Patent Publication Number: US-11025003-B2

Title: Connector

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a connector. 
     Related Art 
     Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-157503 discloses a connector with a boosting mechanism. This connector is configured by mounting a slide lever having a boosting function into a fitting-side housing. The slide lever is slid from an initial position to a connection position, and this movement causes a cam follower of a waiting-side housing to slide in a cam groove of the slide lever. Thus, the boosting function is exhibited, and the waiting-side housing and the fitting-side housing are connected with a small operation force. The waiting-side housing and the fitting-side housing are separated with a small operation force by moving the slide lever from the connection position to the initial position while the housings are connected. 
     The slide lever has a projection for holding the slide lever at the initial position and the connection position. The fitting-side housing is formed with a separation restricting stopper and a connected state holding stopper. The slide lever that is at the initial position is restricted from moving in a direction separating from the fitting-side housing (toward a side opposite to the connection position) by locking the projection to the separation restricting stopper. The slide lever that is at the connection position is held in a state where a movement toward the initial position is restricted by looking the projection to the connected state holding stopper. 
     Connection of the housings is hindered if the slide lever is detached from the fitting-side housing. Thus, it is necessary to lock the separation restricting stopper and the projection with the slide lever held at the initial position. On the other hand, the slide lever at the connection position needs to be moved to the initial position to separate the housings. Thus, the connected state holding stopper and the projection preferably are held in a semi-locked state. However, since one projection is locked to the separation restricting stopper and to the connected state holding stopper, it has been difficult to set locking forces of the stoppers at both the initial position and the connection position. 
     To properly set the locking forces of the stoppers at both the initial position and the connection position, a projection for the initial position and a projection for the connection position having mutually different shapes and sizes may be formed separately, but the shape of the slide lever is complicated if two projections are formed. 
     The invention was completed on the basis of the above situation and aims to enable an operating member to be held with a proper force at both a partial locking position and a connection position without complicating the shape of the operating member. 
     SUMMARY 
     The invention is directed to a connector with a housing, and an operating member to be mounted into the housing while being slid. The operating member is slidable between a partial locking position and a full locking position forward of the partial locking position in a mounting direction on a mounting path. The housing is formed with a partial locking stopper and a full locking stopper. The operating member is formed with a single hook having a partial locking contact surface and a full locking contact surface. The partial locking contact surface is at an acute angle to a sliding direction of the operating member and restricts a movement of the operating member at the partial locking position in a direction separating from the housing by contacting the partial locking stopper. The full locking contact surface is at an obtuse angle to the sliding direction of the operating member and restricts a movement of the operating member at the full locking position toward the partial locking position by contacting the full locking stopper in a semi-locked state. 
     The movement of the operating member at the partial locking position in the direction separating from the housing is restricted by the contact of the partial locking stopper and the partial locking contact surface. The partial locking contact surface is at an acute angle to the sliding direction of the operating member, i.e. a mounting direction of the operating member into the housing. Thus, a locking force is high. The operating member at the full locking position is held at the full locking position by the contact of the full locking stopper and the full locking contact surface. The full locking stopper and the full locking contact surface contact each other in the semi-locked state. Thus, the operating member at the full locking position can be slid toward the partial locking position if a predetermined operation force is applied to the operating member. The partial locking contact surface and the full locking contact surface are formed on the single hook. Thus, the shape of the operating member can be simplified. 
     The partial locking stopper may be at an obtuse angle to the sliding direction of the operating member and achieves surface contact with the partial locking contact surface. Thus, a locking force between the partial locking stopper and the partial locking contact surface is enhanced and prevents separation of the operating member from the housing. 
     The hook may project in a direction interesting the sliding direction of the operating member, and the housing may be formed with a partial locking recess and a full locking recess. The partial locking stopper may be formed on an inner surface of the partial locking recess and the full locking stopper may be formed on an inner surface of the full locking recess. With this configuration, a movement of the operating member toward the full locking position is restricted by contact of the hook with the partial locking recess while the operating member is held at the partial locking position. With the operating member held at the full locking position, a movement of the operating member toward a side opposite to the partial locking position can be restricted by contact of the hook with the full locking recess. 
