JPH08185926A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent a lever from being carelessly rotated without increasing the rotating resistance of the lever. CONSTITUTION: A female connector housing 21 has a lever 40 rotatable between a fitting start position and a fitting complete position, and the fitting and separation of both connectors are performed by rotating this lever 40. When the lever 40 is in the fitting start position, an elastic protruding piece 46 provided on the lever 40 is engaged with an engaging hole 26 to arrest the free rotation of the lever 40. When a male connector housing 11 is inserted to the opening end of a female connector housing 21, the engagement releasing piece 15 of the male connector housing 11 is protruded into the engaging hole to remove the elastic protruding piece 46, and the engagement is released.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector having improved connector fitting workability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As this type of connector, for example, a lever type connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-627724 is known. In the structure shown in the publication, a large number of male terminals are arranged in the male connector housing, a large number of female terminals are arranged in the female connector housing, and the male connector housing has a rotation for fitting operation. A lever corresponding to a member is attached so as to be rotatable around a support shaft. This lever has a U-shape with arms on both sides and a cam groove on the arms.

On the other hand, a cam projection is provided on the female connector housing, and when the two connectors are fitted together, the lever is set at a fitting start position where the cam projection of the female connector housing coincides with the cam groove of the lever. , The cam projection of the female connector housing is engaged with the cam groove of the lever, and then the lever is rotated toward the mating completion position, so that the cam action of the cam groove moves the female connector housing to the male connector housing side. It is displaced so that both connectors can be fitted together.

In this type of connector, in order to fit both connectors together, it is necessary to accurately set the lever at the fitting start position so that the cam projection can be properly inserted into the cam groove of the lever. For this reason, conventionally, it has been attempted to provide a locking mechanism using, for example, an elastic claw piece between the lever and the connector housing.

[0005]

However, in the structure provided with the above-mentioned locking mechanism, if the locking force of the lever is weak, the lever is inadvertently rotated during the transportation of the connector or the work of fitting the connector. It may end up. Then, the lever moves from the initial mating start position, so that the cam projection and the cam groove of the rotating member do not match, and the connector cannot be mated.In the end, set the lever to the mating start position. There is a problem that it is necessary to fix it again and perform fitting work, which takes time. In order to avoid this, it may be possible to set the lever locking force strongly, but this time the locking force of the elastic claw piece prevails and it becomes difficult to rotate the lever,
The operability of fitting the connector will be impaired.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent the turning member such as the lever from being turned carelessly before the fitting of the connector, and the turning resistance of the turning member is nevertheless achieved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector having excellent fitting operability without increasing the number of contacts.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, one connector housing of connectors to be fitted to each other is provided with a turning member that can be turned from a fitting start position to a fitting completion position. , The connector is adapted to be engaged and disengaged by rotating the rotating member, and the rotating member is started to be fitted between one connector housing and the rotating member. In a device provided with a holding mechanism for holding the holding position, the holding mechanism is provided with an elastic projection piece that is integrally projected on the rotating member and extends in the fitting direction of both connectors, and one connector housing that fits both connectors. The connector housing is formed so as to extend in the mating direction so as to be able to receive the elastic projecting piece, and the elastic projecting piece engages when the rotating member is at the fitting start position. Advances to the engagement hole when mating Characterized in place of providing the disengagement piece to the non-holding state by eliminating the elastic key from engagement holes by.

[0008]

Since the turning member is held at the fitting start position by the holding mechanism, it is possible to prevent the turning member from accidentally turning from the fitting start position before fitting the connector. it can. Also, when both connector housings are fitted together, the disengagement piece of the other connector housing enters the engagement hole of the one connector housing, whereby the elastic projection piece is removed from the engagement hole and rotated. The member is in the non-holding state and is allowed to freely rotate.

[0009]

As described above, according to the connector of the present invention, at the fitting start position, the rotating member is securely held at that position and does not rotate carelessly.
When both connectors start to be fitted together, free rotation of the turning member is allowed, so that the turning resistance of the turning member does not increase at all, and the workability of connector fitting is excellent. can get.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Structure of Embodiment) The overall structure of both connectors is as shown in FIG. A male connector 10 is shown on the left side of the figure, and a female connector 20 is shown on the right side. The male connector 10 has a configuration in which a large number of male terminals 12 are mounted in a flat cylindrical male connector housing 11 having one end open and the other end closed. For example, two guide wall portions 13 extend toward the opening side. The male terminal 12 is provided with a large-sized terminal group having a large current capacity and a small-sized terminal group having a small current capacity in separate arrangement regions.

