JP4689628B2 - Lever type connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever-type connector.

The lever-type connector is obtained by attaching a lever for assisting fitting with a mating side to one housing of connectors that can be fitted to each other. In general, the lever has a gate shape having a pair of cam plates with cam grooves and an operation unit that connects them, and the lever looks like it straddles the housing, and both cam plates are formed on both sides of the housing. It is attached to the supported shaft so that rotation is possible. When fitting the connector, first the cam pin protruding from the mating connector is engaged with the cam groove of the lever with the lever as the initial position, and then the lever is rotated to the mating completion position. The two connectors are brought into a fitted state by the cam action of the cam groove. In addition, as a structure provided with such a gate-shaped lever, there exists a thing of the following patent document 1, for example.
JP-A-8-180930

  In such a connector, as a configuration for locking the lever at the fitting completion position, for example, an elastic lock piece that can be bent and deformed in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the lever is provided in the operation portion, and the lever is fitted to the fitting completion position. In some cases, the elastic lock piece is locked to the housing (or the mating connector). The elastic lock piece is provided with a release operation part, and when the two connectors are detached from the fitted state, the elastic lock piece is bent and deformed by pressing the release operation part with a finger. Release the lock and return the lever to the initial position.

By the way, the lever type connector as described above has been developed to reduce the thickness of the entire lever as a single plate in response to a demand for miniaturization. In this case, if an elastic lock piece that bends and deforms in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis of the lever as in the prior art is provided, the area of the release operation portion cannot be increased (because the thickness of the lever increases) There was a problem that the operability of unlocking deteriorated.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lever-type connector capable of securing the unlocking operability while reducing the thickness of the lever.

The lever-type connector according to the first aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is engageable with the other connector in the housing provided in one of the pair of connectors that can be fitted to each other. A lever is pivotally attached, and when the two connectors are fitted, the lever is engaged with the other connector with the lever as an initial position, and the lever is turned from that state to the fitting completion position. A lever-type connector in which the two connectors are brought into a fitted state by a cam action between the lever and the other connector, and the lever is placed in the fitting completed position. An elastic lock piece for locking is provided, and the elastic lock piece is provided with a release operation portion for releasing the lock. The zing is formed with a laterally recessed housing recess on the side of the cavity forming region for housing the terminal fitting, and the lever is formed as a single plate as a whole in the housing recess of the housing. The elastic lock piece extends in a direction along the plate surface of the lever and can be bent and deformed in a direction perpendicular to the plate surface, and the release operation portion has a shape along the plate surface of the lever. As well as
With the features said lever engaged with the inner wall of the housing recess of the locking projection provided on the elastic lock piece housing was adapted to lock the mating completion position.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the one according to the first aspect, at one end portion of the lever, a finger hooking portion for rotating from the fitting completion position to the initial position side is provided. The finger rest portion and the release operation portion are adjacent to each other.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the one according to the second aspect, the one end portion of the lever is provided with the finger hanging portion on the distal end side, and the release operation portion is closer to the proximal side than the finger hanging portion. It is characterized by where it is placed.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the lever is thinned by making the lever into a plate shape. In addition, since the elastic lock piece is formed along the plate surface of the lever and bends and deforms in the direction perpendicular to the plate surface, it is possible to secure a wide area of the release operation part without increasing the thickness of the lever, and the operability of unlocking Can be secured.
Further, when the slit-shaped receiving recess is provided in the central portion of the housing, when viewed in the thickness direction of the lever, the housing is provided with a total of four walls including at least a pair of walls sandwiching the receiving recess and a pair of outer walls. Where necessary, in the present invention, since the housing recess is provided close to the side of the housing, the number of walls can be reduced by one and the thickness can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the finger hooking portion and the release operation portion are disposed adjacent to each other at one end portion of the lever, the unlocking operation can be easily performed with one hand.

