JPH09167655A - Connector structure and wire harness connecting method of air bag device for side collision - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve connecting workability of a connector, and further abolish a cap exclusive to a female type housing. SOLUTION: In the unfitted case (when not using connector 42) of a male type housing to a recessed part of a female type housing 40, an opening surface of the recessed part is closed by a flexible sheet 76, and an engaging pawl 68 and an engaging piece 72 are elastically engaged with each other while sandwiching the flexible sheet 76 by tilting a lock member 60 in this state. Therefore, a secondary lock condition can be easily released only by simply pulling the flexible sheet 76 after wiring the female type housing 40 in a prescribed position, and connecting workability of the male type housing and the female type housing 40 can be improved. Therefore, an cap exclusive to the female type housing can also be obviated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector structure having a male housing and a female housing, and a method for connecting a wire harness of a side impact airbag device using the connector structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Connectors used for connecting electric wires to each other are used in various devices. In the following description, a connector used in an electric ignition type airbag device will be described as an example. To do.

A connector used in an electric ignition type air bag device is generally provided with a double lock mechanism in order to enhance the reliability of the mutual connection state. An example of a connector provided with this kind of double lock mechanism is a flat-type flat panel 2-50.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 981. The configuration disclosed in this publication will be described below, but peripheral configurations other than the gist of the present invention are also common to this embodiment to be described later, so a brief description will be given here.

As shown in FIG. 10, the connector 100
Consists of a female housing 102 and a male housing 104. The male housing 104 includes a base 106 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. At the center of the upper end of the base 106, an elastically deformable lock arm 110 is integrally formed with a protrusion 108 at the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction.
Further, a pair of arm guides 112 are erected on both sides of the rear end (free end) of the lock arm 110.

On the other hand, the female housing 102 has a main body 114 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. Main unit 1
A concave portion 116 into which the male housing 104 is fitted is formed in the center of the inside of 14. On the top surface of the concave portion 116, an engagement step portion 118 that can be engaged with the protrusion 108 of the lock arm 110 of the male housing 104 is formed. A lock member 120 formed in a substantially U shape and urged in a standing direction by a torsion coil spring (not shown) is rotatably supported around a support shaft 122 at the upper end of the front portion of the main body 114. The rear surface of the lock member 120 is cut out in a substantially rectangular shape, and a relatively low cover plate 124 is formed. Further, the elastically deformable engagement claws 12 are provided on the front end portions of both side portions 120A of the lock member 120.
6 are respectively formed, and are elastically engaged with the engagement holes 130 of the engagement pieces 128 formed on both sides of the main body 114.

According to the above construction, when the connector 100 is not used, the locking member 120 in the female housing 102 is tilted against the biasing force of the coil spring and the engaging claw 126 is engaged. It is engaged with the engagement hole 130 of the piece 128. As a result, the female housing 102 is made compact, and problems such as the lock member 120 being caught by another member in the wiring work of the female housing 102 side can be eliminated.

On the other hand, when the male housing 104 and the female housing 102 are connected, a jig such as a driver is used to release the engagement state between the engagement piece 128 and the engagement claw 126. As a result, the lock member 120 returns to the standing state by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring, and the recess 11
6 is open. Next, the male housing 104 is fitted into the recess 116, and the protrusion 10 of the lock arm 110 is inserted.
8 is engaged with the engagement step 118 (primary lock). Next, the lock member 120 of the female housing 102 is tilted again to engage the engagement claw 126 with the engagement hole 130 of the engagement piece 128. Thereby, the cover plate 12 of the lock member 120
4 contacts the back surface of the arm guide 112 of the male housing 104, and the female housing 1 of the male housing 104
Prevents departure from 02 (secondary lock).

[0008]

However, in the case of the above construction, when the male housing 104 and the female housing 102 are connected, as described above, a jig such as a screwdriver is used to fix the lock member 120. Although it is necessary to disengage the engagement claw 126 from the engagement hole 130 of the engagement piece 128, the engagement state between the engagement claw 126 and the engagement hole 130 is relatively strong, and the female housing 102 itself. Is a small part and the engaging hole 130 is a small hole, the work for releasing the engaged state is extremely complicated and the workability is deteriorated.

