JP3123421B2 - 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, and more particularly, to a lever-type connector which can be mounted at a predetermined position via a bracket.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In connectors used for automobiles and the like,
While the fitting force increases due to the increase in the number of poles, a lever-type connector having a rotary lever utilizing the leverage principle is used. That is, when the lever is rotated, the lever is used, and a large force is exerted with a small force so that the lever can be fitted and connected to the mating connector. On the other hand, as the number of poles increases and the type of lever becomes larger, the connector itself becomes larger, and it becomes unstable just to hang it between wire harnesses. are doing.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional lever-type connector, the size of the lever-type connector is increased as much as the lever is mounted, which hinders the handling of wiring. Also, since a large force is required to pull the mating connector, the arm portion of the U-shaped lever must be supported by sandwiching it from both sides. Therefore, not only the size is increased by the lever, but also a guide wall for reinforcement is provided, and the size is increased by two.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a lever-type connector which can be multi-polarized and can be prevented from increasing in size.

[0005]

A lever-type connector according to the present invention is provided with a frame-shaped bracket, one of which can be fitted to one another, and which is mounted through one of the openings of the frame-shaped bracket, and the other is mounted on the side. A pair of connector housings fitted and connected to the frame, and a frame-shaped lever piece rotatably supported with respect to the bracket and engaged with the other connector housing by a rotation operation to perform a pull-in operation. When,
The back of the one connector housing on the bracket
And the one connector housing
The connector housing is
Insert to the specified depth from the opening when mounting on the bracket
In the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction
And an engagement protrusion supported on the back side by the shelf.
The lever piece is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the bracket.
It has a feature in the configuration.

[0006]

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the connector housings that can be fitted to each other are inserted from both sides of the frame-shaped bracket, one connector housing is connected to one of the frame-shaped brackets. After being inserted to a predetermined depth from the opening, it is moved in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction and held on the shelf. Since the connector housing is inserted through such a crank-shaped path, the connector housing is supported from the back by the shelf, and does not escape from the position at the predetermined depth to the back. Next, when the other connector housing is brought closer to the one connector housing from the opening on the opposite side of the frame-shaped bracket, and a lever piece rotatably supported with respect to the bracket is rotated, The other connector housing is pulled toward the one connector housing, and the two are fitted and connected. At this time, one connector housing
The force that pulls toward the bracket acts on the
Due to mutual mating resistance, the other connector housing
Force acting to escape in the same direction as the pulling direction
I do. This force increases as the number of terminals increases.
The other connector housing held by the bracket
Acts to drop from the racket. But
According to the present invention, as described above,
Since the housing is received by the shelf,
A socket with a large number of terminals is reliably prevented from falling off the racket.
It can be applied to the nectar as well. Moreover, Leva
-The piece is framed and attached to the inner peripheral surface of the bracket
Therefore, large fitting resistance acts to spread the lever piece.
The bracket itself
Spreading deformation can be suppressed. For this reason, lever piece
If you place the outside of the bracket,
Guide walls outside the bracket to prevent spreading deformation
Side, but according to the present invention,
Disappears.

[0008]

[0009]

As described above, according to the present invention, by mounting the lever piece on the bracket, the connector housing to be routed can be miniaturized, and the fitting operation force can be reduced while facilitating the routing. A simple lever-type connector can be provided. At this time, one connector housing is fixed directly to the bracket, and only the other connector housing is pulled by the lever piece. The fitting connection between the housings becomes inappropriate. On the other hand, in the present invention, the side to be directly fixed is supported from the back side,
The connector housings can be reliably pulled together and connected to each other without coming off. Also, the frame
Lever piece is supported by bracket as body
Therefore, there is no need for a guide wall, and
Can be .

[0010]

[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.

Referring to FIG. 1, the present lever-type connector includes a female connector housing 10 having a rectangular box shape, a male connector housing 20 having a hood portion 21 into which the female connector housing 10 can be inserted, and a male connector connector. It is composed of a frame-shaped bracket 30 to which the housing 20 can be mounted, and a U-shaped lever 40 rotatably mounted on the inner peripheral surface of the frame-shaped bracket 30. A back support mechanism 50 for guiding and fixing the bracket 30 to a predetermined position is formed on the bracket 30.

In the present embodiment, the female connector housing 10 is inserted into the hood portion 21 of the male connector housing 20 for fitting connection. However, a pair of connectors that can be fitted to each other is formed. Any shape may be used. Further, either side may hold the terminal metal fitting on either side of the male and female. The male connector housing 20 previously mounted on the bracket 30 has the hood portion 21 on the upper side and the terminal accommodating portion 22 for holding the terminal fitting on the lower side. The hood part 2
A step 23 is formed such that 1 has a smaller diameter.

On the other hand, the bracket 30 is formed in a frame shape having two frame holes into which the male connector housing 20 can be inserted. The male connector housing 20 is inserted from the lower side of the opening, and the bracket 30 is inserted from the upper side of the opening. The female connector housing 10 is inserted. In the present embodiment, although the bracket 30 has two frame holes,
It is sufficient that a pair of connector housings are mounted from both sides of the frame hole. The number of the connector housings is not limited to two, and can be increased or decreased as appropriate.

