JPH0878102A - Panel fitting type connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To facilitate fitting work of a grommet to a female side housing while decreasing a protruding size from a panel to a grommet side. CONSTITUTION: A grommet 30 is fitted to a female side housing 20 through fitting of a fitting protrusion part, 23 to a fitting groove 31. By fitting a locking protrusion part 28 to a locking hole 18, the female side housing 20 and a male side housing 10 are locked in a regular fitting state. Since a locking part with the male side housing 10 and a locking part with the grommet 30 are arranged so as to be overlapped on an outer peripheral side and inner peripheral side of a cylinder part 22 in the female side housing 20, a protruding size from the panel 2 is small. Since the fitting part with the grommet 30 is arranged on the outer peripheral side, fitting operation of the grommet 30 is easier in comparison to the case where the locking part with the male side housing 10 is positioned on the outer peripheral side.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a panel mount type connector which is fitted and mounted in a mounting hole formed in a panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a panel mount type connector which is fitted and fitted in a mounting hole formed in a panel, those shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are conventionally known. The panel mountable connector 100 includes a male terminal fitting (not shown) and a hood portion 102.
The male side housing 101 protruding inside and the female side housing 103 in which a female terminal fitting (not shown) is mounted,
The opening edge of the hood 102 is attached to the mounting hole 11 of the panel 110.
The male side housing 101 is fixed by fitting the male side housing 101 with the panel 110, and the male side housing 10 is sandwiched by the panel 110.
Female housing 1 in the hood 102 from the side opposite to
03 is inserted. The female housing 103 fitted in the hood portion 102 is fixed to the male housing 101 by the locking means 107. A rubber grommet 104, in which an electric wire (not shown) extending from the back surface of the female housing 103 is housed, is attached to the female housing 103.

Locking means 107 between the two housings 101, 103 in the panel mountable connector 100.
Is the locking means 10 from the fitting side of the female housing 103.
In order to enable the release operation of 7, the mounting hole 111
It is provided at a position on the opposite side of the male housing 101 with the panel 110 sandwiched between the hole edges. In addition, the fitting means 105 for mounting the grommet 104 on the female housing 103 is such that the grommet 104 is the male housing 10.
In order to prevent the interference with the connector 1, the locking means 107 is provided at a position opposite to the male housing 101 with the panel 110 sandwiched between the hole edges of the mounting holes 111.

When such a panel mountable connector 100 is mounted in a narrow space such as a hinge portion of an automobile door, for example, as a space saving measure, the panel 110 to the grommet 104 side (male housing 101) is used. Measures are taken to reduce the protrusion size to the side opposite to ().

Therefore, in the conventional panel-mountable connector 100, the locking means 107 of both housings 101 and 103 and the fitting means 105 of the grommet 104 are fitted in the housings 101 and 103 in the fitting direction (direction orthogonal to the panel 110). ) Is not arranged side by side.

That is, the fitting means 105 is formed by forming the fitting projection 105A over the entire outer circumference of the female housing 103 and forming the fitting groove 105B at the inner circumference of the opening of the grommet 104. And the fitting protrusion 1
The grommet 104 is fitted to the female side housing 1 by fitting the fitting groove 105B onto the 05A from the outside.
03 so that it can be attached integrally.

Further, on the outer circumference of the female side housing 103,
By forming a lock arm 107A having an engaging claw 107B at the tip end thereof so as to project overhanging to the outside of the grommet 104, and forming a lock hole 107C in the inner circumference of the hood portion 102 of the male housing 101. The lock means 107 is configured. Then, by fitting the locking claw 107B into the lock hole 107C,
Both housings 101 and 103 are locked in a fitted state.

In this way, the fitting means 105 for the grommet 104 and the locking means 107 for the male housing 101.
Are arranged on the outer peripheral side and the inner peripheral side of the female-side housing 103, respectively, so that the protruding size from the panel 110 to the grommet 104 side can be suppressed to be small.

[0009]

In the conventional panel mount connector 100, when the grommet 104 is attached, the fitting portion of the grommet 104 is located below the lock arm 107A when the lock arm 107A is overhanging. It is necessary to make it possible to dive into the slight gap of. However, since the grommet 104 is not made of synthetic resin having a strong elastic restoring force but made of flexible rubber, it is difficult to quickly perform the fitting operation while the grommet 104 is submerged under the lock arm 107A.

