JP7306972B2 - lever type connector - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a lever-type connector that allows connector fitting with a low insertion force due to rotation of a lever.

As a connector of this type, there is one described in Patent Document 1. The connector described in Patent Document 1 includes a male connector having a lever-type connector fitting portion, and a lever-type connector that is fitted into the lever-type connector fitting portion. The lever-type connector includes a lever for relatively pulling the lever-type connector fitting portion into the fitted state as the lever-type connector is rotated from the initial position to the fitting position, and a lever housing portion for housing the lever. and a housing having a

JP 2015-72872 A

However, since the conventional connector is not provided with a fitting detection member that detects and assures proper fitting of the male connector and the lever-type connector, it is not possible to know when the lever operation is completed, and there is a concern that the connectors may be mated prematurely. be done.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art. It is another object of the present invention to provide a lever-type connector capable of easily and reliably detecting incomplete fitting of a first housing and a second housing by movement of a fitting detection member.

A lever-type connector according to an aspect of the present invention includes a first housing having a housing accommodating portion, a second housing that is fitted into and separated from the housing accommodating portion of the first housing, and a housing that is rotatable to and from the second housing. a lever that is supported and slidably supported and pivotally engages and disengages the first housing and the second housing; a fitting detection member for detecting a state, wherein the second housing has a support shaft that rotatably supports the lever, and the lever has a shaft sliding groove in which the support shaft slides. The lever has a cam boss, the first housing has a cam groove with which the cam boss engages, the second housing has a guide projection, the lever has a a guide groove with which the guide protrusion engages, the lever sliding relative to the second housing after the first housing and the second housing are completely fitted by rotating the lever; After the lever is completely slid, the fitting detection member can be inserted into the fitting detection member accommodating portion provided in the first housing.

Preferably, the first housing has an interfering portion that interferes when the fitting detection member is erroneously inserted into the housing accommodating portion of the first housing while the lever is being rotated.

Preferably, the lever includes an operating portion and a pair of arm portions extending from both sides of the operating portion, and the operating portion has a CPA accommodating portion in which the fitting detection member is movably accommodated.

The fitting detection member includes a main body, an operation portion positioned at one end of the main body, an abutment piece positioned at the other end of the main body, and a lock arm positioned at the center of the main body. When the operating portion of the fitting detection member is erroneously operated while the lever is being rotated, the contact piece contacts the interference portion of the first housing. It is preferable to return to the original position.

It is preferable that the fitting detection member accommodating portion of the first housing is provided at an end portion of the interference portion.

The lever has a temporary locking portion that elastically deforms in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction of the first housing and the second housing, and the second housing is a subject to which the temporary locking portion is temporarily locked. It is preferable that a temporary locking portion is provided, and the first housing has a releasing portion that releases the temporary locking state of the temporary locking portion and the portion to be temporarily locked.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a lever-type connector that can easily and reliably detect incomplete fitting of the first housing and the second housing by movement of the fitting detection member.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a lever-type connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a female connector of the lever type connector; 4 is a front view of a male connector of the lever type connector; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3; FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the fitting detection member of the said lever-type connector from the bottom face side. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the female connector in which the lever is temporarily locked; FIG. 10 is a front view showing the lever type connector when the temporary locking of the lever is released; FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7; FIG. 10 is a front view showing the lever-type connector in the middle of operating the lever; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 9; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the lever-type connector taken along line XX in FIG. 9 when CPA is erroneously operated while the lever is being operated; FIG. 10 is a front view showing the lever-type connector when the rotation operation of the lever is completed; 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII in FIG. 12; FIG. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the lever-type connector taken along line XIII-XIII in FIG. 12 when the lever slide operation is completed; FIG. 10 is a front view showing the lever-type connector when the CPA completes final locking; FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XVI-XVI in FIG. 15; FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the lever-type connector is attached to a vehicle body panel in a connector-fitted state;

A lever-type connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a lever-type connector according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the female connector of the lever type connector. FIG. 3 is a front view of a male connector of a lever type connector. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV--IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the fitting detection member of the lever type connector as seen from the bottom side. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the female connector in which the lever is temporarily locked. FIG. 7 is a front view showing the lever type connector when the temporary locking of the lever is released. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII--VIII in FIG. FIG. 9 is a front view showing the lever type connector while the lever is being operated. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 9. FIG. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the lever-type connector taken along line XX in FIG. 9 when CPA is erroneously operated while the lever is being operated. FIG. 12 is a front view showing the lever type connector when the rotation operation of the lever is completed. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XIII--XIII in FIG. 12. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the lever-type connector taken along line XIII--XIII in FIG. 12 when the lever has been slid. FIG. 15 is a front view showing the lever-type connector when the CPA completes final locking. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XVI--XVI in FIG. 15. FIG. FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a state in which the lever-type connector is attached to the vehicle body panel in a connector-fitted state.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lever-type connector 10 includes a male connector 20 having a male housing (first housing) 21 and a female housing (second housing) that is fitted to and detached from the male housing 21 via a lever 40 . a female connector 30 having a housing 31;

