JP3541695B2 - Panel mount type connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a panel-attached connector that is attached by being inserted into an attachment hole opened in a panel and is fitted with a mating connector.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as this type of connector, a connector described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 4-72476 is known. In this connector, one of a pair of connectors to be fitted to each other is inserted from the back side into a mounting hole opened in the panel, and a sealing member mounted on the rear end side is connected to the opening on the back side of the mounting hole. It is pre-mounted with the rim in contact. Then, the mating connector is fitted from the front side, and a bolt provided here is screwed into a nut provided on the connector on the panel side, so that both connectors are fitted together so as to be attracted to each other. The seal member is pressed against the edge on the back side of the mounting hole to seal the mounting hole. In this type of connector, since there is a panel between the two connectors, it is not possible to hold both connectors by hand, so that the fitting force is assisted by using the fastening force of the bolt.
[0003]
By the way, the above-mentioned bolt / nut type has a problem that the production cost is high because it is necessary to bury them in the housing by insert molding, and instead, a lever is used as a means for assisting the fitting force. The lever type that was used was considered.
In this connector, a follower pin is projected from the outer surface of a connector attached to a panel, while a lever provided with a cam groove is mounted on the mating connector, and both connectors are engaged by the engagement of the cam groove and the follower pin with the rotation of the lever. Are attracted to each other, and at the same time, a sealing member is used to seal the mounting hole.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, a new problem was found in the above-mentioned lever type. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when follower pins b are erected on the left and right side surfaces of the housing a, in order to allow the follower pins b to be inserted, the mounting holes d of the panel c are formed in the outer shape of the housing a. I have to make it wider in the horizontal direction. Then, in a state where the connector is inserted into the mounting hole d, there is a lateral clearance between the housing a and the mounting hole d, so that the connector may be displaced in the same direction. Then, the position of the sealing member e and the edge of the mounting hole d are shifted, and the sealing cannot be performed.
[0005]
It is also conceivable to form a notch at the edge of the mounting hole d to allow only the follower pin b to escape. However, it is not preferable to make a hole having a complicated shape in the panel c, and there is a situation that it is desirable to avoid the hole as much as possible.
The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to prevent a connector from being displaced in a mounting hole of a panel.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1, is inserted into the opened mounting hole attached to the panel, a panel mount connector to be mated with the mating connector, the housing At the rear end side in the insertion direction, a seal member that is in contact with an edge on the back side of the mounting hole is mounted, while the mating connector is applied to the edge on the front side of the mounting hole and the seal is A flange for sandwiching the rim of the mounting hole with a member is formed, and an engaging portion that engages with the mating connector is provided on an outer surface of the housing to assist in fitting or the like. The housing is characterized in that an outer surface of the housing is provided with an addressing portion which is provided to allow the insertion of the engaging portion and which is directed to an enlarged portion of the mounting hole.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a connector described in claim 1, in the prior SL housing, characterized in that the locking portion for holding the engagement locks and retaining state the rim of the mounting hole is provided Having.
[0008]
Function and effect of the present invention
<Invention of claim 1>
The addressing portion provided on the outer surface of the housing is addressed to the expanded portion of the mounting hole and functions to fill the clearance, so to speak, so that the connector is prevented from being displaced in the mounting hole. The seal member is properly abutted over the entire periphery of the rim on the back surface of the mounting hole, and the mounting hole is securely sealed.
[0009]
< Invention of Claim 2 >
When the connector is inserted into the mounting hole, the locking portion is locked and held at the edge of the mounting hole.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a pair of male and female connectors F and M are fitted to each other with a panel P separating a vehicle compartment 1 and an engine compartment 2 of an automobile interposed therebetween. The female connector F is inserted into the mounting hole 4 opened in the panel P from the vehicle compartment 1 side and attached in advance, and the female connector F is fitted to the attached male connector M from the engine compartment 2 side. It has become.
[0011]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the male connector M on the side attached to the panel P includes a male housing 10 having a substantially rectangular cross section, and the front end side (the front side in FIG. 1) of the male connector M A fitting recess 11 is formed on the front surface of the male housing 10 so that the main body 31 of the female housing 30 can be fitted inside the hood portion 33 of the female housing 30 of the connector F. Have been. A plurality of cavities 12 into which the male terminal fittings (not shown) can be inserted are formed in the male housing 10 in a line. It is housed in a state of facing.