Further, when the connector 100 is not used, it is necessary to prevent foreign matter from entering the recess 116 of the female housing 102.
A dedicated cap 132 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 12 was fitted to the female housing 102. As can be seen from FIG. 12, the cap 132 has a complicated shape, and the manufacturing cost including the mold cost is high, which causes a cost increase.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention can improve the workability of connecting the connector, and further can eliminate the cap for exclusive use of the female housing and the wire harness of the airbag apparatus for side collision. The purpose is to obtain a connection method.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided one housing, a main body portion into which the one housing is fitted, and rotatably supported by the main body portion and engaging means. And a engaged means for engaging one of the housings and the rotating arm with each other by elastically engaging with the engaging means when the rotating arm is rotated. The other housing configured,
A connector structure having a housing, the housing is elastically engaged with the engaged means while sandwiching the flexible sheet by rotating the rotating arm when the one housing is not fitted to the other housing. The feature is that they are combined.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, one housing provided with the first engaging means, a main body part into which the one housing is fitted, and one housing fitted into the main body part. The first engaged means elastically engaged with the first engaging means, the rotary arm rotatably supported by the main body and provided with the second engaging means, and the rotation. When the arm is rotated, the second engaging means elastically engages with the second engaging means, and the second engaged means that brings one housing and the rotating arm into the engaged state is included. A connector structure having the other housing,
When one housing is not mated with the other,
It is characterized in that the second engaging means and the second engaged means are elastically engaged while sandwiching the flexible sheet by rotating the rotating arm.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a male housing, a main body portion having a concave portion into which the male housing is fitted, and an engaging means rotatably supported by the main body portion. A rotating arm, and an engaged means for bringing the male housing and the rotating arm into an engaged state by elastically engaging the engaging means when the rotating arm is rotated,
And a female housing configured to include a female housing, wherein the opening of the concave portion is closed by a flexible sheet when the male housing is not fitted in the concave portion, and the rotating arm is closed in this state. It is characterized in that the engaging means and the engaged means are elastically engaged while sandwiching the flexible sheet by rotating.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a male housing having the first engaging means, a main body having a recess into which the male housing is fitted, and a male housing in the recess. A first engaged means that is elastically engaged with the first engaging means by being fitted, and a rotating arm that is rotatably supported by the main body portion and that includes the second engaging means. And a second engaged means for bringing the male housing and the rotating arm into an engaged state by elastically engaging the second engaging means by rotating the rotating arm. A connector structure having a female housing configured,
When the male housing is not fitted in the concave portion, the opening of the concave portion is closed by the flexible sheet and the rotating arm is rotated in this state to sandwich the flexible sheet and the second engaging means and the first engaging means. Elastically engage with the engaged means of 2.
It is characterized by:

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of connecting a wire harness for a side impact airbag device to an inflator side of a side impact airbag device disposed on a side portion of a seat back of a vehicle seat. The other housing according to claim 1 or 2, or the female housing according to claim 3 or 4, is connected via a wire harness and is arranged at a predetermined portion of the vehicle to operate an inflator at the time of a side collision. The flexible sheet is applied when one of the housings according to claim 1 or 2 or the male housing according to claim 3 or 4 is connected to the actuator side via a wire harness. In a state where the engaging means and the engaged means are engaged with each other while sandwiching, or a state in which the second engaging means and the second engaged means are engaged,
By inserting the other housing or the female housing into the installation opening provided on the seat cushion side of the vehicle seat to install the housing below the seat cushion, and then pulling the flexible seat, The engagement state between the engaging means and the engaged means or the engagement state between the second engaging means and the second engaged means is released, and then one of the main body of the other housing or the female housing is released. The housing or the male housing is fitted and the rotary arm is rotated to be in the engaged state again.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the rotating arm rotatably supported by the main body can be rotated before the one housing is fitted to the main body of the other housing. While sandwiching the flexible sheet, the engaging means provided on the rotary arm and the engaged means provided on the other housing are elastically engaged with each other.

On the other hand, when fitting one housing to the main body of the other housing, the flexible sheet sandwiched between the engaging means and the engaged means may be pulled. Here, since the engaging means and the engaged means are elastically engaged, when the flexible sheet is pulled, a releasing force acts in a direction in which the engagement state of the two is released, Easily elastically deformed and the engaged state is released. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform the operation of releasing the engagement state using a jig such as a driver. After that, by fitting one housing to the main body of the other housing and rotating the rotating arm again to engage the engaging means and the engaged means, both are locked. Connected to each other.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the rotating arm rotatably supported by the main body can be rotated before the one housing is fitted into the main body of the other housing. While sandwiching the flexible sheet, the second engaging means provided on the rotary arm and the second engaged means provided in the other housing are elastically engaged with each other.

