JP6144587B2 - Lever type electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lever-type electrical connector having a lock mechanism.

  Conventionally, a lever-type electrical connector having a lock mechanism for fixing a fitting lever supported by a male connector so as to be swingable to a predetermined position of the male connector after being completely fitted to the female connector is known. Yes. This lever-type electrical connector constitutes a lock mechanism by engaging a latch arm provided on the fitting lever and a lock piece provided on the male connector. After the male connector and the counterpart female connector are completely fitted, the fitting lever is locked in place by the latch arm and the locking piece.

In the conventional lever-type electrical connector, if an external force is applied to the fitting lever in a direction to release the lock while the fitting lever piece is fixed, the latch arm may be deformed or damaged. In addition, when the latch arm is U-shaped, the lock arm and the latch arm serving as a spring part for imparting elasticity are functionally integrated, so if an accidental external force is applied, the latch arm and the lock piece The engagement may be disengaged.
To prevent accidental unlocking due to external force, impact, and vibration, and to prevent the latch arm from being damaged, it is only necessary to reinforce the elasticity of the latch arm. Therefore, the operability at the time of release is lowered.

  With respect to the above problems, Patent Document 1 discloses a displacement that regulates the displacement of the latch arm when the engaging portion of the latch arm comes into contact with each other when a force that separates the latch arm and the lock piece from each other is applied. It proposes to establish a regulation section. According to this proposal, the latch arm's engaging part is not easily deformed, damaged, or detached even if an external force, impact, vibration, etc. is applied, without excessively increasing the elasticity of the latch arm. A mechanism is obtained.

JP 2006-331719 A

However, the lock mechanism described in Patent Document 1 raises the following problems. An operator may operate the fitting lever in a direction to release the fitting without an operation for releasing the lock. Hereinafter, this operation is sometimes referred to as unreasonableness. In the lock mechanism of Patent Document 1, the engaging portion of the latch arm abuts against the displacement restricting portion in the process of forcibly removing. If a larger force is applied, the engagement lever can be rotated in the direction of the engagement release, but the engagement portion of the latch arm remains in contact with the displacement restricting portion, so the lock cannot be released. Otherwise, the latch arm may be damaged.
The present invention has been made based on such a technical problem, and provides a lever-type electrical connector that can be released from the locked state without damaging the latch arm even if an operator forcibly removes the latch arm. The purpose is to do.

For this purpose, the lever-type electrical connector of the present invention includes an insulating housing that houses a terminal and includes a first engaging portion, a cam mechanism that draws and mates a mating connector into the insulating housing, and a cam mechanism. A lever having a second engagement portion that is driven and engaged with the first engagement portion, and when the mating connector and the insulation housing are completely fitted into the insulation housing by the cam mechanism, A lever-type electrical connector having a lock structure in which a lever is locked to an insulating housing, wherein the lever is provided with an elastic support piece provided at one end of the lever and an elastic support piece provided at the other end of the elastic support piece. The second engaging portion that is engaged and disengaged with the first engaging portion, and the lever is provided with a force in a direction to separate the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion in the engaged state from each other. When I worked Second engaging portions abuts, characterized in that it comprises a displacement derivatives to induce being displaced in a direction in which the second engagement portion is pulled away, the.
By adopting such a configuration, even if the lever is further rotated after the second engagement portion comes into contact with the displacement derivative, the engagement between the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion is released. The second engagement portion can be displaced in the direction of the movement. Therefore, even when the operator forcibly removes the lever, the lever can be unlocked without damaging the elements constituting the lock structure.

In the displacement derivative of the lever-type electrical connector of the present invention, it is preferable that the surface that contacts the second engaging portion is an inclined surface.
By using the displacement derivative as the inclined surface, the second engagement portion is restricted from rotating in the direction opposite to the direction in which the lock is released, and thus can smoothly release the lock of the lever.

  According to the present invention, even when a lever operation is performed without an operation for releasing the lock, the lock state can be released without the latch arm being deformed or damaged. Therefore, even when the lever is forcibly removed by the operator, the locked state can be released without damaging the latch arm.

