Connector with lever

Abstract

To provide a connector with a lever in which, when a lever is located at a pre-fitting position, a detection member is hardly displaced from a standby position.SOLUTION: A connector 1 with a lever comprises a detection member 14 which is mounted to a lever 4 so as to allow movement from a standby position to a detection position only when the lever 4 is located at a fitting position. The detection member 14 includes: a head part 15 which is disposed so as to be exposed from the lever 4 for operating the detection member 14; and a leg part 16 formed to extend from the head part 15 so as to be inserted into an insertion recess 23 of a connector housing 3 in a case where the lever 4 is located at the fitting position. Between the connector housing 3 and the leg part 16, a deformation suppression section 30 is provided for suppressing deformation of the leg part 16 in an opening direction in a case where the detection member 14 is pushed from an upper side in a state where the lever 4 is at a pre-fitting position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector with a lever.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a connector that mates with a mating connector by rotating a lever is well known. This type of connector has a detection member that can be displaced to a detection position only when the lever reaches the mating position in order to confirm whether the lever has been operated to the mating position. The detection member stays at the standby position when the lever is in the semi-mated state, and when the lever reaches the mating position, the pushing operation becomes possible, thereby notifying the operator that the lever is in the mating position.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, the detection member integrally has a displacement operation portion that is pushed by a finger and leg portions that extend from both ends of the displacement operation portion. In this shape, when the lever is in the semi-mated state and the detection member is pushed from above, the tip of the leg portion contacts a predetermined location of the other party, so that the detection member is held at the standby position. However, if the detection member is pushed with excessive force, a force in the opening direction is applied to the leg portion, so there is a possibility that the detection member is forcibly displaced in the opening direction. Therefore, there is a concern that the operator may misrecognize that the lever has reached the mating position even though the lever is in the semi-mated state.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a connector with a lever in which the detection member is difficult to be displaced from the standby position when the lever is in the pre-mating position.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The lever - equipped connector for solving the above problems is configured to be connected to a mating connector such that when a lever rotatably provided on a connector housing fitted to the mating connector is rotated from a pre - fitting position to a fitting position, terminals provided on the connector housing are fully fitted to the terminals of the mating connector. The lever is provided with a detection member attached thereto such that movement from a standby position to a detection position is permitted only when the lever is in the fitting position. The detection member has a head portion disposed so as to be exposed from the lever for operating the detection member, and a leg portion formed to extend from the head portion so as to be inserted into an insertion recess of the connector housing when the lever is in the fitting position. A deformation suppression portion is provided between the connector housing and the leg portion to suppress deformation of the leg portion in the opening direction when the detection member is pushed from above with the lever in the pre - fitting position.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] The present disclosure can make it difficult for the detection member to be displaced from the standby position when the lever is in the pre - fitting position.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. [1] In the lever connector of the present disclosure, when a lever rotatably provided on a connector housing to be fitted to a mating connector is rotated from a pre-fitting position to a fitting position, terminals provided on the connector housing are completely fitted to terminals of the mating connector, and is configured to be connected to the mating connector. A detection member attached to the lever is provided so that movement from a standby position to a detection position is allowed only when the lever is in the fitting position. The detection member has a head portion arranged to be exposed from the lever for operating the detection member, and a leg portion formed to extend from the head portion so as to be inserted into an insertion recess of the connector housing when the lever is in the fitting position. A deformation suppression portion is provided between the connector housing and the leg portion to suppress deformation of the leg portion in the opening direction when the detection member is pushed from above with the lever in the pre-fitting position.

[0010] According to this configuration, since a deformation suppressing portion that suppresses deformation of the leg portion in the opening direction of the leg portion is provided between the connector housing and the leg portion, even when the detection member at the standby position is pushed from above in a state where the lever is in the pre-fitting position, the position of the leg portion is maintained by the deformation suppressing portion. Therefore, even when the detection member at the standby position is pushed from above in a state where the lever is in the pre-fitting position, it is possible to make it difficult for the detection member to move from the standby position.

