JPH0758632B2 - Low insertion / removal force multi-pole electrical connector assembly - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electric connector mainly composed of a pair of housings opposed to each other, which is used for connecting electric wiring of an automobile, and has a large number of housings mounted on both housings. A low-insertion force multi-pole electrical connector assembly that allows the female and male terminals to be connected and disconnected with a small force using the principle of the boom, and is designed to be used for both waterproof and non-waterproof types. It is a thing.

[Conventional technology]

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a conventional electrical connector generally has a male housing a and a female housing b having a sleeve body portion c, which are fitted to each other in both housings a and b. The inserted female terminal d and the male terminal e are connected.

The tab e ₁ of the male terminal e is protected from the outside by the sleeve portion c, and the tab e ₁ contacts the elastic contact piece d ₂ in the tab receiving portion d ₁ of the female terminal d. As this elastic contact piece d ₂ , a piece in which a folded back reaction force piece d ₃ is provided at its free end to enhance the contact pressure is also used.

If the insertion force required to connect such female and male terminals is about 500 gf per pole, 20 kg will produce 10 kgf, and the locking force between the female and male housings will be added, so that the fitting operation by human hands is required. The work becomes difficult.

Then, when it becomes super multi-pole (60 to 90 poles), for example, JP-A-62-62
A screw tightening type ultra-multipolar connector utilizing a screw tightening force and a tool such as an impact wrench has been proposed as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 149612 and 62-188188.

However, for intermediate connectors with 20 to 40 poles, if a screw tightening structure is adopted, the cost per pole increases due to the insert molding of bolts and nuts, etc., making it difficult to put into practical use.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-203581 discloses a method of fitting a female / male housing and female / male terminals in a cam follower slide in the intermediate connector.

However, this cam follower slide is a bifurcated frame, and is formed as a separate part that assembles the housing from the direction orthogonal to the terminal shaft. It had to be handled, was inconvenient to handle, and required extra labor.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the problems of the prior art, and it is not necessary to provide a protective body for the housing into which the male terminal is inserted, which is convenient to handle and increases the number of poles. However, it is possible to connect and disconnect the female and male terminals with a small force. An object of the present invention is to provide a multipolar electric connector assembly that can be used both as a waterproof type and a non-waterproof type.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the low insertion / removal force electrical connector assembly of the present invention has a first housing accommodating a plurality of male or female terminals and a corresponding female or male terminal as described in claim (1). A second housing accommodating the terminals; a cylindrical housing cover accommodating both the housings; and a lever mechanism for advancing and retracting the first housing facing the second housing to connect and disconnect the female and male terminals. The lever mechanism includes an operation plate slidably provided on one side wall of the housing cover in the axial direction of the terminal, and a pair of operation plates having slots formed in the longitudinal direction. The actuating plate locking pin is projected, the actuating plate pivot pin is projected on the housing cover, and the first housing is slidably inserted into the housing cover and is externally exposed from the cover. Protruding guy It has a pin, the second housing first
The pair of actuating plates is inserted and fixed to one opening end side of the housing cover so as to face the housing, and the actuating plate locking pin of the operation plate is provided at one end of the slot of the pair of actuating plates and the other end of the first housing The guide pins are slidably mounted by engaging the actuating plate pivot pins at the intermediate portions, respectively, and the first and second actuating plates are slidably mounted on the first pin via the pair of actuating plates.
The housing is moved back and forth with respect to the second housing to connect or disconnect the female and male terminals.

[Action]

According to the present invention, since the pair of first and second housings facing each other are housed in the same housing cover so as to face each other, the male terminal type is protected as in the conventional male housing. In addition, since the sleeve body for receiving the male housing is not required, the problems such as sink marks and warpage during molding of the sleeve body are solved.

To connect and disconnect the female and male terminals, for example, the first housing may be moved back and forth with respect to the second housing by rotating a pair of operating plates constituting the lever mechanism by sliding operation plates. You can do it with less force on the principle of Oshiko,
It is suitable as a so-called intermediate connector.

The operation plate and the operation plate may be set on the housing cover in advance, and the handling is convenient.