  According to the invention of claim 3, for example, the release operation can be performed by pulling the finger-hanging portion with its index finger while pressing the release operation portion with the thumb of one hand.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the lever-type connector of the present embodiment includes a female connector 10 (corresponding to “one connector” of the present invention) and a male connector 50 (“other connector”) that can be fitted and detached from each other. Equivalent). In the following description, the side of each of the connectors 10 and 50 that mates with the other side is referred to as the front.
The female connector 10 includes a plurality of sub-connectors 24 that accommodate the female terminal fittings 26, a frame-shaped holder 11 (corresponding to the “housing” of the present invention) that accommodates the sub-connectors 24, and the holder 11. And a lever 40 to be configured.

  The holder 11 is made of a synthetic resin material. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the holder 11 penetrates in the front-rear direction and has a horizontal rectangular frame shape as a whole. That is, the holder 11 has an upper wall 12, a lower wall 13, and left and right side walls 14, and among the space surrounded by the four walls, the upper wall 12 and a ceiling wall 15 parallel to the upper wall 12. A space formed in the shape of a horizontally long slit partitioned between the two is an accommodation recess 16 for accommodating the lever 40. In the inner space of the holder 11, a region below the housing recess 16 is formed by three partition walls 17 provided between the ceiling wall 15 and the lower wall 13 to form three left and right assembly spaces 18. The sub-connectors 24 are inserted into the assembly spaces 18 from the rear. The lower wall 13 is formed with a lance 19 that can be elastically bent corresponding to each assembly space 18. Furthermore, a recess 21 that is long in the left-right direction of the holder 11 is formed in the lower wall 13 of the holder 11, and a retainer 22 is fitted into the recess 21 from below.

  The sub-connector 24 is made of synthetic resin and has a rectangular block shape as a whole (see FIG. 1). A plurality of cavities 25 are formed in each sub-connector 24, and female terminal fittings 26 are inserted into the cavities 25 from the rear. Further, the electric wires 27 fixed to the respective female terminal fittings 26 are drawn backward from the rear end face of the sub connector 24. Each sub-connector 24 is assembled while being inserted into the assembly space 18 of the holder 11 from the rear. In the assembled state, the front end surface and the rear end surface of the sub-connector 24 are flush with the front end surface and the rear end surface of the holder 11, respectively. The assembled sub-connector 24 is held in a retaining state by the lance 19 and the retainer 22 fitted in the recess 21 being double-locked.

  The lever 40 is made of a synthetic resin and has a horizontal plate shape as a whole as shown in FIGS. The lever 40 includes a cam plate portion 41 having a slightly elongated flat plate shape, and a circular bearing hole 42 is recessed in the lower surface near the one end side. A support shaft 29 projecting upward from the ceiling wall 15 in the housing recess 16 of the holder 11 is fitted into the bearing hole 42, and the lever 40 can be rotated horizontally around the support shaft 29. Has been. When the lever 40 is assembled to the holder 11, the lever 40 is formed along a wall surface (here, the upper surface wall 12) of the holder 11, and the cam plate portion 41 is interposed between the upper surface wall 12 and the ceiling wall 15. It is accommodated in the accommodating recess 16 in a state of being sandwiched with a slight clearance.

Here, the front and rear surfaces of the support shaft 29 of the holder 11 have an arcuate cross section, and the front and rear surfaces have an outer diameter that can be fitted into the bearing hole 42 almost tightly. . In addition, a pair of parallel flat portions 29A are formed on the left and right sides of the support shaft 29, and the dimensions in the left-right direction (dimensions between the flat portions 29A) are smaller than the outer diameter between the front and rear surfaces. It has a shape.
An assembling groove 43 extending from the bearing hole 42 to the outer edge portion along the length direction of the cam plate portion 41 is formed in the lower surface of the cam plate portion 41. The assembly groove 43 is for allowing the support shaft 29 to enter the bearing hole 42 when the lever 40 is assembled to the holder 11, and the width of the groove is the dimension in the left-right direction of the support shaft 29 (the dimension between the flat portions 29 </ b> A). ) Is set slightly larger. Further, the depth dimension of the assembly groove 43 is formed so as to be smaller as a whole than the projecting dimension of the support shaft 29 and smaller toward the bearing hole 42, and the bottom surface of the bearing hole 42 and the assembly groove 43. There is a step between the bottom of the.

