Housing Unit

Abstract

To provide a housing unit which is excellent in the degree of freedom of the order of mounting a spacer and a lever on a housing when a connector is manufactured.SOLUTION: A housing unit 1 includes a housing 2, a spacer 3 which is mounted so as to be inserted into an insertion hole 24 of the housing 2 so that the spacer 3 can be arranged at a full locking position and a temporary locking position, and a lever 4 that is mounted in the housing 2 to be operated from a temporarily fitted state to a fully fitted state. The spacer 3 is wholly accommodated inside the insertion hole 24 when it is located at the full locking position, and at least a part of the spacer 3 protrudes outside the insertion hole 24 when it is located at the temporary locking position. The lever 4 is located at a position where it does not block the opening of the insertion hole 24 when it is in the fully fitted state, and it is located at a position where it blocks at least a part of the opening when it is in the temporarily fitted state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a housing unit including a housing capable of accommodating terminals, a spacer that is inserted into an insertion hole in the housing, and a lever that assists in fitting with a mating connector. [Background technology]

[0002] Lever-type connectors (so-called LIF connectors) equipped with a lever that assists in mating connectors have been proposed. For example, one conventional lever-type connector is equipped with a lever that is rotatably attached to a housing, and when mating, the lever is operated (rotated) from a provisionally mated state to a fully mated state, so that the connector and the mating connector are attracted to each other and mated (for example, see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-096107 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, a spacer may be attached to the housing of a lever-type connector for the purpose of detecting whether or not a terminal is in a proper position in the terminal receiving chamber and for the purpose of holding the terminal in a proper position (so-called double locking). The spacer generally allows the terminal to be attached and detached to the terminal receiving chamber when provisionally locked in the housing, and engages with the terminal to hold the terminal in a proper position when fully locked in the housing. Since the spacer has such a function, it may be movably attached to the housing so that it is in a position protruding from the surface of the housing when provisionally locked in the housing, and is in a position completely stored in the housing when fully locked in the housing. In this case, in order to avoid interference between the lever and the spacer that is provisionally locked and protruding from the surface of the housing, the spacer is usually fully locked in the housing without the lever being attached to the housing, and then the lever is attached to the housing. However, such a restriction on the order in which the spacer and the lever are attached to the housing is not preferable from the viewpoint of improving workability during connector manufacturing.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has an object to provide a housing unit which allows excellent freedom in the order in which the spacer and the lever are attached to the housing during connector manufacture. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the housing unit according to the present invention has the following features [1] to [4]. [1] A housing capable of accommodating a terminal; a spacer that can be positioned at a full locking position where the terminal is held in a regular position in the housing and at a temporary locking position where the terminal can be attached to and detached from the regular position, the spacer being inserted into an insertion hole of the housing; a lever attached to the housing and adapted to be operated from a provisionally mated state to a fully mated state so as to assist mating with a mating connector, The spacer is When the spacer is in the full locking position, the entirety of the spacer is stored inside the insertion hole, and when the spacer is in the temporary locking position, at least a part of the spacer protrudes outside the insertion hole, The lever is When in the fully fitted state, the insertion hole is in a position that does not block the opening of the insertion hole, and when in the provisionally fitted state, the insertion hole is in a position that blocks at least a part of the opening. It is a housing unit. [2] In the housing unit according to the above [1], The lever is when in the fully fitted state, the lever is not entirely located on a side farther from the housing than a reference plane along one side surface of the housing, and when in the provisionally fitted state, at least a part of the lever is located on a side farther from the housing than the reference plane. It is a housing unit. [3] In the housing unit according to the above [1] or [2], The lever is the lever is rotated about a predetermined axis from the temporary mating state to the full mating state, and the temporary locking portion is temporarily secured to the housing when in the temporary mating state; a guide portion that engages with a predetermined portion of the mating connector during the mating and receives from the predetermined portion an external force that guides the housing in the mating direction as the lever rotates; and a release protrusion that is provided to protrude from the guide portion and receives from the predetermined portion an external force that rotates the lever in a direction to release the lock between the temporary locking portion and the housing during the mating. It is a housing unit. [4] In the housing unit according to any one of the above [1] to [3], The lever is The housing has a pair of plate-shaped portions arranged to sandwich the housing, and a connecting portion connecting the pair of plate-shaped portions. It is a housing unit.

[0007] According to the housing unit having the configuration of [1] above, even after the lever is attached to the housing, the lever is placed in a position where it does not block the opening of the insertion hole for attaching the spacer by putting the lever in the fully engaged state. When the lever is in this position, the spacer can be placed in the temporary locking position without interfering with the lever. If the terminals are accommodated in the housing with the spacer in the temporary locking position, and then the spacer is moved to the fully locking position, a connector can be manufactured in which the terminals are held in the correct position. Of course, the lever may be attached to the housing after the attachment of the spacer to the housing and the accommodation of the terminals are completed. In this way, the terminals can be attached to the housing unit regardless of the order of attachment of the lever and the spacer to the housing. Therefore, the housing unit of this configuration has excellent freedom in the order of attachment of the spacer and the lever to the housing when manufacturing the connector.

