JP2011124018A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent deformation of a support wall for supporting a lever while avoiding enlargement of a connector. <P>SOLUTION: The connector is provided with a male housing 10 having a hood portion 12 and a lock portion 22 to a bracket, a moving plate 70 which is incorporated movably in the hood portion 12, and a lever 50 which is installed rotatably on a spindle 29 provided at the outside of the male housing 10. A die punching hole 31 is formed in the inner side of the spindle 29 in the male housing 10 accompanying forming of the lock portion 22, and a support wall 32 to support the spindle 29 is formed between the spindle 29 and the die punching hole 31. A projection member 78 which is inserted into the die punching hole 31 and arranged inside the support wall 32 is formed in the moving plate 70. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  A conventional connector is disclosed in Patent Document 1. This includes a male housing and a lever that is rotatably mounted on the male housing. The male housing has a square cylindrical hood. A male terminal fitting protrudes from the hood portion, and a moving plate is incorporated so as to be movable between an initial position and a fitting position. The moving plate has a plate body in which an insertion hole into which the distal end portion of the male terminal fitting is positioned and inserted is opened. In the initial position, the plate body is positioned on the opening side of the hood part, so that the protruding amount from the insertion hole of the male terminal fitting is suppressed, and in the mating position, the plate body is positioned on the back side of the hood part. The amount of protrusion from the insertion hole of the terminal fitting is increased.

  A pair of support shafts are formed to project from the left and right side surfaces of the male housing. The lever is rotatable about both the support shafts. Moreover, the lock | rock part latched by the bracket used as attachment object is formed in the lower surface of a male housing.

JP 2002-352907 A

  By the way, in the said conventional connector, it may be necessary to change the formation position of a lock | rock part to the side surface of the male housing used as the formation surface of a spindle depending on the situation. In that case, if only the lock part protrudes and is formed on the side surface of the male housing, the connector becomes large, so the lock part is formed at a position retracted inward from the outermost position of the side surface of the male housing. Is desired. However, with such a configuration, a mold release hole due to the extraction of the mold used when forming the lock portion is inevitably formed in the male housing, and further, this mold release hole is formed inside the support shaft. Sometimes it is done. For this reason, when the thickness of the support wall that is located between the support shaft and the die-cutting hole and supports the support shaft is thinned, and the fitting force between the two housings increases as the lever rotates, the support wall May be deformed.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above situation, and an object of the present invention is to prevent deformation of a support wall that supports a lever while avoiding an increase in size of a connector.

  As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 includes a male housing having a cylindrical hood portion on which a male terminal fitting protrudes and a lock portion locked to an attachment target. A plate body that is movably incorporated in the hood portion and has an insertion hole for positioning and inserting the distal end portion of the male terminal fitting, and the male housing is engaged with the mating female housing. As the plate body moves forward, the plate body moves to the back side of the hood portion, and a moving plate that increases the protruding amount of the male terminal fitting from the insertion hole, and a support shaft protruding from the outer surface of the male housing. It is attached and rotated around the support shaft in a state of being engaged with the female housing, thereby exerting a cam action between the female housings, and And a lever for reaching a fitting state, and a die-cutting hole is formed inside the spindle in the male housing along with the molding of the lock portion, and between the spindle and the die-cutting hole. Is characterized in that a support wall for supporting the support shaft is formed, and the moving plate is formed with a projecting piece that is inserted into the die punching hole and disposed inside the support wall.

  Invention of Claim 2 is the thing of Claim 1, The convex part is formed in any one of the outer surface of the said protruding piece, and the inner surface of the said punching hole, The recessed part is formed in the other, The concave portion and the convex portion are characterized by being fitted while facing each other in the direction in which the protruding piece and the support wall are arranged.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a window portion is formed in the outer surface of the male housing so that the tip of the projecting piece is positioned when the two housings are properly fitted. It is characterized by being visible through the window.

