JP2006024457A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a structure that can reliably prevent rattling between a connector fitting direction and a connector fitting orthogonal direction that occur between a male connector housing and a female connector housing in a fitted state, thereby To provide a connector that can reliably prevent wear of an electrical contact portion.
A connector 10 is formed on a rotation lock lever 17, and an inclined surface 24a is in surface contact with a regulating surface 45 when a male connector housing 12, 13 and a female connector housing 42 are completely fitted, and the regulation is performed. A plate spring portion 27 is provided to urge the engagement lock protrusion 46 with an elastic repulsive force in the fitting direction of the female connector housing 42 to the male connector housings 12 and 13 so as to press the surface 45. The leaf spring portion 27 is formed integrally with the rotation lock lever 17, and a part of the surface defining the lock protrusion guide slit 28 in the rotation lock lever 17 is formed by the leaf spring portion 27.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector having an anti-rattle structure, and more particularly, to an anti-rattle structure between a male connector housing and a female connector housing in a fitted state, thereby providing a structure in both connector housings. The present invention relates to a connector in which wear between electrical contact portions of male and female terminals is reduced.

  7 and 8 show a conventional connector having a rattling prevention structure (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The connector 61 includes one connector 63 that accommodates the female terminal 62 and the other connector 65 that accommodates the male terminal 64, and the inner surface of the hood portion 66 outside the one connector housing made of synthetic resin is rattled. The restricting portion 67 is formed integrally, and the outer wall surface of the other connector housing 68 is brought into contact with the surface of the rattling restricting portion 67 without any gap, so that the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction of both the connectors 63 and 65 (that is, connector fitting) This is to prevent backlash in the (orthogonal direction).

  One connector housing has a male inner housing 64 and a rectangular cylindrical hood portion 66 on the outside thereof, and a female terminal 62 is accommodated in the inner housing 64. The female terminal 62 is double-locked by a synthetic resin front holder 69. A waterproof packing 71 is attached to the base of the inner housing 64. The backlash restricting portion 67 has a substantially rectangular shape.

The other connector housing 68 is inserted between the hood portion 66 and the inner housing 64. FIG. 8 shows a state immediately before complete fitting. Simultaneously with the fitting of both connector housings, both male and female terminals 62, 70 are connected, the tip of the other connector housing 68 is in close contact with the waterproof packing 71, and the lock arm 72 of the hood 66 is attached to the other connector housing 68. Engaging with the engaging protrusions, both connectors are locked, and at the same time, rattling in the connector fitting orthogonal direction between the hood portion 66 of one connector housing and the other connector housing 68 is prevented by the restricting portion 67, The wear of the electrical contact portions of the male and female terminals 62 and 70 due to vibration during traveling of the vehicle can be reduced.
JP 2002-198127 A (page 3-4, FIG. 4, FIG. 6)

  However, in the above conventional connector, although rattling in the connector fitting orthogonal direction is prevented, rattling in the connector fitting direction is not prevented. There has been a problem that the wear and the like of the male and female terminals 62 and 70 cannot be completely eliminated. In addition, the backlash between the hood portion 66 of one connector housing and the other connector housing 68 is prevented, but the backlash between the inner housing 64 which is an important terminal accommodating portion of the one connector housing and the other connector housing 68 is prevented. Since it is not directly prevented, there is a concern that the male and female terminals 62 and 70 are likely to rattle each other and the wear of both terminals 62 and 70 is not completely eliminated. Furthermore, when used for a long period of time, there is a concern that the backlash restricting portion 67 may be worn or compressed by vibration during traveling of the vehicle or the like, which may cause backlash in the connector fitting orthogonal direction.