  In addition, a rotation guide groove 44 having a substantially fan shape centering on the bearing hole 42 is formed in the lower surface of the cam plate portion 41, and the rotation guide groove 44 has a ceiling in the housing recess 16 of the holder 11. A stopper 31 protruding from the upper surface of the wall 15 can be engaged. The lever 40 has a rotation operation range in a range in which the stopper 31 is displaced from one end to the other end in the rotation guide groove 44, and from an initial position shown in FIG. 10 to a fitting completion position shown in FIG. Can be rotated. Further, a cam groove 45 that can engage with the cam pin 54 of the male connector 50 is formed around the bearing hole 42 in the cam plate portion 41, and an opening portion 45 </ b> A thereof is formed at the edge of the cam plate portion 41. Yes. A relief groove 32 into which the cam pin 54 of the male connector 50 can enter is formed in the upper surface wall 12 and the ceiling wall 15 of the holder 11 on the front side of the support shaft 29. When the lever 40 is in the initial position, the cam groove The opening 45 </ b> A of the 45 is aligned with the escape groove 32, so that the cam pin 54 can be received in the cam groove 45.

Further, a cantilevered elastic locking piece 46 is provided at the end edge of the cam plate portion 41 on the bearing hole 42 side. The elastic locking piece 46 extends along the plate surface of the cam plate portion 41, and its width dimension (vertical size) is made equal to the plate thickness of the cam plate portion 41, and its tip portion is the cam plate. It can be bent and deformed along the plate surface of the portion 41. In addition, a protrusion 46A that protrudes outward is formed at the tip of the elastic locking piece 46.
On the other hand, the holder 11 is provided with a relief groove 33 into which the unlocking rib 55 of the male connector 50 can enter at one side end position of the housing recess 16. The escape groove 33 is formed from the front surface of the holder 11 toward the rear side, and a lock receiving portion 33A that protrudes into a lower half region of the groove is formed at the rear end thereof. When the lever 40 is in the initial position, the protrusion 46A of the elastic locking piece 46 advances into the escape groove 33, and the lower half of the protrusion 46A is locked to the lock receiving portion 33A. The turning to the completion position side is restricted.

  Further, the lever 40 is provided with an operation portion 47 at an end portion of the cam plate portion 41 opposite to the bearing hole 42 and at a position on the rear surface side of the holder 11 at the fitting completion position. The operation portion 47 includes a square frame portion 47A that projects in the thickness direction from the cam plate portion 41, and a finger hook portion 47B that projects from the square frame portion 47A to the side away from the bearing hole 42. Has been. Further, an elastic lock piece 48 for locking the lever 40 at the fitting completion position is provided at the end of the lever 40 on the operation unit 47 side. The elastic locking piece 48 has a flat plate shape along the plate surface of the cam plate portion 41, extends in a cantilevered manner toward the rear side at the fitting completion position, and is orthogonal to the plate surface of the lever 40. It can be bent and deformed (in the direction of the rotation axis of the lever 40). A locking projection 48A is formed on the upper surface of the elastic lock piece 48, and the locking projection 48A is locked to the claw portion 34 formed on the upper surface wall 12 of the holder 11 at the fitting completion position. Further, a flat plate release operation portion 48 </ b> B for performing an operation of releasing the engagement with the claw portion 34 is formed at the distal end portion of the elastic lock piece 48. The release operation portion 48B is arranged inside the corner frame portion 47A, and a cutout portion 47C is provided on the upper surface of the corner frame portion 47A, from which the release operation portion 48B is exposed. In other words, at one end portion of the lever, the finger hanging portion 47B and the release operation portion 48B are provided adjacent to each other, the finger hanging portion 47B is provided at the distal end side, and the base end side (bearing) with respect to the finger hanging portion 47B. A release operation portion 48B is disposed closer to the hole 42 side.

