JPH10334987A - Lever-type connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lever-type connector with enhanced slip-off strength. SOLUTION: This lever-type connector comprises a connector housing 2 and a lever 3. The lever 3 is assembled so as to straddle lever-mounting shafts 9 protruded at both ends of the connector housing 2. At tip end part of proximal parts 12 provided at both of the left and right sides of the lever 3, slip-off preventing member inserting holes 17 are opened so as to penetrate center parts of bearing holes 16. A slip-off preventing members 4 are engaged into the slip-off member inserting holes 17 to engage with a slip-off preventing grooves 9A of the lever-mounting shafts 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a lever type connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS.
No. 18 discloses a lever-type connector 50. The lever-type connector 50 includes a connector housing 51 and a lever 53.
The lever 53 and the connector housing 51 are rotatably assembled by fitting a bearing hole 54 formed in a pair of left and right bases 53A of the lever 53 into a lever mounting shaft 52 protruding from 1. The lever mounting shaft 52 is provided with a retaining portion 55 projecting radially from a part of the distal end so that the engagement with the lever 53 is not dissociated. On the other hand, a notch 56 is provided on the bearing hole 54 side of the lever 53 in accordance with the shape of the retaining portion 55.
3 and the lever mounting shaft 52 can be assembled at a predetermined position. And after being assembled, lever 5
When the rotation of the lever 3 occurs, the retaining portion 55 is caught on the edge of the bearing hole 54, so that the retaining portion 55 does not come off in the axial direction of the lever mounting shaft 52.

[0003]

However, the lever 53
If the lever 53 is rotated without completely assembling the lever 53 with the lever mounting shaft 52, or if the force acting on the retaining portion 55 for some reason becomes larger than the design force, the retaining portion 55 It is not unfortunate that the fact that the device is damaged is not considered. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lever-type connector having an increased lever detachment strength.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lever-type connector which is rotated when a connector housing is fitted to a mating connector housing to connect the two connector housings to each other. A lever for displacing the lever in the approaching direction, wherein a lever mounting shaft protruding from the connector housing is fitted into a bearing hole formed in a base of the lever, and the lever is assembled. The base has a retaining member insertion hole extending from the outer surface thereof along a plane intersecting the lever mounting shaft and reaching the bearing hole, and engages with the lever mounting shaft in the retaining member insertion hole. A retaining member is inserted.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the lever has a base formed with an internal confirmation window extending from an outer surface thereof to the inside of the retaining member insertion hole. Features.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the lever mounting shaft projecting from the connector housing is fitted into the lever bearing hole, and the retaining member is inserted into the retaining member insertion hole. As described above, since the lever is prevented from being removed by the retaining member inserted into the retaining member insertion hole, it is possible to prevent the retaining member from dropping off and to increase the lever retaining force.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by checking the inside of the retaining member insertion hole from the internal confirmation window, it can be seen that the retaining member is engaged with the mounting shaft. For this reason, the engagement of the retaining member can be reliably performed.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The lever type connector 1 accommodates a female terminal fitting (not shown) inside,
The mating connector housing 6 is fitted (see FIG. 2). The mating connector housing 6 is molded from a synthetic resin material, and accommodates a plurality of male terminal fittings 22 therein. A hood portion 23 for covering the male terminal fitting 22 is formed on the front side of the mating connector housing 6 (the surface on which the connector housing 2 is fitted). In this case, the hood 23 is fitted so as to fit into the hood 24 of the connector housing 2. A pair of cam receiving projections 7 are provided in a columnar shape from both side wall surfaces of the mating connector housing 6. The cam receiving projection 7 is inserted into the guide groove 8 and the cam groove 13 at the time when the fitting of the connector housings 2 and 6 is started.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lever-type connector 1 includes a connector housing 2, a lever 3 rotatably connected to the connector housing 2, and a retaining member 4. The connector housing 2 is formed of a synthetic resin material and is integrally formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape slightly larger than the mating connector housing 6, and a terminal accommodating chamber 5 for accommodating the female terminal fitting is opened in the front and rear at a central portion. It is provided while doing. A hood portion 24 is formed on the front surface of the connector housing 2 (on the side where the mating connector housing 6 is fitted) so as to cover the female terminal fitting.
In the left and right hood portions 24 of the connector housing 2, guide grooves 8 for receiving the cam receiving protrusions 7 protruding from the mating connector housing 6 are formed in a rectangular shape from the front end to the vicinity of the center. At the rear position of the guide groove 8, a pair of lever mounting shafts 9 for rotatably engaging the lever 3 is provided so as to protrude from the left and right wall surfaces of the connector housing 2. The lever mounting shaft 9 is formed in a substantially columnar shape, and a retaining groove 9A is provided along the entire circumference near the center in the longitudinal direction of the shaft. A retaining member 4 to be described later is engaged with the retaining groove 9A, thereby bringing the lever 3 and the lever mounting shaft 9 into a retaining state.