Hereinafter, the above configuration and operation will be specifically described with reference to the drawings illustrating an embodiment.

〔Example〕

1 and 2, the electrical connector assembly A is shown.
Is a synthetic resin first housing 1 and a second housing 2,
The housing cover 3 is made of synthetic resin for housing both housings and the lever mechanism. The lever mechanism is composed of the operation plate 4, a pair of operating plates 5 and 6, guide pins 7, and the like.
Reference numeral 8 indicates a male terminal, and 9 indicates a female terminal.

The first housing 1 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, and has a large number of terminal accommodating chambers 11 formed in the row and column directions. In each accommodating chamber 11, a male terminal 8 connected to an electric wire (not shown) is accommodated and locked. It A groove 12 is provided in the lower portion of the outer peripheral wall of the first housing 1, and insertion guide flanges 13 are formed on both side surfaces along the longitudinal direction of the groove 12. Both ends of the flange 13 project from the left and right end walls of the first housing 1, and guide pin insertion holes 14 are provided in the projecting portions.

The second housing 2 has a large number of terminal accommodating chambers 21 corresponding to the first housing 1, and female terminals 9 are accommodated and locked in the respective accommodating chambers 21. On the left and right end walls of the second housing 2,
A lock arm 22 having a locking elongated hole 23 is provided so as to project upward.

Note that the structure of the male terminal 8 and the female terminal 9 and the locking mechanism of each terminal in the accommodating chamber can follow a known configuration, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

The housing cover 3 is a box-shaped box body having open upper and lower ends. The housing cover 3 has a guide groove 31 for the flange 13 of the first housing 1 along the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls, a retaining wall 32 for the first housing 1 at the inner edge of the upper end opening, and the left and right side walls. There is provided a recess 33 for accommodating the lock arm 22 of the second housing 2 and a locking projection 34 for the locking elongated hole 23.

A guide frame 35 for the operation plate 4 is formed in the center of the front side wall of the housing cover 3, and actuating plate pivot pins 36 and 36 'are provided at both left and right ends of the frame 35 so as to project therefrom.
Pin guide grooves 37, 37 'are provided outside the 6, 36'.

The guide frame 35 is composed of a pair of left and right guide ridges 35a, 35a 'and a cover plate 35b mounted thereon. The cover plate 35b and the guide ridge 35a.
A slit 35c is provided between (35a ') for advancing and retracting the pair of actuating plates 5 and 6, respectively. Further, the cover plate 35b is provided with a locking hole 3 along with a passage 35d through which the lock piece 43 of the operation plate 4 advances and retracts.
5e is provided, and the projecting portion of the one guide projection 35a from the cover plate 35b is formed as a flexible elastic piece, and a temporary locking projection 35f is provided on the inner surface thereof.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, pin guide grooves 38, 38 'are provided on the rear side wall of the housing cover 3 so as to face the pin guide grooves 37, 37', and the pin guide grooves 38, 38 'are provided. A pair of support arms 39 for the guide pins 7 are provided on both upper and lower sides of the '.

The operation plate 4 has an operation plate locking pin 42 at the center of one end of the plate body 41.
And a flexible lock piece 43 that extends to the pin 42 side at the other end and has a locking projection 44 at its free end, and cutouts 45 on both sides of the lower end of the plate body 41. A temporary locking protrusion 46 is provided through the interposition. The actuating plate locking pin 42 has two split retaining pieces 42a formed at the tip thereof.

The pair of actuating plates 5 and 6 are plate-like rods having the same structure, and slots 51 and 61 are opened along the longitudinal direction thereof, and the actuating plate pivotal support is provided from the center of each slot to the tip. Pivot holes 52,62 for the pins 36,36 'are provided.

The guide pin 7 acts as a driven part for the acting part of the actuating plate 5 (6), as will be described later. In this embodiment, the pair of left and right guide pins 7, 7 are connected in a U-shaped chain by the connecting part 71. Formed as a body.

