JP3988984B2 - Lever type connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a lever-type connector, and more particularly, to improve workability of terminal insertion work into a connector housing.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 7 shows a conventional general lever-type connector. This lever-type connector 1 can be rotated with a connector housing 2 that can accommodate a terminal fitting T inserted from a terminal insertion surface 2a on the back surface, and pins 2b projecting between both sides of the connector housing 2 as rotation fulcrums. And a U-shaped lever 3 to be assembled to the body. Then, the cam pin of the mating connector housing is engaged with the cam groove 3a formed inside the lever 3, and the mating connector housing is pulled in by rotating the lever 3 to the terminal insertion surface 2a side. It is comprised so that it can fit. Furthermore, in a state where the mating with the mating connector housing is completed, a lock provided at the center portion of the lever 3 with respect to the locking portion 4 protruding rearward at the upper center of the terminal insertion surface 2a in order to maintain the posture. By locking the claw 5, the lever 3 is restricted from turning in the return direction.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As shown in FIGS. 8 (A) and 8 (B), the lever-type connector 1 having the above-described configuration has a large terminal accommodating chamber 6 and a small terminal accommodating chamber 7 respectively corresponding to terminal fittings T1 and T2 of different sizes. There is something to be accommodated in. In such a lever-type connector 1, when the small terminal accommodating chamber 7 is disposed near the protruding position of the locking portion 4 for locking the lever 3, the locking portion 4 becomes a hindrance and becomes small. It may be difficult to insert the terminal fitting into the terminal accommodating chamber 7.
[0004]
That is, with the miniaturization of the lever-type connector 1, a very small terminal fitting T2 is adopted, and the electric wire W2 to be crimped to the terminal fitting T2 is also very thin. For this reason, when it is going to insert a terminal with the part of the electric wire W2, the electric wire W2 is bent and it becomes difficult to insert the terminal. On the other hand, if it is inserted with a part close to the terminal metal fitting T2, Interferes with the insertion operation. When the lever-type connector 1 is waterproof, it is necessary to insert a terminal fitting T2 with a waterproof rubber stopper R having a larger insertion resistance, and the insertion operation of the small terminal fitting T2 becomes more difficult. .
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to improve the workability of inserting a small terminal fitting in a lever-type connector.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To solve the above problems, the present invention, a connector housing which projects the locking portion into the terminal insertion surface, with pivotally mounted between both side walls in the width direction of the connector housing, to the locking portion On the other hand, in a lever-type connector provided with a U-shaped lever provided with a lock claw that can be elastically engaged and disengaged ,
The connector housing includes a large terminal accommodating chamber and a small terminal accommodating chamber capable of accommodating at least two types of large and small terminal fittings inserted from the terminal insertion surface, and the large terminal accommodating chamber and the small terminal. The accommodating chamber has a cylindrical portion projecting from the terminal insertion surface side, the protruding dimension of the cylindrical portion of the large terminal accommodating chamber is larger than the protruding dimension of the cylindrical portion of the small terminal accommodating chamber, and The large terminal accommodating area in which the large terminal accommodating chamber is disposed and the small terminal accommodating area in which the small terminal accommodating chamber is disposed are divided in the width direction of the connector housing, and the large terminal accommodating area is small in size. The boundary part with the terminal accommodating area is unevenly distributed on the large terminal accommodating area side from the center in the width direction of the connector housing ,
The lever locking mechanism composed of the locking portion and the lock claw is arranged to be unevenly distributed on the large terminal accommodating region side where the large terminal accommodating chamber is disposed , and is not provided on the small terminal accommodating region side. A lever-type connector is provided.
[0007]
According to the above configuration, since there is no locking portion for locking the lever on the terminal insertion surface of the connector housing on the side of the small terminal storage chamber, the locking portion is not inserted when the small terminal is inserted into the small terminal storage chamber. It is possible to improve the insertion workability of the small terminal without obstructing.
