JP2001351729A - Lever-type connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lever-type connector capable of coping with a greater number of poles. SOLUTION: The operation of turning a lever 30 first causes first and second levers 31 and 32 to integrally rotate about a fulcrum part 34, with a first pin 14 pressed by an axial hole 36, whereby the first connector 11 is fitted into a male connector 20. Meanwhile, a second connector 12 will not be fitted. Once the first connector 11 is fitted into a normal position, a releasing wall 27 engages the locking part 45 of the second lever 32 and releases a lock, so the second lever 32 is turned about a shaft 40, and a second pin 15 is pressed by a pressing groove 49, whereby the second connector 12 is fitted in place. Because the two split connectors 11 and 12 are sequentially fitted in place by means of the similarly split levers 31 and 32, poles can be fitted in place, in a number which is larger than the maximum number of poles which can be fitted in place by means of one lever. Moreover, because turning operation of the lever 30 needs to be conducted only once, workability also becomes proper.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a lever type connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an example of a conventional lever-type connector, one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-302353 is known. This device includes a pair of connectors that can be fitted to each other, one of which supports a fulcrum at the distal end of a lever in a rotatable manner, the other connector is engaged with the lever, and the proximal end of the lever is engaged. The other connector is fitted to one of the connectors as the lever is rotated about the fulcrum by the operation unit.

[0003]

The lever-type connector as described above utilizes a so-called leverage function and realizes a low operating force (low fitting force). There are naturally limits on the number of poles that can be performed. On the other hand, since there is a tendency that the number of poles of the connector is increased, the emergence of a lever-type connector capable of coping with a larger number of poles has been desired. The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a fulcrum provided at the tip of a lever is rotatably supported by one of a pair of connectors that can be fitted together. The other connector is engaged with this lever, and the other connector is fitted to the one connector side as the lever is rotated about the fulcrum by the operating portion at the base end. In the connector, the other connector and the lever are divided into a plurality of parts in the front-rear direction along the length direction of the lever, and each of the divided levers has a rear divided lever with respect to a front divided lever. While being rotatably supported, the rear split lever has a locking portion that is locked to the front split lever and is restricted from rotating in the fitting operation direction with respect to the front split lever. Provided, each said split lever And each of the split connectors is capable of engaging with each other in the front-rear direction. Among them, the foremost split lever is engaged with the foremost split connector so as to be able to be pressed from the beginning, and other The split lever is configured to pressably engage a corresponding split connector after the split lever on the front side has rotated a predetermined angle, and the one split lever has a front split lever. A release portion is provided for engaging with the locking portion of the rear split lever and releasing the lock on the front split lever when the corresponding split connector is fitted in the correct position after being rotated by a predetermined angle. It has a characteristic in that it is configured as described above.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the lever is rotated, the divided levers are pivoted about the fulcrum at the leading end in a state where the divided levers are integrated. And is fitted to one connector side. During that time, the rear split connector is not fitted. When the foremost split connector is fitted in the correct position, the release part engages with the locking part of the rear split lever to release the lock, so the rear split lever is And the rear split connector is fitted this time. Further, if there is a set of a split lever and a split connector at the rear, the split lever rotates with respect to the split lever on the front side and the corresponding split connectors are sequentially fitted. A plurality of split connectors are sequentially fitted by corresponding split levers, so that more poles than the maximum number of poles that can be fitted by one lever can be fitted, and the lever is rotated Since only one operation is required, the workability is excellent.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, female and male connectors 10 and 20 and a lever 30 for fitting the two connectors 10 and 20 are provided. The female connector 10 is a large first connector 1
1 and a second connector 12 smaller than this. A female terminal fitting (not shown) is inserted into and housed in each of the connectors 11 and 12 from above in FIG.

One male connector 20 has a hood 22 on which the female connector 10 can be fitted.
The inner side of the hood portion 22 is partitioned by a partition wall 23 into a fitting area of the first and second connectors 11 and 12 in the female connector 10 described above. A male terminal fitting (not shown) is inserted from below the main body 21, and each tab is housed in a state protruding from the inner surface of the hood 22 in correspondence with the female terminal fitting described above.