  In addition, it is conceivable that a ring-shaped backlash restricting member is interposed between the connector housings to control backlash in at least one of the connector fitting direction and the connector fitting orthogonal direction. If the member is provided, the rattling between the connector housings is not directly regulated and the vibration resistance performance becomes insufficient, the vibration resistance performance is not stable due to variations in the dimensional accuracy of the rattling regulation member, There has been a problem that the fitting load of the connector increases due to the sliding resistance between the rattling regulating member and both connector housings.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to loosen the connector fitting direction and the connector fitting orthogonal direction generated between the male connector housing and the female connector housing in the fitted state. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector having a structure capable of reliably preventing the wear and the like, and thereby preventing wear and the like of electrical contact portions of both male and female terminals.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the connector according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6).
(1) a male connector housing that holds a female terminal and includes a rattling control portion having an inclined surface;
A male terminal that is electrically connectable with the female terminal, and that can be fitted to the male connector housing to connect the male terminal to the female terminal and can be in surface contact with the inclined surface A female connector housing having a surface;
Engagement lock protrusions formed on both sides on the outer peripheral surface of the female connector housing so as to be aligned in a line along a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction of the male connector housing and the female connector housing;
Pivots formed on both sides on the outer peripheral surface of the male connector housing so as to be aligned in a row along the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction;
A rotation lock lever attached to the male connector housing so as to be rotatable about the pivot;
The male connector housing and the female connector housing are fitted or detached by turning the rotary lock lever while being formed on the rotary lock lever and receiving the engagement lock protrusions, respectively. A pair of locking protrusion guide slits for guiding the engaging locking protrusion;
The engagement lock is formed on the rotation lock lever and so that the inclined surface is in surface contact with and presses the restriction surface when the male connector housing and the female connector housing are completely fitted. A leaf spring portion for urging the protrusion with an elastic repulsive force in the fitting direction of the female connector housing to the male connector housing;
Having provided.
(2) The leaf spring portion of the connector configured as described in (1) above is formed integrally with the rotation lock lever, and a part of a surface defining the lock protrusion guide slit in the rotation lock lever is And formed by the leaf spring portion.
(3) The leaf spring portion of the connector having the configuration of (1) or (2) is formed in a cantilever shape on the rotation lock lever.
(4) The leaf spring portion of the connector having the configuration of (1) is formed integrally with the rotation lock lever and lies in a direction intersecting with an extension direction of the lock protrusion guide slit in the rotation lock lever. thing.
(5) The leaf spring portion of the connector configured as described in (1) or (4) is formed in a double-supported manner on the rotation lock lever.
(6) The said rotation lock lever containing the said leaf | plate spring part of the connector of the structure in any one of said (1)-(5) should be metal.

According to the connector having the configuration (1), when the male connector housing and the female connector housing are completely fitted together, the restricting surface and the inclined surface of the rattle restricting portion are elastically repelled by the leaf spring portion of the rotation lock lever. Since the force (in other words, elastic restoring force) is received and the surface comes into firm contact, not only rattling in the connector fitting orthogonal direction but also rattling in the connector fitting direction is prevented. Therefore, wear and the like of the electrical contact portions of both the male and female terminals are reliably prevented. In addition, the male connector housing and the female connector housing can be easily engaged and disengaged by rotating the rotation lock lever.
According to the connector having the configuration (2), the leaf spring portion of the rotation lock lever can only smoothly press the engagement lock protrusion in the fitting direction of the female connector housing to the male connector housing. In addition, the rotation lock lever can be downsized (in other words, the connector can be downsized), and the number of components can be reduced.
According to the connector having the configuration (3), the leaf spring portion having high spring properties can be formed on the rotation lock lever at a low cost.
According to the connector configured as described in (4) above, a part of the surface that defines the lock projection guide slit of the rotation lock lever is in the direction in which the female connector housing is fitted into the male connector housing with respect to the engagement lock projection. In addition, the rotation lock lever can be downsized (in other words, the connector can be downsized), and the number of components can be reduced.
According to the connector having the configuration (5), the leaf spring portion having high spring properties can be formed on the rotation lock lever at a low cost.
According to the connector having the configuration (6), it is possible to form a metal rotation lock lever integrally formed with a leaf spring portion having high spring properties at a low cost using a press molding machine or the like. Compared to the case where an elastic member molded using synthetic rubber, elastomer resin, synthetic resin, etc. as a constituent material is used inside the connector without using the leaf spring portion, the leaf spring portion is made of metal. It is excellent because it is difficult to change over time and properties due to heat, etc., and the amount of sag is small.

  According to the present invention, when the male connector housing and the female connector housing are completely fitted, the inclined surface of the backlash restricting portion due to the elastic repulsion force (in other words, elastic restoring force) of the leaf spring portion of the rotation lock lever, Due to the strong surface contact with the regulating surface, rattling of the connector fitting direction and the orthogonal direction of fitting during vibration is prevented, so wear of the electrical contact parts of the male and female terminals in both connector housings is reliably prevented, Reliability of electrical connection is improved.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through the best mode for carrying out the invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1 is an external side view of an embodiment of a connector according to the present invention (a connector 10 in which a male connector 11 and a female connector 41 are completely fitted), and FIG. 2 is mainly a male connector 10 of FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of the mold connector 11 and the female connector 41. FIG. 3 is an external side view of the male connector 11 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the male connector 11 of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the female connector 41.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the connector 10 includes a male connector 11, a female connector 41 that can be engaged with the male connector 11, and a male connector that can be engaged with the female connector 41. A rotation lock lever 17 rotatably supported by pivots 20 and 20 of the mold connector 11. The rotation lock lever 17 can be easily fitted and engaged with the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 with a small force in cooperation with the pivots 20 and 20 and the engagement lock protrusions 46 and 46 of the female connector 41. The male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are supported so that they can be detached, and the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 can be locked so that their fully fitted state is maintained. It is a certain connector insertion / removal operation supporting member.