<Invention of Claim 1>
Since a punching hole is formed inside the support shaft of the male housing as the lock portion is formed, only the lock portion does not protrude outside the male housing, and an increase in size of the connector is avoided. On the other hand, since the support wall is formed between the support shaft and the die-cutting hole, the thickness of the support wall tends to be thin, and a lever may be attached to the support wall, so that the support wall is easily deformed. There are circumstances. However, according to the present invention, since the projecting piece is formed on the moving plate incorporated in the hood portion, and the projecting piece is inserted into the die punching hole and disposed inside the support wall, the support wall is deformed by reinforcing the projecting piece. Is prevented.

<Invention of Claim 2>
Since the concave portion and the convex portion are fitted while facing each other in the arrangement direction of the projecting piece and the support wall, the projecting piece is prevented from falling to the support wall side. As a result, deformation of the support wall due to the protrusion of the protrusion is prevented.

<Invention of Claim 3>
When the two housings are properly fitted, it is possible to detect whether or not the protruding piece and the moving plate have reached the normal position by visually recognizing the tip position of the protruding piece through the window portion.

It is the front view which fractured | ruptured partially the male connector which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a cross-sectional view of a connector when a moving plate is in an initial position. It is a cross-sectional view of a connector when a moving plate is in a fitting position. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of both connectors before fitting. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of both connectors that are normally fitted. It is a rear view of a moving plate. It is a side view of a moving plate. It is a top view of a moving plate. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a male connector. It is a side view of a male connector. It is a front view of the male connector before a moving plate is assembled | attached. It is a front view of the male connector after a moving plate was assembled | attached.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector according to the first embodiment is a so-called male connector, and includes a male terminal fitting 90, a male housing 10, a lever 50, and a moving plate 70. The male housing 10 can be fitted into a female housing 100 provided in a mating female connector. In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the mating surfaces of the housings 10 and 100 are the front.

  The female housing 100 is made of synthetic resin, and has a female housing body 101 having a rectangular frame shape that is long in the height direction as a whole. As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of female housing receiving recesses 102 are formed in the female housing main body 101 side by side in the height direction. The female housing accommodating recesses 102 are partitioned by a plurality of partition walls 103 in the height direction. A female sub-housing 110 is inserted into each female housing receiving recess 102. The female sub-housing 110 has a slightly flat rectangular block shape, and the female terminal fitting 120 is accommodated therein. The female terminal fitting 120 is made of a conductive metal, is connected to the end of the electric wire 130, and has a cylindrical box portion 121. A pair of left and right cam pins 105 project from the center in the height direction of the outer surfaces on both sides (the outer surface on the long side) of the female housing body 101.

  The male housing 10 is made of a synthetic resin and has a shape that is long in the height direction as a whole, and includes a square frame-shaped male housing body 11 and a rectangular tube-shaped hood portion 12 that continues to the front end of the male housing body 11. ing. A plurality of male housing receiving recesses 13 are formed in the male housing body 11 side by side in the height direction. The male housing accommodating recesses 13 are partitioned by a plurality of partition walls 14 in the height direction. A male sub-housing 15 is inserted into each male housing receiving recess 13. The male sub-housing 15 has a slightly flat rectangular block shape, and a cavity 16 that can accommodate the male terminal fitting 90 is formed therein. The male terminal fitting 90 is made of a conductive metal and is connected to the end of the electric wire 150, and has a cylindrical terminal main body 91 housed in the male sub-housing 15, and a rod-shaped male tab protruding forward from the front end of the terminal main body 91. 92. The male tab 92 protrudes into the hood portion 12.