[0008] Furthermore, the housing unit having the above configuration has other effects. Specifically, according to the housing unit having the above configuration, the lever is placed in a position where it blocks at least a part of the opening of the insertion hole by placing the lever in a provisionally engaged state. If the lever is placed in this position when the spacer is in the fully engaged position, it is possible to prevent the spacer from moving unintentionally from the fully engaged position to the provisionally engaged position. Furthermore, when the spacer is in the provisionally engaged position (i.e., when the spacer protrudes from the insertion hole of the housing), the lever and the spacer interfere with each other, so that the lever cannot be moved from the fully engaged state to the provisionally engaged state. Therefore, the position of the spacer can be detected without relying on visual inspection, depending on whether or not this transition operation is possible.

[0009] According to the housing unit having the configuration of [2], when the lever is in the provisionally mated state, at least a part of the lever is located on the side farther from the housing than a reference surface along one side of the housing. On the other hand, when the lever is in the fully mated state, the entire lever is not located on the side farther from the housing than the reference surface. Therefore, it is possible to detect whether the lever is in the provisionally mated state or the fully mated state depending on whether the lever is located on the side farther from the housing than the reference surface. Furthermore, when the terminal accommodating chamber is open on one side of the housing corresponding to the reference surface, by placing the lever in the fully mated state during the manufacture of the connector, the lever is less likely to interfere with the operation of accommodating the terminal in the terminal accommodating chamber. Therefore, whether the terminal is manually or mechanically accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber during the manufacture of the connector, the workability can be improved. The lever may be arranged so that a part of the lever is on the reference surface (so-called flush) when the lever is in the fully mated state.

[0010] According to the housing unit having the configuration [3] above, when the connector using this housing unit is mated with the mating connector, the release protrusion provided on the guide portion of the lever receives an external force from a predetermined portion of the mating connector that rotates the lever in a direction that releases the temporary fastening between the locking portion of the lever and the housing. Furthermore, the guide portion engages with a predetermined portion of the mating connector (e.g., a so-called boss) and receives an external force from the predetermined portion that guides the housing in the mating direction as the lever rotates. This assists mating with the mating connector. This makes it easier to release the temporary fastening between the temporary locking portion of the lever and the housing, and improves the workability of the mating operation.

[0011] According to the housing unit having the configuration [4] above, for example, if a pair of plate-shaped portions of the lever are assembled to the housing so as to be rotatable around a predetermined axis, the lever can be easily operated from the provisionally engaged state to the actual engaged state and from the actual engaged state to the provisionally engaged state by operating the connecting portion connecting the pair of plate-shaped portions in the rotational direction. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a housing unit that allows a high degree of freedom in the order in which the spacer and the lever are attached to the housing during the manufacture of the connector.

[0013] The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the following description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiment") with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a housing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the housing unit shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] 3A and 3B are top views of the housing unit shown in FIG. 1, in which FIG. 3A shows a state in which the lever is in a full-fitting position, and FIG. 3B shows a state in which the lever is in a temporary-fitting position. [Figure 4] Figure 4(a) is an oblique view of the connector with the spacer in the temporary locking position and the lever in the full mating position, Figure 4(b) is an enlarged view of part A in Figure 4(a), and Figure 4(c) is a cross-sectional view along line BB of Figure 4(b). [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. [Figure 6] Figure 6(a) is an oblique view of the connector when the spacer is moved from the state shown in Figure 4(a) to the final engagement position, Figure 6(b) is an enlarged view of portion D in Figure 6(a), and Figure 6(c) is an E-E cross-sectional view of Figure 6(b). [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line FF of FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8(a) is a perspective view of the connector when the lever is moved from the state shown in FIG. 6(a) to the temporary mating position, and FIG. 8(b) is a side view of part G in FIG. 8(a). [Figure 9]FIG. 9(a) is a perspective view showing the connector shown in FIG. 8(a) and a mating connector, and FIG. 9(b) is a perspective view showing an initial stage of fitting the connector and the mating connector. [Figure 10] Figure 10(a) is an HH cross-sectional view of Figure 9(b), Figure 10(b) is a view corresponding to Figure 10(a) showing the state where the lever has rotated from the state shown in Figure 10(a) to the full mating position, and Figure 10(c) is a view corresponding to Figure 10(a) showing the state where mating between the connector and the mating connector has been completed. [Figure 11] Figure 11(a) is an oblique view showing the state where the connector and the mating connector have been completely mated, Figure 11(b) is a side view showing the state where the connector and the mating connector have been completely mated, and Figure 11(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line II of Figure 11(a). [Figure 12] Figure 12(a) is a top view of the connector to explain the procedure for using a jig to move the spacer from the full-locking position to the temporary-locking position, Figure 12(b) is a view corresponding to the JJ cross section of Figure 12(a) showing the state of the spacer before it is moved, and Figure 12(c) is a view corresponding to the JJ cross section of Figure 12(a) showing the state of the spacer after it has been moved. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] <Embodiment> Hereinafter, a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2, the housing unit 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 includes a housing 2, a spacer 3 attached to the housing 2, and a lever 4 for assisting mating, which will be described later. Then, as shown in FIG. 4(a) and the like, a terminal 6 and an electric wire 7 are attached to the housing unit 1 to form a connector 10. The lever 4 assists mating of the connector 10 with a mating connector 5 constituting a part of a device K (see FIG. 9(a)). When the connector 10 and the mating connector 5 are mated, the terminal 6 (female terminal, see FIG. 4(a) and FIG. 11(c)) of the connector 10 is electrically connected to the mating terminal 9 (male terminal, see FIG. 11(c)) of the mating connector 5, and the electric wire 7 (see FIG. 9) connected to the terminal 6 is electrically connected to the circuit (not shown) of the device K connected to the mating terminal 9.

