JPH04351866A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To put a multiple wire connector in connection easily by slight operating force and also confirm connection easily. CONSTITUTION:A female housing is provided with a lever 13 which rocks from a fallen state to the female housing 11 side to a fallen state to a male housing 12 side, and when the lever is fallen down to the male housing side, the male housing is pushed so as a real fitting of the housings to be performed. An engaging piece 15, which engages with the lever in the fallen state to the female housing side, and an energizing means 16, which energizes the lever to a position where the operational end of the lever stands up against the female housing, are provided. And an engaging piece engaged state with the lever is released when the engaging piece is pushed to the male housing which is temporarily fitted.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-pole connector used for internal wiring in automobiles, etc., and is intended to reduce the operating force needed to connect both connectors.

0002

[Prior Art] As a multi-pole connector that electrically connects a plurality of male terminals provided on the female housing and a plurality of female terminals provided on the male housing by fitting a female housing and a male housing together. Conventionally, a structure in which a female housing and a male housing are directly pushed together by an operator's hands to fit them together has been used. However, the mating force per pole is about 700g to 1kg, and for example, the total mating force is about 21kg to 60 poles.
It can reach up to about 60 kg. Therefore, in recent years,
With connectors for automobiles and the like, which are becoming increasingly multipolar, it is becoming impossible to connect them with a configuration that requires direct human force.

[0003] Therefore, a connector using a lever mechanism as shown in FIG. 11 has been proposed. A projection 3 is formed on one side of the female housing 1 or the male housing 2, and a lever 5 having a groove 4 for receiving and guiding the projection 3 is rotated on the other side of the female housing 1 or the male housing 2. It is set up so that it can move freely.
When temporarily fitting the female housing 1 and the male housing 2 together, fit the protrusion 3 into the groove 4, and then rotate the lever 5 to insert the female housing 1 through the protrusion 3.
is pushed toward the male housing 2 side and completely fitted as shown in FIG. 12.

That is, in this connector, the lever 5 acts as a lever mechanism, and when the operator presses one end 5a of the lever 5 with a slight force, the temporarily fitted housing can be completely fitted. This is aimed at reducing the operating force.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the connector having the above structure, there is no major difference in the rotation angle of the lever 5 between the tentatively fitted state and the completely fitted state, and the lever 5 Since the movement is small, there is a problem in that it is difficult to tell at a glance whether or not complete fitting has been achieved. Further, in order to reduce the size, it is necessary to press one end 5a of the lever 5, which cannot extend from the end of the housing, so that it is difficult to operate the lever 5.
During temporary fitting, in order to fit the protrusion 3 into the groove 4, the operator presses the lever 5 and presses it against the positioning pin 7, keeping the entrance of the groove 4 facing the protrusion 3. However, there was a problem in that the housings had to be fitted into each other, making the connection work difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector that can be connected with a small amount of operating force, is easy to connect, and is easy to confirm the connection.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The connector of the present invention includes a female housing and a male housing that are provided so as to be able to fit into each other, and is provided in the female housing so as to be swingable, and one end side is attached to the side of the male housing. When you are defeated,
a lever for pulling the male housing shallowly fitted into the female housing toward the female housing at its other end to completely fit the male housing; an engagement piece configured to engage with the lever in a state where the male housing is in a state of engagement, and when the male housing is fitted, the engagement piece is pushed by the male housing and elastically curved to release the engagement with the lever; The lever is characterized in that it comprises a biasing means for biasing the lever to a position where the one end stands up with respect to the female housing.