The female connector 10 has a lever 30 mounted thereon. The lever 30 includes a first lever 31 and a second lever 3.
2 is connected. The first lever 31 has an elongated shape, and is formed in a forked shape in which a pair is disposed at an interval capable of holding the first connector 11 and tips are connected at a fulcrum portion 34. The first lever 31 is rotated by fitting an elongated shaft hole 35 formed at a central portion in the longitudinal direction of the first lever 31 to a first pin 14 protruding from a side surface of the first connector 11. It is movably supported.

One of the second levers 32 has a shape in which a semicircular portion 37 is protrudingly provided at the center of the lower edge of the main body portion 36 which is slightly wide and elongated. Similarly, a pair of the second levers 32 sandwich the first lever 31. They are arranged at possible intervals, and have a bifurcated shape in which the rear ends are connected by the operation unit 38. This second lever 32
A position slightly forward of the center of the main body 36 in the longitudinal direction is rotatably supported by a shaft 40 with respect to the rear end of the first lever 31.

A fitting portion 42 is formed at the lower edge of the distal end of the second lever 32 so as to protrude, and is locked in a window 43 formed in the fitting portion 42 at the rear end of the first lever 31. Locking part 4
5 are provided. This locking portion 45 is described in detail in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the lower end of the window hole 43 is formed at a position protruding inward from the inner surface of the second lever 32, and the lower edge of the rear end of the first lever 31 is received on the upper surface thereof. And the lower end on the inner side is
The tapered surface 46 gradually becomes thinner downward,
The upper end side can be bent and deformed in and out.

On the other hand, the main body 21 of the second lever 32
A guide groove 48 having a predetermined length in an arc shape centered on the fulcrum 34 at the tip of the first lever 31 is formed in a region extending from the semicircular portion 37 to the first lever 31. 2 the second pin 15 protruding from the side surface of the connector 12
Are fitted. At the upper end of the guide groove 48, a pressing groove 49 bent toward the shaft 40 is formed.

On the male connector 20 side, a support hole 25 into which the fulcrum portion 34 of the lever 30 is rotatably fitted is formed in the left side wall 22A in FIG. Further, the side wall 22 on which the support hole 25 is formed is formed.
The second lever 3 is provided inside the side walls 22B that are at right angles to A.
A release wall 27 is provided for engaging with the second locking portion 45 to release the locking. In detail, as shown in FIG. 2, at the position where the fitting portion 42 of the second lever 32 is fitted inside the both side walls 22 </ b> B, the same distance as the thickness dimension of the fitting portion 42 is provided, and the depth of the hood portion 22 is It is provided at a predetermined height from the surface. Further, an escape groove 29 is formed from the side wall 22C opposite to the side where the fulcrum portion 34 is provided to the inner surface thereof, from which the semicircular portion 37 of the second lever 32 is fitted and released in the vicinity thereof.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. First, the second lever 32 is attached to the rear side of the first lever 31 by the shaft 40. On the other hand, in the female connector 10, the first and second connectors 11 and 12 are arranged without a step, and the first pin 14 of the first connector 11 is inserted into the shaft hole 35 of the first lever 31.
Are fitted. The second pin 15 of the second connector 12 is fitted to the lower end of the guide groove 48 while the locking portion 45 of the second lever 32 is in contact with the lower edge of the rear end of the first lever 31. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, the first lever 31 is in a position substantially corresponding to the first connector 11 and the rear end is inclined upward by about 15 degrees, and the second lever 32 is substantially in the same position as the second connector 12. At the corresponding position, the operation unit 38 is assembled in a posture in which the operation unit 38 side is further steeply inclined.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the fulcrum portion 34 of the lever 30 is fitted into the support hole 25 of the hood portion 22 of the male connector 20, and both the first and second connectors 11, 1 are connected.
The lower end of the connector 2 is fitted and held in the hood portion 22 of the male connector 20 by a predetermined dimension. From this state, the second lever 3
When the second operating portion 38 is pushed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3, the locking portion 45 contacts the first lever 31 and the second lever 32
Since the rotation in the clockwise direction in FIG. 3 is restricted around 0, the first lever 31 and the second lever 32 are integrally formed, and the clockwise direction in FIG. Is rotated. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the shaft hole 35 of the first lever 31 pushes the first pin 14,
The first connector 11 is gradually fitted toward the back side of the hood portion 22, while the second connector 12 is configured such that while the second pin 15 slides upward in the guide groove 48 of the second lever 32, the initial connector It is kept at the fitting position.