  The male connector 11 is a male connector housing in which the outer housing 12 and the outer wall 12f of the outer housing 12 are enclosed with the female connector 41 from the base end 18 while being surrounded by the peripheral wall 12f. And a male inner housing 13 formed so as to extend. The inner housing 13 functions as a terminal accommodating portion of the male connector 11, and has two terminal accommodating chambers 13b for accommodating two female terminals 50 therein. Each female terminal 50 is temporarily locked by an elastic locking lance (not shown) and held in the terminal accommodating chamber 13b. The male connector 11 further includes an annular waterproof packing 14, and prevents the waterproof packing 14 from being removed from the inner housing 13, and is used to fully lock the female terminal 50 in the terminal accommodating chamber 13 b of the inner housing 13. The front holder 15 and the rotation lock lever 17 described above are provided. On the other hand, the female connector 41 has a female connector housing 42 that holds two male terminals 51 (more specifically, is integrally formed with the two male terminals 51).

  Here, for convenience of explanation, definitions of front and rear, top and bottom, and left and right are defined as follows. The front-rear direction is defined as the connector fitting direction, “front” is the front end of the male connector 11 and female connector 41, and the opposite side is “rear”. The vertical direction is defined as the alignment direction of the two female terminals 50 and the alignment direction of the two male terminals 51 to be electrically connected to each other, and “up” is the side where the operation portion 17a of the rotation lock lever 17 is located (for example, FIG. 1 to the upper side of FIG. 4, and the opposite side is “lower”. The left-right direction is defined as the alignment direction of the pivots 20 and the alignment direction of the engagement lock protrusions 46.

  The male connector housing, in other words, the outer housing 12 and the inner housing 13 are formed by injection molding a synthetic resin material. The outer housing 12 has a peripheral wall 12f formed in a substantially elliptic cylinder shape, and the inner housing 13 is disposed in the hollow portion. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the inner housing 13 has a peripheral wall 13a formed in a substantially elliptic cylindrical shape.

  A peripheral wall 12f of the outer housing 12 that extends forward from the housing mounting portion 18 while surrounding the inner housing 13 is a female connector of the female connector 41 that is fitted into an annular gap formed between the inner housing 13 and the outer housing 12. It functions as a hood for guiding the peripheral wall 43 of the housing 42. Guide grooves 12e are formed in the upper and lower portions of the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 12f of the outer housing 12 along the connector fitting direction, and are formed in the upper and lower portions of the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 43 of the female connector housing 42. The guide protrusion 42a is received in the guide groove 12e when the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are fitted, and thereby the female connector 41 is guided in the correct insertion direction with respect to the male connector 11.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4 in particular, left and right opposing portions of the peripheral wall 12f of the outer housing 12 are provided with lock projection receiving portions 19 each formed in a slit shape along the connector fitting direction. A pivot 20 is formed integrally with the peripheral wall 12 f of the outer housing 12 on the extension line of each of the lock projection receiving portions 19 on the outer peripheral wall of the outer housing 12. More specifically, the pivot 20 is formed on each of both sides on the outer peripheral surface 12a of the outer housing 12 so as to be aligned in a line along a direction orthogonal to the connector fitting direction. Each pivot 20 has a cylindrical shaft portion 20a and a retaining portion 20b that protrudes on both sides of the tip of the shaft portion 20a.

  On the front surface of the inner housing 13, an accommodation chamber opening 21 is formed that is aligned with the male terminal insertion hole of the front holder 15. The accommodation chamber opening 21 of the inner housing 13 communicates with the terminal accommodation chamber 13 b, and the electrical contact portion of the male terminal 51 of the female connector 41 is a front holder when the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are fitted. 15 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 13b through the male terminal insertion hole 15 and the accommodating chamber opening 21 of the inner housing 13, and comes into contact with the electrical contact portion of the female terminal 50 disposed in the terminal accommodating chamber 13b. Electrically connected.