     The full locking contact surface may be closer to a tip side than the partial locking contact surface in a projecting direction of the hook, and an area between the partial locking recess and the full locking recess is facing a surface of the operating member forming the hook with a movement allowing space formed therebetween. According to this configuration, when the operating member slides between the partial locking position and the full locking position, frictional resistance between the hook and the facing surface of the housing facing the operating member is reduced. 
     The operating member may be a slide lever that exhibits a boosting function by sliding between the partial and full locking positions on the mounting path. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of a housing constituting a connector of an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a section along X-X of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a section along X-X showing a state where a slide lever is held at a partial locking position. 
         FIG. 4  is a partial enlarged view of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a section along X-X showing a state where the slide lever is held at a full locking position. 
         FIG. 6  is a partial enlarged view of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the slide lever. 
         FIG. 8  is a back view of the slide lever. 
         FIG. 9  is a side view in section showing a state where the connection of the connector and a mating connector is started. 
         FIG. 10  is a side view in section showing a state where the connector and the mating connector are connected. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An embodiment of the invention is described with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 10 . In the following description, a right side in  FIGS. 2 to 6  is defined as a front side concerning a front-rear direction. Upper and lower sides shown in  FIGS. 1 to 10  are directly defined as upper and lower sides concerning a vertical direction. 
     A female connector F of this embodiment includes a housing  10  made of synthetic resin and a slide lever  25  (operating member as claimed) made of synthetic resin. As shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the housing  10  includes a frame  11  and sub-connectors  12  having female terminal fittings  13  accommodated therein. The housing is in the form of a block having a lateral dimension and a vertical dimension that is larger than a front-rear dimension. 
     The slide lever  25  is assembled with the housing  10  from above the housing  10 . In an assembling process, the slide lever  25  slides down with respect to the housing  10 . The slide lever  25  mounted in the housing  10  is slidable parallel to an assembling direction between a partial locking position (see  FIGS. 3 and 4 ) and a full locking position (see  FIGS. 5 and 6 ) located below the partial locking position. 
     The connectors F, M are fit shallowly together with the slide lever  25  held at the partial locking position (initial position). The slide lever  25  then is slid to the full locking position (connection position) so that a boosting function is exhibited and the connectors F, M can be connected with only a small operation force. 
     The connection of the connectors F, M is completed when the slide lever  25  reaches the full locking position. A moving direction of the slide lever  25  from the partial locking position to the full locking position is the same as the assembling direction of the slide lever  25  with the housing  10 . A moving direction of the slide lever  25  from the full locking position to the partial locking position is the same as a moving direction when the slide lever  25  is separated from the housing  10 . 
     The frame  11  (housing  10 ) is formed with left and right guide spaces  14  open in the upper surface of the frame  11 . The openings of the guide spaces  14  in the upper surface of the frame  11  have a slit shape with a front-rear dimension larger than a lateral dimension. The inner surfaces of the guide space  14  include front and rear facing surfaces  15  and  16  that face parallel to each other in the front-rear direction. The front facing surface  15  extends straight in the vertical direction and is continuous from the upper end to the lower end of the guide space  14 . 
     The rear facing surface  16  is composed of an upper facing surface  17 , an intermediate facing surface  18  (area between a partial locking recess and a full locking recess as claimed) spaced apart from and below the upper facing surface  17  and a lower facing surface  19  spaced apart from and below the intermediate facing surface  17 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , it is assumed that Da denotes an opposing distance between the upper facing surface  17  and the front facing surface  15  in the front-rear direction, Db denotes an opposing distance between the intermediate facing surface  18  and the front facing surface  15  in the front-rear direction and Dc denotes an opposing distance between the lower facing surface  19  and the front facing surface  15  in the front-rear direction. These opposing distances Da, Db and Dc satisfy a relationship of Da&gt;Db=Dc. However, a dimensional difference between Da, Db and Dc is very small. 
