JP5994745B2 - Lever type connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever type connector.

  As a lever type connector known conventionally, the thing of the following patent document 1 is mentioned, for example. The lever-type connector disclosed here includes a lever that is rotatable on the male connector side. The lever includes a pair of arm portions in which cam grooves are formed, and has a configuration in which the tips of both arm portions are connected by an operation portion. On the other hand, a pair of cam followers protrude from the outer surface of the female connector. When the male and female connectors are fitted shallowly, the cam follower enters the cam groove inlet. In this state, when the lever is rotated by operating the operating portion, the cam follower moves along the cam groove. Due to the boosting action generated in this process, the male and female connectors can be brought into the normal fitting state with a relatively light operating force.

JP 2000-12154 A

  When the lever is rotated to a position where the male and female connectors are properly fitted, the lever is locked. In the above-described conventional structure, the lock portion formed on the lever operation portion is engaged with the lock receiving portion formed on the female connector side.

  However, in the above structure, the lock receiving portion has a dedicated structure for locking the lever, so that the female connector is increased in size and the structure is complicated.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lever-type connector that can simplify the configuration of the connector.

  In the lever-type connector of the present invention, a lever that can be displaced between a temporary locking position and a main locking position is rotatably attached to the first connector having a cylindrical hood portion, and the second connector is A cam groove formed on the lever by a cam follower formed on the outer surface of the second connector by rotating the lever from the temporary locking position to the final locking position in a temporarily fitted state in which the hood portion is shallowly fitted. Is a lever-type connector that fits the second connector to a normal depth in the hood portion by being displaced along the hood portion, and the lever is provided with a lock piece, while the hood portion has a second connector in the hood portion. The release groove for releasing the cam follower is notched until it is fitted to the depth, and the lock piece can be locked to the groove edge of the release groove with the lever in the full lock position. And

  According to the present invention, when the second connector is temporarily fitted in the hood portion, the cam follower protrudes to the outside of the hood portion through the escape groove and faces the inlet portion of the cam groove of the lever. In this state, when the lever is rotated toward the full locking position, the cam follower is displaced along the cam groove, and when the lever reaches the full locking position, the second connector is fitted to the normal depth in the hood. To do. When the lever reaches the final locking position, the main locking piece is locked to the groove edge of the escape groove and the lever is locked at the final locking position.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the lock piece is locked using the escape groove, so that the configuration of the connector is simplified as compared with the case where the lock receiving portion dedicated to the lock piece is configured. Can be

Side view showing a state where the lever is rotated to the final locking position and the male and female connectors are properly fitted Same front view AA line sectional view of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG. Side view showing temporary mating state of male and female connectors Side view of male connector housing Side view of female connector housing Front view of lever 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 5 showing that the female connector housing is temporarily fitted into the male connector housing so that the temporarily locked state can be released. Sectional drawing which shows the inner surface side of one arm part in the DD lever of FIG.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described.
(1) In the lever-type connector of the present invention, the lock piece is formed so as to be displaceable in a seesaw shape around a hinge formed at the center in the length direction, and one end of the lock piece in the extending direction. It is preferable that a locking portion for locking to the groove edge of the escape groove is formed in the portion, and a release portion for releasing the locking is formed in the other end portion.
According to such a configuration, when releasing the lock of the lock piece, if the release portion is pushed in, the lock portion side is displaced in a direction to release from the groove edge of the escape groove via the hinge. This lock can be easily released.

(2) The lever is elastically locked to the lock receiving portion of the hood portion when the lever is in the temporary lock position to hold the lever in the temporary lock position. A temporary lock piece that is released from being locked to the lock receiving portion when provisionally fitted is provided, and the extension direction of both the temporary lock piece and the main lock piece is parallel to each other. It is good to be formed.
According to such a configuration, in the mold structure for molding the lever, both the temporary lock piece and the main lock piece can be formed along the opening direction of the mold, thereby simplifying the mold structure. be able to.