[0017] Hereinafter, the "front-rear direction", "left-right direction", and "up-down direction" are defined as shown in Figs. 1 to 12. The "front-rear direction", "left-right direction", and "up-down direction" are mutually perpendicular. The front-rear direction coincides with the mating direction of the connector 10 and the mating connector 5. The mating advance side and retreat side are respectively defined as "front" and "rear" for the connector 10 and the mating connector 5 (see Figs. 9 to 11). Therefore, the "front" and "rear" directions are reversed for the connector 10 and the mating connector 5. Furthermore, the "rotation direction" of the lever 4 is defined as shown in Figs. 1, 3(a), 8(a), 9(a), and 10(a). The lever 4 is mounted on the housing 2 so as to be rotatable between a "full mating position" shown in Fig. 3(a) etc. and a "provisional mating position" shown in Fig. 3(b) etc., and the lever 4 moves toward the full mating position by rotating forward in the rotation direction from the provisional mating position.

[0018] First, the mating connector 5 will be described. The mating connector 5 is a resin molded body, and includes a body 11 that is open to the front and elongated in the left-right direction, as shown in Fig. 9(a). A plurality of mating terminals 9 (male terminals, see Fig. 11(c)) extending in the front-rear direction are fixed to the rear wall of the body 11 so as to be aligned in the up-down and left-right directions in the internal space of the body 11. When the connector 10 and the mating connector 5 are mated, a body 21 (see Fig. 2) of the housing 2, which will be described later, is inserted into the internal space of the body 11. A circuit of a device K is connected to each mating terminal 9.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 9(a), a pair of bosses 12 that engage with a pair of cam grooves 46 (see Fig. 9(a) etc.) of the lever 4, which will be described later, are provided on the inner surfaces (inner surfaces in the vertical direction) of the upper and lower walls of the main body 11 so as to protrude inward in the vertical direction. When the lever 4 rotates from the provisional mating position to the full mating position, the pair of bosses 12 enter the pair of cam grooves 46, and the bosses 12 move within the cam grooves 46 as the lever 4 rotates, thereby assisting the mating of the connector 10 with the mating connector 5. The bosses 12 correspond to the "predetermined location" in this invention, and the cam grooves 46 correspond to the "guide portion" in this invention.

[0020] A locking portion 13 that engages with a locking arm 48 (see FIG. 9(a) and the like) of the lever 4 is provided on the inner surface (upper surface) of the bottom wall of the main body 11. As shown in FIG. 11(c), when the mating of the connector 10 and the mating connector 5 is completed, the locking arm 48 engages with the locking portion 13, thereby maintaining the mating state of the connector 10 and the mating connector 5.

[0021] Next, each component constituting the housing unit 1 and the connector 10 will be described in order. First, the housing 2 will be described. The housing 2 is a resin molded body, and includes a main body 21 that is substantially rectangular and elongated in the left-right direction, as shown in FIG. 2. The main body 21 has a shape that corresponds to the internal space of the main body 11 (see FIG. 9(a)) of the mating connector 5. A spacer 3 and a lever 4 are attached to the main body 21.

[0022] Inside the main body 21, a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 22 (see FIG. 5) extending in the front-rear direction are provided so as to be aligned in the up-down and left-right directions in correspondence with the arrangement of a plurality of mating terminals 9 of the mating connector 5. A terminal 6 (female terminal, see FIG. 4(a)) having an electric wire 7 connected to its rear end is inserted from the rear side into each terminal accommodating chamber 22 and accommodated therein. A lance 23 extending forward in a cantilever shape is provided in the front region of each terminal accommodating chamber 22 (see FIG. 5). The lance 23 engages with the terminal 6 accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 22 at the correct position, thereby preventing the terminal 6 from slipping out backward and holding the terminal 6 in the correct position (see FIG. 5). That is, the correct position refers to a position in the terminal accommodating chamber 22 where the terminal 6 properly engaged with the lance 23 is positioned (held).

[0023] 2 and 5, a generally rectangular insertion hole 24 for inserting the spacer 3 is formed in the center of the upper surface of the main body 21 in the front-rear direction so as to be recessed downward and extend over generally the entire area in the left-right direction. The insertion hole 24 is located rearward of the lances 23 provided in each terminal accommodating chamber 22. The insertion hole 24 communicates with each terminal accommodating chamber 22 so as to divide a portion of each terminal accommodating chamber 22 in the front-rear direction.

[0024] As shown in Figures 4(c) and 6(c), the inner surfaces (inner surfaces in the left-right direction) of both side walls of the housing 2 that define both left-right ends of the insertion hole 24 are provided with a pair of protrusions 25 that protrude inward in the left-right direction, and a pair of protrusions 26 that protrude inward in the left-right direction at positions adjacent to the lower side of the pair of protrusions 25. The pair of protrusions 25 and the pair of protrusions 26 cooperate with a pair of ribs 33 (see also Figure 2), which will be described later, of the spacer 3 to selectively lock the spacer 3 inserted into the insertion hole 24 at a temporary locking position (see Figure 4) or a full locking position (see Figure 6).

[0025] 2, a pair of shafts 27 protruding outward in the up-down direction are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the main body 21 in correspondence with a pair of holes 43 (described later) of the lever 4. When the pair of shafts 27 are inserted into the pair of holes 43 of the lever 4, the pair of shafts 27 function as a rotation center of the lever 4.

