JP4013974B2 - Lever type connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever-type connector.

As an example of a conventional lever-type connector, the one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the lever 1 has a shape in which a pair of lever plates 3 each having a protrusion 2 at the tip are arranged at an interval, and the other ends are connected by an operation unit 4. The lever 1 is supported by a shaft 6 so as to be able to turn over both side surfaces of the female housing 5. On the other hand, a locking hole 8 for locking the protrusion 2 of the lever plate 3 is opened on the side wall of the hood 7A of the mating male housing 7.
Then, when the operating portion 4 is pushed and the lever 1 is rotated in a state where the protruding portion 2 is locked in the locking hole 8, the protruding portion 2 becomes a fulcrum and the operating portion 4 becomes a power point, and a small lever action is exhibited. The housings 5 and 7 can be fitted with a fitting force.
JP 11-297409 A

However, in the prior art, the lever 1 is formed in a bifurcated shape and the lever plates 3 are arranged on the outer sides of the left and right sides of the female housing 5 for reasons such as balancing the operation. The lateral width of the female housing 5 including the lever 1 is increased, and the hood portion 7A of the male housing 7 into which the female housing 5 is fitted needs to be widened.
In addition, when the lever 1 is rotated in such a bifurcated shape, a force in the direction in which the two cover plates 3 expand is inevitably applied, and in an extreme case, the lever 1 may be detached from the shaft 6. .
The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and a purpose thereof is to reduce the size of the connector and to effectively prevent the lever from coming off.

As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that a lever pivotally supported by one connector housing is engaged with the other connector housing, and both the levers are operated by rotating the levers. In the lever-type connector in which the connector housing is fitted, a housing groove is formed inside the one connector housing, and the lever is pivotally supported in the housing groove. The shaft is passed to both wall surfaces of the housing groove, while the lever is formed with a shaft hole through which the shaft is fitted, and the shaft hole has an introduction port through which the shaft can be introduced. It is characterized in that it is configured to be open and connected to the side edge of this lever.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the lever is provided with a locked portion and an operating portion at both ends sandwiching the shaft hole, and the locked portion is connected to the other connector. The connector housings are fitted to each other by lever action when the lever is rotated by the operating portion while being locked to the locking portion of the housing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the lever according to the second aspect is rotated after the one connector housing pivotally supporting the lever is fitted to the other connector housing by a predetermined amount. This lever is configured so that the locked portion does not interfere with the locking portion while the one connector housing is initially fitted to the other connector housing by a predetermined amount, and the lever is rotated. Immediately after the start of the moving operation, the locked portion can be temporarily held with respect to the one connector housing by taking a predetermined posture in which the locked portion can be locked to the locking portion.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the apparatus according to the third aspect, further comprising temporary fixing means for temporarily fixing the one connector housing to the position where the predetermined amount is fitted.

<Invention of Claim 1>
The lever is rotatably supported by fitting the shafts passed to both wall surfaces of the storage groove into the shaft hole from the introduction port. Since the single-plate lever is accommodated in the housing groove inside the connector housing, the lever thickness, that is, the lever is included as compared with the lever that is bifurcated and is disposed across both sides of the connector housing. The width of the connector housing can be reduced, and the connector can be miniaturized. In addition, since the lever is sandwiched between the both side surfaces of the receiving groove, the lever is not likely to come off even when a twisting force is applied to the shaft support portion or the like during operation.
<Invention of Claim 2>
In a lever-type connector having a lever action in which the locked portion of the lever is a fulcrum and the operation portion is a power point, the connector can be reduced in size and the lever can be prevented from coming off.

<Invention of Claim 3>
If the lever is temporarily held in a predetermined posture, one connector housing is fitted toward the other connector housing without the locked portion interfering with the other locking portion. When the predetermined amount is fitted, the locked portion is positioned in the vicinity of the locking portion, and when the lever is continuously rotated, the locked portion is locked to the locking portion immediately after the operation. Leverage is immediately exhibited. The connector fitting operation can be performed efficiently and in a short time.
<Invention of Claim 4>
One connector housing is temporarily fixed when a predetermined amount is fitted toward the other connector housing. One connector housing can be smoothly and reliably brought to a position where the lever rotation operation is started.