On the male connector housing 11, a pair of cam action pins 14 are coaxially projected on the left and right sides of the male connector housing 11, and the engagement release pieces 1 are provided above the respective cam action pins 14.
5 are protrudingly provided. The function of the disengagement piece 15 will be described in detail later, but a guide slope 16 is formed on the tip side (opening side) of the male connector housing 11, and the projection height is lowered toward the tip side. .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the female connector 20 has a structure in which a large number of female terminals 22 are mounted in a female connector housing 21 which also has a flat tubular shape. The female connector housing 21 corresponds to one connector housing of the present invention, and the male connector housing 11 corresponding to the other connector housing can be fitted to the outer peripheral side of the female connector housing 21. 1
A waterproof seal 23 for sealing between the female connector housing 1 and the connector 1 is fitted to the outer periphery of the female connector housing 21 on the base end side. Further, the female connector housing 21 is integrally formed with a hood portion 24 surrounding the outer peripheral side of the fitted male connector housing 11, and the male connector housing 11 has the hood portion 24 and the female connector housing 21. It is designed to be inserted between them. It should be noted that guide slits 25 into which the cam action pins 14 of the female connector housing 21 can enter when the male connector housing 11 is inserted into the hood portion 24 and the disengagement pieces 1 are provided on both left and right sides of the hood portion 24.
And an engaging hole 26 into which 5 can enter (see FIG. 2).

The hood portion 24 of the female connector housing 21
A pair of support shafts 27, which are located on the extension lines of the guide slits 25, for mounting a lever 40, which will be described later, are provided coaxially on both left and right sides of the shaft. This support shaft 27
Has a large diameter prevention portion 29 at the tip and a split groove 28 having a V-shaped cross section that vertically divides the shaft from the tip is formed, which enables elastic diameter reduction deformation of the tip. ing.

The lever 40 is provided with two leg portions 42 on both the left and right sides of the bridge portion 41 and has a U-shape as a whole, and a spindle insertion hole 43 is formed through each leg portion 42. , The support shaft 27 is passed through the support shaft insertion hole 43 so that the lever 40 rotates about the support shaft 27 between the "fitting start position" shown in FIG. 1 and the "fitting completion position" shown in FIG. It is movably supported. Back side of lever 40 (male connector housing 1
As shown in FIG. 2, a cam groove 45 is formed on the first side), and when the male connector housing 11 is inserted, the cam action pin 14 can be inserted and engaged therewith. This cam groove 4
5 has an arc shape whose curvature gradually changes as a whole, and as the lever 40 is rotated from the "fitting start position" to the "fitting completion position", the cam action pin 14 and thus the male connector housing 11 are moved. It is displaced toward the female connector housing 21 side by the "cam action" so that both connectors are fitted.

An elastic projection piece 46 is formed integrally with the lever 40 near the base of each leg portion 42 of the lever 40, and the elastic projection piece 46 projects toward the back side of the lever 40. The elastic projection 46 is adapted to fit into the engagement hole 26 of the hood portion 24 and engage when the lever 40 is at the “fitting start position”, and cooperates with the engagement hole 26. A holding mechanism for holding the lever 40 at the "fitting start position" is configured.

An electric wire cover 60 is provided on the rear side of the female connector housing 21, and surrounds the electric wire w group (shown only in FIG. 3) connected to the female terminal 22 from the outside. The electric wire cover 60 is slidable from the state shown in FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and a pair of cam projections 63 is provided on one side surface portion.
A cam receiving recess 48 that accommodates the cam protrusion 63 of the wire cover 60 when the lever 40 is rotated to the “fitting completion position” is formed in the bridge portion 41 of the lever 40.
When the wire cover 60 is moved in the arrow direction when the lever 40 is at the “fitting completion position”, the cam projection 63 pushes up the cam receiving recess 48, and the lever 40 is moved upward from the “fitting completion position” ( It can be rotated in the “fitting start position” direction).

A substantially L-shaped engaging claw 51 is provided at the center of the bridging portion 41 of the lever 40, and the electric wire cover 6 is provided.
0 is integrally formed with a U-shaped hook portion 65. When the lever 40 is rotated to the “fitting completion position” after the wire cover 60 is mounted on the female connector housing 21, the engaging claw of the lever 40 is formed. 51 is a hook portion 65 of the electric wire cover 60
And the lever 40 is restricted from rotating in the “fitting start position” direction. Furthermore, the female connector housing 2
A projecting piece 31 is formed in the center of one side surface portion of the first electric wire cover 60 so as to overlap the side surface portion of the electric wire cover 60 with a space, and a locking hole 32 is formed therein. In addition, a triangular plate-shaped locking projection 66 is integrally projectingly provided at a position corresponding to the projecting piece 31 in the electric wire cover 60, and the tip of the locking projection 66 can enter the locking hole 32. A locking mechanism 67 for holding the wire cover 60 in the “lock position” is formed.

