Lever type connector

A lever type connector includes a male housing having a hood part, a lever rotatably supported on the male housing, a moving plate for positioning a tab part of a male terminal within the hood part and a female housing to be fitted into and detached from the hood part. By operating the lever forward, it is possible to allow the female housing to move to an inner side of the hood part together with the moving plate, thereby allowing the female housing to be fitted into the male housing. When the male housing is not fitted to the female housing, a rib of the lever abuts against a boss of the moving plate. When the abutment between the rib and the boss is released by operating the lever forward, the female housing is permitted to push the moving plate into the hood part.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is based on, and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-183833, filed Sep. 21, 2016, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to a lever type connector in which male and female housings are fitted to and detached from each other with a low insertion force by operating a lever forward and backward.

BACKGROUND ART

As this kind of a lever type connector in the conventional example, there is a connector disclosed in JP 2011-142050 A.

As illustrated inFIG. 22, the conventional lever type connector1includes a male housing2having a hood part3, a lever5rotatably supported on the male housing2through pivot shafts4, a moving plate7for positioning a tab part of a male terminal (not illustrated) inside the hood part3, and a female housing8to be fitted into and detached from the hood part3.

The lever5is formed with cam grooves6. The female housing8is formed with first cam pins9a,while the moving plate7is formed with second cam pins9b. When the lever5is displaced with respect to the male housing2under a condition that the first cam pins9aand the second cam pins9bare united to each other, the first cam pins9aand the second cam pins9bunder the united condition slide on groove surfaces of the cam grooves6, so that the male housing2and the female housing8are fitted to and detached from each other. In the fitting process of the male housing2and the female housing8, only the first cam pins9aslide on forward-side cam surfaces6aof the cam grooves6, so that the moving plate7and the female housing8move to the inner side of the hood part3. In the detaching process of the male housing2and the female housing8, only the second cam pins9bslide on backward-side cam faces6bof the cam grooves6, so that the moving plate7and the female housing8move to the opening side of the hood part3.

SUMMARY

In the conventional lever type connector1, the moving of the moving plate7is enabled by assembling the second cam pins9b of the moving plate7to the cam grooves6of the lever5for engagement. Therefore, if it occurs necessity of replacing the lever5due to its breakage or the like, then an operation of inserting the second cam pins9bof the moving plate7into the cam grooves6of the lever5is required. Then, since there is a possibility that the second cam pins9bof the moving plate7cannot be fitted to the cam grooves6of the lever5, in particular, depending on the position of the moving plate7in the hood part3, the assembling workability of the lever7has not been good in the connector1. Nevertheless, if the lever5is assembled forcibly, the second cam pins9bof the moving plate7may be damaged or broken by the lever5.

It is therefore an object of the present application to provide a lever type connector capable of improving assembling workability of a lever by eliminating restrictions on the positional relationship between the lever and a moving plate when replacing the lever.

A lever type connector according to an aspect of the present application includes a male housing having a hood part, a lever rotatably supported on the male housing via pivot shafts, a moving plate for positioning a tab part of a male terminal within the hood part, a female housing configured to be fitted into and detached from the hood part, a cam groove formed in the lever, a cam follower formed in the female housing, a rib provided in the lever and a boss formed in the moving plate. The lever type connector is configured so that the female housing is moved to an inner side of the hood part together with the moving plate by forward-operating the lever in a direction capable to fit the male housing and the female housing under a condition that the cam follower is engaged with the cam groove, whereby the female housing is to be fitted into the male housing. The rib abuts against the boss when the male housing is not fitted to the female housing under the condition that the cam follower is engaged with the cam groove, and abutting between the rib and the boss is released by forward-operating the lever in the direction capable to fit the male housing and the female housing, whereby the female housing is permitted to push the moving plate into the hood part.

With the constitution mentioned above, it is possible to prevent the rib from pushing the moving plate when the lever is locked temporarily. Additionally, as the constraints in the positional relationship between the lever and the moving plate in case of replacing the lever are eliminated, it is possible to perform the assembling operation of the lever easily and in a shirt time.

