JPH08281525A - Screw fastening mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To facilitate the completion of fastening to be recognizable. CONSTITUTION: A nut 21 is accommodated in a male housing, and a bolt 31 is rotatably held in a female housing, and when both of them are threadedly engaged and longitudinally moved, the nut 21 is accommodated in a cylindrical nut holding section 22, and a projection 22a formed on the inner peripheral wall face of the nut holding section 22 engages in an annular groove 21a formed on the outer periphery of the nut 21. In the case where the bolt 32 is rotated to draw the nut 21, at first the projection 22a holds the nut 21 to make both the housings mutually fit, and after fitting, the bolt 21 gets over the projection 22a. Just after getting over, resistance force disappears, and the completion of fitting thereby becomes clear, and moreover the fitting can be similarly clear by conducting detecting electrodes 24, 24.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a screw tightening mechanism,
Particularly, the present invention relates to a screw tightening mechanism suitable for use in resin products and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a bolt tightening connector is known as one utilizing a screw tightening mechanism. This bolted connector includes a male side housing that holds a male side terminal fitting and a female side housing that holds a female side terminal fitting,
Further, the female housing rotatably supports a bolt protruding toward the male housing side, and the male housing rotatably supports a nut that can be screwed with the bolt, facing each other. Since such a bolt tightening connector has a large number of poles, the fitting force becomes large and the fitting cannot be done manually, and a screw tightening mechanism is adopted.

Whether or not the male-side housing and the female-side housing are fitted to each other by a predetermined amount is controlled by the bolt tightening torque. That is, a torque wrench or an air impact wrench capable of controlling torque is used to tighten only while the tightening torque is below a predetermined value.

[0004]

In the above-described conventional screw tightening mechanism, although it is detected whether or not the bolt is tightened by torque management when tightening the bolt, it is difficult to know the timing when the tightening is completed. On the other hand, torque management is not accurate at the start of tightening, and enormous force is applied. For this reason,
If you try to further tighten without knowing that the tightening has been completed, torque may be applied at once and the resin housing may be damaged.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a screw tightening mechanism capable of making it easy to understand the completion of tightening.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is such that a pair of male and female screw members that can be screwed with each other, and one of the screw members are rotatable. A first member for supporting and a second member for non-rotatably supporting the other screw member are provided, and the pair of screw members are screwed together to bring the first member and the second member close to each other. And a screw tightening mechanism that separates the screw member and a slide support mechanism that slidably supports one of the screw members on the near side by a predetermined distance, and is screwed with a breaking strength of the first member or the second member that is smaller than the breaking strength. And a resistance mechanism for inhibiting the screw member supported by the slide support mechanism from sliding with a force larger than the necessary tightening force.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the screw tightening mechanism according to the first aspect, the slide support mechanism is driven when the screw member slides against the resistance mechanism, and the conduction path. Is configured to have a sensing electrode that changes. Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the screw tightening mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the slide support mechanism is a tubular body that holds the screw member in a non-rotatable manner corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the screw member. The resistance mechanism is formed by a concavo-convex member that abuts the screw member inside the tubular body.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 3.
In the screw tightening mechanism according to the item [4], the concavo-convex member has a double structure in the sliding direction.
Furthermore, the invention according to claim 5 is the screw tightening mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the double-shaped uneven member is formed such that the first contacting side has small unevenness. Further, the invention according to claim 6 relates to claim 3
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the screw tightening mechanism, the concavo-convex member is supported so as to be able to move forward and backward with a predetermined force in the side surface direction.

[0009]

In the invention according to claim 1 configured as described above, the slide support mechanism supports one of the screw members slidably on the near side by a predetermined distance, while the resistance mechanism is provided by the slide support mechanism. The supported screw members are prohibited from sliding. This prohibiting force is smaller than the breaking strength of the first member or the second member and is larger than the necessary tightening force for screwing. Therefore, in the process of tightening the pair of screw members, the tightening force is equal to or less than the necessary tightening force until the necessary amount of tightening is completed, so that the resistance mechanism fixes one screw member. However, if the tightening is completed and further tightening is attempted, the necessary tightening force is exceeded, the resistance mechanism is released, and one of the screw members slides so as to slip out.

