JP3070460B2 - Lever connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lever-type connector which is pulled in by a turning operation of a turning lever.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of lever type connector,
The mounting direction of the rotating lever was fixed. Such a rotating lever is operated on one side of the housing, and a play space for the rotating operation is required according to the mounting direction of the rotating lever.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional lever-type connector, a play space is required on one side, and when a narrow space such as an automobile harness must be arranged, a play space is required. There was a problem that operation was sometimes difficult.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a lever-type connector that can be easily operated in any direction even in a narrow place.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a pair of connector housings, and one of the connector housings is rotatable while being sandwiched by a U-shaped rotating lever. The other connector housing and the rotary lever are provided with a cam mechanism including a cam pin and a spiral cam surface, and the lever connector is adapted to pull in each other by the rotary operation of the rotary lever. The moving lever is configured to be attachable to any one of the connector housings by changing the direction in which the moving lever is inserted into the one connector housing.

[0006] The invention according to claim 2 is based on claim 1.
Wherein the connector housing is formed symmetrically in the up-down direction, and an inlet for a cam pin in a spiral cam surface and a shaft support of a rotary lever are formed on a central axis. Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the lever-type connector according to the first or second aspect, the connector housing for holding the rotating lever includes a hood portion for inserting a mating connector housing. A notch is formed in the hood portion from the opening end toward the back at a symmetrical position with respect to the center axis, and the rotating lever includes a flexible piece protruding facing one of the notches. The housing is provided with a rib that enters the cut and pushes out the flexible piece to release the engagement.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the U-shaped pivot lever is pushed open to pinch one of the connector housings to rotatably support the connector housing. When this connector housing and the other connector housing face each other and are brought close to each other, a cam mechanism including a cam pin and a spiral cam surface provided with each other meshes with each other,
The rotation levers are retracted with each other by the rotation operation. When the rotating lever is mounted, the rotating direction of the rotating lever is determined. However, when there is no play space in the rotation direction, the rotation lever is attached to the connector housing from the opposite direction by changing the sandwiching direction. Then, the space required for the rotation operation is reversed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the connector housing is formed symmetrically up and down, and the introduction port of the cam pin in the spiral cam surface and the rotation lever are arranged on the center axis thereof. A shaft support is formed. Therefore, the rotation lever can be mounted from either the upper or lower side with respect to the center axis. Further, in the invention according to claim 3 configured as described above, a hood portion for inserting the mating connector housing into one connector housing is provided, and the rotating lever is supported by sandwiching the hood portion. A cut is formed in this hood portion from the open end toward the back at a symmetrical position with respect to the center axis, and when the mating connector housing is inserted into the hood portion, the rib enters the cutout. I have. On the other hand, the turning lever is provided with a flexible piece protruding facing the notch, and if the rib does not enter the notch, the flexible piece engages with the notch to restrict the turning of the turning lever. I do. However, when the rib enters, the flexible piece is pushed out, so that the engagement is released, and the rotating lever becomes rotatable. Since the cuts are formed symmetrically, even when the rotating lever is attached from the opposite direction, the flexible piece enters and engages, and when the rib enters, the engagement is released.

[0009]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the rotating lever can be mounted in any direction with different pinching directions, the mounting direction of the rotating lever can be appropriately changed according to the operation space, and the present invention can be used in a narrow space. It is possible to provide a lever-type connector that can be easily operated in any direction. According to the second aspect of the present invention,
The pivoting lever can be mounted from either the upper or lower side with respect to the center axis.

Further, according to the invention according to claim 3,
By forming the rib and the notch formed in the connector housing symmetrically, the rotation lever can be locked in a predetermined state or made rotatable regardless of the mounting direction.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a lever-type connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an assembled state of the female connector housing.

In FIG. 1, a male connector housing 1 is shown.
Numeral 0 is formed in a cap shape having a hood portion 11 formed around the front surface, and a male terminal fitting 12 is erected and held on the inner bottom surface. The male connector housing 10 has a substantially rectangular shape which is formed to be long in the horizontal direction and short in the vertical direction. 13 is formed. Further, the cam pins 13 are provided on each surface.
A horizontal rib 14 is formed on the upper side while protruding outward. Note that the front end portion of the rib 14 forms an inclined surface that gradually projects toward the rear side.

