Patent Publication Number: US-6213791-B1

Title: Coupling detecting structure of lever coupling type connector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a lever coupling type connector in which female and male connector housings each having multiple poles are coupled with or uncoupled from each other by a small force by a revolution of a lever (action of lever) and more particularly to a coupling detecting structure of a lever coupling type connector, having a coupling detecting means and the like for confirming whether or not both the connector housings are completely coupled with each other. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 5-8882 has disclosed this kind of the coupling detecting structure of a lever coupling type connector. A lever coupling type connector for use in this coupling detecting structure comprises a synthetic resin male connector housing in which a pair of engaging pins are erected in the center of upper and lower faces thereof and a pair of connecting state detecting terminals are provided on a rear portion of both sides of the upper and lower faces, a synthetic resin female connector housing with which the male connector housing is to be coupled, a synthetic resin, U-shaped lever rotatably supported by the upper and lower faces of the female connector housing through each supporting shaft, a contact piece which is a conductive piece inserted in each slit on both side portions of the lever and a connector connection detecting circuit connected to the pair of the connecting state detecting terminals through lead wire. 
     Furthermore, an arc-shaped eccentric cam groove in which each engaging pin is to be inserted is formed around each supporting shaft on both the side portions of the lever. The U-shaped contacting piece made of conductive material is inserted in each slit inside both the side portions of the lever. Both ends of this contacting piece are contact points. 
     Then, if each engaging pin of the male connector housing is inserted into each eccentric cam groove of the lever supported rotatably by the female connector housing and the lever is revolved toward the side of the male connector housing, each engaging pin of the male connector housing is moved along each eccentric cam groove of the lever, so that the male connector housing and female connector housing each having multiple poles are coupled with each other. When both the connector housings are coupled with each other, each contact points of the U-shaped contacting piece provided between both the side portions of the lever comes into contact with each contact point of a pair of the connecting state detecting terminals . By this contact, a connector connection detecting circuit is actuated turning on a light emitting diode or dispatching a connection complete detection signal so as to inform that both the connector housings are completely coupled with each other. 
     However, because in the aforementioned conventional lever coupling type connector, the U-shaped contacting piece is installed to each slit of both the side portions of the lever, the coupling of both the connector housings cannot be confirmed steadily because the contacting piece is often loose off the connecting state detecting terminal. Further, because the connecting state detecting terminal, the metallic conductive contacting piece and components of the connector connection detecting circuit are indispensable to confirm the coupling of both the connector housings the number of the necessary parts increases so that production cost also increases. Further, because such a special circuit wire as lead wire for connecting the connecting state detecting terminal with the connector connection detecting circuit is necessary, the production cost increases correspondingly. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been achieved with such points in mind. 
     It therefore is an object of the present invention to provide a coupling detecting structure of a lever coupling type connector capable of confirming a coupling state between female and male connector housings easily and securely at a low cost. 
     To achieve the object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coupling detecting structure of a lever coupling type connector, comprising: a first connector housing accommodating terminal; a second connector housing accommodating terminal, the second connector housing having an engaging portion; a lever having an engaging portion engaging with the engaging portion of the second connector housing, the lever being rotatably supported through supporting shafts by the first connector housing, the lever being revolved with respect to the engaging section between the engaging portion of the lever and the engaging portion of the second connector housing as a fulcrum point so that both of the connector housings are capable of being freely coupled with each other; and a detecting circuit detecting the coupling state of both of the connector housings, wherein a pair of conductive members are provided on the second connector housing; a conductive member which comes into a contact with the pair of the conductive members only when both the connector housings are coupled with each other is provided on the lever; and the pair of conductive members and the conductive member provided on the lever constitute a part of the detecting circuit. 
     In this coupling detecting structure of the lever coupling type connector, the conventional connecting state detecting terminal, metallic conductive contacting piece and components of the connector connection detecting circuit are not necessary, so that the number of the necessary parts decreases correspondingly. Further, there hardly occurs a looseness between the conductive members so that the coupling state of both the connector housings can be carried out always stably at a low cost. 
     Furthermore, the construction of the coupling detecting structure of a lever coupling type connector according to the present invention can be simplified, so that the cost thereof can be also reduced. 
     According to a second aspect of the invention, as it depends from the first aspect, the coupling detecting structure of a lever coupling type connector, further comprising: a printed circuit board; and a plurality of the second connector housings are disposed and fixed on the printed circuit board through a pair of conductive members, wherein the pair of the conductive members of each of the second connector housings are connected in series through circuit patterns on the printed circuit board and the conductive member of the lever, and a coupling detecting means for detecting a coupling state of both of the connector housings is provided on the detecting circuit in which the circuit patterns and the conductive members are disposed in series. 
