JP2013134941A - Lever type connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lever type connector that prevents connectors from being easily disengaged from each other and improves the operability of operation to disengage the connectors from each other.SOLUTION: A female connector housing 4 on which a lever 7 is rotatably pivoted is provided with an elastically deformable lock projection 20 with which a claw part 19 formed at a coupling part 22 of the lever 7 is engaged to lock rotation of the lever 7 when the lever 7 rotates up to a terminal position where female and male connector housings 4 and 13 are fitted to each other. The lock projection 20 is disposed on a fitting end side of the female connector housing 4 with respect to the coupling part 22 of the lever 7 disposed at the terminal position. The coupling part 22 is provided with an insertion groove 27 into which a tool 26 for disengaging the claw part 19 by being pressed from the terminal position of the lever in a rotating direction thereof is inserted while being made to abut against the lock projection 20.

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever-type connector in which a pair of connector housings can be fitted and detached from each other by a lever turning operation.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the field of connectors that require a relatively large fitting force, such as multi-pole connectors, lever-type connectors having pivoting levers have been used.

  The lever-type connector has a lever rotatably mounted on one connector housing of one and the other connector housings fitted to each other. The lever includes a pair of pivotable arm plates opposed to each other with one connector housing interposed therebetween, and a connecting portion that couples the pair of arm plates to each other. Each of the pair of arm plates is formed with a shaft hole, and a cam groove is formed around the shaft hole. A support shaft that fits into the shaft holes of the pair of arm plates protrudes from the outer surface of one connector housing, and the outer surface of the other connector housing fits into the cam groove of the pair of arm plates. A mating engagement pin is provided protruding.

  For example, the pivot position of the lever that can accept the engagement pin at the inlet of the cam groove is the start position, and the pivot position of the lever where the pair of connector housings are completely fitted by the pivot operation of the lever is terminated. When the lever is in the position, the support shaft is fitted in the shaft holes of the pair of arm plates, and the engagement pins are fitted in the cam grooves, so that the lever is positioned between the start end position and the end position. A predetermined angle range is rotated.

  The connecting portion of the lever is provided with a first locking portion, and when the lever is rotated to a terminal position opposite to the fitting end side of one connector housing, the first locking portion is The lever is engaged by being engaged with a second engaging portion formed in the connector housing so as to be engaged.

  In such a configuration, by rotating the lever from the start position to the end position, the other connector housing is fitted to the one connector housing, and the lever is locked. On the other hand, by rotating the lever from the end position to the start position, the locked lever is released, and the other connector housing is detached from one connector housing.

  Thus, according to the lever-type connector, the connectors can be fitted and detached with a small force while utilizing the lever principle by the rotation of the lever. Techniques related to this type of connector are reported, for example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

  Further, in Patent Document 3, by operating a lock release portion that is a separate component from the lever in a state where the connectors are fitted together, the lever is unlocked and the unlocked lever is rotated. A structure is disclosed in which the connectors are detached from each other.

JP 2004-241157 A JP 2009-301926 A JP 2008-130322 A

  By the way, in the connector used in a high voltage circuit etc., the structure which cannot cancel | release the fitting state of a connector easily is calculated | required for safety.

  In this respect, in the lever-type connector disclosed in Patent Documents 1-3, the operability at the time of detaching the fitted connectors from each other is good, but the lever locking portions of Patent Documents 1 and 2, When some external force is applied to the lock release portion of Patent Document 3, the lever is unlocked and the connectors may be separated.

  On the other hand, for example, a method of reducing the influence of external force by forming the latching portions of the levers of Patent Literatures 1 and 2 and the unlocking portion of Patent Literature 3 and the like can be considered, but such a structure is adopted. In such a case, there arises a new problem that workability when the connectors are detached from each other is deteriorated.

  This invention makes it a subject to improve the operativity of the operation | work which remove | releases connectors while preventing that the fitting state of connectors is cancelled | released easily.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the lever-type connector of the present invention is pivotally supported by one connector housing of one and the other connector housings having a fitting end to be fitted to each other so that the lever can be rotated. A pair of arm plates pivotally supported with one connector housing interposed therebetween, and a connecting portion for connecting the pair of arm plates to each other, and fitted in cam grooves formed in the pair of arm plates, respectively. The engaging pin is provided on the other connector housing, and the lever is turned to the opposite side to the mating end side of the one connector housing with the engaging pin fitted in the cam groove. One connector housing is fitted into one connector housing, and the lever is rotated to the fitting end side of one connector housing, so that the other connector housing is In the lever-type connector for releasing the connector from one connector housing, the one connector housing is formed with a connecting portion when the lever is rotated to the end position where one and the other connector housing are fitted. An elastically deformable locking projection is provided to engage the claw portion to lock the rotation of the lever, and this locking projection is one connector housing with respect to the connecting portion of the lever arranged at the end position. In the state where it is in contact with the locking projection, the connecting portion is pressed against the engaging end of the lever from the terminal position of the lever in the turning direction. An insertion hole or an insertion groove into which the tool is inserted is provided.