As shown in FIG. 1, the male connector 20 has a male housing 21 made of synthetic resin. The male housing 21 includes a rectangular block-shaped housing body 22 through which a plurality of L-shaped male terminals (terminals) 29 penetrate, and a housing body 22 integrally formed to protrude from the front side, and a female housing 31 is fitted therein. and a box-shaped housing receiving portion 23 which is fitted with the housing. Further, the male housing 21 includes a hood portion 25 protruding from the front side of the housing main body 22 via a partition wall (interference portion) 24 so as to cover the housing accommodating portion 23 , and a periphery of the opening edge of the hood portion 25 . and a frame plate-shaped flange portion 26 integrally formed perpendicular to the .

The partition wall 24 of the male housing 21 serves as an interfering portion that interferes when the fitting detection member 50 is erroneously inserted into the hood portion 25 side of the male housing 21 during the rotation operation of the lever 40, which will be described later. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 16, a side wall at the end of the partition wall 24 of the male housing 21 has a fitting detection member housing portion 24a in which a contact piece 53 of the fitting detection member 50 described later is housed. is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the temporary locking recesses 37 of the female housing 31 and the protrusions 49a of the lock arm 49 of the lever 40 are provided on the outer sides of the upper and lower surfaces 23a and 23b of the box-shaped housing accommodating portion 23. A provisional locking releasing rib (releasing portion) 27 for releasing the temporary locking state is integrally protruded. A cam groove 28 with which the cam boss 46 of the lever 40 engages is formed inside the upper and lower walls of the hood portion 25 . Further, bolt insertion holes 26a through which bolts 12 for assembling to the vehicle body panel 11 are inserted are formed at two opposite corners of the flange portion 26. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the female connector 30 has a female housing 31 made of synthetic resin that is fitted into the housing accommodating portion 23 of the male housing 21 . Further, the female connector 30 is rotatably supported and slidably supported by the female housing 31 via a support shaft 35, and the male and female housings 21, 31 are fitted and disengaged by rotational movement. A lever 40 made of resin is provided. In addition, the lever 40 is movably supported in a CPA accommodating portion 43 of the lever 40, which will be described later, and is provided with a fitting detection member 50 made of synthetic resin that detects the fitting state of the connector depending on whether the lever 40 has completed sliding movement. there is

As shown in FIG. 2, the female housing 31 of the female connector 30 includes a rectangular block-shaped housing body 32 having a plurality of terminal receiving chambers 33 for receiving male terminals (terminals) (not shown), and the housing body 32 as a unit. and a covering hood portion 34 . By inserting the hood portion 34 of the female housing 31 into the annular space between the box-shaped housing accommodating portion 23 and the hood portion 25 of the male housing 21, the rectangular block-shaped housing main body 32 is transformed into a box shape. It is designed to be fitted in the housing accommodating portion 23 of the.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, support shafts 35 extending in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction of the male and female housings 21, 31 are integrally formed at the central rear portions of the upper and lower surfaces 31a, 31b of the female housing 31, respectively. I have Further, cylindrical guide projections 36 are integrally formed at positions near the operating portion 41 of the lever 40 on the corner side of the upper and lower surfaces 31a and 31b of the female housing 31, respectively. Further, temporary locking recesses (temporarily locked portions) are provided at positions corresponding to the rotation trajectories of the projections 49a of the lock arms (locking portions) 49 of the lever 40 on the upper and lower surfaces 31a and 31b of the female housing 31. 37 are formed respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, the lever 40 has an operating portion 41 and a pair of arm portions 42 extending from both sides of the operating portion 41 .

As shown in FIG. 2, on the back side of the operating portion 41 of the lever 40, there is provided a CPA accommodating portion 43 in which the fitting detecting member 50 is movably accommodated. The CPA accommodating portion 43 has a pair of engaging piece portions 43a, 43a and a locking piece portion 43b.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, in the center of the arm portion 42 of the lever 40 is a bearing hole (bearing portion) 44 having a shaft sliding groove 45 in which the support shaft 35 of the female housing 31 slides. is formed. A pin-shaped cam boss 46 is integrally formed on the arm portion 42 so as to protrude therefrom. Further, between the operating portion 41 of the arm portion 42 and the bearing hole 44, an arc-shaped guide groove 47 is formed in which the guide projection 36 of the female housing 31 engages. The guide groove 47 is formed in an elongated circular arc shape centering on the support shaft 35 and has an open end.

