JP2015207448A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a connector from being attached to a panel in a half engagement state.SOLUTION: A first housing 10 has a lever 60 which is rotatably attached thereto. When the lever 60 is rotated to an engagement position, the first housing 10 and a second housing 40 get to a proper engagement state respectively. The first and second housings 10 and 40 at the engagement state are inserted into a mounting hole 91 of a panel 90 and held by the panel 90. The lever 60 has a panel lock unit 64 which is dispose so as to be engaged with the panel 90 at an engagement position to prevent the first and second housings 10 and 40 from the panel 90.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a connector including a housing that is inserted into a mounting hole of a panel. A plurality of locking portions are provided at intervals on the outer peripheral surface of the housing. When the housing is inserted into the mounting hole of the panel, each lock portion is elastically locked to the opening edge of the mounting hole of the panel, so that the housing is prevented from coming out from the panel.

JP 2011-28988 A

  By the way, in this type of panel mounting type connector, the housing is not inserted into the mounting hole of the panel in a standby state for the reasons of the manufacturing process. Both housings in a state may be inserted into the mounting holes of the panel. In that case, even if the two housings are not properly fitted (hereinafter referred to as a semi-fitted state), there is a risk that the operator may attach the half-fitted connector to the panel without noticing. is there.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to prevent a half-fitted connector from being attached to a panel.

  A first housing and a second housing that can be fitted to the first housing, wherein a lever is rotatably attached to the first housing, and when the lever is turned to a fitting position, The first and second housings are in a properly fitted state, and the first and second housings in the fitted state are inserted into panel mounting holes and held by the panel, the lever Is characterized in that a panel lock portion is provided for restricting the first and second housings from coming out of the panel by being arranged so as to be latched to the panel at the fitting position. Have.

  When the first and second housings are in a proper fitting state, the lever is rotated to the fitting position, and the panel lock portion is disposed so as to be locked to the panel. The panels of the first and second housings The first and second housings are held by the panel since the escape from the housing is restricted. On the other hand, when the first and second housings are in the half-fitted state, the lever does not reach the fitting position, and the panel lock portion cannot be locked to the panel. Withdrawal from the panel is allowed, and the first and second housings are not held by the panel. Therefore, if the first and second housings are prevented from coming out of the panel, it can be determined that the first and second housings are properly fitted, and the first and second housings can be removed from the panels. If it can be removed, it can be determined that the first and second housings are in a semi-fitted state. As a result, the first and second housings in the semi-fitted state are prevented from being attached to the panel as they are.

In the Example of this invention, it is sectional drawing which shows the state in which the connector was attached to the panel. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of the process in which a connector is attached to a panel. It is sectional drawing which shows the state by which a lever is not rotated to a fitting position and attachment to the panel of a connector is controlled. It is sectional drawing of the 1st housing with which the lever was attached to the initial position. It is a side view similarly. It is also a front view. It is a front view of the 2nd housing. It is sectional drawing of a 2nd housing. It is a side view of the 2nd housing.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown below.
The first housing is provided with a sandwiching wall for sandwiching the panel with the panel lock portion when the lever is in the fitting position. When the panel is sandwiched between the sandwiching wall and the panel lock portion, the connector is stably held on the panel.

  At least one of the first and second housings is provided with an engagement groove at a position opposite to the panel lock portion when the first and second housings are in a fitted state. A hole edge portion of the hole is inserted and engaged with the engagement groove, and the first and second housings in the fitting state are tilted with the engagement position as a fulcrum, whereby the panel lock portion is moved to the panel. It comes to the position which can be locked to. According to this, since it is not necessary to provide a lock structure for the panel at the position opposite to the panel lock portion, when removing the connector (first and second housing) from the panel, only the lock on the panel lock portion side is used. It is sufficient to release the lock, and the workability of taking out is improved.