It is a perspective view of the lever type electrical connector of this embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the closed state of the lever of the lever-type electrical connector of Drawing 1 from the side. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a lever-type electrical connector similar to that of FIG. It is a figure which shows the edge part shape on the opposite side to a lever of a lever-type electrical connector. However, the lever is omitted. It is a perspective view which shows the lever removed from the lever-type electrical connector. It is a figure which expands and shows the front-end | tip part of a lever, (a) is an expansion perspective view which shows a partial cross section, (b) is the partial cross section seen from the arrow A in FIG. 6 (a). It is a partial expanded sectional view of the lever front-end | tip part along the center of a lever. It is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIG.6 (b) which shows the state which the latch part deform | transformed, and shows the state which the latch part has contact | abutted slightly to the connection part. FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 8 showing a state where the latch portion is deformed, and showing a state where the entire contact surface of the latch portion is in contact with the connecting portion.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a lock structure and a lever-type electrical connector 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as a connector 1) having the lock structure of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the connector 1 includes a rectangular insulating housing (hereinafter simply referred to as a housing) 2 as a first member, and a pair of side walls provided at an interval in the width direction X of the housing 2. 6 (FIG. 4) is provided with a plate-like slider 8 slidably attached along the longitudinal direction Y of the side wall 6 and a lever 4 for driving the slider 8. The lever 4 is rotatably mounted on one end side of the housing 2. A recess 18 having an inner wall 18 a that follows the outer shape of the housing 2 is formed in the upper part of the housing 2. In the housing 2, terminal receiving holes 14 penetrating from the bottom surface of the recess 18, that is, the upper surface 10 of the housing 2, to the bottom surface of the housing 2, that is, the fitting surface 12, are arranged in a matrix (two-dimensionally). In FIGS. 1 to 3, a region where the terminal accommodation holes 14 are arranged is indicated by a one-dot chain line. In each terminal accommodating hole 14, a terminal 16 that is electrically connected to a counterpart terminal (not shown) when fitted with a counterpart connector (not shown) is arranged.

  On both side walls 6 of the housing 2, grooves 20 having an L-shaped cross section are formed in the longitudinal direction Y along the upper edge 2 a of the housing 2. In the lower part of the groove 20, a protrusion 22 having a rectangular cross section is formed in parallel with the groove 20 adjacent to the groove 20. The upper part 8a of the slider 8 has a complementary shape that fits into the groove 20 (FIG. 4). In addition, a groove 24 having a cross-sectional shape complementary to the ridge 22 for receiving the ridge 22 is formed inside the slider 8. The slider 8 is guided in the longitudinal direction of the housing 2 by the engagement between the groove 20 having the L-shaped cross section and the upper portion 8a and the fitting between the protrusion 22 and the groove 20, and can be smoothly slid. Yes.

Further, in each slider 8, three cam slots 26 that are inclined from the fitting surface 12 side toward the upper edge 2 a side are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the slider 8. Further, an insertion port 28 communicating with the cam slot 26 is opened at the lower end of the slider 8. A cam follower (not shown) of a housing of a mating connector (not shown) is inserted into the insertion slot 28 and guided into the cam slot 26. An elongated hole 27 extending in the vertical direction is formed on one end side of each of the two sliders 8.
A shaft 30 is formed on a pair of plate-like base end portions 4b spaced apart from each other. The shaft 30 is slidably engaged with the elongated hole 27 (FIGS. 2 and 3). In addition, a pair of support plates 4 c are formed between the two base end portions 4 b and spaced apart from each other and positioned between the two sliders 8. The support plate 4c extends to the vicinity of the fitting surface 12 of the housing 2, and a pivot shaft 32 is formed between the support plates 4c and 4c.

  On one end side of the housing 2, three ribs 34 that protrude outward, that is, along the longitudinal direction Y of the housing 2 are formed. A plate portion 36 (FIG. 1) is formed integrally with the ribs 34 at the tips of these ribs 34, and the housing 2, the rib 34 and the plate portion 36 constitute a receiving portion 38 of the pivot shaft 32. Yes. The lever 4 is rotatably supported by the housing 2 by fitting the pivot shaft 32 into the receiving portion 38. When the lever 1 is raised from the closed state shown in FIG. 2 to the open state shown in FIG. Pull to one end. Then, the slider 8 moves to the right side, that is, one end side, as shown in FIG. As a result, the mating connector mates with the connector 1. Further, a frame-like engagement protrusion (first engagement portion) 40 is formed on the upper edge 2 a of the housing 2. The cam mechanism is configured by the slider 8, the pivot shaft 32, the groove 20 formed in the housing 2 so as to be combined with the slider 8, the protrusion 22, the rib 34, and the like.

