Abstract:
A female housing ( 10 ) has a tubular fit-in part ( 11 ) and a male housing ( 30 ) has a hood ( 31 ) that can enter the tubular fit-in part ( 11 ) to allow both housings ( 10, 30 ) to reach a proper connection. A lever ( 50 ) is mounted rotatably on the female housing ( 10 ) and engages a cam pin ( 33 ) on the female housing ( 30 ) to move the housings together. A locking part ( 60 ) is provided on the lever ( 50 ) and a locking projection ( 36 ) is provided on the hood ( 31 ). The locking part ( 60 ) locks to the locking projection ( 36 ) through a window ( 16 ) formed on the tubular fit-in part ( 11 ) when the lever ( 50 ) is rotated to a predetermined normal position. Thus, proper connection of the male housing ( 30 ) with the female housing ( 10 ) is ensured by the locking of the lever ( 50 ).

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The invention relates to a lever-type connector.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-223958 discloses a connector assembly that uses a lever to exert the force required for mating a male connector and a female connector. The female connector has a female housing with a hood and female terminals are mounted in the female housing. A wire cover is mounted on the female housing, and the shaft of the lever is supported rotatably on the wire cover. The lever has a cam groove that engages a cam pin on the male connector. The lever is set at an initial position with the cam groove facing the cam pin. The male connector then is fit loosely in the hood of the female housing so that the cam pin enters the cam groove. The lever then is rotated so that the cam pin travels along the cam groove. Thus, a cam action moves the connectors to a normal fit-in position. A locking projection is provided on the wire cover and can engage an operation portion of the lever to prevent the connectors from being separated.  
         [0005]     The operation portion of the lever can engage the locking projection in the above-described lever-type connector, even though the male housing is inclined during insertion into the hood. Therefore, locked engagement of the lever provides no assurance that the fittings have been connected properly, and it is difficult to detect whether the connectors have reached the normal fit-in position.  
         [0006]     The invention has been completed in view of the above-described situation, and it is an object of the invention to provide a lever-type connector that ensures that the connectors have been locked together properly.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The invention relates to a lever-type connector with a first housing that has a hood and a second housing that can fit in the hood. A lever is mounted rotatably on one of the housings and has a cam groove. The other housing has a cam pin for engaging the cam groove. Rotation of the lever generates a cam action between the cam groove and the cam pin for urging the second housing into the hood. A lock is provided on the lever and a lock-receiving portion is provided on the other housing at an exposed position that is not covered with the hood. The lock engages the lock-receiving portion when the lever is rotated to a predetermined normal position.  
         [0008]     The hood preferably has a window for exposing the lock-receiving portion that has penetrated into the hood. The lock is locked to the lock-receiving portion through the window.  
         [0009]     The first housing preferably has a body surrounded by the hood and the second housing preferably has a mating hood that can be fit in a gap between the body and the hood of the first housing.  
         [0010]     The lock-receiving portion is exposed through the hood. Therefore, an operator can confirm that the housings have reached a predetermined normal fit-in position. Additionally, the housings are locked together merely by rotating the lever sufficiently for the lock of the lever to engage the lock-receiving portion.  
         [0011]     The lock-receiving portion and the lock of the lever are locked to each other through the window. Therefore, the locking construction is formed inside the fit-in region of both housings. Accordingly, the lever can be compact and the space outside the fit-in region is utilized efficiently.  
         [0012]     The lever is operated after fitting the mating hood in the gap between the body and the hood of the first housing. Therefore the second housing is kept in a stable posture and the fit-in operation is performed reliably. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is a plan view showing a state in which both housings are separated from each other.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a side view showing the state in which both housings are separated from each other.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a side view in which main portions are broken-away, showing a state in which both housings are disposed at an initial fit-in position.  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a side view in which main portions are broken-away, showing a state in which both housings are disposed at a finished fit-in position.  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is a plan view showing a state in which both housings are at the finished fit-in position.  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a front view showing a male housing.  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  is a plan view showing a lever. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]     A connector according to the invention has a female housing  10  and a male housing  30  that can fit in the female housing  10 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 through 7 . A lever  50  is provided on the female housing  10  for urging the male housing  30  into the female housing  10 . In the following description, the fit-in side of each housing  10 ,  30  is referred to as the front.  
