JP5811078B2 - Lever type connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever-type connector.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a lever-type connector in which both male and female housings are fitted and detached by rotating a lever, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 below is known. This lever-type connector has a pair of male and female housings that can be fitted to each other, and a lever is rotatably supported by the female housing, and the male housing has a hood portion that can accommodate the female housing therein. Is provided. A plurality of male terminals project forward from the back wall of the hood portion, and a moving plate is mounted in the hood portion. This moving plate has a main body part in which a plurality of positioning holes for penetrating a plurality of male terminals are formed, and a peripheral wall part that rises in a rectangular tube shape from the periphery of the main body part toward the front.

  The lever has a cam plate in which a cam groove is formed, and a cam pin that can be engaged with the cam groove is formed on the inner wall of the hood portion. The cam groove is recessed on the outer surface side of the cam plate, and the engagement groove that can be engaged with the engagement protrusion formed on the peripheral wall portion of the moving plate is recessed on the inner surface side of the cam plate. . That is, the cam plate of the lever is accommodated inside the hood portion, and the peripheral wall portion of the moving plate is accommodated inside the cam plate.

JP 2007-287614 A

  However, in the above lever-type connector, a gap corresponding to the plate thickness of the cam plate is formed over the entire circumference between the hood portion and the peripheral wall portion of the moving plate, and the cam plate is accommodated. Although it is possible to prevent rattling of the moving plate on the side, it is not possible to prevent rattling of the moving plate on the short side where the cam plate is not accommodated. Therefore, when the moving plate is moved into the hood portion, the main body portion tilts, and the male terminal and the inner wall of the positioning hole come into contact with each other, and the fitting resistance may increase. Thus, with the above-described lever-type connector, the moving plate cannot be moved in a stable posture within the hood portion.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to move the moving plate in a stable posture in the hood portion.

  The present invention includes a male housing having a hood portion that opens forward and formed with a plurality of male terminals protruding forward from the back wall of the hood portion, and is movable in the front-rear direction within the hood portion. A moving plate comprising a main body portion formed by penetrating a plurality of positioning holes and a peripheral wall portion that rises forward from the outer peripheral edge of the main body portion, and is fitted in the moving plate , A female housing that can be fitted in the hood together with the moving plate, and a cam plate that is rotatably mounted on the outer peripheral wall of the female housing, and can be engaged with a cam pin provided on the male housing on the cam plate A cam groove is provided, and a lever for fitting and releasing the male and female housings by a cam action based on the engagement of the cam groove and the cam pin is provided. The inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion of the bets and the hood, characterized in was configured to have disposed proximate the entire periphery.

  According to such a configuration, since the peripheral wall portion of the moving plate is guided by the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion, the main body portion of the moving plate is translated backward, so that the moving plate is rattled in the hood portion. It can be moved in a stable posture without losing.

The following configuration is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention.
The moving plate moves between the initial position where the tip of the male terminal is positioned in the positioning hole and the fitting position where the male terminal passes through the positioning hole and the main body is arranged along the back wall of the hood. The hood has an elastically displaceable locking projection, and the moving plate is fitted with a holding hole capable of holding the moving plate in the initial position by being engaged with the locking projection. It is good also as a structure which has the escape hole which escapes a lock | rock protrusion in an alignment position.
According to such a configuration, the moving plate can be held at the initial position by engaging the lock protrusion of the hood portion with the holding hole of the moving plate. In addition, since the lock protrusion can be released by the escape hole at the fitting position, it is possible to avoid the portion that urges the lock protrusion from being deformed.

Engaging protrusions are provided inwardly on the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the moving plate, and the cam plate of the lever is provided with an arcuate engaging groove through which the engaging protrusion passes as the lever rotates. It is good also as a structure currently provided.
According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the moving plate from unexpectedly moving from the initial position to the fitting position by hooking the engaging protrusion through the engaging groove.

When the male and female housings are detached, the moving projection may be engaged with the engaging groove so that the moving plate moves from the fitting position to the initial position.
According to such a configuration, the moving plate can be returned from the fitting position to the initial position by engaging the engaging protrusion with the engaging groove.

  According to the present invention, the moving plate can be moved in a stable posture in the hood portion.