The lever 3 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material, and is formed in a U-shape in which a pair of left and right bases 12 are connected by an operation unit 11 once. The base 12 can be expanded and deformed with respect to the operation unit 11. Both bases 12
Are mounted so as to straddle a lever mounting shaft 9 provided on the left and right sides of the connector housing 2. Inner surfaces of the pair of bases 12 (surfaces in contact with the connector housing 2)
Is provided with a cam groove 13, into which the cam receiving protrusion 7 enters when the mating connector housing 6 is inserted. When the cam receiving projection 7 is inserted into the cam groove 13 and the lever 3 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow A shown in FIG. 2, the mating connector housing 6 moves toward the connector housing 2 by the cam action. The connector fitting is performed while the terminal fittings (not shown) are connected. In the vicinity of the entrance of the cam groove 13, a rotation restricting piece 14 elastically deformable from the wall surface of the base 12 is provided with a locking projection 14 in the cam groove 13.
A is provided so as to protrude. The rotation restricting piece 14
When the position of the cam groove 13 and the position of the guide groove 8 are adjusted by rotating the lever 3 attached to the connector housing 2 (hereinafter, when the lever 3 is adjusted to this position, the "fitting start position" The locking projection 14A is locked on the upper wall surface of the guide groove 8, and the rotation of the lever 3 is temporarily regulated.

A pair of left and right bearing holes 16 for inserting the lever mounting shaft 9 is provided at the distal end side of the base 12. The bearing hole 16 is formed slightly larger than the diameter of the lever mounting shaft 9, and holds the lever 3 rotatably with respect to the connector housing 2 when the lever mounting shaft 9 is fitted. Further, a retaining member insertion hole 17 that communicates with the bearing hole 16 from the radial direction of the bearing hole 16 is formed in a recess from the distal end surface of the base 12. The retaining member insertion hole 17 is the base 1
2 is provided at a substantially middle position of the thickness, and has a rectangular cross section surrounding the bearing hole 16 (see FIG. 3). A retaining member 4 described later is inserted into the retaining member insertion hole 17 to hold the lever 3 and the lever mounting shaft 9 in a retaining state. In addition, at an intermediate position of the retaining member insertion hole 17, an internal confirmation window 18 communicating from the outer surface of the base 12 (the surface not in contact with the connector housing 2) to the retaining member insertion hole 17 is formed. The inside confirmation window 18 has a small round shape, and allows the inside of the retaining member insertion hole 17 to be confirmed.

The retaining member 4 is formed by pressing a metal plate, and the retaining member insertion hole 17 of the lever 3 is formed.
To prevent the lever 3 and the lever mounting shaft 9 from being pulled out. A pair of locking leg pieces 19 are provided on the distal end side of the retaining member 4, and a substantially U-shaped groove is formed in a central portion of both locking leg pieces 19, and a bearing recess 15 at the bottom of the groove is formed. The lever mounting shaft 9 is fitted. A notch 20 is provided on the inner side at the base side of the locking leg piece 19, so that the locking leg piece 19 can be opened and deformed. The distance between the pair of locking leg pieces 19 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the retaining groove 9A provided in the middle of the lever mounting shaft 9, while the bearing recess 15 is formed.
Has an arc shape slightly larger than the diameter of the retaining groove 9A.
On the other hand, a pair of retaining projections 25 project in a triangular shape on the opposite side of the retaining member 4 from the side on which the locking leg pieces 19 are formed. The retaining projection 25 engages with a wall surface forming the retaining member insertion hole 17. Further, a circular attachment confirmation hole 21 is formed at the center of the retaining member 4. The mounting confirmation hole 21 is provided in the internal confirmation window 1 provided in the lever 3.
8, the center of the mounting confirmation hole 21 and the center of the internal confirmation window 18 are aligned when the retaining member 4 is properly mounted in the retaining member insertion hole 17.

Next, the operation and effect of the embodiment configured as described above will be described. First, the assembly of the lever-type connector 1 will be described. The lever 3 is attached so as to straddle both side surfaces of the connector housing 2. That is, the lever mounting shaft 9 corresponding to each of the pair of bearing holes 16 is inserted while bending the base portion 12 of the lever 3 in the leg opening direction. When the lever mounting shaft 9 is fitted into the bearing holes 16 on the left and right sides, the lever 3 is rotatably mounted around the lever mounting shaft 9. Here, the retaining member 4 is inserted from the retaining member insertion hole 17. When the locking leg piece 19 of the retaining member 4 is inserted while engaging with the retaining groove 9A of the lever mounting shaft 9, the assembly is advanced while being deformed by the pressing of the lever mounting shaft 9 while being opened. When the retaining member 4 reaches the regular insertion position,
Lever mounting shaft 9 is attached to bearing recess 15 and locking leg piece 1
9 is returned and deformed, and the lever 3 is connected to the lever mounting shaft 9.
It is rotatable smoothly around, and is retained in the axial direction by the retaining member 4 in a retaining state.

