JP2014207169A - Lever type connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a lever from departing from a housing.SOLUTION: A stopper 24 is provided on a side surface of a housing 10, and a stopper receiving part 67 is provided between a bearing part 63 and a connection part 61, on a side plate 62 of a lever 60. In an assembling process in which the lever 60 proceeds to an initial position, an edge part 69 of the side plate 62 abuts with the stopper 24 for deflection deforming. At the initial position, the stopper receiving part 67 is engaged with the stopper 24, and the lever 60 is regulated from rotating to a side opposite to an engagement position. At both the edge part 69 of the side plate 62 and the stopper 24, abutment surfaces for mutual abutting in the assembling process are provided with guide parts 25, 71 inclined in assembling direction of the lever 60 to the initial position.

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever-type connector.

  The lever-type connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a housing that can be fitted into a mating housing (female connector housing), and a lever that is rotatably attached to the housing in an initial position and a fitting position. I have. The lever has an operation part (connecting part) and a pair of arm parts (side plates) protruding from both ends of the operation part, and has a gate shape as a whole. The lever is mounted so as to straddle the housing, and at the time of mounting, the operation portion is disposed so as to protrude outside the housing. The arm portion has a shaft hole (bearing portion) that is rotatably supported on the side surface of the housing, and has a cam groove that can be engaged with the mating housing. When the lever is in the initial position and the fitting operation of both housings is started, the cam pin of the mating housing enters the cam groove of the arm portion. In this state, when the lever is rotated toward the mating position, the cam pin slides on the groove surface of the cam groove and cam action is exerted, whereby the mating of both housings proceeds. Yes.

JP 2008-258081 A

  In the above case, if the lever-type connector falls to the floor and the operation unit collides with the floor surface with the lever held at the initial position, the lever is on the opposite side to the mating position side due to the impact. There is a risk that the lever will inadvertently come off from the housing.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above situation, and an object thereof is to prevent the lever from being detached from the housing.

  The present invention has a housing that can be fitted to a mating housing, a connecting portion and a pair of side plates that protrude from both ends of the connecting portion, and is mounted so as to straddle the housing, whereby the connecting portion is The side plate has a bearing portion that is rotatably supported on the side surface of the housing and is engaged with the mating housing, with the bearing portion as a center. A lever-type connector having a lever that pulls the mating housing toward the housing side and advances the fitting of both housings by being rotated from the initial position toward the mating position. The side plate is provided with a stopper receiving portion at a position facing the edge of the side plate and between the bearing portion and the connecting portion. In the assembling process toward the initial position, the edge of the side plate is bent and deformed by contacting the stopper, and at the initial position, the edge of the side plate is elastically restored, and the stopper receiving portion is engaged with the stopper. By being stopped, the lever is restricted from rotating from the initial position to the side opposite to the fitting position, and at least one of the edge of the side plate and the stopper is attached in the assembling process. It is characterized in that a guide portion that is inclined along the assembly direction of the lever to the initial position is provided on the contact surface that contacts the other.

  In the process of assembling the lever to the initial position, the guide plate provided at the contact surface of at least one of the edge of the side plate and the stopper smoothly performs the bending operation of the edge of the side plate, ensuring good assembly workability. Is done. On the other hand, when the lever is in the initial position, if an external force is applied to the connecting part that protrudes to the outside of the housing, the stopper receiving part is locked by the stopper, so that the lever rotates to the opposite side of the fitting position. This prevents the lever from being inadvertently detached from the housing. In this case, since the stopper is provided between the bearing portion and the connecting portion of the side plate, the external force acting on the connecting portion is not easily transmitted to the bearing portion side, and the side plate is opened and deformed in a direction away from the housing. Be blocked.

In the lever-type connector of Example 1 of this invention, it is a side view which shows the state by which the lever was kept in the assembly | attachment initial position. It is a side view which shows the state in which the lever was kept in the assembly position (initial position). It is a side view which shows the state by which the lever was kept in the fitting position. It is an expanded sectional view which shows the latching state of the stopper and stopper receiving part in FIG. It is a side view of a housing. It is a front view of a housing.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown below.
The guide portion is provided on the contact surface of both the edge of the side plate and the stopper. By the guide portions provided on both contact surfaces, the assembly resistance of the lever is greatly reduced, and the assembly workability is further improved.

