JP5985801B2 - Lever type connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever-type electrical connector for fitting a pair of connectors by operating a lever.

A multipolar electrical connector requires a large force when fitting and releasing the connectors. For this reason, a lever-type connector that uses the boosting effect of the lever to engage and release the mating connector is used. In the lever-type connector, the lever is supported by one housing of a pair of connectors fitted to each other. A typical lever is a U-shaped member having a pair of lever bodies and a connecting portion for connecting the lever bodies to each other. By inserting fulcrum holes provided in both lever bodies into fulcrum shafts provided in the housing, the lever is It is supported rotatably.
When the operator operates the connecting portion (which becomes the force point) which is the distal end side (the side away from the fulcrum) of the lever, the two are mutually connected between the pair of connectors from the action point provided near the fulcrum of the lever. A force in the direction of approaching or separating (this force is referred to as boost) is applied. With this boost, the pair of connectors are fitted and released with a lighter force. Note that the rotation means that both clockwise rotation and counterclockwise rotation are performed.

  As is well known, when the lever-type connector is operated in the fitting direction, the lever body expands outward in the shape of a letter C (or taper) with the fulcrum shaft facing. This phenomenon becomes prominent when the connector is multipolar and the fitting load is large. Then, there is a problem that the lever fulcrum hole is removed from the fulcrum shaft of the housing, and the lever is dropped from the housing. In view of this, the lever is prevented from falling off during operation, for example, by providing a locking claw for retaining the pin on the top of the fulcrum shaft (Patent Document 1).

JP-A-10-223309

However, the locking claw becomes an obstacle when the lever is attached to the housing. Therefore, the shape of the locking claw is determined in consideration of the mounting property of the lever. For this reason, the locking claw may not have sufficient strength to prevent the lever from falling off.
The present invention has been made based on such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lever-type connector that can more reliably prevent the lever from dropping off.

The lever-type connector of the present invention made for such a purpose is provided with a first housing that holds a plurality of contacts, and is attached to the first housing so as to be rotatable about a fulcrum shaft, and is generated by a force applied to the force point. By transmitting the force from the point of action to the mating connector, the lever is fitted around the mating connector or released from the mating, and the first housing is arranged around the first housing. Two housings.
The lever includes a pair of lever bodies that rotate in synchronization with each other about a fulcrum shaft, and a connection portion that connects the pair of lever bodies and functions as a power point. The second housing includes a fulcrum. A pair of restricting walls for restricting the pair of lever bodies from spreading outward toward the axis, and a seal pressing block that presses the wire seal disposed on the electric wire drawing side of the first housing toward the first housing. The portion of the lever body that is provided and covered with the restriction wall is in contact with the inner wall surface of the restriction wall without any gap. Furthermore, the present invention that there is no inter-gap between the tip and the regulating wall of the second housing of the pivot shaft of the first housing is characterized.
The lever-type connector of the present invention restricts the expansion of the lever main body by the restriction wall provided in the second housing, but this restriction wall can be stronger than the conventional locking claw formed on the fulcrum shaft. It is possible to more reliably prevent the lever from dropping out. Moreover, since it is not necessary to form a locking claw on the fulcrum shaft, it is easy to mount the lever.

  In order to prevent the fulcrum hole of the lever from coming off from the fulcrum shaft of the housing, the restriction wall according to the present invention is at least required to have a restriction wall surface facing the lever body around the fulcrum shaft. However, since it is recognized that the force that expands the lever body is applied through the point of action, it is not only around the fulcrum shaft but also from the periphery of the fulcrum shaft to the point of action, it is necessary to have a regulation wall facing the lever body. This is preferable in terms of more reliably preventing the falling off.