On the other hand, when fitting one housing to the main body of the other housing, the flexible sheet sandwiched between the second engaging means and the second engaged means is pulled. Good. Since the second engaging means and the second engaged means are elastically engaged with each other, when the flexible sheet is pulled, the engagement state between the two is released. The release force acts and elastically deforms easily to release the engaged state. Therefore, similarly to the first aspect of the invention, there is no need to perform the operation of releasing the engaged state using a jig such as a driver.

After that, if one of the housings is fitted into the main body of the other housing, both are locked and connected to each other. However, in the present invention, one housing is doubly locked with respect to the other housing. That is, by fitting one housing to the main body of the other housing, the first engaging means provided on the one housing and the first engaged means provided on the other housing side are provided. It is elastically engaged (primary lock state). Next, by rotating the rotary arm of the other housing, the second arm provided on the rotary arm is rotated.
And the second engaged means provided on the other housing side are elastically engaged with each other. As a result, the one housing and the rotary arm provided on the other housing side are brought into the engaged state (secondary locked state).

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the state before the male housing is fitted into the recess of the main body of the female housing, the opening of the recess of the main body is closed by the flexible sheet. To be done. Then, in this state, the rotating arm rotatably supported by the main body is rotated, and the engaging means provided on the rotating arm and the engaged means provided in the female housing are sandwiched while sandwiching the flexible sheet. It is elastically engaged.

On the other hand, when fitting the male housing into the recess of the female housing, the flexible sheet sandwiched between the engaging means and the engaged means may be pulled. Here, since the engaging means and the engaged means are elastically engaged, when the flexible sheet is pulled, a releasing force acts in a direction in which the engagement state of the two is released, Easily elastically deformed and the engaged state is released. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform the operation of releasing the engagement state using a jig such as a driver. After that, the male housing is fitted into the concave portion of the female housing, the rotating arm is rotated again, and the engaging means and the engaged means are engaged with each other, so that the two become in the locked state and mutually. Connected.

Further, according to the present invention, as described above, when the male housing is not fitted in the concave portion, the opening of the concave portion is closed by the flexible sheet, so that the foreign matter enters the concave portion. Nothing.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the opening of the recess of the main body is closed by the flexible sheet in a state before the male housing is fitted into the recess of the main body of the female housing. To be done. Then, in this state, the rotating arm rotatably supported by the main body is rotated to sandwich the flexible sheet, while the second engaging means provided on the rotating arm and the second housing provided on the female housing are provided. The engaged means is elastically engaged.

On the other hand, when the male housing is fitted in the concave portion of the female housing, the flexible sheet sandwiched between the second engaging means and the second engaged means is pulled. Good. Since the second engaging means and the second engaged means are elastically engaged with each other, when the flexible sheet is pulled, the engagement state between the two is released. The release force acts and elastically deforms easily to release the engaged state.
Therefore, similarly to the third aspect of the invention, it is not necessary to perform the operation of releasing the engaged state using a jig such as a driver.

After that, when the male housing is fitted into the concave portion of the female housing, both are locked and connected to each other. However, in the present invention, the male housing is doubly locked with respect to the female housing. The operation in this respect is the same as that of the present invention described in claim 2, and therefore will be omitted.

Also in the present invention, as in the third aspect of the present invention, since the opening of the concave portion is closed by the flexible sheet when the male housing is not fitted in the concave portion, the inside of the concave portion is closed. No foreign matter can enter the area.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the other housing according to the first or second aspect of the invention is provided on the inflator side of the side collision airbag device disposed on the side portion of the seat back of the vehicle seat. The female housing according to claim 3 or 4 is connected via a wire harness, is arranged at a predetermined portion of a vehicle, and is located on a side of an actuator that actuates an inflator in the event of a side collision. It is applied when one of the housings or the male housing according to claim 3 or 4 is connected via a wire harness. In the following description, the case where the female housing is connected to the inflator side via the wire harness and the male housing is connected to the actuator side via the wire harness will be described as an example.