[0026] 2, an upper surface of the main body 21 is provided with an upwardly protruding locking protrusion 28 and an upwardly protruding locking protrusion 29 at a position adjacent to the front side of the locking protrusion 28, which correspond to a locking piece 44 (described later) of the lever 4. The locking protrusions 28, 29 function to temporarily fix the lever 4 in the temporary fitting position (see FIG. 8).

[0027] Next, the spacer 3 will be described. The spacer 3 is a resin molded body, and includes a body portion 31 in the form of a generally rectangular flat plate that is long in the left-right direction as shown in Fig. 2. The body portion 31 has a shape that corresponds to the internal space of the insertion hole 24 of the housing 2. The spacer 3 has a function of detecting whether or not the terminal 6 is in the correct position in the terminal accommodating chamber 22, and a function of holding the terminal 6 in the correct position (so-called double locking). These functions will be described in more detail later.

[0028] The main body 31 is provided with terminal accommodating holes 22a penetrating in the front-rear direction so as to be aligned in the up-down and left-right directions in accordance with the arrangement of the multiple terminal accommodating chambers 22 of the housing 2. When the spacer 3 is in the provisionally locked position (see FIG. 5), the terminal accommodating holes 22a are aligned so as to communicate with the terminal accommodating chambers 22 of the housing 2 in the front-rear direction, thereby fulfilling the function of complementing the divided portions of the terminal accommodating chambers 22 caused by the insertion holes 24.

[0029] As shown in Fig. 2, two jig insertion holes 32 recessed toward the rear are formed on the upper end of the front surface of the main body 31 at left and right positions. The jig insertion holes 32 are used as holes into which the jig 50 is inserted when the spacer 3 is raised from the full locking position (see Fig. 6) to the temporary locking position (see Fig. 4) using the jig 50 (see Fig. 12).

[0030] As shown in FIG. 2, the main body 31 is provided on both left and right end surfaces with a pair of ribs 33 that protrude outward in the left and right direction.

[0031] The spacer 3 is inserted from above into the insertion hole 24 of the housing 2. The spacer 3 inserted into the insertion hole 24 is selectively locked into a provisional locking position (see FIG. 4(c)) where the pair of ribs 33 are positioned between the pair of protrusions 25 and the pair of protrusions 26 and engage with the pair of protrusions 25 and the pair of protrusions 26, and a full locking position (see FIG. 6(c)) where the pair of ribs 33 are adjacent to the lower sides of the pair of protrusions 26 and engage with the pair of protrusions 26.

[0032] When the spacer 3 is in the temporary locking position, the upper part of the spacer 3 protrudes upward from the upper surface of the housing 2 (main body 21) as shown in Figures 4(a) to 4(c), and when the spacer 3 is in the full locking position, the entire spacer 3 is located inside the insertion hole 24 as shown in Figures 6(a) to 6(c). In this example, when the spacer 3 is in the full locking position, the upper surface of the spacer 3 is flush with the upper surface of the housing 2 (main body 21).

[0033] When moving the spacer 3 from the temporary locking position to the full locking position, the spacer 3 is pushed down to the full locking position by pressing the top surface of the spacer 3 downward. Conversely, when moving the spacer 3 from the full locking position to the temporary locking position, as shown in Fig. 12, the tip of a rod-shaped jig 50 is inserted into the jig insertion hole 32 of the spacer 3, and the base end side of the jig 50 is tilted downward so that the front end edge 24a of the insertion hole 24 serves as a fulcrum, thereby lifting the spacer 3 upward to the temporary locking position. Note that the operation of the jig 50 is performed on the two jig insertion holes 32 of the spacer 3.

[0034] When the spacer 3 is in the temporary locking position, as described above, the multiple terminal accommodating holes 22a of the spacer 3 communicate with the multiple terminal accommodating chambers 22 of the housing 2 in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 5). This allows the terminal 6 to be attached to and detached from the normal position. When the terminal 6 is in the normal position engaged with the lance 23, the spacer 3 in the temporary locking position can be moved to the normal locking position. On the other hand, when the terminal 6 is in an intermediate insertion position on the way to the normal position, a part of the wall defining the terminal accommodating hole 22a of the spacer 3 interferes with a part of the terminal 6, so that the spacer 3 in the temporary locking position cannot be moved to the normal locking position. In other words, by detecting whether the spacer 3 in the temporary locking position can be moved to the normal locking position, it is possible to detect whether the terminal 6 is in the normal position.

[0035] When the spacer 3 is in the full locking position, as shown in Fig. 7, a part of the wall defining the terminal receiving hole 22a of the spacer 3 interferes with a part of the terminal 6 in the correct position. Therefore, the spacer 3 cooperates with the lance 23 to prevent the terminal 6 from slipping out backward and to hold the terminal 6 in the correct position (double locking).

[0036] Next, the lever 4 will be described. The lever 4 is a resin molded body, and as shown in Fig. 2, has a substantially U-shaped configuration composed of a pair of flat plate-like parts 41 arranged vertically and facing each other with a gap therebetween, and a connecting part 42 that connects the right ends of the pair of plate-like parts 41 and extends in the vertical direction. The plate-like part 41 has a shape that extends in the left-right direction when the lever 4 is in the full mating position (see Fig. 3(a)), and the rear edge of the plate-like part 41 in the rotation direction extends linearly parallel to the left-right direction when the lever 4 is in the full mating position (see Fig. 3(a)). The lever 4 serves to assist the mating of the connector 10 and the mating connector 5. This point will be described later.