The lever type connector may be configured so that, when the female housing is to be detached from the male housing, the rib abuts against the boss by backward-operating the lever in a direction capable to detach the male housing from the female housing then the moving plate is returned to an original position outside the hood part.

With the constitution mentioned above, when the female housing is to be detached from the male housing, it is possible to return the moving plate to the original position outside the hood part easily and reliably since the rib of the lever pulls up the boss of the moving plate in a drawing manner.

The rib may be formed in a curved shape so as to enable a part of the boss to be surrounded.

With the formation mentioned above, when pulling up the moving plate to return it to the original position, it is possible to prevent the boss from being detached from the rib.

Either one of the male housing and the lever may be formed with an elastic locking piece provided with an locking protrusion and a releasing protrusion, provided that the other of the male housing and the lever is formed with an locking hole which can lock the locking protrusion.

With the constitution mentioned above, since the locking state between the locking protrusion and the locking hole is released by pushing the releasing protrusion when releasing the locking between the male housing and the lever, the operation of releasing the locking between the male housing and the lever can be performed with ease.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Lever type connectors according to embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

A lever type connector10according to a first embodiment will be described with reference toFIGS. 1 to 17.

As illustrated inFIG. 1, the lever-type connector10according to the first embodiment includes a male connector20and a female connector70which are fittable to and detachable from each other. The lever type connector10is utilized, for example, as a connector for a front door of a vehicle.

The male connector20includes a male housing21having a hood part21a,a lever30rotatably supported on the male housing21via pivot shafts21A, a moving plate40for positioning tab parts55aof male terminals55within the hood part21a,a male sub-housing50housed in a sub-housing accommodating chamber22formed in the male housing21, and a male coaxial sub-housing60housed in a sub-housing insertion hole (not illustrated) formed in the male housing21.

The female connector70includes a female housing71having cam followers75formed so as to project from the female housing71integrally and to be engaged with cam grooves34formed in the lever30, the female housing71to be fitted into and detached from the hood part21a,a female sub-housing80accommodated in a sub-housing accommodating chamber72formed in the female housing71, and a female coaxial sub-housing90accommodated in a sub-housing insertion hole73formed in the female housing71.

As illustrated inFIG. 11, when the lever30is operated so as to move forward (illustrated with an arrow X inFIG. 11) under a condition that the cam followers75of the female housing71are engaged with the cam grooves34of the lever30, the female housing71moves to an inner side of the hood part21atogether with the moving plate40, so that the female housing71is fitted into the male housing21.

The male housing21is made of synthetic resin. As illustrated inFIGS. 3, 4A, and4B, a partition wall23separating between the hood part21aand the sub-housing accommodating chamber22of the male housing21is provided with a plurality of tab insertion holes24as a tab deformation detecting mechanism (aligning structure) for allowing an insertion of the tab parts55aof the male terminals55. Each of the tab insertion holes24is formed in the same position as the position of corresponding positioning hole43formed in the moving plate40to allow an insertion of the tab part55aof the male terminal55. Additionally, each of the tab insertion holes24is formed with the same hole diameter as that of each of the positioning holes43.

As illustrated inFIGS. 4A and 4B, the deformation of the tab part55aof each of the male terminals55accommodated and held in corresponding cavity51of the male sub-housing50is detected by each of the tab insertion holes24. That is, as illustrated inFIG. 4A, when there is no deformation in the tab part55aof each of the male terminals55, the tab part55aof each of the male terminals55can pass through each of the tab insertion holes24. As a result, the male sub-housing50can be fitted into the sub-housing accommodating chamber22of the male housing21. On the other hand, as illustrated inFIG. 4B, when there is a deformation in a tab part55aof one of the male terminals55, the tab part55aof one of the male terminals55cannot penetrate corresponding tab insertion hole24. Thus, as it is impossible to fit the male sub-housing50into the sub-housing accommodating chamber22of the male housing21, the deformation of the tab part55aof one of the male terminals55accommodated and held in corresponding cavity51of the male sub housing50is detected.