When the wire harness is routed during the assembly of the vehicle seat, first, the female housing attached to the seat back side is placed in the routing opening provided on the seat cushion side of the vehicle seat. And is routed below the seat cushion. At this time, the opening of the concave portion of the female housing is previously closed by the flexible sheet, and in this state, between the engaging means and the engaged means or the second engaging means and the second engaged side. A flexible sheet is sandwiched between the means. In this state, since the rotating arm is rotating, the cross-sectional dimension of the female housing is small. Therefore, even if the wiring opening provided on the seat cushion side is narrow, the female housing can be easily inserted.

Next, by pulling the flexible sheet, the engagement state between the engaging means and the engaged means or the engagement state between the second engaging means and the second engaged means is released. To be done. Then, the male housing is fitted into the concave portion of the female housing, and the rotary arm is rotated to be brought into the engaged state again.

When the wire harness of the side impact airbag device is connected by the above connecting method, the engagement state is released by using a jig such as a driver as in the inventions according to claims 1 to 4. There is no need to perform any operation. In particular, the side collision airbag device has a small working space because it is attached to the vehicle seat, and in that sense, it is effective that the engaging state can be released only by pulling the flexible seat. .

[0032]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 7 shows a front seat 10 of an automobile. As shown in the figure, the front seat 10 includes a seat cushion 12 and a seat back 14 that is tiltably connected to a rear end portion of the seat cushion 12. Seat cushion 1
2 includes a seat cushion frame 16 configured in a substantially rectangular frame shape. This seat cushion frame 1
Inside the both side portions of 6, the lower arms 18 forming a part of the seat adjuster are arranged in parallel. The rear end portion 18A of the lower arm 18 is formed in a substantially triangular shape,
It projects upward through an opening 20 formed in the seat cushion 12. The rear end portion 18A of the lower arm 18 and the upper arm 22 projecting from the lower end portion of the seat back 14 are hinged to each other via a connecting rod (not shown).

In the side portion of the seat back 14 on the side door side, a side impact airbag device 24 is provided. The side impact airbag device 24 is configured to include a columnar inflator 26 that ejects gas at the time of a side collision, and a bag (not shown) that is arranged around the inflator 26 in a folded state. One end of a wire harness 28 is connected to the lower end of the inflator 26. The middle portion of the wire harness 28 is routed inside the side portion of the seatback 14 along the height direction thereof, and the other end of the wire harness 28 is disposed at the other end of the seatback 14.
Is drawn downward from the lower end of the. A female housing 40 described later is attached to the other end of the wire harness 28.

The female housing 40 is connected to a male housing 38 which will be described later.
Is connected to a control unit 30 arranged below a console box (not shown) via a wire harness 32. Furthermore, the control unit 30
Are connected via a wire harness 36 to a side impact sensor 34 arranged on the center pillar side (not shown). As a result, when a side collision occurs, this collision state is detected by the side collision sensor 34 and the control unit 30
A collision signal is output to the control unit 30 and a predetermined current is supplied from the control unit 30 to the inflator 26 via the wire harnesses 32 and 28. As a result, the inflator 26
Is activated to eject gas to interpose a bag between the occupant and the side door.

Next, the structure of the connector 42 including the male housing 38 and the female housing 40 described above will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

The male housing 38 as one of the housings has a base portion 44 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. A pair of terminal accommodating chambers 46 (see FIG. 4) are arranged in parallel inside the base portion 44, and a male terminal (not shown) is accommodated in each terminal accommodating chamber 46. Also, the base 44
A lock arm 48 having an L-shaped cross section is integrally formed at the center of the upper end of the lock arm 48 with its front end being cantilevered by the upper end surface of the base 44 and whose rear end being a free end. For this reason, the lock arm 48 is elastically deformable in the vertical direction with the tip portion as a fulcrum. In order to guide the elastic deformation (swing) of the lock arm 48 in the vertical direction, a pair of arm guides 50 are provided upright on both sides of the tip of the lock arm 48 in the base portion 44. Further, a protrusion 52 projecting upward is integrally formed at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the lock arm 48.