  A stopper groove extending in the rotation direction of the lever is provided on the inner surface of the side plate, the stopper receiving portion is provided at one end of the stopper groove, and the stopper is fitted into the stopper groove at the initial position. It is like that. Since the stopper receiving portion is provided at one end of the stopper groove and one end of the stopper groove faces the edge of the side plate, the formation region of the edge of the side plate can be kept small, and the assembly resistance of the lever can be further reduced. . Further, the rotation range of the lever can be defined by the stopper groove.

<Example 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The lever-type connector of the first embodiment includes a housing 10 that can be fitted into a mating housing (not shown), and a lever 60 that is rotatably mounted on the housing 10. In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the mutual fitting surface side of the housing 10 and the counterpart housing is the front.

  The housing 10 is made of synthetic resin, and is configured as one part of a panel mounting type connector that is attached to the panel 90 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the housing 10 has a vertically long shape as a whole, and includes a block-shaped housing body 11 and a cylindrical hood portion 12 that protrudes forward from the front edge of the housing body 11. doing. The housing body 11 can be fitted in a mounting hole 91 (see FIG. 3) that opens in the panel 90. A plurality of locking claws 13 protrude from the upper and lower sides of the outer periphery of the housing body 11, and a flange portion 14 is provided in the circumferential direction so as to extend behind the locking claws 13. As shown in FIG. 3, when the housing main body 11 is fitted in the mounting hole 91 of the panel 90, the flange portion 14 faces the opening edge of the mounting hole 91 on the rear surface side of the panel 90, and Each locking claw 13 is elastically locked to the opening edge of the mounting hole 91 on the front side, and the housing body 11 is held by the panel 90.

  A plurality of cavities 15 are formed in the housing body 11 as shown in FIG. A deflectable lance 16 is provided on the inner wall of each cavity 15. A terminal fitting 50 shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into each cavity 15 from the rear, and the normally inserted terminal fitting 50 is elastically retained by the lance 16. The terminal fitting 50 is configured as a male terminal that is connected to the terminal portion of the electric wire 40 at the rear and has a male tab 51 protruding forward.

  A mating housing (not shown) can be fitted into the hood portion 12. In the hood portion 12, male tabs 51 are arranged so as to protrude from the respective cavities 15, and each male tab 51 is electrically connected to a female terminal (not shown) accommodated in the mating housing in accordance with the mating with the mating housing. To be connected to.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a pair of shaft portions 17 are provided on the outer surfaces of both side walls of the hood portion 12 at positions close to the housing body 11. The shaft portion 17 has a substantially cylindrical shaft main body 18 protruding from the outer surface of the hood portion 12 and a pair of retaining pieces 19 projecting from the protruding end of the shaft main body 18 in both the front and rear directions. The shaft portion 17 can be fitted to a later-described bearing portion 63 of the lever 60.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a pair of introduction grooves 21 that extend in the front-rear direction and open to the front end of the hood portion 12 are provided on both side walls of the hood portion 12. Further, a pair of entry grooves 22 that extend in the front-rear direction and open to the front end of the hood portion 12 are provided at the upper end portions of both side walls of the hood portion 12. The entry groove 22 is a narrow groove having a shorter front-rear length and a smaller groove width than the introduction groove 21. When the two housings are fitted, a cam pin (not shown) of the mating housing is inserted into the introduction groove 21, and a release piece (not shown) of the mating housing is inserted into the entry groove 22.