[0012]
A flange 14 is formed on the rear end side of the male housing 10, and a rubber ring 15 for sealing the rim of the mounting hole 4 is mounted on the outer periphery of the flange 14. Further, a pair of upper and lower raised portions 17 is formed at the center in the width direction at a position slightly before the flange 14 on both the upper and lower surfaces of the male housing 10, and a male connector M is temporarily attached to the panel P at each raised portion 17. A locking piece 18 used for holding is formed. The locking piece 18 is formed in a cantilever shape facing rearward and is capable of flexing and deforming in and out. The outer surface of the locking piece 18 is locked to the front edge of the mounting hole 4 of the panel P on the outer edge. Possible projections 19 are formed. In addition, the surfaces on the labor side of the protrusions 17 and the projections 19 of the locking pieces 18 are inclined surfaces 17A and 19A for guiding.
[0013]
A pair of follower pins 20 are provided on the left and right side surfaces of the male housing 10 at positions near the front end thereof so as to be engaged with a lever 37 attached to the female connector F described later. Accordingly, the mounting hole 4 formed in the panel P for inserting the male connector M is formed to be larger than the external dimensions of the male housing 10, and specifically, the raised portions 17 having a vertical width of approximately up and down are fitted almost tightly. The width is widened to a size sufficient to insert the left and right follower pins 20.
[0014]
Further, the rubber ring 15 mounted on the flange 14 of the male housing 10 is formed to have a size capable of abutting over the entire periphery of the rear edge of the mounting hole 4 corresponding to the dimensions of the mounting hole 4 described above. Have been. As shown in FIG. 2, the rubber ring 15 has a shape in which a groove 23 is formed on the inner peripheral surface. The flange 14 is fitted so as to cover the outer peripheral edge of the flange 14 by forcibly fitting the mounting pin 25 having a head set on the outer periphery of the flange 14.
[0015]
The structure of the mating female connector F will be briefly described as follows. The female housing 30 of the female connector F includes a main body 31 provided with aligned cavities 32 capable of accommodating female terminal fittings (not shown), and a hood 33 covering the front of the main body 31. An outward flange 34 is formed at the tip of the hood portion 33 so as to be able to abut against the front edge of the mounting hole 4 of the panel P. In the upper and lower surfaces of the hood portion 33 and the flange 34, an escape groove 35 for releasing the raised portion 17 on the male connector M side is provided. Each is formed.
[0016]
A lever 37 for assisting the fitting is mounted on the female connector F so as to straddle the upper surface of the female housing 30. The lever 37 is provided with a cam groove 38 which can be fitted with the follower pin 20 on the male connector M side. The cam groove 38 is provided between the guiding position shown by the chain line in FIG. 6 and the fitting position shown by the solid line in FIG. Between them, it is possible to swing around the shaft 40. On the rear end side of the upper surface of the female housing 30, a lock piece 42 for locking the lever 37 to the fitting position is provided, and on the rear surface of the female housing 30, an electric wire (not shown) drawn therefrom is provided. , And a cover 43 for accommodating them and pulling them out in a predetermined direction is mounted.
[0017]
In this embodiment, a pair of addressing ribs 45 are provided on the left and right side surfaces of the male housing 10. The two ribs 45 are formed on the rear end side of the male housing 10 so as to correspond to the back of the follower pin 20 and, as shown in FIG. 5, are formed so as to protrude slightly outward from the protruding end of the follower pin 20. . In other words, the dimension between the protruding outer surfaces of the left and right ribs 45 is set substantially equal to the width of the mounting hole 4 of the panel P. The front surfaces of both ribs 45 are inclined surfaces 46 for guiding.
[0018]
This embodiment has the above-described structure, and the assembling procedure will be described below. First, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, the male connector M is inserted into the mounting hole 4 of the panel P from the passenger compartment 1 side. Since the mounting hole 4 is formed to have a large width in advance, the follower pins 20 protruding from the left and right side surfaces of the male housing 10 are inserted without any trouble. As the insertion proceeds, the slopes 46 of the left and right ribs 45 and the slopes 17A of the upper and lower ridges 17 hit the back edge of the mounting hole 4 and are pushed in with the female connector F centered. When further proceeding, the upper and lower locking pieces 18 are pushed in while being bent and deformed inward.
[0019]
When the rubber ring 15 is pushed until the rubber ring 15 comes into contact with the rim on the back side of the mounting hole 4, the panel P moves beyond the projection 19 of the locking piece 18, and the locking piece 18 is deformed outward and the projection 19 is mounted. The female connector F is temporarily held with respect to the panel P in the state of being prevented from being pulled out toward the vehicle compartment 1 by being locked to the front edge of the hole 4 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.