[0008]
Note that the number of terminal fittings to be accommodated in the connector housing is not limited to two, but may be three or more. In this case, it is only necessary to prevent the locking portion from being disposed on the small terminal accommodating chamber side that would hinder the terminal insertion work due to the presence of the locking portion.
[0009]
On the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing corresponding to the portion where the lock claw is formed in the lever, a notch for preventing interference with the portion where the lock claw is formed is formed. If it does in this way, the height of the whole lever can be set low, ensuring the dimension of the height direction of a lever required for formation of a lock claw. Along with this, the protrusion dimension from the terminal insertion surface of the engaging portion where the lock claw is engaged can be set small. Inserting a large terminal into the large terminal chamber is easier to insert than inserting a small terminal, but the small protrusion of the locking part makes it difficult for fingers to interfere when inserting the terminal. The insertion workability of the large terminal can be improved.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the lever-type connector 10 of the present invention includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped connector housing 11 made of synthetic resin, and a synthetic resin U-shaped lever 21 assembled to the outer surface of the connector housing 11. Consists of. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the connector housing 11 includes a large-sized terminal fitting T1 of two different sizes, a large-sized terminal receiving portion 12 capable of accommodating the small-sized terminal fitting T2, and a small-terminal receiving portion 13. I have.
[0011]
In the present embodiment, the large terminal fitting T1 is a female terminal corresponding to a 4.8 mm wide mating male terminal (not shown), and a Φ1.8 mm electric wire W1 is crimped via a waterproof rubber plug R1. On the other hand, the small terminal fitting T2 is a female terminal corresponding to a mating male terminal (not shown) having a width of 0.64 mm, and an electric wire W2 having a diameter of 0.8 mm is crimped via a waterproof rubber plug R2. The connector housing 11 accommodates two large terminal fittings T1 and eight small terminal fittings T2. The large terminal accommodating portion 12 and the small terminal accommodating portion 13 for accommodating the large terminal fitting T1 and the small terminal fitting T2 are juxtaposed in the width direction of the connector housing 11, and each of the large terminal fitting T1 and the small terminal fitting T2 is vertically arranged in two stages The large terminal accommodating area 12A and the small terminal accommodating area 13A are divided. On the terminal insertion surface 11a side of the connector housing 11, the large terminal housing portion 12 and the small terminal housing portion 13 are provided with cylindrical portions 12a and 13a for housing the rubber plugs R1 and R2 in a watertight manner. The large terminal accommodating portion 12 that accommodates the large terminal fitting T1 has a larger protruding dimension than the small terminal accommodating portion 13. As a result of arranging the large terminal accommodating region 12A and the small terminal accommodating region 13A as described above, the boundary portion of the terminal insertion surface 11a is unevenly distributed on the large terminal accommodating region 12A side.
[0012]
On the left and right side walls of the connector housing 11, a pair of fulcrum pins 11 b serving as the center of rotation of the lever 21 are projected. The lever 21 includes a base portion 21a at the center and a pair of arm portions 21b suspended from the left and right ends of the base portion 21a. An assembly hole 21e is formed in the lower part of each arm portion 21b. By fitting the assembly hole 21e into the fulcrum pin 11b of the connector housing 11, the lever 21 is rotated between the left and right side walls of the connector housing 11. It is assembled as possible.
Further, cam grooves 21c that can receive cam pins 31 (FIG. 4) projecting from both outer surfaces of the mating connector housing 30 are formed in the inner surface of the both arm portions 21b facing each other. When the connector housings 11 and 30 are fitted, the cam pin 31 is inserted into the cam groove 21c, and the cam pin 31 is guided to the cam groove 21c as the lever 21 is rotated toward the terminal insertion surface 11a. Therefore, both connector housings 11 and 30 move in directions close to each other.
[0013]
Further, between the connector housing 11 and the lever 21, the lever 21 is locked to the connector housing 11 when the lever 21 is rotated to the terminal insertion surface 11 a side in order to fit the mating connector housing 30. The locking mechanism 40 is provided. The lock mechanism 40 includes a lock claw 22 provided on the lever 21 side, and a locking portion 14 provided on the connector housing 11 side that can lock the lock claw 22.