     A wall constituting the rear facing surface  16  of the frame  11  is formed with a partial locking recess  20  and a full locking recess  23  open to the guide space  14 . The partial locking recess  20  is between the lower end of the upper facing surface  17  and the upper end of the intermediate facing surface  18 . The full locking recess  23  is between the lower end of the intermediate facing surface  18  and the upper end of the lower facing surface  19 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the partial locking recess  20 , the upper inner surface of the partial locking stopper  21  functions as a partial locking stopper  21 . The partial locking stopper  21  is at an oblique angle close to a right angle to a sliding direction of the slide lever  25  to be described later (length direction of the front and rear facing surfaces  15 ,  16 ). A front edge  21 F (opening edge to the guide space  14 ) of the partial locking stopper  21  is at a position lower than a rear end edge  21 R of the partial locking stopper  21 . Accordingly, an angle α between the upper facing surface  17  and the partial locking stopper  21  is an acute angle close to a right angle. The lower inner surface of the partial locking recess  20  functions as a temporary holding portion  22  and is at a right angle to the sliding direction of the slide lever  25 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the upper inner surface of the full locking recess  23  functions as a full locking stopper  24 . The full locking stopper  24  is at a right angle to the sliding direction of the slide lever  25  (length direction of the front and rear facing surfaces  15 ,  16 ). A front end edge  24 F of the full locking stopper  24  is behind the front edge  21 F of the partial locking stopper  21 , i.e. at a position retracted from the guide space  14 , in the front-rear direction (direction perpendicular to the sliding direction of the slide lever  25 ). 
     As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the slide lever  25  is a single member including left and right arms  26  and an operating portion  27  coupling upper end parts of the arms  26 . The arm  26  is substantially in the form of a flat plate whose plate thickness direction is oriented in the lateral direction, and is long in the vertical direction (direction parallel to the sliding direction of the slide lever  25 ). The arm  26  is formed with upper and lower cam grooves  28  extending in a direction oblique to the sliding direction. In the process of sliding the slide lever  25  between the partial locking position and the full locking position, the cam grooves  28  and cam followers  38  of the male connector M slide in contact, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , to exhibit the boosting function. 
     A front slide-contact surface  29  is formed on a front of the arm  26  and extends parallel to the sliding direction of the slide lever  25 , and a rear slide-contact surface  30  is formed on a rear edge of the arm  26  and extends parallel to the sliding direction of the slide lever  25 . A resilient deflecting portion  31  is formed in a vertically intermediate part of the rear edge of the arm  26  and is elongated in the vertical direction and supported on both ends on the arm  26 . The resilient deflecting portion  31  is resiliently deformable to be curved in the front-rear direction with both upper and lower ends as supports. 
     A hook  33  projecting rearward from a rear outer surface  32  (surface of the operating member forming the hooking portion as claimed) of the resilient deflecting portion  31  is formed substantially in a vertically central part of the resilient deflecting portion  31 . The lower surface of the hook  33  serves as a temporary holding contact surface  34 . The temporary holding contact surface  34  is connected at an obtuse angle to the rear outer surface  32  and faces in the same direction as a moving direction of the slide lever  25  from the partial locking position to the full locking position. 
     A partial locking contact surface  35  and a full locking contact surface  36  are formed on the upper surface of the hook  33  to be adjacent in the front-rear direction (direction perpendicular to the sliding direction of the slide lever  25  with respect to the housing  10  and parallel to a resilient displacing direction of the resilient deflecting portion  31 ). The partial locking contact surface  35  and the full locking contact surface  36  face in a direction (direction of separating the slide lever  25  from the housing  10 ) opposite to a mounting direction of the slide lever  25  into the housing  10 . 