[0008]

[Function] According to the connector of the present invention, before connection, the engaging piece is in a state of being engaged with the lever, and at the time of connection, the female housing and the male housing are temporarily fitted together, and then the lever By tilting the connector toward the male housing side, the connection can be easily made with a small amount of operating force, and it can be easily confirmed that the connection is complete. That is, when the male housing is temporarily fitted to the female housing, the engagement of the engagement piece with the lever is released, and the lever is pushed by the biasing means and automatically stands up, so that the operator can easily You can operate it by grasping one end of this lever. The force to operate this lever is determined by the distance from the center of swing of the lever to the other end of the lever that presses the male housing.
The reduction is made according to the ratio of the distance from the center of swing to one end of the lever, so even if a large number of terminals are provided, the female housing and male housing can be temporarily fitted with a small amount of operating force. Can be completely mated. Also,
Since the lever is swung significantly before and after connection, it is possible to confirm at a glance whether or not connection has been made.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A connector which is an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10. As shown in FIG. 1, this connector includes a female housing 11 and a male housing 12 that are provided so as to be able to fit into each other, and
When one end 13a side is tilted toward the male housing 12 side, the other end 13b pushes the male housing 12, which is shallowly fitted into the female housing 11, toward the female housing 11 side to completely fit it. Lever 1
3, and the one end 13a is provided in the female housing 11.
It engages with the lever 13 whose side is tilted towards the female housing 11 side, and when the male housing 12 is fitted, it is pushed by this and elastically curves, releasing the engagement of the lever 13 with the lever. The lever 13 is located at a position where the engaging piece 15 configured as above and the one end 13a stand up with respect to the female housing 11.
It consists of a biasing means 16 for biasing.

[0010]Female housing 11 and male housing 12
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it is formed into a box shape and has a plurality of locking pieces 19 and 20 formed inside for locking a male terminal 17 and a female terminal 18, respectively. A plurality of male terminals 17 and female terminals 18 are provided at opposing positions.
can be installed. A notch 21 is formed on both side walls of the female housing 11 on the open end surface side into which the male housing 12 is fitted, and protrusions 22 extending from both sides of the male housing 12 are inserted into this cut when the male housing 12 is fitted. It fits into the notch 21 and is guided. Further, a rectangular long hole 23 whose longitudinal direction is the fitting direction is formed on the upper wall of the female housing 11 on the side where the male housing 12 is fitted.
A protrusion 24 formed on the upper surface of the male housing 12 is fitted into the male housing 12 to prevent the temporarily fitted male housing 12 from falling off.

In this embodiment, two levers 13 are provided on both sides of the female housing 11.
3a are connected at one end 13a by a rod-shaped portion 25, and each is supported by an engaging piece 15 and swings along the side surface of the female housing 11. The other end 13b of the lever 13 is shaped to extend from the center of swing at a substantially right angle to the one end 13a, and the lever 13 is shaped so that the one end 13a is tilted toward the male housing 12. When the housing 11 swings, the protrusion 22 of the male housing 12 that is shallowly fitted into the female housing 11
The structure is such that it comes into contact with the

[0012] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the engaging piece 15 is
A flexible piece 2 is formed as a part of the side wall of the female housing 11 by forming a U-shaped slit in the side wall.
5 and a shaft portion 26 extending outward from the flexible piece 25 and inserted into the hole 13c at the center of swing of the lever 13. A claw part 28 is formed on the outer periphery of the tip of the lever 1.
It also functions as a shaft that swingably supports 3. When no external force is applied to this engagement piece 15, the flexible piece 25 is parallel to the side wall of the female housing 11, and the tip of the shaft portion 26 is located inside the lever 13, as shown in FIG. Then, the claw part 28 fits into the hole 13 of the lever 13.
It is configured to engage inside the c.

Next, the biasing means 16 is formed integrally with the lever 13 in this case, and is a linear member extending from the lever 13, and comes into contact with a protrusion 29 extending from the side surface of the female housing 11 to elastically By curving, lever 1
3 in a clockwise direction and urges the one end portion 13a to a position where it stands up. In addition, what is designated by the reference numeral 30 in the figure is a lever lock that is formed on the upper surface of the male housing 12 and can be freely engaged with the rod-shaped portion 25 that connects the lever 13.

