Patent Publication Number: US-8978242-B2

Title: Connector device having connectors and a lever jig

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a Continuation of PCT Application No. PCT/JP2012/056430, filed on Mar. 13, 2012, and claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-058085, filed on Mar. 16, 2011, the content of both of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to a lever jig capable of fitting between a pair of connectors with a low manipulation force and a connector device using the same. 
     2. Related Art 
     There have been proposed various connector devices in each of which a pair of connectors is configured to be able to be fitted by being manipulated with a low manipulation force through manipulation of a lever (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-187863). Among the connector devices like this, there has been proposed one that has a lever detachably provided to a connector, i.e., as a lever jig. By employing a lever jig, it becomes possible to carry out the work of fitting a plurality of connector devices and to actualize reduction of parts cost and the like. Examples related to such lever jigs and connector devices using thereof are illustrated in  FIGS. 1 to 4 . An explanation will be given below. 
     A connector device  100  is provided with a lever jig  101 , and a female connector  120  and a male connector  130 , which are a pair of connectors, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     The lever jig  101  is provided with a connector attachment portion  102  and a lever body  110 , which is supported by the connector attachment portion  102  so as to be freely movable, as specifically illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The connector attachment portion  102  has a pair of side walls  103  and a joint wall portion  104  joining thereof. On the top ends of the pair of side walls  103 , there are provided upper stopper pieces  103   a  inwardly protruding to each other. The pair of side walls  103  are configured so that the female connector  120  is enabled to be inserted into the inside thereof from the bottom face side. In each of the pair of side walls  103 , there are provided connector engagement lugs  105  inwardly protruding at plural locations. On the outer surface of the pair of side walls  103 , a pair of support pins  106  are provided so as to protrude. In the pair of side walls  103 , there are provided a pair of temporary engagement holes  107  and are also provided guide slits  108  which are communicated to the temporary engagement holes  107 , respectively. In each of the pair of side walls  103  and underneath the temporary engagement hole  107 , there is provided a lever stopper portion  109  so as to protrude. 
     The lever body  110  is provided with a pair of arm portions  111  and a manipulation portion  112 , which joins between the pair of arm portions  111  at the top ends thereof. On the inner face side of the pair of arm portions  111 , a pair of pin receiving holes  113  are provided. The pair of support pins  106  of the connector attachment portion  102  are inserted into the pair of pin receiving holes  113 . The lever body  110  is thereby enabled to rotate in between a fitting manipulation start position and a fitting manipulation completion position, taking the pair of support pins  106  as fulcrums. On the inner side of the pair of arm portions  111 , a pair of boss attracting grooves  114  are provided. The pair of arm portions  111  each have a temporary engagement lug  115  provided so as to inwardly protruding. At the position where the lever body  110  impinges to the lever stopper portions  109 , the temporary engagement lugs  115  are engaged with the temporary engagement holes  107 . This position is the fitting manipulation start position of the lever body  110  (refer to  FIG. 1 ). 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the female connector  120  and the male connector  130  are provided so as to be able to be fitted to/separated from each other. The female connector  120  and the male connector  130  respectively have a plurality of terminals (not illustrated), and, in the state in which both are fitted to each other, the plurality of terminals (not illustrated) of both of them are in contact with each other. In an upper portion of the female connector  120 , there are provided flange portions  121  protruding from the both sides thereof. The male connector  130  has a connector fitting room  131 , the top of which is opened. On the both side faces of the male connector  130 , there are provided a pair of boss portions  132  and also a pair of temporary-engagement-release guide ribs  133  so as to protrude. 
     Next, the work of fitting the female connector  120  and the male connector  130  to each other will be described. The lever body  110  of the lever jig  101  is assumed to be set at the fitting manipulation start position. The female connector  120  is first inserted from the bottom face side of the connector attachment portion  102  of the lever jig  101 . Upon insertion up to the full insertion position, the respective connector engagement lugs  105  of the connector attachment portion  102  are engaged to the flange portion  121  of the female connector  120 . The lever jig  101  and the female connector  120  are thereby joined to each other. 
     Next, the female connector  120  is inserted to the connector fitting room  131  of the male connector  130 . Then, the temporary-engagement-release guide ribs  133  of the male connector  130  cause the temporary engagement lugs  115  to be displaced to the release positions, by which rotary manipulation of the lever body  110  is enabled. Then, the pair of boss portions  132  of the male connector  130  come into the pair of boss attracting grooves  114  of the lever body  110 . Thus, the female connector  120  and the male connector  130  are set at the fitting start position. 