(Operation of Embodiment) Now, the lever 40 is shown in FIG.
It is assumed that it is at the "fitting start position" as shown in. In this state, as shown in FIG. 4, the elastic projection piece 46 of the lever 40 has entered and engaged with the engagement hole 26 of the hood portion 24,
Therefore, the lever 40 is in a state where free rotation is blocked.
Therefore, there is no possibility that the lever 40 will be displaced from the "fitting start position" even if the lever 40 is transported in this state or the harness is assembled.

Then, in order to fit both connectors, the cam action pin 14 of the male connector housing 11 is passed through the guide slit 25 of the female connector housing 21 and the lever 4 is inserted.
0 cam groove 45 is engaged. Here, as described above, since the lever 40 is securely held at the "fitting start position", the cam action pin 14 can be fitted into the entrance portion of the cam groove 45 without difficulty.

When the cam action pin 14 is fitted in the entrance portion of the cam groove 45, the tip of the male connector housing 11 is slightly fitted in the tip of the female connector housing 21. The release piece 15 also enters the engagement hole 26 of the hood portion 24. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the elastic release piece 46 is removed from the engagement hole 26 by the engagement release piece 15, the engagement of the lever 40 is released, and the free rotation of the lever 40 is allowed. It

Therefore, when the lever 40 is rotated from the "fitting start position" to the "fitting completion position", the cam action of the cam groove 45 of the lever 40 and the cam action pin 14 of the male connector housing 11 causes. The male connector housing 11 is displaced in a direction in which it is fitted deeper into the female connector housing 21, and finally complete fitting is achieved. In the process of this fitting operation, as described above, the elastic projection piece 46 of the lever and the engagement hole 26 are engaged.
Since the engagement with and is released in advance, only the fitting resistance of each terminal 12, 22 acts, and the lever turning operation can be performed sufficiently lightly.

By rotating the lever 40 to the "fitting completion position", the hook portion 65 of the electric wire cover 60 is engaged with the engaging claw 51 of the lever 40 to lock the lever 40 at that position. (See FIG. 6). To disconnect both connectors, first move the wire cover 60 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6 to release the lock, and the cam projection 63 of the wire cover 60 causes the lever 4 to move.
0 is pushed up, and lever 4 is pushed as shown in FIG.
0 is slightly rotated in the direction of the “fitting start position” to be in a floating state, and the fingers can be easily hung on it.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the following modifications are possible, for example, and these embodiments also belong to the technical scope of the present invention. (1) The rotating member is not limited to the lever-shaped member illustrated in the above-described embodiment, but may be, for example, a simple flat plate-shaped member having only one leg, or a disc-shaped substrate and a rotating operation unit. It may have a shape in which a cam acting portion is provided, and in other words, a pivoting member is rotatably provided in one connector housing via a support shaft in order to engage and disengage both connectors. Can be applied to the connector. (2) Although the split groove 28 is formed in a V-shaped cross section in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be U-shaped or U-shaped, or multiple split grooves may be formed. In addition, the invention of the present application can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of both connectors according to a first embodiment of the present invention before mating.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the female connector shown with a lever removed.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of both connectors before mating.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state in which a lever is held at a fitting start position by a holding mechanism.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state in which holding by a holding mechanism is released.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which a lever is locked at a fitting completion position.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state where the electric wire cover is moved to a lock release position.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state where the electric wire cover is moved further forward from the unlocked position.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ... Male connector 15 ... Engagement release piece 20 ... Female connector 26 ... Engagement hole 27 ... Spindle 46 ... Elastic projection piece

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotating member that can be rotated from a fitting start position to a fitting completion position is provided on one connector housing of connectors to be fitted to each other, and the turning member is turned. Both connectors are engaged and disengaged by operation, and for holding the rotating member at the fitting start position between the one connector housing and the rotating member. In the above-mentioned holding mechanism, the holding mechanism is provided with an elastic projecting piece that is integrally projected on the rotating member and extends in the fitting direction of the both connectors, and the one connector housing is fitted with the both connectors. Direction is formed so as to be able to receive the elastic projecting piece, and the elastic projecting piece engages when the rotating member is at the fitting start position. Is the above Connector, characterized in that the engagement releasing piece to a non-holding state by eliminating the elastic key from the engagement hole by entering the engaging hole when the fitting of the connectors is provided.