JP3317628B2 - Low insertion / extraction force 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 low insertion / extraction force connector for connecting and disconnecting a pair of female and male housings facing each other by rotating a cam member having a lever portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various types of low insertion / extraction force connectors are known in the art.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 5 (2005) No. 5 is generally known.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional low insertion / extraction force connector, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view at the start of connection in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a conventional low insertion / extraction force connector 31 has cam drive pins 34 on both sides of an outer peripheral wall of one male housing 33 of female / male housings 32,33.
Provided on both sides of the outer peripheral wall of the other female housing 32.
And a cam member 36 rotatably supported by the support shaft 35 and having a pair of lever portions 37 having a pair of cam grooves 38 for fitting and guiding the cam drive pins 34 and connected by a top plate 39. A locking mechanism 40 provided for locking the cam member 36 rotated when the female / male housings 32 and 33 are connected, and a leaf spring 41 for urging the cam member 36 in the release direction. Provided.

More specifically, the locking mechanism 40 includes a pair of locking pieces 4 provided on the inner surface of the top plate 39 of the cam member 36.
2, a pair of locking projections 43 provided on the upper surface of the male housing 33, a pair of flexible locking pieces 45 having the locking projections 43 at the rear and having a knob 44 at the rear free end;
The front end of the flexible locking piece 45 is supported and the male housing 3
3 and a rising substrate 46 erected on the upper surface. A pair of pin guide grooves 47 are provided on the inner surface of the rear end of the female housing 32 to guide the cam drive pins 34 to the opening 38a at the lower end of the cam groove 38. Furthermore, large and small terminal accommodating chambers 4 for accommodating terminals are provided at the front and rear ends of the female / male housings 32 and 33, respectively.
8, 49 are provided in plurality. In addition, rubber stoppers 50 are provided in these terminal accommodating chambers 48 and 49 to prevent water from entering from electric wires connected to external devices.

In the conventional low insertion / extraction force connector 31 having the above-described structure, the cam member 36 is inclined upward with respect to the female housing 32 by the urging force of the leaf spring 41, that is, the opening 38a of the cam groove 38 is male. Since the housing 33 is held in the direction of the cam drive pin 34, the fitting operation to the male housing 33 is started. Next, when the male housing 33 is fitted into the female housing 32 from its front end, the cam drive pin 34 is guided by the pin guide groove 47 and then caught by the opening 38 a of the cam groove 38.

[0006] As shown in FIG.
When the cam member 36 is rotated about the support shaft 35 in the direction of the arrow (left side in the figure) so that the rear end of the top plate 39 and the rear end of the top plate 39 are also gripped by the terminal accommodating chamber 49 of the male housing 33, the rotation is completed. The cam drive pin 34 moves to the back of the cam groove 38 with the movement. With this movement, the male housing 33 moves in the fitting direction with respect to the female housing 32,
The male housing 33 can be completely fitted and connected to the female housing 32 with low insertion force.

The locking piece 42 of the locking mechanism 40 is locked by the locking projection 43 so that the female / male housing 3 is locked.
Connections 2 and 33 are completed. Since the flexible locking piece 45 bends inward as a cantilever with the front end fixed, the locking projection 43 can easily lock the locking piece 42.
At this time, if the above-described insertion force is released before the locking piece 42 of the locking mechanism 40 is locked by the locking projection 43, the leaf spring 41
The cam member 36 is rotated upward by the urging force of FIG.
As a result, incomplete fitting is prevented.

Next, the connected female and male housings 32,
In order to disengage 33, when the knob 44 is pressed from both sides, the flexible locking piece 45 bends inwardly, and the locking piece 42 of the locking mechanism 40 is moved from the locking projection 43 by the urging force of the leaf spring 41. It is released. By this release, the cam member 36 is released by the elastic force of the leaf spring 41 (rightward direction in FIG. 8).
When the cam drive pin 34 moves to the vicinity of the opening of the cam groove 38 in the opposite direction to that at the time of fitting, the female / male housings 32 and 33 move in the disengaging direction. Thus, by pulling out the male housing 33 lightly, the female / male housing 3 is removed.
2, 33 can be easily detached.

Incidentally, the urging force of the leaf spring 41 is weak,
If the frictional force between the cam groove 38 and the cam drive pin 34 is large and cannot return to the position just before the detachment, the cam member 3
The female / male housings 32, 33 can be pulled out and removed with a small force by applying a turning force to the rear end of the top plate 39 of FIG. Therefore, operability can be improved in combination with the small fitting force of the female / male housings 32 and 33 described above.

[0010]

However, in the conventional low insertion / extraction force connector described above, when the connector is mounted in a state of being exposed at the bottom of a vehicle or the like, the female / male is exposed to a stepping stone or a high-pressure washing liquid from below. There are problems such as damage to the housing, reduced waterproofness, and falling off of the rubber stopper.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a low-insertion-force connector capable of reliably preventing a housing from being damaged by a stepping stone or a high-pressure washing liquid from below and a rubber plug from falling off. To provide.