(3) The first fitting direction, which is the fitting direction when the second connector is temporarily fitted into the hood portion, and the second fitting when fitting from the shallowly fitted state to the normal depth to the hood portion. On the other hand, a receiving portion for receiving the cam follower entering from the first fitting direction is formed at the inlet portion of the cam groove, and the cam follower reaches the receiving portion in the cam groove. As a configuration in which a projecting edge extending in a direction intersecting with the approach direction of the cam follower is formed to project at the front portion, the cam follower abuts on the projecting edge, gets over this, and the second connector is temporarily fitted to the first connector. Also good.
According to such a configuration, when the second connector is moved with respect to the first connector along the first fitting direction, the cam follower comes into contact with and protrudes from the protruding edge. They are in a shallow mating state. The operator can feel that the first and second connectors are shallowly fitted through the moderation feeling when the cam follower rides over the protruding edge. Further, in this shallow fitting state, the protruding edge also performs a simple detachment preventing function with respect to the cam follower.

<Example>
Next, an embodiment embodying the lever type connector of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 6 shows the male connector housing 2 to which the lever 1 is attached. The male connector housing 2 has a hood portion 3. The hood 3 is formed in a rectangular tube shape that opens forward (leftward in the figure). As shown in the figure, among the opening edges of the hood part 3, the upper edge U is located behind the lower edge L by being retracted. This is for fitting the female connector housing 4 in two stages with different fitting directions, as will be described later. That is, the female connector housing 4 is fitted to the male connector housing 2 from above in the figure (temporary fitting state in which the male and female connector housings 2 and 4 are shallowly fitted: FIG. 5 state). After that, it is fitted in the illustrated horizontal direction so as to reach a normal fitting state (state shown in FIG. 1). Accordingly, the bottom surface in the hood portion 3 and close to the opening surface becomes a receiving surface 5 that receives the female connector housing 4 when the female connector housing 4 is fitted from above (see FIG. 3).

  On the other hand, a terminal accommodating portion 6 in which a plurality of cavities (not shown) are formed is continuously formed in the rear portion of the hood portion 3. Each cavity is formed so as to penetrate along the front-rear direction, and a male terminal fitting (not shown) is accommodated in a state of being prevented from coming off. The distal end portion of each male terminal fitting projects into the hood portion 3 in a state of being parallel to each other in the height direction and the width direction.

  A pair of support shafts 7 are provided on both side surfaces of the hood portion 3 so as to support the lever 1 in a rotatable manner. The support shaft 7 is disposed on both side surfaces of the hood portion 3 at a position near the terminal accommodating portion 6 and at a position slightly above the center portion in the height direction. Both support shafts 7 are formed in a short cylindrical shape, and a retaining portion 8 for retaining the lever 1 is formed projecting radially outward from two locations on the outer peripheral surface thereof. In the illustrated example, the both retaining portions 8 are formed at positions separated by 90 ° or more in the circumferential direction.

  Further, on both side surfaces of the hood portion 3, a pair of escape grooves 10 are formed for releasing the cam followers 9 projecting from the female connector housing 4 when fitted to a female connector housing 4 described later. Both escape grooves 10 are cut from the opening edge of the hood portion 3 and are formed along the horizontal direction (the fitting direction toward the normal fitting state of the male and female connectors F and M). Further, the height at which both escape grooves 10 are formed is formed at substantially the same position as the above-described support shaft 7, and the escape groove 10 extends to a portion immediately before the support shaft 7. Furthermore, the inlet side (opening edge side of the hood part 3) of both escape grooves 10 is expanded at both the upper and lower edges so that the cam follower 9 can be guided. However, in the illustrated example, the starting end of the upper guiding surface 11A is a position retracted deeper than the starting end of the lower guiding surface 11B, and the terminal end of the upper guiding surface 11A is also more similar. It reaches to the back.

  Further, a pair of temporary locking grooves 12 are formed in the opening edges on both side surfaces of the hood portion 3 and below the escape groove 10. The temporary locking groove 12 is for locking with the temporary lock piece 13 of the lever 1 to hold the lever 1 in the temporary locking position.

  FIG. 7 shows the female connector housing 4. The female connector housing 4 is formed in a block shape that can be fitted and fitted inside the hood portion 3. A plurality of cavities 14 are formed in the female connector housing 4 along the front-rear direction, and the female terminal fittings are housed in a state in which the female terminal fittings are prevented from coming off.