     In this coupling detecting structure of the lever coupling type connector, because the detecting circuit is disposed on the circuit pattern on the printed circuit board, production cost is lower than the conventional type using wire. By disposing the circuit patterns on the printed circuit board and respective conductive members in series, it is possible to detect couplings of plural connectors with a single coupling detecting means. Therefore, the cost of the construction of the coupling detecting structure of a lever coupling type connector according to the present invention can be further reduced. 
     According to a third aspect of the invention, as it depends from the first aspect, further comprising: a printed circuit board; and a plurality of the second connector housings are disposed and fixed on the printed circuit board through a pair of conductive members, wherein at least one of the pair of the conductive members of each of the second connector housings is connected in series through a circuit pattern provided on the printed circuit board between the printed circuit board and each of the second connector housings and the conductive member of the lever; and a coupling detecting means for detecting a coupling state of both of the connector housings is provided on the detecting circuit in which the circuit patterns and the conductive members are disposed in series. 
     In this coupling detecting structure of the lever coupling type connector, in addition to the effect of the second aspect, a space of the printed circuit board is effectively used, so that no special wire is needed for plural connectors thereby correspondingly achieving simplification of the structure and lower cost. 
     According to a fourth aspect of the invention, as it depends from the second or the third aspect, the pair of conductive members of the second connector housing are constituted of metallic pieces for fixing the second connector housing to the printed circuit board. 
     In this coupling detecting structure of the lever coupling type connector, because the metallic pieces for fixing the other connector housing to the printed circuit board are used as conductive members at the same time, the number of the necessary parts decreases correspondingly so that a further simplification of the structure and lower cost can be achieved. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS 
     The above and further objects and novel features of the present invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description when the same is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a coupling detecting structure of a lever coupling type connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state prior to coupling of the lever coupling type connector for use in the coupling detecting structure; 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a complete coupling state of the lever coupling type connector; 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which female connector housings of plural lever coupling type connectors are mounted on a printed circuit board; 
     FIG. 5A is an enlarged sectional view of major parts of the lever coupling type connector and FIG.5B is an enlarged sectional view of the same major parts of other embodiment; 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which plural female connector housings having a coupling detecting structure of lever coupling type connector according to another embodiment of the present invention are mounted on the printed circuit board; 
     FIG. 7A is a perspective view showing a state in which a female connector housing having a coupling detecting structure of lever coupling type connector according to still another embodiment of the present invention is mounted on the printed circuit board; and 
     FIG. 7B is a plan view of the same state in FIG.  7 A. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     There will be detailed below the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like members are designated by like reference characters. 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a coupling detecting structure of a lever coupling type connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state prior to the coupling of the lever coupling type connector for use in the same coupling detecting structure. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a complete coupling state of the same lever coupling type connector. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which a plurality of female connector housings of the same lever coupling type connector are mounted on a printed circuit board. FIG. 5A is an enlarged sectional view of major parts of the same lever coupling type connector and FIG. 5B is an enlarged sectional view of the same major parts according to other embodiment. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1-4, a lever coupling type connector  10  comprises a synthetic resin female connector housing (a housing)  20  in which a plurality of male terminals  22  are erected within a hood portion  21  formed integrally therewith so as to protrude upward and a pair of engaging holes (engaging portion)  23 ,  23  are formed in a front wall  21   a  of the hood portion  21 , a synthetic resin male connector housing (the other connector housing)  30  having a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers  31  for accommodating a plurality of female terminals  32  and which is inserted into the hood portion  21  along a pair of guide convex portions  24 ,  24  of the hood portion  21  of the female connector housing  20 , and a synthetic resin lever  40  having a substantially U-letter shape on plan view, which is supported rotatably by supporting shafts  33 ,  33  formed integrally with the male connector housing  30  in substantially center of each of both side faces  30   a ,  30   a  thereof so as to protrude while each of protrusions (engaging portion) at ends can be freely fit into or released from each of a pair of the engaging holes  23 ,  23  of the female connector housing  20 , and which couples/uncouples both the connector housings  20 ,  30  when it revolves with respect to an engagement section between the protrusion  43  and engaging hole  23  serving as a fulcrum. A plurality (e.g., 3 in case shown in FIG. 4) of the lever coupling type connectors  10  are disposed and mounted on a printed substrate  50  such as a printed circuit board. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1-4, the hood portion  21  of the female connector housing  20  is provided with a bottom portion and a rectangular cylindrical portion having an open top end. A pair of rectangular engaging holes (engaging portion)  23 ,  23  are formed on both sides of a lower portion of the front wall (a wall)  21   a  of the hood portion  21 . Further, a pair of the guide convex portions  24 ,  24  are formed integrally of the hood portion  21  so as to protrude on a rear portion of each inside face of both side walls  21   b ,  21   b  of the hood portion  21 . A concave portion  25  is formed in the center of an outside face of the front wall  21   a  of the hood portion  21  and a stepped lock receiving portion (lock engaging portion)  26  is formed on an upper portion of the inside face of a rear wall (the other wall)  21   c  of the hood portion  21 . An L-shaped metallic piece  27  for fixing the printed circuit board is fixed in the concave portion  25  of the front wall  21   a  of the hood portion  21  via a predetermined means such as adhesive agent and a pair of metallic pieces (conductive members)  28 ,  28  for fixing the printed circuit board are fixed to a portion stretching from the outside face of the rear wall  21   c  of the hood portion  21  to the lock receiving portion  26  with a predetermined means such as adhesive agent. 
