JP2002151212A - Panel-mounting structure of connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve workability at time of mounting of a connector on a panel. SOLUTION: When a tip end side of a wire cover 53 is pressed after a fixed locking part 40 is locked onto a top edge 16 of a mounting hole 11 of the panel 10 with the female connector F leant forward, the female connector F rotates toward a straight posture, and a movable locking part 44 is locked elastically over a bottom edge 17 of the mounting hole 11. Although it takes a substantial force to rotate the female connector F since the movable locking part 44 has to be elastically deformed while an outer seal ring 50 is elastically shrunken, a principle of leverage can be utilized with the locking position of the fixed locking part as a fulcrum A, the lowermost end of the wire cover 53 as a power point B, and the contact point with the bottom edge 17 of the mounting hole 11 as an action point C, and that, force of rotating operation is substantially reduced since the position of the power point B is set far away from the fulcrum C.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure for mounting a connector to a panel in a standby state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an example of a conventional mounting structure of this type, a structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-293352 is known. As shown in FIG. 17, a mounting hole 2 is opened in the panel 1 and an outer peripheral surface of a connector housing 3 inserted through the mounting hole 2 has an edge on one side of the mounting hole 2 as shown in FIG. And a pair of upper and lower locking portions 5 and 6 for locking to the rim on the other surface side, and the upper portion is a fixed locking portion 5 and the lower portion is a movable lock capable of elastic displacement. The structure is a part 6. Then, after the connector housing 3 is inclined and the fixed locking portion 5 is locked to the upper edge of the mounting hole 2, the connector housing 3 is turned to the straight position to move the movable locking portion 6 to the lower edge of the mounting hole 2. The connector housing 3 is attached to the panel 1 by elastically locking the connector housing 3.

[0003]

Here, the movable locking portion 6
In order to obtain the required locking force on the side, it is necessary to set the elastic force of the movable locking portion 6 to be correspondingly large. However, when the movable locking portion 6 is elastically displaced, the connector housing 3 is rotated. Since much operation force is required when moving the device, workability is poor, and further improvement has been desired. The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to improve workability when attaching a connector to a panel.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that an outer peripheral surface of a connector housing inserted into a mounting hole formed in a panel is provided with the mounting hole. A facing portion facing the rim on one surface side and a locking portion for locking to the rim on the other surface are provided, and a pair of the locking portions are provided on both sides of the center in the radial direction. After the connector housing is inclined and the one locking portion is locked in the mounting hole, the connector housing is turned to the straight posture and the other locking portion is locked in the mounting hole and mounted. In the above configuration, an operation lever is provided to protrude from the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing provided with a locking portion on a side to be locked later, so as to perform the rotation operation of the connector housing. To be configured To have the feature. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, an electric wire cover is provided on a rear surface side of the connector housing to insert an electric wire drawn from the connector housing in a bent state in a predetermined direction. It is characterized in that an electric wire cover constitutes the operation lever. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the operation lever is formed in a direction substantially parallel to a plate surface of the panel when the connector housing is attached to the panel. It has a characteristic where it is.

[0005]

<Operation and effect of the present invention><Invention of claim 1> When the connector housing is inclined and one of the locking portions is locked in the mounting hole, and then the distal end side of the operating lever is pressed, the engagement of the one locking portion is established. The connector housing is pivoted toward the straight posture with the stop portion as a fulcrum, and the other locking portion is locked over the rim of the mounting hole. When rotating the connector housing,
A considerable force is required because the other locking part has to climb over the rim of the mounting hole, but the locking position of one locking part is the fulcrum, the tip of the operating lever is the power point, and the other locking part acts. Since the lever function as a point can be used and the position of the force point is set far from the fulcrum, the turning operation force is greatly reduced.

<Invention of Claim 2> When an electric wire cover for bending an electric wire and drawing it out in a predetermined direction is provided,
Even if no special lever is provided, a small turning operation force can be realized by using the wire cover as a lever. <Invention of Claim 3> The amount of protrusion of the panel on the mounting surface side of the connector housing is small, which can contribute to space saving.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment,
The female connector F is a standby connector, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the female connector F is inserted into the mounting hole 11 opened in the panel 10 from the back side (left side in FIG. The mating male connector M is fitted from the front side. As shown in FIG. 3, the mounting hole 11 of the panel 10 is formed in a square shape with a step having a width reduced in a substantially lower half region, and a corner or a corner is rounded. . The steps on both sides of the mounting hole 11 constitute the receiving portion 12 of the present invention.