The female connector housing 20 includes a terminal accommodating portion 30 for holding a female terminal fitting, and a terminal accommodating portion 30.
And a cover 50 mounted on the rear side of the terminal accommodating portion 30. An annular groove into which the hood section 11 of the male connector housing 10 enters is formed on the front surface of the terminal accommodating section 30, and an inner portion of the groove is an accommodating section for holding the female terminal fitting. Is a hood portion 31 for covering the hood portion 11 from outside.

The terminal accommodating portion 30 is also formed in a substantially rectangular shape which is formed to be long in the horizontal direction and short in the vertical direction, and the short side wall surface of the hood portion 31 is provided with the cam pins 13 of the hood portion 11. And the notches 31a and 31b into which the ribs 14 can be inserted. Cam pin 13
Are formed at the center of the hood portion 31, and the cuts 31b corresponding to the ribs 14 are formed symmetrically on both upper and lower sides of the cut 31a.

The rotary lever 40 is formed in a substantially U-shape sandwiching the hood portion 31 and includes arm portions 41, 41 facing both side surfaces, and a base portion 42 connecting the two arm portions 41, 41. Have been. The arm portions 41, 41 are formed with shaft holes 41a, 41a serving as rotation fulcrums, and the hood portion 31 is formed with shaft support pins 31c, 31c that can be inserted into the shaft holes 41a, 41a. The shaft hole 41a and the shaft support pin 31c constitute a shaft support portion. The coaxial support pins 31c, 31c are not
Like FIG. 1a, it is arranged on the center line in the vertical direction, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rotating lever 40 can be mounted from above or below.

A cam groove 41b engageable with the cam pin 13 as shown in FIG. 5 is formed on the inner surface of the arm portion 41 facing the hood portion 31. The cam groove 41b forms a part of a spiral shape centering on the shaft hole 41a, and has a shape gradually approaching the shaft hole 41a. The farthest end communicates with the side surface of the arm portion 41, and forms an inlet 41b1. That is, initially, as shown in FIG. 1, the rotation lever 40 is set at an angle at which the introduction port 41b1 and the opening of the cutout 31a coincide with each other, and faces the male connector housing 10. When the male connector housing 10 is further moved closer to insert the hood portion 11 inside the hood portion 31, the cam pin 13 enters the notch 31a and enters the cam groove 41b through the introduction port 41b1.
Thereafter, when the rotating lever 40 is rotated, the cam pin 13 is drawn toward the shaft hole 41a along the spiral cam surface, and the male connector housing 10 and the female connector housing 20 are united. As is clear from FIG. 5, when the rotating lever 40 is mounted in the opposite direction, the cam pin 13 is similarly rotated by rotating in the opposite direction, thereby causing the shaft hole 4 to rotate.
It is drawn to the side of 1a.

In the present embodiment, the cam groove is formed on the side of the rotating lever 40 and the cam pin is formed on the side of the male connector housing 10. However, it is sufficient that both forms a cam mechanism. It is easy to form a cam pin on the side of the lever 40 and a cam groove on the side of the male connector housing 10. In this case, the cam pins move up and down in an arc, and the cam grooves formed on the male connector housing 10 side are substantially linear grooves with which the cam pins engage.

On the inner side surface of the arm portion 41, a flexible piece 41c having flexibility inward and outward is also formed. The flexible piece 41c has an engagement projection 41c1 that protrudes inward, and the introduction port 41b1 of the rotating lever 40 is cut into the notch 31a.
The engagement projection 41c1 is formed at a position where it enters one of the cuts 31b in a state corresponding to the opening.
Therefore, before the male connector housing 10 and the female connector housing 20 are united, the engaging projections 41c1 are engaged with the cuts 31b to hold the rotating lever 40 from rotating, as shown in FIG. doing. However, as shown in FIG. 7, when the rib 14 of the male connector housing 10 enters the cut 31b, the engagement protrusion 41c1 is pushed out from the inside, and the rotation lever 40 becomes rotatable. . As described above, such cuts 31b
Is formed in the upper and lower two places to be symmetrical,
When the rotating lever 40 is mounted in the opposite direction, the engaging projection 41c1 of the flexible piece 41c engages with the notch 31b on the opposite side.