     The partial locking contact surface  35  is disposed on a base end part in a projecting direction of the hook  33 . The partial locking contact surface  35  is connected at an acute angle close to a right angle to the rear outer surface  32  (sliding direction of the slide lever  25  with respect to the housing  10 ). An angle α between the rear outer surface  32  and the partial locking contact surface  35  is equal to the angle α between the upper facing surface  17  and the partial locking stopper  21 . 
     The full locking contact surface  36  is on a tip part in the projecting direction of the hook  33 , and the partial locking contact surface  35  is interposed between the full locking contact surface  36  and the rear outer surface  32 . The full locking contact surface  36  is at an obtuse angle to the rear outer surface  32 . The partial locking contact surface  35  and the full locking contact surface  36  are connected at an obtuse angle. 
     In mounting the slide lever  25  into the housing  10 , the arms  26  are inserted into the guide spaces  14  from above the housing  10  and the slide lever  25  is slid while the front slide-contact surfaces  29  are caused to slide in contact with the front facing surfaces  15  and the rear slide-contact surfaces  30  are caused to slide in contact with the rear facing surfaces  16  (upper facing surfaces  17 ). 
     The hooks  33  are in the partial locking recesses  20 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4  when the slide lever  25  is mounted at the partial locking position with respect to the housing  10 . An attempt may be made to move the slide lever  25  up and to separate the slide lever  25  from the housing  10  in this state. However, the partial locking contact surfaces  35  come into surface contact with (butt against) front end parts of the partial locking stoppers  21  while facing upward to prevent an upward movement of the slide lever  25 . 
     Further, the partial locking contact surfaces  35  and the partial locking stoppers  21  are at an acute angle to the rear outer surfaces  32 . Thus, corners formed by lower parts of the upper facing surfaces  17  and the front parts of the partial locking stoppers  21  bite into recesses formed by the rear outer surfaces  32  and the partial locking contact surfaces  35  if the slide lever  25  is going to move up. This biting action increases contact margins (locking margins) of the partial locking contact surfaces  35  with the partial locking stoppers  21  in the front-rear direction. Thus, the separation of the slide lever  25  at the partial locking position from the housing  10  is prevented. 
     The semi-locked state is set by the temporary holding contact surfaces  34  contacting (butting against) the front edges of the temporary holding portions  22  while facing down with the hooks  33  accommodated in the partial locking recesses  20 , thereby restricting a movement of the slide lever  25  from the partial locking position toward the full locking position. In this way, the slide lever  25  is held at the partial locking position. 
     If a downward operation force exceeding a locking force between the temporary holding contact surfaces  34  and the temporary holding portions  22  is applied to the operating portion  27 , the slide lever  25  moves toward the full locking position while resiliently displacing the resilient deflecting portion  31  forward (away from the rear facing surface  16 ). Projecting end parts (rear end parts) of the hooks  33  slide in contact with the intermediate facing surfaces  18  in a moving process. Thus, frictional resistance is created between the hooks  33  and the intermediate facing surfaces  18 . Movement allowing spaces  37  are secured between areas of the rear outer surfaces  32  of the slide lever  25  below the hooks  33  and the intermediate facing surfaces  18  with the slide lever  25  held at the partial locking position. Thus, as compared to the case where the movement allowing spaces  37  are not formed, resilient displacement amounts of the resilient deflecting portions  31  can be small and, accordingly, the frictional resistance between the hooks  33  and the intermediate facing surfaces  18  is reduced. 
     When the slide lever  25  reaches the connection position, the resilient deflecting portions  31  resiliently return and the hooks  33  are accommodated into the full locking recesses  23 , as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . If an attempt is made to move the slide lever  25  up and to return the slide lever  25  to the partial locking position in this state, the full locking contact surfaces  36  come into line contact with (butt against) the front end edges of the full locking stoppers  24  while facing upward. This butting of the full locking contact surfaces  36  against the full locking stoppers  24  restricts the slide lever  25  from moving to the partial locking position and holds the slide lever  25  at the full locking position. 
