JP3231598B2 - Connector misconnection prevention structure - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an erroneous connector prevention structure for a set of male and female connectors closely connected via an O-ring, which prevents mating at a position other than a proper position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a connector that requires waterproofness and dustproofness, a pair of male and female connectors are closely fitted via an O-ring. Therefore, the male and female connectors generally have a cylindrical shape for mounting the O-ring.
In a so-called round connector having such a cylindrical housing, there is a possibility that erroneous coupling may occur in which the relative rotational position around the fitting center axis is inserted at an incorrect position.

A conventional connector having a structure for preventing such erroneous connection will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional misconnection prevention structure in a round connector provided with an O-ring. The circular connector 1
A female connector 7 that accommodates the male terminal 3 in a cylindrical housing 5 and a male connector 13 that accommodates the female terminal 9 in a cylindrical housing 11 are fitted by inserting the housing 11 into the inner periphery of the housing 5. Are combined. An O-ring 15 is attached to the outer periphery of the fitting portion of the housing 11, and the O-ring 15 comes into close contact with the inner periphery of the housing 5 when the male connector 13 is inserted into the female connector 7.
And the housing 11 are sealed in a watertight state.

Locking means 17a and 17b are provided outside the housing 5 and the housing 11, and the female connector 7 and the male connector 13 are prevented from being pulled out after the fitting is completed by the engagement of the locking means 17a and 17b. A regulating protrusion 19 that protrudes forward is provided on the distal end surface of the housing 5. On the other hand, a regulation cavity 21 into which the regulation projection 19 is inserted when the housing 5 and the housing 11 are fitted at the regular fitting position is opened at the tip end surface of the housing 11.

Therefore, when the female connector 7 and the male connector 13 are fitted at positions other than the regular positions, the restricting projections 19 come into contact with the distal end surfaces of the housing 11 other than the restricting cavity 21 and the female connector 7 and the male connector 13 Is prevented from being fitted, and incorrect connection can be prevented.

[0006]

As described above, in the waterproof connector, since the O-ring 15 is used, a round type in which the fitting portion has a cylindrical shape is generally used. Becomes However, in the above-described conventional misconnection prevention structure, since the regulating protrusion 19 is inserted into the regulating cavity 21 to regulate the relative position, the regulating cavity 2
If a foreign matter enters the space 1, there is a problem that the restricting projection 19 cannot be inserted and the connector cannot be fitted. Further, in the above-described incorrect connection preventing structure, since the regulating protrusion 19 and the regulating cavity 21 are formed on the distal end surfaces of the housing 5 and the housing 11, there is a problem that the space for disposing the terminals is narrowed. Further, when the connector 1 is used as a connector that fits in the up-down direction, depending on the positional relationship between the O-ring 15 and the regulating protrusion 19, the O-ring 15 is attached to the housing 5 of the female connector 7 before the regulating protrusion 19 abuts. O-ring 15
Due to the close contact between the female connector 7 and the female connector 7, even when the female connector 7 is not properly fitted, there is a possibility that the female connector 7 may be held as it is, resulting in erroneous connection. On the other hand, if the restricting projection 19 abuts on the distal end surface of the housing 11 before the housings are inserted, the housing cannot be inserted at all before the restricting projection 19 is inserted, and the fitting workability is reduced. there were. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is not necessary to reduce the space for disposing terminals on the distal end surface of a connector. An object of the present invention is to provide a connector erroneous connection preventing structure capable of preventing erroneous insertion, to improve quality by preventing erroneous connection, and to improve fitting workability.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a connector mis-connection preventing structure according to the present invention comprises a cylindrical housing of one connector having an O-ring mounted on the outer periphery.
Wear and is fitted to the inner periphery of the other connector cylindrical housing of erroneous connector the housing with each other to prevent the fitting other than a normal position of a pair of connectors to be closely through the O-ring bond A prevention structure, which is formed on the inner periphery at a position deeper in the insertion direction than the tip of the housing of the other connector, and when fitted at a position other than the regular position, the O-ring is
A bulging portion that abuts against a tip of the housing of the one connector before being tightly closed to prevent insertion of the housings, and a tip of the one housing closer to the tip than the O-ring.
And a cut-out portion formed at the same position as the other connector so as to coincide with the bulging portion and avoid contact with the bulging portion only when the other connector is inserted at a regular position. Monodea Ru. The decoupling structure erroneous configured as this, when the connectors are mated in the regular position, consistent with the bulge portion and the notch portion, and the tip of the expanded portion and the first connector in the notch Is avoided, and the connectors are properly fitted to each other. On the other hand, if the connector is inserted at a position other than the proper position, the bulge and the notch do not match, so that the bulge comes into contact with the tip of the housing of one connector, and the insertion of the connector is prevented. You. In this state,
O-ring is a state prior to insertion into the housing, c
It does not create a holding force acting between the housings due to the close contact . As a result, the O-ring
The connector is not erroneously connected due to the interposition .

