JP2010123385A - Lever type connector assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A lever-type connector assembly that prevents a lever from dropping off during fitting is provided.
A lever-type connector assembly includes a lever-type connector and a mating connector that can be fitted to the lever-type connector. The lever 20 of the lever-type connector 1 provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the support shaft 16 provided in the outer housing 12 sandwiches the gear 16 meshing with the rack 55 provided in the mating connector 50 and the support shaft 16. A pair of flange portions 24a and 24b are provided so as to face each other. The lever 20 is rotated between the start position and the completion position in a state where the pair of dropout prevention portions 54, 54 provided on the mating connector 50 and the pair of flange portions 24a, 24b are always engaged with each other. By doing so, the rack 55 and the gear 25 cooperate to move the housing 10 between the mating start position and mating completion position for the mating connector 50.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever-type connector assembly having a mating connector and a lever-type connector that can be securely fitted to the mating connector, and having a fitting structure for realizing a suitable connection between the contacts. .

  Conventionally, a lever-type connector assembly having a mating connector and a lever-type connector that securely mates with the mating connector and having a mating structure for realizing a suitable connection between the contacts has been proposed. Has been. Examples of such a lever-type connector assembly include those disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the lever-type connector assembly described in Patent Document 1, and FIG. 8 is a side view showing the configuration of the lever-type connector assembly described in Patent Document 2. .

As shown in FIG. 7, the lever-type connector assembly 101 disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a connector A and a connector B that can be fitted to the connector A.
The connector B includes a substantially U-shaped lever member C.
The connector A is formed by projecting cam pins 103 in front of both side walls of a rectangular parallelepiped housing 102 in which a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 102a are formed in the vertical direction. A female terminal (not shown) is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 102a.

  The connector B includes a housing body 106 that houses a male terminal corresponding to the female terminal, and a hood 107 that receives the connector A in front thereof. The hood 107 is provided with pin guide portions 108 and 108 for the cam pins 103 and shaft support pins 109 of the lever member C on both side walls. In addition, a plate-like detachment prevention portion 106 ′ is provided on one side surface of the housing main body 106 so as to extend toward the shaft support pin 109 with a certain gap from the side surface.

The lever member C has a pair of levers 114 and 114 facing each other. The pair of levers 114 and 114 are formed with shaft holes 116 and cam grooves 117 at positions facing each other.
A pair of opposed levers 114 and 114 in the lever member C are pivotally supported by engaging a shaft hole 116 with a shaft support pin 109 provided on the side wall of the connector B. Here, a part of the one lever 114 is restricted in movement in the axial direction by being sandwiched between one side surface of the housing main body 106 and the separation preventing portion 106 ′ during rotation.

  In the lever-type connector assembly 101 having such a configuration, the cam pin 103 is moved along the cam groove 117 by the turning operation of the lever member C, and the connector A is drawn into the connector B to be fitted. At this time, the free end portion 114 ′ of one lever 114 slides between the side surface of the housing main body 106 and the separation preventing portion 106 ′ during the turning operation, thereby preventing the lever 114 from falling off.

As shown in FIG. 8, the lever-type connector assembly 201 disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a male housing 210 and a female housing 220. A lever 231 having a cam groove 240 is rotatably supported on the female housing 220 by a shaft 235. By inserting the follower pin 244 provided in the male housing 210 into the cam groove 240 and rotating the lever 231, the follower pin 244 moves along the cam groove 240, and the fitting and disengagement of both the housings 210 and 220 are performed. Helped. On the outer edge around the cam groove 240, an overhanging portion 245 is formed by cutting the surface side to make it thin. On the back side of the follower pin 244, receiving portions 247A and 247B having guide grooves 248 are provided separately on the left and right along the moving direction of the overhang portion 245. A locking edge 250 is formed on the side edge on the inner side of the cam groove 240, and the surface side is similarly thinned. A flange 251 is formed on the tip of the follower pin 244. While the lever 231 is rotated, the overhanging portion 245 enters the guide groove 248 of the receiving portions 247A and 247B, and the locking edge 250 of the cam groove 240 is locked to the lower side of the flange 251 of the follower pin 244. .
JP-A-8-227757 JP 2001-188631 A

However, the conventional lever-type connector assembly shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 has a problem that the lever is detached.
That is, in the lever-type connector assembly 101 shown in FIG. 7, when the levers 114 and 114 are rotated, an outward force applied to the levers 114 and 114 acts in a direction to expand the separation preventing portion 106 ′. As a result, the levers 114 and 114 may not be prevented from being detached by the separation preventing unit 106 ′, and the levers 114 and 114 may be detached from the wire cover 30.