  In such a configuration, in order to detach the connector housings, a jig is passed through the insertion hole or the insertion groove with respect to the lever in a locked state where the claw portion and the locking projection are engaged at the terminal position, The base end side of the jig is rotated along the rotation direction of the lever while the front end side of the jig is in contact with the locking projection. As a result, the locking projection is bent due to elastic deformation, and the engagement state between the claw portion and the locking projection is released. Thus, by rotating the lever with a jig, the lever locked state can be easily released with a small force using the principle of the lever. In addition, the direction in which the jig is rotated coincides with the direction in which the lever is rotated in order to disengage the connectors. Therefore, the operator can work without hesitating to operate the jig, and the operability of the work of separating the connectors can be improved.

  Thus, in the present invention, since the connectors are separated from each other using a jig, the engagement state between the claw portion and the locking protrusion can be set firmly so that the locked state of the lever is not easily released. In this way, even if the engagement state is strengthened, the operability of the work of separating the connectors is not affected. In the present invention, the locking protrusion is disposed on the fitting end side of one connector housing with respect to the connecting portion of the lever at the terminal position, and is disposed at a position surrounded by the connecting portion of the lever and the pair of arm plates. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lever from being unlocked due to an external force acting on the locking projection, and as a result, it is possible to prevent the connectors from being unintentionally detached.

  In this case, the locking projection is formed in a gate shape having both ends connected to one connector housing.

  According to this, for example, by pressing a jig against the upper end of the locking projection, the locking projection can be easily elastically deformed and can be easily restored, thereby suppressing deterioration due to repeated use. Can do.

  According to the present invention, the fitting state between the connectors is not easily released, and the operability of the work of separating the connectors can be improved.

It is a perspective view of one embodiment showing a state before fitting of a lever type connector to which the present invention is applied. In the lever type connector shown in FIG. 1, it is a perspective view explaining the operation | movement by which a male housing is fitted by a female housing. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the lever connector of FIG. 1 in a state in which a male housing is fitted to a female housing. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where a jig is inserted into the lever in the lever-type connector of FIG. 1, and is a view seen from an oblique rear side of the female housing. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the front end side of the jig | tool inserted in the lever of FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a jig is inserted into an insertion groove in the lever-type connector of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the claw portion of the lever engages with a locking protrusion in a state where the jig is inserted into the insertion groove in the lever connector of FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a lever-type connector to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lever-type connector 1 of this embodiment has a pair of connectors 2 and 3 that can be fitted to each other, and a lever that will be described later, both of which are made of synthetic resin. In the present embodiment, one of the pair of connectors 2 and 3 is a female connector 2 and the other connector is a male connector 3.

  The female connector 2 includes one connector housing 4 (hereinafter referred to as a female connector housing 4) and an electric wire cover 5. The female connector housing 4 is provided with a terminal housing chamber (not shown) formed in a cylindrical shape on the inner side, and female terminals 6 (FIG. 3) are housed in the terminal housing chamber.

  A lever 7 is mounted on the outer surface of the female connector housing 4 to perform operations for fitting and disconnecting the connectors. The lever 7 includes a pair of arm plates 8 and 8 that are rotatably supported with the female connector housing 4 interposed therebetween, and a connecting portion 9 that connects the arm plates 8 and 8 to each other. A shaft hole 10 is formed in each of the pair of arm plates 8 and 8, and a cam groove 11 is formed around the shaft hole 10.

  The cam groove 11 is formed around the shaft hole 10 over a predetermined angle range, and is formed in a curved shape in which the distance from the center of the shaft hole 10 gradually decreases from one end to the other end.

  The left and right outer surfaces of the female connector housing 4 are provided with projecting support shafts 12 that are rotatably fitted in the shaft holes 10, and the levers 7 are fitted by fitting the support shafts 12 into the shaft holes 10. Is rotatably supported by the female connector housing 4.

  On the other hand, the mating male connector 3 includes the other connector housing 13 (hereinafter referred to as a male connector housing 13) and an electric wire cover 14. The male connector housing 13 includes a terminal accommodating chamber 15 formed in a cylindrical shape inside, and the terminal accommodating chamber 15 accommodates a male terminal 16 (FIG. 3). Engagement pins 17 that are fitted into the cam grooves 11 of the lever 7 are provided to project from the left and right outer surfaces of the male connector housing 13.

