Lever fitting connector

The present invention relates to a lever-fitting connector used, for example, for electrical connection between an automobile motor and an inverter.

Conventionally, as this type of lever fitting type connector, male and female connectors are temporarily fitted to each other, and the coupling lever is rotated and completely fitted, and then the coupling lever is locked by a fitting detection member. , Those equipped with a mechanism for maintaining a completely fitted state between connectors are widely used.

In this lever fitting type connector, a fitting detection member having a slider portion and a lock portion is slidably attached to the male connector. Then, as a method of confirming whether or not the fitting detection member is positioned at the regular lock position, the operator visually confirms whether or not the fitting detection member is flush with the coupling lever. A method for confirmation has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).<patcit num="1"><text>Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-241759 (paragraph [0034] column, FIG. 6 (c))</text></patcit>

<p> However, this has the following inconveniences.</p><p> First, since it is only visually confirmed whether the fitting detection member is flush with the coupling lever, there is a risk of making a mistake in the judgment depending on the operator.</p><p> Secondly, it may be difficult to visually check the fitting detection member, which causes a problem in workability, especially when it is used in a situation where space is severely restricted or in an environment where lighting equipment is inadequate.</p><p> An object of the present invention is to provide a lever fitting type connector capable of eliminating such inconvenience.</p>

<p> First, in the invention according to claim 1, the other connector is pulled in and fitted by operating the coupling lever provided on one connector, and in this state, the fitting detection member engaging hole provided on the coupling lever is fitted. In a lever fitting type connector provided with a mechanism for slidingly engaging a fitting detection member provided in the other connector to lock the coupling lever, the fitting detection member is engaged with the fitting detection member engagement hole. At the tip in the sliding direction, a lock confirmation portion that protrudes from the fitting detection member engaging hole and the tip surface of the coupling lever when the fitting detection member engaging hole is engaged and the coupling lever is locked is provided. It is characterized by being. Further, in the invention according to claim 2, the fitting detection member is formed by folding back from the main body portion and the main body portion, and engages with the main locking lock engaging hole formed in the coupling lever. A flexible arm provided with a return prevention claw for preventing the movement of the main body portion is provided, and the lock confirmation portion is formed on a folded portion of the flexible arm from the main body portion. To do. Further, the invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that at least the lock confirmation portion of the fitting detection member has a color different from that of the coupling lever.</p>

<p> According to the present invention, even a non-skilled operator can correctly determine whether or not the coupling lever is locked. Further, even when it is difficult to visually check the fitting detection member, a correct judgment can be made by palpation of the fitting detection member, so that there is no problem in workability.</p>

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lever fitting type connector 1 is composed of a male connector 2, a female connector 3, and a fitting detection member 4.

The male connector 2 has a red housing 21 made of synthetic resin, and the housing 21 contains three male terminals 22 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7. An electric wire cable 5 is connected to each male terminal 22. Further, a pair of pins 24 are projected on both side surfaces of the housing 21, and a red coupling lever 23 made of a synthetic resin formed in a U shape is centered on these pins 24. It is mounted so that it can rotate in the directions of arrows M and N. Guide grooves 25 are formed on both legs of the coupling lever 23, and each guide groove 25 has a substantially arc shape so that the distance from the pin 24 becomes shorter from the tip opening to the inner part. It has become. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the grip portion of the coupling lever 23 has a temporary locking lock release projection 26, a pair of fitting detection member engaging holes 28, and a pair of main locking lock engaging holes 29. Is formed.

Further, the fitting detection member 4 is made of a blue-green synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 1, is attached to the housing 21 of the male connector 2 so as to be able to move forward and backward in the directions of arrows A and B. As shown in FIG. 8, the fitting detection member 4 has a main body portion 4a, and a temporary locking portion 4b is cantilevered and supported by the main body portion 4a so as to be elastically movable up and down. Further, a pair of U-shaped flexible arms 4c are integrally formed on the main body 4a in a form of extending in the direction of arrow A, then folding back and extending in the direction of arrow B. Each of the flexible arms 4c is integrally provided with a return prevention claw 4d at its tip, and a lock confirmation portion 4e is integrally projected at a folded-back portion from the main body portion 4a. Normally, since the temporary locking portion 4b of the fitting detection member 4 is locked to the housing 21 of the male connector 2, the fitting detection member 4 is in a state of being prevented from advancing in the direction of arrow A. There is.

On the other hand, the female connector 3 has a red housing 31 made of synthetic resin, and the housing 31 contains three female terminals 32. Further, a pair of pins 34 are projected on both side surfaces of the housing 31, and each pin 34 faces the tip opening of each guide groove 25 of the coupling lever 23.