6 and 16, the arm portion 42 of the lever 40 is provided with a sliding portion 48 on which the guide projection 36 slides in the sliding direction after the lever 40 is rotated. The sliding portion 48 is formed in the shape of a rail with a concave inner side. After the male and female housings 21 and 31 are fitted together by rotating the lever 40, the guide projection 36 slides along the sliding portion 48 to a predetermined position, whereby the lever 40 engages with the male housing 31. It is designed to slide against.

Further, on the outside of the tip of the arm portion 42 of the lever 40, a locking arm (temporary locking portion) 49 that is elastically deformable in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction is integrally formed. is temporarily retained in and released from the temporary retaining concave portion 37 . The temporary locking of the lock arm 49 restricts the rotation of the lever 40 .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the fitting detection member (CPA: Connector Position Assurance) 50 is positioned at the final locking position (the contact piece 53 shown in FIG. 16 is inserted into the fitting detection member accommodating portion 24a). state), the proper fitting of the male and female housings 21, 31 is detected and guaranteed. The fitting detection member 50 includes a main body 51 , an operation portion 52 positioned at one end of the main body 51 , a contact piece 53 positioned at the other end of the main body 51 , and a lock arm positioned at the center of the main body 51 . a portion 54;

Both side portions 51a, 51a of the main body 51 of the fitting detection member 50 are movably supported between a pair of engaging pieces 43a, 43a of the CPA accommodating portion 43. As shown in FIG. The front and rear engagement holes 54 a of the lock arm portion 54 are engaged with the engagement piece portions 43 b of the CPA accommodating portion 43 . By locking the locking piece 43b with the lock arm 54, the movement of the fitting detecting member 50 is temporarily restricted. This locked state is a semi-locked state, and can be easily released by simply applying force to the operating portion 52 .

The abutment piece 53 of the fitting detection member 50 is arranged so as to come into contact with the partition wall 24 as an interference portion of the male housing 21 when the operating portion 52 of the fitting detection member 50 is erroneously operated while the lever 40 is being rotated. It's becoming This interference causes the fitting detection member 50 to return to its original position within the CPA housing portion 43 . Further, after the lever 40 is completely slid, the contact piece 53 of the fitting detection member 50 can be inserted into the fitting detection member accommodating portion 24 a provided in the side wall at the end of the partition wall 24 of the male housing 21 . A state in which the contact piece 53 is inserted into the fitting detection member accommodating portion 24a is a fully locked state of the fitting detection member 50. As shown in FIG. In other words, the mating state of the male and female housings 21 and 31 is detected depending on whether or not the lever 40 can be slid.

According to the lever-type connector 10 of the embodiment described above, the lever 40 is attached to the female housing 31 of the female connector 30 in a temporarily locked state before being fitted to the male housing 21 of the male connector 20 . When the lever 40 is in the temporarily locked state with respect to the female housing 31, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the lever 40 cannot be rotated in the fitting direction of the male and female housings 21,31. From this state, the female housing 31 is pushed into the housing accommodating portion 23 of the male housing 21 as shown in FIG. As a result, the lock arm 49 of the lever 40 is elastically deformed outward by the temporary locking release rib 27 of the male housing 21, and the temporary locking recess 37 of the female housing 31 and the projection 49a of the lock arm 49 are temporarily locked. is released, allowing the lever 40 to rotate.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the lever 40 is rotated, the guide projection 36 of the female housing 31 moves along the arc of the lever 40 while the bearing hole 44 of the lever 40 is in sliding contact with the support shaft 35 of the female housing 31 . The lever 40 rotates as the guide groove 47 moves along. Due to this rotation of the lever 40, the cam boss 46 of the lever 40 comes into contact with the cam groove 28 of the male housing 21 and the male housing 21 is retracted.

Also, as shown in FIG. 11, the engagement detecting member 50 accommodated in the CPA accommodating portion 43 of the operating portion 41 is erroneously pushed in the main locking direction during the rotating operation of the operating portion 41 of the lever 40. In this case, the contact piece 53 of the fitting detection member 50 contacts the partition wall 24 of the male housing 21 . This contact does not complete the rotation of the lever 40 . When the lever 40 is rotated in this state, only the fitting detection member 50 is pulled back, and the rotation of the lever 40 is continued. That is, even if the fitting detection member 50 is operated in the final locking direction before the rotation operation of the lever 40 is completed, the fitting detection member 50 is returned to the temporary locking state by the rotation operation of the lever 40 . In other words, the engagement detection member 50 cannot be operated in the final locking direction from the rotation operation of the lever 40 to the completion of the slide operation.

