JPH0548246U - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] In a connector that allows a pair of housings to be fitted together with a small force using an operating member having a cam groove, the fitting work is further facilitated and the space is saved. . [Structure] One housing 4 is provided with an operation member 16 having a cam groove 24 formed in an arc shape.
The housing main body 10 is capable of undulating and turning about the turning shaft 12 by a predetermined angle and is urged in the standing direction to be axially supported.
Locking means 30 for locking the operating member 16 in the laid-down state is provided, and in the other housing 6, the cam follower 36 that engages with the cam groove 24 and both housings 4 and 6 are fitted to a predetermined position. The unlocking means 40 for unlocking the operation member 16 only when
And. Further, in the cam groove 24, a receiving portion that receives the cam follower when the operating member 16 is erected, a circular arc shape extending from the receiving portion, and a distance from the rotating shaft gradually decreases with increasing distance from the receiving portion. And a diminishing section.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a connector including a pair of housings that are fitted to each other, and more particularly to a connector that allows housings to be fitted to each other with a small force.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 In general, the more poles the connector has, the greater force is required to fit the connector housings together. Especially in the case of multi-pole connectors, it is often the case that the other housing is fitted to one housing that is already connected to the device-side board. In this case, many fitting operations must be performed within a limited narrow space. In addition, requiring a large force for fitting makes the fitting work difficult and is inconvenient.

Conventionally, in order to enable the housings to be fitted to each other with a small force, a connector disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-88474 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-151181 is known. Has been. Both of the connectors disclosed in the above publications use an operating member having a cam groove whose distance from the rotating shaft changes gradually, and the lever action and the cam follower use the cam groove to rotate the operating member. By utilizing the action of the cam that moves along the inside, it is possible to fit the housings with a small force by converting the force into a force that fits the pair of housings.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in the connector described in each of the above publications, although a pair of housings can be fitted with each other with a small force, in order to engage the cam follower in the cam groove of the operation member, the positioning is performed each time. However, if the operating member is provided separately from the housing as a tool to be used only during the fitting / removing work, there is a danger of losing the essential operating member. When the members are assembled integrally with the housing, the conventional operation member shape and configuration makes the operation parts bulky and obstructs when not in use, further facilitating the fitting work, and saving space for the connector. There are some problems in achieving the above.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a connector that allows a pair of housings to be fitted with each other with a small force by using an operating member having a cam groove, and a cumbersome positioning operation when using the operating member. In addition, even if the operating member is integrally assembled to the housing, the operating member will not be bulky when not in use, thus further facilitating the fitting work and saving space. It is intended to provide a connector.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a connector according to the present invention comprises a pair of housings fitted to each other, wherein one of the housings has a housing body and a undulation of a predetermined angle around a rotation axis. An operating member that is rotatable and axially supported by being biased in the upright direction and that has a cam groove formed in an arc shape, and locking means that locks the operating member to the housing main body in a lying state. The other housing includes an unlocking means for unlocking the locking means only when the other housing and the one housing are fitted to a predetermined position, and the cam groove is engaged with the unlocking means. A cam follower which fits the cam follower, the cam groove having a receiving portion that receives the cam follower when the operating member is upright, a circular arc extending from the receiving portion, and a front portion that moves away from the receiving portion. The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with a gradual decrease unit that gradually decreases the distance from the rotation axis.

The lock releasing means “unlocks the locking means only when the other housing is fitted to the predetermined position” means that the pair of housings are fitted to a predetermined position. When they are in the locked state, the unlocking means unlocks the locking means, and when the pair of housings are fitted from this state to a deeper position, the locking means can be locked again. Say.

[0008]

[Action and effect]

 According to the connector of the present invention, the operating member having the cam groove formed in an arc shape is rotatably oscillated around the rotation shaft and biased in the upright direction in the housing body of one of the housings. The lock releasing means provided on the other housing, which is supported and is locked to the housing body in a state of being laid down by the lock means, is provided with the cam follower engaging with the cam groove. Only when the pair of housings are fitted to a predetermined position, the locking means is unlocked, and the cam groove has a receiving portion for receiving the cam follower when the operating member is upright, and the receiving portion. Since the operating member is not used (when a pair of housings are fitted to each other, the arcuate portion extends and the distance from the rotation axis gradually decreases as the distance from the receiving portion increases. Combined And without even Mekasabaru which is locked to the housing body in Fuku倒 state the fitting after completion), also nor err powder because it is assembled integrally with the housing body.

Further, when both housings are fitted to a predetermined position, the unlocking means provided in the other housing unlocks the locking means provided in the one housing, The disengaged operating member is erected by the urging force.At this time, the cam follower is received by the receiving portion of the cam groove and engages with the cam groove. No alignment is required to engage the.

Further, if the operating member is laid down from the state in which the cam follower is engaged in the cam groove, the cam follower moves along the gradually decreasing portion of the cam groove so as to approach the rotating shaft. By utilizing the action of this cam and the lever action around the rotation axis when the operation member is rotated, it is possible to fit the pair of housings with a small force.