  A portal plate-shaped lever lock receiving portion 17 is formed at the rear end portion of the upper surface of the male housing body 11. The lever lock receiving portion 17 includes a pair of left and right leg portions 18 and a ceiling portion 19 bridged between the both leg portions 18. The front edges of the both leg portions 18 are inclined surfaces 20 that are inclined in a tapered shape toward the rear. On the inner side surface of the ceiling portion 19, a rib-shaped lever lock receiving protrusion 21 that can be engaged with a lever lock protrusion 57 described later is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the height direction central part of the outer surface on both sides (the outer surface on the long side) of the male housing main body 11 is disposed one step lower than the both ends in the height direction. A pair of left and right locking portions 22 that can be locked to (not shown) are formed. The lock part 22 has a flat frame-shaped cassette part 23 having an insertion space into which a bracket can be inserted. The cassette portion 23 includes a pair of upper and lower rail portions 24 and a beam portion 25 bridged between the rail portions 24. As shown in FIG. 2, a lock main body portion 26 is formed to protrude rearward from the front end of the beam portion 25. A lock claw 27 is formed on the distal end side of the lock main body 26 so as to protrude toward the insertion space side (inner side). The bracket inserted from the rear into the insertion space of the cassette portion 23 is slid forward along the rail portion 24 and is elastically hooked and locked to the lock claw 27 as it reaches the proper mounting position. Thereby, the male housing 10 is fixed to the bracket. Note that the outer surface of the lock portion 22 is a vertical surface that is substantially continuous without unevenness.

  The hood portion 12 is made slightly larger than the male housing body 11 by providing a step 28 at the front end of the male housing body 11. The outer surfaces of both side walls (long side walls) of the hood portion 12 are vertical surfaces that are substantially continuous without unevenness, and a pair of left and right support shafts 29 are provided at the center in the height direction of the rear end portion (back end portion). Protrusively formed. Both the support shafts 29 are formed in a columnar shape, and a retaining piece 30 is formed to protrude in the circumferential direction at a tip portion thereof. A pair of left and right mold punching holes 31 are formed inside both the support shafts 29 and serve as pulling traces of the mold used when the lock claw 27 of the lock portion 22 is molded. The die-cutting hole 31 has a shape elongated in the height direction, extends through the step 28, and extends in the front-rear direction so as to cut out the inner surface of the hood portion 12 in a groove shape. Of the both side walls of the hood portion 12, a portion sandwiched between the die punching hole 31 and the both support shafts 29 is a support wall 32 that is thinner than the upper and lower regions by the die punching hole 31.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the support wall 32 is formed with a pair of left and right introduction grooves 33 at positions overlapping with the punching holes 31. The introduction groove 33 is configured to extend in the front-rear direction and open to the front edge of the hood portion 12, and a cam pin 105 on the other side and a cam follower 77 of a moving plate 70 to be described later are inserted into the introduction groove 33 from the front. ing. The support shaft 29 is located immediately after the rear edge of the introduction groove 33.

  A plurality of dovetail grooves 34 capable of guiding the moving plate 70 are formed on the inner side surface of the hood portion 12 in the front-rear direction and at intervals in the circumferential direction. In addition, a pair of left and right abutting pieces 35 capable of abutting the lever 50 are formed on the front end edges of both side walls of the hood portion 12 so as to project in the width direction.

  The lever 50 is made of synthetic resin and has a portal plate shape as a whole. The lever 50 includes an operation part 51 extending in the width direction and a pair of left and right arm parts 52 projecting substantially in parallel from both ends of the operation part 51. A shaft hole 53 that receives the support shaft 29 is formed through the arm portion 52. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, a bottomed cam groove 54 is formed on the inner side surface of the arm portion 52 so as to extend in a predetermined direction.

  A lever lock portion 55 is formed at the center in the width direction of the operation portion 51. The lever lock portion 55 is disposed in a recess 56 opened at the rear edge of the operation portion 51 so as to be able to bend, and is configured to extend in a folded shape from the rear edge toward the front. A rib-shaped lever lock projection 57 is formed on the upper surface of the lever lock portion 55. Further, an upright piece 58 is formed to rise at the front end of the upper surface of the lever lock portion 55. On the rear side of the upright piece 58 in the operation portion 51, a tapered operation surface 59 that is inclined upward is formed over the entire width.