The female connector F will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The female connector F has a female connector housing 20 integrally formed of a synthetic resin material. The female housing 20 has a tower portion 22 projecting from the center of the front surface of a substrate 21 (corresponding to an opposing portion of the present invention) having a substantially square front surface, and two cavities 23 are arranged in a horizontal direction inside the tower portion 22. It is formed with. As shown in FIG. 2, a female terminal fitting 26 fixed to the end of the electric wire 25 is inserted from the rear into each cavity 23 and is temporarily locked by a lance 27 in a locking state. The retainer 28 is double-locked. In addition, on the outer periphery at the base side of the tower portion 22,
An inner seal ring 29 for sealing between the mating male connector M and the mating male connector M is fitted.

A large hood portion 31 is formed around the tower portion 22 so as to be fitted into the mounting hole 11 of the panel 10 described above. The large hood portion 31 has a projection length substantially the same as that of the tower portion 22, and is approximately 2 mm on the distal end side of the entire length.
The outer shape of the length region of / 3 is a stepped shape whose width is narrowed on the lower end side. However, as described later in detail, when the female housing 20 is inclined forward by a predetermined angle, the large hood portion 31 is inserted into the mounting hole 11 of the panel 10, so that the shape is corresponding to that.

First, the corner of the lower surface on the distal end side of the large hood portion 31 is formed on an inclined surface 32 having a predetermined angle. As shown in FIG. 4, the lower surfaces of the protruding portions 33 on both side surfaces of the large hood portion 31 serve as guide surfaces 35 to be placed on the receiving portions 12 of the mounting holes 11 of the panel 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the guide surface 35 has a slightly more than half length region from the distal end side as a gentle slope portion 36 which is parallel to the above-described slope surface 32, and a short region immediately thereafter has a sharp slope. The part 37 and the remaining area are arc-shaped parts 38. The distance between the gentle inclined portion 36 of the guide surface 35 and the inclined surface 32 is set substantially equal to the height of the narrow portion 14 of the mounting hole 11.

At the upper and lower surfaces of the large hood portion 31, mounting holes 1 are provided.
A pair of fixed locking portions 40 and a movable locking portion 44 that are locked to the front edge of the front surface 1 are provided. The fixed locking part 40 is fixedly formed integrally with the large hood part 31, the rear surface is a substantially vertical locking surface 41, and the front surface is an inclined surface 42.
As shown in FIG. 11, the gentle inclined portion 36 of the guide surface 35 of the large hood portion 31 is placed horizontally on the receiving portion 12 of the mounting hole 11, and the female housing 20 is set in the forwardly inclined posture into the mounting hole 11. The height is set so as not to interfere with the upper edge 16 of the mounting hole 11 when inserted. When the rear end of the gentle slope portion 36 reaches the receiving portion 12, the fixed locking portion 40 just faces the mounting hole 11, and when the steep slope portion 37 subsequently rides on the receiving portion 12, the cam action is applied. While the large hood portion 31 is lifted obliquely upward, the fixed locking portion 40 goes around the front surface of the upper edge 16 on the surface side of the mounting hole 11. Further, the arc-shaped portion 38 is formed in an arc shape having a center at a position immediately after the fixed locking portion 40.

As shown in FIG. 4, the one movable locking portion 44 is formed in a cantilever shape projecting forward in a groove 45 formed on the lower surface of the large hood portion 31. The claw portion 46 is formed on the outer surface of the tip. As shown in FIG. 8, the claw portion 46 has a locking surface 47 having a substantially vertical rear surface and a front surface having a large hood portion 31 as shown in FIG. An inclined surface 48 substantially follows the inclined surface 32.