  A pair of cam followers 9 are formed on both outer side surfaces of the female connector housing 4 so as to protrude in the width direction. Both cam followers 9 project outward from the hood portion 3 and face the inlet portion of the escape groove 10 when the male and female connectors F and M are temporarily fitted. That is, the height position of the axial center of the cam follower 9 at that time is substantially aligned with the height position of the center line of the escape groove 10. The cam follower 9 protrudes outward from the hood portion 3 through the escape groove 10 and is displaced along the escape groove 10 until it reaches its end until the male and female connectors F, M are in the temporarily fitted state to the normal fitted state. .

  Further, release protrusions 15 for releasing the temporarily locked state of the lever 1 are disposed on both outer side surfaces of the female connector housing 4 and below the cam followers 9. As shown in FIG. 9, the upper and lower surfaces of the both release protrusions 15 are guide surfaces 16 whose inclination directions are opposite. When the male and female connector housings 2, 4 are in a temporarily fitted state, the projecting end portion of the release projecting portion 15 enters the temporary locking groove 12. As a result, the release protrusion 15 acts to push the tip of the temporary lock piece 13 of the lever 1 locked in the temporary lock groove 12 outward, and the temporary lock piece 13 and the temporary lock groove 12 Can be released.

  The lever 1 is integrally formed from a pair of arm portions 17A and 17B and an operation portion 18 that connects the tips of both arm portions 17A and 17B. A mounting hole 19 passes through the central portion of both arm portions 17A and 17B coaxially. An escape recess 20 is formed in the mounting hole 19 at a position corresponding to both the retaining portions 8 of the support shaft 7. The mounting hole 19 allows the support shaft 7 to pass through the mounting hole 19 by aligning the both escape recesses 20 and the retaining portion 8 with each other and aligning with the support shaft 7. It is assembled so as to straddle 3. However, the position where the lever 1 can be assembled to the male connector housing 2 in this way is the angular range in which the lever 1 is normally rotated (the lever 1 is shown in FIG. 5 and the temporary locking position shown in FIG. 2). It is set outside the angle range between the main locking position). In other words, as long as the lever 1 is operated within this angular range, both the relief recess 20 and the retaining portion 8 are set so as not to fall off the support shaft 7 at the same time. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 10, a guide recess 21 is formed on the inner surface of both arm portions 17 </ b> A and 17 </ b> B toward the mounting hole 19. As described above, the guide recess 21 is formed along the direction in which the lever 1 is assembled to the male connector housing 2. That is, one end side of the guiding recess 21 opens at the side edge of the arm portions 17A and 17B and extends straight toward the mounting hole 19 side. The guide recess 21 is formed with a width dimension that includes the entire mounting hole 19 including both escape recesses 20, and guides the support shaft 7 along both side surfaces in the guide recess 21 when the lever 1 is assembled. be able to.

  Further, the temporary lock piece 13 described above is provided at the end on the opposite side to the operation portion 18 in both arm portions 17A and 17B so as to be able to bend. As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the temporary lock piece 13 is disposed in an opening 22 formed in both arm portions 17A and 17B. In this embodiment, the outer surface of the temporary lock piece 13 is positioned inwardly from the outer surface of the arm portions 17A, B, but the inner surface of the temporary lock piece 13 is except for a temporary locking projection 23 described later, It is formed so as to be substantially flush with the inner surfaces of the arm portions 17A and 17B.