<Embodiment>
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In this embodiment, a so-called lever-type lever-type connector is illustrated. As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of female connector housings 10 (hereinafter referred to as female housings) and a male connector are fitted together. A housing 20 (hereinafter referred to as a male housing) and a lever 30 mounted on the female housing 10 are configured.

  First, the female housing 10 is formed into a shape in which a prism is lying on the side with a synthetic resin material, and a plurality of cavities 11 facing in the vertical direction are arranged in two rows along the both side edges in the length direction. Are formed side by side. In each cavity 11, a female terminal fitting (not shown) is inserted from above, and is prevented from being detached and accommodated.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the male housing 20 is also formed of a synthetic resin material in a shape in which a hood portion 22 capable of fitting the female housing 10 almost closely is provided on the upper surface of the main body portion 21. . In the main body 21, a cavity (not shown) is formed in alignment with the cavity 11 on the female housing 10 side, and a male terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity on the male housing 20 side from below. The tab is housed in a state where the tab protrudes into the hood portion 22 and is prevented from coming off.

  The female housing 10 is formed with an accommodation groove 13 for accommodating the lever 30. The housing groove 13 is formed in the center in the width direction of the female housing 10 so as to penetrate in the length direction with a width of about 1/3 of the entire width. However, as shown in FIG. 2, on the front end side in the length direction (left side in the figure), the ceiling surface 14A is stretched and the bottom is opened, while on the rear end side, the bottom surface 14B is stretched and the ceiling is opened. Is open. Both openings serve as reliefs for the lever 30.

The lever 30 is made of a synthetic resin and has an elongated shape having the same thickness as the width of the receiving groove 13 and substantially the same length as the entire length of the female housing 10.
A shaft hole 31 is formed at a position close to the tip end side of the lever 30 (a position of about ¼ of the entire length), and an introduction port 31A slightly narrowed opens at the lower edge. A protrusion 33 is formed at the tip of the lever 30 so as to protrude forward from the lower side. On the other hand, the operation part 34 is formed so as to be tall at the rear end and projecting from the upper end to both sides.

A shaft 15 is formed in the housing groove 13 so as to be passed to both wall surfaces at a position close to the front end side. Then, the lever 30 is fitted with the shaft 15 in the shaft hole 31 to form an oblique starting end posture where the rear end is lifted as shown in FIG. 4 and a horizontal end posture as shown in FIG. It is supported so that it can rotate between the two. When the lever 30 is in the starting end posture, the protruding portion 33 at the tip is retracted to a position substantially flush with the front surface of the female housing 10, and the protruding portion 33 is moved toward the ending position as the lever 33 rotates. 10 protrudes forward from the front surface.
The front wall 22A of the hood portion 22 of the male housing 20 is formed with a locking hole 24 in which the protrusion 33 of the lever 30 can be locked at a position slightly below the center height at the center in the width direction. Yes.

As shown in FIG. 4, on one side of the receiving groove 13, the lever 30 is described above by receiving the lower edge of the rear end side of the lever 30 at a position slightly rearward from the central portion in the length direction. A holding projection 16 that is temporarily held in the starting end posture is formed. The holding projection 16 has a semi-lock structure in which the upper and lower sides are inclined surfaces. On the other hand, the opposing surface of the lever 30 is formed with a relief recess 36 into which the holding projection 16 is fitted and escaped when the lever 30 is in the terminal posture.
When the lever 30 is in the end position, the lower edge of the rear end side is placed on the bottom surface 14B of the receiving groove 13 and the operation unit 34 closes the ceiling at the rear end of the receiving groove 13 as shown in FIG. It is supposed to be listed.

