which the follower pins 13 provided in the male housing 10 can enter, and the entrances of the cam grooves W face forward in a state before the lever 24 is rotated. It is like that. Then, the follower pin 13 is moved along the cam groove by picking the turning operation portion 24B from the turning initial position where the follower pin 13 has entered the entrance of the cam groove W and turning the lever 24. The fitting operation of both housings 10 and 20 proceeds.

  When the two housings 10 and 20 are in a proper fitting position, the rotation operation portion 24B engages with a lock portion 30 (to be described later) provided on the grommet cover 23 to engage the lever 24 with respect to the female housing 20. A release operation unit 40 is provided that can lock and switch the locked state of the lever 24 to the unlocked state. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the release operation unit 40 has a front end at the center in the length direction of the rotation operation unit 24 </ b> B (in the fitting operation direction when the lever 24 is fitted to the fitting completion position. By being provided with a pair of cut grooves 41 on the front end side, it is configured as a cantilevered elastic piece that can be bent and deformed inside and outside. And this cancellation | release operation part 40 comprises a square plate shape as a whole, and has a mode which protrudes further forward from the front end of the rotation operation part 24B. An engagement hole 42 is formed through the center of the release operation portion 40. When the lever 24 reaches the fitting completion position, the lock portion 30 is elastically fitted therein, so that the lever 24 is fitted to the grommet cover 23. I want to lock it. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the hole wall of the engagement hole 42 expands in a taper shape from the inside to the outside, and is engaged with the engagement surface 32 formed in a reverse taper shape in the lock portion 30. The lock portion 30 cannot be easily removed from the engagement hole 42.

  When the lever 24 adopts the above-described configuration, the unlocking direction of the lever 24 in the release operation unit 40 is set to a direction substantially orthogonal to a specific external force acting direction toward the release operation unit 40 as shown in FIG. It will be. That is, the conventional connector shown in FIG. 6 locks and releases the lever 4 on the rear side of the grommet cover 23, whereas in the case of the connector of this embodiment, the lever 24 is locked and released. This is performed on the side surface side of the cover 23.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the release operation unit 40 is formed at a recessed position that is deeper than the periphery by cutting out the outer portion in the thickness direction in the rotation operation unit 24 </ b> B. Then, on the rear end side of the release operation unit 40 in the rotation operation unit 24B, the space on the side where the external force acts in the release operation unit can be covered when both the housings 10 and 20 reach the proper fitting position. A large collar 50 is projected. The flange 50 includes a fitting operation surface 51 that has an upward gradient in the fitting operation direction when the fitting operation is performed toward the fitting completion position in the rotation operation unit 24 </ b> B, and a front end side of the fitting operation surface 51. In this case, when the return operation is performed toward the initial rotation position, a return operation surface 52 having an ascending gradient in the return operation direction is provided, and the cross section has a mountain shape as a whole. The release operation unit 40 is extended from the downward end position of the return operation surface 52. When the lever 24 is operated toward the mating completion position, the fitting operation surface 51 is pushed with fingers, and when the lever 24 is returned to the initial position, the return operation surface 52 is pushed with fingers. As a result, work can be performed with good operability.

  On the other hand, in the housing body 21 of the grommet cover 23, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of cavities 21A capable of accommodating female terminal fittings (not shown) are provided. From the rear end surface of the grommet 22 that surrounds the housing main body 21, an electric wire lead-out portion 22 </ b> A for passing an electric wire drawn out from the housing main body 21 extends downward in the figure.

As shown in FIG. 2, the grommet cover 23 is formed so that the grommet 22 can be sandwiched between the housing body 21 and has a box shape that opens to the fitting surface side as a whole. On the lower end side of the rear end face of the grommet cover 23, an insertion port 23F through which the wire lead-out portion 22A is released is provided.
As shown in FIG. 2, a raised portion 27 that rises forward is provided at the upper end position on the rear wall of the grommet cover 23. The upper surface of the raised portion 27 is a curved surface along the rotation trajectory of the inner surface of the rotation operation unit 24B. Note that the inner surface of the rotation operation portion 24B of the lever 24 is also a curved surface corresponding to the upper surface of the raised portion 27.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, protrusions 28 that enable the rotation operation portion 24 </ b> B of the lever 24 to be stopped at the fitting completion position are provided at both side positions in the width direction of the front end edge of the raised portion 27. An overhang is formed. A concave groove 29 into which the release operation part 40 can enter when the lever 24 reaches the fitting completion position is formed between the two protruding edges 28, and the release operation part 40 enters on the bottom surface of the concave groove 29. In the vicinity of the entrance, a lock portion 30 that can be fitted into the engagement hole 42 of the release operation portion 40 protrudes. The rear surface side of the lock portion 30 is a guide surface 31 that is inclined upward to facilitate the release operation portion 40, while the front surface side of the lock portion 30 is hooked on the hole wall of the engagement hole 42. The engaging surface 32 has an inversely tapered shape that can be engaged at a downward slope.

  The present embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described next. First, the male terminal fitting is accommodated in the cavity 14 of the male housing 10, and the female terminal fitting is accommodated in the cavity 21 </ b> A of the female housing 20. Next, the male housing 10 is attached to the panel P.