  Further, the temporary lock piece 13 extends in the opening 22 substantially parallel to the extending direction of the guiding recess 21. As shown in FIG. 10, the temporary lock piece 13 is a fixed end where the end portions near the center of the arm portions 17A and B are connected to the opening edge of the opening portion 22, and conversely near the side edges of the arm portions 17A and B. The end portions of the arm portions 17A and B are formed in a cantilever shape with free ends, and can be bent and deformed in the thickness direction of the arm portions 17A and 17B. Further, a temporary locking projection 23 that can be locked to the groove edge of the temporary locking groove 12 protrudes on the inner surface side of the free end portion of the temporary locking piece 13.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, the temporary locking protrusion 23 is formed so as to protrude inward from the inner surfaces of both the arm portions 17 </ b> A and 17 </ b> B in the natural state of the temporary lock piece 13. When the lever 1 is in the temporary locking position, the temporary locking projection 23 is fitted into the temporary locking groove 12 and locked to both the upper and lower opening edges, thereby moving the lever 1 forward and backward. It has a detent to stop. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the side surface of the temporary locking projection 23, that is, the side surface positioned forward in the rotation direction when the lever 1 at the temporary locking position is rotated toward the final locking position. The guide slope 24 which inclines in the direction which makes the front-end | tip of the temporary latching protrusion 23 taper is formed. As shown in FIG. 9, the guide slope 24 is configured to lock the lever 1 after the release protrusion 15 of the female connector pushes the temporary locking protrusion 23 of the temporary locking piece 13 to retract the temporary locking piece 13. When the rotary operation is performed toward the position, the temporary locking protrusion 23 is pushed outward from the temporary locking groove 12 by sliding contact between the guide slope 24 and the opening edge of the temporary locking groove 12 (temporary engagement). Release of the stop state).

  Further, the lock piece 25 is provided on the inner surface of one arm portion 17B (left side shown in FIG. 8). The lock piece 25 is for holding the lever 1 in the main locking position. As shown in FIG. 10, the lock piece 25 extends in a direction parallel to the extending direction of the guiding recess 21 and the temporary lock piece 13. The lock piece 25 is disposed in a window hole 26 formed so as to penetrate the arm portions 17A and 17B on the one side in the thickness direction. And it is connected with the opening edge of the window hole 26 by the hinge 27 in the center part of the extension direction. Thus, the lock piece 25 can be deflected and displaced in a seesaw shape in the thickness direction of the arm portion 17B around the hinge 27. A main locking protrusion 28 is formed on one end of the lock piece 25 (upper end in FIG. 10) on the inner surface side. The outer surface of the lock piece 25 is substantially flush with the outer surface of the arm portion 17B, but the inner surface side is located by retracting from the inner surface of the arm portion 17B except for the main locking projection 28.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the main locking projection 28 is formed so as to protrude inward from the inner surfaces of the arm portions 17 </ b> A and 17 </ b> B in the natural state of the main locking piece 25. As shown in FIG. 10, the locking surface 29 of the main locking projection 28 is formed to be inclined with a predetermined inclination angle with respect to the tip surface of the main locking projection 28. By doing so, when the lever 1 reaches the final locking position, the locking surface 29 faces in the horizontal direction, and follows the opening edge on the upper side of the escape groove 10 in the illustrated state, so that the locking surface 29 is locked in the surface contact state. can do.

  On the other hand, the end (the lower end in FIG. 10) opposite to the side where the main locking projection 28 is provided in the main locking piece 25 is a release operation unit 36. In the final locked state by the main lock piece 25, a predetermined gap is held between the release operation portion 36 and the outer surface of the hood portion 3, and the release operation portion 36 is pushed into the gap. The lock piece 25 can be elastically displaced from the upper opening edge of the escape groove 10 to a state where it can be released.

  As shown in FIG. 10, cam grooves 30 that guide the corresponding cam followers 9 are recessed in the inner surface sides of both arm portions 17A and 17B. The cam groove 30 is arranged in the upper area of the mounting hole 19 in the figure, and one end side (inlet side) is formed to open to the side edges of the arm portions 17A and B through the upper side of the temporary lock piece 13 in the figure. . The other end side of the cam groove 30 extends to a portion between the mounting hole 19 and the lock piece 25. This cam groove 30 has a relationship that always communicates with the relief groove 10 on the male connector side M.