     If an upward operation force exceeding a locking force acting between the full locking contact surfaces  36  and the full locking stoppers  24  is applied to the operating portion  27  (slide lever  25 ), the slide lever  25  moves toward the full locking position while resiliently displacing the resilient deflecting portion  31  forward. The projecting end parts (rear end parts) of the hooks  33  slide in contact with the intermediate facing surfaces  18  in a moving process. However, the movement allowing spaces  37  are secured between the rear outer surfaces  32  and the intermediate facing surfaces  18  as described above. Thus, frictional resistance between the hooks  33  and the intermediate facing surfaces  18  is reduced. When the slide lever  25  reaches the partial locking position, the resilient deflecting portions  31  resiliently return and the hooks  33  are accommodated into the partial locking recesses  20 . 
     A state where the slide lever  25  is held at the partial locking position and a state where the slide lever  25  is held at the full locking position are compared. At the partial locking position, the reverse tapered partial locking contact surfaces  35  are locked to the partial locking stoppers  21  to prevent upward separation of the slide lever  25  from the housing  10 . In contrast, at the full locking position, the forward tapered full locking contact surfaces  36  are locked to the full locking stoppers  24  to prevent an upward movement of the slide lever  25  toward the partial locking position. Thus, a locking force acting between the partial locking stoppers  21  and the partial locking contact surfaces  35  is larger than that acting between the full locking contact surfaces  36  and the full locking stoppers  24 . 
     As described above, the female connector F enables the slide lever  25  to be held at both the partial locking position and the connection position with a proper force without complicating the shape of the slide lever  25 . Specifically, the female connector F includes the housing  10  and the slide lever  25  mountable into the housing  10 . The slide lever  25  is slidable between the partial locking position and the full locking position forward (downward) of the partial locking position in the mounting direction on a mounting path. The slide lever  25  exhibits the boosting function by sliding between the partial locking position and the full locking position on the mounting path. 
     The housing  10  is formed with the partial locking stopper  21  and the full locking stopper  24 . The slide lever  25  is formed with the single hook  33  having the partial locking contact surface  35  and the full locking contact surface  36 . The partial locking contact surface  35  is at an acute angle to the sliding direction of the slide lever  25 , and restricts a movement of the slide lever  25  at the partial locking position in the direction separating from the housing  10  by contacting the partial locking stopper  21 . The full locking contact surface  36  is at an obtuse angle to the sliding direction of the slide lever  25  and suppresses a movement of the slide lever  25  at the full locking position toward the partial locking position by contacting the full locking stopper  24  in the semi-locked state. 
     According to the above configuration, the slide lever  25  at the partial locking position is restricted from moving in the direction separating from the housing  10  by the contact of the partial locking stopper  21  and the partial locking contact surface  35 . Since the partial locking contact surface  35  is at an acute angle to the sliding direction of the slide lever  25 , i.e. the mounting direction of the slide lever  25  into the housing  10 , the locking force is relatively high. The slide lever  25  at the full locking position is held at the full locking position by the contact of the full locking stopper  24  and the full locking contact surface  36 . 
     Since the full locking stopper  24  and the full locking contact surface  36  contact each other in the semi-locked state, the slide lever  25  at the full locking position can be slid toward the partial locking position if a predetermined operation force is applied to the slide lever  25 . Since the partial locking contact surface  35  and the full locking contact surface  36  are formed on the single hooking portion  33  in the female connector F of this embodiment, the shape of the slide lever  25  can be simplified. 
     Further, the partial locking stopper  21  is at an obtuse angle to the sliding direction of the slide lever  25  and can come into surface contact with the partial locking contact surface  35 . According to this configuration, since the locking force acting between the partial locking stopper  21  and the partial locking contact surface  35  is enhanced, the separation of the slide lever  25  from the housing  10  can be reliably prevented. 
