JP3259807B2 - Protective cover for connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector and, more particularly, to a protective cover for a connector mounted on a connector for an air bag.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, an airbag connector 10 has a terminal 13 with an electric wire inserted from the rear of a terminal accommodating chamber 12 of an insulating housing 11, and each of the chambers is provided with an electric wire. A waterproof rubber plug 14 is fitted into the plug. And
A front rising base 15a is provided on the outer peripheral wall of the insulating housing 11.
The arm 15 is provided with a locking portion 15c with a lock projection 15b for a mating connector (not shown).

In the connector 10, since the front end of the terminal accommodating chamber 12 is open, dust may enter and cause poor contact. Further, since the locking arm 15 is exposed to the outside, the lock projection 15b may be damaged by an external force or contact with another device. Therefore, before actual use, as shown in FIG. 5 (B), a protective cover 16 is mounted to protect the locking arm 15 together with dust protection. The protection cover 16 has a structure in which a locking arm housing chamber 17 is formed so as to protrude, and a lock projection 15b is engaged with a long hole 17b formed in a ceiling wall 17a of the protection cover 16, so that the connector 10 is locked.

[0004]

In the protective cover 16 shown in FIG. 5B, since the protective cover 16 has the elongated hole 17b which is still open when it is mounted on the connector 10, there is a possibility that dust or moisture may enter therefrom. . Further, since the lock projection 15b is exposed from the long hole 17b, there is a possibility that the lock projection 15b is damaged by the external force as described above. Further, in an actual assembly process in which a large number of connectors are required for one set of wire harnesses, it is time-consuming to push down the locking arm 15 by hand to release the lock, and then remove the protective cover 16. 10 may be forcibly pulled, deforming the lock projection 15b, and possibly impairing the function of the locking arm 15.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has a connector protection cover that can be easily attached to and detached from a connector, eliminates an external force applied to a locking arm, and can be completely protected from the outside. The task is to provide

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a protective cover for a connector according to the present invention is provided on an outer peripheral wall of an insulating housing through a front rising base portion.
Connector with a locking arm extending rearward
For protection, a cylinder with one end open and the other end closed
In the connector protective cover formed by
On the inner surface of the cover peripheral wall on both sides in the width direction of the king arm
A pair of flexible locking walls protruding from the locking arm;
Into the bending space of the locking arm and
The pair of flexible locks is provided with a locking projection that engages with the rising base.
Provided on the wall, wherein the locking projection is
Formed into a mountain shape or arc shape that is symmetrical in the forward and backward directions
The adopted configuration was adopted. Accommodates the locking arm
The flexible lock wall hangs from both side walls of the arm accommodating chamber.
Formed and perpendicular to the direction in which the flexible lock wall hangs
The locking projections may be positioned symmetrically in the directions
2). It is preferable that a finger contact portion is provided on the other end side of the closed cylindrical body (Claim 3 ).

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the connector protective cover does not have a long hole opened to the outside as a lock means for the locking arm of the connector as in the prior art, there is a possibility that dust may enter inside or an external force may be applied to the locking arm. No protection and complete protection. Further, since the lock between the connector and the protective cover is performed by a pair of flexible lock walls provided on the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the cover , there is no risk of damaging the lock projection of the locking arm. It is not necessary to perform the operation of pushing down the button, and it is only necessary to pull them apart from each other, and the operation is simple. Furthermore, by providing a finger cover on the connector protective cover according to the third aspect, a force is easily applied when the connector is separated, and the connector is prevented from slipping, so that the work is further facilitated.

[0008]

1 is a perspective view of a connector protective cover according to the present invention, FIG. 2A is a front view thereof, and FIG.
-X-ray sectional view was shown. Further, the same components as those of the conventional example will be described using the same reference numerals. In these figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a protective cover made of synthetic resin,
The rear end is open corresponding to the outer shape of, and the front end is formed as a closed rectangular cylinder.