Next, the lock portion 50 of the lever 4 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
The lever 4 has a lock part 50 at its tip part 4a. The lock portion 50 is engaged with the engagement protrusion 40 (FIG. 3) of the housing 2 so that the lever 4 can be locked in the closed state.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the base end portions 4b and 4b of the lever 4 are connected to each other by a support portion 4d extending between them. An arm 4e extending in the longitudinal direction Y is formed on one side of the support portion 4d. A gap 52 is formed at the distal end portion 4a of the arm 4e, and the pair of wall members 54, 54 constituting the gap 52 slightly protrude upward and have a slight recess. The pair of wall members 54 and 54 are connected to each other by a connecting portion 58 at the upper end and a connecting portion (displacement restricting portion) 60 at the lower end. This connecting portion 60 also constitutes the lock portion 50.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a rib 64 protruding in the longitudinal direction of the arm 4 e is integrally formed on the outward end surface 62 that partitions the gap 52 of the arm 4 e. In addition, a pair of elastic support pieces 66 extending in the longitudinal direction of the arm 4 e with the rib 64 interposed therebetween are integrally formed on the end surface 62. A latch (second engagement portion) 68 is formed integrally with the elastic support piece 66. The latch 68 extends vertically from the tip of the elastic support piece 66. The latch 68 has an engaging claw 68a projecting inward of the gap 52 at the lower portion thereof, and an operating portion 68b bulging outward from the longitudinal direction of the lever 4 and outward of the gap 52, respectively. As shown in this embodiment, it is assumed that the lever 4 is integrally formed of resin including the latch 68.

The engagement claw 68a has an upward engagement surface 69 that engages with the engagement protrusion 40 on the housing 2 side. A pair of ribs 68c and 68c are formed on the outer surface 68d of the lower portion of the latch 68. Each rib 68c is provided so as to protrude in the forward direction. The ribs 68c are formed so as to be separated from each other in the width direction X in FIGS. 6B and 7. Each rib 68c has an abutment surface 70 that faces the connecting portion 60 at an interval in an unloaded state. The contact surface 70 is formed to be inclined so as to contact the upper end of the guide portion 60b.
The guiding portion 60b formed on the upper surface of the connecting portion 60 is formed so as to be inclined downward in the forward direction, and the upper end of the guiding portion 60b is close to the contact surface 70.

  In the latch 68 described above, when the operation portion 68b is pressed with a finger in the pressing direction indicated by the arrow 72 along the rotation direction of the lever 4, the engagement claw 68a is detached from the engagement protrusion 40 around the elastic support piece 66. Displacement (clockwise) and the engagement with the engagement protrusion 40 is released. Thereafter, when the lever 4 is pushed in the rotation direction, the released lever 4 can be displaced, and the lever 4 can be opened.

Next, the behavior of the latch 68 when the arm 4e is forcibly removed will be described with reference to FIGS.
When the operator rotates only the lever 4 in the direction in which the engagement is released (clockwise in FIGS. 8 and 9) in a state where the engagement claw 68a of the latch 68 and the engagement protrusion 40 are engaged, FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the elastic support piece 66 is deformed by being pulled relatively downward. Along with this deformation, the latch 68 rotates counterclockwise around the elastic support piece 66 so that the contact surface 70 of the rib 68c hits the guide surface 60b of the connecting portion 60, and the connecting portion 60 causes the displacement of the latch 68. regulate. Therefore, since the rib 68c shares a part of the stress applied to the elastic support piece 66, the stress of the elastic support piece 66 is relieved.
When the contact surface 70 hits the guide surface 60b, the engagement between the engagement claw 68a and the engagement protrusion 40 is maintained.