     As shown in FIGS. 2,  3 , the metallic piece  27  is L-shaped, having a horizontal portion  27   a  and a horizontal portion  27   b . The horizontal portion  27   a  is flush with a bottom face  20   a  of the female connector housing  20  and soldered to respective rectangular pads (soldering portion)  51 ,  54 ,  57  of the printed circuit board  50 . The vertical portion  27   b  is fitted in the concave portion  25  in the front wall  21   a  of the hood portion  21  and fixed via a predetermined means such as adhesive agent. The metallic piece  28  has a rectangular sheet like horizontal portion  28   a  and vertical portion  28   b  bent from the horizontal portion  28   a , an end portion  28   c  of the vertical portion  28   b  being further bent in a U shape. This horizontal portion  28   a  is mesh with a bottom face  20   a  of the female connector housing  20  and soldered to respective rectangular pads (soldering portion)  52 ,  55 ,  58  or  53 ,  56 ,  59  of the printed circuit board  50 . As shown in FIG.  5 ( a ), the vertical portion  28   b  is fixed to the rear wall  21   c  of the hood portion  21  via a predetermined means such as adhesive agent and the end portion  28   c  extends in the vicinity of the lock receiving portion  26  of the rear  21   c  of the hood portion  21  and is fixed to a top end of the rear wall  21   c  via a predetermined means such as adhesive agent. 
     Although the metallic pieces  27 ,  28  are fixed with adhesive agent or the like, they may be embedded in the hood portion  21  through insert-molding. In this case, as shown in FIG.  5 ( b ), an end portion  28   c ′ of each metallic piece (conductive member)  28 ′ is formed in an L-shape and penetrated into the upper portion of the rear wall  21   c  of the hood portion  21  such that the end portion  28   c ′ is located at a middle portion of the inside face. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, each terminal accommodating chamber  31  of the male connector housing  30  penetrates from a top thereof to a bottom and accommodates each terminal  32  to which an end of wire W which is a wire harness bundle is connected by crimping. Further, substantially in the center of both side faces  30   a ,  30   a  of the male connector housing  30  are formed cylindrical supporting shafts  33  integrally therewith such that they protrude vertically with respect to each of the side faces  30   a.    
     As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the lever  40  is formed in a U shape on a plan view, having both side pieces  41 ,  41  and an operation piece  42  formed on each of proximal ends thereof integrally therewith. The protrusions  43 ,  43  of both the side pieces  41 ,  41  can be fitted to or released from a pair of the engaging holes  23 ,  23  of the female connector housing  20 . Substantially in the center of each of both the side pieces  41 ,  41  of the lever  40  is formed a circular engaging hole  44  in which each supporting shaft  33  erected on both the side faces  30   a ,  30   a  of the male connector housing  30  is to be fit. Further, the operation piece  42  of the lever  40  comprises a wall portion  42   a  formed on proximal ends of both the side pieces  41 ,  41  integrally therewith and an operation portion  42   b  having a L-shaped section, formed on a top end of the wall portion  42   a  integrally therewith. Substantially in the center of an outside face of the wall portion  42   a  of the operation piece  42  is formed a flexible locking piece (locking means)  45  having a substantially triangular section such that it protrudes horizontally. The locking piece  45  engages with the lock receiving portion  26  of the female connector housing  20  when both the female and male connector housings  20 ,  30  are coupled with each other. 