Further, in the invention according to claim 2 configured as described above, the detection electrode provided in the slide support mechanism is driven when the screw member slides against the resistance mechanism and the conduction path. Changes. The completion of tightening can be notified by sounding a buzzer or blinking a light according to a change in the conduction path in an external electric circuit. Further, in the invention according to claim 3 configured as described above, the slide support mechanism is formed in a tubular shape, and since the tubular body corresponds to the outer peripheral shape of the screw member, the screw member cannot be rotated. Hold slidably.
On the other hand, the resistance mechanism is formed as a concave-convex member inside the tubular body, abuts on the screw member, and prohibits sliding until the screw member gets over.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4 configured as described above, the screw member is arranged so that the uneven member on the front side engages with the uneven member formed in double in the sliding direction. By mounting it, the concave-convex member on the back side generates a necessary resistance force while preventing it from coming off. Further, in the invention according to claim 5 configured as described above, of the double-shaped concave and convex members, the side that first comes into contact has a small concave and convex, so that it is possible to overcome with a small resistance, and the retainer is prevented. You can get over it with a small amount of resistance.

Further, in the invention according to claim 6 configured as described above, the concavo-convex member is supported so as to be capable of advancing and retracting in the lateral direction, and is retracted when the screw member is pressed beyond a predetermined force. Make it easy to overcome.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the tightening is completed, one screw member slides so as to slip out, so that the completion of the tightening can be easily understood, and the housing can be tightened during the tightening operation. It is possible to provide a screw tightening mechanism capable of preventing the screw from being damaged.

According to the second aspect of the invention, it is possible to detect the completion of tightening by utilizing the change in the conduction path,
Further, the judgment becomes easier. Further, according to the invention of claim 3, the structure can be simplified because it can be composed of only the cylindrical body and the uneven member. Further, according to the invention of claim 4, it is possible to prevent the disengagement by making the uneven member double. Further, according to the invention of claim 5, it is possible to easily perform the pushing operation for preventing the slip-out.

Further, according to the invention of claim 6, since the uneven member can be retracted, it is not deformed by an excessive force.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows a panel-mounted bolt tightening connector to which a screw tightening mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied by a partially cutaway perspective view, and FIG. 2 shows a main part by a cross-sectional view. There is. In the figure, this bolt tightening connector 10 is formed in a rectangular box shape having an opening on one surface and has a male housing 20 that holds a male terminal fitting by penetrating a bottom wall and a rectangular shape that can be inserted through the opening. And a female housing 30 which holds the female terminal fitting so as to face the male terminal fitting and which is formed in a box shape. The female housing 30 penetrates itself to the male housing 20 side. The male side housing 20 is provided with a bolt 31 protruding toward the female side housing 3
A nut holding portion 22 that accommodates the nut 21 is provided at a position facing the bolt 31 when 0 is inserted.

The male housing 20 is provided with a flange 23 on the outer peripheral surface of the opening, and the opening is provided with the opening 4 of the panel 40.
While being inserted into 1, the flange 23 is abutted against the back surface of the peripheral edge of the opening 41 and fixed by a lock claw (not shown). On the other hand, the female-side housing 30 is inserted into the male-side housing 20 mounted on the panel 40 and waiting in this way, but it cannot be inserted manually due to the large number of poles. The nut 21 accommodated in the portion 22 is screwed and brought into close proximity to be fitted.

That is, in this embodiment, a screw member consisting of a pair of male screw and female screw that can be screwed together is constituted by the bolt 31 and the nut 21, and rotatably supports one screw member. The first member is the same bolt 3
The second member for non-rotatably supporting the other screw member is constituted by the male housing 20 having the nut holding portion 22 for accommodating the nut 21. In this embodiment, the screw tightening mechanism is applied to the bolt tightening connector. However, as long as the two members hold the male screw and the female screw and the screw members are screwed together to advance and retreat, the present invention Is applicable.