  The engagement groove is defined between a first engagement wall provided in the first housing and a second engagement wall provided in the second housing. With such a configuration, if the first and second housings are in a half-fitted state, the separation distance between the first engagement wall and the second engagement wall becomes large, and the groove of the engagement groove Since the width increases, the tilting operation of the first and second housings is not performed properly, and the attachment of the first and second housings to the panel is restricted. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the half-fitted connector from being attached to the panel.

<Example>
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The connector according to the embodiment is inserted into an attachment hole 91 provided in the panel 90 of the vehicle body and attached to the panel 90. The first and second housings 10 and 40 that can be fitted to each other, And a lever 60 attached to the housing 10. In the following description, with respect to the front-rear direction, the surfaces facing each other when the first and second housings 10 and 40 start to be fitted are defined as the front, and the vertical direction is based on each drawing. Moreover, in the following description, the width direction is synonymous with the left-right direction of FIG.6 and FIG.7.

  The second housing 40 is made of synthetic resin, and has a block-shaped terminal accommodating portion 41 as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the terminal accommodating portion 41 is provided with a plurality of second cavities 42 extending in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 8, the second terminal fitting 45 is inserted into each second cavity 42 from behind. The 2nd terminal metal fitting 45 has the 2nd barrel part 44 connected to the terminal part of the electric wire W2 in the rear part, and the tab part 16 (after-mentioned) of the 1st terminal metal fitting 15 of the other party is inserted and connected to the front part. A cylindrical box portion 43 is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, slit-shaped receiving grooves 46 are cut in the front surface of the terminal accommodating portion 41 at three positions spaced apart in the vertical direction over the entire width. As shown in FIG. 7, a pair of columnar cam followers 47 protrude from both side surfaces of the terminal accommodating portion 41. Further, a second engagement wall 48 protrudes from the center portion in the width direction of the lower surface of the terminal accommodating portion 41. As shown in FIG. 9, the second engagement wall 48 has a trapezoidal shape when viewed from the side, and has a shape in which a protruding dimension is increased downward from the rear end surface toward the front. The front surface of the second engagement wall 48 is a flat surface 49 along the width direction and the vertical direction, and is in surface contact with the surface of the panel 90 in a state of being attached to the panel 90 as shown in FIG. Contact is possible.

  The first housing 10 is made of synthetic resin, and has a block-shaped housing body 11 and a hood portion 12 that protrudes forward from the front end of the housing body 11 as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6. The housing body 11 is provided with a plurality of first cavities 13 extending in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the first terminal fitting 15 is inserted into each first cavity 13 from the rear. The 1st terminal metal fitting 15 has the 1st barrel part 14 connected to the terminal part of the electric wire W1 in the rear part, and has the tab part 16 which protrudes in the food | hood part 12 in the front part.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, horizontal plate-like projecting piece plates 17 are provided on the front surface of the housing main body 11 so as to protrude into the hood portion 12 at three positions spaced vertically. As shown in FIG. 1, when the first and second housings 10 and 40 are fitted, the protruding piece plates 17 are positioned and inserted into the receiving grooves 46 of the terminal accommodating portion 41.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, a pair of cam follower entry grooves 18 extending in the front-rear direction and opening at the front end are provided on both side walls of the hood portion 12. In addition, an engagement wall entry groove 19 that extends in the front-rear direction and opens at the front end is provided at the center in the width direction of the lower wall of the hood portion 12 (see FIG. 6). When the first and second housings 10 and 40 are fitted, the cam follower 47 enters the cam follower entry groove 18 and is released, and the second engagement wall 48 is inserted into the engagement wall entry groove 19 as shown in FIG. Enter and escape.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the first housing 10 is provided with an outer surrounding portion 20 that surrounds the periphery of the housing body 11, and further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the outer surrounding portion 20. An annular plate-like flange portion 21 is provided so as to project from the front end to the outside over the entire circumference. The outer surrounding portion 20 is configured to protrude greatly above the housing body 11. A vertical plate-like closing wall 22 is provided at the upper part in the outer surrounding portion 20 so as to stand from the front end portion on the upper surface of the housing body 11 and partition the rear end of a lever insertion portion 25 described later.