In the present invention, when the lever-type connector is a waterproof type, it is preferable that the second housing includes a seal pressing block that presses the wire seal disposed on the wire drawing side of the first housing toward the first housing. .
Thus, since the second housing has two functions of a waterproof function and a lever drop prevention function, it is not necessary to prepare a new part for the lever drop prevention function, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

  According to the present invention, the expansion of the lever is restricted by the restriction wall provided in the second housing, so that it is possible to more reliably prevent the lever from dropping during operation. Moreover, since it is not necessary to form a locking claw on the fulcrum shaft, the lever-type connector of the present invention has excellent lever mounting properties.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the plug connector (lever type connector) in this Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows an outer housing from the front side. The plug connector of this Embodiment at the time of a fitting start is shown, (a) is a side view, (b) is 3b-3b arrow sectional drawing of (a). The plug connector of this Embodiment at the time of a fitting completion is shown, (a) is a side view, (b) is 4b-4b arrow sectional drawing of (a).

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiments shown in FIGS.
The plug connector 10 according to the present embodiment is a lever-type connector that can be engaged with and released from a mating connector (receptacle connector) (not shown) by operating the lever 60. The plug connector 10 is a waterproof connector that can prevent water from entering from the outside. For this purpose, the plug connector 10 includes a waterproof member called a wire seal (or a lump rubber plug).
The side that mates with the mating connector is defined as “front”, and the description of the plug connector 10 will be made below.

<Overall configuration>
The plug connector 10 includes a plug housing 20 that holds contacts, a front housing 30 that is disposed on the front end side of the plug housing 20, an outer housing 40 that is disposed around the plug housing 20, and a rear side of the plug housing 20. And a wire cover 50. Any of these members can be obtained by injection molding an insulating resin.
In the plug connector 10, a lever 60 for engaging with and releasing from the mating connector is rotatably supported by the plug housing 20.
Further, the plug connector 10 includes a wire seal 70 and a seal ring 75, thereby preventing water from entering from the outside.

<Plug housing 20>
The plug housing 20 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape is formed with a plurality of cavities 21 for accommodating female contacts (not shown). The cavity 21 penetrates the plug housing 20 in the front-rear direction. On the front side of the plug housing 20, a housing lance 22 for temporarily locking the contacts is provided so as to protrude into the cavity 21. In the present embodiment, the plug housing 20 constitutes the first housing of the present invention.
Further, the plug housing 20 is provided with a peripheral wall 23 extending rearward at the periphery of the rear end facing the outer housing 40, and the inside of the peripheral wall 23 has a seal receiving recess 24 for storing the wire seal 70. Configure.

  The plug housing 20 is provided with a retainer receiving recess 26 into which a retainer 25 made independently of the plug housing 20 is inserted. The retainer receiving recess 26 opens in the side surface of the plug housing 20, and the retainer 25 is inserted through this opening. When the retainer 25 is inserted all the way into the retainer housing recess 26, the retainer 25 interferes with the contact, and the contact is prevented from coming off from the plug connector 10. 3 (b) and 4 (b) show the retainer 25 inserted to the back. Until the contact is inserted into the cavity 21, the retainer 25 is retracted to a position that avoids interference with the contact.

The plug housing 20 includes a fulcrum shaft 27 on the outer surface 232 of the peripheral wall 23. The fulcrum shaft 27 is coaxially provided on each of the opposing outer surfaces 232. This fulcrum shaft 27 made of a cylinder serves as a rotation center of a lever 60 described later.
Further, the plug housing 20 includes a lock piece 28 on the outer surface 232 of the peripheral wall 23 different from the fulcrum shaft 27 provided. The lock piece 28 is provided on each of the opposed outer surfaces 232 and is inserted into the lock hole 461 of the outer housing 40, whereby the plug housing 20 and the outer housing 40 are fixed to each other at a predetermined position.

<Front housing 30>
The front housing 30 is formed with a contact insertion hole 31 provided with a tapered guide port 32. The lead-in port 32 is provided to facilitate insertion of the contact of the mating connector into the cavity 21 of the plug housing 20.
The front housing 30 is a necessary element in the case of the small plug connector 10 in which it is difficult to integrally form the inlet 32 in the plug housing 20, and therefore the front housing 30 depends on the size of the plug connector 10. Can be omitted.