3A to 3C show an assembly process of the electrical connector assembly A. As shown in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the first housing 1 is inserted from the lower end opening side of the housing cover 3 with the flange 13 of the first housing 1 aligned with the flange guide groove 31. On the other hand, the lower end side of the slot 51 of one operating plate 5 is loosely fitted to the operating plate locking pin 42 of the operating plate 4, and the lower end side of the other operating plate 6 is similarly loosely fitted thereon.

In this state, the operation 4 is inserted between the left and right guide ridges 35a, 35a 'of the frame 35 while passing the left and right actuating plates 5, 6 through the slits 35c on both sides of the guide frame 35. In addition, the insertion of the first housing 1 into the housing cover 3 is performed by the operation plate 4 and the operation plate.
It may be done after assembling 5, 6.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3b, the pivot holes 52, 62 of the operating plates 5, 6 are
The actuating plate pivot pins 36, 36 'of the housing cover 3 are inserted thereinto, and the operating plate 4 is further pushed into the guide frame 35 to position the temporary locking projection 35f of the guide projection 35a in the notch 45.
As a result, the operation plate 4 is temporarily locked to the guide frame 35. When assembling the operation plate 4 to the guide frame 35, one guide protrusion
Since 35a elastically bends outward, it can be easily mounted.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 3b and 3c, the guide pin 7,
7 is a pin guide groove 38 on the rear surface of the housing cover 3,
38 '(see FIG. 2) to insert the guide pin insertion holes 14 at both ends of the flange 13 of the first housing 1,
The tips are projected from the pin guide grooves 37, 37 'on the front surface, and the projecting ends are loosely fitted in the upper ends of the slots 51, 61 of the left and right actuating plates 5, 6.

Finally, the second housing 2 is inserted from the lower end opening of the housing cover 3, and the locking elongated holes 23 of the lock arms 22 on both sides are inserted.
When the locking protrusion 34 is engaged with the second housing 2, the second housing 2 is locked and fixed to the housing cover 3.

As described above, the assembly of the electrical connector assembly A is completed. In addition, the terminal accommodating chamber 1 of the first and second housings 1 and 2
The male terminal 8 and the female terminal 9 may be inserted into and attached to the terminals 1 and 21 either before or after the above-mentioned assembly to the housing cover 3 of each housing.

The positional relationship between the actuating plate locking pin 42, the actuating plate pivot pin 36 (36 ') and the guide pin 7 in the assembly A is as shown in FIG. 51
When aligned linearly in (62), actuating plate locking pin
42 and the length L ₁ between the actuating plate pivot pin 36 (36 ') and the pin 36
(36 ') and the ratio of the length L ₂ between the guide pins 7 (L ₁ / L ₂₎ is preferably set to be at least 2-3.

4a and 4b are partially cutaway perspective views of the electrical connector assembly A, in which a is a state before connection of the male and female terminals in which the first and second housings 1 and 2 are separated, and b is an operation plate. The first housing 1 is moved to the second housing 2 side by the operation of 4 and the operating plates 5 and 6, and the opposing surfaces are in contact with each other.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway plan view of the housing cover 3 and the second housing 2 in FIG. 3c, FIG. 6 is a front view of the housing cover 3 above, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. It is a figure.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, in the first housing 1 inside the housing cover 3, the tab 81 of the male terminal 8 inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 11 protrudes from the front surface of the first housing 1. However, it is protected from the outside by the cover 3. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide the first housing 1 with the sleeve portion c unlike the conventional female housing b (see FIG. 13).

Next, connection and disconnection of the female and male terminals 8 and 9 by the sliding operation of the operation plate 4 will be described (Figs. 8a-c and 9a-c).

FIG. 8A is a view showing that the second housing 2 is inserted into the housing cover 3 in FIG.
23 shows a state in which it is locked and fixed by the engagement of 23 and the locking projection 34.

At this time, the first housing 1 and the second housing 2 are separated from each other, and the male terminal 8 and the female terminal 9 are also separated from each other as shown in FIG. 9A.

In this state, when the operating plate 4 is pushed in the direction of arrow P, the pair of operating plates 5 and 6 rotate in the direction of arrow Q with the operating plate pivoting pins 36 and 36 'as the center (fulcrum), respectively. The guide pin 7, that is, the first housing 1 moves in the direction of arrow R opposite to the operation plate 4.