An outer seal ring 50 is mounted on the front side of the board 21 in the female housing 20 to prevent water from leaking from the mounting hole 11 of the panel 10. As shown in FIG. 8, the outer seal ring 50 can be tightly fitted to the outer periphery of the base of the large hood portion 31, has a rectangular ring shape, and has the substrate 21 and the locking portions 40, 44. Locking surface 4
It has a thickness substantially equal to the distance between the first and the fourth. Two lips 51A and 51B are provided around the front and rear surfaces of the outer seal ring 50, respectively.
Two lips 51C are also provided on the inner peripheral surface.

On the back surface of the board 21 of the female housing 20,
As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of left and right walls 52 is erected, and the corresponding gap is narrowed at the lower end sides of both walls 52 so that the electric wire 25 is
52A is formed. An electric wire cover 53 is provided on the lower end side of the substrate 21. The wire cover 53 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a diameter substantially equal to the width of the outlet 52A as a whole, and communicates with the outlet 52A. More specifically, the wire cover 53 is divided into a semi-cylindrical fixed cover portion 53A and a movable cover portion 53B, and the fixed cover portion 53A is integrally formed from the lower edge of the substrate 21. A movable cover 53B is provided on one side edge of 53A via a hinge 54 so as to be openable and closable. A locking hook 55 is provided on the free edge of the movable cover 53B.
Are formed at the corresponding side edges of the fixed cover portion 53A, and a locking hook 55 is inserted into the window hole 56 and locked, as shown in FIG. Thus, the two cover parts 53A, 53B are held in a closed state having a cylindrical shape.

The electric wire 25 drawn from the outlet 52A is accommodated in a corrugated tube 57. The corrugated tube 57 is made of a synthetic resin and, as shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 8 denotes a structure formed at a predetermined interval in the axial direction, which protects the electric wire 25 inserted therein, and has flexibility to facilitate wiring. The upper end of the corrugated tube 57 is fitted into the electric wire cover 53, and the inner peripheral surfaces of the fixed cover portion 53A and the movable cover portion 53B have the outer peripheral surface of the corrugated tube 57 circumferentially. A locking ridge 59 that fits into the groove 58 is appropriately formed.

The mating male connector M will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the male connector M has a male housing 60 made of synthetic resin, and has a structure in which a small hood portion 62 is formed on the front surface of a main body 61. The small hood portion 62
The female housing 20 can be fitted between the tower section 22 and the large hood section 31. Similarly, two cavities 63 are formed side by side in the main body 61, and a male terminal fitting 65 fixed to the end of the electric wire 64 is inserted into each cavity 63 from the rear, and a tab 66 is provided. Are projected by the lance 67 while projecting into the small hood portion 62. Similarly, the male terminal fitting 65 is double-locked by a front-type retainer 68, and the entrance of the cavity 63 is sealed by a rubber stopper 69 fixed to the rear of the male terminal fitting 65. A seesaw-shaped lock arm 70 extending in the front-rear direction is formed on the upper surface of the male housing 60, and a hook portion 71 formed on the lower surface of the distal end thereof is formed with a hook portion 71 of the large hood portion 31 of the female housing 20. The lock hole 72 opened on the upper surface can be fitted.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. The female connector F is assembled, for example, as follows.
First, the outer seal ring 50 is inserted into the outer periphery of the large hood portion 31 of the female housing 20 from the front as shown by the arrow in FIG. The outer seal ring 50 flexes and deforms the movable locking portion 44 on the way, and
8 and the inclined surface 32 of the fixed locking portion 40 are pushed over. When pressed until it hits the surface of the substrate 21,
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, while the movable locking portion 44 is restored and deformed, a part of the front edge of the outer seal ring 50 is partially engaged with the locking surfaces 41 and 47 of the upper and lower locking portions 40 and 44. And is held in a state of being fitted to the outer periphery of the base of the large hood portion 31.

As described later, the female connector F
The outer seal ring 50 is prevented from being detached from the large hood portion 31 while, for example, is transported to the position of the panel 10. Further, when the outer seal ring 50 is inserted into the back side of the locking portions 40 and 44, the movable locking portion 44 can be pushed in while being flexibly deformed, and the inclined surfaces 42 and 48 of the locking portions 40 and 44 can be inserted. Since it can get over, the insertion can be made relatively easy, and damage to the lip 51C of the inner peripheral surface can be avoided as much as possible.