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the structure for preventing misconnection according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 <br/> decomposition view illustrating the decoupling structure erroneous connector according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external view showing a state where the connector is fitted in FIG 1, FIG 3 is A-A arrow in FIG. 2 FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the connector erroneous connection prevention structure according to the present invention at the time of regular fitting, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the connector erroneous connection prevention structure according to the present invention at the time of erroneous connection. In the connector erroneous connection prevention structure according to the present embodiment, one connector (male connector) 31 is attached to the lower surface of the device 33 downward. Therefore, the other connector (female connector) 35
Is the male connector 31 from below in the vertical direction as shown in FIG.
Will be fitted.

The male connector 31 has a flange-shaped fixing plate 39 (see FIG. 3) at the center of a cylindrical housing 37.
Is formed, and one end side of the fixing plate 39 is inserted into the mounting hole 41 of the device 33 as a base end. Housing 37
A peripheral groove 43 shown in FIG. 4 is formed on the outer periphery on one end side of the. Therefore, at the base end side of the housing 37 inserted into the mounting hole 41, the O-ring 45 is in close contact with the inner circumference of the mounting hole 41, so that the space between the outer circumference and the inner circumference of the mounting hole 41 is sealed in a watertight state. You. Male connector 3 with base end of housing 37 inserted into mounting hole 41
1 is a device 33 in which a bolt 49 (see FIG. 2) inserted into a hole 47 of the fixing plate 39 is screwed to the device 33.
Fixed to.

A lock arm 51a is connected to the fixing plate 39 of the male connector 31, and the lock arm 51a is engaged with a lock arm of the female connector 35 described later. The male connector 31 fixed to the device 33 has a state in which the distal end side of the housing 37 protrudes from the device 33. A peripheral groove 53 is formed on the outer periphery on the distal end side of the housing 37, and O
The ring 55 is mounted. The O-ring 55 comes into close contact with the inner periphery of the housing of the female connector 35 when the connector is fitted.

The male connector 31 on the tip side of the O-ring 55
The housing 37 has a notch 57 formed by cutting off a part of the outer periphery on the distal end side. In the present embodiment, the notch 57 is formed on the opposite side of the lock arm 51a with respect to the center axis of the male connector 31. Notch 5
Reference numeral 7 may be formed at any position in the circumferential direction of the outer periphery of the housing 37.

On the other hand, the female connector 35 having the cylindrical housing 61 for accommodating the male terminal 59 is
The housing 37 of the male connector 31 is inserted into the inner periphery of the housing. A lock arm 51b is continuously provided on the outer periphery of the housing 61 of the female connector 35, and the lock arm 5
1b engages with the lock arm 51a of the male connector 31 when the female connector 35 and the male connector 31 are properly fitted, thereby restricting removal of the connector.

When the housing 37 of the male connector 31 is inserted into the inner periphery of the housing 61 of the female connector 35,
O attached to the outer periphery of the housing 37 of the male connector 31
The ring 55 is in close contact with the inner periphery of the housing 61 of the female connector 35. A bulged portion 65 is formed on the inner periphery of the housing 61 of the female connector 35 by bulging the inner peripheral surface inward. The bulging portion 65 is formed at a predetermined position deep from the tip of the housing 61 of the female connector 35 in the insertion direction of the male connector 31 . That is, when the female connector 35 is fitted to the male connector 31, the depth thereof is set at a position where the front end of the housing 37 of the male connector 31 comes into contact immediately before the O-ring 55 is brought into close contact with the inner periphery of the female connector 35. It has become.

When the female connector 35 is fitted to the male connector 31 at a proper position, the bulging portion 65 is aligned with the above-described cutout portion 57 formed in the housing 37 of the male connector 31. ing. Therefore, when the cutout portion 57 and the bulging portion 65 are aligned, the female connector 35 is fitted to the regular fitting depth without the bulging portion 65 interfering with the tip of the housing 37 of the male connector 31. The Rukoto.