FIG. 8b shows a pair of actuating plates 5 and 6 caused by sliding the operation plate 4.
The guide pin 7, the actuating plate pivot pin 36 (36 ') and the actuating plate locking pin 42 are all aligned in a straight line. As a result, the first housing 1 approaches the second housing 2, and the tab 81 of the male terminal 8 enters into the type receiving portion 91 of the female terminal 9 as shown in FIG. Partially touched.

In FIG. 8c, the operating plate 4 is further slid in the direction of arrow P, the first housing 1 comes into surface contact with the second housing 2, and as shown in FIG. 9c, the tab 81 contacts the elastic contact piece 92. The figure shows a state in which the female and male terminals 8 and 9 have been completely contacted. At this time, the lock piece 4 of the operation plate 4 that has entered the passage 35d of the guide frame 35
3, the locking projection 44 is engaged with the locking hole 35e and is locked.

8A to 8C, the working plates 5 and 6 are the working plate pivot pins 36,
36 'acts as a pivot that rotates about the fulcrum. Therefore, by increasing L ₁ / L ₂ , the operating plate locking pin 42
Even if the force at the (power point portion) is small, a large force can be obtained at the guide pin 7 (action portion), so that even if the number of poles of the connector increases, the male and female terminals can be connected with a relatively small force. . In addition, in FIGS. 8A to 8C, the angle formed by the operating plates 5 and 6 is changed by sliding the operating plate 4,
Since the ratio of L _{1 to} L ₂ is constant, the operation can be performed smoothly.

The connection between the female and male terminals 8 and 9 can be released in the reverse order of FIGS.

10 (a) to 10 (c) are explanatory views of a method for selecting the rotation fulcrum portion of the operating plates 6,6.

FIG. 10a shows the operating plate 5, as described in FIGS.
The rotation fulcrum portion O of 6 is provided with an intermediate pivot hole portion 6 in the slots 51 and 61.
It is fixed to 2, 62, and the operating plate locking pin 42 (power point portion) and the guide pin 7 (action portion) are slidably displaced in the slot.

In FIG. 10b, the pivotal fulcrum portions of the actuating plates 5'and 6'are taken as actuating plate locking pins 42 '(power point portions).

Fig. 10c shows that the rotation fulcrums of the actuating plates 5 "and 6" are taken as the guide pins 7 "(action part). In any case, since the equivalent lever action is obtained, For example, it can be arbitrarily selected according to the size of the housing cover 3.
At this time, the type shown in FIG. 10c is suitable for space saving because the operating plates 5 ″, 6 ″ fit within the surface of the housing cover 3.

The electrical connector assembly B shown in FIG. 11 shows an example configured as a waterproof connector.

In this case, packing receivers 15 and 24 for respectively fitting the rectangular (or annular) waterproof packings 110 are provided around the outer circumferences of the facing surfaces of the first housing 1 and the second housing 2, respectively, and Terminal housing chamber in both housings
The waterproof rubber plugs 120 and 130 may be tightly plugged on the electric wire connection sides of 11, 21 respectively.

The waterproof packing 110 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
Before inserting the housing 1 into the housing cover 3, one of them is fitted into the packing receiver 15. After that, the waterproof seal between the first and second housings 1 and 2 is made by following FIGS.

The waterproof rubber plug 120 (130) has a plurality of annular ribs 123 provided around the outer circumference of a cylindrical main body 121 having an electric wire insertion portion 122.
Improves the adhesion to the terminal accommodating chamber 11 and the main body
An electric wire insertion tube 124 that is simultaneously crimped to the insulator crimping piece 82 of the male terminal 8 is provided on one surface of 121.

Since the waterproof rubber plug 120 (130) is connected and fixed to the male terminal 8 at the same time as the electric wire (not shown), the waterproof rubber plug 120 is tightly plugged at the same time when the male terminal 8 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 11. .