[0037] As shown in Fig. 2, a pair of holes 43 penetrating in the up-down direction are formed near the extending ends (left ends) of the pair of plate-like portions 41. A locking piece 44 protruding toward the front side in the rotation direction is formed on the front edge in the rotation direction of the base end side (right side) of the upper plate-like portion 41. The locking piece 44 has a shape that extends parallel to the front-rear direction when the lever 4 is in the temporary engagement position (see Fig. 3(b)). A projection 44a protruding downward is formed on the inner surface (lower surface) of the locking piece 44, as shown in Fig. 8(b). The projection 44a corresponds to the "temporary locking portion" in this invention.

[0038] A pair of cam walls 45 protruding outward in the up-down direction are formed on the outer surfaces (outer surfaces in the up-down direction) of the extending ends (left ends) of the pair of plate-like portions 41 in correspondence with the pair of bosses 12 (see FIG. 9(a)) of the mating connector 5. As shown in FIG. 3(b), the cam wall 45 has a generally U-shaped shape that opens forward and curves to protrude backward when the lever 4 is in the temporary mating position. As a result, the cam wall 45 defines a cam groove 46 that opens at an inlet portion 46a at the front end and extends backward to an innermost portion 46b at the rear end when the lever 4 is in the temporary mating position. The cam groove 46 has a shape that can receive the bosses 12 of the mating connector 5.

[0039] As shown in Fig. 3(b), a release protrusion 47 is provided on the cam wall 45 at a portion that defines the left end of the inlet portion 46a of the cam groove 46, which protrudes to the right when the lever 4 is in the temporary mating position. The effect of providing the release protrusion 47 will be described later. As shown in Fig. 2, a lock arm 48 is formed on the outer surface (lower surface) of the lower plate-like portion 41 in correspondence with the lock portion 13 (see Fig. 9(a)) of the mating connector 5.

[0040] The lever 4 is attached to the housing 2 such that the pair of shafts 27 of the housing 2 are inserted into the pair of holes 43. As a result, the lever 4 is rotatable relative to the housing 2 within a range between the full-fitting position (see FIG. 3(a)) and the temporary-fitting position (see FIG. 3(b)) around the pair of shafts 27. When the lever 4 is in the full-fitting position, the upper plate-like portion 41 does not cover the entire opening of the insertion hole 24 of the housing 2 (see FIG. 3(a)), and when the lever 4 is in the temporary-fitting position, the upper plate-like portion 41 covers at least a portion of the opening of the insertion hole 24 of the housing 2 (see FIG. 3(b)).

[0041] When the lever 4 is in the temporary mating position, as shown in Fig. 8(b), the protrusion 44a of the locking piece 44 of the lever 4 is positioned between the locking protrusions 28, 29 of the housing 2 and engages with the locking protrusions 28, 29, so that the lever 4 is temporarily stopped at the temporary mating position and maintained at the temporary mating position. When the lever 4 rotates from the temporary mating position to the full mating position, the protrusion 44a of the locking piece 44 of the lever 4 moves forward in Fig. 8(b) and climbs over the locking protrusion 29 of the housing 2. Furthermore, when the lever 4 is in the full mating position, the protrusion 44a comes into contact with the locking protrusion 29 from the front side, so that the lever 4 is temporarily stopped at the full mating position and is prevented from rotating backward from the full mating position. In addition, when the lever 4 is in the full mating position, as shown in FIG. 3(a) etc., the connecting portion 42 of the lever 4 is disposed adjacent to the chamfered corner 21a (see, for example, FIG. 3(b)) at the right rear end of the housing 2 (main body portion 31). As a result, even if the lever 4 attempts to rotate further forward beyond the full mating position, the connecting portion 42 abuts against the corner 21a, thereby suppressing such excessive rotation. In other words, the lever 4 is maintained in the full mating position by suppressing rotation of the lever 4 both forward and backward from the full mating position.

[0042] When the lever 4 is in the temporary mating position, the rear edge in the rotation direction of the pair of plate-like parts 41 of the lever 4 protrudes rearward from the rear end surface of the housing 2 (see FIG. 3(b)). On the other hand, when the lever 4 is in the full mating position, the rear edge in the rotation direction of the pair of plate-like parts 41 of the lever 4 does not protrude rearward from the rear end surface of the housing 2 (see FIG. 3(b)). In this example, the rear edge in the rotation direction of the pair of plate-like parts 41 of the lever 4 and the rear end surface of the housing 2 are flush with each other. Therefore, it is possible to detect whether the lever 4 is in the temporary mating position or the full mating position depending on whether the rear edge in the rotation direction of the lever 4 is located rearward of the rear end surface of the housing 2. Furthermore, as described later, the operation of accommodating the terminal 6 into the housing 2 is performed from the rear side of the housing 2 when the lever 4 is in the full mating position, so that the lever 4 is less likely to interfere with the operation of accommodating the terminal 6.

[0043] When the lever 4 is in the full engagement position (see FIG. 3(a)), the upper plate-like portion 41 does not cover the entire opening of the insertion hole 24 of the housing 2. Therefore, when the lever 4 is in the full engagement position, as shown in FIG. 12, the spacer 3 in the full engagement position can be lifted up to the provisional engagement position by inserting the tip of a rod-shaped jig 50 into the jig insertion hole 32 and operating the jig 50 as described above. In addition, by pressing the upper surface of the spacer 3 downward, the spacer 3 in the provisional engagement position can be pushed down to the full engagement position.