Exploded perspective view of lever-type connector Sectional drawing which showed the state before mounting a moving plate in a hood part Sectional drawing which showed the state which kept the moving plate in the initial position in a hood part Sectional drawing which showed the state in the middle of fitting a female housing in the moving plate in an initial position Sectional drawing which showed the state which fitted the female housing in the moving plate in an initial position Sectional view showing how the female housing and moving plate move together from the initial position to the mating position by rotating the lever Further, a sectional view showing a state where the moving plate reaches the fitting position by rotating the lever and the female housing is properly fitted with the male housing.

<Embodiment>
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the lever-type connector of this embodiment includes a female connector 10 on which a lever 20 is rotatably supported, a moving plate 30, and a male connector 40. In this lever-type connector, both the male and female connectors 10 and 40 are fitted and detached by rotating the lever 20. In the following description, the front-rear direction is based on the mating direction of the male and female connectors 10 and 40, and the mating surface side is the front side.

  The male connector 40 has a male housing 41 made of synthetic resin, and the male housing 41 is formed with a hood portion 42 having a rectangular tube shape and opening forward. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of male terminals 44 are held on the back wall 43 of the hood portion 42 in a form protruding forward. The male terminal 44 has a terminal connecting portion that protrudes forward in a tab shape. Further, the hood portion 42 has a peripheral wall 45 that protrudes forward from the periphery of the back wall 43 in a rectangular tube shape.

  Lock pieces 46 are formed on a pair of opposing walls (opposing walls 45A on the short side) of the peripheral walls 45, respectively. The lock piece 46 has a cantilever shape and extends forward, and its base end is located on the back wall 43 of the hood portion 42, and the free end of the lock piece 46 has a semi-lock shape. A lock protrusion 47 protruding inward is formed. The locking protrusion 47 is configured as a gentle inclined surface in which the front and rear inclined surfaces each form an inclination angle of about 45 ° with respect to the fitting direction. The front end of the locking protrusion 47 is positioned slightly forward of the front end of the male terminal 44 and is positioned slightly rearward of the half position in the front-rear direction of the peripheral wall 45 of the hood portion 42.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a pair of opposed walls (long-side opposed walls) 45 </ b> B on the side where the lock pieces 46 are not formed in the peripheral wall 45 of the hood portion 42 are paired to protrude inward. A cam pin 48 is formed. The cam pin 48 has a round pin shape.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the moving plate 30 includes a main body 31 formed with a plurality of positioning holes 32 through which the male terminals 44 are inserted, and a peripheral wall 33 that rises from the periphery of the main body 31 in a rectangular tube shape. It is configured with. The peripheral wall portion 33 has a size that allows contact with the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 45 of the hood portion 42 over the entire circumference. For this reason, when the moving plate 30 is accommodated in the hood portion 42, the main body portion 31 of the moving plate 30 moves in parallel in the front-rear direction by sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 33 and the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 45. ing.

  Further, the moving plate 30 can reciprocate between an initial position shown in FIG. 4 and a fitting position shown in FIG. In the initial position, the tip of the male terminal 44 is accommodated in the positioning hole 32.

  A holding hole 34 and an escape hole 35 are formed side by side in the front-rear direction at a position corresponding to the lock protrusion 47 of the hood portion 42 in the peripheral wall portion 33. In the front-rear direction here, the female connector 40 side is defined as the front, and the male connector 10 side is defined as the rear. The escape hole 35 is configured as a square hole having the outer edge of the main body 31 as one side, and the holding hole 34 is disposed behind the escape hole 35. As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of lock pieces 46 are arranged on the opposing wall 45 </ b> A on each short side, and a total of four lock pieces 46 are arranged on the entire hood portion 42. Similarly, the holding hole 34 and the relief hole 35 are arranged corresponding to each lock piece 46, and a total of four are arranged for the entire moving plate 30.

  A pair of notches 36 are formed in the peripheral wall portion 33 at positions corresponding to the pair of cam pins 48 of the hood portion 42 so that the cam pins 48 are inserted inside the peripheral wall portion 33. The notch 36 is formed from the main body 31 to the front edge of the peripheral wall 33, and the front edge of the notch 36 constitutes an opening edge of the peripheral wall 33. Further, an engagement projection 37 is formed on the peripheral portion of the notch 36 on the main body 31 side so as to protrude inward. The engaging projections 37 have a round pin shape, and a total of two are arranged on the moving plate 30 as a whole.