The cover 50 can be horizontally slidably mounted on the rear surface of the terminal accommodating portion 30, and has only one surface opened so as to bundle the lead wires in one direction. In the present embodiment, an end portion of the flange portion 32 can be introduced into the cover 50 from the outside in the vertical direction while forming the flange portion 32 extending vertically in the back surface of the terminal housing portion 30. Although the groove 51 is formed and mounted,
The present invention is not limited to the slide type, and can be appropriately changed, for example, by being able to be pushed and mounted. In addition, the lock projections 33 and 3 extend rearward from the upper and lower surfaces of the terminal housing portion 30.
3 are projected horizontally, and bridge portions 52, 52 are formed on the cover 50 side so as to be able to engage with the lock projections 33, 33 when sliding. The bridge portion 52 has two engagement projections 52a, 52a on its outer surface. The two end projections 52a, 52a are supported at both ends so that the central portion is vertically flexible. The lock projection 33 can be locked by sandwiching the tip thereof.

The cover 50 is provided with the bridge 5
Hook-shaped hooks 53, 53 are provided on the upper and lower surfaces further rearward than the hooks 52, 52. 42
a is formed. Regardless of whether the rotation lever 40 is attached from the upper surface or from the lower surface, the hook 53 waits and can be locked. Next, the operation of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described. If there is a sufficient operation space in a place where the male connector housing 10 and the female connector housing 20 are disposed, the rotating lever 40 may be mounted on the terminal housing 30 from an appropriate direction. However, when the terminal housing 3 is disposed in a narrow place, the arms 41, 41 of the rotating lever 40 are pushed open from the side where the play space operable by hand remains.
Set to 0.

A terminal fitting and an electric wire are mounted on each of the male connector housing 10 and the female connector housing 20, and a cover 50 is further mounted on the female connector housing 20. The hood portion 11 of the male connector housing 10 and the hood portion 31 of the terminal accommodating portion 30 of the female connector housing 20 with the two facing each other.
When inserted into the inside, the cam pin 13 enters the inlet 41b1 of the cam groove 41b while entering the cut 31a.
At the same time, the ribs 14 also enter the cuts 31b,
The engaging projection 41c1 of the flexible piece 41c is pushed out from the cut 31b. Then, the rotation lever 40 becomes rotatable,
Rotate in the appropriate direction. Then, the cam pin 13 is drawn toward the shaft hole 41a along the spiral cam groove 41b, and the male connector housing 10 and the female connector housing 20 are united. As described above, the rotation lever 40 itself can be attached to the terminal accommodating portion 30 from above or below, and in any case, when rotated, the cam pin 13 moves to the shaft hole 41a side along the cam groove 41b. Gravitate. At the rotation end position, the hook 53 of the cover 50 and the engagement claw 42a of the rotation lever 40 engage to hold the rotation lever 40 so that it cannot rotate.

As described above, the male connector housing 10
When the female connector housing 20 is provided with a U-shaped rotating lever 40 having a cam groove 41b formed on the inner surface, the rotating lever 40 Is configured to be mounted from any of the upper and lower sides, the position can be appropriately changed according to the operation space, and the operability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a lever connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a female connector housing in an assembled state.

FIG. 3 is a side view when a rotating lever is mounted on the female connector housing from above.

FIG. 4 is a side view when a rotating lever is mounted on the female connector housing from below.

FIG. 5 is a view of an arm portion of the rotating lever as viewed from an inner surface.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the lever connector showing a state before a rib pushes out a flexible piece.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of a lever-type connector showing a process in which a rib pushes out a flexible piece.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Male side connector housing 13 ... Cam pin 14 ... Rib 20 ... Female side connector housing 30 ... Terminal accommodating part 31 ... Hood part 31a, 31b ... Notch 31c ... Bearing pin 40 ... Rotating lever 41 ... Arm part 41a ... Shaft hole 41b cam groove 41b1 introduction port 41c flexible piece 41c1 engagement projection 42 base

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/56-13/72

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A connector housing comprising: a pair of connector housings; and one of the connector housings is rotatably supported while being pinched by a U-shaped rotating lever.
The other connector housing and the rotary lever are provided with a cam mechanism including a cam pin and a spiral cam surface, and the lever type connector is configured to pull in each other by the rotation of the rotary lever. A lever-type connector characterized in that it can be mounted in any direction by inserting the connector into the connector housing in a different direction. 2. The lever-type connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector housing is formed vertically symmetrically, and a cam pin introduction port on a spiral cam surface and a pivot support portion of a rotary lever are formed on a center axis. A lever type connector characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. The lever-type connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connector housing for holding the rotating lever includes a hood portion for inserting a mating connector housing. A notch is formed from the open end toward the back at a symmetrical position with respect to the center axis, and the rotating lever includes a flexible piece protruding facing one of the notches, and the mating connector housing has A lever-type connector comprising a rib which enters into the cut and pushes out the flexible piece to release the engagement.