JP5737213B2 - Lever type connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever-type connector.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional lever-type connector. This includes first and second housings that can be fitted to each other, and a lever that is rotatably mounted between an initial position and a fitting position with respect to the first housing. The lever has an elastic locking arm that can be bent in a direction intersecting with the fitting direction of the first and second housings, and the first housing engages the lever by locking the elastic locking arm at an initial position. It has a restricting part that restricts rotation to the combined position. In addition, the second housing has a release portion that abuts against the elastic locking arm and flexes and deforms the elastic locking arm in a direction away from the regulating portion when the second housing is shallowly fitted to the first housing at the initial position. doing. When the release portion bends and deforms the elastic lock arm, the lock state between the elastic lock arm and the restricting portion is released, and the lever is allowed to rotate to the fitting position.

JP 2007-35592 A

  By the way, when the release part comes into contact with the elastic locking arm at the initial position, elastic force is accumulated in the elastic locking arm that is bent and deformed, so that the lever is immediately turned to the fitting position. If the operation is not performed, the stored elastic force is released, and accordingly, the release portion is pushed by the elastic locking arm, and the second housing may be pushed back. As a result, the connector must be re-fitted and the workability is poor.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to improve workability at the time of connector fitting.

  As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that the first and second housings that can be fitted to each other and the first housing can be rotated between an initial position and a fitting position. And a lever that exerts a boosting action between the first housing and the second housing by rotating the lever, and pushes the fitting of the first and second housings, and the lever includes the first and second housings. The first housing is elastically locked to the elastic locking piece at the initial position, and the fitting of the lever is performed. The second housing is in contact with the elastic locking piece when the second housing is shallowly fitted to the first housing at the initial position. Bending and deforming the stop piece in a direction away from the restriction portion, A lever that allows the lever to rotate to the fitting position and that is bent and deformed, and a release portion that can contact the first and second housings in the separating direction. It has the characteristics in the place.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the elastic locking piece has a locking body that can contact the restricting portion, and the release portion is locked at the initial position. The main body has a concave portion that fits elastically, and when the first and second housings are shallowly fitted at the initial position, the locking main body has the first and second housings against the inner surface of the concave portion. It is characterized in that it can be contacted in the direction of separation.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the first housing includes a block-shaped inner housing that can accommodate a terminal fitting, and a cylindrical outer housing that surrounds the inner housing. A seal member is mounted on the inner housing, the lever is assembled to the outer housing, and in the initial position, the fitting space formed between the inner housing and the outer housing is in the fitting space. The distal end portion of the elastic locking piece faces, and the second housing has a cylindrical hood portion that enters the fitting space when fitted with the first housing, and the release portion is It is formed on the outer surface of the hood portion, and when the first and second housings are shallowly fitted at the initial position, the shim is placed on the inner peripheral surface of the tip portion of the hood portion. Le member has a feature where the contact elastically.

<Invention of Claim 1>
When the second housing is shallowly fitted to the first housing when the lever is in the initial position, the release portion comes into contact with the elastic locking piece, and the elastic locking piece is bent and deformed. Rotation to the fitting position is allowed. In this case, even if the release portion is pressed in the return direction by the elastic locking piece due to the accumulation of the elastic force in the elastic locking piece that is flexibly deformed, the elastic locking piece and the release piece that are bent and deformed Are brought into contact with each other in the separating direction of the first and second housings, thereby preventing the second housing from being pushed back. As a result, workability at the time of connector fitting is improved.

<Invention of Claim 2>
Since the elastic force accumulated in the elastic locking piece is reduced by elastically fitting the locking main body into the concave portion of the release portion, the second housing is more reliably avoided from being pushed back.