On the other hand, the male connector 50 includes a housing 51 made of a synthetic resin material and a plurality of male terminal fittings 52, as shown in FIGS. The housing 51 has a rectangular hood portion 53 that opens forward, and the holder 11 of the female connector 10 is inserted into the hood portion 53. The hood portion 53 accommodates a male terminal fitting 52 that protrudes from the back end face thereof, and the male terminal fitting 52 and the female terminal fitting 26 are connected when the connectors 10 and 50 are properly fitted. It has become.
A cylindrical cam pin 54 and an unlocking rib 55 are formed on the upper surface plate 53 </ b> A of the hood portion 53 so as to protrude downward, that is, toward the internal space of the hood portion 53. The unlocking rib 55 is formed along the front-rear direction from the front end position of the hood portion 53, and enters the upper half region in the escape groove 33 when mated with the female connector 10.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
When assembling, first, as shown in FIG. 5, the lever 40 is leveled so that the width direction of the assembling groove 43 coincides with the direction in which the dimension of the support shaft 29 is reduced (that is, the left-right direction). Then, the cam plate portion 41 is inserted into the housing recess 16 of the holder 11, and the support shaft 29 is caused to enter the assembly groove 43. When the support shaft 29 is pushed into the assembly groove 43, the upper surface wall 12 and the ceiling wall 15 around the support shaft 29 are slightly bent and deformed in the separating direction to allow passage of the support shaft 29. At this time, since the depth dimension of the assembly groove 43 gradually decreases toward the bearing hole 42, the support shaft 29 can be easily pushed into the back side of the assembly groove 43. Then, the support shaft 29 reaches the bearing hole 42, and the upper surface wall 12 and the ceiling wall 15 which have been bent and deformed are restored and deformed, so that the support shaft 29 is engaged with the bearing hole 42 (see FIG. 9).

  Subsequently, when the lever 40 is rotated counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. 9, the stopper 31 is pushed into the lower side of the cam plate portion 41, and the upper surface wall 12 and the ceiling wall 15 therearound are separated from each other. Slightly bends and deforms. When the lever 40 is rotated to the initial position shown in FIG. 10, the upper surface wall 12 and the ceiling wall 15 that are bent and deformed by the stopper 31 being fitted into the rotation guide groove 44 are restored and deformed. As a result, the protrusion 46A of the elastic locking piece 46 enters the escape groove 33 and is locked to the lock receiving portion 33A, so that the rotation of the lever 40 toward the fitting completion position side is restricted. Become. Further, when the lever 40 is rotated from the state shown in FIG. 9, the direction of the support shaft 29 is shifted from the assembly groove 43 in the bearing hole 42, so that the lever 40 is prevented from coming off. Thus, the assembly of the lever 40 to the holder 11 is completed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the sub-connector 24 is fitted in each assembly space 18 of the holder 11, and the retainer 22 is locked to the sub-connector 24 to keep the sub-connector 24 from coming off.
From this state, the holder 11 of the female connector 10 is shallowly inserted into the hood 53 of the male connector 50. At this time, when the female connector 10 is mistakenly turned upside down, the tip of the lock release rib 55 comes into contact with the holder 11 and the insertion thereof is restricted. When the holder 11 is shallowly inserted into the hood 53, the cam pin 54 is inserted into the opening 45A of the cam groove 45 and the unlocking rib 55 is inserted into the protrusion 46A of the elastic locking piece 46 as shown in FIG. The elastic locking piece 46 is bent and deformed so as to release the locking with the lock receiving portion 33A, and the lever 40 is allowed to rotate.

  From this state, when the operating portion 47 of the lever 40 is pressed and the lever 40 is rotated to the mating completion position side, both the connectors 10 and 50 are pulled toward each other by the cam action due to the engagement between the cam pin 54 and the cam groove 45. The insertion of the holder 11 into the hood portion 53 proceeds. During this fitting operation, a force based on the fitting resistance acts on the lever 40. However, since the cam plate portion 41 is sandwiched from both sides in the plate thickness direction in the housing recess 16, the cam plate It is possible to prevent the portion 41 from being deformed in the direction of the rotation axis or coming off the support shaft 29 of the holder 11.

  When the lever 40 approaches the fitting completion position, the locking projection 48A of the elastic lock piece 48 comes into contact with the claw portion 34 of the holder 11, and the elastic lock piece 48 is perpendicular to the plate surface of the cam plate portion 41. Deforms and deforms. Then, as the lever 40 reaches the fitting completion position, the elastic locking piece 48 is restored and deformed, and the locking projection 48A and the claw portion 34 are locked and the lever 40 is locked as shown in FIG. It becomes. Thereby, both the connectors 10 and 50 reach a normal fitting state (see FIGS. 13 and 14), and the fitting of both the connectors 10 and 50 is completed.

