connector

Abstract

To enable a reduction of a size of a connector provided with a lever.SOLUTION: A connector 1 comprises: a plurality of terminals 3; a housing 2 that houses the plurality of terminals 3; and a lever 6 that is rotatable mounted to the housing 2, and approaches and fits the housing 2 and a housing of a mating connector by rotating them. The lever 6 comprises: a first side board 61 in which a rotational support hole 63 that becomes a rotational center to one end side is formed; a second side board 62 in which a rotational support convex part 66 that becomes a rotational center to the one end side is formed; and an operation part 60 of which the other ends of the first side board 61 and the second side board 62 are coupled. In the housing 2, a hub 23 fitted into the rotational support hole 63 of the first side board 61 and a concave part 26 into which the rotational support convex part 66 of the second side board 62 is fitted are formed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] BACKGROUND ART A connector with a lever is known in which a lever is rotatably attached to a housing, and when the lever rotates, the housing and the housing of a mating connector are brought closer together for mating (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] 1 is a diagram showing a conventional lever-equipped connector 501. This connector 501 includes a housing 510 that accommodates a plurality of terminals, a spacer 504 that is attached to housing 510 to prevent the terminals from coming loose, and a lever 560.

[0004] Lever 560 is rotatably attached to housing body 511 of housing 510, and rotates from the initial position shown by the solid line in Figure 11 to the completed mating position shown by the dashed line, thereby bringing housing body 511 closer to the mating connector and mating them.

[0005] Lever 560 includes a flat cam plate 561, a flat auxiliary plate 562 arranged parallel to cam plate 561, and a connecting portion 563 connecting auxiliary plate 562 and cam plate 561. Cam plate 561 and auxiliary plate 562 are provided with rotation fulcrum holes 565 into which a pair of bosses 514 provided on housing main body 511 are fitted. Cam plate 561 is also provided with cam grooves 569 into which cam protrusions of a mating connector enter. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-100185 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] In the conventional connector 501 described above, the housing 510 is provided with a boss 514, and the lever 560 is provided with a pivot hole 565. To ensure the strength of the lever 560, the lever 560 had to be formed thick and large to a certain extent. As a result, when the lever 560 is positioned in the initial position, it overlaps with the spacer 504 (part A in FIG. 11 ). This means that the assembly of the spacer 504 cannot be performed unless the lever 560 is in the mating completion position, which results in poor workability. Furthermore, to avoid interference between the lever 560 and the spacer 504, the boss 514 needs to be positioned away from the spacer 504, which would result in the connector 501 becoming larger.

[0008] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to make it possible to miniaturize a connector equipped with a lever. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention relates to a connector having a plurality of terminals, a housing accommodating the plurality of terminals, a lever rotatably attached to the housing and rotating to bring the housing and a housing of a mating connector closer together for mating, a spacer attached to the housing to prevent the terminals from coming off; the lever comprises a first side plate having a rotation fulcrum hole formed at one end thereof as a rotation center, a second side plate having a rotation fulcrum protrusion formed at one end thereof as a rotation center, and an operating portion connecting the other ends of the first side plate and the second side plate, and the housing comprises a boss fitted into the rotation fulcrum hole of the first side plate and a recess into which the rotation fulcrum protrusion of the second side plate fits, a spacer recess into which the spacer fits; is formed The recess and the spacer recess are disposed adjacent to each other on the same surface of the housing, and the rotation area of ​​the second side plate is arranged so as not to overlap the spacer recess. The connector is characterized by the above. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size of the connector. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1]1 is a perspective view showing a connector and a mating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the mating connector of FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a perspective view of the connector of FIG. 1 seen from a different angle. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the connector of FIG. 1. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the lever of FIG. 4. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the connector of FIG. 1. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a front view of the connector of FIG. 1. [Figure 9] 2 is a bottom view of the connector of FIG. 1, showing a state in which the lever is positioned at an initial position. FIG. [Figure 10] 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the lever in FIG. 9 is positioned at a mating completion position. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional connector. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] A "connector" according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0013] The connector 1 shown in Figures 1, 3, and 4 is intended to be mated with a mating connector 9, and comprises a plurality of terminals 3 (only one is shown in Figure 4), a housing 2 accommodating the plurality of terminals 3, a spacer 4 attached to the housing 2, and a lever 6.

[0014] 1 and 2, the mating connector 9 includes a plurality of male terminals 90 and a housing 91 that accommodates the plurality of male terminals 90. The housing 91 is made of insulating synthetic resin. The housing 91 includes a rectangular cylindrical surrounding wall 92 that surrounds the plurality of male terminals 90, and a cam protrusion 95 provided on the inside of the surrounding wall 92.