<Outer housing 40>
The outer housing 40 is mounted so as to cover a part of the plug housing 20, presses a wire seal 70 described later against the plug housing 20, and prevents the lever 60 from falling off the plug housing 20. In the present embodiment, the outer housing 40 constitutes the second housing of the present invention.
The outer housing 40 includes a seal pressing block 41 and a pair of regulating walls 42a and 42b that are arranged at a predetermined interval in the width direction with respect to the seal pressing block 41. A lever rotation gap 48 is provided between each corresponding side surface of the seal pressing block 41 and the regulating walls 42a and 42b. The occupied area of the lever rotation gap 48 is determined so that the lever 60 described later can be rotated from the fitting start position to the fitting end position or vice versa.

When the plug housing 20 and the outer housing 40 are assembled together, the seal pressing block 41 presses the wire seal 70 accommodated in the seal accommodating recess 24 of the plug housing 20 toward the plug housing 20. This prevents water from entering between the plug housing 20 and the wire seal 70 to the mating connector.
A plurality of electric wire insertion holes 44 are formed in the seal pressing block 41 at positions corresponding to the cavities 21 of the plug housing 20. The electric wire insertion hole 44 penetrates the seal pressing block 41 in the front-rear direction. An electric wire (not shown) connected to the contact is drawn out toward the wire cover 50 behind the seal pressing block 41 through the electric wire insertion hole 44.
The seal pressing block 41 includes guides 45a, 45b, 45c, and 45d that rise rearward at each corner. Each of the guides 45a to 45d has an L-shaped cross section, and a wire cover 50, which will be described later, is disposed in a region behind the seal pressing block 41 and surrounded by the four guides 45a to 45d.
A holding wall 46 is configured by a series of guides 45a and 45b adjacent in the width direction. The holding wall 46 is formed with a lock hole 461 into which the lock piece 28 of the plug housing 20 is inserted, and a lock hole 462 into which the lock protrusion 53 of the wire cover 50 is inserted.
Between the guides 45c and 45d and the seal pressing block 41, a guide hole 431 into which the guide piece 54 of the cover main body 51 is inserted is formed.

The regulating walls 42a, 42b are connected at both ends in the longitudinal direction by the seal pressing block 41, the connecting wall 47a, and the connecting wall 47b, but the gap provided between the regulating walls 42a, 42b and the sealing pressing block 41 is a lever rotation. A moving air gap 48 is formed.
The regulating walls 42a and 42b cover almost the entire area of the seal pressing block 41 excluding the guides 45a, 45b, 45c and 45d from the width direction. An accommodation chamber 49 surrounded by the regulation walls 42a and 42b and the connection walls 47a and 47b is provided in front of the seal pressing block 41. In the accommodation chamber 49, the plug housing 20 and the front housing 30 are accommodated.

<Wire cover 50>
In the wire cover 50, the cover main body 51 covers a plurality of electric wires (not shown) connected to contacts held and held in the plug housing 20. This electric wire is pulled out to the outside from a pull-out opening 52 provided on one side of the cover main body 51 in a bundled state.
The cover body 51 is provided with a lock protrusion 53 and a guide piece 54. The lock projection 53 is inserted into the lock hole 462 of the outer housing 40, and the guide piece 54 is inserted into the guide hole 431 of the outer housing 40, whereby the wire cover 50 and the outer housing 40 are fixed to each other at a predetermined position. The cover body 51 is provided with a stopper 55. The stopper 55 regulates the rotation angle of the lever 60, and specifically defines the fitting start position of the lever 60.
The cover body 51 is provided with a lock projection 56. The lock protrusion 56 regulates the rotation angle of the lever 60, and specifically defines the fitting end position of the lever 60.

<Lever 60>
The lever 60 is rotatably supported by a fulcrum shaft 27 provided in the plug housing 20. The lever 60 includes a pair of lever main bodies 61 and a connecting portion 62 that connects the lever main bodies 61 at the rear end 60b, and has a U-shape.