[0014]
The locking part 14 is integrally projected on the terminal insertion surface 11a side with a dimension slightly longer than the cylindrical part 12a of the large terminal accommodating part 12 from the upper part on the large terminal accommodating area 12A side to the rear. That is, the locking portion 14 is provided at a position unevenly distributed on the large terminal housing portion 12 side from the center in the width direction of the connector housing 11. As shown in FIG. 6A, an inclined guide surface 14a for guiding the lock claw 22 is formed on the top surface of the locking portion 14, and a locking surface for locking the lock claw 22 is formed on the bottom surface of the tip. 14b is formed. Further, the lock claw 22 is also provided at a position corresponding to the locking portion 14 so as to be unevenly distributed to one side from the center in the width direction of the lever 21. The locking claw 22 is integrally projected in a cantilevered manner backward with the front side of the base portion 21a as a fulcrum, and can be elastically bent, and the bottom surface of the locking claw 22 corresponds to the locking surface 14b of the locking portion 14. A locking projection 22a that can be locked is provided. Further, an uneven groove 21d for preventing slipping when the lever 21 is turned is formed on the front surface of the base 21a of the lever 21.
[0015]
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6B, the lock mechanism 40 having the above-described configuration is configured so that when the lever 21 is rotated to the terminal insertion surface 11a side when the mating connector housing 30 is fitted, the lock claw 22 The lever 21 is locked by being pressed by the guide surface 14a and flexed upward, and then elastically restored when the guide surface 14a is overcome and the locking projection 22a is locked to the locking surface 14b. ing. To release the locked state, the tip of the locking claw 22 is bent upward with a fingertip to release the locking state of the locking projection 22a from the locking surface 14b, and the lever 21 is fitted from this state. The fitting with the mating connector housing 30 can be released by rotating to the surface side.
[0016]
Further, in the lever-type connector 10 of the present embodiment, the lever 21 rotates with the base 21a as far as possible from the outer surface of the connector housing 11 to reduce the size, and the height (thickness) of the base 21a. Is set to the minimum required size. However, the lock claw 22 needs a predetermined thickness of the base portion 21a in order to ensure a bending dimension. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 6A, the locking claw 22 is protruded to the lower surface side of the base portion 21a, and the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing 11 corresponding to the protruding portion 22b is prevented from interfering with the protruding portion 22b. A notch 11c is formed for this purpose. In this way, by setting the thickness dimension of the lever 21 to be small, the radius of the turning track of the lever 21 can be reduced, and thus the projection dimension of the locking portion 14 that is locked to the lock claw 22 is also set to a minimum. be able to.
[0017]
Next, the effect of this embodiment is demonstrated.
As shown in FIG. 3, the lever 21 is temporarily locked to the mating surface side with the mating connector housing 30, and in this state, the large terminal fitting T <b> 1 of two sizes, large and small, from the terminal insertion surface 11 a side, The terminal fitting T2 is inserted into the large terminal accommodating portion 12 and the small terminal accommodating portion 13 manually or by a jig. On the large terminal accommodating area 12A side, a locking portion 14 is provided so as to obstruct the terminal insertion operation. However, the cylindrical portion 12a of the large terminal accommodating portion 12 is also projected rearward, and the protruding dimension is also related. Since it extends to the vicinity of the stop portion 14, the locking portion 14 does not get in the way when inserting the large terminal fitting T1. Furthermore, since the connected electric wire W1 is thick and difficult to bend at the large terminal fitting T1, the electric wire W1 portion can be picked and inserted.
