JP6241752B2 - Lever type connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever-type connector.

  The lever-type connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a pair of male and female connector housings that can be fitted to each other. The female connector housing has a block-shaped housing body (housing) having a plurality of cavities into which female terminal fittings (terminal fittings) can be inserted, and a fitting initial position (a support surface) on the lever mounting surface (supporting surface) of the housing body ( A lever having a single cam plate that is rotatably supported at an initial position) and a fitting completion position (fitting position). The cam plate is provided with a cantilevered locking piece (lock arm) that can be bent. When the locking piece is elastically locked to the locking projection provided on the male connector housing, the two connector housings are held in the fitted state. The cam plate is provided with a rectangular frame-shaped protection portion that surrounds the rear end portion (locking piece operation portion) of the locking piece. If the locking piece is excessively bent and deformed, the locking piece abuts against the lower side of the protective portion, and the further bending operation of the locking piece is restricted. In other words, the lower side portion of the protection portion can function as an excessive deflection regulating portion that regulates excessive deflection of the locking piece.

  Here, the inner surface of the cam plate is disposed to face the lever mounting surface of the housing body. And the lower side part of the protection part is provided below the reference plane including the inner surface of the cam plate.

Japanese Patent No. 4678333

  In the case of the conventional lever-type connector, a clearance space for accommodating the lower side portion of the protective portion is provided below the lever mounting surface of the housing body. Then, since a cavity cannot be provided in a portion corresponding to the escape space, there is a situation in which the number of cavities must be reduced accordingly.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a lever-type connector capable of increasing the number of cavities.

  The lever-type connector of the present invention can be fitted into a mating housing, and has a housing main body having a plurality of cavities into which terminal fittings can be inserted, and a support surface of the housing main body between an initial position and a fitting position. A cam plate which is supported so as to be movable and is rotated from the initial position to the fitting position while being engaged with the mating housing, thereby advancing the mating of the mating housing and the housing body. And a bendable lock arm that holds the mating housing and the housing body in a fitted state at the mating position, and the cam plate is opposed to the lock arm in the flexing direction. And an over-deflection restricting portion for restricting over-deflection of the lock arm, and the cam plate is disposed along a support surface of the housing body. The housing body is disposed in the lower region and the lock arm is disposed in the upper region of the upper and lower regions with a reference plane including the inner surface of the cam plate as a boundary. It is characterized in that a deflection restricting portion is provided in the upper region.

  Even if the cam plate is provided with an excessive deflection restricting portion that restricts the excessive bending of the lock arm, the excessive deflection restricting portion is provided in the upper region where the lock arm is disposed. There is no need to provide a clearance space for accommodating the excessive deflection restricting portion below the support surface, and the number of cavities can be increased accordingly.

In the lever type connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is a rear view showing a state in which the lever is in the fitting position with respect to the housing. It is also a plan view. It is a top view which shows the state which has a lever in an initial position with respect to a housing. Similarly, it is a partially broken plan view. It is a bottom view similarly. It is sectional drawing of a lever.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown below.
The lock arm has an arm main body that is continuous with the main body of the cam plate, and a pair of overhanging pieces that protrude from both side edges of the arm main body, and the over-deflection restricting portion is formed of the pair of overhanging pieces. Pairs are provided at positions facing each other. Temporarily, if the excessive deflection restricting portion is in a form that is erected in a double-sided manner, there is a situation that it is difficult to form a thin excessive deflection restricting portion from the viewpoint of resin fluidity at the time of molding. If the excessive bending restricting portion is provided in a pair at a position facing each of the pair of projecting pieces, the thin excessive bending restricting portion can be formed without hindrance, and as a result, a small lever-type connector can be formed. Can also respond.

<Example>
Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. The lever-type connector of the present embodiment includes a housing 10 and a lever 60 that is attached to the housing 10 so as to be rotatable between an initial position and a fitting position. The housing 10 (a housing main body 11 to be described later in detail) can be fitted to the mating housing 90. In the following description, regarding the front-rear direction, the front side is a surface side where both housings 10 and 90 face each other when fitting is started. Further, the vertical direction and the horizontal direction (same in the width direction) are based on FIG.