  The female connector 10 has a female housing 11 made of synthetic resin, and the female housing 11 has a substantially rectangular block shape. A plurality of cavities 12 are formed in the female housing 11 so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction. A female terminal (not shown) is accommodated in the cavity 12 and held by a lance (not shown). Yes. The female terminal has a box portion having a rectangular tube shape in which the terminal connection portion of the male terminal 44 can be fitted. An elastic contact piece (not shown) is formed inside the box portion, and the elastic contact piece comes into elastic contact with the terminal connection portion of the male terminal 44.

  A pair of support shafts 13 are provided on the outer peripheral side surface of the female housing 11 so as to protrude laterally. The support shaft 13 is provided on the long side surface (the side surface corresponding to the long side facing wall 45 </ b> B of the hood portion 42 of the male housing 41) among the outer peripheral side surfaces of the female housing 11. The protruding height of the support shaft 13 is kept to such an extent that the female housing 11 does not contact the inner peripheral side surface of the peripheral wall 33 when the female housing 11 is fitted inside the moving plate 30.

  The lever 20 is made of a synthetic resin and has a configuration in which the ends of the pair of cam plates 21 are connected to each other by an operation unit 22 and has a substantially portal shape as a whole. The cam plate 21 has a bearing hole 23. When the support shaft 13 of the female housing 11 is fitted in the bearing hole 23, the cam plate 21 has the support shaft 13 as a rotation center. It is assembled so that it can rotate. Thereby, the lever 20 can be rotated between the initial position shown in FIG. 4 and the fitting position shown in FIG.

  A cam groove 24 and an engagement groove 25 are formed in the outer edge portion of the cam plate 21. The cam groove 24 has an arc shape that gradually approaches the bearing hole 23 from the start end portion located at the outer edge portion of the cam plate 21. On the other hand, the engagement groove 25 has an arc shape centered on the bearing hole 23 from the start end portion located at the outer edge portion of the cam plate 21. Further, the cam groove 24 and the engagement groove 25 are arranged so as not to cross each other, and the end portion of the cam groove 24, the end portion of the engagement groove 25, and the center of the bearing hole 23 are substantially on the same straight line. The end portions of the cam grooves 24 are arranged closer to the bearing holes 23 than the end portions of the engaging grooves 25.

  The cam plate 21 is formed with a holding piece 26 that holds the lever 20 in the initial position. The holding piece 26 is restrained from rotating from the initial position of the lever 20 to the fitting position by being engaged with the holding protrusion 14 formed on the outer peripheral side surface of the female housing 11. The holding piece 26 constitutes an outer edge portion of the cam plate 21, and the free end portion of the holding piece 26 is located at the start end portion of the cam groove 24. Further, the direction from the base end portion of the holding piece 26 toward the free end portion coincides with the direction from the start end portion of the engagement groove 25 toward the end portion.

  When the female connector 10 is fitted into the moving plate 30 with the lever 20 held at the initial position by the holding piece 26, the holding piece 26 is pushed in while being elastically deformed by the cam pin 48 as shown in FIG. Accordingly, the holding piece 26 and the holding protrusion 14 are unlocked, and the lever 20 is allowed to rotate from the initial position to the fitting position. At the same time, the cam pin 48 is positioned at the start end of the cam groove 24, and the engagement protrusion 37 is positioned at the start end of the engagement groove 25. When the lever 20 is rotated toward the fitting position, the male and female connectors 10 and 40 are pulled toward each other by a cam action based on the engagement of the cam pin 48 and the cam groove 24 as shown in FIG. During this time, the engagement protrusion 37 moves relative to the engagement groove 25 without engaging with the engagement groove 25. In other words, the operation in which the moving plate 30 is pushed into the hood portion 42 is not generated by the cam action based on the engagement between the engagement protrusion 37 and the engagement groove 25, but the fitting surface of the female housing 11 is moved. It is generated by pushing the main body 31 of the plate 30. When the lever 20 reaches the fitting position, the cam pin 48 reaches the end portion of the cam groove 24 and the engagement protrusion 37 reaches the end portion of the engagement groove 25 as shown in FIG.