  Further, a notch 60 that is continuous with the recess 56 is formed at the upper end of the central portion in the width direction of the operation portion 51. The upper end portion of the upright piece 58 is disposed so as to face the notch 60 and is visible when viewed from the front. On the other hand, since both ends in the width direction of the operation unit 51 are located on both sides of the standing piece 58, the standing piece 58 cannot be visually recognized by side view. Further, the upper end of the standing piece 58 is disposed at a position substantially the same as or lower than the upper end of the operation portion 51, and the entire lever lock portion 55 including the standing piece 58 is accommodated in the recess 56.

  The lever 50 is rotatable between an initial rotation position and a rotation completion position about the support shaft 29 in a state where the support shaft 29 is fitted in the shaft hole 53. At this time, the lever 50 is prevented from coming off the male housing 10 by the outer surface of the arm portion 52 coming into contact with the retaining piece 30. At the initial rotation position, the operation portion 51 is disposed above the front end portion of the hood portion 12, and the entrance of the cam groove 54 is disposed so as to overlap the introduction groove 33 and open forward. In addition, at the initial rotation position, the front end of the arm portion 52 abuts against the stopper piece 35, so that the forward rotation operation of the lever 50 with respect to the hood portion 12 is restricted. In this state, when the female housing 100 is shallowly fitted in the hood portion 12, the cam pin 105 enters the inlet of the introduction groove 33 and the cam groove 54.

  By pressing the operation surface 59 of the operation unit 51 from the rotation initial position to the rotation completion position, it is possible to efficiently transmit the operation force to the lever 50. In this case, although there is a circumstance that the operation surface 59 is notched and formed in the operation portion 51, the entire upright piece 58 is accommodated in the recess 56 of the operation portion 51. The finger does not touch the upright piece 58, and inadvertent interference with the upright piece 58 is avoided. In addition, the operation portion 59 is cut away, so that an increase in the size of the operation portion 51 is avoided. Further, during the rotation, the cam pin 105 slides on the groove surface of the cam groove 54 in a state where the cam pin 105 is united with the cam follower 77, thereby exerting a cam action between the lever 50 and the female housing 100. 100 fitting operations proceed.

  At the rotation completion position, as shown in FIG. 5, the lever lock receiving portion 17 is fitted in the recess 56 of the operation portion 51, and the rear surface of the upright piece 58 can come into contact with the front end of the ceiling portion 19. The inclined surface 20 of the lever lock receiving portion 17 is disposed so as to be able to contact along the inner surface of the recess 56. Further, at the rotation completion position, the lever lock projection 57 elastically locks the lever lock receiving projection 21, whereby the lever 50 is held in the rotation restricted state. And in the rotation completion position, both the housings 10 and 100 are held in a properly fitted state, and the male tab 92 is inserted into the box part 121 of the female terminal fitting 120 at a regular depth, so that both the terminal fittings 90 and 120 are connected to each other. The continuity is taken.

  The moving plate 70 is made of a synthetic resin, has a cap shape that is long in the height direction as a whole, and is incorporated in the hood portion 12. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the moving plate 70 includes a flat plate main body 71 that covers the inside of the hood portion 12, and a rectangular tube-shaped plate guide portion 72 that protrudes forward from the periphery of the plate main body 71. have. The moving plate 70 has an initial fitting position (see FIG. 4) where the plate body 71 is located on the opening side (front) of the hood portion 12 and the plate body 71 is located on the back side (rear) of the hood portion 12. It is possible to move in the front-rear direction between the fitting completion positions (see FIG. 5). The plate main body 71 is formed with a plurality of insertion holes 73 that can be inserted into the distal end portion of the male tab 92 in a positioned state. A plurality of partition walls 74 are formed on the front surface of the plate body 71 in the height direction at positions corresponding to the partition walls 103 of the female housing 100 (see FIG. 12). The partition wall 74 is continuous with the partition wall 103 in the front-rear direction when the housings 10 and 100 are fitted together, and can support the front end portion of the female sub-housing 110 from below.