  The mating housing 90 is made of synthetic resin, and has a substantially square tubular hood portion 91 that is long in the width direction, as shown in FIG. In the hood portion 91, a male tab of a mating terminal fitting (not shown) is disposed so as to protrude. A pair of cam followers 92 are provided on both the upper and lower walls of the hood portion 91 so as to protrude from a substantially central portion in the width direction of the inner surface thereof. The cam follower 92 has a substantially cylindrical shape and can be engaged with a cam groove 69 described later of the lever 60. Moreover, the lock part 93 protrudes and is provided in the upper wall of the food | hood part 91 at the width direction one end side of the inner surface. Furthermore, the release part 94 protrudes and is provided in the upper wall of the food | hood part 91 at the width direction other end side of the inner surface.

  The housing 10 is made of synthetic resin, and can be fitted into the hood portion 91 as shown in FIG. 2, and has a housing body 11 having a substantially rectangular block shape that is long in the width direction as shown in FIG. ing. The housing main body 11 is provided with a plurality of cavities 12 aligned in the width direction and the vertical direction. A terminal fitting (not shown) is inserted into each cavity 12 from behind. The terminal fitting is connected to an end portion of an electric wire (not shown) by crimping, and is electrically connected to the mating terminal fitting when both the housings 10 and 90 are properly fitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the upper surface of the housing body 11 is a support surface 13 that rotatably supports a cam plate 61 (described later) of the lever 60. The support surface 13 is formed substantially flat along the width direction and the front-rear direction. A pair of support shafts 14 project from a substantially central portion in the width direction of the support surface 13 of the housing body 11. The support shaft 14 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and plays a role of supporting the lever 60 in a rotatable manner. The support shaft 14 is also provided on the lower surface of the housing body 11. As shown in FIG. 4, a stopper portion 15 projects from the support surface 13 of the housing body 11 in the vicinity of the support shaft 14.

  The housing 10 includes a covering wall 16 that covers the support surface 13 of the housing body 11 from above, a front end wall 17 that connects the front end of the support surface 13 of the housing body 11 and the front end of the covering wall 16, and the housing body 11. Both side end walls 18 that connect both ends of the support surface 13 in the width direction and both ends of the covering wall 16 in the width direction are provided (see FIGS. 1 and 4). As shown in FIG. 1, the inner space surrounded by the housing body 11, the covering wall 16, the front end wall 17, and both side end walls 18 is opened rearward as an accommodation space 19. The accommodation space 19 is configured to be elongated in the width direction and open like a slit, and can accommodate the cam plate 61 of the lever 60.

  Further, the housing 10 is provided with a protrusion 21 that connects the housing body 11 and the covering wall 16 and extends in the front-rear direction through the housing space 19 (see FIGS. 1 and 4). A locking projection 22 is provided at the rear end of the projection 21 so as to bulge in the width direction. As shown in FIG. 4, a locking arm 67 (to be described later) of the lever 60 can be locked to the locking protrusion 22.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a release approach groove 23 extending in the front-rear direction adjacent to the protrusion 21 is provided in the covering wall 16 so as to cut. The release entry groove 23 opens in the front end wall 17 (see FIG. 4), and the release portion 94 of the mating housing 90 can enter the inside from the front. Further, a cam entry groove 24 extending in the front-rear direction is provided at a substantially central portion in the width direction of the covering wall 16 so as to cut. The cam entry groove 24 opens in the front end wall 17 and allows the cam follower 92 of the mating housing 90 to enter from the front. Further, the cover wall 16 is provided with a lock approach groove 25 extending in the front-rear direction at a position opposite to the release approach groove 23 across the cam entry groove 24. The lock entry groove 25 is opened in the front end wall 17 so that the lock portion 93 of the mating housing 90 can enter from the front.