At this time, when the retaining member 4 is inserted at the proper position, the center of the internal confirmation window 18 on the lever 3 and the mounting confirmation hole 21 on the retaining member 4 are overlapped. Therefore, when the inside is visually recognized from the internal confirmation window 18, only the side surface of the lever 3 is confirmed without seeing the retaining member 4. That is, when the retaining member 4 can be seen from the internal confirmation window 18, it can be understood that the retaining member 4 has not been inserted to the proper position. With the lever 3 and the connector housing 2 assembled in this manner,
By mounting the terminal fittings, the assembly of the lever-type connector 1 is completed. The attachment of the retaining member 4 to the proper position is confirmed by irradiating a laser toward the internal confirmation window 18 of the lever 3 and preventing metal reflection on the retaining member 4 from being seen.

Next, the operation of fitting the connector housing 2 to the mating connector housing 6 will be described. When the lever 3 is rotated to the fitting start position, the rotation restricting piece 14
Is locked to the wall surface of the guide groove 8, so that the rotation of the lever 3 is restricted. Here, the mating connector housing 6 is assembled to the connector housing 2. The pair of cam receiving projections 7 are fitted in the cam groove 13 and the guide groove 8, and the operation portion 11 of the lever 3 is rotated in the direction of arrow A in FIG. Then, the cam groove 13 guides the cam receiving projection 7 in the fitting direction. Further, by rotating the lever 3 to a predetermined position, the fitting between the two connectors is completed. At this time, the corresponding male and female terminal fittings are fitted inside the two connector housings 2 and 6 to make electrical connection between the two connectors.

By the way, for example, in the fitting process of the connector housings 2 and 6 described above, since a large resistance acts on the turning operation of the lever 3, a force is applied to the lever 3 in such a direction as to open each base 12. Then, the base 12 tries to come out of the lever mounting shaft 9. However, in this embodiment, since the retaining member 4 is inserted into the retaining member insertion hole 17 of the lever 3 and is engaged with the retaining groove 9A of the lever mounting shaft 9, the inner surface of the retaining member insertion hole 17 is provided with the retaining member. 4, the base 12 is prevented from coming off. here,
If the leg opening force acting on the lever 3 is extremely large, for example, in a retaining member having a structure that is engaged from the outermost side of the shaft such as a general E-ring, the E-ring itself pops off the shaft and the lever 3 comes off. It is also possible that However, in this embodiment, since the retaining member 4 is inserted into and engaged with the retaining member insertion hole 17 formed in the lever 3 from a direction orthogonal to the lever mounting shaft 9, the retaining member 4 itself is flipped. Without flying, ultimately, it can exhibit an extremely large retaining force.

Since the retaining member 4 is completely pushed into the retaining member insertion hole 17 in order to exert a sufficient retaining force, the retaining member 4 is mounted in the lever 3 from the outside. There is a situation that it is not possible to easily determine whether or not there is an error. In the present embodiment, in view of such circumstances, an internal confirmation window 18 is formed in the base 12 of the lever 3 to reach the retaining member insertion hole 17 so that it can be easily confirmed whether or not the retaining member 4 is mounted at a proper position. I have to. For this reason, it can be prevented that the retaining member 4 is shipped as a non-defective product without being attached, and the reliability of the product can be improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the followings are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. (1) In the above embodiment, the retaining member 4 is configured to be completely inserted into and buried in the retaining member insertion hole 17 of the lever 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The structure may be such that the portion remains protruding from the retaining member insertion hole. This makes it possible to easily check whether or not the retaining member is attached. (2) In the present embodiment, the internal confirmation window is configured to be larger than the mounting confirmation groove. However, this may be reversed. That is, when the retaining member is properly assembled, the retaining member is confirmed at the four corners of the internal confirmation window. By doing so, for example, if the needle-like projections enter the four corners of the internal confirmation window and these needle-like projections come into contact with the surface of the retaining member, it can be determined that the assembly is performed properly. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lever-type connector before assembly according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lever connector and a mating connector housing after assembly.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of a lever-type connector.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of a lever mounting shaft.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view when a retaining member is attached to a lever attachment shaft.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged front view when a retaining member is attached to a lever attachment shaft.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing the vicinity of a lever mounting shaft in the lever type connector.

FIG. 8 is a front cross-sectional view of a lever connector around a lever mounting shaft.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a lever-type connector after assembly in a conventional example.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of a lever mounting shaft in the same example.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of a bearing hole in the same example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Lever type connector 2 ... Connector housing 3 ... Lever 4 ... Retaining member 6 ... Mating connector housing 9 ... Lever mounting shaft 12 ... Base 16 ... Bearing hole 17 ... Retaining member insertion hole 18 ... Internal confirmation window

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A lever-type connector in which a lever that is turned to be displaced in a direction to approach both connector housings when the connector housing is fitted to a mating connector housing is fitted to the connector housing. The lever is assembled by fitting a lever mounting shaft into a bearing hole formed in a base of the lever, wherein the base of the lever extends from an outer surface thereof along a plane intersecting the lever mounting shaft. A lever-type connector, wherein a retaining member insertion hole reaching the bearing hole is formed, and a retaining member engaging with the lever mounting shaft is inserted into the retaining member insertion hole. 2. The lever-type connector according to claim 1, wherein an internal confirmation window extending from an outer surface of the lever to an inside of the retaining member insertion hole is formed at a base of the lever.