[0015] The terminal 3 is connected to the end of the electric wire 11, and includes a core wire crimping portion 31 to which the exposed core wire of the electric wire 11 is crimped, a coating crimping portion 32 to which the coating portion of the electric wire 11 is crimped, and a rectangular tubular connecting portion 33 to be connected to a male terminal 90 of the mating connector 9. Such a terminal 3 is generally called a female terminal.

[0016] The housing 2 is made of insulating synthetic resin. The housing 2 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape and includes a housing main body 21 that fits into the surrounding wall 92 of the mating connector 9. The housing main body 21 includes a front face 21f, a back face 21e, a top face 21c, a bottom face 21d, and a pair of side faces 21a and 21b. The front face 21f is the face that faces the mating direction with the mating connector 9. The back face 21e is the face opposite the front face 21f. The top face 21c is the face that includes the long sides of the front face 21f and the back face 21e. The bottom face 21d is the face opposite the top face 21c. The bottom face 21d is the face that includes the long sides of the front face 21f and the back face 21e. The side faces 21a and 21b are faces that include the short sides of the front face 21f and the back face 21e.

[0017] The names of the top surface 21c and bottom surface 21d of the housing main body 21 are given for convenience based on the paper direction of Figure 1, and do not necessarily correspond to the up and down direction in an actual situation where the connector 1 is used.

[0018] A cylindrical boss 23 is formed on the top surface 21c of the housing body 21 to fit into a rotation fulcrum hole 63 (described later) of the lever 6. A recess 26 is formed on the bottom surface 21d of the housing body 21 to fit into a rotation fulcrum protrusion 66 (described later) of the lever 6, and an auxiliary guide boss 24 is formed to be movably positioned within an elongated hole 64 (described later) of the lever 6.

[0019] Furthermore, the housing body 21 is formed with a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 22, lances that engage with the terminals 3 accommodated in each terminal accommodating chamber 22, and spacer recesses 25 into which the spacers 4 are inserted. Each terminal accommodating chamber 22 is open to the front face 21f and the rear face 21e. The terminals 3 are inserted into the terminal accommodating chambers 22 from the rear face 21e side. The male terminals 90 of the mating connector 9 are inserted into the terminal accommodating chambers 22 from the front face 21f side and into the rectangular tubular connecting portion 33.

[0020] 3, the spacer recess 25 is recessed from the bottom surface 21d toward the top surface 21c of the housing main body 21. The spacer recess 25 is disposed adjacent to the recess 26. The spacer recess 25 is disposed closer to the front surface 21f than the recess 26. The connector 1 is arranged so that the rotation region of a second side plate 62 (described later) of the lever 6 does not overlap the spacer recess 25.

[0021] The spacer 4 is made of insulating synthetic resin. As shown in FIG. 4 , the spacer 4 is provided with a plurality of terminal insertion holes 42 through which the terminals 3 are passed and recesses 43 that fit the terminals 3. The recesses 43 are arranged in the terminal accommodating chambers 22 in the uppermost row (the row on the upper surface 21c side) of the housing body 21. The inner surfaces of the recesses 43 engage with the terminals 3 in the terminal accommodating chambers 22. The terminal insertion holes 42 are arranged in the terminal accommodating chambers 22 other than the uppermost row. The inner surfaces of the terminal insertion holes 42 engage with the terminals 3 in the terminal accommodating chambers 22.

[0022] With the spacer 4 inserted into the spacer recess 25 of the housing 2 and provisionally locked, each terminal 3 is inserted into each terminal accommodating chamber 22, and each lance locks onto each terminal 3. At this time, each terminal 3 is passed through each terminal insertion hole 42 of the spacer 4. Thereafter, the spacer 4 is inserted further into the spacer recess 25 and fully locked onto the housing 2, whereby the inner surfaces of the recess 43 and the terminal insertion hole 42 lock onto each terminal 3. In this way, the connector 1 double-locks the terminals 3 with the lance of the housing 2 and the spacer 4.

[0023] The lever 6 is made of insulating synthetic resin. Furthermore, a material with higher strength than the housing 2 is used for the lever 6. The lever 6 is rotatably attached to the housing 2, and rotates from the initial position to the mating completion position to bring the housing 2 and the housing 91 of the mating connector 9 closer to each other for mating.