The panel mountable connector of the present invention has been devised in view of the above circumstances, and facilitates the work of attaching the grommet to the female housing while reducing the protruding size from the panel to the grommet side. The purpose is to

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a panel mountable connector comprising: a fixed housing which is mounted by fitting an opening edge of a hood into a mounting hole formed in the panel; In the panel mount type connector, which is composed of a detachable housing that is inserted into the hood from the side opposite to the fixed housing, and a grommet that is attached to the detachable housing on the side opposite to the fixed housing with the panel sandwiched, A fitting part for attaching the grommet is provided on the outer peripheral side of the side housing, and a housing space that opens to the fixed housing side is formed inside the removable housing, and a locking portion is formed in this housing chamber. A lock piece that can enter into the accommodation space is formed in the housing, and the engagement part and the lock piece engage with each other to attach and detach the housing. And configured to be locked to the attachment state with respect to the stationary housing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the panel mountable connector according to the first aspect of the invention, the grommet is easily elastically deformed, and one of the locking portion and the lock piece extends to a position approaching the inner surface of the grommet side. The lock releasing operation portion is elastically deformable in a direction in which the locking portion and the lock piece are disengaged from each other by being pulled out.

[0013]

In the invention of claim 1, since the fitting portion of the removable housing with the grommet is provided on the outer peripheral side, the work of attaching the grommet is performed by covering the removable housing from the outside. . Further, the attachment / detachment side housing is attached to the fixed side housing by engaging the locking portion and the lock piece inside the grommet.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the lock releasing operation portion is pushed and elastically deformed while elastically deforming the grommet from the outside, the engagement between the locking portion and the lock piece is released. This allows the detachable housing to be removed from the fixed housing.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the fitting portion with the grommet and the lock portion with the fixed housing are not arranged in the protruding direction from the panel, but rather on the outer peripheral side and the inner peripheral side. Since they can be placed on top of each other, the amount of protrusion from the panel can be kept small. Moreover, since the grommet is fitted to the removable housing on the outer peripheral side, and the locking with the fixed housing is performed on the inner peripheral side of the grommet, the work of attaching the grommet to the removable housing is performed. Can be done easily.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even if the lock portions of both housings are hidden by the grommets, both housings can be easily removed.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The panel mountable connector 1 of the present embodiment is to be mounted in a mounting hole 3 formed in a panel 2, and has a male housing (fixed housing) 10 that is fitted into the mounting hole 3 in advance, and this male side. It includes a female side housing (removable side housing) 20 fitted to the housing 10, and a grommet 30 attached to the female side housing 20.

The male housing 10 is made of a synthetic resin material, and a male terminal fitting (not shown) is mounted in a cavity (not shown) formed in the housing body 11. A hood portion 12 is formed on the front surface of the housing body 11 so as to project over the entire circumference along the peripheral edge thereof, and a tab of a male terminal fitting is projected in the hood portion 12.

The hood portion 12 has a substantially rectangular shape so as to be aligned with the mounting hole 3. A locking collar 13 is formed on the outer periphery of the front end of the hood portion 12 over the entire circumference thereof, and a locking piece protruding toward the upper and lower edges of the locking flange 13 so that the front end side forms a wedge shape. 14 and 14 are formed. The locking piece 14 can be elastically deformed inward, and between the locking projection 15 projecting to the outer peripheral side of the locking piece 14 and the locking collar 13, the panel 2 is locked. It becomes the groove 16.

Inside the male-side housing 10, an elongated plate-shaped male-side lock arm that protrudes from the housing body 11 in parallel with the upper wall portion of the hood portion 12 with a small gap (constituent requirements of the present invention). The lock piece 17 is formed so as to be flexibly deformable. This male lock arm 17
Extends to almost the same position as the tip of one locking piece 14, and a lock hole 18 penetrates through the tip. The lock hole 18 is set so as to be located within the opening surface of the mounting hole 3.

On the other hand, the female housing 20 is made of a synthetic resin material, and a female terminal fitting (not shown) is mounted in a cavity (not shown) formed in the housing body 21. The housing main body 21 is formed so that it can be fitted into the hood portion 12 substantially tightly, and the rear surface side (the side opposite to the side facing the male side housing 10) is a tubular portion 22.

A fitting protrusion (fitting portion which is a constituent of the present invention) 23 for fitting a rubber-made grommet 30 which is easily elastically deformed is projectingly formed on the opening edge of the tubular portion 22. . The grommet 30 is inserted so as to cover an electric wire (not shown) extending from the rear surface of the housing 21. The fitting protrusion 23 is formed over the entire circumference of the tubular portion 22 and has an L-shaped cross section that overhangs forward. The position where the fitting protrusion 23 is formed is almost directly above the tip of the male lock arm 17 when the male housing 10 and the female housing 20 are mounted on the panel 2, as will be described later. It is set so that there is a gap between the tip and the panel 2.