As illustrated inFIGS. 1, 2, 5, and 6, the hood part21ais formed, at the center of its both sidewalls, with a pair of notched groove parts25for temporarily locking the lever30. The notched groove parts25serve as guide rails which guide the movements of a pair of bosses44of the moving plate40and a pair of first guide protrusions76of the female housing71.

The hood part21ais provided, at respective positions interposing the pair of notched groove parts25, with a pair of recessed receiving grooves26awhich allow entering locking protrusions35aof elastic locking pieces35of the lever30and a pair of notched receiving grooves26bwhich allow entering second guide protrusions77of the female housing71. As illustrated inFIG. 9, when the lever30is in a temporarily-locked state, the pair of locking protrusions35aof the lever30are locked to groove surfaces of the pair of notched groove parts25.

On the outer periphery of the rear end of the male housing21, an annular flange part27is integrally formed so as to protrude from the rear end. A rubber grommet (not illustrated) having annular seal part on its front side is prepared, and a groove of the annular seal part is fitted the annular flange part27. On the outer periphery of the rear end of the male housing21, a pair of upper locking protrusions28,28and a pair of lower locking protrusions28,28are formed so as to integrally protrude from the rear end. When the male housing21passes through an attachment hole of a panel (not illustrated) of the vehicle from its door side, the distal ends of respective pairs of locking protrusions28,28of the male housing21are locked onto a body-side surface around the attachment hole of the panel of the vehicle. In this way, the lever type connector10is attached to the attachment hole of the panel of the vehicle in a sealed state, through the annular seal part on the front side of the grommet.

As illustrated inFIGS. 5A, 5B, and 6, the male housing21has an elastic locking piece29integrally formed so as to project from the upside center of the flange part27and also provided with a locking protrusion29a.The locking protrusion29ais adapted so as to be lockable to and detachable from a locking hole38formed in a protruding piece37of the lever30.

As illustrated inFIGS. 1, 2, 5, and 6, the lever30includes a pair of arm parts31and an operating part32connecting the pair of arm parts31and is formed in one body made of synthetic resin. The respective arm parts31have bearing holes33formed to rotatably support pivot shafts21A integrally formed on both sides of the hood part21a.In each of the arm parts31, a cam groove34is formed so as to be engaged with corresponding cam follower75formed in the female housing71.

As illustrated inFIGS. 11 to 13, by operating the operating part32of the lever30forward (indicated with an arrow X in the figure), the male housing21and the female housing71are fitted to each other with a low insertion force through the cam grooves34and the cam followers75. As illustrated inFIGS. 15 to 17, by operating the operating part32of the lever30backward (indicated with an arrow Y in the figure), the male housing21and the female housing71are detached from each other with a low insertion force through the cam grooves34and the cam followers75.

In each of the arm parts31, the elastic locking piece35having the locking protrusion35ais notched. With the pair of locking protrusions35abeing elastically locked to the pair of notched grooves25formed in the sidewalls of the hood part21a, the lever30is held in the temporary locking position illustrated inFIGS. 9 and 17. Furthermore, with the pair of locking protrusions35abeing locked to the groove surfaces of the pair of receiving grooves26aformed on the sidewalls of the hood part21a,the lever30is held in a rotation regulating position as illustrated inFIGS. 13 and 14.

As illustrated inFIGS. 1, 5, and 6, each of the arm parts31has a rib36integrally formed so as to project from an inner surface of the part31. When the female housing71is not fitted (when the lever30is in the temporarily-locked state as illustrated inFIG. 9and when the female housing71is set temporarily as illustrated inFIG. 10), the ribs36abut against the bosses44formed on the moving plate40. Then, when the abutment between the ribs36and the bosses44is released by the forward operation of the lever30(indicated with the arrow X in the drawing), the female housing71is allowed to push the moving plate40into the hood part21a.Each of the ribs36is L-shaped so as to surround a part of corresponding boss44(its upper side and the rear side). When the female housing71is detached from the male housing21, the ribs36abut against the bosses44. In this state, by the backward operation of the lever30(indicated by the arrow Y in the figure), the moving plate40returns to the original position of draw-up completion, as illustrated inFIGS. 9 and 17.