[0012]

The object of the present invention is to provide a low-insertion-force connector according to claim 1, wherein cam driving pins are provided on both sides of one outer peripheral wall of the female / male housing, and the other outer peripheral wall of the other housing is provided. A cam member having a pair of cam grooves rotatably supported on the support shaft and fitted and guided by the cam drive pins, and wherein the female and male housings rotate the cam member. In a low insertion / extraction force connector including a locking mechanism for locking the cam member when connected by an operation, and an elastic member for biasing the cam member, the cam member is located below the other housing. position to and covers the lower portion of the other housing when connecting the completion of the male and female housings, the other Howe
Remove the waterproof plug fitted into the terminal accommodation chamber
The problem can be solved by a low insertion / extraction force connector characterized by being disposed so as to close .

According to the low insertion / extraction force connector having the above-described configuration, the insertion force and the pull-out / removal force required for fitting the female / male housing are suppressed by the action of the cam groove of the cam member and the cam drive pin of the one housing. be able to. Further, since the cam member covers the lower surface of the female-male housing, the entry of such damage or water by flying stones and high pressure cleaning liquid from the lower can be reliably prevented, with reduction of maintenance during maintenance, durability It is possible to obtain a low insertion / extraction force connector which is excellent in reliability and high in reliability.

[0014] According to the low insertion force connector of the configuration described above above, end cam member is provided on the other housing rear portion
It is arranged to close the waterproof plug inserted into the child accommodation room
When the female and male housings are completely mated,
Since covering the rear end of the waterproof plug the cam member is fitted into the terminal accommodating chamber, missing after the waterproof plug is reliably prevented, the waterproof property can be further improved.

[0015]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a low insertion / extraction force connector according to the present invention; FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a low insertion / extraction force connector according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cam member in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a development view in FIG. 2, and FIGS. 1
FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the low insertion / extraction force connector 1 of the present embodiment is provided with cam drive pins 4 on both sides of an outer peripheral wall of one female housing 2 of female / male housings 2 and 3, and the other is provided with cam driving pins 4. A support shaft 5 is provided on both sides of the outer peripheral wall of the male housing 3, the support shaft 5 is rotatably supported by a support hole 19, and a pair of lever portions 7 having a cam groove 8 for inserting and guiding the cam drive pin 4. And the cam member 6 connected to the bottom plate 9.

The low insertion / extraction force connector 1 has a locking mechanism 10 provided for locking the cam member 6 rotated when the female / male housings 2 and 3 are connected.
A leaf spring 11, which is an elastic member that rotates the cam member 6 to urge the cam member 6 in the release direction, is provided. This cam member 6
It is arranged below the other male housing 3 and covers the lower and side surfaces of the male housing 3 when the fitting of the female and male housings 2 and 3 is completed. The cam member 6 is made of a high-strength material such as a metal or a hard synthetic resin. When the cam member 6 is formed from a metal plate, it is punched into a shape as shown in FIG. A cam member 6 as shown in FIG. 2 can be formed.

Further, when the female / male housings 2 and 3 are in the connected state, the rear end plate 12 which is the rear end member of the cam member 6 is provided.
Is a terminal accommodating chamber 13 provided at the rear end of the other male housing 3.
It is provided so as to close the rubber plug 14 as a waterproof plug fitted in the. In addition, the rear end plate 12 is provided with an escape groove 15 for passing an electric wire W connected to a female terminal (not shown) in the terminal accommodating chamber 13. The locking mechanism 1
0 is a locking hole 16 provided in the lever portion 7 of the cam member 6.
And a locking projection 17 provided on the outer peripheral wall of the male housing 3 to be engaged with the locking hole 16. Further, a male terminal 18 connected to the female terminal protrudes inside the front end of the female housing 2.

In the low insertion / extraction force connector of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, as shown in FIG. 4, the cam member 6 is inclined with respect to the male housing 3 by the urging force of the leaf spring 11, that is, as shown in FIG. Since the opening 8a of the cam groove 8 is held in the direction of the cam drive pin 4 of the female housing 2, the fitting operation to the female housing 2 is started as it is.

Next, when the front end of the male housing 3 is fitted into the female housing 2 as shown in FIG.
Is captured by the opening 8a of the cam groove 8, and the inclination of the cam member 6 is slightly reduced. In this state, when the lever 7 and the rear end of the bottom plate 9 are gripped together with the terminal accommodating chamber 13 of the male housing 3 and are turned around the support shaft 5 in the direction of the arrow, the rotation is accompanied by the turning. As a result, the cam drive pin 4 moves to the back of the cam groove 8. With this movement, the male housing 3 can be fitted and connected to the female housing 2 with a small fitting force. The cam member 6 is engaged with the male housing 3 by locking the locking hole 16 of the locking mechanism 10 with the locking projection 17 as shown in FIG.
The fitting connection between the female and male housings is completed.

