JP2004348988A - Mounting structure of electric wire cover - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the looseness of an electric cover. <P>SOLUTION: A lock part 28 is formed on a side wall of a housing 20, and lock pieces 70 enabled to bend between a pair of guide grooves 60 are formed at side walls of the cover 30 by notching the pair of guide grooves in the side wall. The cover 30 is locked to the housing 20 in accordance with engagement of the lock part 28 and the lock piece 70. Guides 29 for guiding the cover 30 to a regular locking position in sliding contact with the pair of guide grooves 60 at mounting of the cover 30 are set in protrusion at both sides pinching the lock part 28 at the side walls of the housing 20. Looseness-filling parts 80, to be crushed by the corresponding sliding faces of the guides 29 with pressure when mounting, are set at the guide grooves 60. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a structure for attaching a wire cover to a housing.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, an electric wire cover attached to a rear part of a housing of a waterproof connector has been known. The wire cover has a box shape with an open front and a bottom, and is fitted to the rear of the housing. Locking pieces that can elastically engage with the protrusions on the housing side are formed on both left and right side walls of the wire cover. An engagement hole is provided at the center of the locking piece, and the projection is fitted into the engagement hole. The locking piece is separated by a pair of grooves cut from the front end edge of the side wall, and can be bent between the two grooves. Further, a guide rib of the housing can be engaged with the groove. This type of wire cover mounting structure is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-93611 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-described conventional technique, a gap is formed between the protrusion and the hole wall of the engagement hole after the wire cover is assembled due to the rotation locus of the locking piece, and the wire cover is displaced forward and backward. There is. In addition, a gap may be formed between the groove and the guide rib due to dimensional tolerance, and the wire cover may be displaced vertically. Then, since the electric wire cover is misaligned as a whole and rattled, there is a concern that rattling sound may be generated during traveling when the connector with the electric wire cover is used in a wiring structure of an automobile.
The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and has as its object to eliminate rattling of an electric wire cover.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a mounting structure of an electric wire cover that accommodates electric wires extending from an electric wire outlet surface of a housing and covers the electric wire outlet surface, wherein the housing and A lock portion is formed on one of the side walls of the wire cover, and a locked portion is formed on the other side wall, the locked portion being able to bend between the two guide grooves by cutting a pair of guide grooves. Locking of the wire cover with respect to the housing is performed by engagement of a lock portion and a locked portion, and the pair of guide grooves are provided at both sides of the one side wall that sandwich the lock portion when the wire cover is assembled. A guide portion that slides and guides the wire cover to the proper lock position is protruded, and the guide portion or the guide groove is provided with a sliding contact surface on a mating side during assembly. Has a feature where the ulcer can play elimination unit is configured to provided.
A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the backlash filling portion is provided at a remote position that is not in contact with the locked portion.
[0006]
Function and effect of the present invention
<Invention of claim 1>
Since the guide portion or the guide groove is provided with a backlash filling portion that can be crushed by the mating sliding contact surface during assembly, there is no gap between the guide portion and the guide groove, and the wire cover is It is tightly assembled on the housing side. As a result, rattling of the wire cover is eliminated.
[0007]
<Invention of Claim 2>
Since the backlash filling portion is provided at a remote position where the locked portion is not in contact with the locked portion, a smooth bending operation of the locked portion is ensured without interfering with the bending operation of the locked portion.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The waterproof connector 10 includes a housing 20 capable of accommodating terminal fittings, and an electric wire cover (hereinafter, simply referred to as a cover 30) attached to a rear portion of the housing 20. In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the mutual fitting surfaces of the housing 20 and the cover 30 are defined as the front.
[0009]
The housing 20 is made of a synthetic resin and is integrally formed, and includes a housing main body 21 and a hood 22 surrounding the periphery thereof. A plurality of cavities 23 capable of accommodating female terminal fittings (not shown) are provided in the housing body 21 so as to penetrate back and forth. Inside the cavity 23, a lance (not shown) is provided which can be elastically locked to the terminal fitting. On the other hand, the hood portion 22 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with its rear surface opened, and a mating housing (not shown) is fitted in a fitting space formed between the hood portion 22 and the housing main body portion 21. It is possible. A waterproof member (not shown) made of an elastic material is mounted in the fitting space of the housing 20, and the space between the housing 20 and the mating housing is made watertight.
[0010]
As shown in FIG. 1, a flexible lock arm 24 that locks a mating housing is provided on the upper wall of the housing 20. Protective walls 25 are set up on the left and right sides of the upper wall of the housing 20 with the lock arm 24 interposed therebetween. On the inner surface of the protective wall 25, a regulating wall 26 for regulating excessive bending of the lock arm 24 is substantially horizontal. It is protruded. The side wall of the housing 20 is provided with a retainer insertion opening 27 for inserting a retainer 40 for locking the terminal fitting. The terminal fitting of the present embodiment is configured so as to be double-locked by the retainer 40 and the lance.