  Next, the lever 60 will be described. The lever 60 is also made of synthetic resin and has a flat cam plate 61, a flat auxiliary plate 62 disposed substantially parallel to the cam plate 61, and a vertical direction connecting the auxiliary plate 62 and the cam plate 61. It consists of the connecting part 63 along, and is formed in the gate shape as a whole (refer FIG. 6).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cam plate 61 has an inner surface 64 that is disposed along the support surface 13 of the housing body 11 while being accommodated in the accommodation space 19 of the housing 10. The inner surface 64 of the cam plate 61 is formed to be substantially flat along the width direction and the front-rear direction. A bearing portion 65 that receives the support shaft 14 is recessed in the inner surface 64 of the cam plate 61. The lever 60 is turnable between an initial position and a fitting position around the support shaft 14 fitted to the bearing portion 65. In the initial position, as shown in FIG. 3, the rear portion of the cam plate 61 is disposed so as to largely protrude outward from the housing 10, and in the fitting position, as shown in FIG. Almost all of 61 is accommodated in the accommodating space 19 of the housing 10.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a concentric arc-shaped stopper groove 66 centering on the bearing portion 65 is provided on the inner surface 64 of the cam plate 61. When the cam plate 61 is attached to the support shaft 14 of the housing body 11, the stopper portion 15 enters the stopper groove 66, and the stopper portion 15 comes into contact with both ends of the stopper groove 66. It is defined between the position and the fitting position.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a locking arm 67 that extends in a cantilever manner along the outer peripheral surface of the cam plate 61 is provided at the distal end portion (the end portion away from the connecting portion 63) of the cam plate 61. . A claw-like tip projection 68 is provided at the tip of the locking arm 67. When the lever 60 is in the initial position, the tip protrusion 68 of the locking arm 67 is elastically locked to the locking protrusion 22, thereby restricting the lever 60 from rotating toward the fitting position. It has come to be.

  A cam groove 69 extending in a predetermined direction and opening to the outer peripheral edge is formed in the outer surface of the cam plate 61 (the surface opposite to the inner surface 64). When the two housings 10 and 90 are fitted, the cam follower 92 enters the cam groove 69 and can be engaged.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a bendable lock arm 71 is provided at the base end portion (the end portion close to the connecting portion 63) of the cam plate 61. A main body 73 of the cam plate 61 (a portion of the cam plate 61 excluding the lock arm 71) is provided with two slit portions 72 extending substantially in parallel in the front-rear direction and opening at the rear end. Is disposed between the slit portions 72. The lock arm 71 includes an arm main body 74 that protrudes rearward from the main body 73 in a cantilever manner, and a lock protrusion 75 that protrudes to the outer surface (upper surface) of the rear end portion of the arm main body 74. The lock protrusion 75 has a rib shape extending in the width direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the lever 60 reaches the fitting position, the lock body 93 is arranged to be able to be engaged with the lock projection 75 after the arm body 74 is bent, and the housings 10 and 90 are fitted. It is designed to be held in a state. As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of ribs 76 extending in the front-rear direction are provided at both ends in the width direction of the arm main body 74, and both ends in the width direction of the lock protrusion 75 are integrally connected to both ribs 76. Further, the cam plate 61 is provided with a groove 77 between the ribs 76 and in front of the lock projection 75 to allow the lock portion 93 to escape during the rotation of the lever 60.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a release operation portion 78 is provided at a position higher than the front end portion at the rear end portion of the arm main body 74. When the release operation part 78 is pressed when both the housings 10 and 90 are detached, the lock arm 71 is bent and deformed, and the engagement with the lock part 93 is released.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of projecting pieces 79 projecting laterally from both ends in the width direction are provided at the rear end portion of the arm main body 74. The both projecting pieces 79 are plate-shaped, and as shown in FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 6, an inclined portion that gradually increases upward from the middle of the arm body 74 toward the release operation section 78 from the middle of the arm body 74 in the front-rear direction. Are formed along the inclination direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the both overhanging pieces 79 are disposed on both sides in the width direction across the lock protrusion 75, and are integrally connected to both outer surfaces of both ribs 76.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of excessive deflection restricting portions 81 that protrude from the groove surfaces of both slit portions 72 to face each other are provided at the rear end portion of the cam plate 61. The two excessive deflection restricting portions 81 have a plate-like shape, and are disposed along the front-rear direction at the lower end portions of the groove surfaces of both slit portions 72 (the lower end portion in the thickness direction of the cam plate 61) as shown in FIG. Yes. As shown in FIG. 1, both projecting pieces 79 are located above the two excessive deflection restricting portions 81. That is, the two excessive deflection restricting portions 81 are disposed at positions facing the both protruding pieces 79 in the bending direction of the lock arm 71. When the lock arm 71 is excessively bent and deformed downward, the two protruding pieces 79 come into contact with the two excessive deflection restricting portions 81 from above, and further bending operation of the lock arm 71 is restricted. This prevents the lock arm 71 from being excessively bent and deformed beyond the elastic limit. As shown in FIG. 1, the thickness of the excessive deflection regulating portion 81 in the vertical direction is slightly thinner than the thickness of the overhanging piece 79 in the vertical direction, and the excessive deflection regulating portion 81 is formed thin.