  On the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 13a of the inner housing 13, a backlash restricting portion 24 is formed integrally with the peripheral wall 13a continuously in the circumferential direction. The backlash restricting portion 24 is an annular body having an outer shape close to a substantially quadrangular pyramid having four rounded corners. As shown by a dotted line X in FIG. 2, the backlash restricting portion 24 may be formed as an annular body separately from the peripheral wall 13a. In this case, the backlash restricting portion 24 is externally fitted to the peripheral wall 13a of the inner housing 13. . More specifically, the backlash restricting portion 24 has an inclined surface 24a that is inclined so as to gradually approach the axial center line of the inner housing 13 from the rear side toward the front side. The inclined surface 24a is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 43 of the female connector housing 42 shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 when the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 shown in FIGS. It comes into surface contact with the formed regulation surface 45.

  The waterproof packing 14 is formed by using synthetic rubber, elastomer resin, or the like as a constituent material, and is formed in a hollow, substantially elliptical cylindrical shape. The waterproof packing 14 is attached to the front peripheral wall 13 a of the backlash restricting portion 24 in the inner housing 13 and is prevented from being removed by the front holder 15.

  The rotation lock lever 17 is a member that constitutes a connector fitting / removal operation support mechanism together with the pivot shafts 20 and 20 and the engagement lock protrusions 46 and 46, and is integrally formed by press forming a metal plate body. It is. The rotation lock lever 17 includes an operation portion 17a and side plate portions 17b and 17b bent substantially at right angles from the left and right sides of the operation portion 17a, and has a substantially U-shaped cross section. The outer housing 12 is disposed between the side plate portions 17 b and 17 b of the rotation lock lever 17.

  Each side plate portion 17b includes a mounting hole 26 that is rotatably engaged with the pivot 20 of the outer housing 12, an arc-shaped lock projection guide slit 28, and a part of a surface that defines the lock projection guide slit 28. And a leaf spring portion 27 for forming One end of the lock protrusion guide slit 28 in the extending direction serves as a lock protrusion entrance 28a, and the engagement lock protrusion 46 formed on the left and right side surfaces of the peripheral wall 43 of the female connector housing 42 can be easily entered. It is open so that it can be made. Further, in order to allow the engagement lock protrusion 46 to be easily received in the lock protrusion guide slit 28, introduction of the lock protrusion formed by bulging the introduction port forming portions 17c and 17c of the side plate portion 17b outward, respectively. The opening 29 is connected to the lock protrusion entrance 28 a of the lock protrusion guide slit 28 described above.

  Each lock protrusion guide slit 28 includes a contact surface 28b formed in each side plate portion 17b, a first guide surface 28c having a curved shape connected to the contact surface 28b in an arcuate manner, and the first guide. The second guide surface 28d having a curved shape facing the curved portion of the surface 28c, the pressing surface 27a of the leaf spring portion 27 that is gently connected to the second guide surface 28d, and the plate while being gently connected to the first guide surface 28c It is defined (formed) by a lock surface 28f formed on each side plate portion 17b so as to face the pressing surface 27a at the free end of the spring portion 27. A leaf spring retracting space 23 is formed between the front portion 17d of the side plate portion 17b and the leaf spring portion 27, and the leaf spring portion deformed by the engagement lock protrusion 46 in the leaf spring retracting space 23. 27 is accepted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the female connector 41 has a bottomed cylindrical connector fitting chamber 44 whose front surface is opened inside the peripheral wall 43 of the female connector housing 42. The inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 43 of the connector fitting chamber 44 has a tapered regulation surface 45 that is inclined so as to gradually approach the axial center line of the female connector housing 42 from the front side toward the rear side. The restriction surface 45 is a surface that comes into contact with the inclined surface 24a of the backlash restricting portion 24 of the male connector 11 when the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are fitted, and has the same inclination angle as the inclined surface 24a. It is formed on the inner surface of the peripheral wall 43 of the connector fitting chamber 44. The engagement lock protrusions 46 are formed on both sides on the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 43 of the female connector housing 42 so as to be aligned in a line along a direction orthogonal to the connector fitting direction. The engagement lock protrusion 46 has a substantially mushroom-shaped outer shape, and more specifically, includes a columnar column portion 46a and a leaf spring guide portion 46b formed at the tip of the column portion 46a.

  Next, a method for assembling the male connector 11 will be described. Since the female connector 41 can be formed by insert-molding the female connector housing 42 and the male terminal 51, detailed description of the assembling method is omitted. A storage chamber may be provided, and the male terminal 51 may be held by appropriate locking means such as an elastic locking lance in the terminal storage chamber.