<Invention of Claim 3>
When the first and second housings are shallowly fitted at the initial position, the seal member elastically contacts the inner peripheral surface of the tip portion of the hood portion. The elastic force from a member will act and possibility that a 2nd housing will be pushed back increases more. In this regard, according to the present invention, the elastically deformable locking piece and the release portion which are deformed by bending contact each other in the separating direction of the first and second housings, thereby preventing the second housing from being pushed back. Therefore, the benefits of the present invention can be fully enjoyed.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the lever is in the initial position and the second housing is shallowly fitted to the first housing in the lever connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. It is a top view showing the state which the 1st and 2nd housing has isolate | separated. It is sectional drawing of a 2nd housing. It is sectional drawing of a 1st housing. It is a rear view of a lever. It is a principal part expanded sectional view showing the state by which the latching state of an elastic latching piece is cancelled | released by the cancellation | release part.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The lever-type connector according to the first embodiment includes first and second housings 10 and 40 that can be fitted to each other, and a lever 60 that is rotatably attached to the first housing 10. In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the mutual fitting surface side of the first and second housings 10 and 40 is the front.

  The second housing 40 is made of synthetic resin, and has a substantially rectangular tube-shaped hood portion 41 that opens forward as shown in FIG. A plurality of male terminal fittings 90 having a square pin shape are attached to the back wall 42 of the hood portion 41. The male terminal fitting 90 is configured to extend linearly in the front-rear direction. A front end portion of the male terminal fitting 90 is disposed in the hood portion 41, and a rear end portion of the male terminal fitting 90 is disposed so as to protrude rearward from the hood portion 41. A rib 43 projects from the front surface of the back wall 42 of the hood portion 41.

  On the outer surfaces of the upper and lower walls of the hood portion 41, a pair of pedestal portions 44 having a flat trapezoidal shape are formed so as to protrude. Of the upper and lower walls of the hood portion 41, the portions corresponding to the both pedestal portions 44 are formed thicker than the surroundings. As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of cam followers 45 having a cylindrical shape project from the front end portions of the both base portions 44. Both cam followers 45 are disposed at substantially the center of the upper and lower walls of the hood 41, respectively.

  In addition, a pair of release portions 46 are formed on the outer surfaces of the upper and lower walls of the hood portion 41 so as to form a square rib that can release the locked state of the lever 60. Both release portions 46 are configured to extend in the front-rear direction and have a rear end portion integrally connected to one side edge of the base portion 44, and are disposed adjacent to both cam followers 45. And the outer surface of the release part 46 is arrange | positioned flat continuously without the level | step difference with the outer surface of the base part 44 except the recessed part 48 mentioned later.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the front surface of the release portion 46 is a tapered inclined surface 47 that is inclined upward toward the rear. On the outer surface of the release portion 46, a concave portion 48 having a concave shape is formed at a position slightly rearward from the rear end of the slope 47. As shown in FIG. 3, the recess 48 is disposed across the part on the base part 44 side of the release part 46 and the part protruding forward of the base part 44, and the part protruding forward of the base part 44 has a full width. It is made into the form notched over. As shown in FIG. 2, the front surface of the inner wall of the recess 48 is a housing-side contact surface 49 that can contact from the front to an elastic locking piece 67 (described later) of the lever 60, and is arranged to stand substantially vertically. ing.

  The first housing 10 is made of synthetic resin, and has a substantially rectangular block-shaped inner housing 11 and a substantially rectangular tube-shaped outer housing 12 surrounding the inner housing 11 as shown in FIG. . The inner housing 11 and the outer housing 12 are separate from each other. A fitting space 13 is formed to open forward between the inner housing 11 and the outer housing 12 in the radial direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of cavities 14 are formed in the inner housing 11 so as to extend in the front-rear direction. A bendable lance 15 is formed on the inner surface of each cavity 14 so as to protrude forward. When a female terminal fitting (not shown) is inserted into the cavity 14 from the rear, the normally inserted female terminal fitting is elastically locked by the lance 15, whereby the female terminal fitting is prevented from falling into the cavity 14. It has come to be.

  A front retainer 16 is mounted on the front surface of the inner housing 11 so as to cover the front of each lance 15. On the rear surface of the front retainer 16, a plurality of deflection restricting pieces 17 are formed to protrude rearward corresponding to the lances 15. When the front retainer 16 is properly attached to the inner housing 11, each bending restricting piece 17 enters the bending space of the lance 15 to restrict the bending operation of the lance 15, whereby the female terminal fitting is substantially doubled. It is designed to prevent it from coming off.