According to the connector configured as described above, the engaging piece 15 is engaged with the lever 13 before connection, and at the time of connection, the female housing 11 and the male housing 12 are shallowly connected. After temporarily fitting, lever 13
By tilting the connector toward the male housing 12 side, the connection can be easily made with a small amount of operating force, and it can be easily confirmed that the connection is complete.

That is, first, when the lever 13 is tilted toward the female housing 11 as shown in FIG. The state shown in 7 is maintained. next,
In this state, hold each housing as shown in Figure 7,
As shown in Figures 2 and 8, the protrusion 24 is inserted into the long hole 2.
Get stuck in 3. Note that during this temporary fitting, the terminals 17 and 18 are not yet fitted, so the operating force is small. Also, during this temporary fitting, the engaging piece 15
As shown in FIG. 6, it is pushed and deformed by the male housing 12 through its protruding part 27, and the claw part 28 comes out from inside the lever 13 so that the shaft part 26 passes through the lever 13, so that it is not engaged. The coupling piece 15 is disengaged from the lever 13, and the lever 13 becomes swingable around the shaft portion 26 and automatically stands up when pushed by the biasing means 16.

The lever 13 thus erected as shown in FIG. 8 is then inserted into the male housing 12 as shown in FIGS.
When it is tilted to the side, the other end 13b of the lever 13 pushes the protrusion 2
2, the male housing 12 is pushed toward the female housing 11 and is completely fitted, and the terminals 17 and 18 are fitted as shown in FIG. In addition, since the lever 13 that is pushed down to the male housing 12 side is locked by the lever lock 30,
This fitted state is maintained as long as this lever 13 is not operated.

As described above, with the above-mentioned connector, the operator can easily perform the connection work by grasping and operating the one end 13a of the lever 13 that automatically stands up; Since the force is reduced according to the ratio of the distance from the swinging center of the lever 13 to the other end 13b and the distance from the swinging center to the one end 13a of the lever 13, a large number of terminals are provided. However, only a small amount of operating force is required. In addition, the lever 13 is different before and after connection.
Since it is swung approximately 180 degrees, it is possible to confirm at a glance whether or not the connection has been made.

Furthermore, since the lever 13 is released from the engaged state after each housing is temporarily fitted, the lever 13 swings during terminal assembly work or wire harness wiring work, and does not interfere with the work. There is no risk of damage to the lever 13. Furthermore, all components other than the lever 13 are formed integrally with the male housing 12 or the female housing 11, and can be formed as a single part by plastic molding (
Simply adding the lever 13) has the effect of reducing the operating force.

[0019]

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the connector of the present invention, the connection work can be performed with a simple operation of temporarily fitting each housing and pushing down the lever, and with a small amount of operating force. This has the effect that it is possible to confirm at a glance whether or not the process has been carried out.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a temporarily fitted state of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a fully fitted state of the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a peripheral structure of an engaging piece of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view taken along the v arrow in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the operation of the engaging piece of the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a state of the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention before temporary fitting.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state of the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention immediately after temporary fitting.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a state in which the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention is completely fitted.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a state of the connector according to the embodiment of the present invention immediately after being completely fitted.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing a state of a conventional connector before connection.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a state of a conventional connector after connection.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Female housing 12 Male housing 13 Lever 15 Engagement piece 16 Biasing means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A female housing (11) and a male housing (12) which are provided so as to be able to fit into each other, and which are provided in the female housing so as to be swingable, and when one end side is brought down to the side of the male housing. , a lever (13) provided on the female housing, the lever (13) for pulling the male housing shallowly fitted into the female housing toward the female housing at its other end to completely fit the male housing; The lock is configured to engage with the lever that is tilted to the side, and when the male housing is fitted, is pushed by the lever and elastically curves to release the engagement with the lever. A connector comprising a mating piece (15) and biasing means (16) for biasing the lever to a position where the one end stands up with respect to the female housing.