  The male connector 11 is assembled as follows. The waterproof packing 14 is attached to the front portion of the peripheral wall 13a of the inner housing 13 in which the female terminals 50 are accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 13b, and the front holder 15 is attached to the front surface of the inner housing 13. By attaching the front holder 15 to the inner housing 13, the female terminal 50 is double-locked in the terminal accommodating chamber 13b, and the waterproof packing 14 is prevented from being removed from the inner housing 13.

  Next, the rotation lock lever 17 is moved closer to the front side of the outer housing 12, and the distance between the side plate portions 17b and 17b is increased so that the outer housing 12 is sandwiched between the pair of side plate portions 17b and 17b of the rotation lock lever 17. The outer housing 12 is inserted. And when the mounting holes 26 and 26 come to the place located in the right and left of the pivots 20 and 20, respectively, the positions of the mounting ports 26a and 26a of the mounting holes 26 and 26 and the retaining portions 20b and 20b of the pivots 20 and 20 are determined. At the same time, the pivots 20 and 20 are engaged in the mounting holes 26 and 26 while the retaining portions 20b and 20b are inserted through the mounting ports 26a and 26a. Thereafter, the side plate portions 17b and 17b come into contact with the outer peripheral surface 12a of the outer housing 12 by elastic restoring force, and the retaining portions 20b and 20b of the pivot shafts 20 and 20 fall off from the pivot shafts 20 and 20 of the rotation lock lever 17. Therefore, the rotation lock lever 17 can be smoothly rotated around the shaft portions 20a and 20a of the pivots 20 and 20 without being easily detached from the outer housing 12. Thus, the rotation lock lever 17 is attached to the outer housing 12, and the assembly of the male connector 11 is completed.

  In this way, the rotation lock lever 17 is attached to the outer housing 12 so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction around the pivot 20. In particular, the operation portion 17 a of the rotation lock lever 17 has the outer housing 12. 3 and 4, which is arranged along a direction substantially perpendicular to the upper surface of the outer surface of the outer housing 12 and stands upright, and the operation portion 17 a is along a direction substantially horizontal to the upper surface of the outer housing 12. 1 and 2 can be switched to the locked position shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.

  1 to 4 are also diagrams for explaining the locking operation of the connector insertion / removal operation support mechanism (that is, the rotation lock lever 17, the pivots 20, 20, and the engagement lock protrusions 46, 46). As apparent from FIGS. 3 and 4, when the rotation lock lever 17 is disposed in the standing unlocked position, the lock protrusion introduction port 29 is located on the front side, that is, between the male connector 11 and the female connector 41. At the start of the fitting operation, the female connector housing 42 is open. Further, the distance D1 between the rear end surface of the column portion 46a of the engagement lock projection 46 of the connector 10 and the front end surface of the shaft portion 20a of the pivot 20 in the fully fitted state shown in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. It is larger than the distance D2 between the pressing surface 27a of the non-impossible leaf spring portion 27 and the surface of the shaft portion 20a of the nearest pivot 20 (that is, D1> D2). Therefore, in the connector 10 in the fully-fitted state shown in FIG. 1, the engagement lock projection 46 is moved to the pivot 20 side of the lock projection guide slit 28 by the elastic repulsion force (in other words, elastic restoring force) of the leaf spring portion 27. It can be seen that it is urged toward the lock surface 28f.

  Next, a method for fitting the connector 10 will be described.

  In a state where the rotation lock lever 17 of the male connector 11 is in the unlocked position, that is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the female connector housing 42 is placed in the annular space between the outer housing 12 and the inner housing 13. When the peripheral wall 43 is inserted, the inner housing 13 is also inserted into the connector fitting chamber 44 of the female connector housing 42. At this time, the engaging lock protrusion 46 of the female connector housing 42 enters the lock protrusion receiving portion 19 of the outer housing 12, and the lock protrusion entrance 28 a at one end of the lock protrusion introduction port 29 and the lock protrusion guide slit 28. And abuts against the abutment surface 28b of the lock projection guide slit 28 and is disposed in the lock projection guide slit 28. At this time, the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are still in a semi-fitted state.