When the operator feels that the rib 68c hits the connecting portion 60, the operator may stop the operation of the lever 4, but may continue to forcibly remove it. If the forcible removal is continued, the lever 4 is further subjected to a force from the state of FIG.
The force due to this forcible action acts in a direction to release the engagement between the engaging claw 68a and the engaging protrusion 40.
Here, the force F is the vertical force F _V orthogonal to the abutment surface 70 (guide surface 60b), abutting surfaces acting between the guide surface 60b of the connecting portion 60 and the abutment surface 70 of the rib 68c It is decomposed into a force F _H in the horizontal direction along 70 (guide surface 60b). The horizontal force F _H is directed to the direction of the force for releasing the engagement between the engagement claw 68 a and the engagement protrusion 40. Accordingly, since the bending state of the elastic support piece 66 shown in FIG. 8 is opened, as shown in FIG. 8, the latch 68 is displaced in the direction of the horizontal force F _H, the engaging claw 68a with the displacement The engagement with the engagement protrusion 40 is released, and the locked state of the lever 4 is released.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the guide surface 60b of the connecting portion 60 against which the rib 68c abuts is engaged with the engagement claw 68a by the horizontal force F _H acting on the contact surface 70 and the guide surface 60b. The engagement protrusion 40 is disengaged. Therefore, even if the lever 4 is further rotated after the rib 68c hits the connecting portion 60, the latch 68 can be displaced in the direction to release the engagement between the engagement claw 68a and the engagement protrusion 40. When it is forcibly removed, the lever 4 can be unlocked without damaging the elements constituting the locking mechanism.
In addition, since the guide surface 60b is an inclined surface, the latch 68 is restricted from rotating in the direction opposite to the direction in which the lock is released, so that the lever 4 can be unlocked smoothly.

In addition to this, as long as it does not depart from the gist of the present invention, the configuration described in the above embodiment can be selected or changed to another configuration as appropriate.
In the present embodiment, the guide surface 60b inclined to the connecting portion 60 is provided to guide the latch 68 to be displaced in the direction in which the engagement claw 68a and the engagement protrusion 40 are disengaged. As long as it is possible to guide the displacement of the latch 68 in the release direction, the form is not limited. The same applies to the contact surface 70 of the rib 68c.

1 Lever type electrical connector (connector)
2 Insulating housing (first member)
2a Upper edge 4 Lever (second member)
4a distal end 4b base end 4c support plate 4d support 4e arm 6 side wall 8 slider (cam mechanism)
8a Upper portion 10 Upper surface 12 Fitting surface 14 Terminal receiving hole 16 Terminal 18 Recess 18a Inner wall 20 Groove 22 Projection 24 Groove 26 Cam slot 27 Slot 28 Insert port 30 Shaft 32 Pivoting shaft 34 Rib 36 Plate portion 38 Receiving portion 40 Engagement Joint protrusion (first engaging part)
50 Lock portion 52 Cavity 54 Wall member 58 Connection portion 60 Connection portion 60b Guide surface 62 End surface 64 Rib 66 Elastic support piece 68 Latch (second engagement portion)
68a engaging claw 68b operating portion 68c rib 68d outer surface 69 engaging surface 70 abutting surface

Claims (2)

An insulating housing that houses the terminal and includes a first engagement portion;
A cam mechanism for pulling and mating the mating connector into the insulating housing;
A lever including a second engagement portion that drives the cam mechanism and engages the first engagement portion;
A lever-type electrical connector having a lock structure in which the lever is locked to the insulating housing when the mating connector drawn into the insulating housing by the cam mechanism and the insulating housing are completely fitted to each other. ,
The lever is
One end of the elastic support piece provided on the lever;
The second engagement portion provided at the other end of the elastic support piece, and engaged and disengaged with the first engagement portion by the elasticity of the elastic support piece;
The second engagement portion comes into contact with the second engagement portion when a force is applied to the lever so that the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion in the engaged state are separated from each other. A displacement derivative that induces displacement of the joint portion in the direction of separation, and
A lever-type electrical connector comprising: The displacement derivative is
The surface that comes into contact with the second engaging portion is an inclined surface.
The lever type electrical connector according to claim 1.

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