  Further, in the lever-type connector assembly 201 shown in FIG. 8, when the follower pin 244 is inserted into the cam groove 240 and the lever 231 is rotated to fit the two housings 210 and 220, the lever 231 drops off. There was a possibility. Specifically, when the lever 231 starts to rotate, the overhanging portion 245 is fitted only in the guide groove 248 of the receiving portion 247A, and when the lever 231 is further rotated, the overhanging portion 245 is fitted. This is because there is a possibility of colliding with the receiving portion 247B. For this reason, the lever 231 may be lifted when the overhanging portion 245 collides with the receiving portion 247 </ b> B, and may drop off from the shaft 235. Furthermore, the lever 231 may fall off the shaft 235 due to the low height of the guide groove 248 of the receiving portions 247A and 247B.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lever-type connector assembly that prevents the lever from dropping off during fitting.

In order to solve the above problems, a lever-type connector assembly according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a housing having a contact and a lever provided to be rotatable with respect to a support shaft provided in the housing. A lever-type connector,
A lever-type connector assembly having a mating connector that can be fitted into the housing,
The lever is formed with a pair of flange portions and gears provided so as to face each other with the spindle interposed therebetween,
The mating connector is provided with a pair of drop-off prevention portions and a rack that meshes with a gear provided on the lever,
By rotating the lever between the start position and the completion position while always engaging the pair of flange portions with the pair of drop-off prevention portions, the rack and the gear cooperate with each other. The lever-type connector can be moved between a mating start position and a mating completion position with respect to the mating connector.

  A lever type connector assembly according to claim 2 of the present invention is the lever type connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein one of the pair of flange portions is formed integrally with the gear. It is characterized by being.

  In the lever-type connector assembly according to claim 1 of the present invention, the lever-type connector and the mating connector are always engaged with the drop-out preventing portion of the mating connector until the mating is completed after the mating is started. A pair of flanges was provided on the lever. Therefore, when the lever is rotated between the start position and the completion position, the lever does not collide with the drop-off preventing portion, so that the lever can be prevented from dropping when connected to the mating connector. be able to.

  Moreover, according to the lever type connector assembly according to claim 2 of the present invention, since one of the pair of flange portions is formed integrally with the gear, the strength of the one flange portion is Reinforced by gears.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a lever type connector assembly according to the present invention. However, in FIG. 1, the lever is located at the “start position”. Further, in FIG. 1, dropout prevention portions 54 and 54 described later are shown in a cross-sectional view so that a groove portion 54b appears. FIG. 2 is a front view showing a “fitting start state” between the lever type connector and the mating connector in the lever type connector assembly shown in FIG. 1.

(Lever connector assembly)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lever-type connector assembly of this embodiment includes lever-type connectors 1 and 2, a first fitting portion 52 and a second fitting portion 53 formed on the mating connector 50. Is fitted. The fitting method will be described later. The lever-type connector 1 is adapted to be fitted to the first fitting portion 52 of the mating connector 50 due to its shape, but the second fitting portion 53 of the mating connector 50 has the shape of the second fitting portion 53. Other suitable lever-type connectors 2 are adapted to be fitted. Hereinafter, the case where the lever-type connector 1 is fitted to the first fitting portion 52 of the mating connector 50 will be described as an example.

<Lever type connector>
The lever-type connector 1 includes an insulating housing 10 and a lever 20.
The housing 10 includes an inner housing 11 that holds a female contact (not shown), an outer housing 12 that is attached to the inner housing 11, and a wire cover 30 that is attached to the outer housing 12. A female contact (not shown) held by the inner housing 11 is connected to a mating contact 60 (see FIG. 4) described later. The inner housing 11, the outer housing 12, and the wire cover 30 are each formed by molding an insulating resin.