  Next, when the operation portion 17a is pushed rearward to rotate the rotation lock lever 17 about the pivot 20, and when the operation lock 17a is tilted from the unlock position shown in FIGS. Moves along the lock projection guide slit 28 while being guided by the lock projection guide slit 28 from one end to the other end of the lock projection guide slit 28, whereby the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are fitted. Operation proceeds. More specifically, the engagement lock protrusion 46 first slides on the first guide surface 28c from the abutting surface 28b, then crosses the second guide surface 28d, and slides on the second guide surface 28d. Then, it slides on the pressing surface 27a of the leaf spring portion 27. At this time, the inner restricting surface 45 of the connector fitting chamber 44 contacts the inclined surface 24 a of the rattle restricting portion 24 of the inner housing 13. From this state, the operation portion 17a is further pushed backward to rotate the rotation lock lever 17, and when the rotation lock lever 17 is disposed at the lock position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are arranged. And the female connector 41 is urged toward the male connector 11 by the elastic repulsive force (in other words, elastic restoring force) of the leaf spring portion 27, and the restricting surface 45 causes the inclined surface 24a to move. Pressing (in other words, the inclined surface 24a presses the regulating surface 45).

  In this connector fully fitted state, the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are locked so as not to be detached by the connector fitting / removing operation supporting mechanism such as the rotation lock lever 17 and the fitted state is maintained. The restriction surface 45 of the mold connector housing 42 is also urged by the elastic restoring force of the leaf spring portion 27 via the inclined surface 24a of the backlash restricting portion 24, and is maintained in close contact with the inclined surface 24a (in other words, Then, the state in which the inclined surface 24a presses the regulating surface 45 by the elastic restoring force of the leaf spring portion 27 while maintaining surface contact with the regulating surface 45 is also maintained. Further, in this connector fully engaged state, as shown in FIG. 2, the flat electrical contact portion of the male terminal 51 is inserted into the box-shaped electrical contact portion of the female terminal 50, and the electrical The contact portion and the electrical contact portion of the male terminal 51 are electrically connected. Further, in this connector fully engaged state, the waterproof packing 14 is formed by the inner peripheral surface of the connector fitting chamber 44 of the female connector housing 42 and the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 13a of the inner housing 13 as shown in FIG. It is pinched and seals between the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface in a liquid-tight manner. Needless to say, the detachment operation of the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 is performed by a rotation operation in the opposite direction to the rotation operation of the rotation lock lever 17 described above.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably. In addition, the material, shape, dimension, numerical value, form, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

  For example, although the leaf spring portion 27 described above is formed integrally with the rotation lock lever 17 in a cantilever manner, it may be deformed like a metal rotation lock lever 30 shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the main part may be a leaf spring part 31 that is integrally formed on the rotation lock lever 17 so as to be supported at both ends as indicated by a one-dot chain line circle V. In this modified example, the leaf spring portion 31 is laid so as to lie on the other end of the lock projection guide slit 28 (in other words, intersect with the extending direction of the lock projection guide slit 28). The distance D3 between the pressing surface of the locking projection guide slit 28 in FIG. 6 corresponding to the pressing surface 27a of FIG. 6 and the surface of the shaft portion 20a of the nearest pivot 20 (see FIG. 3 etc.) is greater than the distance D1 described above. Is also small (ie, D1> D3). Therefore, even if the rotation lock lever 17 of the fully mated connector 10 shown in FIG. 1 is replaced with the rotation lock lever 30 of FIG. 6, the engagement lock protrusion 46 is not elastically repelled (in other words, the leaf spring portion 31). For example, it is biased toward the lock surface 28f on the pivot 20 side of the lock projection guide slit 28 by an elastic restoring force. The other actions and effects of the metal rotation lock lever 30 shown in FIG. 6 can be easily inferred from the above description, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  Note that in both the rotation lock lever 17 and the rotation lock lever 30, an introduction port formed so as to lie at one end of the lock projection guide slit 28 (in other words, intersect with the extending direction of the lock projection guide slit 28). Needless to say, the portion 17c also has a function as a leaf spring portion. Although both the rotation lock lever 17 and the rotation lock lever 30 may be made of synthetic resin, it is desirable that the rotation lock lever 17 and the rotation lock lever 30 are made of metal in consideration of the performance of the leaf spring portion.

