JP2003045554A - Connector with electric wire cover - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector having an electric wire cover, capable of optionally setting the lead-out direction of an electric wire. SOLUTION: An installed cylinder 23 is formed on a rear surface of a female housing 20 for forming a cavity 25, and the cover 40 is installed here. The installed cylinder 23 is a double cylinder structure of a true circle, and an installing groove 33 is arranged peripherally on the outside of an outer cylinder 31. The cover 40 forms a front opening cap shape, and a deriving 45 of the electric wire 15 is formed by cutting off one surface of a peripheral wall 41. An installed hood 46 is arranged on the front end side of the cover 40, and defectively deformable elastic locking pieces 47 for arranging a projection part 48 on the tip are formed at three places in the middle. The cover 40 is rotatably supported around the axis, by fitting the projection part 48 of the elastic locking pieces 47 in the installed groove 33. The lead-out direction of the electric wire 15 can be changed optionally, by changing the position of the lead-out port 45 by rotating the cover 40.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector with a wire cover.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional connector with an electric wire cover,
For example, there is known one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-190954, in which a cover is attached so as to cover a rear surface of a connector housing provided with a cavity into which a terminal fitting is inserted, The electric wire drawn out to the rear is bent in the cover at a substantially right angle and led out in a predetermined direction from an outlet provided in the cover. This type of connector with an electric wire cover can be used, for example, when it is not possible to secure a sufficient wiring space on the rear surface side depending on the mounting position of the connector, and it is necessary to bend and wire the electric wire immediately after the rear surface of the housing. It is used for simple waterproofing with a cover. In this case, in the conventional case, the direction in which the electric wire is led out from the cover is determined to be one direction, and at most the cover can be installed by reversing left and right, and the electric wire can be led out from the opposite side (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-219245). Gazette).

[0003]

By the way, for reasons such as cost reduction, there is a tendency for connectors and the like to be designed so that they can be shared as much as possible in places where they perform the same function. Also, depending on the model
Alternatively, even in the same vehicle model, it may be necessary to change the lead-out direction of the wire when wiring, depending on the grade difference and the like. Then, you can not share the connector,
There is a problem in that it is necessary to separately manufacture a wire having a different shape depending on the direction in which the electric wire is led out. The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a connector with an electric wire cover in which the lead-out direction of the electric wire can be arbitrarily set.

[0004]

As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 has a rear surface of a connector housing provided with a cavity into which a terminal fitting fixed to an end of an electric wire is inserted. A connector with an electric wire cover, in which a cover is mounted and an electric wire drawn out rearward from the cavity is bent in a substantially right angle in the cover and led out in a predetermined direction from an outlet provided in the cover, It is characterized in that the cover is attached to the rear surface of the connector housing so as to be rotatable around the axis. According to a second aspect of the present invention, according to the first aspect, a circumferential groove is fitted to one of the rear surface of the connector housing and the cover, and the other is rotatably fitted in the circumferential groove. The feature is that the projected wall is formed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, a temporary holding means is provided between the cover and the connector housing to temporarily hold the cover in an arbitrary rotational posture. It has a feature that is provided. A fourth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the third aspect, the temporary holding means is constituted by a frictional resistance between the cover and the connector housing. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the temporary holding means includes a ratchet wheel around which engaging teeth are provided, and a stopper claw capable of elastically meshing with the engaging teeth. It has a feature where it is.

[0006]

<Advantages and effects of the invention><Invention of claim 1> Since the cover is mounted so as to be rotatable about the axis, the outlet of the cover can be oriented in any direction, that is, the direction in which the electric wire is led out is arbitrarily selected. can do. For this reason, the range in which the common connector can be used is expanded regardless of the difference in the wiring conditions, and a significant cost reduction can be realized. <Invention of Claim 2> When the cover is attached, the protrusion wall and the circumferential groove are guided to each other so that the cover can be attached smoothly. The fitting with the groove prevents the cover from tilting.