[0044] As described above, when the lever 4 is in the full engagement position, the lever 4 does not cover the opening of the insertion hole 24, so that the spacer 3 inserted in the insertion hole 24 can be moved from the temporary locking position to the final locking position, or from the final locking position to the temporary locking position. Therefore, when the lever 4 is in the full engagement position, the spacer 3 can be placed in the temporary locking position, the terminal 6 can be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 22 to its normal position, and then the spacer 3 can be moved to the final locking position.

[0045] When the lever 4 is in the full engagement position and the spacer 3 is in the temporary locking position, the upper part of the spacer 3 protruding from the upper surface of the housing 2 interferes with the front edge of the upper plate-like part 41 in the rotation direction, as shown in Fig. 5, so that the lever 4 cannot be rotated from the full engagement position to the temporary engagement position. On the other hand, when the lever 4 is in the full engagement position and the spacer 3 is in the full locking position, the upper surface of the housing 2 and the upper part of the spacer 3 are flush with each other, as shown in Fig. 7, so that the upper part of the spacer 3 does not interfere with the front edge of the upper plate-like part 41 in the rotation direction, so that the lever 4 can be rotated from the full engagement position to the temporary engagement position. That is, by detecting whether the lever 4 in the full engagement position can be rotated to the temporary engagement position, it is possible to detect whether the spacer 3 is in the full locking position (for example, whether the spacer 3 has been forgotten to be moved to the full locking position). This prevents the spacer 3 from being forgotten to be moved to the full locking position, and allows the terminal 6 to be securely held in the correct position (double locking).

[0046] Furthermore, when the lever 4 is in the temporary engagement position, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the upper plate-like portion 41 covers a part of the insertion hole 24. Therefore, when the lever 4 is in the temporary engagement position, it is possible to prevent the spacer 3, which is in the full engagement position, from unintentionally moving to the temporary engagement position. If the terminal 6 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 22, even if the spacer 3 moves toward the temporary engagement position, the terminal 6 and the terminal accommodating hole 22a of the spacer 3 interfere with each other, so the spacer 3 will not fall off from the housing 2. On the other hand, before the terminal insertion when the terminal 6 is not accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 22, the lever 4 is in the temporary engagement position, so that the spacer 3 is prevented from falling off from the housing 2 due to unintentional movement to the temporary engagement position.

[0047] A series of procedures from assembling the housing unit 1 to fitting the connector 10 to the mating connector 5 will be described below. First, the housing unit 1 is obtained by assembling the spacer 3 and the lever 4 to the housing 2. At this time, the order of assembling the spacer 3 and the lever 4 does not matter.

[0048] If necessary, after assembling the housing unit 1, until the insertion of the terminal 6 described later, by placing the spacer 3 in the full locking position and the lever 4 in the temporary engagement position as shown in Fig. 3(b), it is possible to prevent the spacer 3 from unintentionally moving to the temporary locking position and coming off the housing 2, as described above. However, it is not necessary to place the spacer 3 and the lever 4 in this manner, and the spacer 3 may be placed in the partial locking position and the lever 4 in the full engagement position as shown in Fig. 3(a).

[0049] Next, the terminals 6 are inserted into the housing unit 1 in a state before the terminals are inserted, thereby obtaining the connector 10. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4(a) and FIG. 5, the lever 4 is arranged in the full mating position and the spacer 3 is arranged in the temporary locking position, and the multiple terminals 6 are accommodated in the housing 2 of the housing unit 1. That is, the multiple terminals 6 connected to the rear ends of the electric wires 7 are inserted from the rear side into the multiple terminal accommodating chambers 22 of the housing 2 to the normal positions. At this time, since the lever 4 is in the full mating position (that is, the rear edges in the rotation direction of the pair of plate-like parts 41 do not protrude rearward from the rear end surface of the housing 2), the accommodation operation of the terminals 6 is unlikely to be hindered by the lever 4, as described above. When arranging the spacer 3 in the temporary locking position, if necessary (for example, when the spacer 3 is pushed into the full locking position), a lifting operation using the jig 50 shown in FIG. 12(a) to FIG. 12(c) may be performed as described above.

[0050] 6 and 7, the upper surface of the spacer 3 is pressed down to move the spacer 3 to the full locking position. At this time, as described above, by detecting the movement of the spacer 3 from the partial locking position to the full locking position, it is possible to detect that the terminal 6 is in the correct position and that the terminal 6 is doubly locked.

[0051] 8, the connecting portion 42 of the lever 4 is operated to move the lever 4 from the full-fitting position to the temporary-fitting position. At this time, by detecting the movement of the lever 4 to the temporary-fitting position, it is possible to detect that the spacer 3 has not been forgotten to be moved to the full-locking position (i.e., the terminal 6 in the correct position has been doubly locked). Furthermore, by having the lever 4 in the temporary-fitting position, it is possible to prevent the spacer 3 from being moved from the full-locking position to the temporary-locking position unintentionally, as described above.

[0052] Thereafter, the connector 10 is mated with the mating connector 5. A more detailed explanation will be given below.

[0053] As shown in Fig. 9, the housing 2 of the connector 10 with the lever 4 in the temporary mating position is mated with the mating connector 5 housing a plurality of mating terminals 9 connected to the circuit of the device K. First, the front faces of the connector 10 and the mating connector 5 are placed opposite each other, and the housing 2 (main body 21) of the connector 10 is inserted into the internal space of the mating connector 5 (main body 11) up to the mating start position (see Fig. 9(b)).