[0011]
As shown in FIG. 2, the cover 30 is attached to the housing 20 by engaging with a lock piece 70 (a locked portion of the present invention described later) on the cover 30 at the front end portions of the left and right side walls of the housing 20. A pair of right and left lock portions 28 that can be attached are protruded. A pair of upper and lower rib-shaped guide portions 29 are provided at upper and lower positions on both left and right side walls of the housing 20 with the lock portion 28 interposed therebetween. Each guide portion 29 extends rearward with one end facing the front end surface of the housing 20, and is provided with a length corresponding to an allowance for the cover 30. A guide groove 60 (described later) on the cover 30 can be engaged with each guide portion 29 when the cover 30 is assembled, and the cover 30 is brought into sliding contact with the guide groove 60 so that the cover 30 is brought into a regular lock position. I try to guide.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 3, a wire group 50 connected to a plurality of terminal fittings in the cavity 23 extends from a front end surface of the housing 20 (the wire lead-out surface of the present invention). The wire group 50 comes out of the front end face of the housing 20 and is bent immediately downward. A part of the wire group is bound by tape winding, and the wire group 50 is covered with the corrugated tube 52. The corrugated tube 52 is formed in a bellows shape by a plurality of ridges 53 along the circumferential direction and is bendable. A tube holding portion 32 (described later) of the cover 30 is engaged with the ridge 53 of the corrugated tube 52, and the corrugated tube 52 moves freely in the axial direction as the cover 30 is assembled. It is being regulated.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 6, the cover 30 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin, and includes a mounting portion 31 that fits into the housing 20 while enclosing a wire group 50 extending from the front end surface of the housing 20, and the mounting portion 31. And a tube holding portion 32 connected below the base 31 and holding the corrugated tube 52.
As shown in FIG. 7, the tube holding portion 32 of the cover 30 includes first and second divided members 33A and 33B and a hinge portion 34 that connects these members so that they can be opened and closed in the circumferential direction. By assembling 33A and 33B, it is formed in a cylindrical shape as a whole. As shown in FIG. 7, a rigidity lowering portion 34A for facilitating bending of the hinge portion 34 is provided through the center of the hinge portion 34. Further, the inner periphery of each of the divided members 33A and 33B is cut out in an arc 33C substantially along the outer periphery of the corrugated tube 52, and here an annular groove that fits in a protruding manner with the ridge 53 of the corrugated tube 52. 35 (see FIG. 9) are formed.
[0014]
The first divided member 33A is fixedly connected to the mounting portion 31, while the second divided member 33B is rotatable about a hinge 34 in a direction perpendicular to the axis. The second divided member 33B is formed with a flexible elastic piece 36 protruding toward the side of the outer wall on the other side, and the corresponding first divided member 33A has an elastic flexible piece 36 formed thereon. Is formed with a lock projection 37 that can be engaged with a lock hole 36A (see FIG. 8) held by the lock projection. The rear of the lock hole 36A in the elastic bending piece 36 is open for die cutting for forming the lock hole 36A. Further, the elastic bending piece 36 and the lock protrusion 37 are provided at two locations (see FIG. 5) on the left and right ends of the bottom surface of each of the divided members 33A and 33B, and the hinge portion 34 of the left and right side walls of each of the divided members 33A and 33B. Are provided at one location (see FIGS. 6 and 9) on the side wall on the side opposite to the side where the is provided, and a total of three locations. When the corrugated tube 52 is sandwiched between the two divided members 33A and 33B, and the lock projection 37 is fitted in the lock hole 36A of the elastically bent piece 36 in this state, the corrugated tube 52 is sandwiched and held in a locked state. It has become.
[0015]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the mounting portion 31 of the cover 30 has a flat ceiling portion 31 </ b> A and an electric wire that is suspended from the substantially U-shaped outer edge portion of the ceiling portion 31 </ b> A and covers the side of the electric wire group 50. And a cover 31B so that the front opening is closed at the front end surface of the housing 20 during assembly.