On the upper peripheral wall 2 of the protective cover 1 corresponding to the locking arm 15 of the connector 10, an arm accommodating chamber 3 for accommodating the locking arm 15 is formed so as to protrude, and both side walls 3a of the arm accommodating chamber 3 are formed. , 3a, a pair of flexible locking walls 4, 4 are extended toward the inside of the protective cover 1, and a locking projection engaged with a front rising base 15a of the locking arm 15 is provided on the inner front surface of the locking wall 4. 5 are protrudingly provided. As shown in FIG. 2B, the locking projection 5 is formed in a mountain shape or an arc shape having a taper 5a at the front and rear, and has a so-called semi-lock type structure.

It is preferable that the front end of the protective cover 1 be provided with finger pads 7, 7 projecting from the side walls 6. In the illustrated example, the finger contact portion 7 is formed in a stepped shape having a plurality of steps, but the side wall 7 may be formed as a simple protrusion having a single step. , The connector 10 may be prevented from slipping when the connector 10 is separated. In FIGS. 2A and 2B, reference numeral 8 denotes a projection for preventing backlash, and reference numeral 9 denotes a punched hole.

In the above configuration, when the connector 10 is inserted into the protective cover 1, the front rising base 15a of the locking arm 15 enters the arm storage chamber 3. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the front rising base 15a comes into contact with the taper 5a in front of the locking projections 5 on both sides and pushes and expands the flexible lock walls 4, 4 to move forward. When it gets over, the flexible lock walls 4 and 4 return elastically. As a result, the locking projection 5 is located behind the front rising base 15a as shown in FIG.
Locked to zero.

In order to remove the protective cover 1, there is no need to depress the locking arm 15 as in the prior art. For example, the finger rests 7, 7 on both sides of the front end of one protective cover 1 may be pinched with the thumb and forefinger of one hand, and the connector 10 may be pinched with the other finger and pulled together. Since the locking projection 5 also has a taper 5a at the rear, the lock can be released by the same mechanism as described above.

The locking means for engaging the locking projection 5 of the flexible guide wall 4 with the front rising base 15a of the locking arm 15 has been described above. Notches (or recesses) for engagement may be provided.

[0014]

As described above, the connector protective cover of the present invention has no risk of damaging the locking arm of the connector, and has no opening exposed to the outside when the connector is mounted. Also, the pair of flexible lock walls inside the cover does not apply an excessive force to the locking arm at the time of locking and unlocking, and does not require the trouble of pushing down as in the conventional case, so that the attaching / detaching operation is simple (claim Item 1). Further, the finger protection portion of the connector protective cover makes it easier to apply force when the connector is separated and prevents slippage, so that the work is further facilitated (Claim 3 ).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a protective cover showing one embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a front view of the protective cover of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part showing a process of locking the mounting of the protective cover and the connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the protective cover and the connector of FIG. 1 are mounted and locked.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing a conventional connector, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a conventional protective cover is attached.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Protective cover 3 Arm accommodating chamber 4 Flexible lock wall 5 Locking projection 7 Finger touch part 10 Connector 15 Locking arm 15a Front rising base

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/52 H01R 13/52 302

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A front rising base is provided on an outer peripheral wall of an insulating housing.
Connector provided with a locking arm extending rearward through the
Cylinder with one end open and the other end closed to protect the
In a connector protective cover formed as a body , a cover peripheral wall is provided on both sides in the width direction of the locking arm.
A pair of flexible lock walls projecting from the inner surface of the
Of the rocking arm
The pair of flexible projections engages with the front rising base.
The locking projection is provided on the front locking base.
Crests or arcs symmetrical in forward and backward directions with respect to
A protective cover for a connector characterized by being formed in a shape . 2. An arm for accommodating said locking arm.
The flexible lock wall is formed to hang from both side walls of the accommodation chamber.
In a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the flexible lock wall hangs.
2. The locking projection according to claim 1, wherein said locking projection is symmetrically located.
Protective cover for the connector described. 3. A finger contact portion is provided on the other end side of the closed cylindrical body.
3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein
Protector cover