  In the present embodiment, the female connector housing 4 is fitted into the hood portion 3 from above (first fitting direction) during temporary fitting, and then horizontally (second fitting) until the final fitting. Direction). The inlet portion of the cam groove 30 receives the cam follower 9 during the temporary fitting described above, and the inlet side end portion of one side surface (the upper side surface in the figure: the first surface 37) constituting the cam groove 30 is the arm portion 17A. , B is raised in the direction opposite to the direction in which the cam follower 9 enters from a portion inward from the side edge of B, so that the receiving port 31 of the cam follower 9 opens upward in the figure. On the other hand, one side surface (the lower surface in the drawing: second surface 38) constituting the cam groove 30 extends to the lower side of the receiving port 31 in the drawing, and serves as a receiving portion 32 that reaches the side edges of the arm portions 17A and 17B. The receiving portion 32 can receive the cam follower 9 when the male and female connectors F and M are in a temporarily fitted state.

  Further, a protruding edge 33 is formed at the boundary portion between the receiving port 31 and the cam groove 30 along the direction intersecting the first fitting direction. Of the two side surfaces constituting the projecting edge 33, the surface facing the entry direction of the cam follower 9 is an inclined surface 33A, and when the cam follower 9 enters, the projecting edge 33 can be overcome while giving a predetermined feeling of moderation. I have to. Of the both side surfaces constituting the projecting edge 33, the surface facing the cam follower 9 that has passed over the projecting edge 33 is a cut-off regulating surface 33B, which prevents the cam follower 9 that faces the inlet side of the cam groove 30 from detenting. Is going.

  Further, a pair of stoppers 34 are formed inwardly on the inner surfaces of both the arm portions 17A and 17B near the operation portion 18 so as to protrude inward. Both stoppers 34 abut against the regulating edge 35 of the hood portion 3 when the lever 1 reaches the full locking position, thereby restricting the lever 1 from being operated beyond the full locking position.

  Next, the function and effect of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. Before the male and female connectors are fitted, the lever 1 is held in the temporary locking position. That is, the lever 1 is temporarily held at the temporary locking position by the temporary lock piece 13 being locked to the opening edge of the temporary locking groove 12.

  In this state, the female connector is positioned above the hood portion 3, and the female connector is supported on the receiving surface 5 of the hood portion 3 by performing a shallow fitting in the hood portion 3 along the first fitting direction. At this time, both cam followers 9 get over the protrusion 33 and face the inlet of the cam groove 30. The operator can feel the resistance when the cam follower 9 gets over the protruding edge 33 and the feeling of releasing it as a moderation feeling, and know that the male and female connectors F and M are in the temporarily fitted state. On the other hand, when the male and female connectors F and M are temporarily engaged, as shown in FIG. 9, the protruding end portion of the release protrusion 15 of the female connector enters the temporary locking groove 12, and the temporary lock piece 13 In order to push the temporary locking protrusion 23, the temporary locking protrusion 23 is displaced in the direction of being pushed out from the temporary locking groove 12. In this state, when an operating force is applied to the lever 1 toward the final locking position, the guide surface 16 of the locking protrusion of the temporary lock piece 13 is in sliding contact with the opening edge of the temporary locking groove 12, so that the locking protrusion The part further retreats and retreats outward from the temporary locking groove 12. In this way, the temporary locking piece 13 and the temporary locking groove 12 are unlocked, so that the turning operation of the lever 1 toward the final locking position is allowed.

  As the lever 1 is turned, the cam follower 9 of the female connector moves along the cam groove 30. Therefore, the male and female connectors F and M receive a boosting action by the lever 1 and have a light operating force. , M can be advanced. When the cam follower 9 reaches the end of the cam groove 30, the male and female connectors F and M are fitted to the normal depth, and the male and female terminal fittings are connected in a normal state. Thus, when the lever 1 is turned until the male and female connectors are properly fitted, the main locking projections 28 of the main locking pieces 25 of the lever 1 are released from the hood 3 as shown in FIG. While being locked to the opening edge of the groove 10, the stopper 34 of the lever 1 comes into contact with the restriction edge 35 of the hood portion 3, and the lever 1 is restricted from rotating further. Thus, as a result of the lever 1 being held in the locked state, the male and female connectors F and M are held in the locked state.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the relief groove 10 that allows the cam follower 9 to pass is used as a structure that locks the lever 1 in the final locking position. Therefore, as compared with the conventional case where the locking means for the lever 1 is provided on the female connector side, the configuration of the connector can be simplified. Further, if the lock piece 25 is provided in the operating portion 18 of the lever 1 as in the conventional case, if the arm portions 17A and 17B are lengthened along with the increase in the number of poles, the female connector side cannot be locked. Things can happen. However, as in this embodiment, the lever 1 can be made longer by locking the connector on the side where the lever 1 is provided.