         [0021]     The male housing  30  is made of synthetic resin, and a has a substantially rectangular tubular hood  31  that opens to the front, as shown in  FIGS. 1, 2  and  6 . The hood  31  is wide in a direction orthogonal to the mating direction of the male housing  30  with the female housing  10 , and an inner wall  39  extends transversely across the rear end of the hood  31 . Male terminal fittings are mounted in the male housing  30  behind the inner wall  39  and tabs  32  of the male terminal fittings project forwardly through the inner wall  39  and into the hood  31 . The tabs  32  are disposed in rows that extend in the width direction.  
         [0022]     Columnar cam pins  33  project out from the longer sides of the hood  31  and unlocking ribs  34  extend in the longitudinal direction of the male housing  30  on opposite sides of each cam pin  33 . Two guide ribs  35  are formed on the outer surfaces of each of the shorter sides of the hood  31  and extend in the longitudinal direction of the male housing  30 . A lock  36  projects from the outer surface of one of the shorter sides of the hood  31 . The lock  36  is between the guide ribs  35  on the respective shorter side of the hood  31  and is substantially at the front end of the male housing  30 . A tapered face  36 A slopes out and back at the front of the lock  36 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . Two erroneous fit-in prevention ribs  38  are formed respectively on the inner surfaces of the longer sides of the hood  31  near one of the shorter sides of the hood  31 , as shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0023]     The female housing  10  also is made of synthetic resin and has a wide block-shaped body  12  capable of accommodating female terminal fittings (not shown). Electric wires (not shown) are connected with the female terminal fittings and are drawn out in a bundle from the rear surface of body  12 .  
         [0024]     A tubular fit-in part  11  surrounds the periphery of the body  12 . The tubular fit-in part  11  is open forward and is configured so that the hood  31  of the male housing  30  can fit into the space between the outer surface of the body  12  and the tubular fit-in part  11 . Substantially parallel left and right expansion prevention walls  13  are spaced out from the longer outer side surfaces of the tubular fit-in part  11 . Thereby it is possible to prevent expansion deformation of the lever  50  due to resistance generated by the operation of fitting the male housing  30  in the female housing  10 . A cut-out  14  is formed between the expansion prevention walls  13  and opens on a front edge of the tubular fit-in part  11 . The cam pin  33  and the unlocking ribs  34  of the male housing  30  penetrate into the cut-out  14  from the front of the female housing  10  when the female and male housings  10  and  30  are mated.  
         [0025]     Two shafts  15  for rotatably supporting the lever  50  project from the longer outer side faces of the tubular fit-in part  11 . As shown in  FIG. 3 . The shafts  15  are at positions spaced at a short interval from approximately the center in the widthwise direction of the tubular fit-in part  11 . A window  16  is formed on each shorter outer side faces of the tubular fit-in part  11 . Each window  16  is approximately rectangular with the entire peripheries thereof closed. Additionally, each window  16  is wider than the body  12 . Therefore one of the shorter outer side faces of the body  12  is exposed through the window  16  before the male housing  30  is fit in the female housing  10 . Two guide grooves  17  are formed on the inner surface of each shorter side of the tubular fit-in part  11  and extend in the longitudinal direction of the tubular fit-in part  11 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the guide ribs  35  of the male housing  30  can fit in the guide groove  17  when the male housing  30  is fit in the female housing  10 . Thus, the male housing  30  can be fit smoothly in the female housing  10  when the housings  10 ,  30  are in a normal confronting posture.  