  The present embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described subsequently. First, the moving plate 30 is assembled to the male housing 41 shown in FIG. When assembling, the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 33 of the moving plate 30 is disposed close enough to the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion 42 so as to be slidable over the entire periphery. The moving plate 30 enters the hood portion 42 while maintaining the parallel state with the rear wall 43 of the 42. When both side edges of the main body 31 come into contact with the lock projection 47 of the lock piece 46, the lock piece 46 is elastically deformed outward due to the sliding contact therebetween. Then, when the moving plate 30 reaches the initial position, as shown in FIG. 3, the lock piece 46 is elastically restored and the lock projection 47 is fitted into the holding hole 34 of the peripheral wall portion 33 vigorously. Thereby, the moving plate 30 is held at the initial position. At this time, the distal end portion of the male terminal 44 has entered the positioning hole 32 and is positioned at a normal position by the positioning hole 32.

  Next, when the female housing 11 is fitted into the moving plate 30, the cam pin 48 enters the start end portion of the cam groove 24, and the engagement protrusion 37 starts the start end of the engagement groove 25 as shown in FIG. 4. Enter the club. Further, both side edges of the fitting surface of the female housing 11 reach the lock protrusion 47 of the lock piece 46. Thereafter, when the fitting of the female housing 11 is advanced, the lock piece 46 is elastically deformed outward by the both side walls of the female housing 11 and the holding piece 26 of the lever 20 is moved by the cam pin 48 as shown in FIG. It is elastically deformed toward the bearing hole 23 side. Thereby, the latching of the holding piece 26 and the holding projection 14 is released, and the lever 20 is allowed to rotate.

  When the lever 20 is moved from the initial position to the mating position, as shown in FIG. 6, the cam pin 48 engages with the cam groove 24 and exerts a cam action so that the male and female connectors 10 and 40 are attracted to each other. It is done. Further, the lock protrusion 47 of the lock piece 46 rides on a portion between the holding hole 34 and the escape hole 35. Further, the engagement protrusion 37 moves along the engagement groove 25. During this time, the main body portion 31 of the moving plate 30 is pushed into the back wall 43 side of the hood portion 42 by the fitting surface of the female housing 11.

  When the lever 20 reaches the fitting position, as shown in FIG. 7, the main body 31 of the moving plate 30 comes into contact with the back wall 43 of the hood 42, and the lock piece 46 is elastically restored to lock the protrusion. 47 fits into the escape hole 35 vigorously. Further, the cam pin 48 reaches the end portion of the cam groove 24, and the engagement protrusion 37 reaches the end portion of the engagement groove 25. As a result, the male terminal 44 penetrates the positioning hole 32, and the male terminal 44 is connected to the female terminal so as to be conductive.

  Next, the case where both male and female connectors 10 and 40 are detached will be described. When the lever 20 is rotated from the fitting position to the initial position, the male and female connectors 10 and 40 are separated from each other by the engagement of the cam pin 48 and the cam groove 24. Further, the moving plate 30 is returned from the fitting position to the initial position by the engagement of the engagement protrusion 37 and the engagement groove 25. Further, the lock protrusion 47 of the lock piece 46 rides on the portion between the holding hole 34 and the escape hole 35, and the lock piece 46 is elastically deformed outward (see FIG. 6).

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the lever 20 reaches the initial position, the moving plate 30 reaches the initial position and the holding piece 26 is elastically deformed by the cam pins 48 as shown in FIG. 5. When the female connector 10 is manually pulled away, the holding piece 26 is elastically restored and is locked to the holding projection 14, whereby the lever 20 is held at the initial position and the female connector 10 is detached from the moving plate 30. . During the fitting and disengaging operations by the lever 20, the peripheral wall portion 33 of the moving plate 30 is guided by the peripheral wall 45 of the hood portion 42, so that the moving plate 30 is translated in the front-rear direction without rattling. Can be made.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the peripheral wall portion of the moving plate 30 is guided by the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion 42, the main body portion 31 of the moving plate 30 is translated rearward. The moving plate 30 can be moved in a stable posture within 42.