  Next, an operation of fitting both housings 10 and 20 will be described (the fitting process is not shown). First, the female housing 20 is loosely fitted into the hood portion 12 of the male housing 10 so that the follower pin 13 faces the entrance of the cam groove W of the lever 24. Next, the turning operation part 24B of the lever 24 is picked with fingers, and the lever 24 is turned toward the fitting completion position by pushing up the fitting operation surface 51 of the collar part 50 in this state. Then, the follower pin 13 is moved along the cam groove W, and the fitting operation of both the housings 10 and 20 is advanced with this operation. When the lever 24 reaches the fitting completion position, the release operation portion 40 is flexibly deformed and elastically gets over the lock portion 30 and the lock portion 30 is fitted into the engagement hole 42, so that the lever 24 is fitted into the female housing 20. Locked to. At the same time, the terminal fittings are connected to each other in the housings 10 and 20.

  In order to properly release the fitting of both the housings 10 and 20, the release operation part 40 is turned up to bend and deform the release operation part 40, and the lock part 30 is removed from the engagement hole 42. Next, the lever 24 is returned to the initial position by pushing down the return operation surface 52 of the flange 50. Then, both housings 10 and 20 are displaced in a direction away from each other, and the fitting is released.

  According to the present embodiment, the unlocking direction of the lever 24 in the release operation unit 40 is set to a direction substantially orthogonal to the specific external force acting direction toward the release operation unit 40, so It is difficult to guide the release operation unit 40 in the unlocking direction depending on the external force that is directed, so that the locked state of the lever 24 is maintained.

  Moreover, since the rotation operation part 24B is provided with a collar part 50 capable of covering the space on the side where the external force acts in the release operation part 40 when the lever 24 is in the fitting completion position, the release operation part The external force directed to 40 interferes with the flange 50 and the engagement with the release operation unit 40 is restricted. As a result, the locked state of the lever 24 is more reliably maintained.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the second embodiment, the arrangement of the lock unit 30 and the form of the release operation unit 40 are different from those in the first embodiment, but the other parts are almost the same as those in the first embodiment. The overlapping description will be omitted.

  In the second embodiment, the lock portion 30 protrudes from either one of both side surfaces of the female housing 20, and the release operation portion 40 is positioned corresponding to the lock portion 30 when the lever 24 is in the fitting completion position. Provided on the leg 24A. Specifically, the release operation unit 40 is configured as a tongue-like elastic piece that can be bent and deformed inward and outward by a notch 80 formed in a U shape in the height direction in the leg portion 24A. In addition, a taper-shaped guide surface that allows a finger or the like to be guided to the distal end portion of the release operation portion 40 when performing the release operation is provided at the edge of the notch 80 that faces the distal end portion of the release operation portion 40 in the leg portion 24A. 45 is notched.

  In order to properly unlock the locked state of the lever 24 in the second embodiment, a finger or the like is advanced in a direction substantially perpendicular to the external force acting direction, and the tip of the release operation unit 40 is picked up with the finger or the like and turned up. To.

<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, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
(1) In the present invention, the release operation part is flexibly deformed to release the lock of the lever. However, the release operation part does not necessarily have to be bent and deformed. For example, the raised portion of the grommet cover may be configured to bend and deform in the height direction so that the raised portion bends downward when the release operation portion rides on the lock portion.
(2) In the above embodiment, the lever and the lock portion are provided on the female housing side. However, in the present invention, the lever and the lock portion may be provided on the male housing side. Moreover, you may apply this invention to the normal connector which connects wire harnesses irrespective of stand-by and assembly | attachment.

The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which both the male and female housings removed in the connector which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. Female housing vertical section Top view of female housing grommet cover Side view of connector according to second embodiment Perspective view of a conventional connector

Explanation of symbols

P ... Panel 10 ... Male side housing 20 ... Female side housing 24 ... Lever 24B ... Rotation operation part 30 ... Locking part 40 ... Release operation part 50 ... Hook part 51 ... Matching operation surface 52 ... Return operation surface

Claims (3)

A female connector housing containing a female terminal fitting and a male connector housing containing a male terminal fitting, and one of the male and female connector housings has a pair of legs. A lever having a gate shape as a whole is attached by connecting the parts by a turning operation part, and both the male and female connector housings are attracted to each other by a cam mechanism based on the turning action of the lever, and are properly fitted. A connector in a state,
The one connector housing is provided with a lock portion, and the lever is engaged with the lock portion when both the male and female connector housings reach a proper fitting position. Is provided with a release operation part that can be locked to the unlocked state,
The connector is characterized in that the unlocking direction of the lever is set in the releasing operation part in a direction substantially orthogonal to a specific external force acting direction toward the releasing operation part. The release operation unit is provided in the rotation operation unit, and the external operation force in the release operation unit when the both male and female connector housings reach a proper fitting position. The connector according to claim 1, wherein a flange that covers the space on the side on which the wire acts is projected. When the lever is engaged with the lever toward the engagement completion position, the collar operates a fitting operation surface having an upward gradient in the fitting operation direction, and returns the lever toward the rotation initial position. The connector according to claim 2, further comprising a return operation surface having an upward slope in the return operation direction.

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