[0011] [2] In the above [1], the connector with a lever includes a guiding portion that guides the movement of the detection member by sliding the contact surface of the leg portion on a guiding surface provided on the connector housing when the lever is rotationally operated. The deformation suppressing portion includes the contact surface formed in an inclined surface shape that slopes downward in the opening direction and the guiding surface formed in an inclined surface shape that is in surface contact with the contact surface. According to this configuration, since the contact surface and the guiding surface have an inclined surface shape, it is possible to provide the deformation suppressing portion in a small space. As a result, even when the deformation suppressing portion is provided, it is possible to miniaturize the connector with a lever.

[0012] [3] In the above [1] or [2], the lever connector includes a guiding portion that guides the movement of the detection member by sliding the contact surface of the leg portion along a guiding surface provided on the connector housing when the lever is rotationally operated. The rotation axis of the lever and the movement axis of the detection member are arranged offset from each other. The guiding portion is configured to guide the lever to the fitting position together with the detection member based on an operating force from above when the detection member is pushed from above with the lever in the pre-fitting position. According to this configuration, when the lever is in the pre-fitting position, if the detection member is pushed from above, the lever can be rotated to the fitting position by the guiding portion by the force of pushing the detection member from above. When the lever reaches the fitting position, the detection member can be displaced from the standby position to the detection position as it is by the force of pushing the detection member from above. As described above, the rotational operation of the lever and the displacement operation of the detection member can be performed as a series of operations. Therefore, it is possible to improve the workability when connecting the lever connector to the mating connector.

[0013] [4] In the above [3], the contact surface is formed in an inclined shape along the rotational direction of the lever at the tip of the leg portion, and the guiding surface is formed over the entire area of the passage through which the leg portion passes and has an arc shape. According to this configuration, since the guiding surface that guides the movement of the contact surface provided at the tip of the leg portion is formed over a wide range, the rotational operation of the lever can be guided by the guiding portion regardless of the position of the lever in the pre-fitting position. Therefore, it further contributes to the improvement of the workability when connecting the lever connector to the mating connector.

[0014] [5] In any one of the above [1] to [4], between the connector housing and the leg portion, there are provided a first deformation suppressing portion as the deformation suppressing portion, and a second deformation suppressing portion that suppresses the deformation of the leg portion in the opening direction with respect to the operation of returning the lever from the fitting position to the original position when the detection member is at the detection position. According to this configuration, in a state where the detection member is at the detection position, even if the lever is rotated in the non-fitting direction from the fitting position, the position of the leg portion is maintained by the second deformation suppressing portion. Therefore, in a state where the detection member is at the detection position, even if the lever is rotated in the non-fitting direction from the fitting position, it is possible to make it difficult for the detection member to be displaced from the detection position.

[0015] [6] In any one of the above [1] to [5], the lever has a covering portion that covers the deformation suppressing portion from the outside. According to this configuration, it is possible to suppress the deformation of the leg portion in the opening direction also by the covering portion of the lever, so that it is possible to make it even more difficult for the detection member to be displaced from the standby position.

[0016] [Details of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] (First Embodiment) Specific examples of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to these examples, and is indicated by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. In each drawing, for convenience of explanation, a part of the configuration may be exaggerated or simplified. Also, the dimensional ratios of each part may be different from the actual ones.

[0017] (Connector with Lever 1) As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 1 with a lever includes a connector housing 3 that is fitted to a mating connector 2, and a lever 4 that is rotatably attached to the connector housing 3. The connector housing 3 has a housing body 3a and a cover 3b that is attached and fixed to the upper part of the housing body 3a. When the connector housing 3 is fitted to the mating connector 2, a plurality of terminals (not shown) provided inside the connector housing 3 are electrically connected to a plurality of terminals (not shown) of the mating connector 2.