A fitting groove 31 is formed along the inner circumference of the opening edge of the grommet 30 on the side facing the female housing 20, and the fitting groove 31 fits into the fitting projection. The part 23 is closely fitted so as to be covered from the outer peripheral side. A waterproof rib 32 is formed in an annular shape on the edge of the opening of the grommet 30, and when both housings 10 and 20 are mounted on the panel 2,
The waterproof rib 32 is sandwiched between the fitting projection 23 and the panel 2 so that it is elastically deformed and comes into close contact with the wall surface of the panel 2.

Housing body 21 of female housing 20
A housing chamber 25 into which the male lock arm 17 can be fitted is formed so as to penetrate from the front end surface to the rear end surface of the housing body 21. Furthermore, on the rear surface of the housing body 21,
Female lock arm 2 that is flush with the lower surface of the storage chamber 25 and is continuous
6 is formed so as to project rearward in the tubular portion 22. The female lock arm 26 has a length protruding further rearward from the opening of the tubular portion 22 and is elastically deformable downward.

The protruding end portion of the female lock arm 26 that is bent upward serves as a lock release operation portion 27. The unlocking operation portion 27 is provided in the state where the grommet 30 is attached to the female housing 20.
It is adapted to come into contact with the inner bottom surface of the recess 33 formed in 0, and can be displaced downward by elastic deformation of the female lock arm 26.

The female lock arm 26 is provided with a locking projection 28 (a locking portion which is a constituent feature of the present invention) projecting from a position on the upper surface thereof which can be aligned with the lock hole 18 of the male lock arm 17. Has been formed. When the housings 10 and 20 are fitted to each other, the locking projection 28 is locked to the edge of the lock hole 18 to lock the housings 10 and 20.
It is designed to prevent the separation of 20. Further, when the female lock arm 26 is displaced downward by the pressing operation of the lock arm release operation portion 27, the lock hole 18 is disengaged from the locking projection portion 28, and the housings 10 and 20 can be moved away from each other.

The upper surface of the locking projection 28 is an inclined surface 29 which is inclined downward. When the two housings 10 and 20 are fitted together, the tip of the male lock arm 17 comes into contact with and pushes against the inclined surface 29, whereby the female lock arm 26 is elastically deformed downward and the locking projection 28. And lock hole 1
It is possible to fit with 8.

The position of the locking projection 28 is located almost directly below the fitting projection 23 for mounting the grommet 30 of the tubular portion 22. That is, the fitting protrusion 23 and the locking protrusion 2
8 is located so as to correspond to the outer peripheral side and the inner peripheral side with the upper wall of the tubular portion 22 interposed therebetween.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When the panel mountable connector 1 of this embodiment is mounted on the panel 2, first, the male housing 10 is moved toward the hood portion 12 from the right side of the panel 2 in FIG. The elastic member is passed through the mounting hole 3 while being elastically deformed, and the locking groove 16 is fitted to the edge of the mounting hole 3. As a result, the panel 2 is sandwiched between the locking projection 15 and the locking flange 13, and the male housing 10 is fixed to the panel 2 by the clamping force.

After this, the female housing 20 is attached to the male housing 10, and the grommet 30 is previously attached to the female housing 20. To mount the grommet 30, the opening of the grommet 30 of the female housing 20 is covered with the opening of the grommet 30 from the outside, and the fitting groove 23 of the grommet 30 is fitted to the fitting projection 23 of the cylinder 22. By doing.

When mounting the female housing 20,
The male-side lock arm 17 protruding into the opening of the hood portion 12 and the housing chamber 25 on the front surface of the female-side housing 20 are aligned with each other so that the female-side housing 20 is fitted into the hood portion 12. Accordingly, the male lock arm 1
7 is inserted into the accommodation chamber 25. Further, the tip of the male housing 10 has the locking projection 2 of the female lock arm 26.
When contacting the inclined surface 29 of No. 8 and pressing it, the female lock arm 26 is elastically deformed downward, and the female housing 20
When reaches the regular fitting position, the locking projection 28 disengages from the lower surface of the male housing 10 and elastically returns to engage with the lock hole 18. This allows both housings 1
0 and 20 are locked in the proper fitting state.

On the left side of the panel 2 in FIG. 3, the waterproof rib 32 of the grommet 30 approaches the panel 2 as the fitting of the female housing 20 progresses. When both the housings 10 and 20 are locked in the proper fitting state, the waterproof rib 32 comes into close contact with the left wall surface of the panel 2 in a state where the waterproof rib 32 is elastically deformed.
Water is prevented from entering from the left side through the mounting hole 3 to the right side.