As shown in FIG. 13, when the lever 40 is rotated to the end point of the guide groove 47, the lever 40 becomes slidable in the direction indicated by the arrow E1 in FIG. At this time, as shown in FIG. 14, the guide projection 36 of the female housing 31 slides along the sliding portion 48 of the lever 40. As shown in FIG. Then, the operation of the lever 40 is completed by sliding the lever 40 until the end of the shaft sliding groove 45 of the lever 40 abuts against the support shaft 35 of the female housing 31 .

When the fitting detection member 50 housed in the CPA housing part 43 of the operation part 41 is pushed in the final locking direction as indicated by the arrow E2 in FIG. The abutment piece 53 of the member 50 is inserted into the fitting detection member accommodating portion 24a of the male housing 21. As shown in FIG. By this insertion, the contact piece 53 of the fitting detection member 50 is fully locked between the fitting detection member accommodating portion 24 a and the female housing 31 fitted in the housing accommodating portion 23 . By the final locking of the contact piece 53 of the fitting detection member 50, the fitting of the male connector 20 and the female connector 30 is completed.

As described above, even if the fitting detection member 50 is pushed in the final locking direction when the male connector 20 and the female connector 30 are half-fitted, the fitting detection member 50 remains fully engaged while the lever 40 is being rotated. Since the male and female connectors 20 and 30 are not stopped, the visibility of halfway fitting of the male and female connectors 20 and 30 can be ensured. That is, it is possible to easily and reliably detect the connector-fitted state of the lever-type connector 10 depending on whether the slide movement of the lever 40 is completed.

Further, when the slide operation of the lever 40 is not completed, the abutment piece 53 of the fitting detection member 50 contacts the partition wall 24 of the male housing 21, and the fitting detection member 50 is not fully locked. It is possible to prevent erroneous operation of the fitting detection member 50 in the engaged state.

Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present embodiment is not limited to these, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present embodiment.

That is, according to the above embodiment, the fitting detection member is attached to the operating portion of the lever, but the fitting detection member may be attached to the arm portion of the lever.

Further, according to the above embodiment, the abutting piece of the fitting detection member interferes with the partition wall, but the tip of the main body of the fitting detection member may interfere with the partition wall.

10 lever type connector 21 male housing (first housing)
23 housing accommodating portion 24 partition wall (interference portion)
24a Fitting detection member accommodating portion 27 Temporary locking release rib (release portion)
28 cam groove 31 female housing (second housing)
35 Support shaft 36 Guide projection 37 Temporary locking recess (portion to be temporarily locked)
40 lever 41 operation portion 42, 42 pair of arm portions 44 bearing hole (bearing portion)
45 Shaft sliding groove 46 Cam boss 47 Guide groove 49 Lock arm (temporary locking portion)
50 fitting detection member 51 main body 52 operation portion 53 contact piece 54 lock arm portion

Claims (6)

a first housing having a housing receiving portion;
a second housing that is fitted to and detached from the housing accommodating portion of the first housing;
a lever that is rotatably and slidably supported by the second housing, and that engages and disengages the first housing and the second housing by rotating;
a fitting detection member that is movably supported by the lever and detects a connector fitting state based on whether the lever is slidable;
with
The second housing has a support shaft that rotatably supports the lever,
the lever has a bearing portion formed with a shaft sliding groove in which the support shaft slides,
the lever has a cam boss,
The first housing has a cam groove with which the cam boss engages,
the second housing has guide projections,
the lever has a guide groove with which the guide projection engages,
After the first housing and the second housing are completely fitted by rotating the lever, the lever slides with respect to the second housing,
A lever-type connector in which the fitting detection member can be inserted into a fitting detection member accommodating portion provided in the first housing after the lever is completely slid. 2. The lever-type connector according to claim 1, wherein the first housing has an interfering portion that interferes when the fitting detection member is erroneously inserted into the housing accommodating portion of the first housing during a rotating operation of the lever. . the lever includes an operation portion and a pair of arm portions extending from both sides of the operation portion;
3. The lever-type connector according to claim 1, wherein the operating portion has a CPA accommodating portion in which the fitting detection member is movably accommodated. The fitting detection member includes a main body, an operation portion positioned at one end of the main body, an abutment piece positioned at the other end of the main body, and a lock arm positioned at the center of the main body. ,
When the operating portion of the fitting detection member is erroneously operated while the lever is being rotated, the contact piece contacts the interference portion of the first housing. 4. The lever-type connector according to claim 3, wherein the lever-type connector returns to the position of . 5. The lever-type connector according to claim 4, wherein the fitting detection member accommodation portion of the first housing is provided at an end portion of the interference portion. the lever has a temporary locking portion that elastically deforms in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction of the first housing and the second housing;
The second housing has a temporarily locked portion to which the temporary locking portion is temporarily locked,
The lever-type connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first housing has a releasing portion for releasing the temporary locking state of the temporary locking portion and the temporarily locked portion.

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