[0018] When the connector 1 with a lever is connected to the mating connector 2, when the lever 4 is rotated in the fitting direction (the direction of arrow R1 in FIG. 1) from the initial position P1 (the state in FIG. 1), the terminals of the mating connector 2 and the connector housing 3 are completely fitted together. One of the connector 1 with a lever and the mating connector 2 is a male connector, and the other is a female connector.

[0019] (Lever 4) As shown in FIG. 1, the lever 4 has a lever base 7 that is arranged across the width direction of the connector housing 3 (the Y-axis direction in FIG. 1), and a pair of arm portions 8 that extend from both sides of the lever base 7. The arm portions 8 are rotatably attached to shaft portions 9 provided on both side surfaces of the connector housing 3. The lever 4 rotates around the axis of the shaft portion 9.

[0020] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a cam mechanism 10 is provided between the mating connector 2 and the lever 4 to generate a load for fitting the connector 1 with a lever to the mating connector 2 when the lever 4 rotates. The cam mechanism 10 has, for example, a cam pin 11 (see FIG. 3) formed on the side surface of the mating connector 2 and a cam hole 12 formed in the arm portion 8. The cam hole 12 is formed, for example, in a curved shape. When the lever 4 is rotated in the fitting direction (the direction of arrow R1 in FIG. 2), the cam mechanism 10 completely fits the connector 1 with a lever to the mating connector 2 by pushing the peripheral surface of the hole of the cam hole 12 downward with the cam pin 11.

[0021] When the lever 4 of the lever connector 1 is rotated from the pre-fitting position (region E1 shown in Fig. 2) to the fitting position ("P2" shown in Figs. 2 and 3), the lever connector 1 is connected to the mating connector 2 so that the terminals of the lever connector 1 and the mating connector 2 are perfectly fitted. The pre-fitting position refers to, for example, the range from the initial position P1 to the position before the fitting position P2 within the rotation range of the lever 4. When the lever 4 is located at the fitting position P2, the position state of the fitting position P2 is held by the lock piece 13 (see Fig. 2) formed on the upper wall of the connector housing 3.

[0022] (Detection member 14) As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the lever connector 1 includes a detection member 14 for detecting whether the lever 4 is located at the fitting position P2. The detection member 14 has a head portion 15 and a leg portion 16. The head portion 15 is arranged to be exposed from the lever 4 for operating the detection member 14. That is, the head portion 15 can be operated by an operator's finger or the like from the outside. The leg portion 16 is formed to extend from the head portion 15. In this example, a pair of leg portions 16 are formed on both sides of the head portion 15.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 6, a pair of openings 17 (only one side is shown in Fig. 6) for inserting the leg portions 16 are formed in the width direction of the lever 4. The lever 4 is formed with a support portion 18 that supports the head portion 15 of the detection member 14 when it is pushed in.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 4, when the lever 4 of the lever connector 1 is rotated, the lever connector 1 includes a guide portion 21 that guides the movement of the detection member 14 by the contact surface 19 of the leg portion 16 sliding on the guide surface 20 provided on the connector housing 3. The guide portion 21 functions as a guide for guiding the movement of the detection member 14 when the lever 4 is rotated. The guide surface 20 is formed on the upper surface of the guide wall 22 formed on the side wall surface of the connector housing 3 (in this example, the cover 3b).

[0025] On the guide surface 20, at the end of the movement of the leg portion 16, an insertion recess 23 for inserting the leg portion 16 is provided. The insertion recesses 23 are provided in a pair in the width direction (Y-axis direction in FIG. 4) so as to correspond to the two leg portions 16 of the detection member 14. The insertion recess 23 is formed by recessing the side wall of the connector housing 3. The leg portion 16 can be inserted into the insertion recess 23 of the connector housing 3 when the lever 4 is in the fitting position P2.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 7(a), before the detection member 14 is pushed in, it is located at the standby position Pa. Also, the detection member 14 is located at the standby position Pa because the downward movement thereof is restricted by the guide wall 22 when the lever 4 is in the pre-fitting position. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7(b), since there is no guide wall 22 when the lever 4 is in the fitting position P2, the detection member 14 is switched to the detection position Pb by the pushing operation. Thus, the detection member 14 is attached to the lever 4 such that the movement from the standby position Pa to the detection position Pb is allowed only when the lever 4 is in the fitting position P2.