  The lower end portion of the flange portion 21 is integrally connected to the lower surface of the hood portion 12, and the front surface is the second engagement wall 48 when the first and second housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted as shown in FIG. 1. And a first engagement wall 23 arranged substantially in parallel with a predetermined interval. Further, when the first and second housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted, an engagement groove 24 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is formed between the first engagement wall 23, the second engagement wall 48, and the hood portion 12. It is designed to be partitioned. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the first and second housings 10, 40 are attached to the panel 90, the hole edges of the attachment holes 91 of the panel 90 are inserted into the engagement grooves 24 and engaged. It is supposed to be combined.

  As shown in FIG. 6, lever insertion in which a lever 60 is inserted between both side portions of the flange portion 21 and both side surfaces of the hood portion 12 and between the upper portion of the flange portion 21 and the upper surface of the hood portion 12. The part 25 is provided open. The upper end portion of the flange portion 21 is disposed at a large distance above the hood portion 12 via the lever insertion portion 25, and the panel 90 can be sandwiched between the lever 60 and a panel lock portion 64 described later. The sandwiching wall 26 is configured. A notch-shaped recess 27 that opens toward the lever insertion portion 25 is provided at the lower end edge of the holding wall 26.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the first housing 10 is covered with a grommet 80 from the rear. The grommet 80 has a rubber boot shape, and a fitting groove 81 that is externally fitted to the flange portion 21 is provided at the front end portion over the entire circumference, and the plurality of electric wires W1 drawn out from the first housing 10 are surrounded at the rear portion. A surrounding cylinder 82 is provided to extend. Further, the front end portion of the grommet 80 is provided with an expanding portion 83 that expands in a tapered shape from the bulging portion having the fitting groove 81 to the front.

  Next, the lever 60 will be described. The lever 60 is made of synthetic resin and has a portal plate shape as shown in FIG. 6, and includes a connecting portion 61 along the width direction, and both ends of the connecting portion 61 in the width direction. It consists of a pair of arm parts 62 which protrude substantially parallel to each other. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, cam grooves 63 extending in a predetermined direction are provided on the inner surfaces of both arm portions 62. A panel lock portion 64 is provided at the center in the width direction of the connecting portion 61. The panel lock portion 64 is disposed so as to be able to bend between a pair of slits placed on both sides of the connecting portion 61 and extends in a cantilevered manner from the front end portion of the connecting portion 61 to the rear. Yes. As shown in FIG. 5, a lock protrusion 65 projects from the upper surface of the panel lock portion 64. In the lever 60, both arm portions 62 are inserted into the lever insertion portion 25, and the arm portion 62 is fitted and supported on a shaft portion (not shown) provided in the hood portion 12, and the shaft portion is centered on the first housing 10. It is possible to rotate between the initial position and the fitting position.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the initial position, the arm portion 62 is inclined so that the upper portion of the arm portion 62 protrudes forward and forward of the hood portion 12, and as shown in FIG. In this case, the arm part 62 is arranged so as to stand substantially vertically, and the rear part of the arm part 62 is accommodated in the lever insertion part 25. Further, the connection portion 61 gradually approaches the holding wall 26 as it goes from the initial position to the fitting position. As shown in FIG. 1, the connection portion 61 is arranged at a large distance above the hood portion 12 in the fitting position. Then, the rear end portion of the panel lock portion 64 enters the concave portion 27 of the holding wall 26 and is allowed to escape.