The female housing 40 serving as the other housing has a main body 54 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. A pair of terminal accommodating chambers 5 are provided on the inner rear end side of the main body 54.
6 (see FIG. 4) are arranged in parallel, and a female terminal (not shown) is housed in each terminal housing chamber 56. Further, the male housing 38 is provided on the inner front end side of the main body 54.
Is formed with a recess 58. This recess 58
The lock arm 48 of the male housing 38 is provided on the top surface side of the
An engaging stepped portion 62 that can be engaged with the projection 52 is integrally formed.

A pair of support plates 64 are erected on the upper surface of the front end of the main body 54. A lock member 60 formed in a substantially U shape is arranged between the support plates 64. The lock member 60 includes a flat plate-shaped base portion 60A and a pair of side portions 6 that are erected from both ends of the base portion 60A.
It consists of 0B and. Of these, a tubular support shaft 66 penetrates through the shaft center portion of the front end portion of the base portion 60A and the pair of support plates 64, whereby the lock member 60 is supported rotatably around the support shaft 66. A torsion coil spring (not shown) is wound around the support shaft 66, and always urges the lock member 60 to rotate in the upright direction (the direction opposite to the arrow B in FIG. 3). Also, the pair of side portions 60B
Engaging claws 68 that are elastically deformable in the thickness direction of the side portion 60B are formed at the tip end portions of the. Furthermore, the rear surface of the lock member 60 (the surface on the rear end side of the pair of side portions 60B) is cut out in a substantially rectangular shape, and the relatively low cover plate 7 is formed.
0 is formed.

Both side walls 54A on the front end side of the main body 54
A pair of engaging pieces 72 are formed integrally with each other. Each of the engaging pieces 72 extends along the side wall 54A of the main body 54, and a rectangular engaging hole 74 is formed at the tip.

Here, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
A band-shaped flexible sheet 76, which is a vinyl sheet, is sandwiched between the lock member 60 and the main body 54 in the female housing 40 when not in use. More specifically, the length of the flexible sheet 76 is set to be longer than the widthwise dimension of the body 54 of the female housing 40, and the widthwise dimension of the flexible sheet 76 is higher than the height of the recess 58. It is set slightly larger than the vertical dimension. Then, the locking member 60 is tilted with the opening surface of the recess 58 closed by the flexible sheet 76, so that the flexible sheet 76 is interposed between the pair of engaging claws 68 and the engaging piece 72. Is sandwiched between. As a result, the engaging claw 68 is moved to the flexible sheet 7.
6 is engaged with the engagement hole 74 while being surrounded by 6 (see FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the flexible sheet 7
Although a vinyl sheet was used as 6, it is not limited to this and may be cloth or the like.

Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described through the description of the connecting work between the male housing 38 and the female housing 40.

As shown in FIG. 7, the assembly plant is delivered with the seat cushion 12 and the seat back 14 separated from each other. Therefore, in this state, the lower portion of the wire harness 28 of the side collision airbag device 24 and the female housing 40 are pulled out from the lower end portion of the seat back 14. When the seat back 14 is delivered, that is, when the connector 42 is not used, as shown in FIG.
The flexible sheet 76 is sandwiched by the female housing 40. That is, the lock member 60 is tilted, and the flexible sheet 76 is sandwiched between the pair of engaging claws 68 and the engaging pieces 72. Further, as a result, the opening surface of the recess 58 of the female housing 40 is closed,
Foreign matter such as dust does not enter the recess 58. A cap (not shown) is previously fitted to the male housing 38 for the same purpose.

Next, after the seat cushion 12 is fixed to the floor panel of the vehicle body, the female housing 40 and the wire harness 28 are arranged below the center of the front end portion of the seat cushion 12. Specifically, by inserting the female housing 40 into the opening 20 of the seat cushion 12,
The seat cushion 12 is routed downward along the center of the front end of the seat cushion 12 along the route indicated by the arrow A.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, since the seat cushion frame 16 and the lower arm 18 of the seat adjuster are arranged relatively close to each other, the opening 20 of the seat cushion 12 described above is formed. The opening width is narrow. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
0 with the female housing 40 in the opening 20
It is impossible to insert it inside. However, as described above, in this embodiment in which the locking member 60 is already tilted, the female housing 40 can be inserted into the opening 20 as shown in FIG.