  In the outer housing 12, an inner housing 13 is disposed in a hollow portion of a peripheral wall 12f formed in a substantially elliptic cylindrical shape. For example, in the annular space formed between the peripheral wall 12f and the inner housing 13, A cantilevered locking arm extending forward from the base end 18 may be provided. In this case, a locking protrusion protruding toward the inner housing 13 is formed on the locking arm, and an engaging protrusion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the female connector housing 42. When the outer housing 12 is engaged with the female connector housing 42, the engaging projection of the female connector housing 42 pushes up the locking projection of the locking arm, whereby the locking arm is bent and deformed, and the peripheral wall 12f side Then, the female connector housing 42 is locked in the outer housing 12 by engaging with the engaging protrusions. When the operation portion 17a is pushed rearward to rotate the rotation lock lever 17 about the pivot 20, and when the operation lever 17a is tilted from the unlock position shown in FIGS. 46 is moved along the lock projection guide slit 28 while being guided by the lock projection guide slit 28 from one end to the other end of the lock projection guide slit 28, whereby the male connector 11 and the female connector 41 are fitted. The engagement lock protrusion 46 first slides on the first guide surface 28c from the contact surface 28b, then crosses to the second guide surface 28d, and on the second guide surface 28d. , And then the sliding projection of the outer housing 12 and the engaging projection of the female connector housing 42 are engaged when sliding on the pressing surface 27 a of the leaf spring portion 27. For example, the release lever formed integrally with the locking arm is exposed from a small window on the outer peripheral surface of the outer housing 12 to release the engagement between the locking protrusion of the outer housing 12 and the engaging protrusion of the female connector housing 42. This is done by pressing the release lever.

The characteristics of the connector 10 will be briefly described as follows.
That is, the connector 10 is
Male connector housings 12, 13 having a female terminal 50 and having a rattling control portion 24 having an inclined surface 24 a;
A male terminal 51 that can be electrically connected to the female terminal 50 is held, and can be fitted to the male connector housings 12 and 13 so as to connect the male terminal 51 to the female terminal 50. A female connector housing 42 having a contactable restriction surface 45;
Engagement lock protrusions formed on both sides of the outer peripheral surface of the female connector housing 42 so as to be aligned in a row along the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction of the male connector housings 12 and 13 and the female connector housing 42 46,
Pivots 20 formed on both sides of the outer peripheral surface 12a of the male connector housings 12 and 13 so as to be aligned in a line along a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction;
A rotation lock lever 17 attached to the male connector housings 12 and 13 so as to be rotatable about the pivot axis 20;
The male connector housings 12 and 13 and the female connector housing 42 are fitted or detached by rotating the rotation lock lever 17 while being formed on the rotation lock lever 17 and receiving the engagement lock protrusions 46 respectively. A lock projection guide slit 28 having a pair of arc shapes for guiding the engagement lock projection 46 to
The inclined surface 24a is formed on the rotation lock lever 17 and is in contact with the regulating surface 45 and presses the regulating surface 45 when the male connector housings 12, 13 and the female connector housing 42 are completely fitted. A leaf spring portion 27 (31) for urging the locking projection 46 with elastic repulsion in the fitting direction of the female connector housing 42 to the male connector housings 12 and 13;
It has.
Further, in the connector 10, the leaf spring portion 27 is formed integrally with the rotation lock lever 17, and a part of the surface defining the lock protrusion guide slit 28 in the rotation lock lever 17 is the leaf spring portion 27. It is formed by.
Further, in the connector 10, the leaf spring portion 27 is formed in a cantilever manner on the rotation lock lever 17.
Further, in the connector 10, the leaf spring portion 31 is formed integrally with the rotation lock lever 30 and lies in a direction intersecting with the extending direction of the lock protrusion guide slit 28 in the rotation lock lever 30.
Further, in the connector 10, the leaf spring portion 31 is formed on the rotary lock lever 30 so as to be supported at both ends.
Moreover, in the connector 10, the rotation lock lever 17 (30) including the leaf | plate spring part 27 (31) is metal.