  The plate guide portion 72 is slidable on the inner surface of the hood portion 12. On the outer peripheral surface of the plate guide portion 72, a plurality of dovetail portions 75 are formed extending in the front-rear direction and spaced apart in the circumferential direction. When the dovetail part 75 is fitted and slid in the dovetail groove 34, the moving operation of the moving plate 70 in the hood part 12 can be performed smoothly.

  A pair of left and right fitting grooves 76 are formed in the center in the height direction of both side walls (long side walls) of the plate guide portion 72 and extend in the front-rear direction and open at the front end. The fitting groove 76 communicates with the introduction groove 33 when the moving plate 70 is assembled, and can receive the cam pin 105 of the female housing 100. A gate-type cam follower 77 is formed on the outer surface of both side walls of the plate guide portion 72 so as to project over the introduction groove 33. When the moving plate 70 is assembled, the cam follower 77 enters the cam groove 54 of the lever 50 and can be engaged with the cam pin 105 in a state where the cam pin 105 is encapsulated therein.

  Now, a pair of left and right projecting pieces 78 are formed on both side walls of the plate guide portion 72 so as to project rearward from a position immediately behind the cam follower 77. The projecting piece 78 has a substantially rectangular flat plate shape when viewed from the side, and is inserted into the punched hole 31 of the male housing 10 when the moving plate 70 is assembled. Further, the projecting piece 78 is disposed inside the support wall 32 when the moving plate 70 is assembled, and the outer surface thereof faces the inner surface of the support wall 32, so that the protrusion 78 is in the width direction (thickness direction). ) Constitutes a double plate structure.

  On both upper and lower edges of the projecting piece 78, a triangular groove-shaped recess 79 is formed by cutting out over the entire length. Here, on the upper and lower edges of the inner side surfaces of the both mold punching holes 31 in the male housing main body 11, as shown in FIG. Yes. The outer side surface of the convex portion 39 and the inner side surface of the concave portion 79 are arranged to face each other in the width direction, thereby restricting loose movement of the projecting piece 78 with respect to the female housing 100 in the width direction. In this case, opposing surfaces 80 along the height direction are formed on the inner surface of the concave portion 79 and the outer surface of the convex portion 39, and the opposing surfaces 80 come into contact with each other, so Fall is regulated. The other surface of the recess 79 is a slope 85, so that the rigidity of the upper and lower edges of the projecting piece 78 can be secured even if the recess 79 is formed within the thickness range of the projecting piece 78. It has become.

The structure of the connector according to the present embodiment is as described above, and the assembly operation and effects of the connector will be described.
The lever 50 is held at the initial rotation position, and the moving plate 70 is assembled in the hood portion 12 of the male housing 10 at the initial fitting position (see FIG. 4). At the fitting initial position, the tip of the male tab 92 passes through the insertion hole 73 and slightly protrudes in front of the plate body 71. At this time, the tip of the projecting piece 78 is disposed so as to face the entrance of the die-cutting hole 31 of the male housing body 11, and the projecting piece 78 is located inside the support shaft 29 (see FIG. 2). ). Subsequently, the female housing 100 is shallowly fitted in the hood portion 12, and in this state, the lever 50 is rotated counterclockwise in the drawing toward the rotation completion position. Then, in a state where the cam pin 105 and the cam follower 77 are joined, the groove surface of the cam groove 54 slides. The amount of protrusion of the 92 from the plate body 71 gradually increases. Further, as the fitting depth of both the housings 10 and 100 increases, the insertion depth of the projecting piece 78 into the die cutting hole 31 also increases. Furthermore, the protruding portion 78 is guided to the positioning state by inserting and fitting the protruding portion 39 into the recessed portion 79.