A pair of locking protrusions 18 are formed at positions near the rear ends of the left and right side surfaces of the female housing 10. The lock projection 18 has a tapered surface on the lower surface side. On the other hand, a temporary lock hole 26 and a main lock hole 27 are formed separately on the left and right side walls of the hood portion 22 of the male housing 20 in the vertical direction.
When the female housing 10 is fitted into the hood portion 22 of the male housing 20 and is fitted to a predetermined amount, the lock protrusion 18 is fitted into the upper temporary lock hole 26 so as to be held at the temporary holding position. It has become. In this temporary holding position, as shown in FIG. 5, the protrusion 33 of the lever 30 corresponds to the inner side of the locking hole 24. Further, when the female housing 10 is properly fitted to the inner surface of the hood portion 22, the lock protrusion 18 is set to be fitted into the lock hole 27.

Then, the effect | action of this embodiment is demonstrated.
On the female housing 10 side, the lever 30 is assembled first. As shown in FIG. 2, the tip of the lever 30 is inserted into the receiving groove 13 from the rear, and the shaft 15 is fitted into the shaft hole 31 while forcibly passing through the inlet 31A. As shown in FIG. 30 takes a horizontal end posture and is accommodated in the accommodation groove 13. The holding protrusion 16 is fitted into the relief recess 36 after riding on one surface of the lever 30. In this state, the female terminal fitting is inserted and accommodated in each cavity 11 of the female housing 10.
Also on the male housing 20 side, the male terminal fitting is accommodated in each cavity.

  The male and female housings 10 and 20 are fitted in the following procedure. First, on the female housing 10 side, when the rear end of the lever 30 is pulled up using a jig or the like, the holding projection 16 is released and removed from the recess 36, while the lever 30 is counterclockwise in FIG. When the lever 30 passes through the holding projection 16 and the lifting force is removed, the lower edge of the lever 30 is received by the holding projection 16 as shown in FIG. In this starting end posture, the protrusion 33 at the tip is retracted to a position substantially flush with the front surface of the female housing 10.

  With the lever 30 held in the starting end posture as described above, the female housing 10 is directly opposed above the male housing 20 and the female housing 10 is fitted into the hood portion 22 as shown in FIG. Since the protrusion 33 at the tip of the lever 30 is retracted to the position of the front surface of the female housing 10, it can be smoothly fitted without any trouble. When a predetermined amount is fitted until just before the male and female terminal fittings come into contact with each other, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the lock projection 18 is fitted into the upper temporary lock hole 26, so that the female housing 10 is temporarily attached. Temporarily held. In this temporary holding position, the protrusion 33 at the tip of the lever 30 corresponds to the inner side of the locking hole 24 of the hood 22.

Subsequently, when the operating portion 34 is pushed in, the lever 30 is rotated around the shaft 15 in the clockwise direction in FIG. At the beginning of the rotation of the lever 30, the protrusion 33 protrudes forward of the front surface of the female housing 10 and is locked to the upper edge of the locking hole 24.
Therefore, if the pressing of the operating portion 34 is continued, the lever 30 rotates with the operating portion 34 as a power point, the protrusion 33 locked to the upper edge of the locking hole 24 as a fulcrum, and the shaft hole 31 as an operating point, As shown in FIG. 7, the female housing 10 is gradually fitted into the hood portion 22 of the male housing 20 while the lock projection 18 is pulled out from the temporary lock hole 26 so that the shaft 15 is pushed down.

  In this case, the length from the position (fulcrum) where the protrusion 33 is locked in the locking hole 24 to the operation part 34 (power point) is almost four times the length from the fulcrum to the shaft hole 31 (action point). Therefore, the operating force applied to the operating portion 34 acts almost four times on the female housing 10 via the shaft hole 31. By utilizing such a lever action, the housings 10 and 20 can be smoothly fitted with a small force even though the male and female terminal fittings start to contact to increase the frictional resistance.