  In such a configuration, when the connectors are fitted to each other, as shown in FIG. 1, first, the starting end position of the lever 7 that can receive the engaging pin 17 into the inlet of the cam groove 11, that is, the lever 7. The male connector housing 13 is inserted into the female connector housing 4 and is initially fitted in a state where the lever 7 is positioned at the position where the lever 7 is rotated to the maximum at the fitting end side of the female connector housing 4. At this time, the left and right engaging pins 17 of the male connector housing 13 pass through the guide grooves 18 formed in the arm plate 8 of the lever 7 and are positioned near the entrance of the cam groove 11.

  From this state, the connecting portion 9 of the lever 7 is grasped, and the lever 7 is moved to the end position where it is rotated to the maximum on the back side opposite to the fitting end of the female connector housing 4 as shown in FIG. Then, the engaging pin 17 enters the cam groove 11 and the male connector housing 13 is properly fitted to the female connector housing 4 by the cam action by sliding between the cam groove 11 and the engaging pin 17. The male and female terminal fittings are normally connected to each other. At this time, the lever 7 is locked by a lock mechanism described later, and the rotation is restricted.

  Next, the locking mechanism of the lever 7 will be described. A claw portion 19 for fixing the lever 7 to the end position is formed at the center position in the width direction of the connecting portion 9 of the lever 7, and a claw portion is provided on the back side opposite to the fitting end of the female connector housing 4. A locking projection 20 that is engaged with the portion 19 is formed.

  The locking projections 20 are elastically deformed as a whole by connecting the lower ends of the pair of leg portions 21 to the upper surface side of the male connector housing 4 and connecting the upper ends of these leg portions 21 by the connecting portions 22 respectively. It has a possible gate-shaped frame. Since the locking projection 20 is located on the fitting end side of the female connector housing 4 with respect to the connecting portion 9 of the lever 7 when the lever 7 is disposed at the terminal position, the connecting portion 9 of the lever 7 is provided. And a pair of arm plates 8, 8.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the claw portion 19 has an inclined surface 23 that extends toward the female connector housing 4 when the lever 7 is disposed at the start end position. On the other hand, the locking protrusion 20 has a curved surface 24 extending toward the back side opposite to the fitting end of the female connector housing 4 at the center position in the width direction of the connecting portion 22. On both sides in the width direction of the connecting portion 22, there are guide surfaces 25 that protrude further toward the back side of the female connector housing 4 than the curved surface 24.

  In such a configuration, when the lever 7 is locked at the terminal position, first, the connecting portion 9 is grasped and the lever 7 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Then, the claw portion 19 of the lever 7 comes into contact with the curved surface 24 formed on the connecting portion 22 of the locking projection 20. When the lever 7 is further rotated, the claw portion 19 presses the curved surface 24 and moves on the curved surface 24 while elastically deforming the locking projection 20. Then, when the claw portion 19 gets over the curved surface 24, the claw portion 19 is engaged in the frame of the locking projection 20, and the inclined surface 23 of the claw portion 19 contacts the locking projection 20, as shown in FIG. It will be in the state. Thereby, the rotation of the lever 7 is restricted and locked at the end position.

  Next, a mechanism for releasing the lock of the lever 7 as a characteristic configuration of the present invention will be described.

  In the lever 7 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, insertion grooves 27 for inserting jigs 26 for releasing the lock of the lever 7 are formed on both sides of the claw portion 19 in the width direction of the connecting portion 9. Has been. In this insertion groove 27, the jig 26 is inserted from the side opposite to the fitting end of the female connector housing 4. The jig 26 used in the present embodiment is made of metal, the distal end side (insertion side) is separated into two portions, and the separated tip is L-shaped.

  The insertion groove 27 is formed on the side wall of the connecting portion 9 closer to the female connector housing 4 in the thickness direction of the connecting portion 9 in the state where the lever 7 is locked at the terminal position, and is inserted in the insertion direction of the jig 26. The axis (dotted line in FIG. 4) is positioned above the connecting portion 22 of the locking projection 20 (above FIG. 4). Further, the insertion groove 27 is disposed at a position corresponding to the guide surface 25 of the locking projection 20 in the width direction of the connecting portion 9.

  In such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 5, when the leading end side of the jig 26 (hereinafter abbreviated as the jig 26) is inserted into the two insertion grooves 27, the inserted jig 26 is inserted. After being guided by the guide surface 25 (FIG. 1) of the locking projection 20, it comes into contact with the upper end surface of the locking projection 20.

  6 and 7 show a cross section in a state where the jig 26 is inserted into the lever 7 disposed at the terminal position. In these drawings, the position of the cut surface in the width direction of the connecting portion 9 of the lever 7 is different. FIG. 6 shows the insertion groove 27 as a cut surface, and FIG. 7 shows the claw portion 19 of the connecting portion 9 as a cut surface. In this state, the jig 26 is pressed in the rotation direction of the lever 7 (arrow in FIG. 4) with the part where the jig 26 is in contact with the lower surface A of the insertion groove 27 as a fulcrum. Rotate toward As a result, the locking projection 20 becomes the point of action where the jig 26 abuts, and is elastically deformed in a direction away from the claw portion 19 so that the engagement state between the locking projection 20 and the claw portion 19 is released. .