Since the lever-fitting connector 1 has the above configuration, the following procedure is used to connect the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 of the lever-fitting connector 1.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the female connector 3 is opposed to the male connector 2. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the fitting detection member 4 is in a state of being retracted in the direction of arrow B.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the female connector 3 is inserted into the male connector 2 and temporarily fitted. Then, each male terminal 22 of the male connector 2 and each female terminal 32 of the female connector 3 are electrically connected to each other. Further, each pin 34 of the female connector 3 engages with the tip opening of each guide groove 25 of the coupling lever 23.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the coupling lever 23 is rotated by about 90 ° in the direction of arrow M. Then, each guide groove 25 rotates in the direction of arrow M about each pin 24 while maintaining the engaged state with each pin 34. At this time, since each guide groove 25 is formed so that the distance from the pin 24 becomes shorter from the tip opening to the inner part, each pin 24 and each guide groove 25 are formed as the coupling lever 23 rotates. The distance to the pin 34, that is, the distance between the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 is shortened. As a result, the female connector 3 is completely fitted to the male connector 2. Further, when the coupling lever 23 is rotated by about 90 ° in the direction of the arrow M in this way, the temporary locking unlocking protrusion 26 pushes down the temporary locking portion 4b of the fitting detection member 4, so that the male connector 2 is temporarily locked to the housing 21. The locked state of the portion 4b is released, and the fitting detection member 4 is in a state where it can move forward in the direction of arrow A.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the fitting detection member 4 is advanced in the direction of arrow A. Then, the fitting detection member 4 is positioned at the regular lock position, each flexible arm 4c engages with each fitting detection member engagement hole 28 of the coupling lever 23, and each return prevention claw 4d engages with the coupling lever 23. It is in a state of being engaged with each of the locking lock engaging holes 29. At this time, since the tip of each flexible arm 4c of the fitting detection member 4 can elastically bend and move up and down, the engagement operation of each return prevention claw 4d with each lock lock engagement hole 29 is performed. It will be done smoothly.

As a result, the coupling lever 23 is locked to the housing 21 of the male connector 2 by the fitting detection member 4. Further, the fitting detection member 4 is locked in a state in which the return prevention claws 4d are engaged with the lock lock engagement holes 29 to prevent the member 4 from retreating in the direction of arrow B. Become.

At this point, the work of joining the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 is completed.

In the lever fitting type connector 1 in which the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 are coupled in this way, each return prevention claw 4d is engaged with each locking lock engaging hole 29 of the coupling lever 23, so that the vehicle can be fitted with an automobile. Even if it is mounted and receives vibration, the fitting detection member 4 will not come off. Therefore, there is no possibility that the coupling lever 23 will be released.

Further, whether or not the fitting detection member 4 is positioned at the regular lock position can be easily confirmed by palpation and inspection of the fitting detection member 4.

That is, the operator touches each lock confirmation portion 4e of the fitting detection member 4 with a finger, and as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, each lock confirmation portion 4e is formed from each engagement detection member engagement hole 28 of the coupling lever 23. If is protruding in the direction of arrow A, it can be determined that the fitting detection member 4 is in the normal lock position. At this time, since the judgment is made based on the protrusion of each lock confirmation unit 4e, it is a skillful work unlike the conventional confirmation method in which the judgment is made based on whether the fitting detection member 4 is flush with the coupling lever 23. You can make a correct judgment even if you are not a person. Further, even when it is difficult to visually check the fitting detection member 4 under severe space restrictions, a correct judgment can be made by palpation of the fitting detection member 4, so that there is no problem in workability.

Further, if the operator visually looks at each lock confirmation portion 4e of the fitting detection member 4, and each lock confirmation portion 4e protrudes in the direction of arrow A from each engagement detection member engagement hole 28 of the coupling lever 23, , It can be determined that the fitting detection member 4 is in the normal lock position. At this time, the coupling lever 23 is red, and each lock confirmation portion 4e of the fitting detection member 4 is blue-green. That is, since the coupling lever 23 and each lock confirmation portion 4e of the fitting detection member 4 have a complementary color relationship, visibility is good, and each lock is made from each fitting detection member engagement hole 28 of the coupling lever 23. The fact that the confirmation unit 4e is protruding can be easily visually recognized at a glance. From this point as well, it is possible to definitely determine whether or not the fitting detection member 4 is in the proper lock position.

Further, the fitting detection member 4 is miniaturized because each flexible arm 4c is formed in a U shape and faces the temporary locking portion 4b.

In the above-described embodiment, the coupling lever 23 is red, the lock confirmation unit 4e of the fitting detection member 4 is blue-green, and a complementary color relationship is provided between the two to improve visibility. Although the case has been described, it is possible to adopt other color combinations for these two colors as long as they are different colors from each other.

<figref num="1">It is a perspective view which shows the state just before fitting of one Embodiment of the lever fitting type connector which concerns on this invention.</figref><figref num="2">It is a perspective view which shows the temporary fitting state of the lever fitting type connector shown in FIG.</figref><figref num="3">It is a perspective view which shows the perfect fitting state of the lever fitting type connector shown in FIG.</figref><figref num="4">It is sectional drawing which shows the non-fitting state of the lever fitting type connector shown in FIG.</figref><figref num="5">It is sectional drawing which shows the perfect fitting (unlocked) state of the lever fitting type connector shown in FIG.</figref><figref num="6">It is sectional drawing which shows the perfect fitting (locked) state of the lever fitting type connector shown in FIG.</figref><figref num="7">It is a top view which shows the perfect fitting (locked) state of the lever fitting type connector shown in FIG.</figref><figref num="8">It is a perspective view of the fitting detection member of the lever fitting type connector shown in FIG.</figref>

Code description

1 ...... Lever mating connector 2 ...... Male connector (one connector) 3 ...... Female connector (the other connector) 4 ...... Fitting detection member 4a ...... Main body 4b ...... Temporary locking part 4c ...... Flexible arm 4d ...... Return prevention claw 4e ...... Lock confirmation part 23 ...... Coupling lever 28 ...... Fitting detection member Engagement hole 29 ...... This locking lock Engagement hole