[0018]
On the other hand, in the small terminal fitting T2, the connected electric wire W2 is thin and easy to bend, and the projecting dimension of the small terminal accommodating portion 13 to the rear of the cylindrical portion 13a is short. If it is provided so as to protrude toward the accommodating portion 13, a hand or jig for inserting a terminal interferes with the locking portion 14, and the terminal insertion operation becomes extremely difficult. This means that when the small terminal fitting T2 has a rubber plug R2, the insertion operation becomes more difficult due to the insertion resistance of the rubber plug R2. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the locking portion 14 is unevenly distributed on the small terminal housing portion 12 side without projecting the small terminal housing portion 13 side. The stop portion 14 does not get in the way, and the terminal can be inserted with a connecting portion between the small terminal fitting T2 and the electric wire W2.
[0019]
In the above embodiment, the lever-type connector that accommodates two types of large and small terminal fittings has been described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to a connector that accommodates three or more types of large and small terminal fittings. In other words, by setting the protruding position of the locking portion of the locking mechanism in the smaller-sized terminal fitting housing region, the operability for inserting a small-sized terminal fitting can be improved.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the lever locking mechanism including the locking portion and the locking claw is arranged to be unevenly distributed on the large terminal accommodating region side where the large terminal accommodating portion is disposed. Therefore, when inserting the small terminal fitting, which is difficult to insert, into the small terminal accommodating portion, the locking portion does not get in the way, and the workability can be improved.
[0021]
Further, the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing corresponding to the portion where the lock claw is formed in the lever is formed with a notch for preventing interference with the portion where the lock claw is formed. It is possible to reduce the size of the connector by setting the distance to the minimum. In addition, since the turning radius of the lever is reduced accordingly, the protruding dimension of the engaging portion that engages with the lock claw of the lever can be set small, and interference of the terminal insertion work by the engaging portion can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lever-type connector according to the present invention as viewed from the fitting surface side.
FIG. 2 is a rear view of the lever-type connector.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lever-type connector as viewed from the terminal insertion surface side.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state before mating with the mating connector housing.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a fitting state with a mating connector housing.
6A and 6B are cross-sectional views showing a state before and after locking of the lever.
FIG. 7 is a view showing a conventional lever-type connector.
8A is a rear view of a conventional lever-type connector, and FIG. 8B is a perspective view showing a terminal insertion state.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Lever type connector 11 Connector housing 11a Terminal insertion surface 11c Notch part 12 Large terminal accommodating part 12A Large terminal accommodating area 30 Mating connector housing 13 Small terminal accommodating part 13A Small terminal accommodating area 14 Locking part 21 Lever 22 Lock claw 40 Lock mechanism T1 Large terminal fitting T2 Small terminal fitting

Claims (2)

A connector housing which projects the locking portion into the terminal insertion surface, with pivotally mounted between both side walls in the width direction of the connector housing, resiliently disengageable locking pawl against the said locking portion in the lever-type connector having a U-shaped lever having a,
The connector housing includes a large terminal accommodating chamber and a small terminal accommodating chamber capable of accommodating at least two types of large and small terminal fittings inserted from the terminal insertion surface , the large terminal accommodating chamber and the small terminal. The accommodating chamber has a cylindrical portion projecting from the terminal insertion surface side, the projecting dimension of the cylindrical portion of the large terminal accommodating chamber is larger than the projecting dimension of the cylindrical portion of the small terminal accommodating chamber, and The large terminal accommodating area in which the large terminal accommodating chamber is arranged and the small terminal accommodating area in which the small terminal accommodating chamber is arranged are divided in the width direction of the connector housing, and the large terminal accommodating area and the small terminal area are small. The boundary portion with the terminal accommodating region is unevenly distributed on the large terminal accommodating region side from the center in the width direction of the connector housing ,
The locking mechanism of the lever composed of the locking portion and the lock claw is arranged to be unevenly distributed on the large terminal accommodating region side where the large terminal accommodating chamber is disposed , and is not provided on the small terminal accommodating region side. A lever-type connector characterized by   2. The lever according to claim 1, wherein a notch for preventing interference with a portion where the lock claw is formed is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the connector housing corresponding to a portion where the lock claw is formed in the lever. Type connector.

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