<Invention of Claim 3> After the lead-out direction of the electric wire is determined, the temporary holding means temporarily holds the cover, that is, the direction of the electric wire, so that the electric wire moves unnecessarily and interferes with other members. To be avoided from. <Invention of Claim 4> Rotation of the cover is regulated and temporarily held by frictional resistance at a mounting engagement portion between the cover and the connector housing. <Invention of Claim 5> The retaining teeth provided on the other side are elastically engaged with the engaging teeth of the ratchet wheel provided on one of the cover and the connector housing, and are temporarily held.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
Through 14 will be described. In this embodiment,
The waterproof connector F on the female side, which is directly connected to the device, is illustrated. As shown in FIGS.
0, and a female-side connector housing 20 for housing the same
(Hereinafter referred to as a female housing) and this female housing 2
0 is attached to the rear surface of the cover 40. The female terminal fitting 10 is formed by pressing a metal plate having excellent conductivity, and is a mating male connector housing 50 (see FIG. 10: hereinafter referred to as male housing).
Has a rectangular tube-shaped connecting portion 11 for accommodating a contact piece to be brought into contact with the male-side terminal fitting 51 provided on the rear side, and caulking a barrel 12 formed behind the connecting portion 11, the waterproof rubber plug 13 and the electric wire 15 Is crimped to the end of.

The female housing 20 is made of synthetic resin,
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the tower portion 21 has a slightly oblong front shape, and a large hood portion 22 is provided around the front end side of the tower portion 21 while the rear end side thereof is provided. A mounting tube 23 is provided around the. Tower section 21
Two cavities 25 into which the above-mentioned female-side terminal fittings 10 can be inserted from the rear side are formed side by side in the inside, and a lance 26 is provided on the ceiling surface of each cavity 25.

As shown in FIG. 10, the small hood portion 52 of the male housing 50 on the device K side can be fitted inside the large hood portion 22, and the upper surface position of the large hood portion 22 can be adjusted. Is provided with a lock arm 28, and the lock arm 28 is provided on the male housing 50 side when the male and female housings 20 and 50 are properly fitted.
By engaging with, it is locked in a fitted state. A packing 29 is fitted to the base portion of the large hood portion 22 of the tower portion 21, and is sandwiched between the small hood portion 52 and the packing 29. One mounting tube 23
A cover 40 can be attached to the. Mounting tube 23
As shown in FIG. 5, has a double-cylinder structure of a perfect circle having an opening on the rear surface side. A mounting groove 33 having a predetermined width is formed at a position near the rear end of the outer cylinder 31 in the mounting cylinder 23 over the entire circumference.

The cover 40 is also made of synthetic resin,
Roughly, it is formed in a cap shape that is attached to the rear end of the mounting cylinder 23 of the female housing 20. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, a bottomed cylinder is vertically divided into two, and both ends of a semicircle in the peripheral wall 41 are extended tangentially by a predetermined dimension.
The bottom wall 42 corresponds to the extension of the peripheral wall 41 and has a shape such that a square portion is added to a semicircle to divide an oval into two. The front end side of the peripheral wall 41 (corresponding to the protruding wall 44 of the present invention) is only a semi-circular portion, and the outer cylinder 3 in the above-described double-structured mounting cylinder 23 of the female housing 20.
It can be fitted into a circumferential groove 35 between 1 and the inner cylinder 32. The both side edges of the circumferential groove 35 and the corners of the tip edge of the protruding wall 44 are tapered for guiding. Therefore, in the cover 40, in addition to the front surface, a part of the peripheral wall 41 (the surface on the right side in FIG. 6) is opened, and this opening is used for the outlet 4 of the electric wire.
It is said to be 5.

As shown in FIG. 3, a mounting hood 46 is formed on the outside of the cover 40 from a position slightly rearward from the front edge of the protruding wall 44 to the base. In other words, the protruding wall 4 is larger than the tip of the mounting hood 46.
The tip of No. 4 projects forward by a predetermined dimension X. The mounting hood 46 corresponds to the rear end side of the peripheral wall 41 described above,
It is formed one size larger than that and is formed into a shape such that an oval is divided into two, and the semicircular portion can be fitted to the outside of the outer cylinder 31 in the mounting cylinder 23 of the female housing 20. ing.