As described above, according to the connector of the present invention, since the troublesome alignment at the time of fitting the pair of housings by using the operation member is unnecessary, the fitting work is further facilitated. In addition, the operating member is locked in the housing body of one of the housings when it is not in use, so that the operating member is not bulky when not in use, thus saving connector space. Can be realized.

[0012]

【Example】

 An embodiment of a connector according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall structure of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the connector, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an operating member of the connector.

As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 2 of this embodiment includes a first housing 4 and a second housing 6 which have a large number of contacts (not shown) and are fitted to each other. The first housing 4 is formed of a concave first housing body 10 having a receiving portion 8 into which a substantially box-shaped second housing 6 is inserted, and the left and right ends of the first housing body 10. Further, there is provided an operating member 16 which is pivotally supported about a rotating shaft 12 so as to be capable of undulating and rotating about 90 ° and which is urged by a spring 14 in the standing direction.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the operating member 16 includes a first member 18 and a second member 20 which are fitted to each other, and the first member 18 and the second member 20 are formed respectively. The rotation shaft 12 of the first housing body 10 is fitted into the rotation center hole 22 and is fitted to the first housing body 10 so as to be integrated. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the operating member 16 has a base surface 16a that stands up and down with respect to the first housing body 10 and a vertical surface 16b that is positioned substantially perpendicular to the base surface 16a. In addition, a substantially arcuate cam groove 24 is formed on the vertical surface 16b.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the first housing 4 is provided with a locking claw 26 integrally formed with the first housing body 10 and having a resilient restoring property, and a base surface 16 a of the operating member 16. Further, there is provided a locking means 30 which is configured with an insertion hole 28 through which the locking claw 26 is inserted and which locks the operation member 16 to the first housing main body 10 in a lying state. That is, the locking claw 26 is provided with a concave portion 34 that engages with the convex portion 32 (see FIG. 3) convexly provided in the insertion hole 28, and the concave portion 34 and the convex portion 32 are formed. The operation member 16 is locked by engaging with each other.

On the other hand, the second housing 6 is provided at both left and right ends thereof with cam followers 36 that engage with the cam grooves 24 formed in the operating member 16 of the first housing 4, and has a recess on the upper surface thereof. An unlocking means for unlocking the locking means 30 of the first housing 4 only when the first housing 4 and the second housing 6 are fitted in a predetermined recess 38 and fitted to a predetermined position. Equipped with 40.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the cam groove 24 formed in the operating member 16 includes a receiving portion 24 a for receiving the cam follower 36 of the second housing 6 when the operating member 16 is erected, and the receiving portion 24 a. The rotating shaft 1 extends in an arc shape from 24a and moves away from the receiving portion 24a.
2 A gradually decreasing portion 24b whose distance from the rotation center hole 22 is gradually reduced, and a diameter which is continuously formed in an arc shape from the gradually decreasing portion 24b and whose distance from the rotating shaft 12 is substantially equal over its entire length. Section 24c.

Next, a procedure for fitting the first housing 4 and the second housing 6 of the connector 2 according to this embodiment will be described.

4 to 7 are perspective views showing the step of fitting the first housing 4 and the second housing 6 in stages, and FIG. 8 shows a state in which the unlocking means 40 unlocks the operating member 16. 9 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a cross section of the first housing 4 and the second housing 6 in a temporarily locked state, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the second housing 6 operated by the operation member 16. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the operating member 16 before being fitted is locked to the first housing body 10 by the locking means 30 in a lying state. When the second housing 6 is inserted into the receiving portion 8 of the first housing 4 and the pair of housings 4 and 6 are fitted to each other to the predetermined positions shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. (2) The lock release means 40 of the housing 6 abuts on the lower end portion 26a of the lock pawl 26 of the lock means 30 to bend the lock pawl 26. When the locking claw 26 bends, the concave portion 34 of the locking claw 26 and the convex portion 32 (see FIG. 3) in the insertion hole 28 of the operating member 16 are disengaged from each other, and the operating member 16 is unlocked to operate. The member 16 is rotated in the upright direction by the elastic force of the spring 14.

It should be noted that, as shown in FIG. 11 showing the rear structure of the first housing 4 and FIG. 12 showing the operation of the operating member 16 from the rear side of the first housing 4, the first side of the operating member 16 is A stopper 42 is formed which comes into contact with the back surface portion 10a of the housing body 10 to stop the operating member 16 in the standing state. The operating member 16 unlocked by the stopper 42 is raised as shown in FIG. Stop in a state.