As shown in the cross section of FIG. 2, the nut holding portion 22 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a hollow inside, and its cross section is substantially rectangular. Further, the nut 21 has an outer peripheral shape that substantially matches the cross-sectional shape of the tubular nut holding portion 22. Therefore, the nut 21 is the nut holding portion 22.
It is non-rotatable within and axially slidable. In this embodiment, the slide support mechanism is configured by accommodating the nut 21 having the same outer peripheral shape inside the tubular body having the rectangular cross section, but it is not rotatable but slidable in the axial direction. As long as it is held, for example, an axial guide groove may be formed on the outer circumference of the nut 21 and a linear guide protrusion may be formed on the nut holding portion 22 so that the two are engaged with each other. it can.

An annular groove 21 is formed on the outer circumference of the body of the nut 21.
a is formed, and a projection 22a having a wedge-shaped cross section that can be engaged with the groove 21a is formed on the inner peripheral wall surface of the nut holding portion 22. The projection 22a is projected to the extent that it engages with the groove 21a when the nut 21 is inserted into the nut holding portion 22, and the nut 21 must climb over the projection 22a when sliding from the right side to the left side in the drawing. By forming the groove 21a, the nut 21 has two convex portions formed on the front and rear sides, and also has one convex portion formed on the nut holding portion 22. When they come in contact with each other and become a member, they generate resistance.

In the present embodiment, the groove 21a is formed on the outer periphery of the nut 21, and the projection 22a is formed on the inner wall surface of the nut holding portion 22 to form the resistance mechanism by the concavo-convex members abutting each other. It suffices that the nut 21 generate a drag force when it slides, and the concave and convex may be reversed to form a groove on the side of the nut holding portion 22 and a protrusion on the side of the nut. Nut 21
It can also consist of something like a small protrusion that stands in front of. Further, in this embodiment, by fitting one convex portion formed on the other side between the double convex portions formed on one side, it is impossible to slide back and forth to prevent slipping out. May be closed by another member to prevent it from coming off.

On the other hand, when the nut 21 gets over the projection 22a, the top portion is scraped off while pushing the projection 22a wide, and a large force is required to insert the nut 21 to a position where it can be prevented from coming off. FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show a modified example that solves this problem. In FIG. 4, the outer peripheral shape of the front side of the nut 21 is slightly smaller than that of the rear side, and the outer diameter is such that it slightly overlaps the protrusion 22a of the nut holding portion 22. With this configuration, when the nut 21 is inserted until the projection 22a enters the groove 21a, the projection 22a is slightly expanded and passes through, so that the nut 22 can be inserted with a small force and prevented from coming off.

On the other hand, in FIG. 5, the projection 22a is formed in an arm shape capable of bending inward and outward, and can be bent outward by an external force. By doing so, elasticity due to the material of the protrusion 22a itself and elasticity according to the arm-like shape can be obtained, and the resistance force can be reduced. By the way, the nut holding portion 22 has a tubular shape as a whole, and the front side opening 22b1 has a through hole 22b1 through which the bolt 31 can be inserted.
The nut 21 cannot move forward beyond the front wall 22b. Further, a pair of detection electrodes 24, 24 are wired on the front wall 22b through the inside of the side wall. The sensing electrodes 24, 24 are coated around the inside of the side wall,
The back surfaces of the front wall 22b are exposed to each other. Before the nut 21 slides, there is no electrical connection between the detection electrodes 24, 24, but the nut 21 slides and the front wall 22
When it comes into contact with the back surface of b, the nut 21 made of metal makes the detection electrodes 24, 24 electrically conductive. That is,
The movement of the nut 21 changes the conduction path of the detection electrodes 24, 24.

In this embodiment, a pair of detection electrodes 24, 24 are provided on the back surface of the front wall 22b of the nut holding portion 22 which is cylindrical.
By arranging the nut 21, the conduction path is changed by using the nut 21 as a conduction electrode. However, the conduction path may be changed in accordance with the movement of the nut 21, and the conduction is performed at the position before sliding. May be slid to be non-conductive, or the power of the power wrench may be turned off by this.