  In addition, a rib receiving portion 18 extending in the front-rear direction is formed in the front surface of the inner housing 11, and a rib insertion hole 19 is formed in the front retainer 16 so as to penetrate coaxially with the rib receiving portion 18. Yes. If the first and second housings 10 and 40 are in the proper fitting posture when fitted, the rib 43 enters the rib insertion hole 19 and the rib receiving portion 18 to allow the fitting operation. When the first and second housings 10 and 40 are vertically inverted when fitted, the rib 43 cannot enter the rib insertion hole 19 and the rib receiving portion 18, and further fitting operation is performed. Being regulated. A connecting portion 21 is formed on the rear surface of the inner housing 11 so as to protrude rearward.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the outer housing 12 includes a rear wall 22 and a fitting cylinder portion 23 that protrudes forward from the periphery of the rear wall 22. A plurality of subcavities 24 are formed in the rear wall 22. A rubber seal member 25 such as silicon rubber is sandwiched between the rear wall 22 and the inner housing 11 in the front-rear direction. The seal member 25 is formed with a plurality of seal holes 26 into which electric wires (not shown) connected to the female terminal fittings are liquid-tightly inserted. In this case, each cavity 14, each seal hole 26, and each subcavity 24 are configured to penetrate coaxially in the front-rear direction. The seal member 25 and the rear wall 22 are each formed with a through hole 27 through which the connecting portion 21 of the inner housing 11 passes. The inner housing 11, the seal member 25, and the outer housing 12 are connected to each other via a connecting portion 21.

  A pair of cutout portions 28 having a groove shape are formed at substantially the center in the width direction of the upper and lower walls of the fitting cylinder portion 23. As shown in FIG. 1, the notch portion 28 is configured to extend in the front-rear direction with a substantially constant width and open at the front end of the fitting tube portion 23. One side edge of both side edges along the front-rear direction in the cutout portion 28 is a restriction portion 29 that can restrict the rotation of the lever 60. As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of pocket portions 31 are formed on both sides of the cutout portion 28 on both upper and lower walls of the fitting cylinder portion 23. The pocket part 31 has a plate-like part substantially parallel to the upper and lower surfaces of the fitting cylinder part 23 and has a bag shape as a whole. Further, on both upper and lower walls of the fitting cylinder portion 23, a shaft portion 32 that supports the lever 60 so as to be rotatable is formed to protrude. Further, a lever lock receiving portion 33 is formed to protrude from one side surface of the fitting tube portion 23.

  Next, the lever 60 will be described. The lever 60 is also made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 6, the operation unit 61 extending in the height direction, and extending from both ends of the operation unit 61 in the width direction. It consists of a pair of arm parts 62, and has comprised the portal plate shape as a whole. The lever 60 is supported so that the initial position and the fitting position can rotate with the shaft portion 32 of the first housing 10 as a fulcrum.

  A lever lock portion 63 is formed in the operation portion 61. When the lever 60 reaches the fitting position, the lever lock portion 63 elastically locks the lever lock receiving portion 33, thereby restricting the rotation of the lever 60.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the arm portion 62 is formed with a bearing portion 64 through which the shaft portion 32 is fitted. The arm portion 62 is formed with a cam groove 65 extending in a predetermined direction. The entrance of the cam groove 65 opens at the outer peripheral edge of the arm portion 62 and is opened forward at the initial position so that the cam follower 45 can be received. A thin arc-shaped portion 66 is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the arm portion 62. When the lever 60 is assembled to the first housing 10, the arcuate portion 66 enters the inside of the pocket portion 31, thereby restricting the expansion of the arm portion 62 when the first and second housings 10 and 40 are fitted. It has come to be.