As illustrated inFIGS. 5A, 5B, and 6, the protruding piece37is integrally formed at the center of the operating part32of the lever30. The projecting piece37is formed with the locking hole38for locking the locking protrusion29aof the elastic locking piece29of the male housing21.

As illustrated inFIGS. 10 to 13, the moving plate40is movable between an initial position located on the opening side of the hood part21aand a fitting position located on the inner side of the hood part21a.The moving plate40is made of synthetic resin. As illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 6, the moving plate40consists of a plate body41in the form of a rectangular flat plate and a pair of sidewall parts42projecting from both sides of the plate body41forward, providing a U-shaped integrated element. The plate body41is provided with a plurality of aligned positioning holes43.

As illustrated inFIG. 4A, when the moving plate40is in the initial position, respective axes of the tab parts55aare prevented from being deflected since respective tips of the tab parts55aof the male terminals55are inserted into the positioning holes43in their positioned state. Then, as the moving plate40moves toward the fitting position, the projection amounts of the tab parts55afrom the positioning holes43toward the front increase gradually.

On the upper front side of each of the sidewall parts42, the boss44which can abut on and depart from corresponding rib36of the lever30is formed integrally with the sidewall part42. Each of the sidewall parts42is integrally formed, on its center rear side, with a lock part45which is elastically locked onto the inner surface of the sidewall of the hood part21ato lock the moving plate40temporarily.

As illustrated inFIGS. 1 to 4, the male sub-housing50is formed to be a substantially rectangular block of synthetic resin, and is inserted into the sub-housing accommodating chamber22of the male housing21from behind. Inside the male sub-housing50, the plurality of cavities51capable of accommodating the male terminals55connected to respective terminals of electric wires56are formed so as to penetrate the male sub-housing50in the forward and backward direction. On an inner wall of each of the cavities51, a flexible lance (not illustrated) is formed to prevent corresponding male terminal55from being dropped out of each of the cavities51. In the male sub-housing50, a spacer mount hole53in communication with the cavities51is formed so as to open on a top surface of the male sub-housing51. When the spacer54is inserted into the spacer mount hole53from above, the male terminals55are doubly locked by the lances (not illustrated) and the spacer54inserted into the spacer mounting hole53, however, up to the normal depth.

As illustrated inFIG. 1, the male coaxial sub-housing60is shaped in the form of a substantially block of synthetic resin, which is elongated in the forward and backward direction. The male coaxial sub-housing60is inserted into the sub-housing insertion hole (not illustrated) of the male housing21from behind. The male coaxial sub-housing60is provided, at its center, with a cavity61for accommodating a coaxial terminal (not illustrated). On the inner wall of the cavity61of the male coaxial sub-housing60, a flexible lance62to be locked to the coaxial terminal (not illustrated) is integrally formed so as to project from the inner wall.

As illustrated inFIG. 1, the female housing71is shaped in the form of a rectangular box of synthetic resin. At the substantially center of the female housing71, the sub-housing accommodating chamber72for accommodating the female sub-housing80and the sub-housing insertion hole73for accommodating the female coaxial sub-housing90are formed so as to penetrate the female housing71in the forward and backward directions, respectively. Around the sub-housing accommodating chamber72and the sub-housing insertion hole73of the female housing71, terminal accommodating chambers74a,74bfor accommodating power supply circuit terminals (not illustrated) and signal circuit terminals (not illustrated) are formed so as to penetrate the female housing71in the forward and backward directions.

At the substantially center of each side surface of the female housing71, the pin-shaped cam follower75to be engaged with corresponding cam groove34of the lever30is integrally formed so as to project from female housing71.

On each side surface of the female housing71, the first guide protrusion76that enters the notched groove25of the hood part21aand the guide protrusion77that enters the notched receiving groove26bof the hood part21aare formed so as to project from female housing71integrally.