  When the lever 50 reaches the rotation completion position, the moving plate 70 also reaches the fitting completion position, and both the housings 10 and 100 are in the normal fitting state (see FIG. 5). At this time, the plate body 71 is sandwiched between the housings 10 and 100 in the thickness direction, and the tip end of the projecting piece 78 reaches the back end side of the mold release hole 31. Here, on both outer surfaces of the male housing main body 11, a window 40 is formed between the step 28 and the cassette portion 23, and the back end of the mold release hole 31 is formed by the window 40. It is configured. As a result, before the housings 10 and 100 are fitted together, the projecting pieces 78 are retracted from the window 40 and are not visible from the outside. However, both the housings 10 and 100 are in a properly fitted state. In the reached state, the tip of the projecting piece 78 enters the window 40 and is visible from the outside (see FIG. 3).

  In the above case, when the moving plate 70 is assembled in the hood portion 12, the projecting piece 78 is disposed inside the support wall 32 so as to be able to abut at any of the initial fitting position and the fitting completion position. For this reason, even if the thin support wall 32 is inevitably formed due to the molding of the punching hole 31, the support wall 32 is reinforced by the projecting pieces 78. For this reason, deformation of the support wall 32 is prevented. In addition, since the lock claw 27 of the lock portion 22 is formed by forming the punching hole 31 in the male housing 10, unlike the case where the lock portion 22 is simply projected on the outer surface of the male housing 10, the male housing It can avoid that 10 becomes large.

Further, since the concave portion 79 and the convex portion 39 are fitted while facing each other in the direction in which the projecting piece 78 and the support wall 32 are arranged, the projecting piece 78 is prevented from falling to the support wall 32 side. As a result, deformation of the support wall 32 due to the fall of the projecting piece 78 is also prevented.
Further, when the housings 10 and 100 are properly fitted, it is possible to detect whether or not the protruding piece 78 and thus the moving plate 70 have reached the normal position by visually recognizing the tip end position of the protruding piece 78 through the window 40. it can.

<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) A convex part may be formed in the outer surface of a protrusion, and a recessed part may be formed in the inner surface of a die-cut hole. Moreover, the shape of a convex part and a recessed part is arbitrary. In some cases, the convex portion and the concave portion may be omitted.
(2) The moving plate may not have a cam follower and may not be interlocked with the turning operation of the lever.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Male housing 12 ... Hood part 22 ... Lock part 29 ... Support shaft 31 ... Die-out hole 32 ... Support wall 39 ... Convex part 40 ... Window part 50 ... Lever 70 ... Moving plate 71 ... Plate main body 73 ... Insertion hole 78 ... Projection piece 79 ... recess 90 ... male terminal fitting 92 ... male tab 100 ... female housing

Claims (3)

A male housing having a cylindrical hood portion in which a male terminal fitting protrudes and having a lock portion locked to an attachment object;
It has a plate body that is movably incorporated in the hood portion and has an insertion hole that positions and inserts the distal end portion of the male terminal fitting, and the male housing advances mating with the mating female housing. And the plate body moves to the back side of the hood portion, and a moving plate that increases the protruding amount of the male terminal fitting from the insertion hole;
It is attached to a spindle projecting from the outer surface of the male housing, and rotates around the spindle while engaged with the female housing, thereby exerting a cam action between the female housing. And a lever for bringing the two housings into a properly fitted state,
A die punching hole is formed inside the support shaft of the male housing as the lock portion is formed, and a support wall for supporting the support shaft is provided between the support shaft and the mold punching hole. Formed,
The moving plate is formed with a protruding piece that is inserted into the die hole and disposed inside the support wall.   A convex portion is formed on one of the outer surface of the protruding piece and the inner surface of the die-cutting hole, and a concave portion is formed on the other. The concave portion and the protruding portion are formed on the protruding piece and the support wall. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connectors are fitted while facing each other in the arrangement direction.   3. A window portion is formed in the outer surface of the male housing, and the tip of the protruding piece is visible through the window portion when the two housings are properly fitted. The connector described.

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