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, in the male connector housing 4, two excessive displacement prevention protrusions 28 are provided on the fitting end side of the male connector housing 4 with respect to the locking protrusion 20. These protrusions 28 are all arranged at positions where the elastically deformed locking protrusions 20 can come into contact, and the locking protrusions 20 are excessively deformed and broken in a direction to release the engagement state with the claw parts 20. It serves as a stopper to prevent this.

  Thus, after releasing the lock of the lever 7, the jig 26 is pulled out from the insertion groove 27, the connecting portion 9 is grasped, and the lever 7 is rotated to the start end position. Thereby, the male connector housing 13 is detached from the female connector housing 4 by the reverse cam action between the cam groove 11 and the engaging pin 17.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, since the insertion groove 27 for inserting the jig 26 is formed in the lever 7, the jig 26 is used when releasing the lock of the lever 7. The lock can be easily released by the action of the lever. Further, the direction in which the jig 26 inserted into the lever 7 is moved coincides with the direction in which the connector housings 4 and 13 are detached. Therefore, the operator can operate the jig 26 without hesitation, and the operability and workability of the work of detaching the connector housings 4 and 13 can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, since the connector housings 4 and 13 are detached using the jig 26, the engagement between the claw portion 19 and the locking projection 20 is prevented so that the locked state of the lever 7 is not easily released. The engagement state can be set firmly, and even if the engagement state is strengthened in this way, the operability of the work of removing the connector housings 4 and 13 is not affected. Further, according to the present embodiment, since the locking projection 20 is surrounded by the lever 7 in the locked state of the lever 7, some external force acts on the locking projection 20 and the lever 7 is locked. Unintentional release can be prevented. Therefore, the locking protrusion 20 does not need to be formed small in order to avoid the action of external force. Further, according to the present embodiment, the insertion groove 27 into which the jig 26 is inserted is formed at a relatively conspicuous position in the connecting portion 9 of the lever 7, so that the operator can easily recognize the insertion position of the jig 26. be able to.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention has been explained in full detail with drawing, the said embodiment is only an illustration of this invention and this invention is not limited only to the structure of the said embodiment. Needless to say, changes in design and the like within the scope of the present invention are included in the present invention.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the example in which the insertion groove 27 is formed in the connecting portion 9 of the lever 7 has been described. However, if the axis in the insertion direction of the jig 26 is the same, the connecting portion 9 is replaced with the insertion groove 27. The lever 7 may be formed with an insertion hole penetrating through in the thickness direction. In the present embodiment, an example in which two insertion grooves 27 are provided at a set interval has been described. However, if the lever 7 can be unlocked by the action of the lever by the jig 26, the number of installation grooves is one. Or three or more may be formed. Further, the jig 26 used in the present embodiment is separated into two forks on the tip side in consideration of operability, and the separated tip is formed in an L shape, but is not limited to this. However, it is possible to use a linear jig or the like although the operability is somewhat reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lever type connector 2 Female connector 3 Male connector 4 Female connector housing 7 Lever 8 Arm plate 9,22 Connection part 11 Cam groove 13 Male connector housing 17 Engagement pin 18 Guide groove 19 Claw part 20 Locking protrusion 26 Jig 27 Insert Groove 28 Excessive displacement prevention protrusion

Claims (2)

A lever is pivotally supported by one connector housing among the one and the other connector housings having fitting ends that fit together,
The lever includes a pair of arm plates that are pivotally supported with the one connector housing interposed therebetween, and a connecting portion that connects the pair of arm plates to each other.
Engagement pins that fit into cam grooves formed in the pair of arm plates are provided on the other connector housing, and the lever is moved to the one side with the engagement pins fitted into the cam grooves. The other connector housing is fitted to the one connector housing, and the lever is turned to the fitting end side of the one connector housing. In the lever-type connector that separates the other connector housing from the one connector housing,
When the lever is rotated to the end position where the one and the other connector housings are fitted to the one connector housing, a claw portion formed on the connecting portion is engaged, and the lever An elastically deformable locking protrusion that is locked in rotation is provided, and the locking protrusion is on the fitting end side of the one connector housing with respect to the connecting portion of the lever disposed at the terminal position. Arranged in the
Insert into which the jig for releasing the engagement state of the claw portion is inserted into the connecting portion by pressing it in the rotating direction from the end position of the lever in a state of being in contact with the locking projection. A lever-type connector provided with a hole or an insertion groove.   The lever-type connector according to claim 1, wherein the locking protrusion is formed in a gate shape having both ends connected to the one connector housing.

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