  On the outer surface of the side wall of the hood portion 12, a temporary locking portion 23 is provided in line with the entry groove 22 immediately above the entry groove 22. The temporary locking portion 23 has a rib shape extending in the front-rear direction and facing the front end of the hood portion 12. As will be described later, when the lever 60 is in the initial position, it is restricted that the lever 60 is rotated to the fitting position side by the locking piece 72 of the lever 60 being locked to the temporary locking portion 23. It has come to be.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, stoppers 24 are provided on the outer surfaces of both side walls of the hood portion 12 immediately after the entry groove 22 and the temporary locking portion 23. The stopper 24 has a substantially rectangular protrusion shape that is inclined obliquely with respect to the front-rear direction. The surface of the stopper 24 that faces obliquely downward and forward can be brought into contact with a stopper receiving portion 67, which will be described later, in the process of assembling the lever 60, and can be rotated to an assembly position (initial position), which will be described later. A tapered housing-side guide portion 25 (guide portion) that is inclined so as to gradually protrude outward along the moving direction (see FIG. 4). Further, the surface of the stopper 24 that faces obliquely upward and rearward is a locking portion 26 that cuts in the width direction so as to be along a direction substantially orthogonal to the rotation direction to the assembly position (initial position) of the lever 60.

  Next, the lever 60 will be described. The lever 60 is made of a synthetic resin and has a plate shape. The connecting portion 61 extends in the width direction, and a pair of side plates 62 project substantially parallel to each other from both ends of the connecting portion 61 in the width direction. And have. As shown in FIG. 1, the both side plates 62 are provided with a pair of bearing portions 63 at positions separated from the connecting portion 61. The bearing portion 63 is configured to penetrate the side plate 62 in the plate thickness direction, and the shaft body receiving portion 64 to which the shaft body 18 of the shaft portion 17 can be fitted and the retaining piece 19 to which the retaining piece 19 of the shaft portion 17 can be fitted. And a single receiving portion 65. The shaft body receiving portion 64 is configured to open in a substantially circular shape on the side plate 62, and the retaining piece receiving portion 65 is configured to be recessed in a substantially rectangular shape on both sides of the shaft body receiving portion 64. Further, the both side plates 62 are provided with a pair of cam grooves 66 that extend in a predetermined direction and open to the front end of the side plate 62 at a position close to the bearing portion 63. Both cam grooves 66 are bottomed grooves that do not open to the outer surfaces of the side plates 62.

  The lever 60 is centered on the bearing portion 63 into which the shaft portion 17 is fitted, with respect to the housing 10, the assembly initial position shown in FIG. 1, the assembly position shown in FIG. 2 (initial position), and the fitting position shown in FIG. 3. Can be sequentially rotated. In the initial assembly position, the connecting portion 61 is disposed so as to protrude greatly in front of the housing 10, the retaining piece 19 is disposed at a position corresponding to the retaining piece receiving portion 65, and the side plate 62 comes out of the housing 10. Permissible. In the assembly position (initial position), the connecting portion 61 is disposed so as to protrude small in front of the housing 10, and the retaining piece 19 is disposed on the outer surface side of the side plate 62 so as to be separated from the retaining piece receiving portion 65. The 62 is restricted from coming out of the housing 10. Further, in the fitting position, the connecting portion 61 is disposed so as to protrude slightly above the housing 10 and is held against the step portion 27 formed on the outer surface of the housing 10, and the retaining piece 19 is disposed on the outer surface side of the side plate 62. Maintained.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of side plates 62 that can be locked to the stopper 24 is disposed between the bearing portion 63 and the connecting portion 61 and near the rear end of the side plate 62. A stopper receiving portion 67 is provided. Further, a pair of stopper grooves 68 extending in an arc shape (an arc centered on the bearing portion 63) along the rotation direction of the lever 60 are provided on the inner surfaces of the both side plates 62. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the stopper receiving portion 67 is a wall surface that closes one end of the stopper groove 68 (the rear end of the stopper groove 68 when the lever 60 is in the initial position and the fitting position), The side plate 62 is disposed at a position facing the edge portion 69 (the rear end portion of the side plate 62 when the lever 60 is in the initial position and the fitting position). The other end of the stopper groove 68 (the front end of the stopper groove 68 when the lever 60 is in the initial position and the fitting position) is closed at a position close to the entrance side of the cam groove 66.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the stopper groove 68 is a bottomed groove that does not open on the outer surface of the side plate 62, and has a depth larger than the protruding dimension of the stopper 24 so that the stopper 24 can be fitted inside. have. And the stopper receiving part 67 is made into the form which cuts in the width direction so that the rotation direction of the lever 60 may be met along the direction substantially orthogonal to the latching | locking part 26 of the stopper 24 so that it can face.