[0027] As shown in FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b), the detection member 14 has a lock portion 24 that holds the position state when the detection member 14 is in the detection position Pb. The lock portion 24 has a lock groove 25 on the wall surface of the leg portion 16. The lock portion 24 is in a locked state when the protrusion 26 formed on the lever 4 is engaged with the lock groove 25 when the detection member 14 is operated to the detection position Pb. Note that a window portion 27 is formed in the arm portion 8 of the lever 4, which is formed when the protrusion 26 is formed on the lever 4 by a slide mold.

[0028] (Deformation suppression portion 30) As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, between the connector housing 3 and the leg portion 16, when the detection member 14 is pushed from above with the lever 4 in the pre-fitting position, a deformation suppressing portion 30 is provided to suppress deformation of the leg portion 16 in the opening direction (the direction of arrow K in FIG. 6). In the case of this example, the deformation suppressing portion 30 is formed in the guide portion 21. That is, the deformation suppressing portion 30 includes a contact surface 19 formed in an inclined surface shape that slopes downward in the opening direction, and a guide surface 20 formed so as to be in surface contact with the contact surface 19.

[0029] The contact surface 19 of this example is formed on the tip surface of the leg portion 16 and is formed in an inclined surface shape that slopes downward in the opening direction. In the case of this example, the contact surface 19 is formed in an inclined surface shape by providing inclined protrusions 31 on the surface. The guide surface 20 of this example is formed in an inclined surface shape that slopes downward in the direction opposite to the contact surface 19. In the case of this example, the guide surface 20 is formed in an inclined surface shape by providing inclined protrusions 32 on the surface. As described above, the deformation suppressing portion 30 suppresses deformation of the leg portion 16 in the opening direction by the inclined protrusions 31 and 32 that engage with each other.

[0030] (Cover portion 34) As shown in FIG. 6, the lever 4 has a covering portion 34 that covers the deformation suppressing portion 30 from the outside. In the case of this example, the covering portion 34 is constituted by a part of the arm portion 8. That is, the covering portion 34 is constituted by a portion of the arm portion 8 that forms the side wall of the lever 4 and covers the leg portion 16. When a load in the opening direction is applied to the leg portion 16, the covering portion 34 supports the leg portion 16 from the outside to suppress the opening deformation of the leg portion 16.

[0031] (Rotation operation of lever 4 using push operation of detection member 14) As shown in FIG. 8, the rotation axis L1 of the lever 4 and the movement axis L2 of the detection member 14 are arranged offset. In the case of this example, being arranged offset means that the movement axis L2 does not intersect the rotation axis L1. The movement axis L2 is a line extending in the longitudinal direction of the detection member 14 and is a straight line in the case of this example. The detection member 14 moves along the movement axis L2 between the standby position Pa and the detection position Pb.

[0032] When the detection member 14 is pushed from above in a state where the lever 4 is in the pre-fitting position, the inner case 21 is configured to guide the lever 4 to the fitting position P2 together with the detection member 14 based on the operating force from above. The contact surface 19 of this example is formed in an inclined shape along the rotation direction of the lever 4 at the tip of the leg portion 16. Specifically, the contact surface 19 is formed in an arc shape when the leg portion 16 is viewed from the side. The guide surface 20 of this example is formed over the entire area of the passage through which the leg portion 16 passes and has an arc shape. Specifically, the guide surface 20 is formed in an arc shape that is in surface contact with the contact surface 19.