Next, the female housing 40 and the male housing 38, which are pulled out to the lower center of the front end portion of the seat cushion 12, are connected. In this case, first, the flexible sheet 76 is pulled in the width direction of the female housing 40 (direction of arrow C in FIG. 2). It should be noted that this pulling work does not have a special procedure and may be simply performed. When the flexible sheet 76 is pulled, the flexible sheet 76 is sandwiched between the flexible sheet 76 and the engaging piece 72 so as to surround the engaging claw 68. And engaging piece 72
Act on. Therefore, in the engaging piece 72, the engaging claw 6
8 is elastically deformed in a direction away from (in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 2), and in the engaging claw 68, in a direction in which it is extracted from between the engaging piece 72 and the side wall 54A (direction of arrow E in FIG. 2). Try to move. As a result, the engaging claw 68 is easily disengaged from the engaging hole 74 of the engaging piece 72, and the lock member 60 is returned to the standing state by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring. As a result, the flexible sheet 76 is also separated from the female housing 40, so that the recess 58 is opened. Therefore, the male housing 38 may be fitted into the recess 58 of the female housing 40.

When the male housing 38 is fitted into the concave portion 58 of the female housing 40, the protrusion 52 formed on the lock arm 48 of the female housing 40 is formed after the lock arm 48 of the male housing 38 is elastically deformed. Engagement step 6
2 is engaged (primary lock). Next, the locking member 60 of the female housing 40 is tilted again to engage the engaging claw 68 with the engaging hole 74 of the engaging piece 72. At this time, if the male housing 38 is not completely fitted to the female housing 40 (if the projection 52 is not completely engaged with the engaging stepped portion 62), it is shown in FIG. As described above, since the cover plate 70 of the lock member 60 interferes with the arm guide 50 of the female housing 40, the engagement claw 68 of the lock member 60 cannot be engaged with the engagement piece 72. That is, only when the male housing 38 is completely fitted to the female housing 40, the engaging claws 68 of the lock member 60 are provided.
Can be engaged with the engaging piece 72, and in that sense, the lock member 60 has an incomplete fitting preventing function. When the male housing 38 is completely fitted to the female housing 40 and the engaging claw 68 of the lock member 60 is engaged with the engaging hole 74 of the engaging piece 72, the cover plate 70 of the lock member 60 is obtained. Comes into contact with the rear surface of the arm guide 50 of the female housing 40 and enters an engaged state (see FIG. 5). This allows
The male housing 38 is prevented from coming off the female housing 40 (secondary lock). As a result, the male housing 38 is doubly locked with respect to the female housing 40,
Both are in a reliable connection.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the male housing 38 is not fitted in the recess 58 of the female housing 40 (when the connector 42 is not used), the opening surface of the recess 58 is covered with the flexible sheet 76. And the lock member 60 in this state.
Since the engaging claw 68 and the engaging piece 72 are elastically engaged with each other while the flexible sheet 76 is sandwiched by tilting, the narrow opening 20 of the seat cushion 12 is formed.
Not only can be easily inserted, but also the flexible sheet 76 can be easily pulled to the secondary locked state (the engaging claw 68 and the engaging hole of the engaging piece 72 after being installed at a predetermined position). (Engagement state with 74) can be released. Therefore, it is not necessary to release the secondary locked state by using a jig such as a driver, and the workability of connecting the male housing 38 and the female housing 40 can be improved.

Particularly, in the connection work of the connector 42 of the side collision airbag device 24 as shown in the present embodiment, the work is performed with the seat cushion 12 already assembled to the floor panel of the vehicle body. Therefore, there is no working space, and in that sense, it is effective that the operation of releasing the secondary lock state can be performed by simply pulling the flexible sheet 76.

Further, as described above, in this embodiment, when the male housing 38 is not fitted in the recess 58, the opening surface of the recess 58 is closed by the flexible sheet 76, so that the inside of the recess 58 is closed. It is possible to prevent foreign matter from entering. For this reason, the dedicated cap for preventing foreign matter from entering the recess 58 can be eliminated, and the manufacturing cost including the mold cost can be significantly reduced.

In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to the side collision airbag device 24 as an example, but the invention is not limited to this, and the electric ignition type airbag device for the driver's seat and the airbag device for the passenger's seat. The present invention may be applied to the pretensioner for rapidly retracting the buckle device or rapidly rotating the take-up shaft of the webbing take-up device in the take-up rotation direction when the vehicle suddenly decelerates. Good. Further, the present invention may be applied to a connector structure of a device other than these occupant protection auxiliary devices.