Next, the operation of this embodiment having the above configuration will be described. The nut 21 is inserted into the nut holding portion 22 in advance. The projection 22a of the nut holding portion 22 is inserted into the groove 21a of the nut 21 so that the projection 22a is inserted into the nut 21.
Insert until it gets over the convex part on the front side of. This makes it possible to prevent it from coming off. Then, the female housing 30 is inserted into the male housing 20. It can be manually inserted until the terminal fittings come into contact with each other, but if it cannot be pushed anymore, the bolt 31 can be inserted into the nut holder 2.
The nut 21 housed in 2 is pressed and rotated. By tightening the screw, the nut 21 will be bolt 3
However, the nut 21 cannot move forward and the female housing 3 on the side of the bolt 31 cannot be moved because the protrusion 22a is engaged with the groove 21a of the nut 21.
0 is gradually inserted into the male side housing 20.

Here, with the projection 22a in the groove 21a of the nut 21 and engaged therewith, the nut 21
The resistance force for the vehicle to get over the protrusion 22a is larger than the fitting force between the female housing 30 and the male housing 20, and the female housing 30 and the male housing 2 are related.
It is set to be smaller than the destructive force of zero. Therefore, the nut 21 does not have the projection 22 until both are completely fitted.
It is supported by a at a fixed position and does not move,
The female housing 30 is gradually drawn into the male housing 20.

When the two are completely fitted together, the female side housing 30 cannot be further pulled into the male side housing 20, and if it is forcibly pulled in, a destructive force will be generated. However, as shown in FIG. 3, before generating the destructive force, the nut 21 gets over the projection 22a and slips out. As a result, the operator can determine that the female housing 30 and the male housing 20 are fitted together. Further, in the present embodiment, the detection electrodes 24, 24
Further, when the bolt 31 is further rotated, the nut 21 is pressed against the back surface of the front wall of the nut holding portion 22 and abuts on both the detection electrodes 24, 24 to make them conductive. Therefore, if the connection between the detection electrodes 24, 24 is detected from the outside, the fitting can be detected, and the rotation of the bolt 31 may be stopped immediately after the connection.

As described above, the nut 21 is housed in the male-side housing 20, the bolt 31 is rotatably held in the female-side housing 30, and the two are screwed together to advance and retreat. The nut 21 is a tubular nut. The protrusion 22a formed on the inner peripheral wall surface of the nut holding portion 22 is housed in the holding portion 22, and is engaged with the annular groove 21a formed on the outer periphery of the nut 21. When the bolt 31 is rotated to pull the nut 21, the protrusion 22a initially holds the bolt 21 to fit the two housings 20 and 30, and when the fitting is completed, the bolt 21 rides over the protrusion 22a. Immediately after getting over, it can be seen that the resistance has disappeared and the fitting has been achieved, and the same can be seen by making the detection electrodes 24, 24 conductive.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a panel-mounted bolt tightening connector to which a screw tightening mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part before fitting of a screw tightening mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part after the screw tightening mechanism is fitted.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a modified example of the screw tightening mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing another modification of the screw tightening mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ... Bolt tightening connector 20 ... Male side housing 21 ... Nut 21a ... Groove 22 ... Nut holding part 22a ... Projection 24, 24 ... Detection electrode 30 ... Female side housing 31 ... Bolt

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A screw member composed of a pair of male and female screws that can be screwed together, a first member that rotatably supports one screw member, and a first member that non-rotatably supports the other screw member. A screw tightening mechanism that includes two members and screw the pair of screw members together to bring the first member and the second member close to and away from each other, and one of the screw members is set to a close side. The slide support mechanism that slidably supports the distance is supported by the slide support mechanism with a force smaller than the breaking strength of the first member or the second member and larger than the required tightening force when screwing. And a resistance mechanism for inhibiting the sliding screw member from sliding. 2. The screw tightening mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the slide support mechanism has a detection electrode that is driven when the screw member slides against the resistance mechanism to change a conduction path. A screw tightening mechanism characterized in that 3. The screw tightening mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the slide support mechanism is formed in a cylindrical body that holds the slide member in a non-rotatable manner corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the screw member, The screw mechanism is characterized in that the resistance mechanism is formed of an uneven member that abuts the screw member inside the tubular body. 4. The screw tightening mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the concavo-convex member is double formed in the sliding direction. 5. The screw tightening mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the double-shaped concavo-convex member is formed so that a side that first comes into contact with the concavo-convex member has small concavities and convexities. . 6. The screw tightening mechanism according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the concavo-convex member is supported so as to be capable of advancing and retracting in a lateral direction with a predetermined force.