[0033] Next, the operation of the lever connector 1 of this embodiment will be described. (Function of the deformation suppression portion 30) As shown in FIG. 6, even though the lever 4 is in the pre-fitting position instead of the fitting position P2, the detection member 14 may be accidentally pushed in. In the case of this example, since the deformation suppression portion 30 is provided between the connector housing 3 and the detection member 14, even when the detection member 14 is pushed in from above, due to the engagement of the inclined projections 31 and 32, the load applied to the detection member 14 escapes inward. For this reason, it becomes difficult for a force in the opening direction to be applied to the leg portion 16 of the detection member 14. Therefore, it is possible to make it difficult for the detection member 14 to unintentionally come off from the connector housing 3.

[0034] (A series of operations of the lever 4 and the detection member 14) As shown in Fig. 9(a), assume that the detection member 14 is pushed in from above when the lever 4 is in the pre-fitting position. At this time, the operating force "F1 (the white arrow in the figure)" from above is converted into a load "F2" that moves the detection member 14 along the guide surface 20 by the shape of the guide portion 21, that is, the inclined contact surface 19 and the arc-shaped guide surface 20 that is in surface contact with the contact surface 19. This is because the rotation axis L1 of the lever 4 and the movement axis L2 of the detection member 14 are offset, and the contact surface 19 and the guide surface 20 are formed to be inclined. Therefore, when the detection member 14 is pushed from above when the lever 4 is in the pre-fitting position, the lever 4 can be rotated to the fitting position P2 by the force in the pushing direction (the state of Fig. 9(b)).

[0035] Then, as shown in Fig. 9(b) → Fig. 9(c), when the lever 4 reaches the fitting position P2, it becomes possible to directly push the detection member 14 into the detection position Pb with the finger that has operated the lever 4 to the fitting position P2. That is, without releasing the finger from the detection member 14, by performing a series of operations of moving the lever 4 from the pre-fitting position to the fitting position P2 and then pushing the detection member 14 from above, it becomes possible to execute the rotation of the lever 4 and the pushing-in of the detection member 14.

[0036] As described above, in the case of this example, when the lever 4 is in the pre-fitting position, by pressing the detection member 14 of the lever 4 in the pre-fitting position from above, it becomes possible to continuously perform the rotation of the lever 4 to the fitting position P2 and the pushing-in of the detection member 14 to the detection position Pb. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately perform the operation of rotating the lever 4 to the fitting position P2 and the operation of pushing in the detection member 14. Thus, it is also possible to improve the assembling workability when assembling the lever connector 1 to the mating connector 2.

[0037] According to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1-1) When the lever 4 provided rotatably on the connector housing 3 of the lever-equipped connector 1 is rotated from the pre-fitting position to the fitting position P2 to be fitted to the mating connector 2, the terminals provided on the connector housing 3 are connected to the mating connector 2 so as to be completely fitted to the terminals of the mating connector 2. The lever-equipped connector 1 includes a detection member 14 attached to the lever 4 so that movement from the standby position Pa to the detection position Pb is permitted only when the lever 4 is in the fitting position P2. The detection member 14 has a head 15 disposed so as to be exposed from the lever 4 for operating the detection member 14, and a leg 16 formed to extend from the head 15 so as to be inserted into the insertion recess 23 of the connector housing 3 when the lever 4 is in the fitting position P2. Between the connector housing 3 and the leg 16, a deformation suppressing portion 30 is provided to suppress deformation of the leg 16 in the opening direction when the detection member 14 is pushed from above with the lever 4 in the pre-fitting position.

[0038] According to this configuration, since the deformation suppressing portion 30 for suppressing deformation of the leg 16 in the opening direction is provided between the connector housing 3 and the leg 16, even when the detection member 14 at the standby position Pa is pushed from above with the lever 4 in the pre-fitting position, the position of the leg 16 is maintained by the deformation suppressing portion 30. Therefore, even when the detection member 14 at the standby position Pa is pushed from above with the lever 4 in the pre-fitting position, it is possible to make it difficult for the detection member 14 to move from the standby position Pa.