In the connector erroneous coupling prevention structure configured as described above, the female connector 35 is
When the female connector 35 is inserted at the regular position, the bulging portion 65 reaches the notch 57 with the insertion of the female connector 35, and the bulging portion 65 is connected to the front end of the housing 37 of the male connector 31 by the notch 57. Interference is avoided, and it is inserted into the notch 57 portion.

At the same time as the bulging portion 65 is inserted into the cutout portion 57, the O
The ring 55 starts to come into close contact with the inner periphery of the housing 61 of the female connector 35, and the O-ring 55 comes into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the housing 61 at a predetermined depth by inserting the female connector 35 to a predetermined fitting depth. It will be. As a result, the gap between the male connector 31 and the female connector 35 is
Seals in a watertight state, thereby ensuring waterproofness (see the state in FIG. 4). Also, in the mating completed state,
The lock arms 51a and 51b are engaged, and removal of the connector other than at the time of disengagement is restricted.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
Is inserted at a position other than the regular position, the bulging portion 65 of the female connector 35 does not match the notch portion 57, so that the bulging portion 6
5 comes into contact with the tip of the housing 37 of the male connector 31, thereby preventing the insertion of the female connector 35 into the male connector 31. In this state, the O-ring 55 on the outer circumference of the male connector 31 is connected to the housing 61 of the female connector 35.
Before insertion into the housing 61, and does not generate a holding force due to close contact with the inside of the housing 61. Therefore, the female connector 35 inserted from below at a position other than the normal position
The ring 55 will fall without being erroneously joined by the holding force due to the close contact of the ring 55.

According to the erroneous connection preventing structure described above, the bulging portion 65 is provided at a predetermined depth of the housing 61 of the female connector 35, and coincides with the bulging portion 65 only at a regular fitting position to avoid interference. Since the notch 57 is formed in the housing 37 of the male connector 31, the O-ring 55 comes into close contact with the housing 61 of the female connector 35, and the bulging portion 6 is formed before a holding force is generated.
The erroneous connection in which the female connector 35 is held by the close contact of the O-ring 55 with the tip end of the housing 37 can be reliably prevented.

Since the bulging portion 65 is formed at a predetermined depth from the housing 61 of the female connector 35,
The female connector 35 can be inserted into the male connector 31 at any position before the O-ring 55 is inserted into the housing 61, and the fitting workability is not reduced.

Further, a notch 57 for preventing erroneous connection is provided.
And the bulging portion 65 is provided around the housing 37 and the housing 61, so that the regulating protrusion 19 is provided on the front end surface of the housing.
(See FIG. 6), unlike the conventional structure in which the regulating cavity 21 (see FIG. 6) is provided, the terminal arrangement space does not decrease.

[0021]

As described above in detail, according to the erroneous connection preventing structure according to the present invention, the bulging portion is provided at a predetermined depth of the housing of the other connector, and this bulging portion is provided only at a regular fitting position. A notch is formed in the housing of one of the connectors to coincide with the protruding part, so that when the connector is inserted at a position other than the proper position, the bulging part is formed at the tip of the housing before the holding force is generated by the O-ring. It is possible to reliably prevent erroneous connection in which the connector is held due to the close contact of the O-ring. In addition, since the bulging portion is formed at a predetermined depth in the housing, the connector can be inserted before the O-ring is inserted into the housing, and the fitting workability does not deteriorate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded view showing a connector erroneous connection prevention structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view showing a state where the connector of FIG. 1 is fitted.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view in the direction of arrows AA in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the connector erroneous connection prevention structure according to the present invention at the time of regular fitting.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the connector erroneous connection prevention structure according to the present invention at the time of erroneous connection.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional incorrect connection prevention structure in a round connector provided with an O-ring.

[Explanation of symbols]

 31 male connector (one connector) 35 female connector (the other connector) 37, 61 housing 55 O-ring 57 cutout 65 bulge

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. The cylindrical housing of one connector is
Periphery by mounting an O-ring fitted to the inner periphery of the other connector cylindrical housing, the fitting other than a normal position of a set of connectors the housing to each other are closely through the O-ring A connector erroneous connection preventing structure for preventing the connector from being inserted in the insertion direction from the tip of the housing of the other connector.
It is formed on the inner circumference at a deep position ,
A bulging portion that abuts against a distal end of the housing of the one connector before the O-ring is brought into close contact with the housing to prevent insertion of the housings; a portion of the one housing that is closer to the distal end than the O-ring;
Connector connector of the other is formed in position is characterized by comprising a notch to avoid contact between the bulging portion coincident with the bulge portion only when inserted in a normal position Mis-connection prevention structure.