At this time, if the above-mentioned gripping force is released before the locking hole 16 of the locking mechanism 10 is locked by the locking projection 17, the cam member 6 is turned downward by the urging force of the leaf spring 11. The operation is returned from the state shown in FIG. 5 to the state shown in FIG. Therefore, since the incomplete fitting is reliably prevented, the reliability of the low insertion / extraction force connector can be improved. Further, when the female / male housings 2 and 3 are in a completely fitted state, the cam member 6 covers the lower surface and side surfaces of the male housing 3. Therefore, the female and male housings 2 and 3 are reliably prevented from entering from a stepping stone or a high-pressure cleaning liquid from below, and the female and male housings 2 and 3 may be damaged,
Water and the like do not enter the female and male housings 2 and 3. Therefore, the maintenance work at the time of maintenance can be reduced, and a low insertion / extraction force connector excellent in durability and reliability can be obtained, and an economic effect can be expected.

When the female and male housings 2 and 3 are completely fitted as shown in FIG. 1, the rear end plate 12 of the cam member 6 covers the rear end of the rubber plug 14 of the terminal accommodating chamber 13. As a result, the rubber plug 14 is reliably prevented from falling off, and the reliability of the low insertion / extraction force connector 1 is further improved. Although the lower surface of the female housing 2 is not strictly covered with the cam member 6, the female housing 2 is fixed to the vehicle body side, so that the female housing 2 is often made of a hard synthetic resin or the like. Can be minimized.

Next, the connected female and male housings 2, 3
When the lever portion 7 near the locking hole 16 is pushed open, the locking hole 16 is released from the locking projection 17 by the urging force of the leaf spring 11 and the cam member 6 is rotated. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, the female / male housings 2 and 3 are almost automatically returned to the position just before the detachment. Therefore, by pulling out the male housing 3 slightly, the female / male housings 2 and 3 can be completely separated.

The urging force of the leaf spring 11 is weak,
If the frictional force between the cam groove 8 and the cam drive pin 4 is large and cannot return to the position just before the detachment, the rear end portion of the lever 7 is slightly rotated downward by a finger or the like, and a small force is applied. The female / male housings 2, 3 can be pulled out and separated. Therefore, the above-mentioned female / male housings 2, 3
A low insertion / extraction force connector excellent in operability can be obtained in combination with the low mutual fitting force.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be embodied in other modes by making appropriate changes. For example, in the present embodiment, the female housing 2 is fixed to the vehicle body and the like, and the cam member 6 is provided on the male housing 3 side. However, the male housing 3 is fixed to the vehicle body and the like. Alternatively, the cam member 6 may be provided on the female housing 2 side. When the rigidity of the lever portion 7 near the locking hole 16 is large and it is difficult to bend, the locking hole 16 can be replaced with a locking projection and the locking projection 17 can be replaced with a locking receiving portion.

[0025]

As described above, according to the low-insertion-force connector of the first aspect of the present invention, the cam member is located below the other housing, and when the connection of the female / male housing is completed, the cam member is closed. covering the lower part, the other Howe
Remove the waterproof plug fitted into the terminal accommodation chamber
It is arranged to close . Therefore, by the action of the cam groove of the cam member and the cam drive pin of one housing,
The insertion force for fitting and connecting the female and male housings and the detaching force for pulling out the female and male housings can be kept low. Also,
The cam member covers the lower surface of the female-male housing,
It can reliably prevent damage to the housing and intrusion of water, etc. due to stepping stones or high-pressure cleaning liquid from below, so that maintenance work during maintenance can be reduced, and a durable and highly reliable low insertion / extraction connector can be obtained. And economic benefits can be expected.

Further, when the male and female housings are completely fitted is disposed so as to cover the rear end of the waterproof plug cam member is fitted into the terminal receiving chamber, the exit after the waterproof plug As a result, the reliability of the connector with low insertion / extraction force can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing one embodiment of a low insertion / extraction force connector of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cam member in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a development view in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view showing a state before fitting in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view showing a state during fitting in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view showing a state of completion of fitting in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a conventional low insertion / extraction force connector.

8 is a longitudinal sectional view at the start of connection in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 low insertion / extraction force connector 2 female housing 3 male housing 4 cam drive pin 5 support shaft 6 cam member 8 cam groove 10 locking mechanism 11 leaf spring (elastic member) 12 rear end plate (rear end member) 13 terminal accommodating chamber 14 rubber Plug (waterproof plug) 16 Lock hole 17 Lock projection

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cam drive pin is provided on both sides of one housing outer peripheral wall of a female / male housing, and a support shaft is provided on both sides of the other housing outer peripheral wall, and the cam drive is rotatably supported by the support shaft. A cam member having a pair of cam grooves for inserting and guiding a pin, a locking mechanism for locking the cam member when the female / male housing is connected by rotating the cam member, and in the low insertion force connector comprising an elastic member for urging the cam member, covers the lower portion of the other housing to and at the time of connection completion of the male and female housings position the cam member is below the other housing Together with after the other housing
Close the waterproof plug inserted into the terminal chamber at the end
A low insertion / extraction force connector characterized by being disposed in a connector.