         [0026]     The lever  50  is made of synthetic resin and defines a gate shape. More particularly, the lever  50  has two plate-shaped arms  51  and an operation portion  52  that extends in the width direction of the female housing  10  between the arms  51 . A bearing  53  is formed on each arm  51  and is configured to fit on the shaft  15 . A cam groove  54  also is formed on each arm  51  and defines an approximately circular arc. An entrance of each cam groove  54  opens on a periphery of the arm  51 . A thin fit-in portion  72  is formed on a peripheral edge of the arm  51  and is dimensioned to penetrate into a gap between the expansion prevention wall  13  and the peripheral surface of the body  12  to prevent expansion deformation of the lever  50  due to resistance generated while fitting the male housing  30  into the female housing  10 . The fit-in portion  72  defines a circular arc that is concentric with the bearing  53  and the entrance of the cam groove  54  is midway in the fit-in portion  72 .  
         [0027]     The lever  50  can be rotated between an initial rotational position and a fit-in position. The entrance of the cam groove  54  opens forward through the cut-out  14  of the tubular fit-in part  11  when the lever  50  is at the initial position. Thus, the cam pin  33  of the male housing  30  can be received in the entrance of the cam groove  54  by fitting the male housing  30  slightly in the female housing  10 . The cam pin  33  moves in the cam groove  54  to draw the housings  10 ,  30  together as the lever  50  is rotated from the initial position. In this manner, the male housing  30  is urged into the female housing  10 , and reaches a predetermined normal state in the female housing  10 , as shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0028]     Elastic locking pieces  55  are cantilevered on the respective arms  51 . Each elastic locking piece  55  has a projection (not shown) formed inward from a front end thereof. The projection of the elastic locking piece  55  is locked to an inner edge of the cut-out  14  of the tubular fit-in part  11  to hold the lever  50  at the initial position when the male housing  30  has not been fit in the female housing  10 . On the other hand, the projection is pressed out by the unlocking rib  34  of the male housing  30  when the male housing  30  has been fit in the female housing  10 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . Thus, the projection is unlocked from the inner edge of the cut-out  14  to permit rotation of the lever  50  to the fit-in finished position.  
         [0029]     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the operation portion  52  of the lever  50  has a locking part  60  to which the locking projection  36  of the male housing  30  can be locked elastically when the lever  50  is at the fit-in finished position. The locking part  60  is disposed inside a flexible space  57  formed by cutting out the operation portion  52 . The locking part  60  includes a base  58  that spans the flexible space  57 . Two legs  59  curve rearward, and roots of the legs  59  connect with the outer ends of the base  58 . A finger-applying portion  56  spans between the legs  59 , and a lock  61  projects forward from approximately a central widthwise position of the finger-applying portion  56 . Two release pieces  69  project from a front end of the locking piece  61  at positions near the left and right sides thereof. The locking part  60  further includes a U-shaped frame  62 . Roots of the frame  62  are connected with inner ends of the base  58  and projected ends are connected to one another. The locking part  60  further includes two interlocking pieces  63  that project in from the projected pieces  64  of the frame  62  at positions above both release pieces  69 .  
         [0030]     The locking projection  36  of the hood  31  is exposed through the window  16  of the tubular fit-in part  11  when the lever  50  is at the initial rotational position with the male housing  30  fit slightly in the female housing  10 . The locking projection  36  moves into the tubular fit-in part  11  when the lever  50  is rotated towards the fit-in finished position in this state, and the operation portion  52  approaches the locking projection  36  due to the rotation of the lever  50 . The frame  62  of the locking part  60  rides across the locking projection  36  immediately before the lever  50  reaches the fit-in finished position. Thus, the frame  62  deforms elastically and slides along a tapered surface. The frame  62  of the locking part  60  rides across the locking projection  36  and restores elastically to its original state when the lever  50  reaches the fit-in finished position. Thus, the locking projection  36  fits into the fit-in space  65  surrounded by the frame  62  and the locking piece  61 . Accordingly, locking projection  36  is locked in position longitudinally and widthwise. In this state, the hood  31  and the tubular fit-in part  11  overlap each other in their thickness directions, and the locking projection  36  and the locking part  60  define a locking construction on a portion where the hood  31  and the tubular fit-in part  11  overlap.  