On the inner surface of the bracket 30, there is formed a pressing wall portion 51 protruding from the peripheral edge toward the inner periphery so as to have an opening diameter corresponding to the step 23 of the male connector housing 20. Pressing projections 52 are formed on the outer side surface of the male connector housing 20 near the upper end of the outer side surface in the short direction. Therefore, when the male connector housing 20 is inserted from the lower opening, the projections 52, 52 are formed in the same wall portion 51.
, And cannot be inserted beyond a predetermined depth. Here, the wall 51
, The length in the short direction of the hood portion 21 and the length in the short direction of the hood portion 21 are substantially the same, but the length of the opening in the wall portion 51 in the longitudinal direction is slightly smaller than the length of the hood portion 21 in the long direction. It is getting bigger. Therefore, the hood portion 21 is slightly movable in the longitudinal direction within the opening of the wall portion 51. Then, the female connector housing 10 can be received while being moved to the left in the drawing.

On the other hand, three engagement projections 53 are formed at equal intervals at lower end positions of both outer side surfaces in the longitudinal direction of the terminal accommodating portion 22. The engaging projection 53 has an isosceles triangular cross section, and the projection faces upward. In addition, three shelf portions 54 projecting inward in the horizontal direction are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the bracket 30 corresponding to the engagement projections 53. Regarding the positional relationship between each shelf 54 and the engagement protrusion 53,
When the hood portion 21 moves to the left inside the opening of the wall portion 51, the engagement protrusion 53 enters so as to contact the upper surface of the shelf portion 54, and the hood portion 21 moves rightward within the opening of the wall portion 51. When moved, the engagement projection 53 comes off the upper surface of the shelf 54.

Accordingly, the male connector housing 20 is inserted into the bracket 30 while being shifted to the right,
When the projections 52, 52 are inserted to the depth where they abut against the wall 51, the male connector housing 20 is shifted to the left, so that each engagement projection 53 moves to the upper surface side of each shelf 54 and is supported from the back. At the same time, the female connector housing 10 can be inserted into the hood 21. That is, these constitute the back support mechanism 50.

In the present embodiment, the triangular engagement projection 53 moves to the upper surface side of the shelf 54 and is supported on the back side. However, the vertical movement and the horizontal movement are combined. If it can be supported on the back side, it can be constituted by various concave and convex engagements. For example,
As shown in FIG. 2, a cylindrical engaging projection 53 a is formed in place of the triangular engaging projection 53, and an inverted L-shaped groove-shaped shelf 54 a is used instead of the plate-shaped shelf 54. If formed, the engaging protrusion 53a is an L-shaped groove-shaped shelf 54a.
After moving in the same direction and moving in the vertical direction, it strikes and moves in the horizontal direction to be supported on the back. Further, as shown in FIG.
The rear surface may be supported when b and 54b overlap each other.

A pair of shaft support pins 32, 32 facing each other are erected at the center of the inside of the wall surface in the longitudinal direction of the bracket 30, and the arm portions 42, 42 at both ends of the lever 40 formed in a U-shape are provided. Shaft holes 42a, 42a which can be rotatably engaged with the shaft support pins 32, 32 are formed at the distal end. As a result, the lever 40
The base 43 connecting the two arm portions 42, 42 is rotatable in an arc from the upper end of one short side wall surface of the bracket 30 to the upper end of the other short side wall surface.

The distal ends of the arms 42, 42 are provided with cam-like bulging portions 42b, 42b bulging radially around the shaft holes 42a, 42a.
In b and 42b, cam grooves 42c and 42c forming a part of a spiral shape around the coaxial holes 42a and 42a are formed. The cam grooves 42c, 42c have a spiral shape,
One end is close to the shaft holes 42a, 42a, and the other end is opened to the side surface of the arm portion 42 to open the inlet 42.
d, 42d. Here, when the base 43 of the lever 40 is substantially horizontal as shown in FIG. 4, the introduction ports 42d, 42d are located right above the shaft holes 42a, 42a.

Cam pins 11, 11 are provided upright in the middle of the outer surface of the female connector housing 10 so as to correspond to the cam grooves 42c, 42c, and the introduction ports 42d, 42d are formed in the shaft holes 42a, 42a. When the female connector housing 10 is inserted from above the bracket 30 when the female connector housing 10 is open at the top, the cam pins 11, 11 are automatically inserted into the introduction port 42.
d and 42d enter the cam grooves 42c and 42c. When the lever 40 is rotated clockwise around the shaft holes 42a, the spiral cam grooves 42c, 42c are formed.
The cam pins 11, 11 are coaxial holes 42a,
It is drawn to the side of 42a. Therefore, if the male connector housing 20 is mounted on the bracket 30, they will be attracted to each other and united.