Further, in the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to the connector 42 having the double lock mechanism, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the connector without the primary lock mechanism in the above configuration (in this case, the single lock mechanism). The present invention may be applied to a connector provided with.

Further, in this embodiment, the lock arm 48 of the male housing 38 is elastically deformed, and the engagement step portion 62 of the female housing 40 is not elastically deformed. . That is, the male housing 38 may be provided with a structure corresponding to the engaging stepped portion 62 that does not elastically deform, and the recess 58 of the female housing 40 may be provided with a structure corresponding to the elastically deformable lock arm 48. . Further, the two may be elastically deformed into each other so as to be in an engaged state.
It suffices as long as it is a primary lock mechanism in which 8 and the female housing 40 are engaged.

Further, in the present embodiment, the inflator 26 is
Provide a female housing 40 on the wire harness 28 side of
Although the male housing 38 is provided on the wire harness 32 side of the control unit 30, the inflator 26 side may be a male housing and the control unit 30 side may be a female housing. In this case, if the lock member 60 and the engaging piece 72 are provided on the male housing on the inflator 26 side, and the female housing on the control unit 30 side is provided with a step or the like that engages with the cover plate 70. Good. In this case, it is arbitrary whether the single lock mechanism or the double lock mechanism is used in the sense described above. In addition, in addition to the first and second aspects of the invention, in the above case, the male housing corresponds to the "other housing" and the female housing corresponds to the "one housing". (The relationship is opposite to that of the above-described embodiment).

[0055]

As described above, in the connector structure according to the present invention as set forth in claim 1, the flexible sheet is sandwiched by rotating the rotating arm when one housing is not fitted to the other housing. However, since the engaging means and the engaged means are elastically engaged with each other, the engaged state can be released only by pulling the flexible sheet,
This has an excellent effect that the workability of connecting the one housing and the other housing can be improved.

In the connector structure according to the second aspect of the present invention, the second engaging means while the flexible sheet is sandwiched by rotating the rotating arm when one housing is not fitted to the other housing. Since the second engaging means and the second engaged means are elastically engaged with each other, the workability of connecting the one housing and the other housing can be improved as in the first aspect of the invention. Has excellent effect.

According to the third aspect of the connector structure of the present invention, when the male housing is not fitted in the recess, the opening of the recess is closed by the flexible sheet and the rotating arm is rotated in this state. Since the flexible sheet is sandwiched between the engaging means and the engaged means elastically, the flexible sheet can be released from the engaged state by pulling the flexible sheet. It has an excellent effect that the workability of connecting the die housing and the female housing can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, since the opening of the concave portion can be closed by the flexible sheet when the male housing is not fitted in the concave portion, the cap for exclusive use of the female housing is eliminated. It is also possible to obtain an excellent effect that

According to a fourth aspect of the connector structure of the present invention, when the male housing is not fitted in the recess, the opening of the recess is closed by the flexible sheet and the rotating arm is rotated in this state. Since the second engaging means and the second engaged means are elastically engaged with each other while sandwiching the flexible sheet by the above, the male housing and the female housing are arranged in the same manner as the invention according to claim 3. It has an excellent effect that the workability of connection with the mold housing can be improved and the cap dedicated to the female housing can be eliminated.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wire harness connecting method for a side impact airbag apparatus, wherein the engaging means and the engaged means are engaged while sandwiching the flexible sheet, or With the second engaging means and the second engaged means engaged, the other housing or the female housing is inserted into the wiring opening provided on the seat cushion side of the vehicle seat. The flexible seat, and then the flexible sheet is pulled, whereby the engaging state of the engaging means and the engaged means or the second engaging means and the second engaged means are set. Since the engagement state is released, and then the one housing or the male housing is fitted to the main body portion of the other housing or the female housing and the rotating arm is rotated to bring the engagement state again, One house Has an excellent effect that it is possible to the improve the connection workability with the other housing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a flexible sheet is sandwiched in a female housing of a connector according to this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal enlarged sectional view of the female housing shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the connector according to the present embodiment with a male housing and a female housing separated from each other.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a male housing is fitted into a female housing and is primarily locked.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the male housing is fitted to the female housing and is secondarily locked.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the primary lock is incomplete.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a front seat and the like provided with a side collision airbag device.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing how the female housing is inserted into the opening of the seat cushion with the lock member tilted.