  In addition, the lower surfaces of the two excessive deflection restricting portions 81 are arranged continuously and substantially flush with the inner surface 64 of the cam plate 61 at the same height. Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the plane including the inner surface 64 of the cam plate 61 is the reference plane 50, and the side where the housing body 11 is located is the lower region B of the upper and lower sides with the reference plane 50 as a boundary. When the side where the lock arm 71 is located is the upper region A, both excessive deflection restricting portions 81 are installed in the upper region A. Therefore, the two excessive deflection restricting portions 81 do not have a portion protruding downward from the inner surface 64 of the cam plate 61 (housing main body 11 side), and the two excessive deflection restricting portions 81 are provided on the support surface 13 of the housing main body 11. There is no escape space to escape.

  At the rear end portion of the cam plate 61, as shown in FIG. 1, behind the two excessive deflection restricting portions 81, an arch-shaped protection portion 83 is disposed so as to cover the upper side and both sides of the release operation portion 78. Is provided. The protection unit 83 serves to prevent the lock arm 71 from being bent and deformed inadvertently by preventing foreign matter from interfering with the release operation unit 78. The protection part 83 has a pair of leg parts 84 that rise from the cam plate 61. Both leg portions 84 are configured to increase the width dimension toward the lower end, and the width between the lower ends of both leg portions 84 is narrow. Then, at the position corresponding to the lower ends of the both leg portions 84, the both excessive deflection regulating portions 81 are disposed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the lever 60 is provided with a hook piece 85 that projects outwardly across the rear end portions of the cam plate 61, the connecting portion 63, and the auxiliary plate 62. The upper end portion of the hanging piece portion 85 is integrally connected to the leg portion 84 near the connecting portion 63 of the protection portion 83. When the lever 60 is rotated, the hook piece 85 can be gripped with a finger and rotated.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the auxiliary plate 62 has a smaller size than the cam plate 61 and does not have the cam groove 69 unlike the cam plate 61. The auxiliary plate 62 is provided with a bearing portion 65 that receives the support shaft 14. At the tip of the auxiliary plate 62, a hooking portion 86 that protrudes in a direction intersecting with the rotation direction of the lever 60 is provided. When the fitting progresses in a state where both the housings 10 and 90 are inclined from the normal fitting posture, the hooking portion 86 hooks a hooked portion (not shown) of the mating housing 90 immediately before the lever 60 reaches the fitting position, Both housings 10 and 90 can be corrected to a normal fitting posture.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
When the lever 60 is assembled, the cam plate 61 of the lever 60 is inserted into the housing space 19 of the housing 10 from the rear, and the support shaft 14 is fitted into the bearing portion 65 of the cam plate 61 and is supported by the bearing portion 65 of the auxiliary plate 62. The shaft 14 is fitted and the lever 60 is retained in the initial position with respect to the housing 10. In the initial position, as shown in FIG. 4, the tip projection 68 of the locking arm 67 is disposed so as to be able to be locked to the locking projection 22 of the ridge 21, and the stopper 15 is one end of the stopper groove 66. The lever 60 is held in a state in which its rotation is restricted. Further, at the initial position, the entrance of the cam groove 69 of the cam plate 61 opens forward.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3, the housing 10 is shallowly fitted into the hood portion 91 of the mating housing 90. Then, the lock portion 93 enters the lock entry groove 25, the cam follower 92 is inserted into the entrance of the cam groove 69 in a state of entering the cam entry groove 24, and the release portion 94 enters the release entry groove 23. Thus, the locking arm 67 is pressed by the release portion 94 to bend and deform, and the locking between the locking arm 67 and the locking projection 22 is released. Thereby, the lever 60 is allowed to rotate to the fitting position.

  Next, the lever 60 is rotated toward the fitting position while holding the hook piece 85 with a finger. As the lever 60 is rotated, the cam follower 92 slides on the groove surface of the cam groove 69, and a cam action is exerted between the lever 60 and the mating housing 90. Can be fitted.

  Immediately before the lever 60 reaches the fitting position, the lock portion 93 that has entered the lock entry groove 25 interferes with the lock protrusion 75 and the lock arm 71 is bent and deformed. Thereafter, when the lever 60 reaches the fitting position, as shown in FIG. 2, the cam follower 92 moves to the back end portion of the cam groove 69, the lock arm 71 is elastically restored, and the lock portion 93 is moved to the lock protrusion 75. It arrange | positions so that locking is possible, and the both housings 10 and 90 are hold | maintained in the state normally fitted. In addition, the hook piece 85 is disposed along the rear end of the housing 10 at the fitting position.

  In the above state, if the lock arm 71 is bent and deformed downward, the two protruding pieces 79 abut against the two excessive bending restricting portions 81 to restrict the lock arm 71 from excessively bending. The arm main body 74 is arranged so as to enter between the two excessive deflection restricting portions 81 and come into contact with the support surface 13 of the housing main body 11. Therefore, in a state where both the housings 10 and 90 are properly fitted, excessive bending of the lock arm 71 is surely prevented.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even if there is a circumstance that the excessive deflection regulating portion 81 that regulates the excessive deflection of the lock arm 71 is provided on the cam plate 61 of the lever 60, the excessive deflection regulation is performed. Since the portion 81 is provided in the upper region A where the lock arm 71 is positioned with respect to the reference plane 50, a clearance space for accommodating the excessive deflection restricting portion 81 is provided below the support surface 13 of the housing body 11. There is no need. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 1, the uppermost cavities 12 can be arranged in high density in the width direction directly below the support surface 13 of the housing body 11, and the cavities 12 provided in the housing body 11 can be arranged. The number can be increased. Further, since the excessive deflection restricting portion 81 is provided in a pair with the cam plate 61, the thin excessive deflecting restricting portion 81 can be formed without hindrance at the time of resin molding. Can respond.

<Other embodiments>
Other embodiments will be briefly described below.
(1) The lock arm may be elastically locked to the housing, and the two housings may be held in a fitted state.
(2) The over-deflection restricting portion may be a doubly supported shape that spans between the groove surfaces of both slit portions of the cam plate.
(3) The excessive bending restricting portion may be integrally connected to the protective portion.
(4) The structure in which the lower surface of the excessive deflection restricting portion is positioned above the inner surface of the cam plate may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Housing 11 ... Housing main body 12 ... Cavity 13 ... Supporting surface 50 ... Reference plane 60 ... Lever 61 ... Cam plate 64 ... Inner surface of (cam plate) 71 ... Lock arm 73 ... Main body part 74 ... Arm main body 79 ... Overhang piece 81 ... Excessive deflection restricting portion 90 ... Counterpart housing A ... Upper region B ... Lower region

Claims (2)

A housing body that can be fitted into a mating housing and has a plurality of cavities into which terminal fittings can be inserted;
It is supported on the support surface of the housing body so as to be rotatable between an initial position and a mating position, and is rotated from the initial position to the mating position while being engaged with the mating housing. A lever having a single cam plate that advances the fitting between the housing and the housing body;
The cam plate is arranged to be able to bend the lock housing and the housing main body in a fitted state at the fitting position, and to be opposed to the lock arm in the bending direction. An excessive bending restricting portion for restricting excessive bending of the lock arm is provided,
The cam plate has an inner surface disposed along a support surface of the housing body, and the housing body is disposed in a lower region of upper and lower regions with a reference plane including the inner surface of the cam plate as a boundary. When the lock arm is disposed in the upper region, the excessive deflection restricting portion is provided in the upper region.   The lock arm has an arm main body that is continuous with the main body of the cam plate, and a pair of overhanging pieces that protrude from both side edges of the arm main body, and the over-deflection restricting portion is formed of the pair of overhanging pieces. 2. The lever-type connector according to claim 1, wherein the lever-type connector is provided in pairs at positions facing each other.

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