[0039] (1-2) The lever-equipped connector 1 includes a guiding portion 21 for guiding the movement of the detection member 14 by sliding the contact surface 19 of the leg 16 on a guiding surface 20 provided on the connector housing 3 when the lever 4 is rotated. The deformation suppressing portion 30 includes a contact surface 19 formed in an inclined surface shape that slopes downward in the opening direction, and an inclined guiding surface 20 formed to be in surface contact with the contact surface 19. According to this configuration, since the contact surface 19 and the guiding surface 20 have an inclined surface shape, it is possible to provide the deformation suppressing portion 30 in a small space. As a result, even when the deformation suppressing portion 30 is provided, the lever-equipped connector 1 can be miniaturized.

[0040] (1-3) The rotation axis L1 of the lever 4 and the movement axis L2 of the detection member 14 are arranged offset from each other. The guide portion 21 is configured to guide the lever 4 together with the detection member 14 to the fitting position P2 based on the operating force from above when the detection member 14 is pushed from above with the lever 4 in the pre-fitting position. According to this configuration, when the lever 4 is in the pre-fitting position, if the detection member 14 is pushed from above, the lever 4 can be rotated by the guide portion 21 to the fitting position P2 by the force of pushing the detection member 14 from above. When the lever 4 reaches the fitting position P2, the detection member 14 can be displaced from the standby position Pa to the detection position Pb as it is by the force of pushing the detection member 14 from above. As described above, the rotation operation of the lever 4 and the displacement operation of the detection member 14 can be performed as a series of operations. Therefore, the workability when connecting the lever connector 1 to the mating connector 2 can be improved.

[0041] (1-4) The contact surface 19 is formed in an inclined shape along the rotation direction of the lever 4 at the tip of the leg portion 16. The guide surface 20 is formed over the entire area of the passage through which the leg portion 16 passes and has an arc shape. According to this configuration, since the guide surface 20 for guiding the movement of the contact surface 19 provided at the tip of the leg portion 16 is formed over a wide range, the rotation operation of the lever 4 can be guided by the guide portion 21 regardless of the position of the lever 4 in the pre-fitting position. Therefore, it further contributes to the improvement of the workability when connecting the lever connector 1 to the mating connector 2.

[0042] (1-5) The lever 4 has a covering portion 34 that covers the deformation suppressing portion 30 from the outside. According to this configuration, the covering portion 34 of the lever 4 can also suppress the deformation of the leg portion 16 in the opening direction, so that it becomes more difficult for the detection member 14 to be displaced from the standby position Pa.

[0043] (Second Embodiment) Next, the second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is an example in which a measure for preventing the opening of the leg portion 16 of the detection member 14 described in the first embodiment is also provided at another location. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted, and only the different parts will be described in detail.

[0044] (First deformation suppression portion 41) As shown in FIG. 10, a first deformation suppression portion 41 is provided between the connector housing 3 and the leg portion 16 as the deformation suppression portion 30 described in the first embodiment. As described above, the first deformation suppression portion 41 is provided to suppress the deformation of the leg portion 16 in the opening direction when the detection member 14 is pushed from above in a state where the lever 4 is in the pre-fitting position. Since the first deformation suppression portion 41 has the same configuration as the deformation suppression portion 30 of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

[0045] (Second deformation suppression portion 42) As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, between the connector housing 3 and the leg portion 16, a second deformation suppression portion 42 is provided to suppress the deformation of the leg portion 16 in the opening direction with respect to the operation of returning the lever 4 from the fitting position P2 to the original position when the detection member 14 is in the detection position Pb. The second deformation suppression portion 42 of this example includes an inclined projection 43 provided on the leg portion 16 and an inclined projection 44 provided on the connector housing 3.

[0046] The inclined projection 43 of the leg portion 16 is formed on the tip of the leg portion 16, that is, on the side surface of the portion inserted into the insertion recess 23. The inclined projection 43 is formed, for example, in an inclined surface shape that slopes downward from the inside to the outside. The inclined projection 44 of the connector housing 3 is formed on the inner wall of the insertion recess 23 of the connector housing 3, that is, at a position facing the inclined projection 43 in the insertion recess 23. The inclined projection 44 is formed, for example, in an inclined surface shape that slopes downward from the outside to the inside.