[0054] When the housing 2 of the connector 10 is inserted to the mating start position, as shown in FIG. 10(a), the pair of bosses 12 of the mating connector 5 enter the inlet portions 46a of the pair of cam grooves 46 of the lever 4 at the provisional mating position. At this time, the release protrusion 47 engages with the boss 12 and receives an external force from the boss 12. This external force acts as a moment that rotates the lever 4 forward in the rotation direction (see the white arrow in FIG. 10(a)). As a result, the engagement between the protrusion 44a of the locking piece 44 and the locking protrusion 29 (see FIG. 8(b)) can be released, and the lever 4 can be rotated smoothly from the initial stage of the rotation during the mating operation.

[0055] Next, the lever 4 is rotated from the temporary mating position to the full mating position. As a result, while the boss 12 moves relatively from the entrance portion 46a of the cam groove 46 to the innermost portion 46b, the boss 12 presses the cam wall 45 that defines the cam groove 46 to exert a reaction force, so that the connector 10 is pulled forward (i.e., toward the back of the main body portion 11 of the mating connector 5) as the rotation of the lever 4 progresses. In this way, by rotating the lever 4 from the temporary mating position to the full mating position, the mating of the connector 10 and the mating connector 5 is assisted.

[0056] When the lever 4 reaches the full mating position (see FIG. 10(c)), the lock arm 48 of the lever 4 engages with the lock portion 13 of the mating connector 5, and the connector 10 and the mating connector 5 enter a fully mated state (see FIG. 11(c)). In the fully mated state, the multiple terminals 6 of the connector 10 and the multiple mating terminals 9 of the mating connector 5 are electrically connected (see FIG. 11(c)), thereby electrically connecting the multiple electric wires 7 connected to the multiple terminals 6 and the circuit of the device K connected to the multiple mating terminals 9.

[0057] In the mating complete state, the rear edges in the rotation direction of the pair of plate-like portions 41 of the lever 4 in the full mating position are flush with the rear end face of the housing 2 and the front end face of the mating connector 5 (see FIG. 11(c)). This makes it easy to confirm that the connector 10 and the mating connector 5 are in the mating complete state.

[0058] In the above description, the lever 4 is already attached to the housing 2 before the terminals 6 are inserted and the spacer 3 is subsequently moved from the provisional locking position to the full locking position, at a stage prior to mating of the connector 10 and the mating connector 5. Alternatively, the lever 4 may be attached to the housing 2 for the first time after the terminals 6 are inserted and the spacer 3 is subsequently moved from the provisional locking position to the full locking position. In this way, the housing unit 1 offers excellent flexibility in the order in which the spacer 3 and the lever 4 are attached.

[0059] <Actions and Effects> As described above, according to the housing unit 1 of this embodiment, even after the lever 4 is attached to the housing 2, the lever 4 is placed in a position where it does not block the opening of the insertion hole 24 for attaching the spacer 3 by putting the lever 4 in the fully fitted state. When the lever 4 is in this position, the spacer 3 can be placed in the temporary locking position without interfering with the lever 4. If the terminal 6 is accommodated in the housing 2 with the spacer 3 in the temporary locking position, and then the spacer 3 is moved to the fully locking position, the connector 10 in which the terminal 6 is held in the correct position can be manufactured. Of course, the lever 4 may be attached to the housing 2 after the attachment of the spacer 3 to the housing 2 and the accommodation of the terminal 6 are completed. In this way, the terminal 6 can be attached to the housing unit 1 regardless of the order of attachment of the lever 4 and the spacer 3 to the housing 2. Therefore, the housing unit 1 of this configuration has excellent freedom in the order of attachment of the spacer 3 and the lever 4 to the housing 2 when manufacturing the connector 10.

[0060] Furthermore, according to the housing unit 1, by putting the lever 4 in the provisionally engaged state, the lever 4 is disposed in a position that blocks at least a part of the opening of the insertion hole 24. If the lever 4 is disposed in this position while the spacer 3 is in the fully engaged position, it is possible to prevent the spacer 3 from unintentionally moving from the fully engaged position to the provisionally engaged position. Furthermore, when the spacer 3 is in the provisionally engaged position (i.e., when the spacer 3 protrudes from the insertion hole 24 of the housing 2), the lever 4 and the spacer 3 interfere with each other, so that the lever 4 cannot be shifted from the fully engaged state to the provisionally engaged state. Therefore, depending on whether or not this shifting operation is possible, the position of the spacer 3 can be detected without relying on visual inspection.

[0061] Furthermore, when the lever 4 is in the provisionally mated state, the lever 4 is located behind the rear end surface of the housing 2. Conversely, when the lever 4 is in the fully mated state, the lever 4 is not located behind the rear end surface of the housing 2. Therefore, whether the lever 4 is in the provisionally mated state or the fully mated state can be detected based on whether the lever 4 is located behind the rear end surface of the housing 2. This detection can be performed, for example, visually. Furthermore, since the opening of the terminal accommodating chamber 22 for inserting the terminal 6 is located on the rear end surface of the housing 2, when the terminal 6 is attached to the housing unit 1 to manufacture the connector 10, the lever 4 is unlikely to interfere with the accommodation operation of the terminal 6 by putting the lever 4 in the fully mated state. Therefore, the housing unit 1 can improve the workability of the operation of manufacturing the connector 10.