As described above, in the panel mount connector 1 of this embodiment, the fitting projection 23 for mounting the grommet 30 is located on the outer peripheral side of the female housing 20, and
A locking projection 28 for locking the male housing 10 is located on the inner peripheral side. Therefore, the fitting protrusion 23 and the locking protrusion 28 should not be arranged side by side in the direction orthogonal to the wall surface of the panel 2, but should be arranged at substantially the same position in the same direction and close to the panel 2. By doing so, it is possible to minimize the dimension of the panel 2 protruding to the left. Moreover,
Since the fitting projection 23 with the grommet 30 is arranged on the outer peripheral side, compared to the case where the fitting part with the grommet is arranged on the inner peripheral side and the lock part with the male housing is arranged on the outer peripheral side. Thus, the work of mounting the grommet 30 on the female housing 20 can be easily performed.

The panel mountable connector 1 of this embodiment is used.
When removing the panel from the panel 2, first, grommet 30
By pushing the concave portion 33 of the lock downward, the lock release operating portion 27 of the female lock arm 26 is indirectly pushed down through the grommet 30, and the locking projection 28 is removed from the lock hole 18. Then, when the female housing 20 is moved in the direction of pulling out from the hood portion 12 in this state, the female housing 20 is removed from the male housing 10. After that, the locking piece 16 exposed on the left side of the panel 2 is elastically deformed to remove the locking groove 16 from the mounting hole 3, and if the male housing 10 is moved to the right as it is, The male housing 10 is removed from the panel 2.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition to the above, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

(1) In the above embodiment, both housings 1
As means for locking the 0 and 20 in the fitted state, a female lock arm 26 is provided in the female housing 20, and a locking projection 28 thereof is locked in the lock hole 18 of the male lock arm 17 from below. However, according to the present invention, the female lock arm is not provided, but the downward locking projection is formed on the inner surface of the tubular portion, and the locking projection is locked in the lock hole from above. It may be configured. To unlock both housings in this case, extend the tip of the male side lock arm to a position where it contacts the inner surface of the grommet and use this as a lock release operation part, and push down this lock release operation part from the outside of the grommet, The engagement between the protrusion and the lock hole can be released.

(2) In the above embodiment, the waterproof rib 32 is formed on the grommet 30 to waterproof the gap between the grommet and the panel 2. However, the present invention is a non-waterproof structure in which the grommet is prevented from coming into contact with the panel. It can also be applied to any type of connector. The invention can also be applied in cases.

(3) In the above embodiment, the case where the fixed side housing mounted on the panel first is the male side housing and the detachable side housing mounted later is the female side housing has been described. The above can also be applied to the case where the fixed side housing is a female side housing and the removable side housing is a male side housing, contrary to the embodiment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a panel-mounted connector according to an embodiment of the present invention in a disassembled state.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a female housing.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a panel-mounted connector mounted on the panel.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view of a conventional female housing.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional panel-mounted connector mounted on a panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Panel mounting type connector 2 ... Panel 3 ... Mounting hole 10 ... Male side housing 12 ... Hood part 17 ... Male side lock arm (locking piece) 20 ... Female side housing 23 ... Fitting protrusion (fitting part) 25 ... Storage chamber 28 ... Locking protrusion (locking part) 30 ... Grommet

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A fixed housing which is mounted by fitting an opening edge of a hood into a mounting hole formed in the panel, and a fixed housing which is inserted into the hood from a side opposite to the fixed housing with the panel interposed therebetween. A panel mountable connector comprising a detachable housing and a grommet which is attached to the detachable housing on the side opposite to the fixed housing with the panel interposed therebetween, wherein the grommet is attached to the outer peripheral side of the detachable housing. A fitting portion for forming a housing chamber that opens to the fixed housing side inside the removable housing, and a locking portion is formed in the housing chamber, and enters the fixed housing into the housing chamber. A lockable piece is formed, and the detachable housing is moved forward by the engagement between the locking portion and the lockpiece. Panel mounting connector, characterized in that it has a configuration which is locked to the attachment state with respect to the stationary housing. 2. The grommet is easily elastically deformable, and by extending one of the locking portion and the lock piece to a position approaching the inner surface of the grommet side, the locking portion and the lock piece engage with each other. 2. The panel mountable connector according to claim 1, further comprising a lock release operation section that is elastically deformable in a release direction.