As illustrated inFIG. 1, the female sub-housing80is shaped in the form of a substantially rectangular block of synthetic resin. The female sub-housing80is inserted into the sub-housing accommodating chamber72of the female housing71from behind. Inside the female sub-housing80, a plurality of cavities81capable of accommodating the female terminals85connected to respective terminals of electric wires86are formed so as to penetrate the female sub-housing80in the forward and backward direction. On an inner wall of each of the cavities81, the flexible lance (not illustrated) is formed to prevent corresponding female terminal85from being dropped out of each of the cavities81. In the female sub-housing80, a spacer mount hole (not illustrated) in communication with the cavities81is formed so as to open on a top surface of the female sub-housing80. When a spacer84is inserted into the spacer mount hole from above, the female terminals85are doubly locked by the lances (not illustrated) and the spacer84inserted into the spacer mounting hole, however, up to the normal depth.

As illustrated inFIG. 1, the female coaxial sub-housing90is shaped in the form of a substantially block of synthetic resin, which is elongated in the forward and backward direction. The female coaxial sub-housing90is inserted into the sub-housing insertion hole73of the female housing71from behind. The female coaxial sub-housing90is provided, at its center, with a cavity91for accommodating a coaxial terminal (not illustrated). On the inner wall of the cavity91, a flexible lance92to be locked to the coaxial terminal (not illustrated) is integrally formed so as to project from the inner wall.

In the lever type connector10according to the first embodiment, as illustrated inFIGS. 6 and 7, the lever30and the moving plate40are assembled to the male housing21. At this time, the ribs36of the lever30and the bosses44of the moving plate40are separated from each other.

Then, as illustrated inFIG. 8, when the lever30is operated backward in the Y direction, the ribs36of the lever30abut against the bosses44of the moving plate40and press them, thereby drawing up the moving plate40to return it to the initial position (original position), as illustrated inFIG. 9. At this time, the lever30is brought into the temporarily-locked state since the pair of locking protrusions35aof the lever30is elastically locked to the groove surfaces of the pair of notched groove parts25of the hood part21a.As the ribs36of the lever30abut against the bosses44of the moving plate40when the lever30is in the temporarily-locked state, the moving plate40is prevented from being pushed into the hood part21a.That is, the ribs36of the lever30prevent the moving plate40from moving to the inner side in the hood part21a.

As illustrated inFIG. 11, when forward-operating the lever30in the X direction from the state ofFIG. 10where the female housing71is set in the hood part21a(in the non-fitting state of the female housing71), the ribs36of the lever30move and separate from the bosses44, so that the moving plate40becomes possible to move, as illustrated inFIG. 12. Then, as illustrated inFIG. 13, the female housing71moves to the inner side in the hood part21atogether with the moving plate40and is fitted into the male housing21.

In this way, although the ribs36abut against the bosses44of the moving plate40in the non-fitted state of the female housing71, such an abutment between the bosses44and the ribs36is released by the forward movement of the lever30in the X direction, so that it becomes possible for the female housing71to push the moving plate40into the hood part21a.Owing to the provision of the protruding ribs36on the arm parts31of the lever30, when the lever30is in the temporarily-locked state, the moving plate40is prevented from being pushed into the hood part21aby the ribs36. Additionally, by forward-operating the lever30in the X direction, it is possible to move the female housing71together with the moving plate40to the inner side of the hood part21aand also possible to fit the male housing21and the female housing71to each other with a low insertion force.

As illustrated inFIGS. 14 to 17, when detaching the male housing21from the female housing71, the L-shaped ribs36of the lever30operate to draw the bosses44of the moving plate40due to their configuration and pull up the moving plate40with the backward operation of the lever30in the Y direction, thereby returning the moving plate40to the original position outside the hood part21a.

In this way, with the lever type connector10, the movement of the moving plate40into the hood part21ais neither restricted nor permitted by the cam grooves34of the lever30but restricted or permitted by allowing the bosses44of the moving plate40to abut against or separate from the ribs36of the lever30. Thus, the constraints in the positional relationship between the lever30and the moving plate40when replacing the lever30or the moving plate40are eliminated to allow the assembling operation of the lever30or the moving plate40to be performed in a short time. As a result, it is possible to prevent the lever30or the moving plate40from being damaged or broken in a case of replacing these components, reliably.