Next, a connector fitting operation and a connector attaching operation to the panel 90 according to the present embodiment will be described.
First, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the lever 60 is held at the initial position. In the initial position, the entrance of the cam groove 63 of the lever 60 is arranged facing forward. Subsequently, the terminal accommodating portion 41 of the second housing 40 is shallowly fitted into the hood portion 12 of the first housing 10. Then, the cam follower 47 enters the entrance of the cam groove 63 of the lever 60 through the cam follower entry groove 18. In this state, the lever 60 is rotated counterclockwise in the drawing toward the fitting position. In the process of moving the lever 60 toward the fitting position, the cam follower 47 slides on the groove surface of the cam groove 63, the cam action is exerted, and the terminal accommodating portion 41 is gradually drawn into the hood portion 12. When the lever 60 reaches the fitting position, the terminal accommodating portion 41 is inserted into the hood portion 12 at a normal depth, and the first and second housings 10 and 40 are in a normal fitting state. Thereby, the tab part 16 of the 1st terminal metal fitting 15 is inserted in the box part 43 of the 2nd terminal metal fitting 45, and is electrically connected (refer FIG. 1).

  When the first and second housings 10 and 40 are properly fitted, the second engagement wall 48 is disposed at a predetermined interval from the first engagement wall 23 to form the engagement groove 24, and The lock protrusion 65 of the panel lock part 64 is arranged at a predetermined interval from the holding wall 26 (see FIG. 1). In this case, since the first engagement wall 23 and the clamping wall 26 are fitted in the fitting groove 81 of the grommet 80, the expanded portion 83 of the grommet 80 is formed on the second engagement wall 48 and the lock protrusion 65. Opposed to each other.

  Subsequently, the first and second housings 10 and 40 in the above-described fitting state (hereinafter simply referred to as the first and second housings 10 and 40 are referred to as the first and second housings 10 and 40 in the fitting state). Is inserted into the mounting hole 91 of the panel 90 and attached to the panel 90.

  At the time of attachment, first, as shown in FIG. 2, the lower hole edge of the attachment hole 91 of the panel 90 is inserted into the engagement groove 24 of the first and second housings 10 and 40, and the first and second holes are inserted into the panel 90. The housings 10 and 40 are hooked and engaged. Next, the first and second housings 10 and 40 are rotated clockwise in the drawing with the position where the lower hole edge of the mounting hole 91 of the panel 90 is inserted into the engagement groove 24 (hereinafter referred to as the engagement position) as a fulcrum. Tilt (turn). Then, the panel lock portion 64 approaches toward the upper hole edge of the attachment hole 91, and the lock protrusion 65 is attached to the attachment hole 91 of the panel 90 immediately before the first and second housings 10 and 40 are properly attached to the panel 90. The panel lock portion 64 is bent and deformed by interfering with the upper hole edge.

  When the first and second housings 10 and 40 are properly attached to the panel 90, the panel lock portion 64 is elastically restored, and the lock protrusion 65 is an opening edge portion of the attachment hole 91 of the panel 90 as shown in FIG. It is arranged so that it can be locked to. This prevents the first and second housings 10 and 40 from coming out to the back side (the left side in the figure) of the panel 90. In addition, the panel 90 is sandwiched in the plate thickness direction between the lock projection 65 of the panel lock portion 64 and the sandwiching wall 26 via the widened portion 83 of the grommet 80, whereby the first and second housings 10, 40 is held by the panel 90 in a retaining state. The expanded portion 83 of the grommet 80 is in close contact with the opening edge portion of the mounting hole 91 of the panel 90 so that the space between the first and second housings 10 and 40 and the panel 90 is liquid-tightly sealed. The