At this time, the rear ends of the upper and lower protrusions 17 of the male housing 10 are tightly fitted in the upper and lower peripheral edges of the mounting hole 4, while the rear ends of the left and right ribs 45 are in the left and right peripheral edges of the mounting hole 4. The male connector M is tightly fitted, and is temporarily held in the mounting hole 4 in a state where there is no play in the vertical and horizontal directions.
[0020]
Subsequently, the female connector F is fitted to the male connector M protruding from the panel P from the engine room 2 side. At this time, the lever 37 is located at the guiding position (solid line in FIG. 1), and the follower pin 20 on the male connector M side is introduced into the entrance of the corresponding cam groove 38 of the lever 37 with the insertion of the female connector F. Subsequently, when the lever 37 is rotated toward the fitting position shown by the solid line in FIG. 6, the male and female connectors F and M are fitted to each other by the engagement between the cam groove 38 and the follower pin 20. . Then, when the lever 37 is rotated to the fitting position and locked by the lock piece 42, the flange 34 of the female connector F is mounted from the front side, and the flange 14 of the male connector M is mounted through the rubber ring 15 from the back side. , And the male and female connectors F and M are fitted through the panel P.
[0021]
After the male connector M is inserted into the mounting hole 4 of the panel P and held, and the female connector F is fitted, the upper and lower ridges 17 are provided on the upper and lower peripheral edges of the mounting hole 4 and the left and right ribs 45. Are tightly fitted to the left and right peripheral edges of the mounting hole 4, respectively, and the male connector M is held in the mounting hole 4 without play in the vertical and horizontal directions. Reference numeral 15 indicates a state in which the seal 15 is properly pressed over the entire periphery of the back edge of the mounting hole 4, and the seal in the mounting hole 4 is securely removed.
[0022]
As described above, since the follower pin 20 is erected on the side surface of the male housing 10 in particular, the mounting hole 4 of the panel P is widened in the width direction so as to allow the follower pin 20 to pass therethrough. There is a possibility that a clearance may be formed between the mounting hole 4 and the mounting hole 4 and the position may be shifted in the lateral direction. In this embodiment, the male housing 10 is addressed to the left and right peripheral edges of the mounting hole 4 so as to fill the clearance. Since the ribs 45 are provided, there is no possibility that the male connector M is shifted laterally in the mounting hole 4. Therefore, the rubber ring 15 is properly applied to the edge on the back surface side of the mounting hole 4 over the entire circumference, and the sealing function at the mounting hole 4 can be reliably performed.
[0023]
<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 are not limited to the following without departing from the gist. Can be implemented with various modifications.
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the ribs directed to the left and right peripheral edges of the mounting hole are provided immediately behind the follower pins, but the point is that the male connector may be directed to prevent lateral displacement of the male connector. Therefore, the position of the rib may be shifted from the position immediately behind the follower pin.
[0024]
(2) As a means for assisting the fitting force, a slider having a cam groove is provided on the connector on the side opposite to the panel side, and a follower pin which engages with the cam groove is provided on the outer surface of the connector on the panel side. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to such a panel-mounted connector.
(3) The present invention can be similarly applied to a case where the connector attached to the panel is a female connector.
(4) The present invention is not limited to a panel that separates a vehicle compartment and an engine compartment, but is generally a panel-mounted type connector that is mounted in advance on a panel arranged in another part and waits for a mating connector. Can be widely applied to.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of a male connector. FIG. 3 is a front view thereof. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a state in which a male connector is attached to a panel. FIG. 5 is a plan sectional view thereof. FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway plan sectional view showing a state in which male and female connectors are fitted. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional example.
P: Panel M: Male connector F: Female connector 4: Mounting hole 10: Male housing 15: Rubber ring (seal member)
18 Locking piece (locking part)
20: Follower pin (engagement part)
37 ... Lever 45 ... Rib (address)

Claims (2)

A panel-mounted connector that is mounted by being inserted into a mounting hole opened in the panel, and mated with a mating connector,
On the rear end side in the insertion direction of the housing, a seal member that is in contact with an edge on the back side of the mounting hole is attached, while the mating connector is applied to the edge on the front side of the mounting hole. A flange for sandwiching the rim of the mounting hole with the seal member is formed,
And, on the outer surface of the housing, an engaging portion that engages with the mating connector for assisting in fitting or the like is provided so as to protrude,
A panel mounting type connector, wherein an outer surface of the housing is provided with a destination portion which is directed to an enlarged portion of the mounting hole provided to allow insertion of the engaging portion. 2. The panel-mounted connector according to claim 1 , wherein the housing is provided with a locking portion that locks to an edge of the mounting hole and holds the housing in a retaining state.

Images