On the other hand, an inner seal ring 29 is fitted around the outer periphery of the base of the tower 22, and a retainer 28 is temporarily attached to the front of the tower 22. From this state, the female terminal fittings 2 are respectively inserted into both cavities 23 of the tower portion 22.
6 is inserted, and the retainer 28 is pushed into the final locking position, whereby the female terminal fitting 26 is double locked, and at the same time, the inner seal ring 29 is prevented from coming off. Two electric wires 25 drawn rearward from the entrance of each cavity 23
Is bent downward and then extends downward from the outlet 52A, and is inserted into the corrugated tube 57. The upper end of the corrugated tube 57 has a fixed cover 53A.
After that, the corrugated tube 57 is fixed by closing the movable cover 53B. As a result, the female connector F is assembled in a state where the corrugated tube 57 containing the electric wires 25 is pulled out from the electric wire cover 53.

When attaching the female connector F to the panel 10, the following procedure is performed. After turning the female connector F to the back side of the panel 10, as shown in FIG. 10, the female connector F is tilted forward so that the gentle slope 36 on the guide surface 35 of the female housing 20 is horizontal. 36 is applied to the receiving portion 12 of the mounting hole 11 of the panel 10, and the large hood portion 31 is inserted into the mounting hole 11 as shown by the arrow in FIG. When the rear end of the gentle inclined portion 36 reaches the receiving portion 12, the fixed locking portion 40 just faces the inside of the mounting hole 11, as shown in FIG. During this time, the outer seal ring 5
The upper side of the front surface of the panel 0 is slightly elasticized by hitting the rear surface of the panel 10.

When further pushed, the steeply inclined portion 37 of the guide surface 35 rides on the receiving portion 12, and the large hood portion 31 is lifted obliquely upward by the cam action as shown in FIG. 40 goes around the front surface of the upper edge 16 on the front surface side of the mounting hole 11 and is locked. Next, when the lower end portion of the wire cover 53 is pushed forward, as shown in FIG. 13, while the arc-shaped portion 38 of the guide surface 35 is received by the receiving portion 12, the female connector F The outer seal ring 50 is rotated around an arc-shaped trajectory around the locking position, elastically contracts so that the outer seal ring 50 gradually spreads to the region on the lower end side, and while the movable locking portion 44 is deformed inward on the way. Rocked.

When the rear end of the arc-shaped portion 38 of the guide surface 35 reaches the receiving portion 12, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the large hood portion 31 of the female housing 20 is oriented straight forward. When the claw portion 46 of the movable locking portion 44 passes through the surface of the mounting hole 11, the movable locking portion 44 is restored and deformed.
The upper and lower edges 16 and 17 of the mounting hole 11 are
The outer seal ring 50 is attached in a state of being elastically compressed between the substrate 21 and the back surface of the panel 10 over the entire surface, and the seal in the attachment hole 11 is removed.

Here, when the female connector F is turned to the straight posture after the fixed locking portion 40 is locked to the upper edge 16 on the front surface side of the mounting hole 11, the arc-shaped portion 38 of the guide surface 35 is received. Part 1
2, the fixed locking portion 40 can be rotated while being held in the locked state, that is, there is no need to hold the female connector F in the direction of holding the fixed locking portion 40 in the locked state, The rotation operation can be easily performed. Further, when rotating the female connector F, a considerable force is required since the movable locking portion 44 must be elastically deformed while elastically shrinking the outer seal ring 50. However, in the above structure, referring to FIG. Stop 40
A is a fulcrum A, a lower end of the wire cover 53 is a force point B,
Since the lever function with the point of contact with the lower edge 17 of the mounting hole 11 as the point of action C can be used, the rotational operation force can be reduced.