  Since the main locking piece 25 is bent in a seesaw shape, the main locking state can be easily released by operating the end opposite to the main locking projection 28. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the temporary lock piece 13, the guide recess 21, and the main lock piece 25 are formed in parallel to each other and are formed along the opening direction of the mold. Can be simplified.

  Further, since the guide recesses 21 are formed toward the mounting holes 19 on the inner surfaces of the arm portions 17A and 17B, when the lever 1 is assembled to the male connector housing 2, the support recesses 7 are positioned by the guide recesses 21. Made. Therefore, the assembly work of the lever 1 can be performed smoothly.

  Furthermore, as described above, when the female connector is temporarily fitted, the cam follower 9 gets over the protruding edge 33, so that the operator knows that the temporary fitting has been achieved with a sense of moderation when getting over the female connector. Can do. Then, after overcoming, the protruding edge 33 functions as a detent of the cam follower 9. Thus, since the cam follower 9 is normally guided to the inlet of the cam groove 30, the subsequent turning operation of the lever 1 can be performed smoothly.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) In the above embodiment, the two-stage fitting method in which the female connector is temporarily fitted to the male connector from above is shown, but a normal one-stage fitting method may be used.
(2) In the above embodiment, the lock piece 25 is disposed only on the arm portion 17B on one side, but may be disposed in pairs on the arm portions 17A and 17B on both sides.
(3) In the above embodiment, the lock piece 25 and the temporary lock piece 13 are arranged in parallel, but they need not be arranged in parallel.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Lever 3 ... Hood part 9 ... Cam follower 10 ... Escape groove 13 ... Temporary lock piece 25 ... This lock piece 27 ... Hinge 30 ... Cam groove 32 ... Receiving part 33 ... Projection edge M ... Male connector (1st connector)
F ... Female connector (second connector)

Claims (4)

The first connector having a cylindrical hood portion is rotatably mounted with a lever that can be displaced between the temporary locking position and the main locking position, and the second connector is shallowly fitted in the hood portion. In the temporarily fitted state, the cam follower formed on the outer surface of the second connector by rotating the lever from the temporarily locked position to the fully locked position extends along the cam groove formed on the lever. It is a lever type connector that fits the second connector to a normal depth in the hood by displacing,
While the lever is provided with this lock piece,
The hood portion is formed with a notch for releasing the cam follower until the second connector is fitted to a normal depth in the hood portion, and the main lock is in a state where the lever is in the main locking position. A lever-type connector characterized in that a piece can be locked to a groove edge of the escape groove.   The main lock piece is formed so as to be displaceable in a seesaw shape around a hinge formed in a central portion in the length direction, and at one end portion in the extending direction of the main lock piece, a groove edge of the escape groove 2. The lever-type connector according to claim 1, wherein a locking portion for locking is formed, and a release portion for releasing the locking is formed at the other end portion.   When the lever is in the temporary locking position, the lever is elastically locked to the locking receiving portion of the hood portion to hold the lever in the temporary locking position. A temporary lock piece is provided that is released from the engagement with the engagement receiving portion when temporarily engaged with the portion, and the extending directions of the temporary lock piece and the lock piece are parallel to each other. The lever-type connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lever-type connector is formed so as to become. A first fitting direction, which is a fitting direction when the second connector is shallowly fitted in the hood portion, and a second fitting when fitting from the temporarily fitted state to the hood portion to a normal depth. While it is set in the direction that the intersection direction intersects,
A receiving portion for receiving the cam follower entering from the first fitting direction is formed at an inlet portion of the cam groove, and the cam follower is disposed in the cam groove at a position before the cam follower reaches the receiving portion. A protruding edge extending in a direction intersecting with the entering direction is formed to protrude, the cam follower abuts on the protruding edge, gets over the protruding edge, and the second connector is temporarily fitted to the first connector. The lever type connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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