[0062] Furthermore, when the connector 10 is mated with the mating connector 5, the release protrusion 47 provided on the cam wall 45 that defines the cam groove 46 receives a force from the boss 12 of the mating connector 5 in a direction that rotates the lever 4 in a direction that releases the temporary fastening between the protrusion 44a of the locking piece 44 of the lever 4 and the locking protrusion 29 of the housing 2. Furthermore, the cam wall 45 engages with the boss 12 and receives an external force from the boss 12 that guides the housing 2 in the mating direction as the lever 4 rotates. This assists the mating of the connector 10 with the mating connector 5. Therefore, the lever 4 can be rotated smoothly from the initial stage of rotation, improving the operability of the mating operation.

[0063] <Other forms> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be adopted within the scope of the present invention. For example, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and appropriate modifications, improvements, etc. are possible. In addition, the material, shape, size, number, arrangement location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary as long as the present invention can be achieved, and are not limited.

[0064] In the above embodiment, the lever 4 has a substantially U-shape made up of a pair of upper and lower plate-shaped portions 41 and the connecting portion 42. In contrast, the lever 4 may have a substantially L-shape made up of the upper plate-shaped portion 41 and the connecting portion 42, or may have a linear (flat) shape made up of only the plate-shaped portion 41.

[0065] Here, the features of the above-described embodiment of the housing unit 1 according to the present invention will be briefly summarized and listed in the following [1] to [4]. [1] A housing (2) capable of accommodating a terminal (6); a spacer (3) which is capable of being positioned at a full locking position for holding the terminal (6) in a regular position in the housing (2) and at a temporary locking position for allowing the terminal (6) to be attached to and detached from the regular position, and which is inserted into an insertion hole (24) of the housing (2); A housing unit (1) including a lever (4) that is attached to the housing (2) and is operated from a provisionally mated state to a fully mated state so as to assist mating with a mating connector (5), The spacer (3) is When in the full locking position, the spacer (3) is entirely stored inside the insertion hole (24), and when in the temporary locking position, at least a part of the spacer (3) protrudes outside the insertion hole (24); The lever (4) is When in the fully fitted state, the insertion hole (24) is in a position that does not block the opening thereof, and when in the provisionally fitted state, the insertion hole (24) is in a position that blocks at least a part of the opening thereof. Housing unit(1). [2] In the housing unit (1) described in [1] above, The lever (4) is When in the fully fitted state, the lever (4) is not entirely located on a side farther from the housing (2) than a reference plane along one side of the housing (2), and when in the provisionally fitted state, at least a part of the lever (4) is located on a side farther from the housing (2) than the reference plane. Housing unit(1). [3] In the housing unit (1) according to the above [1] or [2], The lever (4) is the lever (4) includes a temporary locking portion (44a) which is operated from the temporary mated state to the full mated state so as to rotate about a predetermined axis and which is temporarily secured to the housing (2) when in the temporary mated state; a guide portion (46) which engages with a predetermined portion (12) of the mating connector (5) during the mating process and receives from the predetermined portion (12) an external force which guides the housing (2) in the mating direction as the lever (4) rotates; and a release protrusion (47) which is provided to protrude from the guide portion (46) and receives from the predetermined portion (12) an external force which rotates the lever (4) in a direction to release the lock between the temporary locking portion (44a) and the housing (2) during the mating process. Housing unit(1). [4] In the housing unit (1) according to any one of the above [1] to [3], The lever (4) is The housing (2) is sandwiched between a pair of plate-shaped portions (41) and a connecting portion (42) connecting the pair of plate-shaped portions (41). Housing unit(1). [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 1 Housing Unit 2. Housing 3 Spacer 4 Lever 5 Mating Connector 6 Terminals 10 Connectors 12 Boss (specified location) 24 Insertion Hole 41 Plate-shaped part 42 Connecting part 44a Protrusion (temporary locking portion) 46 Cam groove (guide part) 47 Release protrusion

Claims

1. A housing capable of accommodating a terminal; a spacer that can be positioned at a full locking position where the terminal is held in a regular position in the housing and at a temporary locking position where the terminal can be attached to and detached from the regular position, the spacer being inserted into an insertion hole of the housing; a lever attached to the housing and adapted to be operated from a provisionally mated state to a fully mated state so as to assist mating with a mating connector, The spacer is When the spacer is in the full locking position, the entirety of the spacer is stored inside the insertion hole, and when the spacer is in the temporary locking position, at least a part of the spacer protrudes outside the insertion hole, The lever is When in the fully fitted state, the insertion hole is in a position that does not block the opening of the insertion hole, and when in the provisionally fitted state, the insertion hole is in a position that blocks at least a part of the opening. Housing unit.

2. 2. The housing unit according to claim 1, The lever is when in the fully fitted state, the lever is not entirely located on a side farther from the housing than a reference plane along one side surface of the housing, and when in the provisionally fitted state, at least a part of the lever is located on a side farther from the housing than the reference plane. Housing unit.

3. 3. The housing unit according to claim 1, The lever is the lever is rotated about a predetermined axis from the temporary mating state to the full mating state, and the temporary locking portion is temporarily secured to the housing when in the temporary mating state; a guide portion that engages with a predetermined portion of the mating connector during the mating and receives from the predetermined portion an external force that guides the housing in the mating direction as the lever rotates; and a release protrusion that is provided to protrude from the guide portion and receives from the predetermined portion an external force that rotates the lever in a direction to release the lock between the temporary locking portion and the housing during the mating. Housing unit.

4. The housing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The lever is The housing has a pair of plate-shaped portions arranged to sandwich the housing, and a connecting portion connecting the pair of plate-shaped portions. Housing unit.

Images