The inner housing 11 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and is formed with a plurality of contact accommodating cavities (not shown) penetrating in the vertical direction. A female contact (not shown) is held in the contact receiving cavity.
A seal member 14 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the inner housing 11. By providing the sealing member 14 around the outer peripheral surface of the inner housing 11, when the inner housing 11 and the first fitting portion 52 are fitted, the inner housing 11 and the first fitting portion 52 are mutually connected. Airtightness is ensured.

The outer housing 12 has a plate-like upper surface portion (not shown), a front surface 12a extending from the periphery of the upper surface portion, a rear surface 12b, and a pair of side surfaces 12c and 12c (only one is shown). It has a substantially rectangular shape with a lid and no bottom.
A contact receiving cavity (not shown) for receiving a female contact (not shown) held by the inner housing 11 is formed in the upper surface portion so as to penetrate vertically.

Further, the inner peripheral surface formed by the front surface 12 a, the rear surface 12 b, and the pair of side surfaces 12 c and 12 c of the outer housing 12 is configured with a size larger than the outer peripheral surface of the inner housing 11.
The outer housing 12 is fixed to the inner housing 11 so as to be covered with the outer housing 12 via a seal member (not shown). Specifically, a latch (not shown) formed on the upper end surface of the inner housing 11 is engaged with a latch hole (not shown) formed on the upper surface (not shown) of the outer housing 12. The inner housing 11 is fixed to the outer housing 12.

  On the other hand, the outer peripheral surface of the inner housing 11, the inner peripheral surface of the outer housing 12, and the upper surface (not shown) of the outer housing 12 form a mating connector receiving cavity 13 (see FIG. 2) whose bottom surface is open. The mating connector receiving cavity 13 is a rectangular groove that can be fitted with the first fitting portion 52 when the lever-type connector 1 and the mating connector 50 are fitted.

Further, on the lower end surfaces of the both side surfaces 12c, 12c of the outer housing 12, a support portion 15 including a support shaft 16 that rotatably supports a lever 20 described later is formed extending downward.
The wire cover 30 is attached to the upper side of the outer housing 12. A latch portion 31 that slides up and down with respect to the upper surface of the wire cover 30 by an elastic body is provided on the top portion of the wire cover 30. The latch portion 31 is accommodated inside the wire cover 30 when the connecting portion 22 (see FIG. 3) that moves in the turning operation of the lever 20 presses from above the latch portion 31. Further, the latch portion 31 protrudes from the upper surface of the wire cover 30 when the lever 20 reaches the “completion position” by the rotation operation, and latches and fixes the latching portion 28 (see FIG. 3) of the lever 20. To do.

  Moreover, the opening part 32 is formed in the rear surface of the wire cover 30 (refer FIG.1 and FIG.2). An electric wire (not shown) is connected to the female contact (not shown) held by the inner housing 11, and the electric wire is led out from the opening 32 through the inside of the wire cover 30. It has become.

〔lever〕
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a lever of the lever-type connector shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the lever 20 is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section including a pair of leg portions 21 and a connecting portion 22 that connects the rear ends of the leg portions 21, and is an insulating resin. It is formed by molding. A pair of shaft holes 23 are formed on the front end side of each leg portion 21 of the lever 20. The lever 20 is pivotally supported by the spindle 16 by fitting the spindles 16 provided on both side surfaces of the outer housing 11 into the pair of shaft holes 23, 23. Therefore, the lever 20 can be rotated around the support shaft 16 with respect to the housing 10. A gear 25 that meshes with a rack 55 (see FIG. 4) that is formed integrally with the drop-off prevention portion 54 is provided at the front end of the inner surface of each leg portion 21 of the lever 20. When the lever 20 is rotated from the “start position” to the “completion position”, the housing 10 moves up and down from the “fitting start position” to the “fitting completion position” by the cooperation of the gear 25 and the rack 55. It has become. Note that the position of the housing 10 with respect to the mating connector 50 when the lever 20 is positioned at the “start position” is the “fitting start position (state)”, and the mating connector when the lever 20 is positioned at the “completion position”. The position of the housing 10 with respect to 50 is referred to as a “fitting completion position (state)”. In addition, on the inner side surface of each leg portion 21 of the lever 20, a locking projection 26 is provided for abutting the upper end surface of the housing 10 at the “start position” to restrict the rotation of the lever 20.