Each lever body 61 is formed with a fulcrum hole 63 for supporting the lever 60 by inserting the fulcrum shaft 27 of the plug housing 20. The fulcrum hole 63 is formed through the thickness direction of the lever main body 61. A guide groove 64 that is continuous with the fulcrum hole 63 is formed on the inner surface 611 of the lever body 61 so that the fulcrum shaft 27 can be easily inserted into the fulcrum hole 63.
The lever main body 61 is formed with a cam groove 65 on the inner surface 611 from the front end 60 a of the lever 60 rather than the fulcrum hole 63. The mating connector is provided with a cam projection guided in the cam groove 65, and the force when the lever 60 is rotated is transmitted to the mating connector via the cam groove 65 and the cam projection. That is, the cam groove 65 serves as an operating point of the lever 60.

  On the inner side surface 621 of the connecting portion 62, a lock projection 66 is formed that protrudes when the thickness of the other portion is reduced. When the lever 60 is tilted to the fitting end position, the lock protrusion 66 gets over the lock protrusion 56 of the wire cover 50 to lock the lever 60 in the fitting end position.

<Wire seal 70>
The wire seal 70 is a collective waterproof member, is formed in a plate shape, and is housed in the seal housing recess 24 of the plug housing 20. The wire seal 70 is usually made of elastomer (Elastic Polymer), but the material is not limited as long as it is a material that can exhibit a waterproof function.
The outer peripheral shape and dimensions of the wire seal 70 are manufactured so as to be in close contact with the inner side surface 231 of the peripheral wall 23, and the outer peripheral surface of the wire seal 70 is in close contact with the inner side surface 231 of the peripheral wall 23 of the plug housing 20. A plurality of protrusions 71 are provided for improving the above. In FIGS. 3B and 4B,
In order to clarify the existence of the ridge 71, the ridge 71 is described by interfering with the surrounding wall 23. The same applies to the ridge 73 and the ridge 76 described later.

A plurality of contact insertion holes 72 are formed in the wire seal 70 at positions corresponding to the cavities 21 of the plug housing 20. An electric wire (not shown) connected to the contact accommodated in the cavity 21 is drawn backward through the contact insertion hole 72.
A plurality of protrusions 73 are provided on the inner periphery of each contact insertion hole 72, and these protrusions 73 are in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire. This prevents water from entering each contact insertion hole 72 into the plug housing 20 and further into the mating connector.

<Seal ring 75>
The seal ring 75 formed in a rectangular ring shape is attached around the plug housing 20.
The plug connector 10 includes a receiving groove 12 (FIGS. 3B and 4B) into which the mating connector is inserted. The protrusion 76 of the seal ring 75 is inserted into the mating connector inserted into the receiving groove 12. Prevents the water from entering from the plug connector 10 to the mating connector.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 (b) and 4 (b), the plug connector 10 assembled with each member described above has the fulcrum hole 63 inserted into the lever 60 from the start of the fitting to the completion of the fitting. The periphery of the fulcrum shaft 27 and the region from the periphery to the cam groove 65 forming the action point are covered with the regulation walls 42a and 42b. Moreover, the covered portion of the lever 60 is in contact with the inner wall surfaces of the regulating walls 42a and 42b without any gap.

Before the plug connector 10 is mated with a mating connector (not shown), as shown in FIG. 3, the lever 60 is kept at the mating start position where it is locked counterclockwise by the stopper 55.
For fitting, the connecting portion 62 (power point) of the lever 60 is pushed and the lever 60 is tilted clockwise. Then, the cam projection of the mating connector moves toward the back of the cam groove 65 of the lever 60. At this time, the force applied to the connecting portion 62 of the lever 60 acts as a boost between the cam protrusion and the cam groove 65 by the lever principle, and the plug connector 10 and the mating connector are moved with a small force. Can be mated.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the lever 60 is tilted clockwise until the lock projection 66 of the lever 60 gets over the lock projection 56 of the wire cover 50, the cam projection of the mating connector enters the back of the cam groove 65 and fits. If completed, it will be completed.