     Next, a rotating manipulation of the lever body  110  from the fitting manipulation start position to the side of the fitting manipulation completion position is executed. Then, the pair of boss portions  132  of the male connector  130  move in the pair of boss attracting grooves  114  of the lever body  110 , and the male connector  130  is attracted to the female connector  120 . That is, the male connector  130  moves to the fitting position side. As illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , when the lever body  110  comes close to the fitting manipulation completion position as the rotating manipulation thereof advances, the left and right upper ends of the male connector  130  impinge to the respective connector engagement lugs  105  of the connector attachment portion  102 . When the lever body  110  is further rotated to the fitting manipulation completion position from this situation, the male connector  130  is attracted to the fitting completion position and concurrently the respective connector engagement lugs  105  are brought to be displaced to the release positions. The work of fitting the female connector  120  and the male connector  130  is hence completed. Since the respective connector engagement lugs  105  are placed at the release positions, the lever jig  101  is able to be detached from the female connector  120 . 
     SUMMARY 
     However, in the lever jig  101  and the connector device  100  using the same, if the relative position of the female connector  120  and the male connector  130  varies during the work of fitting, the connector engagement lugs  105  on the side where is more deeply attracted in at a position before the fitting manipulation completion position are displaced to the release positions. When some connector engagement lugs  105  are displaced to the release positions, the lever jig  101  becomes able to be detached from the female connector  120 . Accordingly, there is a possibility to detach the lever jig  101  from the female connector  120  while the female connector  120  and the male connector  130  are in a state of being semi-fitted. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a lever jig and a connector device using the same capable of reliably preventing a pair of connectors from being detached from each other in a state of being semi-fitted. 
     A first aspect of the present invention is a lever jig to be attached to either one of a pair of connectors and displace the pair of connectors from a fitting start position to a fitting completion position by applying a fitting force between the pair of connectors by a manipulation from a fitting manipulation start position to a fitting manipulation completion position, the lever jig including: an opening/closing door configured to be displaced between an open position where the opening/closing door allows the one of connectors to be attached to the lever jig and a close position where the opening/closing door prevents the one of connectors positioned at an attachment position from being detached from the lever jig; a door holding portion configured to hold the opening/closing door at the close position; and an automatic door opening portion configured to move the opening/closing door at the close position to the open position against a holding force of the door holding portion at a point in time when manipulation to the fitting manipulation completion position is completed in the manipulation from the fitting manipulation start position to the fitting manipulation completion position. 
     The automatic door opening portion may include a door trigger portion configured to press the opening/closing door at the close position to move towards the open position in a process of the manipulation from the fitting manipulation start position to the fitting manipulation completion position, and an urging portion configured to apply an urging force stronger than the holding force of the door holding portion towards the open position to the opening/closing door moved towards the open position by the door trigger portion. 
     The door holding portion may be a magnet configured to hold the opening/closing door at the close position by a magnetic force. 
     A second aspect of the present invention is a connector device including: a pair of connectors to be fitted to each other; and a lever jig to be attached to either one of the pair of connectors, and configured to apply a fitting force between the pair of connectors by a manipulation from a fitting manipulation start position to a fitting manipulation completion position and displace the pair of connectors from a fitting start position to a fitting completion position, wherein the one of connectors is provided attachable to the lever jig and detachable from an attachment position, and wherein the lever jig includes an opening/closing door configured to be displaced between an open position where the opening/closing door allows the one of connectors to be attached to the lever jig and a close position where the opening/closing door prevents the one of connectors positioned at the attachment position from being detached from the lever jig, a door holding portion configured to hold the opening/closing door at the close position, and an automatic door opening portion configured to move the opening/closing door at the close position to the open position against a holding force of the door holding portion at a point in time when manipulation to the fitting manipulation completion position is completed in the manipulation from the fitting manipulation start position to the fitting manipulation completion position. 