     Further, the hooking portion  33  is shaped to project from the rear outer surface  32  of the resilient deflecting portion  31  in a direction (rearward direction) intersecting the sliding direction of the slide lever  25 . The housing  10  is formed with the partial locking recess  20  including the partial locking stopper  21  on the inner surface and the full locking recess  23  including the full locking stopper  24  on the inner surface. According to this configuration, with the slide lever  25  held at the partial locking position, the hooking portion  33  contacts the partial locking recess  20 , whereby a movement of the slide lever  25  toward the full locking position can be restricted. With the slide lever  25  held at the full locking position, the hooking portion  33  contacts the full locking recess  23 , whereby a movement of the slide lever  25  toward a side opposite to the partial locking position can be restricted. 
     Further, the full locking contact surface  36  is disposed closer to the tip side than the partial locking contact surface  35  in the projecting direction of the hooking portion  33  (front-rear direction). Since the partial locking stopper  21  is vertically facing not only the partial locking contact surface  35 , but also the full locking contact surface  36 , a facing area of the hooking portion  33  and the partial locking stopper  21  in the front-rear direction (resilient displacing direction of the resilient deflecting portion  31 ) is relatively large. Thus, the resilient displacement amount of the resilient deflecting portion  31  has to be relatively large to release the locked state of the hooking portion  33  and the partial locking stopper  21 . 
     In contrast, the full locking stopper  24  is vertically facing the full locking contact surface  36 , but not facing the partial locking contact surface  35 . Accordingly, the facing area of the hooking portion  33  and the full locking stopper  24  in the front-rear direction is smaller than that of the partial locking stopper  21  and the hooking portion  33 . Thus, an operation of returning the slide lever  25  to the partial locking position can be relatively easily realized with the slide lever  25  held at the partial locking position while the separation of the slide lever  25  from the housing  10  is reliably prevented with the slide lever  25  held at the partial locking position. 
     Further, an area (intermediate facing surface  18 ) between the partial locking recess  20  and the full locking recess  23 , out of the facing surface (rear facing surface  16 ) of the housing  10  facing the slide lever  25  is facing the surface of the slide lever  25  forming the hooking portion  33  (rear outer surface  32 ) with the movement allowing space  37  formed therebetween. According to this configuration, when the slide lever  25  slides between the partial locking position and the full locking position, friction resistance between the hooking portion  33  and the rear facing surface  16  (intermediate facing surface  18 ) is reduced. 
     The invention is not limited to the above described and illustrated embodiment. For example, the following embodiments also are included in the scope of the invention. 
     Although the operating member is the slide lever that exhibits the boosting function by sliding between the partial locking position (initial position) and the full locking position (connection position) on the mounting path in the above embodiment, the operating member may be a retainer that slides between a partial locking position where the insertion and withdrawal of the terminal fittings into and from the housing are permitted and a full locking position where the terminal fittings inserted into the housing are retained. 
     Although the partial locking stopper can come into surface contact with the partial locking contact surface in the above embodiment, the partial locking stopper and the partial locking contact surface may come into line contact or point contact. 
     Although the full locking stopper can come into line contact or point contact with the full locking contact surface in the above embodiment, the full locking stopper and the full locking contact surface may come into surface contact. 
     Although the resilient deflecting portion is supported on both ends on the arm in the above embodiment, the resilient deflecting portion may be cantilevered from the arm portion. 
     LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS 
     
         
         F . . . female connector (connector) 
           10  . . . housing 
           16  . . . rear facing surface (facing surface of housing facing operating member) 
           18  . . . intermediate facing surface (area between partial locking recess and full locking recess) 
           20  . . . partial locking recess 
           21  . . . partial locking stopper 
           23  . . . full locking recess 
           24  . . . full locking stopper 
           25  . . . slide lever (operating member) 
           32  . . . rear outer surface (surface of the operating member forming hook) 
           33  . . . hook 
           35  . . . partial locking contact surface 
           36  . . . full locking contact surface 
           37  . . . movement allowing space