When the levers 31 and 32 are integrally rotated by about 20 degrees, the first connector 11 is fitted to the inner surface of the hood 22, that is, the regular position, as shown in FIG. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 6, the fitting portion 42 of the second lever 32 is
Is fitted outside. At this time, the upper end corner on the outer surface side of the release wall 27 hits the tapered surface 46 of the locking portion 45 and the locking portion 4
5 is deformed outward to escape into the window hole 43. Thereby, the locking portion 45 is disengaged from the lower edge of the first lever 31 to release the locking.

During this time, the second pin 15 of the second connector 12
5 faces the upper end of the guide groove 48, that is, the pressing groove 49, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the operation unit 3 is continuously
8, when the locking portion 45 is bent and deformed, as shown in FIG.
The lever 32 rotates clockwise in FIG. Accordingly, the upper edge of the pressing groove 49 is
5 is pressed, and the second connector 12 is
Is fitted to the inner surface. As a result, both connectors 11, 12
Is completed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
The female connector 10 includes a first connector 11 and a second connector 12.
And the first and second levers 31 and 32, which are similarly divided, are sequentially fitted to each other. For example, usually, the first and second levers 31 and 32 have the largest number of poles that can be fitted by one lever. In addition to the first connector 11, the second connector 1
2 can also be engaged with the lever, that is, can also accommodate the engagement of a multi-pole connector. In addition, although the lever 30 is divided, only one rotation operation is required, so that the workability is excellent.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) The connector and the lever can be divided into three or more parts and sequentially fitted. (2) Depending on the shape of the housing and the like, a structure may be adopted in which a lever is mounted on the male connector side to divide them.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view before fitting according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of an initial state of fitting.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view of the first connector in the process of fitting.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view showing a state where the first connector is properly fitted.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view thereof.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway side view showing a state where the second connector is properly fitted.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Female connector 11 ... 1st connector 12 ... 2nd connector 14 ... 1st pin 15 ... 2nd pin 20 ... Male connector 25 ... Support hole 27 ... Release wall (release part) 30 ... Lever 31 ... 1st lever 32 ... 2nd lever 34 ... fulcrum 35 ... shaft hole 38 ... operating part 40 ... shaft 45 ... locking part 48 ... guide groove 49 ... pressing groove

Claims (1)

[Claims] A fulcrum provided at the tip of a lever is rotatably supported on one of a pair of connectors that can be fitted with each other, and the other connector is engaged with the lever. A connector in which the other connector is fitted to the one connector side as the lever is pivoted about the fulcrum by an operating portion at a base end, wherein the other connector and the lever Are divided into plural parts in the front-rear direction along the length direction of the lever, and each of the divided levers is rotatably supported on the rear divided lever with respect to the front divided lever, The split lever is provided with a locking portion which is locked to the front split lever and restricted from rotating in the fitting operation direction with respect to the front split lever. Front and rear with connectors Those corresponding to the directions can be engaged with each other, among which the foremost split lever is engaged with the foremost split connector so as to be able to be pressed from the beginning, and the other split levers are
After the front split lever is rotated by a predetermined angle, it is pressably engaged with the corresponding split connector, and the front split lever is rotated by a predetermined angle with the one connector. When the corresponding split connector is fitted in the correct position, a release portion is provided for engaging with the locking portion of the rear split lever to release the lock on the front split lever. The lever type connector characterized by the above-mentioned.