As shown in FIG. 6, elastic locking pieces 47 are provided at three positions, that is, at both ends of the semicircle of the mounting hood 46 and the intermediate position thereof. As shown in FIG. 3, each elastic locking piece 47 is formed in a cantilever shape projecting forward, and its tip is elastically deformable by bending inward and outward with the root side as the center. A projecting portion 48 that can be fitted into the mounting groove 33 of the mounting cylinder 23 is formed on the inner surface of the tip of the elastic locking piece 47. In detail, as shown in FIG. 6, the protruding surface of the protrusion 48 is formed in an arc shape following the bottom surface shape of the mounting groove 33, and the front surface side of the protrusion 48 is formed as shown in FIG. , Is tapered for guides.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When assembling the female connector F, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3, the female-side terminal metal fitting 10 fixed to the end of the electric wire 15 is attached.
7 is inserted into the corresponding cavity 25 of the female housing 20 from the rear side and is inserted to the regular position, as shown in FIG. The entrance of the cavity 25 is blocked. After inserting the two female terminal fittings 10,
Subsequently, the cover 40 is attached to the rear surface of the female housing 20.

In that case, the two electric wires 15 drawn out rearward from both cavities 25 are aligned and bent at right angles in an appropriate direction. Next, the lead-out port 45 is aligned with the portion where the electric wire 15 is bent and extended, and the cover 40 is pushed toward the mounting cylinder 23. First, the tip of the protruding wall 44 of the cover 40 is fitted into the circumferential groove 35 of the mounting cylinder 23, and is guided and pushed straight in. When it reaches the middle of pushing, the projection 48 of the elastic locking piece 47 hits the tip edge of the outer cylinder 31, the elastic locking piece 47 is flexed and deformed outward, and the projection 48 rides on the outer surface of the outer cylinder 31. It is pushed in while sliding. When the rear edge of the mounting cylinder 23 is pushed until it hits the base of the mounting hood 46, the protrusion 48 reaches the position of the mounting groove 33 as shown in FIG.
The protrusion 48 falls into the mounting groove 33 while the body 7 is restored and deformed, whereby the cover 40 is attached to the mounting cylinder 23 in a retaining state. The electric wire 15 is bent at a right angle in the cover 40 and then led out from the lead-out port 45.

When the female connector F is assembled as described above, the female connector F is fitted to the mating male connector M integrally provided on the side surface of the device K in a predetermined rotation posture. When fitted to the normal position, as shown in FIG. 10, the lock arm 28 is elastically locked to the mating lock projection 53 to be locked in the fitted state, and the packing 29 of the female housing 20. By elastically sandwiching between the tower portion 21 and the small hood portion 52 of the male housing 50, the seal between the male and female connectors F and M is taken.
Then, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, if the lead-out port 45 of the cover 40 is open upward in the figure, the electric wire 15 is extended upward through the lead-out port 45 and directed toward a predetermined position. Will be wired.

Here, even though the same female connector F is used, if the vehicle type or the like is different, the mode of wiring changes, and the direction of the electric wire 15 led out from the cover 40 is as shown in FIG. The orientation shown in FIG. 12 may be inconvenient. In that respect, in this embodiment, the mounting structure of the cover 40 is a structure in which the protrusion 48 of the elastic locking piece 47 is fitted in the mounting groove 33 provided around the mounting cylinder 23, and the rearward retaining stopper is not provided. However, it is rotatable about the axis. Therefore, by rotating the cover 40 around the axis, for example, as shown in FIG.
The electric wire 15 can be led out obliquely to the lower left by rotating the electric wire so that the electric wire 15 is obliquely directed to the lower left, or as shown in FIG. By moving, the electric wire 15 can be led out obliquely to the lower right.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the cover 40 is attached to the attachment tube 23 of the female housing 20 so as to be rotatable around the axis, the outlet port 45 of the cover 40 can be oriented in any direction. Wires 15
The derivation direction of can be arbitrarily selected. For this reason,
The range in which the common female connector F can be used is expanded irrespective of the difference in wiring conditions, and a significant cost reduction can be achieved. Further, a circumferential groove 35 is formed on the rear surface of the mounting cylinder 23 of the female housing 20, while the cover 40 is provided with a projecting wall 44 which is rotatably fitted in the circumferential groove 35. It is formed so as to project more forward than 47. Therefore, when the cover 40 is attached, the cover 40 is smoothly and straightly pushed by being guided by the fitting of the circumferential groove 35 and the projecting wall 44 before the elastic locking piece 47 is locked. Further, after the cover 40 is attached, the tilting and rattling of the cover 40 are prevented by fitting the circumferential groove 35 and the protruding wall 44.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition to the above, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) It may be better not to rotate the cover easily after the extending direction of the electric wire is determined. At that time, for example, when the protrusion 48 of the elastic locking piece 47 is fitted into the mounting groove 33, the base end side of the elastic locking piece 47 is elastically pressed against the outer surface of the outer cylinder 31 of the mounting cylinder 23. That is, the structure may be such that an appropriate frictional resistance is generated between the elastic locking piece 47 and the mounting cylinder 23 during rotation. With this structure, although the operation may be somewhat heavy when changing the rotational position of the cover 40, the direction of the cover 40, that is, the electric wire 15 is temporarily held after the lead-out direction of the electric wire 15 is determined. Can be avoided because it moves unnecessarily and interferes with other members.