At both left and right ends of the ceiling 31A, protruding edges 39 are provided which slightly protrude laterally and whose protruding tips are raised upward. The protruding edge portion 39 is assembled such that the protection wall 25 of the housing 20 is on the inside.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 8, a pair of upper and lower guide grooves 60 are formed in the wire covering portion 31B by making cuts from two upper and lower positions on the front end to the rear. A pair of left and right deflectable lock pieces 70 (locked portions of the present invention) are provided at portions of the electric wire covering portion 31B separating the upper and lower guide grooves 60 toward the left and right side walls of the housing 20 side. It is formed in a protruding shape. The lock piece 70 is formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape as a whole, and has an engagement hole 71 at the center thereof, which can be fitted to the lock portion 28 on the housing 20 side. The rear side of the engagement hole 71 in the lock piece 70 is opened for die cutting to form the engagement hole 71.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a play filling portion 80 is formed on an inner wall surface of the guide groove 60 of the electric wire covering portion 31 </ b> B that is separated from the lock piece 70. Specifically, the backlash filling portion 80 slightly protrudes toward the lock piece 70 on the inner wall surface of the guide groove 60 and extends in the front-rear direction. When the cover 30 is assembled to the housing 20, the play filling portion 80 can be crushed by the sliding contact surface of the guide portion 29 on the housing 20 side. That is, the height of the gap between the backlash filling portion 80 and the lock piece 70 is set smaller than the width of the guide portion 29 on the housing 20 side.
[0018]
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. First, after covering the corrugated tube 52 so as to cover the tape-wound portion of the electric wire group 50 extending from the front end surface of the housing 20, the tube holding portion 32 of the cover 30 is clamped to the corrugated tube 52. In this state, the front surface of the mounting portion 31 of the cover 30 faces the front end surface of the housing 20, and the cover 30 is further pushed into the housing 20. Then, the guide portion 29 of the housing 10 starts to enter the guide groove 60 of the cover 30, and the leading end of the backlash filling portion 80 comes into contact with the corresponding guide portion 29 and is crushed. The cover 30 is pushed in while crushing the backlash filling portion 80, and the cover 30 is moved along the guide portion 29. Then, the lock piece 70 rides on the lock portion 28 while flexing and deforming, and elastically restores beyond the lock portion 28 to fit the lock portion 28 into the locking hole 71. When the cover 30 reaches the proper lock position in this way, the wire group 50 extending from the front end surface of the housing 20 is guided and protected by the cover 30 and extends downward.
[0019]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the guide groove 60 of the cover 30, the backlash filling portion 80 that is crushed by the sliding contact surface of the corresponding guide portion 29 at the time of assembly is provided. There is no clearance between the cover 30 and the guide groove 60, and the cover 30 fits tightly with the housing 20. As a result, it is possible to prevent the rattle of the cover 30 from being generated while the vehicle is running.
Further, since the backlash filling portion 80 is provided at a remote position where the lock piece 70 is not in contact with the lock piece 70, a smooth bending operation is ensured without interfering with the bending operation of the lock piece 70.
[0020]
<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and furthermore, besides the following, within the scope not departing from the gist. Can be implemented with various modifications.
[0021]
(1) In the above embodiment, the lock piece is provided on the cover side and the lock part is provided on the housing side. However, in the present invention, the lock part may be provided on the cover side and the lock piece may be provided on the housing side.
(2) In the above embodiment, the play reducing portion is provided on the guide groove side. However, in the present invention, the play reducing portion may be provided on the guide portion side. In this case, it is preferable to provide a play reducing portion on a slidable contact surface of the guide portion at a remote position that is not in contact with the lock piece.
[0022]
(3) In the above embodiment, the guide portion is provided in a rib shape. However, in the present invention, the guide portion may be a mere protrusion having no particular length.
[0023]
(4) In the present invention, the lock arm having the claw portion on the distal end side may be used as a lock piece, and the engagement hole into which the claw portion of the lock arm is engaged may be used as the lock portion.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a right side view. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a left side view. FIG. 7 is a front view of the electric wire cover. FIG. 8 is a right side view of the electric wire cover. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the electric wire cover.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Waterproof connector 20 ... Housing 28 ... Lock part 29 ... Guide part 30 ... Cover 50 ... Wire group 60 ... Guide groove 70 ... Lock piece (locked part)
80 ... backlash filling part

Claims (2)

An electric wire cover mounting structure that accommodates electric wires extending from the electric wire outlet surface of the housing and covers the electric wire outlet surface,
A lock portion is formed on one of the side walls of the housing and the electric wire cover, and a locked portion is formed on the other side wall such that a pair of guide grooves is cut so as to be able to bend between the two guide grooves. The electric wire cover is locked to the housing by engagement of the lock portion and the locked portion,
At both sides of the lock portion on the one side wall, a guide portion that slides into contact with the pair of guide grooves and guides the wire cover to a regular lock position when the wire cover is assembled is protruded,
The guide cover or the guide groove is provided with a backlash filling portion that can be crushed by a mating sliding surface during assembly. 2. The wire cover mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the backlash filling portion is provided at a remote position that is not in contact with the locked portion. 3.

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