Between the start of the fitting and the end of the fitting, a force is applied to the lever main body 61 to spread outward in the shape of a letter C. However, since the lever 60 is covered around the fulcrum hole 63 by the regulation walls 42a and 42b without any gaps, the lever main body 61 is restricted from spreading outward toward the fulcrum shaft 27. Particularly, in the plug connector 10, the entire region from the periphery of the fulcrum shaft 27 (fulcrum hole 63) to the cam groove 65 forming the operating point in the lever main body 61 from the start of the engagement to the completion of the engagement is defined by the regulation walls 42 a and 42 b. Since it is covered without a gap, it is possible to more reliably prevent the fulcrum hole 63 from coming off from the fulcrum shaft 27 of the plug housing 20.
On the other hand, since the fulcrum shaft 27 of the plug housing 20 has a simple cylindrical shape, it is easier to attach the lever 60 to the plug housing 20 than the conventional fulcrum shaft provided with a locking claw.
Therefore, the plug connector 10 according to the present embodiment is excellent in the mountability of the lever 60 and can more reliably prevent the lever 60 from dropping during operation.
In addition, since the outer housing 40 is a member required for the waterproof plug connector 10 to press the wire seal 70 toward the plug housing 20, the plug connector 10 does not need to add new parts. It also has a cost advantage.

In the present invention, the outer housing 40 is used to restrain the lever 60 (lever body 61) from expanding into a square shape, but the form is not limited. That is, although the example in which the inner wall surface of the outer housing 40 is flat has been shown, the present invention is not limited to this as long as it does not interfere with the lever 60 and prevent the rotation operation. For example, the present invention allows a regulating wall having an inner wall surface in which a portion that restrains the expansion of the lever 60 protrudes toward the lever 60 more than other portions.
The electrical connector to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to the plug connector 10 described above. For example, a lever-type connector using the lever principle such as a lever-type connector using a lever formed with a gear is used. Can be widely applied.
Further, in the plug connector 10 described above, an example in which the fulcrum shaft 27 is provided in the plug housing 20 and the fulcrum hole 63 is provided in the lever 60 is shown, but the fulcrum shaft and the member providing the fulcrum hole are reversed. Is acceptable.
In addition to this, as long as it does not depart from the gist of the present invention, the configuration described in the above embodiment can be selected or changed to another configuration as appropriate.

10 plug connector 20 plug housing 21 cavity 24 seal receiving recess 27 fulcrum shaft 30 front housing 31 contact insertion hole 32 lead-in port 40 outer housing 42a, 42b regulating wall 46 holding wall 47a, 47b connecting wall 48 lever rotating gap 49 housing chamber 50 Wire cover 60 Lever 61 Lever body 62 Connecting part 63 Support point hole 65 Cam groove 70 Wire seal

Claims (2)

A first housing holding a plurality of contacts and having a fulcrum shaft;
The first housing is pivotally mounted about the fulcrum shaft, and transmits the boost generated by the force applied to the force point from the point of application to the mating connector, so that the mating with the mating connector or A lever that releases the mating;
The first housing is disposed around the first housing, and includes a second housing separate from the first housing;
The lever is
A pair of lever bodies that rotate in synchronization with each other about the fulcrum shaft;
Connecting a pair of lever bodies, and having a connecting portion that functions as the power point,
The second housing is
A pair of restriction walls for restricting the pair of lever bodies from spreading outwardly toward the fulcrum shaft ;
A seal pressing block that presses a wire seal disposed on the wire drawing side of the first housing toward the first housing ;
The portion of the lever body covered by the restriction wall is in contact with the inner wall surface of the restriction wall without a gap,
There is no inter-gap between the tip and the regulating wall of the second housing of the fulcrum shaft of the first housing,
This is a lever type connector. The pair of restriction walls is
A regulation wall surface facing the lever body from the circumference of the fulcrum axis and from the circumference of the fulcrum axis to the action point;
The lever type connector according to claim 1.

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