(2) As another means for temporarily holding the cover 40, as shown in FIG. 15, the mounting groove 33 of the mounting cylinder 23 is used.
A claw wheel 60 around which engaging teeth 61 are provided is formed on the bottom surface of the cover 40, and a stop claw 63 that meshes with the engaging teeth 61 is provided on the protruding surface of the protrusion 48 of the elastic locking piece 47 in the cover 40. You may employ the thing. (3) Contrary to the above embodiment, a circumferential groove may be formed on the cover side and a projecting wall may be formed on the rear surface side of the female housing. (4) The present invention can be similarly applied to the male waterproof connector. (5) Further, the present invention can be widely applied to not only waterproof connectors but also non-waterproof connectors.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded side view of an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an exploded plan view

[Fig. 3] Exploded vertical cross-sectional view

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

[Figure 5] Rear view

FIG. 6 is a front view of the cover.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which the female terminal fitting is inserted.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view with a cover attached.

FIG. 9 is a plan view thereof.

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view showing a state where male and female connectors are fitted together.

FIG. 11 is a side view thereof.

[Figure 12] Rear view

FIG. 13 is a rear view when the cover is rotated to another position.

FIG. 14 is a rear view when the cover is rotated to another position.

FIG. 15 is an exploded plan view according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Female terminal fitting (terminal fitting) 15 ... Electric wire 20 ... Female housing (connector housing) 23 ... Mounting tube 25 ... Cavity 31 ... Outer cylinder 33 ... Mounting groove 35 ... Circumferential groove 40 ... Cover 41 ... Surrounding wall 44 ... Jetting wall 45 ... Outlet 46 ... Mounting hood 47 ... Elastic locking piece 48 ... Projection 60 ... Claw wheel 61 ... Engaging teeth 63 ... Stopper

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Shigeyuki Inagaki             3-1, Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun, Hiroshima Prefecture Mazda             Within the corporation F-term (reference) 5E087 LL03 LL17 LL29 LL35 LL37                       RR25 RR36 RR49

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A cover is attached to a rear surface of a connector housing having a cavity into which a terminal fitting fixed to an end of an electric wire is inserted, and an electric wire drawn rearward from the cavity is formed at a substantially right angle in the cover. A connector with an electric wire cover which is bent and led out in a predetermined direction from an outlet provided in this cover, wherein the cover is attached to a rear surface of the connector housing so as to be rotatable about an axis. A connector with an electric wire cover. 2. A circumferential groove is formed on one of a rear surface of the connector housing and a cover, and a projecting wall rotatably fitted in the circumferential groove is formed on the other side. The connector with an electric wire cover according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 3. The temporary holding means for temporarily holding the cover in an arbitrary rotational posture is provided between the cover and the connector housing. Connector with electric wire cover. 4. The connector with an electric wire cover according to claim 3, wherein the temporary holding means is constituted by a frictional resistance between the cover and the connector housing. 5. The temporary holding means is constituted by a ratchet wheel around which engaging teeth are provided, and a stopper claw capable of elastically meshing with the engaging teeth. Connector with a wire cover as described in.