In addition, a pair of flange portions 24 a and 24 b that are opposed to each other with the shaft holes 23 and 23 interposed therebetween are formed at the front ends of the leg portions 21 of the lever 20. These flange portions 24 a and 24 b are substantially fan-shaped thin pieces formed thinner than the thickness of the front end of each leg portion 21. At both end portions of the flange portions 24 a and 24 b, locking portions 27 are formed by steps in the thickness direction between the flange portions 24 a and 24 b and the outer surfaces of the leg portions 21. One flange portion 24 a is reinforced by being integrally formed with the gear 25.
The connecting portion 22 of the lever 20 is provided with a locking portion 28 for fixing the lever 20 at the “completed position”.

<Mating connector>
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the mating connector to which the lever-type connector fits in the lever-type connector assembly shown in FIG.
The mating connector 50 includes a mating housing 51 and a first fitting portion 52 and a second fitting portion 53 (see FIG. 2) provided on the upper surface of the mating housing 51. As shown in FIG. 4, the first fitting portion 52 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape with a lid and having a front surface 52 a, a rear surface 52 b, a bottom surface 52 c, and a pair of left side surface 52 d and right side surface 52 e. A plurality of metal counterpart contacts 60 are attached to the bottom surface 52 c of the first fitting portion 52. A pair of dropout prevention portions 54 is formed on the left side surface 52d and the right side surface 52e of the first fitting portion 52, respectively.

  Each of the drop-off prevention portions 54, 54 protrudes from the left side surface 52 d (right side surface 52 e) of the first fitting portion 52 along the vertical direction (the direction in which the lever-type connector 1 is inserted and removed from the mating connector 50). Grooves 54b and 54b that open upward (in the direction in which the lever-type connector 1 is positioned with respect to the mating connector 50 when fitted) are formed on the protrusions 54a and 54a so as to face each other. These groove portions 54b and 54b receive the flange portions 24a and 24b (see FIG. 3) of the lever 20.

  Further, racks 55, 55 extending in a predetermined length along the vertical direction are formed on the protrusions 54a, 54a in front of the left side surface 52d and the right side surface 52e of the first fitting portion 52, respectively. The racks 55, 55 are engaged with the gears 25, 25 of the lever 20 when the mating connector 50 and the lever-type connector 1 are fitted, and the levers 55 as the mating connector receiving cavity 13 is fitted into the first fitting portion 52. 20 is rotated.

(Matching method of lever type connector and mating connector)
Next, a method for fitting the lever connector 1 and the mating connector 50 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 5 is a front view showing a “fitting start state” of the lever-type connector with respect to the mating connector in the lever-type connector assembly shown in FIG. 1, wherein (a) is a left side view and (b) is 5b of (a). It is a fragmentary sectional view along line -5b. 6 shows a “fitted state” of the lever-type connector with respect to the mating connector in the lever-type connector assembly shown in FIG. 1, (a) is a left side view, and (b) is a line 6b-6b in (a). FIG.

  First, the lever 20 of the lever-type connector 1 is positioned at the “starting position”, and the mating connector receiving cavity 13 and the first fitting portion 52 are opposed to each other. The connector 1 is moved toward the mating connector 50.

Next, the mating connector receiving cavity 13 of the lever-type connector 1 is temporarily fitted into the first fitting portion 52, and the pair of flange portions 24a, 24b on the left and right sides of the lever 20 are paired with a pair of drop-off prevention portions 54, 54 is temporarily fitted into the grooves 54b and 54b.
Thus, in the “fitting start state”, as shown in FIG. 5A, the mating connector receiving cavity 13 and the first fitting portion 52 are temporarily fitted, and the flange portions of the leg portions 21 and 21 are engaged. 24a, 24b and a pair of drop-off prevention parts 54, 54 are temporarily fitted.
Further, in the “fitting start state”, as shown in FIG. 5B, the locking portion 27 is engaged with the upper end portion of the one drop-off preventing portion 54 having the groove portion 54b fitted to the flange portion 24a. It has been stopped. Therefore, the rotation of the lever 20 in the arrow B direction (see FIG. 5A) is restricted, and the lever 20 is held at the “start position”.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the lever 20 is rotated in the direction of arrow C from the “start position”. By this rotation operation, the gear 25 provided on the lever 20 and the rack 55 provided on the first fitting portion 52 cooperate to cause the lever-type connector 1 to move to the mating connector 50 side (FIG. 5A). And move further in the direction of arrow A). While the lever-type connector 1 is moving with respect to the mating connector 50, the flange portions 24a and 24b and the drop-off preventing portions 54 and 54 are kept engaged.