  In addition, the moving plate 30 has an initial position where the tip of the male terminal 44 is positioned in the positioning hole 32, and the main body portion 31 is disposed along the back wall 43 of the hood portion 42 with the male terminal 44 passing through the positioning hole 32. The hood portion 42 has an elastically displaceable lock protrusion 47, and the moving plate 30 is engaged with the lock protrusion 47. It is good also as a structure which has the holding hole 34 which can hold the moving plate 30 in an initial position, and the escape hole 35 which escapes the lock protrusion 47 in a fitting position. According to such a configuration, the moving plate 30 can be held at the initial position by engaging the lock protrusion 47 of the hood portion 42 with the holding hole 34 of the moving plate 30. In addition, since the lock protrusion 47 can be released by the escape hole 35 at the fitting position, it is possible to avoid the portion that urges the lock protrusion 47 from being deformed.

  An engaging projection 37 is provided on the inner surface of the peripheral wall 33 of the moving plate 30 so as to protrude inward, and the engaging projection 37 is passed through the cam plate 21 of the lever 20 as the lever 20 rotates. It is good also as a structure by which the arc-shaped engagement groove | channel 25 is provided. According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the moving plate 30 from being unexpectedly moved from the initial position to the fitting position by hooking the engaging protrusion 37 through the engaging groove 25.

  The engaging plate 37 may be engaged with the engaging groove 25 when the male and female housings 11 and 41 are detached, so that the moving plate 30 moves from the fitting position to the initial position. According to such a configuration, the moving plate 30 can be returned from the fitting position to the initial position by engaging the engaging protrusion 37 with the engaging groove 25.

<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) Although the lever 20 provided with the pair of cam plates 21 is illustrated in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, the lever may be composed of one cam plate.

  (2) Although the tip of the male terminal 44 is accommodated in the positioning hole 32 at the initial position of the moving plate 30 in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, even if the tip of the male terminal slightly protrudes from the positioning hole. Good.

  (3) Although the moving plate 30 is returned from the fitting position to the initial position by engaging the engaging protrusion 37 with the engaging groove 25 in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, between the female housing and the moving plate. Alternatively, a semi-lock mechanism may be provided separately to carry back.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Female housing 20 ... Lever 21 ... Cam plate 24 ... Cam groove 25 ... Engagement groove 30 ... Moving plate 31 ... Main-body part 32 ... Positioning hole 33 ... Perimeter wall part 34 ... Holding hole 35 ... Relief hole 37 ... Engagement protrusion 41 ... Male housing 42 ... Hood part 43 ... Back wall 44 ... Male terminal 45 ... Surrounding wall 46 ... Lock piece 47 ... Lock protrusion 48 ... Cam pin

Claims (4)

A male housing having a hood portion that opens forward and formed with a plurality of male terminals that project forward from the back wall of the hood portion;
A main body part that is movable in the front-rear direction in the hood part and is formed through a plurality of positioning holes through which the male terminals are inserted, and a peripheral wall part that rises forward from the outer peripheral edge of the main body part in a cylindrical shape A moving plate consisting of
A female housing that can be fitted in the hood portion together with the moving plate in a state of being fitted in the moving plate;
A cam plate rotatably mounted on the outer peripheral wall of the female housing is provided, and a cam groove that can be engaged with a cam pin provided on the male housing is provided on the cam plate, and the cam groove is engaged with the cam pin. And a lever that allows the male and female housings to be engaged and disengaged by a cam action based on the joint,
The lever-type connector, wherein the peripheral wall portion of the moving plate and the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion are arranged close to each other over the entire circumference. The moving plate has an initial position in which the tip of the male terminal is positioned in the positioning hole, the male terminal passes through the positioning hole, and the main body portion is disposed along the back wall of the hood portion. It is possible to move between the mating positions,
The hood portion has an elastically displaceable lock protrusion, and the moving plate engages with the lock protrusion to hold the moving plate in an initial position, and the fitting The lever-type connector according to claim 1, further comprising an escape hole through which the locking protrusion is released at a position.   Engaging protrusions are provided inwardly on the inner surface of the peripheral wall portion of the moving plate, and the cam plate of the lever has an arcuate engagement that allows the engaging protrusion to pass as the lever rotates. The lever-type connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a mating groove is provided.   The lever according to claim 3, wherein the moving projection moves from the fitting position to the initial position by engaging the engaging protrusion with the engaging groove when the male and female housings are detached. Type connector.

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