  Further, the arm portion 62 is provided with an elastic member that can be bent and deformed in the height direction (a direction that intersects the fitting direction of the first and second housings 10 and 40 and the same direction as the plate thickness direction of the arm portion 62). The stop piece 67 is formed by cutting out. The elastic locking piece 67 is partitioned into a thin wall and a cantilever shape in a substantially U-shaped slit 68 formed in the arm portion 62. As shown in FIG. 6, a square block-shaped locking body 69 that can come into contact with the restricting portion 29 of the first housing 10 is formed at the tip of the elastic locking piece 67. The locking body 69 is disposed so as to protrude inward from the inner surface of the arm portion 62. As shown in FIG. 2, one side surface of the locking main body 69 is a lever-side contact surface 71 that can contact the housing-side contact surface 49 of the recess 48 from the rear, and is arranged to stand substantially vertically. . Further, a tapered guide slope 72 is formed on the side surface of the locking main body 69 by notching a taper-shaped guide slope 72 on a surface side different from the lever-side contact surface 71. As shown in FIG. 3, when the lever 60 is in the initial position, the elastic locking piece 67 is disposed substantially along the width direction (direction intersecting with the fitting direction of the first and second housings 10 and 40). Is done. In the initial position, as shown in FIG. 5, the locking main body 69 faces the fitting space 13 and is disposed so as to be able to contact the restricting portion 29.

Next, the fitting operation of the connector according to the first embodiment will be specifically described.
First, the lever 60 is retained in the initial position with respect to the first housing 10. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7A, the locking main body 69 of the elastic locking piece 67 is hooked and locked with respect to the restricting portion 29 in the rotation direction to the fitting position of the lever 60. The rotation of the lever 60 to the fitting position is restricted. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 1, the second housing 40 is shallowly fitted to the first housing 10. Then, the cam follower 45 enters the entrance of the cam groove 65. Further, the release portion 46 enters the fitting space 13 so that the outer surface of the release portion 46 slides on the inner surface of the arm portion 62 and comes into contact with the lock main body 69. It is bent and deformed to the outside in a direction that reduces the allowance with the restricting portion 29. At this time, when the locking main body 69 slides on the slope 47 of the release portion 46, the elastic locking piece 67 is smoothly bent and deformed.

  When the locking main body 69 passes through the inclined surface 47 and rides on the outer surface of the release portion 46, the elastic locking piece 67 is most bent and deformed. As shown in FIG. 2, when the second housing 40 is further pushed in and the locking main body 69 reaches a position corresponding to the concave portion 48, the elastic locking piece 67 is bent and deformed inward by its restoring force. The stop body 69 falls into the recess 48. At this time, the elastic locking piece 67 does not completely return to the natural state, and maintains the state of being bent and deformed with the amount of bending reduced by the depth of the recess 48. When the locking main body 69 is fitted in the recess 48, the lever-side contact surface 71 of the lever 60 and the housing-side contact surface 49 of the first housing 10 are in the front-rear direction (the first and second housings 10, 40 Are arranged facing each other in the separation direction). Further, the outer peripheral surface of the seal member 25 is elastically adhered to the inner peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the hood portion 41, and the space between the first and second housings 10 and 40 is sealed in a liquid-tight manner.

  In the above case, since the elastic force of both the elastic locking piece 67 and the seal member 25 acts on the second housing 40, the return force in the direction away from the first housing 10 is applied to the second housing 40. Become. However, according to the first embodiment, since the locking main body 69 is elastically fitted in the recess 48, the lever-side contact surface 71 and the housing-side contact surface 49 face each other in the front-rear direction. Even if the second housing 40 is pushed back by the return force, the two contact surfaces 49 and 71 are in contact with each other, and the return displacement of the second housing 40 is restricted.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the locking main body 69 is fitted in the recess 48, the locking main body 69 has a slight allowance between it and the restricting portion 29. However, as shown in FIG. 7C, when the lever 60 is rotated toward the fitting position, the guide slope 72 of the locking main body 69 slides on the restricting portion 29 and the locking main body 69 is moved. Gets on the outer surface of the fitting cylinder 23 smoothly, and the lever 60 is allowed to rotate to the fitting position.