  When the turning operation of the lever 30 proceeds and is turned to the horizontal end position as shown in FIG. 8, the female housing 10 is fitted to the normal position reaching the inner surface of the hood portion 22, and the corresponding male and female are Terminal fittings are properly connected. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, the lock projection 18 is fitted into the lock hole 27, so that the housings 10 and 20 are held in a properly fitted state. When the lever 30 is in the end position, the holding projection 16 is fitted into the relief recess 36 and is released.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the so-called lever-type lever-type connector, since the lever 30 made of a single plate is accommodated in the receiving groove 13 inside the female housing 10, the lever as in the prior art is used. Can be reduced by the thickness of one of the two levers, and the width of the female housing 10 including the lever 30 can be reduced. The width of the hood portion 22 of the male housing 20 can also be reduced, and the entire connector can be downsized. Further, since the lever 30 is sandwiched between the both side surfaces of the receiving groove 13, the lever 30 is not likely to come off even when a twisting force is applied to the shaft support portion or the like during the turning operation.

  Since the lever 30 can be temporarily held with respect to the female housing 10 in a predetermined starting end posture, the protrusion 33 interferes with the inner surface of the hood portion 22 and the like even if the lever 30 is not particularly positioned and gripped. It fits smoothly without doing. Further, once the female housing 10 is fitted into the hood portion 22 by a predetermined amount, it is temporarily held. At this time, the protrusion 33 of the lever 30 is located in the vicinity of the locking hole 24, and the lever 30 is continuously rotated. When this is done, the protrusion 33 is locked in the locking hole 24 immediately after the operation, and the lever action is immediately exhibited. Connector fitting operation can be performed efficiently and in a short time.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
As a means for temporarily fixing the female housing to a position where a predetermined amount is fitted in the hood portion of the male housing, other means such as providing a lock protrusion and a temporary lock hole between the male and female housings on the front end side are taken. Also good .

The exploded perspective view concerning one embodiment of the present invention. Sectional drawing which shows operation | movement which accommodates a lever in an accommodation groove | channel. Sectional view after housing the lever Sectional view of the male and female housings before mating Sectional view of a state in which a predetermined amount of female housing is fitted Perspective view Cross section during mating Cross-sectional view of a properly fitted state Perspective view Perspective view of conventional example Cross section

Explanation of symbols

10: Female housing (one connector housing)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 ... Accommodating groove 15 ... Shaft 16 ... Holding protrusion 18 ... Lock protrusion 20 ... Male housing (the other connector housing)
22 ... Hood part 24 ... Locking hole (locking part)
26 ... Temporary lock hole 30 ... Lever 31 ... Shaft hole 31A ... Introduction port 33 ... Projection (locked part)
34. Operation unit

Claims (4)

In a lever-type connector in which a lever pivotally supported by one connector housing is engaged with the other connector housing, and the two connector housings are fitted by rotating the lever.
A housing groove is formed inside the one connector housing, and the lever is pivotally supported in the housing groove.
In the structure of the shaft support portion, the shaft is passed to both wall surfaces of the receiving groove, while the lever is formed with a shaft hole through which the shaft is fitted, and the shaft hole includes the shaft. A lever-type connector, characterized in that an introduction port capable of introducing the connector is open and connected to the side edge of the lever. The lever is provided with a locked portion and an operating portion at both ends sandwiching the shaft hole, and the lever is locked by the operating portion while locking the locked portion with the locking portion of the other connector housing. 2. The lever-type connector according to claim 1, wherein the two connector housings are fitted together by lever action when the lever is rotated. The lever is configured to be rotated after the one connector housing pivotally supporting the lever is engaged with the other connector housing by a predetermined amount. Is engaged with the other connector housing for a predetermined amount at first, the locked portion does not interfere with the locking portion, and the locked portion immediately follows the locking portion. The lever-type connector according to claim 2, wherein the lever-type connector can be temporarily held with respect to the one connector housing by taking a predetermined posture that can be locked to the connector housing. 4. The lever-type connector according to claim 3, further comprising temporary fixing means for temporarily fixing the one connector housing to the position where the predetermined amount is fitted.

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