Additionally, the lever type connector10is constructed so that the ribs36of the lever30abut against the bosses44of the moving plate40when detaching the female housing71from the male housing21and subsequently, the backward operation of the lever30in the Y direction causes the moving plate40to be returned to the original position outside of the hood part21a.Thus, when the female housing71is detached from the male housing21, it is possible to return the moving plate40to the original position outside of the hood part21aeasily and reliably since the ribs36of the lever30pull up the bosses44of the moving plate40in a drawing manner.

Further, according to the embodiment, each of the ribs36of the lever30is L-shaped so as to surround a part of corresponding boss44of the moving plate40. This makes it possible to easily and reliably prevent the bosses44from being detached from the ribs36when pulling the moving plate40back to the original position.

As illustrated inFIGS. 4A and 4B, since the male housing21is provided with the sub-housing accommodating chamber22that houses the male sub-housing50accommodating the male terminals55and furthermore, the partition wall23partitioning the hood part21aand the sub-housing accommodating chamber22of the male housing21is formed with the tab insertion holes24for allowing an insertion of the tab parts55aof the male terminals55, the deformation of the tab part(s)55aof the male terminal(s)55can be easily and reliably detected in advance of fitting the male sub-housing50accommodating the male terminal(s)55having the so-deformed tab part(s)55ainto the sub-housing accommodating chamber22, whereby it is possible to eliminate the occurrence of a defective fitting product of the male housing21and the female housing71. Consequently, in the process of manufacturing a wire harness composed of a plurality of electric wires56connected with the male terminals55having the tab parts55awith the lever type connector10, it becomes possible to eliminate the occurrence of a defective product having deformed tabs as much as possible.

In addition, since each of the tab insertion holes24of the partition wall23is formed in the same position as the position of corresponding positioning hole43formed in the moving plate40and also formed with the same hole diameter as that of each of the positioning holes43, it is possible to manufacture the tab-deformation detecting mechanism simply and at low cost.

Second Embodiment

A lever type connector10′ according to a second embodiment will be described with reference toFIGS. 18 to 21B.

As illustrated inFIGS. 18 to 21B, in the lever type connector10′ according to the second embodiment, an elastic locking piece29having a locking protrusion29aand a releasing protrusion29bis integrally formed so as to project from the upside center of the flange part27of the male housing21of the male connector20. The locking protrusion29aof the elastic locking piece29is adapted so as to be lockable to and detachable from the locking hole38formed in the protruding piece37of the lever30. That is, by pushing the releasing protrusion29bof the elastic locking piece29downward, the locking state between the locking protrusion29aand the locking hole38can be released. Besides, as the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same components are indicated with the same reference numerals respectively, and their detailed descriptions are omitted.

In the lever type connector10′ according to the second embodiment, on the premise that the elastic locking piece29having the locking protrusion29aand the releasing protrusion29bis formed integrally with the male housing21and that the locking hole38for locking the locking protrusion29ais formed in the protruding piece37of the lever30, the lever type connector10′ is constructed so that the downward pushing of the releasing protrusion29bof the elastic locking piece29allows the locking state between the locking protrusion29aand the locking hole38to be released. Thus, when releasing the male housing21locked to the lever30, it is performed to press the releasing protrusion29bof the elastic locking piece29, whereby the locking state between the locking protrusion29aand the locking hole38is released. Therefore, releasing operation of locking between the male housing21and the lever30is easily achieved. As a result, when replacing the lever30or the moving plate40, the assembling operation of the lever30or the moving plate40can be accomplished more easily and in a short time.

Meanwhile, although each of the ribs36of the lever30is L-shaped so as to surround a part of corresponding boss44of the moving plate40in common with the above-mentioned embodiments, the profile of each of the ribs36is not limited to an L-shape and therefore, it may be formed in a curved shape. In the second embodiment, additionally, although the elastic locking piece29having the locking protrusion29aand the releasing protrusion29bis formed integrally with the male housing21, and the locking hole38for locking the locking protrusion29ais formed in the lever30, the elastic locking piece29having the locking protrusion29aand the releasing protrusion29bmay be formed in the lever30on condition of forming the locking hole38for locking the locking protrusion29ain the male housing21in a modification.