[0047] (Operation of the embodiment) As shown in Fig. 11, when the detection member 14 is at the detection position Pb, assume that the lever 4 at the fitting position P2 is rotated in the direction of the pre-fitting position (the direction of arrow H1 shown in Fig. 11). At this time, since the leg portion 16 is strongly pressed against the wall surface of the insertion recess 23, a force in the opening direction (the direction of arrow H2 in the same figure) is applied to the leg portion 16. If the force in this opening direction is large, the leg portion 16 may be deformed, and thus the detection member 14 may be detached from the insertion recess 23. Therefore, even though the detection member 14 is at the detection position Pb, the lever 4 may rotate to the pre-fitting position.

[0048] However, in the case of this example, since the second deformation suppressing portion 42 is provided between the connector housing 3 and the detection member 14, even when an opening load in the direction of arrow H2 is applied to the detection member 14, due to the engagement of the inclined protrusions 43 and 44, the load applied to the detection member 14 escapes inward. For this reason, it becomes difficult to apply a force in the opening direction to the leg portion 16 of the detection member 14. Therefore, it is possible to make it difficult for the detection member 14 to unintentionally come off from the connector housing 3.

[0049] (Effect of Embodiment) According to the configuration of the above embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0050] (2-1) A first deformation suppressing portion 41 as the deformation suppressing portion 30 is provided between the connector housing 3 and the leg portion 16. A second deformation suppressing portion 42 for suppressing the deformation of the leg portion 16 in the opening direction with respect to the operation of returning the lever 4 from the fitting position P2 to the original position when the detection member 14 is at the detection position Pb is provided between the connector housing 3 and the leg portion 16. According to this configuration, even when the lever 4 is rotated in the non-fitting direction from the fitting position P2 in a state where the detection member 14 is at the detection position Pb, the position of the leg portion 16 is maintained by the second deformation suppressing portion 42. Therefore, even when the lever 4 is rotated in the non-fitting direction from the fitting position P2 in a state where the detection member 14 is at the detection position Pb, it is possible to make it difficult for the detection member 14 to be displaced from the detection position Pb.

[0051] (Other Embodiments) Note that this embodiment can be implemented with the following modifications. This embodiment and the following modification examples can be implemented in combination with each other within a technically consistent range.

[0052] ·In each embodiment, the initial position P1 of the lever 4 may be the position where the lever 4 stands upright, and the fitting position P2 of the lever 4 may be the position where the lever 4 is tilted. ·In each embodiment, the fitting direction of the lever connector 1 and the mating connector 2 is not limited to the height direction (Z-axis direction in each figure) of the connector housing 3, and may be, for example, the depth direction (X-axis direction in each figure) of the connector housing 3.

[0053] ·In each embodiment, the legs 16 of the detection member 14 are not limited to being provided in a pair, and may be only one. Also, three or more legs 16 may be provided. ·In each embodiment, the deformation suppression portion 30 is not limited to a structure in which opposing inclined surfaces are brought into contact with each other. The deformation suppression portion 30 may be, for example, a structure in which a protrusion provided on one of the connector housing 3 and the detection member 14 engages with a groove provided on the other.

[0054] ·In each embodiment, the deformation suppression portion 30 may be provided at a location different from the guide portion 21. That is, the deformation suppression portion 30 may be provided anywhere as long as it is between the connector housing 3 and the detection member 14.

[0055] ·In each embodiment, the contact surface 19 is not limited to an arc shape, and may be, for example, a linear inclined surface shape. ·In each embodiment, the guide portion 21 is not limited to being formed over the entire movement path of the detection member 14 when the lever 4 is rotated from the pre-fitting position to the fitting position P2, and may be formed only on a part of the movement path, preferably at the end of the movement path.