When the female connector F is attached to the panel 10 in the waiting state as described above, the male connector M is fitted from the front as shown by the arrow in FIG. In the male connector M, as described above, the cavity 6
The male terminal fitting 65 is inserted into the connector 3, is double-locked by the retainer 68, and the entrance of the cavity 63 is sealed by the rubber stopper 69. In the male connector M, the small hood portion 62 is inserted between the large hood portion 31 and the tower portion 22 of the female connector F, and the lock arm 70 is bent and deformed on the way, so that the tip is on the upper surface of the large hood portion 31. Get pushed in while riding. When it is pushed to the normal position,
As shown in FIG. 6, the hook 71 is fitted into the lock hole 72 while the lock arm 70 is being restored and deformed, and the connectors F and M are held in a regular fitted state. Here, the corresponding male and female terminal fittings 26 and 65 are properly connected to each other, and the inner seal ring 29 is elastically contracted between the outer peripheral surface of the tower portion 22 and the inner peripheral surface of the small hood portion 62 so that The space between the connectors F and M is sealed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the female connector F is rotated, a considerable force is required because the movable locking portion 44 must be elastically deformed while elastically shrinking the outer seal ring 50. The lever function can be used with the locking position of the fixed locking portion 40 as the fulcrum A, the lower end of the electric wire cover 53 as the power point B, and the contact point with the lower edge 17 of the mounting hole 11 as the action point C. Is set far from the fulcrum A, the turning operation force is greatly reduced. In addition, since the wire cover 53 is used for the lever, the structure can be simply and simply assembled. Further, when the female connector F is attached to the panel 10, as shown in FIG.
3, especially the rear surface of the movable cover portion 53B is formed so as to be parallel to the plate surface of the panel 10 at a position matching the rear edge of the wall 52, so that the amount of protrusion on the rear surface side of the panel 10 is minimized. And space can be saved.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above with reference to the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In a connector without an electric wire cover, a lever for rotating operation may be formed, and such a connector is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. (2) The present invention can be similarly applied to a non-waterproof type connector. (3) The present invention can be similarly applied to a case where the standby side is a male connector.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway exploded side view according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded sectional view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a partial front view of the panel.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the female housing.

FIG. 5 is a rear view thereof.

FIG. 6 is a plan view thereof.

FIG. 7 is a side view thereof.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the mounting operation of the outer seal ring.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the female housing with the outer seal ring mounted.

FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway side view immediately before the female connector is inserted into the mounting hole of the panel.

FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway side view in a state where the fixed locking portion faces the inside of the mounting hole.

FIG. 12 is a partially cutaway side view in a state where a fixed locking portion is locked in a mounting hole.

FIG. 13 is a partially cutaway side view of the female connector being rotated.

FIG. 14 is a partially cutaway side view showing a state where the female connector is attached to the panel.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view immediately before a mating male connector is fitted.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view showing a state where the female connector is fitted.

FIG. 17 is a partially cutaway side view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Panel 11 ... Mounting hole 16 ... Upper edge (of mounting hole 11) 17 ... Lower edge (of mounting hole 11) F ... Female connector 20 ... Female housing (connector housing) 21 ... Board (opposite part) 25 ... Electric wire 31 ... Large hood section 40 ... Fixed locking section 44 ... Movable locking section 46 ... Claw section 50 ... Outer seal ring 53 ... Wire cover (operation lever) 55 ... Corrugated tube A ... Support point B ... Power point C ... Working point

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An outer peripheral surface of a connector housing which is inserted into a mounting hole opened in a panel, and is engaged with an opposing portion facing an edge on one surface of the mounting hole and an edge on the other surface. A locking portion is provided, and a pair of locking portions are provided on both sides of the center in the radial direction, and one of the locking portions is locked in the mounting hole with the connector housing in an oblique posture. After that, the connector housing is rotated in a straight posture, and the other locking portion is locked in the mounting hole so that the locking portion is attached to the mounting hole. A connector mounting structure for a connector, wherein an operation lever protrudes from the provided outer peripheral surface to perform the rotation operation of the connector housing. 2. A rear surface side of the connector housing,
2. A connector mounting panel according to claim 1, wherein an electric wire cover is provided through which the electric wire drawn from the connector housing is bent in a predetermined direction, and the electric wire cover constitutes the operation lever. Construction. 3. The operation lever according to claim 1, wherein the operation lever is formed in a direction substantially parallel to a plate surface of the panel when the connector housing is attached to the panel. Panel mounting structure of the connector described.