  When the lever 20 is rotated in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 6A and the locking portion 28 of the lever 20 is locked to the latch portion 31 of the wire cover 30, the lever-type connector 1 and the mating connector 50 Is completed (fitting completion state). The position of the lever-type connector 1 with respect to the mating connector 50 at this time is the “fitting completion position”. Further, the position of the lever 20 at this time is the “completion position”. The flanges 24a and 24b and the drop-off preventing parts 54 and 54 are kept engaged until the mating of the mating connector 50 and the lever-type connector 1 is completed by the turning operation of the lever 20.

  When the lever 20 is rotated to the “completion position” as described above, the female contact (not shown) held by the inner housing 11 drawn into the first fitting portion 52 and the male contact 60 are formed. They come into contact and are electrically connected. Further, when the lever 20 is rotated to the “completion position” shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the locking portion 28 of the lever 20 is locked to the latch portion 31 provided on the wire cover 30, and the lever 20 Is held at the “completion position”.

On the other hand, when the lever 20 is rotated in the reverse direction from the “complete position” shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B to the “start position” shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the gear 25 and the rack 55 are rotated. Reverses the above-described operation, the mating relationship of the mating connector receiving cavity 13 with respect to the first mating portion 52 is released, and the lever-type connector 1 can be removed from the mating connector 50.
Thus, while the lever 20 is rotated between the “start position” and the “completion position”, the pair of dropout prevention portions 54 and 54 and the flange portions 24a and 24b are always engaged. That is, since the pair of flange portions 24a and 24b that always engage with the pair of dropout prevention portions 54 and 54 are provided so as to face each other via the support shaft 16, the lever 20 is rotated when the lever 20 is rotated. Dropout can be prevented.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention has been described, this invention is not limited to this, A various change and improvement can be performed. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the inner housing 11 and the outer housing 12 constituting the housing 10 are separated from each other, but they may be molded integrally. In the above-described embodiment, the lever 20 is provided in the outer housing 12, but the lever 20 may be provided in the wire cover 30.

It is a front view which shows the lever type connector assembly which concerns on this invention. However, in FIG. 1, the lever is located at the “start position”. FIG. 2 is a front view showing a “fitting start state” of the lever-type connector with respect to the mating connector in the lever-type connector assembly shown in FIG. 1. It is a perspective view of the lever of the lever type connector shown in FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the other party connector which a lever type connector fits in the lever type connector assembly shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view showing a “fitting start state” of the lever-type connector with respect to the mating connector in the lever-type connector assembly shown in FIG. 1, (a) is a left side view, and (b) is a line 5b-5b in (a). It is a fragmentary sectional view in alignment with. 1 shows a “fitted state” of a lever-type connector with respect to a mating connector in the lever-type connector assembly shown in FIG. 1, (a) is a left side view, and (b) is a portion along line 6b-6b of (a). It is sectional drawing. It is a disassembled perspective view of an example of the conventional lever type connector assembly. It is a side view of an example of the conventional lever type connector assembly.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lever type connector 10 Housing 16 Support shaft 20 Lever 24 Flange part 25 Gear 50 Opposite connector 54 Fall prevention part 55 Rack

Claims (2)

A lever-type connector comprising a housing having a contact and a lever provided to be pivotable with respect to a support shaft provided in the housing;
A lever-type connector assembly having a mating connector that can be fitted into the housing,
The lever is formed with a pair of flange portions and gears provided so as to face each other with the spindle interposed therebetween,
The mating connector is provided with a pair of drop-off prevention portions and a rack that meshes with a gear provided on the lever,
By rotating the lever between the start position and the completion position while always engaging the pair of flange portions with the pair of drop-off prevention portions, the rack and the gear cooperate with each other. A lever-type connector assembly, wherein the lever-type connector is movable between a fitting start position and a fitting completion position for the mating connector.   The lever type connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein one of the pair of flange portions is formed integrally with the gear.

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