     A rectangular sheet like metallic piece (conductive portion)  46  is buried by insert-molding in parallel to the locking piece  45  at a position opposing the end portions  28   c ,  28   c  of a pair of the metallic pieces  28 ,  28  between the operation portion  42   b  and locking piece  45  of the wall portion  42   a  of the operation piece  42 . The metallic piece  46  of this lever  40  comes into a contact with the end portions  28   c ,  28   c  of the pair of the metallic pieces  28 ,  28  of the female connector  20  only when both the female and male connector housings  20 ,  30  are coupled with each other. These metallic pieces  28 ,  28 ,  46  form a part of a detecting circuit  60  for detecting the coupling state of the female and male connector housings  20 ,  30 . 
     As shown in FIG.4, each metallic piece  27  of three female connector housings  20 ,  20 ,  20  is fixed to each of the pads  51 ,  54 ,  57  of the printed circuit board  50  by soldering. Further, one metallic piece  28  (upper one in FIG. 4) of each of the three female connector housings  20 ,  20 ,  20  is fixed to each of the pads  52 ,  55 ,  58  of the printed circuit board  50  by soldering while the other metallic piece  28  (lower one in FIG. 4) is also fixed to each of the pads  53 ,  56 ,  59  of the printed circuit board  50  by soldering. The pad  52  and pad  55  are connected to each other by a circuit pattern  61  for coupling confirmation on the printed circuit board  50 , the pad  56  and pad  59  are connected to each other by a circuit pattern  62  for coupling confirmation on the printed circuit board  50 , and the pad  53  and pad  58  are connected to each other by a circuit pattern  63  for coupling confirmation on the printed circuit board. Consequently, the respective circuit patterns  61 ,  62 ,  63  on the printed circuit board  50  are connected in series through the pair of the metallic pieces  28 ,  28  of each female connector housing  20  and the metallic piece  46  of the lever  40 . The circuit pattern  62  includes a power supply  64  like a battery and a light emitting diode (coupling detecting means)  65  for detecting the coupling state of both the female and male connector housings  20 ,  30 . The detecting circuit  60  is constituted of the metallic pieces  28 ,  28 ,  46 , pads  52 ,  55 ,  56 ,  59 ,  58 ,  53 , circuit patterns  61 ,  62 ,  63 , power supply  64 , and light emitting diode  65 . 
     According to the coupling detecting structure of the lever coupling type connector  10  of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, each of the protrusions  43  of the lever  40  is inserted into each of the engaging holes  23  of the female connector housing  20  in such a condition that the lever  40  is supported by the supporting shafts  33  of the male connector housing  30  and then the operation portion  42   b  of the lever  40  is revolved downward with respect to the coupling portion between each of the protrusions  43  of the lever  40  and each of the engaging holes  23  of the female connector housing  20  as a fulcrum point. As a result, the male connector housing  30  is inserted into the hood portion  21  along a pair of the guide convex portions  24 ,  24  of the hood portion  21  of the female connector housing  20  and fitted therein. Then, if the male connector housing  30  is fitted into the hood portion  21  of the female connector housing  20 , the locking piece  45  of the lever  40  engages with the lock receiving portion  26  of the hood portion  21  of the female connector housing  20 . Consequently, the male connector housing  30  is completely fitted into the hood portion  21  of the female connector housing  20  so that both the connector housings  20 ,  30  are completely coupled with each other. 
     In this manner, as shown in FIG. 4, the male connector housings  30  are coupled with the female connector housings  20  successively. If the male connector housings  30  are coupled with all the female connector housings  20 , as shown in FIGS. 3,  5 A, the metallic piece  46  of the lever  40  securely, comes into an electrical contact with the end portions  28   c ,  28   c  of a pair of the metallic pieces  28 ,  28  of each female connector housing  20  without looseness, so that a complete coupling state of each of the pairs of the female and male connector housings  20 ,  30  can be detected simply by a lighting of the light emitting diode  65  of the detecting circuit  60 . 
     When the female and male connector housings are uncoupled from each other, the operation portion  42   b  of the female connector housing  20  is revolved upward so as to release the coupling between the locking piece  45  of the lever  40  and lock receiving portion  26  of the hood portion  21  of the female connector housing  20 , so that the male connector housing  30  is raised over the hood portion  21  of the female connector  20 . Consequently, the male connector housing  30  can be uncoupled from the hood portion  21  of the female connector housing  20 . 