[0056] ·In each embodiment, the guide surface 20 is not limited to being formed over the entire passage through which the leg 16 passes, and may be formed only on a part of the passage. ·In each embodiment, the detection member 14 can be appropriately changed to a shape other than that described in the embodiment.

[0057] ·In each embodiment, the locking portion 24 is not limited to being provided at the tip of the leg portion 16, and may be formed, for example, at the base end or the head portion 15 of the leg portion 16. ·In each embodiment, the locking groove 25 of the locking portion 24 may be engaged with the connector housing 3 when the detection member 14 is located at the detection position Pb.

[0058] ·In each embodiment, although the present disclosure has been described based on examples, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to such examples or structures. The present disclosure also includes various modifications and modifications within the equivalent range. In addition, various combinations and forms, and further, other combinations and forms including only one element, more than one element, or less than one element thereof, are also within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0059] 1 Lever connector 2 Mate connector 3 Connector housing 3a Housing body 3b Cover 4 Lever 7 Lever base 8 Arm portion 9 Shaft portion 10 Cam mechanism 11 Cam pin 12 Cam hole 13 Lock piece 14 Detection member 15 Head 16 Leg 17 Opening 18 Support portion 19 Contact surface 20 Guide surface 21 Guide portion 22 Guide wall 23 Insertion recess 24 Locking portion 25 Locking groove 26 protrusion 27 window part 30 deformation suppression part 31 inclined protrusion 32 inclined protrusion 34 covering part 41 first deformation suppression part 42 second deformation suppression part 43 inclined protrusion 44 inclined protrusion L1 rotation axis L2 movement axis P1 initial position P2 fitting position F1 operating force F2 load Pa standby position Pb detection position E1 area K arrow direction

Claims

1. A lever-equipped connector connected to a mating connector, wherein when a lever rotatably provided on a connector housing to be fitted to the mating connector is rotated from a pre-fitting position to a fitting position, terminals provided on the connector housing are fully fitted to terminals of the mating connector, the lever is provided with a detection member attached thereto such that movement from a standby position to a detection position is permitted only when the lever is in the fitting position, the detection member has a head portion disposed so as to be exposed from the lever for operating the detection member, and a leg portion formed to extend from the head portion so as to be inserted into an insertion recess of the connector housing when the lever is in the fitting position, a deformation suppressing portion is provided between the connector housing and the leg portion to suppress deformation of the leg portion in an opening direction when the detection member is pushed from above with the lever in the pre-fitting position. The lever-equipped connector.

2. When the lever is rotated, a guiding portion is provided for guiding the movement of the detection member by sliding a contact surface of the leg portion on a guiding surface provided on the connector housing, The deformation suppressing portion includes the contact surface formed in an inclined surface shape descending in the opening direction and the guiding surface formed in an inclined surface shape in surface contact with the contact surface. The lever-equipped connector according to Claim 1.

3. When the lever is rotated, a guiding portion is provided for guiding the movement of the detection member by sliding a contact surface of the leg portion on a guiding surface provided on the connector housing, the rotation axis of the lever and the movement axis of the detection member are arranged offset from each other, the guiding portion is configured to guide the lever to the fitting position together with the detection member based on an operating force from above when the detection member is pushed from above with the lever in the pre-fitting position. The lever-equipped connector according to Claim 1.

4. The contact surface is formed in an inclined shape along the rotation direction of the lever at the tip of the leg portion, the guiding surface is formed over the entire area of the passage through which the leg portion passes and has an arc shape. The lever-equipped connector according to Claim 3.

5. Between the connector housing and the leg portion, there are provided a first deformation suppressing portion as the deformation suppressing portion and a second deformation suppressing portion that suppresses deformation of the leg portion in the opening direction with respect to an operation of returning the lever from the fitting position to its original position when the detection member is in the detection position. The lever-equipped connector according to claim 1.

6. The lever-equipped connector according to claim 1, wherein the lever has a covering portion that covers the deformation suppressing portion from the outside.

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