  On the other hand, when the first and second housings 10 and 40 do not reach the proper fitted state (hereinafter referred to as a semi-fitted state), the lever 60 does not reach the fitted position, and therefore the panel lock portion 64 is locked. The protrusion 65 and the sandwiching wall 26 are arranged with a large interval that is greater than or equal to the predetermined interval described above. Therefore, even if the first and second housings 10 and 40 in the semi-fitted state are tilted with the engagement position as a fulcrum and attached to the panel 90, as shown in FIG. The panel 90 cannot be sandwiched between the protrusion 65 and the sandwiching wall 26 via the expanded portion 83 of the grommet 80. Therefore, the first and second housings 10 and 40 in the semi-fitted state are not held by the panel 90 and are pulled out to the back side of the panel 90. As a result, it is possible to know that the first and second housings 10 and 40 are in a semi-fitted state when the panel 90 cannot be attached.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, if the first and second housings 10 and 40 are prevented from being removed from the panel 90, the first and second housings 10 and 40 are in a properly fitted state. When it is possible to determine that the first and second housings 10 and 40 are not pulled out from the panel 90, it is determined that the first and second housings 10 and 40 are in a semi-fitted state. Can do. As a result, it can be detected that the first and second housings 10 and 40 are in the half-fitted state, and the first and second housings 10 and 40 in the half-fitted state are attached to the panel 90 as they are. Is prevented.

  In the case of the present embodiment, the engaging groove 24 of the first and second housings 10 and 40 is inserted and engaged with the lower hole edge of the mounting hole 91 of the panel 90, and the first and By tilting the second housing 10, 40, the panel lock portion 64 reaches a position where it can be locked to the panel 90, and the first and second housings 10, 40 are attached to the panel 90. That is, since the engagement groove 24 is provided in the lower part of the first and second housings 10 and 40 on the opposite side of the panel lock portion 64, and no lock structure is provided for the panel 90, When removing the first and second housings 10 and 40, it is only necessary to unlock the lock of the panel lock portion 64, and the workability of taking out is improved.

  Furthermore, since the engagement groove 24 is defined between the first engagement wall 23 of the first housing 10 and the second engagement wall 48 of the second housing 40, the first and second housings 10, 40 are provided. In the half-fitted state, the separation distance between the first and second engagement walls 23 and 48 is increased, and the groove width of the engagement groove 24 is widened. As a result, the first and second housings 10 and 40 in the half-fitted state are not properly tilted with the engagement position as a fulcrum, and the first and second housings 10 and 40 in the half-fitted state are not properly operated. The situation of being attached to the panel 90 is more reliably prevented.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following aspects are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) At least one of the first and second housings may be provided with an elastic lock portion that is elastically locked to the panel.
(2) A plurality of elastic lock portions and panel lock portions in (1) above may be provided.
(3) The first housing to which the lever is attached may be a female connector housing that does not have a hood portion protruding forward.
(4) In the above-described embodiment, the engagement groove is provided across both the first and second housings. However, according to the present invention, the engagement groove is provided in only one of the first and second housings. It may be provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... 1st housing 21 ... Flange part 23 ... 1st engagement wall 24 ... Engagement groove 40 ... 2nd housing 47 ... Cam follower 48 ... 2nd engagement wall 60 ... Lever 64 ... Panel lock part 80 ... Grommet 90 ... Panel 91 ... Mounting hole

Claims (4)

A first housing and a second housing that can be fitted to the first housing, wherein a lever is rotatably attached to the first housing, and when the lever is turned to a fitting position, The first and second housings are in a proper fitting state, and the first and second housings in the fitting state are inserted into the mounting holes of the panel and are held by the panel,
The lever is provided with a panel lock portion for restricting the first and second housings from coming out of the panel by being arranged to be able to be locked to the panel at the fitting position. Characteristic connector.   2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the first housing is provided with a sandwiching wall that sandwiches the panel between the first housing and the panel lock portion when the lever is in a fitting position.   At least one of the first and second housings is provided with an engagement groove at a position opposite to the panel lock portion when the first and second housings are in a fitted state. A hole edge portion of the hole is inserted and engaged with the engagement groove, and the first and second housings in the fitting state are tilted with the engagement position as a fulcrum, whereby the panel lock portion is moved to the panel. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector reaches a position where it can be locked.   4. The engagement groove is defined between a first engagement wall provided in the first housing and a second engagement wall provided in the second housing. Connector.

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