As described above, according to the connector 10, when the male connector housings 12, 13 and the female connector housing 42 are completely fitted, the restricting surface 45 and the inclined surface 24 a of the rattle restricting portion 24 are rotationally locked. Since the plate spring portion 27 (31) of the lever 17 (30) receives the elastic repulsive force (in other words, elastic restoring force) and comes into firm surface contact, not only the rattling in the connector fitting orthogonal direction but also the connector fitting direction The rattle is also prevented. Therefore, wear and the like of the electrical contact portions of both male and female terminals 51 and 50 are reliably prevented. In addition, the male connector housings 12 and 13 and the female connector housing 42 can be easily engaged and disengaged by the rotation of the rotation lock lever 17 (30).
Further, according to the connector 10, the leaf spring portion 27 of the rotation lock lever 17 smoothly presses the engagement lock protrusion 46 in the fitting direction of the female connector housing 42 to the male connector housings 12 and 13. In addition, the rotation lock lever 17 can be downsized (in other words, the connector 10 can be downsized), and the number of components can be reduced.
Further, according to the connector 10, a part of the surface defining the lock projection guide slit 28 of the rotation lock lever 30 is connected to the male connector housings 12 and 13 of the female connector housing 42 with respect to the engagement lock projection 46. In addition to being able to smoothly press in the fitting direction, the rotation lock lever 30 can be downsized (in other words, the connector can be downsized), and the number of components can be reduced.
Moreover, according to the connector 10, the leaf | plate spring part 27 (31) which has high spring property can be formed in a rotation lock lever at low cost.
Further, according to the connector 10, the metal rotation lock lever 17 (30) integrally formed with the leaf spring portion 27 (31) having high spring properties is formed at a low cost using a press molding machine or the like. be able to. Compared to the case where an elastic member formed of synthetic rubber, elastomer resin, synthetic resin, or the like as a constituent material is used in the connector 10 without using the leaf spring portion 27 (31), the leaf spring portion 27 ( Since 31) is made of metal, it is excellent in that it does not easily change over time or changes in characteristics due to heat or the like, and has little sag.

1 is an external side view of an embodiment of a connector according to the present invention (a connector in which a male connector and a female connector are completely fitted); FIG. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which mainly shows the internal structure of the male connector and female connector of the connector of FIG. It is an external appearance side view of the male connector of FIG. It is an external appearance perspective view of the male connector of FIG. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the female connector. It is a perspective view which shows one modification of the rotation lock lever in the connector of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the connector of the perfect fitting state which shows an example of the conventional connector. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state just before the perfect fitting of the connector of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10 connector 11 male connector 12 outer housing 12a outer peripheral surface 12e guide groove 12f peripheral wall 13 inner housing 13a peripheral wall 13b terminal accommodating chamber 14 waterproof packing 15 front holder 17 rotation lock lever 17a operation part 17b side plate part 17c introduction port forming part 17d front part 18 Base end portion 19 Lock projection receiving portion 20 Pivot 20a Shaft portion 20b Retaining portion 23 Leaf spring retracting space 24 Shaking restricting portion 24a Inclined surface 26 Mounting hole 26a Mounting port 27 Leaf spring portion 27a Press surface 28 Lock projection guide slit 28a Lock Protrusion entrance 28b Contact surface 28c First guide surface 28d Second guide surface 28f Lock surface 29 Lock protrusion introduction port 30 Rotation lock lever 31 Leaf spring portion 41 Female connector 42 Female connector housing 42a Guide protrusion 43 Perimeter wall 44 Connector Mating chamber 4 Regulating surface 46 engaging the locking projections 46a pillar portion 46b plate spring guide portion 50 female terminal 51 male terminal

Claims (6)

A male connector housing that holds a female terminal and includes a rattling control portion having an inclined surface;
A male terminal that is electrically connectable with the female terminal, and that can be fitted to the male connector housing to connect the male terminal to the female terminal and can be in surface contact with the inclined surface A female connector housing having a surface;
Engagement lock protrusions formed on both sides on the outer peripheral surface of the female connector housing so as to be aligned in a line along a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction of the male connector housing and the female connector housing;
Pivots formed on both sides on the outer peripheral surface of the male connector housing so as to be aligned in a row along the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction;
A rotation lock lever attached to the male connector housing so as to be rotatable about the pivot;
The male connector housing and the female connector housing are fitted or detached by turning the rotary lock lever while being formed on the rotary lock lever and receiving the engagement lock protrusions, respectively. A pair of locking protrusion guide slits for guiding the engaging locking protrusion;
The engagement lock is formed on the rotation lock lever and so that the inclined surface is in surface contact with and presses the restriction surface when the male connector housing and the female connector housing are completely fitted. A leaf spring portion for urging the protrusion with an elastic repulsive force in the fitting direction of the female connector housing to the male connector housing;
A connector comprising:   The leaf spring portion is formed integrally with the rotation lock lever, and a part of a surface defining the lock protrusion guide slit in the rotation lock lever is formed by the leaf spring portion. The connector according to claim 1.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the leaf spring portion is formed in a cantilever shape on the rotation lock lever.   2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the leaf spring portion is formed integrally with the rotation lock lever and lies in a direction intersecting with an extension direction of the lock protrusion guide slit in the rotation lock lever. .   5. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the leaf spring portion is formed in a doubly supported manner on the rotation lock lever.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the rotation lock lever including the leaf spring portion is made of metal.

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