         [0031]     To unlock the lever  50  from the locking projection  36 , the finger-applying portion  56  is pressed down. This downward pressing of the finger-applying portion  56  lifts the release piece  69  and the interlocking piece  63 . The lifting of the interlocking piece  63  lifts the front side of the frame  62  up. The locking part  60  is unlocked from the locking projected portion  36  by applying a force in a direction in which the housings  10 ,  30  are separated from each other. The tubular fit-in part  11  has a color different from the hood  31  so that an operator can clearly see that the hood  31  has entered the window  16 .  
         [0032]     The connector is assembled by mounting the lever  50  on the tubular fit-in part  11  of the female housing  10 . The lever  50  is held at the initial rotational position by locking the elastic locking piece  55  to the cut-out  14  of the tubular fit-in part  11 . The male housing  30  then is fit slightly into the gap between the body  12  and the tubular fit-in part  11  of the female housing  10 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . As a result, the cam pin  33  enters the cam groove  54 . Simultaneously, the unlocking rib  34  of the male housing  30  unlocks the tubular fit-in part  11  from the elastic locking piece  55  and the locking projection  36  at the front end of the hood  31  penetrates into the window  16 . The erroneous fit-in prevention rib  38  on the hood  31  will contact the front end face of the body  12  if the male housing  30  is oriented improperly to prevent further fit-in. Thus, the male housing  30  is prevented from being mounted erroneously in the female housing  10 .  
         [0033]     The operating portion  52  of the lever  50  can be held to rotate the lever  50  towards the fit-in finished position. The guide rib  35  slides along the guide groove  17  as the lever  50  is rotated, and the hood  31  of the male housing  30  is fit into the gap between the tubular fit-in part  11  and the body  12  of the female housing  10 . Thus, both housings  10 ,  30  are held in a predetermined normal posture in the fit-in process. The locking projection  36  moves rearward in the window  16  as the fit-in depth of the male housing  30  increases. The locking projection  36  confronts the rear edge of the window  16  and is locked elastically to the locking part  60  of the lever  50  when the lever  50  reaches the fit-in finished position, as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . Thus, the lever  50  is prevented from rotating in a return direction. In this manner, both housings  10 ,  30  are locked together in the normal fit-in state.  
         [0034]     To separate the housings  10 ,  30  from each other, the finger-applying portion  56  of the locking part  60  is pressed down to lift the interlocking piece  63  and to release the locking projection  36  from the fit-in space  65 . The lever  50  then is rotated in the return direction and the cam action between the cam groove  54  and the cam pin  33  separates the housings  10 ,  30  from each other.  
         [0035]     As described above, the locking part  60  of the lever  50  is locked to the locking projection  36  of the male housing  30  when the lever  50  is rotated to the fit-in finished position. Therefore, a locking construction is formed between the housings  10 ,  30  as the male housing  30  is fit in the tubular fit-in part  11  of the female housing  10 . The locking projection  36  that is locked to the locking part  60  is exposed and is not covered with the tubular fit-in part  11 . This allows the operator to confirm that both housings  10 ,  30  have reached the normal fit-in position.  
         [0036]     The tubular fit-in part  11  has the window  16  for exposing the locking projection  36  that has penetrated into the tubular fit-in part  11 . The locking projection  36  is locked to the locking part  60  through the window  16 . Therefore, the locking construction is formed inside the fit-in region of the housings  10 ,  30 . Accordingly, the lever  50  is compact and space is utilized efficiently.  
         [0037]     The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above with reference to the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are included in the technical scope of the present invention. Further, various modifications of the above-described embodiment can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.  
         [0038]     The locking part is flexible in the above-described embodiment. However, the locking-receiving portion may be flexible.  
         [0039]     The locking part and the locking-receiving portion are locked together inside the fit-in region of both housings in the above-described embodiment. However, the locking part and the locking-receiving portion may be locked together outside the fit-in region. In this case, the locking part should be constructed by overhanging a part of the lever to the mating housing.  
         [0040]     The above-described lever is mounted on the female housing, and the cam pin is on the male housing. However, the lever may be mounted on the male housing and the cam pin may be on the female housing.