  In the process in which the lever 60 moves toward the fitting position, the cam follower 45 slides on the groove surface of the cam groove 65, thereby exerting a cam action between the lever 60 and the second housing 40, and the first and second housings. The fitting of 10 and 40 proceeds with a low fitting force. Thus, when the cam follower 45 moves to the back side of the cam groove 65 and the lever 60 reaches the fitting position, the lever lock portion 63 elastically locks the lever lock receiving portion 33 and the lever 60 is fitted. Held in position. At the same time, the first and second housings 10 and 40 are held in a properly fitted state, and both terminal fittings are conductively connected at a normal depth.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, when the second housing 40 is shallowly fitted to the first housing 10 when the lever 60 is in the initial position, the release portion 46 is connected to the elastic locking piece 67. In contact with each other, the elastic locking piece 67 is bent and deformed, so that the lever 60 is allowed to rotate to the fitting position. In this case, even when the release portion 46 is pressed in the return direction by the elastic locking piece 67 due to the accumulation of elastic force in the elastic locking piece 67 that is bent and deformed, the elastic locking piece that is bent and deformed 67 and the release piece abut against each other in the direction in which the first and second housings 10 and 40 are separated from each other, thereby preventing the second housing 40 from being pushed back. As a result, workability at the time of connector fitting is improved.

  Further, since the elastic force accumulated in the elastic locking piece 67 is reduced by elastically fitting the locking main body 69 into the concave portion 48 of the release portion 46, the second housing 40 is more reliably pushed back. To be avoided.

  Furthermore, when the first and second housings 10 and 40 are shallowly fitted in the initial position, the seal member 25 elastically contacts the inner peripheral surface of the tip portion of the hood portion 41. In addition to the elastic locking piece 67, the elastic force from the seal member 25 acts, and the possibility that the second housing 40 is pushed back increases. However, according to the above configuration, the second housing 40 is pushed back when the elastic locking piece 67 and the release portion 46 which are deformed by bending contact each other in the separating direction of the first and second housings 10 and 40. Therefore, the benefits of the invention can be fully enjoyed.

<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.
(1) The inner housing and the outer housing may be integrally connected so as not to be separated.
(2) The lever may have a single plate shape in which one of the arm portions is omitted.
(3) The present invention is also applicable to a non-waterproof type connector that does not have a seal member.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... 1st housing 11 ... Inner housing 12 ... Outer housing 13 ... Fitting space 25 ... Sealing member 40 ... 2nd housing 41 ... Hood part 46 ... Release | release part 48 ... Recessed part 60 ... Lever 67 ... Elastic locking piece 69 ... Engagement Stop body

Claims (3)

First and second housings that can be fitted to each other;
The first housing is mounted so as to be rotatable between an initial position and a fitting position, and by the rotation operation, a boosting action is exerted between the first housing and the second housing. With a lever that pushes together,
The lever has an elastic locking piece that can be bent and deformed in a direction intersecting with the fitting direction of the first and second housings,
The first housing has a restricting portion that is elastically locked to the elastic locking piece at the initial position and restricts rotation of the lever to the fitting position.
When the second housing is shallowly fitted to the first housing at the initial position, the second housing comes into contact with the elastic locking piece to bend and deform the elastic locking piece in a direction away from the restricting portion. And a release portion that allows the lever to be pivoted to the fitting position and that can be contacted in the direction in which the first and second housings are separated from the elastic locking piece in a bent and deformed state. A lever-type connector characterized by   The elastic locking piece has a locking main body that can come into contact with the restricting portion, and the release portion has a concave portion into which the locking main body is elastically fitted at the initial position. When the first and second housings are shallowly fitted, the locking body can be brought into contact with the inner surface of the recess in the separating direction of the first and second housings. The lever type connector according to claim 1.   The first housing has a block-shaped inner housing that can accommodate terminal fittings, and a cylindrical outer housing that surrounds the inner housing. A seal member is attached to the inner housing, and the lever is The second end portion of the elastic locking piece faces the fitting space formed between the inner housing and the outer housing at the initial position. The housing has a cylindrical hood portion that enters the fitting space when mated with the first housing, the release portion is formed on an outer surface of the hood portion, and the first position is the first position. The seal member elastically contacts the inner peripheral surface of the tip of the hood portion when the first and second housings are shallowly fitted. Lever-type connector described.

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