When the second housing 6 is fitted further deeply into the first housing 4 from the unlocked state shown in FIG. 5, the first housing 4 and the second housing 6 are brought into the temporary locking state shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, groove portions 44 extending in the insertion direction of the second housing 6 are formed at the left and right ends of the bottom surface of the receiving portion 8 of the first housing 4, while as shown in FIG. Further, an engaging convex portion 46 that engages with the groove portion 44 is formed on the bottom surface of the second housing 6 at a position corresponding to the groove portion 44, and the engaging convex portion 46 engages in the groove portion 44. Then, the first housing 4 and the second housing 6 are temporarily locked. Further, in this temporarily locked state, the lock releasing means 40 is separated from the lock claw 26, so that the lock claw 26 is restored to its original state by its own restoring behavior, and the cam driven of the second housing 4 is driven. The child 36 is received in the receiving portion 24a of the cam groove 24 of the operating member 16. In the temporary locking state shown in FIG. 6, the contacts in the first housing 4 and the contacts in the second housing 6 are in a state in which the contacts are almost or not yet fitted. It is possible to fit the first housing 4 and the second housing 6 with a light force.

When the operating member 16 is pivotally operated in the laid-down direction as shown in FIG. 10 from the temporarily locked state shown in FIG. A small force F for guiding the operation member 16 while guiding 36 into the gradually decreasing portion 24b₁The lever action and the action of the cam that the cam follower 36 tries to move along the cam groove 24 are used to insert the second housing 6 into the first housing 4 (not shown). Big force F ₂ Then, the two housings 4 and 6 are fitted to each other until they are completely fitted. When the operating member 16 is further rotated in the falling direction from this fully fitted state, the cam follower 36 enters the same diameter portion 24c of the cam groove 24, and as shown in FIG. Is locked to the first housing body 10 again by the locking means 30 in the laid-down state.

When the housings 4 and 6 fitted to each other are separated from each other, the locking pawl 26 of the locking means 30 is bent in the direction A of FIG. 7 to unlock the operating member 16. The operating member 16 is slightly raised by the elastic force of the spring 14 (strictly speaking, the cam follower 36 can move within the same diameter portion 24c of the cam groove 24), so that the operating member 16 can be operated from this state. The second housing 6 can be easily separated from the first housing 4 by rotating the member 16 in the standing direction.

As described above, according to the connector 2 of the present embodiment, the operating member 16 having the cam groove 24 is pivotally supported on the first housing body 10 so as to be capable of undulating and rotating, and is supported by the spring 14. Therefore, since the cam follower 36 of the second housing 6 can be received in the cam groove 24 when it is erected, it is possible to fit the two housings 4 and 6 together. Since it is not necessary to perform alignment for engaging the cam follower 36 in the cam groove 24 of the operating member 16, the fitting work of both housings 4 and 6 can be facilitated, and the operating member 16 When not in use, it is locked in the first housing body 10 in a lying state, so that space saving can be achieved.

An embodiment of the connector according to the present invention has been described above, but the connector according to the present invention is not limited to this mode, and various modifications can be made.

For example, in the above embodiment, the two housings 4 and 6 are fitted with each other while the second housing 6 is completely inserted into the first housing 4, but the fitting of the two housings 4 and 6 is performed. Various forms are conceivable, such as forming the second housing 6 in a convex shape so that only the protruding tip portion of the second housing 6 is inserted into the first housing 4.

Further, in the above embodiment, the rotary shaft 12 of the operating member 16 is provided integrally with the first housing body 10, while the rotary shaft 12 through which the rotary shaft 12 is inserted is inserted into the operating member 16. Although the central hole 18 is formed, the rotary shaft 12 may be provided integrally with the operating member 16, and the rotary center hole 18 through which the rotary shaft 12 is inserted may be provided in the first housing body 10.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the locking means 30 of the first housing 4 includes the locking claw 26 integrally formed on the first housing body 10 and the locking claw formed on the operation member 16. The operation member 16 may be provided with the locking claw 26, and the first housing body 10 may be provided with the insertion hole 28.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall structure of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the connector.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an operating member of the connector.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state before fitting the first housing and the second housing of the connector.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the unlocked state of the operation member.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a temporarily locked state of the first housing and the second housing.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a completely fitted state of the first housing and the second housing.

FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a state in which the unlocking means of the connector unlocks the operation member.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a cross-sectional structure of the first housing and the second housing in a temporarily locked state.

FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of the second housing by operating the operation member.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a rear structure of the first housing.

FIG. 12 is a partial perspective view showing the operation of the operation member from the back side of the first housing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 connector 4 first housing (one housing) 6 second housing (other housing) 10 first housing body (housing body) 12 rotating shaft 16 operating member 24 cam groove 24a receiving portion 24b diminishing portion 30 locking means 36 Cam follower 40 Lock release means

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A connector comprising a pair of housings fitted to each other, wherein one of the housings has a housing main body, and the housing main body is capable of undulating and turning a predetermined angle around a turning shaft and urging in a standing direction. And an axially supported and operating member having an arcuate cam groove and locking means for locking the operating member to the housing body in a lying state. The unlocking means for unlocking the locking means only when the one housing and the one housing are fitted to a predetermined position, and a cam follower engaging with the cam groove. Includes a receiving portion that receives the cam follower when the operating member is erected, and a gradually decreasing portion that extends in an arc shape from the receiving portion and that gradually decreases the distance from the rotation shaft as the distance from the receiving portion increases. Connector.