     According to the above configuration, as long as the lever jig is manipulated from the fitting manipulation start position to the fitting manipulation completion position and the manipulation to the fitting manipulation completion position is not completed, the opening/closing door is held at the close position by the door holding portion. Only after the manipulation is completed until the fitting manipulation completion position, the opening/closing door at the close position is automatically moved to the open position by the automatic door opening portion, which allows the lever jig to be detached from either of the connectors. Accordingly, since a pair of connectors cannot be detached from each other in a state of being semi-fitted, it is possible to reliably prevent the pair of connectors from being detached from each other in a state of being semi-fitted. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a connector device, illustrating a related example. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a lever jig, illustrating the related example. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating the process of the work of fitting connectors, illustrating the related example. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view illustrating the process of the work of fitting connectors, illustrating the related example. 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of a connector device, illustrating an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the connector attachment portion of a lever jig, illustrating the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view of the lever body of the lever jig, illustrating the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a side view of a key portion for explaining the process in which a door trigger portion displaces an opening/closing door to the open position side, illustrating the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view illustrating the process of the work of fitting connectors, illustrating the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view illustrating the process of the work of fitting connectors, illustrating the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view illustrating the process of the work of fitting connectors, illustrating the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view illustrating the process of the work of fitting connectors, illustrating the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view illustrating the process of the work of fitting connectors, illustrating the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view illustrating the process of the work of fitting connectors, illustrating the embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An embodiment of the present invention will be described below on the basis of the drawings. 
       FIGS. 5 to 14  show the embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a connector device  1  is provided with a lever jig  2 , and a female connector  20  and a male connector  30 , which are a pair of connectors. 
     The lever jig  2  is provided with a connector attachment portion  3  and a lever body  10 , which is supported by the connector attachment portion  3  so as to be freely movable. The connector attachment portion  3  has a pair of side walls  4 A,  4 B and a joint wall portion  5  joining them, as specifically illustrated in  FIG. 6 . On the top ends of the pair of side walls  4 A,  4 B, there are provided upper wall pieces  4   a  inwardly protruding to each other. The connector attachment portion  3  has an opening on the front side. The pair of side walls  4 A,  4 B are configured so that the female connector  20  is enabled to be inserted into the inside thereof from the opened front side. On the inner face side of the pair of side walls  4 A,  4 B, there are provided a pair of slide rail portions  4   b  in parallel along the upper wall pieces  4   a  so as to protrude, respectively. The pair of slide rail portions  4   b  are provided throughout the length of the respective side walls  4 A,  4 B. On the outer surface of the pair of side walls  4 A,  4 B, a pair of support pins  6  are provided so as to protrude, respectively. 
     At the front end portion of the one side wall  4 A, an opening/closing door  7  is freely rotatably supported. The opening/closing door  7  rotates in between the close position (the imaginary line position in  FIG. 5 ) at which it partially blocks the opening on the front side by that the top end of the door abuts to the front end of the other side wall  4 B and the open position (the solid line position in  FIG. 5 ) at which it causes the opening on the front side to be opened by becoming flush with the one side wall  4 A. The opening/closing door  7  is formed of a magnetic substance such as iron or the like. The opening/closing door  7  is configured so as to be subjected to a spring force of a spring  8 , which is an urging portion. The spring  8  urges the opening/closing door  7  to the open position side. 
     At the front end portion of the other side wall  4 B, there is provided a magnet  9 , which is a door holding portion. The magnet  9  is embedded in a state in which its magnetization face is exposed at the front end of the other side wall  4 B. The magnet  9  urges the opening/closing door  7  to the close position side by means of the attractive magnetic force, which is a holding force. 
     That is, to the opening/closing door  7 , the spring force of the spring  8  acts in the direction toward the open position, while the magnetization face of the magnet  9  acts in the direction toward the close position. Since the attractive magnetic force of the magnet  9  is stronger than the spring force of the spring  8  at the close position, the opening/closing door  7  is held at the close position by means of the attractive magnetic force of the magnet  9 . Since the spring force of the spring  8  is stronger than the attractive magnetic force of the magnet  9  at the open position, the opening/closing door  7  is held at the open position by means of the spring force of the spring  8 . The position where the attractive magnetic force of the magnet  9  and the spring force of the spring  8  are balanced is set on the close position side a little with respect to the final displacement position in a door trigger portion described later. 
     At the front end portion and the top-face end portion of the other side wall  4 B, a notch portion  4   c  is formed. 