In the present embodiment, the lever 40 is formed in a U-shape, and the two arm portions 42 are locked and held on the inner peripheral wall surface of the bracket 30, but the lever 40 itself is not necessarily in the U-shape. It does not need to be so long as it can be engaged with the female connector housing 10 and pulled to fit and connect with the male connector housing 20. Therefore, the outer shape of the bracket 30 is sandwiched,
It can be changed as appropriate such as being formed in a plate shape and rotatably supported on one inner surface of the bracket 30.

In this embodiment, the lever 40
Are formed on the female connector housing 10 and the cam pins 11 are formed on the female connector housing 10. However, any cam mechanism that pulls the female connector housing 10 by rotating the lever 40 can be used. A cam groove may be formed on any side and a cam pin may be formed on any side. Of course, other than the cam mechanism using the cam groove and the cam pin, an arm or a crank may be used to perform the same function. In addition, not only the single lever 40 but also a separate lever piece that engages with and drives each other, and each of which may pull the female connector housing 10 may be used.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described. A harness is formed by attaching a terminal fitting and an electric wire (not shown) to the male connector housing 20 and the female connector housing 10, and the harness is arranged at a predetermined position. At this time,
Since the lever pieces are not mounted on both connector housings 10, 20, the handling is good. A bracket 30 on which a lever 40 is mounted is prepared at a position where the two connector housings 10 and 20 are united, and the male connector housing 20 is mounted on the bracket 30. As described above, when the male connector housing 20 is shifted rightward within a range in which the male connector housing 20 can be inserted into the bracket 30 and inserted from the opening on the lower side, the projections 52 can be inserted to a depth where the projections 52 abut against the wall 51. This state is shown in FIG.
Thereafter, by displacing the male connector housing 20 to the left, each of the engagement protrusions 53 moves to the upper surface side of each of the shelves 54 and is supported from the rear surface, so that the engagement in the rear direction is prevented. This state is shown in FIG.

Thereafter, the female connector housing 10 is faced from above the bracket 30 and inserted into the hood 21 of the male connector housing 20. As described above, if the male connector housing 20 is shifted to the left in the bracket 30, the rear side is supported, and the female connector housing 10 can be inserted into the hood portion 21, but it must be shifted to the left properly. If the engaging projection 53 is not supported on the back side by the shelf 54, the female connector housing 10 cannot be inserted into the hood 21.

The female connector housing 10 is connected to the hood 2
1, the cam pin 11 on the outer surface enters the inlet 42 d which opens upward at the cam-shaped bulging portion 42 b of the lever 40, and when the lever 40 is rotated, a spiral shape is formed. The cam pin 11 is pulled into the shaft hole 42a on the inner peripheral surface of the cam groove 42c, and as shown in FIG.
Are drawn into the hood portion 21 and are united. At the time of merging, as described above, since the male connector housing 20 is supported on the back surface with respect to the bracket 30, the female connector housing 20 is firmly fixed and can be received when the female connector housing 10 is pulled. In the state where the back side is not supported, the female connector housing 1
0 cannot be inserted into the hood portion 21, so that the female connector housing 10 cannot be drawn in a state where the female connector housing 10 is not supported on the back surface.

Thereafter, the bracket 30 is attached to the vehicle body and fixed. As described above, when the female connector housing 10 and the male connector housing 20 that are combined with each other are mounted facing each other from both sides of the frame-shaped bracket 30, the male connector housing 20 mounted on the bracket 30 is moved to a predetermined depth. After being inserted into 30,
When the female connector housing 10 is pulled by rotating the lever 40 rotatably supported on the bracket 30 by moving the lever 40 in the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction and supporting the rear side on the shelf 54, The male connector housing 20 does not come off to the rear side, and the levers are detached from the respective connector housings to make them compact, while the levers can be used to reliably combine them at the combining place with a small force.

[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 view showing a modification of the back support mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another modified example of the back support mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a mounting process of the male connector housing in the lever type connector.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a mounted state of the male connector housing in the lever type connector.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a combined state in the lever-type connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Female side connector housing 11 ... Cam pin 20 ... Male side connector housing 30 ... Bracket 32 ... Axle support pin 40 ... Lever 42c ... Cam groove 50 ... Back support mechanism 51 ... Wall part 52 ... Projection 53 ... Engagement projection 53a ... Engagement Projection 53b: Plate 54: Shelf 54a: Shelf 54b: Plate

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/56-13/72

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A frame-shaped bracket, a pair of connectors which can be fitted to each other, one of which is mounted through one opening of the frame-shaped bracket, and the other of which is fitted and connected to the mounted side. a housing, a frame-like lever <br/> over pieces pulling operation engaged with the second connector housing in rotatably supported by the rotation operation with respect to the bracket, the one on the bracket The connector housing
A shelf provided at the back of the
Connector housing.
Predetermined depth from opening when mounting on the above bracket
At the position where it is inserted up to
And the engaging projection supported on the back by the shelf.
With the lever piece attached to the inner peripheral surface of the bracket
A lever type connector characterized by being made .