[0024] 5 to 10 includes a first side plate 61 having a rotation fulcrum hole 63 formed at one end thereof as a rotation center, a second side plate 62 having a rotation fulcrum protrusion 66 formed at one end thereof as a rotation center, and an operating portion 60 connecting the other ends of the first side plate 61 and the second side plate 62. The rotation fulcrum hole 63 is a hole into which a boss 23 formed on the top surface 21c of the housing main body 21 fits. The rotation fulcrum protrusion 66 is a cylindrical protrusion that fits into a recess 26 formed on the bottom surface 21d of the housing main body 21.

[0025] A cam groove 65 into which the cam protrusion 95 of the mating connector 9 enters is formed on one end side of the first side plate 61. Further, an elongated hole 64 for movably positioning the auxiliary guide boss 24 of the housing 2 is formed on the other end side of the second side plate 62 from the rotation fulcrum protrusion 66.

[0026] 7 and 9, connector 1 starts mating with mating connector 9 with lever 6 held in the initial position shown in Figures 7 and 9, so that cam protrusion 95 of mating connector 9 smoothly enters cam groove 65 without any special alignment of lever 6. Furthermore, with cam protrusion 95 entering cam groove 65, lever 6 rotates toward the mating completion position shown in Figure 10, so that housing 2 and housing 91 of mating connector 9 are brought close to each other and mated.

[0027] In the connector 1 configured as described above, the boss 23, which serves as the center of rotation of the lever 6, and the pivot convex portion 66 are formed on the lever 6, and therefore the strength of the lever 6 is higher than that of a conventional lever (see FIG. 11). This makes it possible to reduce the thickness and size of the lever 6. As a result, the connector 1 is made more compact. Furthermore, the working space for the lever 6 (S2 in FIG. 9) can be reduced, thereby achieving space savings in the installation location of the connector 1.

[0028] Furthermore, the connector 1 is arranged so that the pivot region of the second side plate 62 of the lever 6 does not overlap the spacer recess 25. In the initial position shown in FIG. 9, a gap S1 is provided between the lever 6 and the spacer 4, and in the mating completion position shown in FIG. 10, a gap S3 is provided between the lever 6 and the spacer 4. This is achieved by the lever 6 having a thin and compact structure, as described above. As a result, the spacer 4 can be attached to the spacer recess 25 regardless of the position of the lever 6 attached to the housing 2, improving the workability of assembling the spacer 4.

[0029] Furthermore, by providing the auxiliary guide boss 24, the connector 1 achieves a compact overall size while maintaining the strength of the lever 6. That is, by providing the auxiliary guide boss 24, the lever strength is increased, as a result of its resistance to deformation. Specifically, when a load is applied in the direction of arrow L in FIG. 5, a moment of distance D1 in FIG. 9 would normally act. However, by providing the auxiliary guide boss 24, the distance becomes D2, thereby increasing the lever strength against deformation. Furthermore, by providing the auxiliary guide boss 24 in addition to the boss 23, there are now two bosses, which increases the boss strength. Furthermore, the different shapes of the bosses on the top surface 21c and the bottom surface 21d of the housing main body 21 prevent the lever 6 from being incorrectly assembled to the housing 2.

[0030] The above-described embodiment merely shows a typical form of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In other words, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications within the scope of the gist of the present invention. As long as such modifications still include the configuration of the present invention, they are of course included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1 connector 2. Housing 3 terminals 4 spacers 6 Lever 60 Control section 61 1st side plate 62 2nd side plate 63 Pivot support hole 66 Rotational fulcrum convex part

Claims

1. a plurality of terminals; a housing accommodating the plurality of terminals; a lever rotatably attached to the housing and rotating to bring the housing and the housing of a mating connector closer together for mating; and a spacer attached to the housing to prevent the terminals from coming off, the lever includes a first side plate having a rotation fulcrum hole formed at one end thereof as a rotation center, a second side plate having a rotation fulcrum protrusion formed at one end thereof as a rotation center, and an operating portion connecting the other ends of the first side plate and the second side plate to each other, the housing is formed with a boss that fits into the rotation support hole of the first side plate, a recess that fits into the rotation support protrusion of the second side plate, and a spacer recess that fits into the spacer, the recess and the spacer recess are disposed adjacent to each other on the same surface of the housing, The rotation area of ​​the second side plate is provided so as not to overlap the spacer recess. A connector characterized by:

2. a long hole is formed on the second side plate closer to the other end than the rotation support protrusion, The housing is formed with an auxiliary guide boss that is movably positioned within the slot.

2. The connector according to claim 1.

3. A cam groove into which the cam protrusion of the mating connector enters is formed only on the first side plate.

3. The connector according to claim 1 or 2.

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