     The lever body  10  is provided with a pair of arm portions  11  and a manipulation portion  12 , which joins between the pair of arm portions  11  at the top ends thereof as specifically illustrated in  FIG. 7 . On the inner face side of the pair of arm portions  11 , a pair of pin receiving holes  13  are provided. The pair of support pins  6  of the connector attachment portion  3  are inserted into the pair of pin receiving holes  13 , respectively. The lever body  10  is thereby enabled to rotate in between a fitting manipulation start position and a fitting manipulation completion position, taking the pair of support pins  6  as fulcrums. On the inner side of the pair of arm portions  11 , a pair of boss attracting grooves  14  are provided. The respective boss attracting grooves  14  are each opened with respect to the directly lower position at the fitting manipulation start position and the fitting manipulation completion position of the lever body  10 . That is, the configuration is such that boss portions  32  of the male connector  30  described later are able to be inserted into/separated from the respective boss attracting grooves  14  at the fitting manipulation start position and the fitting manipulation completion position of the lever body  10 . 
     On the one side of the arm portions  11 , there is provided the door trigger portion  15  so as to protrude downward. The door trigger portion  15  enters into the notch portion  4   c  to press the opening/closing door  7  at the close position in the movement process of the lever body  10 , and causes the opening/closing door  7  to move to the open position side as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . The face of the door trigger portion  15  interfering with the opening/closing door  7  is formed as a tapered face  15   a . The door trigger portion  15  thereby gradually moves the opening/closing door  7  in response to the advance of movement of the lever body  10  to the fitting manipulation completion position. The fitting manipulation completion position of the lever body  10  is the position where the opening/closing door  7  is finally displaced. At this final displacement position of the opening/closing door  7  due to the door trigger portion  15 , the spring force of the spring  8  becomes stronger than the attractive magnetic force of the magnet  9  due to the setting of the attractive magnetic force of the magnet  9  and the spring force of the spring  8  described above. For this reason, the opening/closing door  7  is automatically rotated to the open position side by means of the spring force. 
     That is, the door trigger portion  15  and the spring  8  constitute an automatic door opening portion DA that moves the opening/closing door  7  at the close position to the open position against the attractive magnetic force (holding force) of the magnet  9  at a point in time when manipulation to the fitting manipulation completion position is completed in the manipulation of the lever body  10  from the fitting manipulation start position to the fitting manipulation completion position. 
     The female connector  20  and the male connector  30  are provided so as to be able to be fitted/separated to/from each other as illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The female connector  20  and the male connector  30  respectively have a plurality of terminals (not illustrated), and the plurality of terminals (not illustrated) of the both of them are in contact with each other in the state of being fitted. 
     On an upper portion of the both side faces of the female connector  20 , a pair of two threads of guide rib  21  are provided so as to protrude. The two threads of guide rib  21  are provided throughout the length of the side face of the female connector  20 . After alignment is carried out so that the slide rail portion  4   b  of the connector attachment portion  3  enters between the two threads of guide rib  21 , the female connector  20  is slide-inserted into the connector attachment portion  3 . By means of the motion of slide insertion, the female connector  20  can be attached to the connector attachment portion  3 . 
     The male connector  30  has a connector fitting room  31 , the top of which is opened. On the both side faces of the male connector  30 , a pair of boss portions  32  are provided so as to protrude. 
     Next, the work of fitting the female connector  20  and the male connector  30  to each other will be described. The lever body  10  of the lever jig  2  is assumed to be set at the fitting manipulation start position. The opening/closing door  7  is first placed at the open position as illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the female connector  20  is slide-inserted from the front side of the connector attachment portion  3  of the lever jig  2 . The top end of the female connector  20  is inserted up to the attachment position where it impinges to the rear wall of the connector attachment portion  3  as illustrated in  FIG. 10 , and the opening/closing door  7  is brought to rotate from the open position to the close position against the spring force of the spring  8  as illustrated in  FIG. 11 . The opening/closing door  7  is held at the close position by means of the attractive magnetic force of the magnet  9 . The female connector  20  is positioned at the attachment position of the connector attachment portion  3 , and cannot be detached from the connector attachment portion  3 . Setting of the female connector  20  to the lever jig  2  is thus completed. 
     Next, the female connector  20  is inserted to the connector fitting room  31  of the male connector  30  as illustrated in  FIG. 12 . By this insertion, the pair of boss portions  32  of the male connector  30  enter the pair of boss attracting grooves  14  of the lever body  10 . Then, the female connector  20  and the male connector  30  are set at the fitting start position. 