  Further, the edge 69 of the side plate 62 is formed within the thickness range of the side plate 62 between one end of the side plate 62 and the stopper receiving portion 67. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the edge portion 69 of the side plate 62 has a circular arc shape along the rotation direction of the lever 60 and is arranged continuously with the stopper groove 68. It has a length of about 1/5 or less of the extension length. As shown in FIG. 4, one end of the edge portion 69 of the side plate 62 is located on the opposite side of the stopper receiving portion 67 and can be brought into contact with the stopper 24 in the assembling process. A tapered lever-side guide portion 71 (guide portion) that inclines so as to gradually recede inward along the rotation direction to the position (initial position). The lever side guide portion 71 has substantially the same inclination angle as that of the housing side guide portion 25 and has substantially the same inclination length as that of the housing side guide portion 25.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the side plate 62 is provided with a pair of locking pieces 72 between the stopper groove 68 and the connecting portion 61. The locking piece 72 can be deformed inward and outward between the U-shaped slits 73 placed in the side plate 62, and is disposed along the front-rear direction when the lever 60 is in the assembly position (initial position). (See FIG. 2).

Next, the assembly work of the lever 60 and the connector fitting work of the lever-type connector of Example 1 will be described.
When the lever 60 is assembled, as shown in FIG. 1, the lever 60 is attached to the housing 10 so as to straddle from the front. Then, the shaft portion 17 of the housing 10 is fitted into the bearing portion 63 of the lever 60, and the lever 60 is retained at the initial assembly position. Subsequently, the lever 60 is rotated toward the assembly position (initial position) while grasping the connecting portion 61.

  Immediately before the lever 60 reaches the assembly position (initial position), the edge 69 of the side plate 62 contacts the stopper 24, and the lever side guide portion 71 of the side plate 62 smoothly slides on the housing side guide portion 25 of the stopper 24. Then, the edge 69 of the side plate 62 is bent and deformed so as to bulge outward. When the lever 60 reaches the assembly position (initial position), the edge 69 of the side plate 62 is elastically restored. At the same time, the stopper 24 is fitted into the stopper groove 68, and the locking portion 26 of the stopper 24 is received by the stopper. It arrange | positions so that latching to the part 67 is possible (refer FIG. 4). Therefore, when the locking portion 26 of the stopper 24 abuts against the stopper receiving portion 67, the lever 60 is restricted from rotating in the direction returning from the assembly position (initial position) to the assembly initial position. . Further, the locking piece 72 of the lever 60 elastically locks the temporary locking portion 23 of the housing 10, whereby the lever 60 is rotated from the assembly position (initial position) to the fitting position. Be regulated. Further, at the assembly position (initial position), the entrance of the cam groove 66 is arranged facing the front while communicating with the introduction groove 21 (see FIG. 2).

  By the way, in the state where the lever 60 is held at the assembly position (initial position) as described above, an external force (falling to the floor surface, etc.) acts on the connecting portion 61 protruding outside the housing 10, When the lever 60 returns to the initial assembly position, the side plate 62 is opened and deformed, the shaft portion 17 is detached from the bearing portion 63, and the lever 60 may fall off the housing 10. However, according to the first embodiment, the stopper 24 is locked to the stopper receiving portion 67, so that the return movement of the lever 60 to the initial assembly position is restricted, so that the lever 60 is effectively prevented from falling off. The