     As described above, part of the detecting circuit  60  for detecting a coupling state between the female connector housing  20  and male connector housing  30  is constituted of a pair of the metallic pieces  28 ,  28  fixed to the rear wall  21   c  of the hood portion  21  of the female connector housing  20  and the metallic piece  46  buried in the wall portion  42   a  of the operation piece  42  of the lever  40  and which comes into a contact with the end portions  28   c ,  28   c  of the aforementioned pair of the metallic pieces  28 ,  28  only when both the connector housings  20 ,  30  are coupled with each other. Therefore, any connection state detecting terminal, metallic conductive contact piece or component for detection of the connector connection detecting circuit seen in a conventional art is not required, so that correspondingly, the number of components is reduced thereby achieving simplification of the structure and low production cost. Because when the female and male connector housings  20 ,  30  are coupled with each other, the rear wall  21   c  of the hood portion  21  of the female connector housing  20  is in contact with the wall portion  42   a  of the operation piece  42  of the lever  40 , the end portions  28   c ,  28   c  of the pair of the metallic pieces  28 ,  28  securely come into a contact with the metallic piece  46  without looseness. Therefore, the coupling of the female and male connector housings  20 ,  30  can be always confirmed in a stable condition. 
     Further, because the circuit patterns  61 ,  62 ,  63  on the printed circuit board  50  are employed to constitute the detecting circuit  60 , lower cost can be achieved as compared to a conventional case using wires. Further because the circuit patterns  61 ,  62 ,  63  on the printed circuit board  50 , the metallic pieces  28 ,  46  and the like are disposed in series, it is possible to visually confirm couplings of a plurality of the connectors  10  by a lighting of the single light emitting diode  65 . Further, the metallic piece  28  for fixing each female connector housing  20  to the printed circuit board  50  is used as a conductive member of the detecting circuit  60  at the same time, the number of the components can be reduced so that the coupling detecting structure can be further simplified and lower cost can be achieved. 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which a plurality of female connector housings  20 ′ having a coupling detecting structure of a lever coupling type connector according to another embodiment of the present invention are mounted on a printed circuit board  50 ′. Leg portions of plural male type terminals  22 ′ of each female connector housing  20 ′ protrude outwardly from a periphery of the hood portion  21  and each of the plural female connector housings  20 ′ is disposed on the printed circuit board  50 ′ through a pair of metallic pieces (conductive member)  28 ,  28 . Then, one of pair of the metallic pieces  28 ,  28  of each female connector housing  20 ′ is connected to the circuit patterns  61 ′,  62 ′ provided on the printed circuit board  50 ′ between the printed circuit board  50 ′ and bottom of the female connector housing  20 ′ and the circuit pattern  63  in series through the same metallic piece (conductive member)  46  of the lever  40  of the male connector housing  30  as the previously described embodiment. A detecting circuit  60 ′ in which the circuit patterns  61 ′,  62 ′,  63 ′ and metallic pieces  28 ,  28 ,  46  are disposed in series has a light emitting diode (coupling detecting means) for detecting the coupling state of both the connector housings  20 ′,  30 ′. 
     According to this embodiment, in addition to the previously described effect, because the circuit patterns  61 ′,  62 ′ constituting part of the detecting circuit  60 ′ is disposed on the printed circuit board  50 ′ just under the bottom of each female connector housing  20 ′, which is a dead space loaded with the connector, the space of the printed circuit board  50 ′ can be effectively used. Further, because no special wire is needed for plural connectors, the coupling detecting structure can be simplified and lower cost can be achieved. 
     Although according to the above respective embodiments, the female connector housing is fixed on the printed circuit board in the vertical condition, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the female connector housing  20 ″ may be fixed on the printed circuit board  50 ′ in the horizontal condition. In this case also, the legs  22   a  of male type terminals  22 ″ of the female connector housing  20 ″ extend outside from the hood portion  21  and one of a pair of metallic pieces (conductive member)  28 ″,  28 ″ is connected in series through a circuit pattern  61 ″ provided on the printed circuit board  50 ′ between the printed circuit board  50 ′ and bottom of female connector housing  20 ″ and the like. Consequently, the same effect as the previously mentioned embodiments is achieved. 
     Although according to the above respective embodiments, the coupling state is confirmed by a lighting of the light emitting diode, it is permissible to confirm it by a turn-off of the light emitting diode when the coupling is achieved. Further, the coupling detecting means is not restricted to the light emitting diode, but it is needless to say that other confirming means such as a buzzer may be used. Although a case in which a plurality of the female connector housings are fixed on the same printed circuit board has been described, it is also needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a case in which a plurality of the printed circuit boards are used. 
     While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.