     Next, a rotating manipulation of the lever body  10  from the fitting manipulation start position to the side of the fitting manipulation completion position (direction of arrow R in  FIG. 12 ) is executed. Then, the pair of boss portions  32  of the male connector  30  move in the pair of boss attracting grooves  14  of the lever body  10 , and the male connector  30  is attracted to the female connector  20 . That is, the male connector  30  moves to the fitting position side. When the lever body  10  comes close to the fitting manipulation completion position as the rotating manipulation thereof advances, the door trigger portion  15  of the lever body  10  abuts to the opening/closing door  7 . When the rotating manipulation further advances from this situation, the opening/closing door  7  moves to the open position side by means of the pressing force of the door trigger portion  15  against the attractive magnetic force of the magnet  9 . And, when the lever body  10  is rotated to the fitting manipulation completion position, the opening/closing door  7  moves to the final displacement position due to the door trigger portion  15 . At this final displacement position, the spring force of the spring  8  acting on the opening/closing door  7  becomes larger than the attractive magnetic force of the magnet  9  for the first time. Then, the opening/closing door  7  automatically moves to the open position by means of the spring force as illustrated in  FIG. 13 . Moreover, when the lever body  10  rotates to the fitting manipulation completion position, the male connector  30  is attracted to the fitting completion position. This allows the lever jig  2  to be detached from the female connector  20 . The lever jig  2  is detached from the female connector  20  by being slid in the direction of arrow Y in  FIG. 14 , by which the work of fitting connectors is completed. 
     As explained above, the lever jig  2  is provided with the opening/closing door  7 , which is able to be displaced in between the open position allowing the female connector  20  to be attached to the lever jig  2  and the close position preventing the female connector  20  positioned at the attachment position from moving toward the detachment direction; the magnet  9  holding the opening/closing door  7  at the close position; and the automatic door opening portion DA, which moves the opening/closing door  7  at the close position to the open position against the holding force of the magnet  9  at a point in time when manipulation to the fitting manipulation completion position is completed in the manipulation from the fitting manipulation start position to the fitting manipulation completion position. Accordingly, unless the lever jig  2  is manipulated from the fitting manipulation start position to the fitting manipulation completion position and the manipulation is completed until the fitting manipulation completion position, the opening/closing door  7  is held at the close position by means of the magnet  9 , and it is not until the manipulation is completed that the opening/closing door  7  at the close position automatically moves to the open position by means of the automatic door opening portion DA and the lever jig  2  is allowed to be detached from the female connector  20 . From the above, since the female connector  20  and the male connector  30  cannot be detached from each other in a state of being semi-fitted, it is possible to reliably prevent the female connector  20  and the male connector  30  from being detached from each other. 
     The automatic door opening portion DA is constituted of the door trigger portion  15 , which presses the opening/closing door  7  at the close position to move to the open position side in the movement process from the fitting manipulation start position to the fitting manipulation completion position, and the urging portion that applies an urging force stronger than the attractive magnetic force of the magnet  9  to the opening/closing door  7 , which has been moved to the open position side by the door trigger portion  15 , toward the open position side. As with this embodiment, since the door trigger portion  15  is able to be constituted and the urging portion is able to be constituted of the spring  8 , it is possible to simply constitute the automatic door opening portion DA. 
     The door holding portion is the magnet  9 , which holds the opening/closing door  7  at the close position by means of the magnetic force. Accordingly, it is possible to constitute the door holding portion. 
     Although the whole of the opening/closing door  7  is formed of a magnetic substance in this embodiment, only a portion thereof displaced in opposition to the magnet  9  may be formed of the magnetic substance, or a magnetic substance part may be provided so as to attach to the opening/closing door  7 . Although the opening/closing door  7  is formed of the magnetic substance and the magnet  9  is provided to the connector attachment portion  3  in this embodiment, the magnet  9  may be provided to the opening/closing door  7  and the connector attachment portion  3  may be formed of the magnetic substance. Only a portion of the connector attachment portion  3  displaced in opposition to the magnet  9  may be formed of the magnetic substance, or a magnetic substance part may be provided so as to attach to the connector attachment portion  3 . Magnets having opposite magnetic polarities may be provided to both the opening/closing door  7  and the connector attachment portion  3 . 
     Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various modifications thereof are possible.