  Subsequently, when the mating housing is inserted into the hood portion 12 of the housing 10 in a state where the lever 60 is held at the assembly position (initial position), the cam pin of the mating housing is inserted into the lever 60 via the introduction groove 21. Enter the entrance of the cam groove 66. Further, the release piece of the mating housing comes into contact with the locking piece 72 through the entry groove 22, and the locking piece 72 is pressed by the release piece to bend and deform in a direction to release the locked state with the temporary locking portion 23. Be made. In this state, when the lever 60 is rotated toward the fitting position while grasping the connecting portion 61, the cam pin slides on the groove surface of the cam groove 66, and the cam action is generated between the lever 60 and the counterpart housing. The mating housing is drawn into the housing 10 with a low fitting force. Thus, when the lever 60 reaches the fitting position, the cam pin reaches the back end side of the cam groove 66, and both housings are held in the fitted state. Further, at the fitting position, the terminal fittings of both housings are conductively connected in a normal state. In the process in which the lever 60 moves from the assembly position (initial position) to the fitting position, the lever 60 rotates to relatively displace the stopper 24 in the stopper groove 68, and at the fitting position of the lever 60. The stopper 24 is disposed so as to be able to contact the other end of the stopper groove 68. Thus, the stopper 24 locks the other end of the stopper groove 68, so that further rotation of the lever 60 reaching the fitting position is restricted.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, at the time of assembling to the assembling position (initial position), the edge 69 of the side plate 62 is supported by the edge 69 of the side plate 62 and the both guide portions 25 and 71 of the stopper 24. The bending operation is performed smoothly and good assembly workability is ensured. In addition, when the lever 60 is in the assembly position (initial position) and an external force is applied to the connecting portion 61 protruding to the outside of the housing 10, the stopper receiving portion 67 is locked to the stopper 24. Is restricted from rotating to the side opposite to the fitting position, so that a situation where the lever 60 is inadvertently detached from the housing 10 is prevented. In this case, since the stopper 24 is provided between the bearing portion 63 and the connecting portion 61, an external force acting on the connecting portion 61 is hardly transmitted to the bearing portion 63 side, and the side plate 62 is detached from the housing 10. Opening deformation is prevented. Further, the locking region between the stopper receiving portion 67 and the stopper 24 is not affected by the inclined shape of the both guide portions 25 and 71, so that the locking reliability is not impaired.

  In addition, since the stopper receiving portion 67 is provided at one end of the stopper groove 68 and one end of the stopper groove 68 faces the edge 69 of the side plate 62, the formation region of the edge 69 of the side plate 62 can be kept small, and the lever 60 Assembling resistance can be further reduced. Further, the rotation range of the lever 60 is defined by the stopper groove 68.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the first embodiment described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following aspects are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) At least one of the stopper groove and the cam groove may be configured to penetrate the side plate.
(2) The housing to which the lever is attached may be a female housing in which a female terminal fitting is accommodated.
(3) The lever side plate may be provided with a known lever type or rack and pinion type structure instead of the cam groove.
(4) The guide portion may be provided only on the contact surface of one of the edge portion of the side plate and the stopper.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Housing 17 ... Shaft part 24 ... Stopper 25 ... Housing side guide part (guide part)
26 ... Locking portion 60 ... Lever 61 ... Connecting portion 62 ... Side plate 63 ... Bearing portion 66 ... Cam groove 67 ... Stopper receiving portion 68 ... Stopper groove 69 ... Edge portion 71 ... Lever side guide portion (guide portion)

Claims (3)

A housing that can be fitted into the mating housing;
It has a pair of side plates protruding from both ends of the connecting portion and the connecting portion, and is mounted so as to straddle the housing so that the connecting portion protrudes outside the housing, The side plate has a bearing portion rotatably supported on the side surface of the housing, and rotates from the initial position toward the fitting position around the bearing portion in a state of being engaged with the counterpart housing. A lever-type connector comprising a lever that pulls the mating housing toward the housing and advances the fitting of both housings,
A stopper is provided on a side surface of the housing, and a stopper receiving portion is provided on the side plate at a position facing the edge of the side plate and between the bearing portion and the coupling portion.
In the assembling process of the lever toward the initial position, the edge of the side plate is bent and deformed by contacting the stopper, and at the initial position, the edge of the side plate is elastically restored, and the stopper receiving portion is Locking the stopper to restrict the lever from rotating from the initial position to the opposite side of the fitting position, and
At least one of the edge portion of the side plate and the stopper is provided with a guide portion that is inclined along the assembly direction of the lever to the initial position on the contact surface that contacts the other in the assembly process. Lever type connector.   The lever-type connector according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion is provided on the contact surface of both the edge portion of the side plate and the stopper.   A stopper groove extending in the rotation direction of the lever is provided on the inner surface of the side plate, the stopper receiving portion is provided at one end of the stopper groove, and the stopper is fitted into the stopper groove at the initial position. The lever-type connector according to claim 1, wherein the lever-type connector is configured as described above.

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