In the above description, the male terminal 8 is inserted into the first housing 1 and the female terminal 9 is inserted into the second housing 2, respectively. The two housings 1 and 2 are distinguished from each other by a conventional female type or male type. Therefore, the insertion of the female and male terminals 8 and 9 may be reversed. It is also possible to incorporate the operating plate 4 and the operating plates 5 and 6 which form the lever mechanism on the front and rear side surfaces of the housing cover 3. The guide pins 7 for engaging the operating plates 5, 6 are, for example, pin guide grooves 37, 3 on one side surface of the housing cover 3.
It may be inserted from 7'and fixed to the first housing 1 by screwing. Further, it is possible to adopt a structure in which one of the second housings 2 is fixed to the housing cover 3 by screwing.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, almost no force is required for the pair of housings themselves for accommodating and inserting the female and male terminals, and the principle of the lever is also used for connecting and disconnecting the female and male terminals. Can be used with a small force, and the difficulty of insertion / removal that accompanies the increase in the number of poles of the electrical connector can be eliminated.

Further, it is not necessary to form one pair of the housings as a male type and the other side as a female type having a sleeve body portion as in the conventional case, and the sink marks, warps and the like which are problems at the time of molding the sleeve body portion are eliminated.

Furthermore, existing female and male terminals can be used even when the number of poles is increased, the waterproof type is easy, and the manufacturing can be performed at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is an exploded perspective view of an electric connector assembly according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same housing cover 3 as seen from the rear side, and FIGS. 3a to 3c are views of the electric connector assembly of FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an assembling process, and FIGS. 4A and 4B are partially cutaway perspective views showing the assembled state of the electric connector assembly of FIG. 1, where a is a state before the first and second housings are coupled and b is a coupling state. The latter state is shown. 5 is a partially cutaway plan view of the housing cover 3 and the second housing 2 in FIG. 1 in a separated state, FIG. 6 is a front view of the housing cover of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is of FIG. VII-VII line sectional view, FIGS. 8a to 8c are partially cutaway plan views showing the operating states of the operating plate and the operating plate, and FIGS. 9a to 9c are females corresponding to FIGS. 8a to 8c, respectively. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the connection process of the male terminal, FIGS. 10A to 10C are explanatory views showing three modes of the working plate, and FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of the electrical connector assembly according to the present invention. FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view, FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a female housing and a male housing of a conventional electric connector in a separated state, and FIGS. 13a and 13b are conventional female and male terminals before connection (a), respectively.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a state after connection with (b). A, B ... Electrical connector assembly, 1 ... First housing, 2 ...
2nd housing, 3 ... Housing cover, 35 ... Guide frame,
35a, 35a '... Guide ridge, 35b ... Cover plate, 35c ... Slit, 36,
36 '... operating plate pivot pin, 4 ... operating plate, 42 ... operating plate locking pin, 5,6 ... operating plate, 51, 61 ... slot, 7 ... guide pin,
8 ... Male terminal, 9 ... Female terminal.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A first housing for accommodating a plurality of male or female terminals, a second housing for accommodating corresponding female or male terminals, a cylindrical housing cover for accommodating both housings, and a first housing. A lever mechanism for advancing and retracting in opposition to the second housing to connect and disconnect the female and male terminals, the lever mechanism being slidable in the terminal axial direction with respect to one side wall of the housing cover. Operation plate and a pair of operating plates having slots formed in the longitudinal direction, the operating plate is provided with an operating plate locking pin, and the housing cover is provided with an operating plate pivot pin. The first housing is slidably inserted in the housing cover, and has a guide pin protruding outward from the cover. The second housing faces the first housing and is provided on one side of the housing cover. Of the pair of actuating plates, the actuating plate locking pin of the operating plate is provided at one end of the slot, the guide pin of the first housing is provided at the other end, and the actuating plate is provided at the middle part. The pivot pins are slidably mounted by being engaged with each other, and the operation plate slides to move the first housing forward and backward with respect to the second housing via the pair of operating plates, thereby allowing the female and male A low insertion / removal force multi-pole electrical connector assembly characterized in that terminals are connected or disconnected. 2. A housing cover has a guide frame on the one side wall, the guide frame including a pair of guide ridges for the operation plate and a cover plate.
The low insertion / removal force multi-pole electrical connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein the guide ridge is provided with a slit for advancing and retracting a pair of operating plates.