  When the connectors 10 and 50 are disengaged from the above-mentioned fitted state, for example, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 13, the right index finger F1 is placed on the finger rest portion 47B of the operation portion 47 and the tip of the right thumb F2 The release operation portion 48B of the elastic lock piece 48 is pressed downward to release the locking. And the operation part 47 is pulled as it is, and the lever 40 is rotated in the clockwise direction of FIG. Then, as the lever 40 rotates, the cam pin 54 displaces the cam groove 45 toward the opening 45 </ b> A to separate the connectors 10 and 50, the lever 40 reaches the initial position, and the cam pin 54 moves to the cam groove 45. The two connectors 10 and 50 are detached.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the lever 40 is thinned by forming the lever 40 into a plate shape. In addition, since the elastic lock piece 48 is formed along the plate surface of the lever 40 and bends and deforms in a direction orthogonal to the plate surface, it is possible to secure a wide area of the release operation portion without increasing the thickness of the lever 40 and to release the lock. Operability can be ensured.

  Further, since the finger hook portion 47B and the release operation portion 48B are disposed adjacent to each other at one end portion of the lever 40, the lock release operation can be easily performed with one hand.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment 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.
(1) In the above embodiment, the lever is attached to the holder in the split type connector. However, according to the present invention, the lever may be attached to the housing in the connector other than the split type connector.

The longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state before fitting of the female connector and male connector in this embodiment Front view of holder Rear view of holder AA line sectional view of FIG. Horizontal sectional view showing the state before the lever is assembled to the holder BB sectional view of FIG. CC sectional view of FIG. Front view of male connector Horizontal sectional view showing the lever inserted in the holder Horizontal sectional view showing the state before mating of female and male connectors Horizontal sectional view showing the initial mating state of female connector and male connector Partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a state where the lever is locked at the mating completion position Horizontal sectional view showing the state where the female connector and male connector are fully mated A longitudinal sectional view showing the state where the female connector and the male connector are completely fitted.

Explanation of symbols

10: Female connector (one connector)
11 ... Holder (housing)
24 ... Sub connector 26 ... Female terminal fitting (terminal fitting)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 29 ... Support shaft 40 ... Lever 41 ... Cam board part 42 ... Bearing hole 45 ... Cam groove 47B ... Finger hook part 48 ... Elastic locking piece 48B ... Release operation part 50 ... Male side connector (other connector)
54 ... Cam pin

Claims (3)

A lever that can be engaged with the other connector is rotatably attached to a housing provided in one of the pair of connectors that can be fitted to each other. Is engaged with the other connector at the initial position, and the lever is rotated to the mating completion position from that state, and the two connectors are pulled toward each other by the cam action between the lever and the other connector. A lever-type connector that is in a mating state,
The lever is provided with an elastic lock piece for locking the lever at the fitting completion position, and the elastic lock piece is provided with a release operation part for releasing the lock. In
The housing is formed with a receiving recess having a horizontally long slit on the side of the cavity forming area for receiving the terminal fitting, and the lever is formed in a single plate shape as a whole and is formed in the receiving recess of the housing. The elastic lock piece extends in a direction along the plate surface of the lever, and can be bent and deformed in a direction orthogonal to the plate surface,
The release operation part has a shape along the plate surface of the lever,
Lever-type connector, characterized in that said lever engaged with the inner wall of the housing recess of the housing a locking projection provided on the elastic lock pieces so as to lock the mating completion position. One end portion of the lever is provided with a finger hooking portion for rotating from the fitting completion position to the initial position side, and the finger hooking portion and the release operation portion are arranged adjacent to each other. The lever type connector according to claim 1, wherein the lever type connector is provided. 3. The lever according to claim 2, wherein at one end portion of the lever, the finger hooking portion is provided on a distal end side, and the release operation portion is disposed closer to the base end side than the finger hooking portion. Type connector.

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