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing that the female housing cannot be inserted into the opening when the lock member is upright.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a connector according to a conventional example with a male housing and a female housing separated from each other.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a state where a dedicated cap is fitted on the female housing.

12 is a perspective view showing the cap shown in FIG. 11 as a single body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Front Seat (Vehicle Seat) 12 Seat Cushion 14 Seat Back 20 Opening (Installation Opening) 24 Side Impact Airbag Device 26 Inflator 28 Wire Harness 30 Control Unit (Actuator) 32 Wire Harness 38 Male Housing 40 Female housing 42 Connector 48 Lock arm 52 Protrusion (first engaging means) 54 Main body 58 Recess 60 Lock member (rotating arm) 62 Engaging step (first engaged means) 68 Engaging claw (engaging) Coupling means, second engaging means) 72 engaging pieces (engaged means, second engaged means) 76 flexible sheet

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A housing, a main body part to which the one housing is fitted, a rotary arm rotatably supported by the main body part and provided with an engaging means, and the rotary arm being rotated. By the elastically engaging with the engaging means, thereby engaging the one housing and the rotating arm with each other, and the other housing including the engaged means. Yes, when one housing is not mated with the other,
A connector structure characterized in that an engaging means and an engaged means are elastically engaged while sandwiching a flexible sheet by rotating a rotating arm. 2. One housing provided with a first engaging means, a main body part to which this one housing is fitted, and one housing fitted to this main body part A first engaged means that elastically engages with the coupling means, a rotary arm that is rotatably supported by the main body portion and that includes the second engaging means, and the rotary arm is rotated. A second engaged means that elastically engages with the second engaging means to bring one housing and the rotating arm into an engaged state, and the other housing configured to include: Connector structure, when one housing is not mated with the other housing,
A connector structure, wherein the second engaging means and the second engaged means are elastically engaged while sandwiching the flexible sheet by rotating the rotating arm. 3. A male housing, a main body portion having a recess into which the male housing is fitted, a rotary arm rotatably supported by the main body portion and provided with an engaging means, and a rotary arm. A female housing configured to include a male housing and an engaged means that engages the rotating arm with the engaging means by elastically engaging the engaging means when the arm is rotated; A connector structure having, wherein when the male housing is not fitted in the recess, the opening of the recess is closed by the flexible sheet and the rotating arm is rotated in this state to sandwich the flexible sheet. A connector structure, characterized in that the coupling means and the engaged means are elastically engaged. 4. A male housing provided with a first engaging means, a main body portion having a recess into which the male housing is fitted, and a male housing fitted into the recess. A first engaged means that elastically engages with one engaging means, a rotating arm that is rotatably supported by the main body portion and that includes a second engaging means, and this rotating arm is rotated. And a second engaged means that elastically engages the second engaging means to bring the male housing and the rotating arm into an engaged state, and a female housing including the second engaged means. And a connector structure having, wherein when the male housing is not fitted in the recess, the opening of the recess is closed by the flexible sheet and the rotating arm is rotated in this state to sandwich the flexible sheet. While elastically connecting the second engaging means and the second engaged means A connector structure characterized by engaging with each other. 5. The other housing according to claim 1 or 2 or the other housing according to claim 1 or 2 on the side of the inflator of the side impact airbag device disposed on the side portion of the seat back of the vehicle seat. 3. The one housing according to claim 1 or claim 2 on the side of the actuator that is connected to the female housing according to claim 1 through a wire harness and is arranged at a predetermined portion of the vehicle to operate the inflator in the event of a side collision. It is applied when the male housing according to claim 3 or 4 is connected through a wire harness, and the engaging means and the engaged means are engaged while sandwiching the flexible sheet. Or in a state where the second engaging means and the second engaged means are engaged with each other, the other housing or the female housing is provided on the seat cushion side of the vehicle seat. The flexible sheet is inserted into the installation opening and installed below the seat cushion, and then the flexible sheet is pulled to engage the engaging means and the engaged means or the second engaging means and the second engaging means. The engagement state with the engaged means 2 is released, and then one housing or the male housing is fitted to the main body portion of the other housing or the female housing, and the rotary arm is rotated to engage again. A method for connecting a wire harness of a side impact airbag device, wherein: