JP2008159372A - Connector structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector structure capable of preventing intrusion of foreign matter and water immersion, of improving alignment accuracy and of improving reliability. <P>SOLUTION: When a seat 50 is removed from a floor 30, a floor connector 10 is arranged in a housing part 31 of the floor without exposing its fitting opening 12 into a vehicle interior. When the seat 50 is attached to the floor, the floor connector 10 is rotated by being pressed by a pressing part 55 of a seat connector 52 to expose the fitting opening 12 into the vehicle interior, and automatically connected to the seat connector 52. The floor connector 10 is rotated by amplifying the pressing by the pressing part 55 with a link mechanism. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector structure for connection between a floor connector provided on a floor of a vehicle and a mating connector provided on an assembly such as a seat or a console box that is detachably attached to the floor.

  In recent years, household electrical devices such as portable audio devices have been brought into vehicles such as automobiles, and are also used in vehicle interiors. These electrical devices can be placed beside a console box or seat. is there. Therefore, if there is an outlet in the console box or seat, it is convenient to supply power to these electric devices.

  By the way, for example, the console box tends to be detachably installed on the floor of the vehicle so as to enable a walk-through between the front seat and the rear seat as necessary. In addition, seats tend to be detachably installed on the vehicle floor in order to increase the degree of freedom of seat arrangement.

  When an outlet is provided in a detachable console box or seat, the electrical system in the console box or seat is connected to the electrical system on the floor side when attached. As an example of such a connection structure, one shown in FIG. 14 is known (see Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 14 shows a configuration in which the seat 100 is detachably installed on the floor 101. A seat connector 102 is provided at a lower portion of the front end of the seat 100, and a floor connector 103 is provided at a position corresponding to the seat connector 102 so that a fitting port with the seat connector 102 is exposed in the vehicle interior. As the seat 100 is attached and detached, the connectors 102 and 103 are connected and disconnected.

Special table 2004-524206 gazette

  However, in Patent Document 1, when the seat 100 is removed from the floor 101, the floor connector 103 exposes the fitting port to the vehicle interior, which is convenient for connection. There is a risk of intrusion of foreign matter or water intrusion, and the connection reliability is lowered.

  Further, when the seat 100 is mounted on the floor 101, the seat connector 102 must be aligned with the floor connector 103 while supporting the seat 100. Therefore, the alignment accuracy of both connectors 102 and 103 may be lowered.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to prevent intrusion of foreign substances and water immersion, improve alignment accuracy, and improve reliability. It is to provide a connector structure that can be used.

  The above-described object is achieved by the following floor connectors (1) to (3) according to the present invention.

(1) A floor connector provided on the floor of the vehicle, and a mating connector provided on an assembly that is detachably assembled to the floor, with the assembly of the assembly on the floor. A connector structure in which the floor connector and the mating connector are automatically connected, wherein the floor connector has a fitting port with the mating connector in a housing portion recessed in the floor. It is arranged without being exposed and pivoted so that the fitting port is exposed in the passenger compartment, and one end is engaged with a portion opposite to the fitting port with the turning shaft interposed therebetween, and the other. It has a link mechanism whose end is pivotally supported by the floor, and the assembly or the mating connector has a pressing part that presses the link mechanism, and the assembly is moved to the floor. With the assembly of The floor connector is pressed the link mechanism to the serial pressing portion is rotated so as to expose the fitting opening into the passenger compartment, the connector characterized in that directing the fitting opening to the mating connector structure.
(2) The link mechanism includes a first link member having one end engaged with a portion opposite to the fitting port across the rotation shaft of the floor connector, and one end at the other end of the first link member. And a second link member pivotally supported by the floor at the other end, the second link member being pressed by the pressing portion, and the link of the first link member and the second link member The connector structure according to (1) above, wherein the length is variable.
(3) The connector structure according to (1) or (2), further including biasing means for biasing the link mechanism pressed by the pressing portion in the opposite direction.

  According to the present invention, when the assembly is removed, the floor connector is arranged in the storage portion of the floor without exposing the fitting port to the vehicle interior. Thereby, the penetration | invasion and water immersion of the foreign material in a floor connector can be prevented. Then, when the assembly is assembled, the floor connector rotates to expose the fitting port in the vehicle compartment and automatically connects to the mating connector. Since the floor connector is rotated by amplifying the pressing by the pressing portion by the link mechanism, the pressing portion can be reduced in size, and consequently the connector structure can be reduced in size.

  Further, if the link mechanism includes the first link member and the second link member, the second link member is pressed by the pressing portion, and the link lengths of the first link member and the second link member are variable, the assembly is performed. Even when the pressing by the pressing portion deviates from proper due to an assembly error of the body, it can be absorbed by the link length of the first link member and the second link member, and the rotation angle of the floor connector can be kept appropriate. .

  In addition, if an urging means for urging the link mechanism pressed by the pressing portion in the opposite direction is provided, the floor connector is automatically and reliably returned to the floor storage portion when the assembly is removed. Thus, the fitting port can be concealed, and foreign matters can be prevented from entering and flooding into the floor connector.

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

  1 is a side view before assembling a sheet, FIG. 2 is a side view after assembling the connector structure shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sheet of the connector structure shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view of FIG. 3, and FIGS. 5 to 7 are main part side views for explaining the process of assembling the sheet in the connector structure shown in FIG. 8 to 10 are partially broken side views for explaining an error in assembling the sheet in the connector structure shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 11 to 13 explain a process of removing the sheet in the connector structure shown in FIG. It is a partially broken side view for doing. In the following description, front, rear, left, and right are described according to the direction of the vehicle body, and the left side in FIG. 1 is the front of the vehicle body.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector structure of the present embodiment is used to connect a floor connector 10 provided on the floor 30 and a seat connector 52 provided on a seat 50 detachably assembled to the floor 30. Such a connector structure.

  The floor connector 10 is disposed in a storage portion 31 that is recessed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape on the floor 30, and one seat connector 52 is disposed at the lower front end of the seat 50. A floor wire harness 34 (see FIG. 4) routed in the floor 30 is connected to the floor connector 10, and a seat wire harness 54 (FIG. 4) routed in the seat 50 is connected to one seat connector 52. Is connected).

  From the state in which the foot 51 on the rear end side of the seat 50 is installed at a predetermined position on the floor 30 and the foot 51 on the front end side is lifted from the floor and the seat 50 is inclined, the seat 50 is supported by the foot 51 on the rear end side Are connected to each other in the process in which the front end 51 is installed on the floor 30.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the seat 50 is assembled to a bracket 32 installed on the floor 30 behind the storage unit 31 and adjacent to the storage unit 31. An insertion hole 35 into which the foot 51 on the front end side of the seat 50 is inserted is provided at the front end portion of the bracket 32, and an insertion hole into which the foot 51 on the rear end side of the seat 50 is inserted in the rear end portion of the bracket 32. 35 is provided. Below each insertion hole 35, there is provided a locking tool (not shown) that locks the foot 51 of the inserted sheet 50. The foot 50 is locked to the floor 30 by the locking tool. Assembled.

  The floor connector 10 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped connector housing 11 that accommodates connection terminals, and the connector housing 11 is seated on the front end surface of the connector housing 11 facing forward in a state where the connector housing 11 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 31 of the floor 30. A fitting port 12 with the connector 52 is provided. Further, the floor connector 10 is provided with a rotation shaft 15 at the center of a tab portion extending rearward from the rear end surface of the connector housing 11. The connector housing 11 of the floor connector 10 is pivotally supported by a pair of support arms 33 extending forward from the front end of the bracket 32 so that the fitting port 12 is swung around the pivot shaft 15. It can be turned.

  The floor connector 10 has one end engaged with the tip end portion of the tab portion on the opposite side of the fitting port 12 with the rotation shaft 15 interposed therebetween, and the other end is pivotally supported by the pair of support arms 33 of the bracket 32. A linked mechanism. This link mechanism includes a first link member 14 and a second link member 18.

  The front end of the first link member 14 is engaged with the tip of the tab portion of the floor connector 10, and the first link member 14 can be rotated relative to the connector housing 11 of the floor connector 10 around this engagement location. It is said that. A guide hole 16 extending in the front-rear direction is formed at the rear end portion of the first link member 14, and a locking recess 17 (see FIG. 12) is provided at the front end portion of the guide hole 16.

  The second link member 18 is disposed between the pair of support arms 33 of the bracket 32. The second link member 18 has an engagement pin 20 at the front end thereof, and the engagement pin 20 is inserted into the guide hole 16 of the first link member 14 to engage with the first link member 14. The ends are pivotally supported by a pair of support arms 33 of the bracket 32. The engaging pin 20 is movable in the extending direction in the guide hole 16 of the first link member 14. Accordingly, the link length of the first link member 14 and the second link member 18, that is, the bracket. From the rear end of the second link member 18 pivotally supported by the pair of support arms 33 of 32, through the engaging pin 20 of the second link member 18 inserted into the guide hole 16 of the first link member 14, the floor connector The length of the path leading to the front end of the first link member 14 engaged with the tip of the 10 tab portions is variable.

  Further, the floor connector 10 has a flange-shaped sealing plate 15 that protrudes forward and laterally from the front edge and both side edges of the upper surface of the connector housing 11 integrally with the connector housing 11. In a state where the connector housing 11 is stored in the storage portion 31 of the floor 30, the sealing plate 15 seals the opening of the storage portion 31.

  The seat connector 52 includes a fitting portion 53 that fits into the fitting port 12 of the floor connector 10, and a pressing portion 55 that protrudes toward the floor 30 from the fitting portion 53. In the process in which the seat 50 is assembled to the floor 30 as described above, the pressing portion 55 enters between the pair of support arms 33 of the bracket 32 on the movement trajectory, and the second link member of the floor connector 10. Press 18 down.

  The second link member 18 pushed down by the pressing portion 55 rotates in a predetermined direction around the rear end pivotally supported by the pair of support arms 33 of the bracket 32. The second link member 18 is provided with a biasing means that biases the second link member 18 in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction. In the present embodiment, the urging means is a coil spring 21 wound around the rotating shaft of the second link member 18.

  Operations of the floor connector 10 and the seat connector 52 in the connector structure configured as described above will be sequentially described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in a state where the foot 51 on the front end side floats from the floor and the seat 50 is inclined (see FIG. 1), the connector housing 11 of the floor connector 10 has the floor with the fitting port 12 facing forward. 30 of the storage unit 31, and the opening of the storage unit 31 is sealed by the sealing plate 15. That is, the fitting port 12 is not exposed to the vehicle interior.

  As shown in FIG. 6, as the seat 50 is rotated to a horizontal state, the pressing portion 55 enters between the pair of support arms 33 of the bracket 32 and is on the movement locus. The second link member 18 is pressed down while abutting against the upper surface of the second link member 18 of the connector 10 and sliding the upper surface forward.

  The depression by the pressing portion 55 is amplified at the front end of the second link member 18 that rotates about the rear end and transmitted to the first link member 14. The first link member 14 is displaced so that the engaging portion descends while appropriately rotating relative to the connector housing 11 around the engaging portion with the tab portion of the floor connector 10. Accordingly, the connector housing 11 of the floor connector 10 is turned up so that the fitting port 12 is exposed in the vehicle interior.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the fitting port 12 of the floor connector 10 faces upward in the fitting direction with the fitting portion 40 of the mating connector 34, and the seat connector 52 is further rotated as the seat 50 further rotates. The fitting part 53 is fitted into the fitting port 12 of the floor connector 10, and the connectors 10 and 52 are connected. In the state where the seat 50 is assembled to the floor 30 and both the connectors 10 and 52 are connected, the connector housing 11 of the floor connector 10 is located higher than the surface of the floor 30, preventing water from entering. Yes.

  Here, the pressing of the second link member 18 of the floor connector 10 by the pressing portion 55 may be excessive or insufficient due to an assembly error of the bracket 33 and the seat 50 and a molding error of each portion. For example, when the distance L1 between the side surface of the pressing portion 55 shown in FIG. 8 and the front end surface of the bracket 33 facing the side surface is appropriate, the distance is L2 (> L1) shown in FIG. The pressing of the second link member 18 by the pressing portion 55 becomes excessive. Further, when the distance between the side surface of the pressing portion 55 and the front end surface of the bracket 33 facing the side surface is L3 (<L1) shown in FIG. 10, the pressing of the second link member 18 by the pressing portion 55 is performed. Run short.

  However, in the present embodiment, as described above, the first link member 14 is interposed between the second link member 18 of the floor connector 10 and the connector housing 11, and the link between the first link member 14 and the second link member 18. The length is variable. Therefore, even when the pressing by the pressing portion 55 is not appropriate, the link lengths of the first link portion 14 material and the second link member 18 change, and the connector housing 11 of the floor connector 10 has the floor connector 10 and the seat. It rotates to the alignment accuracy allowed in the connection with the connector 52.

  The depression of the second link member 18 by the pressing portion 55 is amplified at the front end of the second link member 18 that rotates about the rear end and transmitted to the first link member 14. Therefore, as compared with the case where the first link member 14 or the connector housing 11 is pushed down directly, the insertion amount of the pressing portion 55 (the distance from the surface of the floor 30 to the protruding end of the pressing portion 42) L4 is reduced.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, as the seat 50 is removed from the floor 30, the pressing on the second link member 18 by the pressing portion 55 is released. The second link member 18 is biased by the coil spring 21 and rotates in the direction opposite to that when the seat 50 is assembled. At this time, the engagement pin 20 of the second link member 18 fits into the locking recess 17 of the first link member 14 and raises the engagement location between the first link member 14 and the tab portion of the floor connector 10. Thus, the 1st link member 14 is pulled up.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the connector housing 11 of the floor connector 10 is opposite to that when the seat 50 is assembled as the engagement position between the first link member 14 and the tab portion of the floor connector 10 rises. It rotates in the direction and is stored in the storage portion 31 of the floor 30, and the opening of the storage portion 31 is sealed by the sealing plate 15.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the seat 50 is removed, the floor connector 10 is disposed in the storage portion 31 of the floor 30 without exposing the fitting port 12 to the vehicle interior. ing. Thereby, the penetration | invasion and water immersion of the foreign material in the floor connector 10 can be prevented. Then, when the seat 50 is assembled, the floor connector 10 rotates to expose the fitting port 12 to the vehicle interior and automatically connects to the seat connector 52. Since the floor connector 10 is rotated by amplifying the pressing by the pressing portion 55 by the link mechanism, the pressing portion 55 can be reduced in size, and thus the connector structure can be reduced in size.

  Further, the link mechanism includes the first link member 14 and the second link member 18, the second link member 18 is pressed by the pressing portion 55, and the link lengths of the first link member 14 and the second link member 18 are variable. Even when the pressing by the pressing portion 55 deviates from an appropriate state due to an assembly error of the seat 50 or the like, it can be absorbed by the link length of the first link member 14 and the second link member 18, and the rotation of the floor connector 10 The angle can be kept appropriate.

  In addition, the coil spring 21 is provided as a biasing means for biasing the link mechanism pressed by the pressing portion 55 in the opposite direction, and the floor connector 10 is automatically and reliably connected to the floor 30 when the seat 50 is removed. The fitting port 12 can be concealed by returning to the storage portion 31, and entry of foreign matter into the floor connector 10 and water intrusion can be prevented.

  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, the assembly may be a console box instead of the illustrated seat 50.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the connector structure according to an embodiment of the present invention before the seat is assembled. It is a side view after the sheet | seat assembly | attachment of the connector structure shown in FIG. It is an external appearance perspective view before the sheet | seat assembly | attachment of the connector structure shown in FIG. It is a partially broken side view of FIG. It is a principal part side view for demonstrating the assembly | attachment process of the sheet | seat in the connector structure shown in FIG. It is a principal part side view for demonstrating the assembly | attachment process of the sheet | seat in the connector structure shown in FIG. It is a principal part side view for demonstrating the assembly | attachment process of the sheet | seat in the connector structure shown in FIG. It is a partially broken side view for demonstrating the error at the time of sheet | seat assembly | attachment in the connector structure shown in FIG. It is a partially broken side view for demonstrating the error at the time of sheet | seat assembly | attachment in the connector structure shown in FIG. It is a partially broken side view for demonstrating the error at the time of sheet | seat assembly | attachment in the connector structure shown in FIG. It is a partially broken side view for demonstrating the removal process of the sheet | seat in the connector structure shown in FIG. It is a partially broken side view for demonstrating the removal process of the sheet | seat in the connector structure shown in FIG. It is a partially broken side view for demonstrating the removal process of the sheet | seat in the connector structure shown in FIG. It is the schematic of the conventional connector structure.

Explanation of symbols

10 floor connector 12 fitting port 14 first link member (link mechanism)
18 Second link member (link mechanism)
21 Coil spring (biasing means)
30 Floor 31 Storage 50 Seat (Assembly)
52 Sheet connector (mating connector)
55 Pressing part

Claims (3)

A floor connector provided on the floor of the vehicle, and a mating connector provided on an assembly that is detachably attached to the floor;
A connector structure in which the floor connector and the mating connector are automatically connected with the assembly of the assembly to the floor,
The floor connector is disposed in the storage portion recessed in the floor without exposing the fitting port with the mating connector to the vehicle interior and pivots so that the fitting port is exposed to the vehicle interior. A link mechanism having one end engaged with a portion opposite to the fitting port across the rotation shaft and the other end pivotally supported on the floor;
The assembly or the mating connector has a pressing part that presses the link mechanism,
With the assembly of the assembly to the floor, the floor connector having the link mechanism pressed by the pressing portion rotates to expose the fitting port to the interior of the vehicle, and the fitting port is moved to the mating member. Connector structure characterized by being directed to the side connector. The link mechanism is engaged with a first link member having one end engaged with a portion on the opposite side of the fitting port across the rotating shaft of the floor connector, and one end engaged with the other end of the first link member. And a second link member pivotally supported on the floor at the other end,
The second link member is pressed by the pressing portion;
The connector structure according to claim 1, wherein link lengths of the first link member and the second link member are variable.   The connector structure according to claim 1, further comprising a biasing unit that biases the link mechanism pressed by the pressing portion in the opposite direction.

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