JPH09219254A - Erroneous connection preventing structure for connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an erroneous connection preventing structure for connects, capable of preventing erroneous connection while sharing the connector. SOLUTION: Two male connector housings 20, 20 having directivity are mounted on a bracket 30 provided with two frame holes by making their directions differ from each other, the drawing directions of electric wires of two female connector housings 10, 10 are different from each other, the directions of the electric wires to be drawn coincide with each other, and the female connector housings are inserted into hood parts 21, 21 of the male connector housings 20, 20. Therefore, erroneous connection can be prevented by making use of directivity of the male connector housings 20 and the female connector housings 10 even if they have the same rib structure.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector misconnection prevention structure, and more particularly to a connector misconnection prevention structure for preventing misconnection between adjacent connectors.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to prevent erroneous connection between adjacent connectors, the rib structure is changed between adjacent connectors.

[0003]

In the above-described conventional connector misconnection preventing structure, a plurality of connector structures having different rib structures are required, which makes it difficult to share the connectors and increases the cost. There is a problem that the work becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a connector misconnection preventing structure capable of preventing misconnection while sharing the connectors.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 provides a bracket in which a plurality of mounting positions are arranged in parallel, a first connector housing and a first connector housing which form a pair capable of being fitted and connected to each other. The first connector housing is composed of two connector housings, and the first connector housing can be mounted at the mounting position of the bracket, and the electric wire can be led out from an arbitrary side of the second connector housing in a side direction orthogonal to the parallel installation direction. The connector and the base are formed in a U-shape extending from both ends of the base, and the tip of the arm is rotatably attached to the bracket while straddling the attachment position of the bracket, and the second connector is provided. Engage the housing and drive it toward the first connector housing while wrapping around the rear side from the side opposite to the side where the electric wire is pulled out. When the electric wires are drawn out in the same direction from each other, the adjacent connectors differ from each other in the mounting direction of the first connector housing to the bracket and in the drawing direction of the electric wire from the second connector housing. The configuration is such that the side-by-side connectors cannot be mounted at the wrong mounting position.

[0006] The invention according to claim 2 is based on claim 1.
In the connector misconnection preventing structure described in (1), the first connector housing is composed of a bracket in which a plurality of mounting positions are arranged in parallel, and a first connector housing and a second connector housing that form a pair that can be fitted and connected to each other. A connector that can be mounted in different directions with respect to the mounting position of the bracket, and for the second connector housing, an electric wire can be led out from any side in the side direction orthogonal to the juxtaposed direction, and from both ends of the base. The arm portion is formed in a U-shape so as to extend, and the tip of the arm portion is rotatably attached to the bracket while straddling the attachment position of the bracket, and engages with the second connector housing to While wrapping around from the side opposite to the side where the wire is pulled out to the rear side, it is pulled toward the first connector housing and driven, and And a direction in which the mounting position of the first connector housing, the mounting position of the lever, and the direction in which the electric wire is pulled out from the second connector housing. The combination of the above and the connector prevents the side-by-side connectors from being mounted at the wrong mounting positions.

[0007]

In the invention according to claim 1 configured as described above, when the wire directions of the aligned connectors are the same, the mounting direction of the first connector housing to the bracket is different between adjacent connectors. The direction of pulling out the electric wire from the second connector housing is different. Therefore, in the bracket, since the drawn-out directions of the electric wires of the aligned connectors are the same, the mounting direction of the lever is the same, and the mounting direction of the first connector housing to the bracket is different between the adjacent connectors. The second connector housing to be mated has a different wire drawing direction. Even if the directions of drawing the electric wires from the second connector housings are different, the directions of the electric wires serving as the brackets are the same, so that the adjacent second connector housings are arranged side by side. As a result, the adjacent connectors will not be erroneously mated and connected unless the electric wires are pulled out in the opposite direction.

Further, in the invention according to claim 2 configured as described above, it is possible to change the mounting direction of the lever, and the combination for preventing misconnection is increased.

[0009]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent misconnection between adjacent connectors by changing the mounting direction of the first connector housing to the bracket and the wire drawing direction from the second connector housing. Therefore, it is possible to provide a connector misconnection preventing structure that allows the connectors to be commonly used.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to increase the variation in preventing misconnection by changing the mounting direction of the lever.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a lever-type connector to which a connector misconnection preventing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

In the figure, the present lever type connector is a rectangular box-shaped female connector housing (second connector housing) 10 having a cam pin 11 on an outer surface, and a hood portion 21 into which the female connector housing 10 can be inserted. A male connector housing (first connector housing) 20 having a frame, a frame-shaped bracket 30 to which the male connector housing 20 can be attached, and the frame-shaped bracket 3
It is configured to include a U-shaped lever 40 that is rotatably mounted on the inner peripheral surface of 0 and has a cam groove 41 corresponding to the cam pin 11. The female-side connector housing 10 and the male-side connector housing 20 are so-called split type ones, each of which is configured by mounting a plurality of sub-connectors on a frame. Further, the arrangement of the sub-connectors with respect to the frame is asymmetric as shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the female connector housing 10 is inserted into the hood portion 21 of the male connector housing 20 for fitting and connection, but a pair of connectors that can be fitted to each other is formed. Any shape may be used as long as it is asymmetric. Further, either side may hold the terminal fitting on either side of male or female. As shown in FIG. 2, the bracket 30 is formed with two frame holes into which the male connector housings 20 can be mounted. In each of them, adjacent male connector housings 20 and 20 are arranged in opposite directions. It is installed.

Engagement protrusions 2 each having three protrusions 22a are provided at three locations on the outer surface of the male connector housing 20.
2 is formed, and a lock portion 31 having a flexible lock arm 31a is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the frame-shaped bracket 30 corresponding to the engaging convex portion 22. The lock arm 31a has a substantially plate shape extending along the opening axis direction of the bracket 30, has a wedge-shaped protrusion 31a1 on the inner surface of the upper end, and is connected to the inner peripheral surface of the bracket 30 at an intermediate portion of the outer surface. It is formed in a so-called seesaw shape. On both sides of the lock arm 31a, ridge-shaped guide protrusions 31b, 31b extending in the vertical direction are formed.
On the other hand, two of the three protrusions 22a of the engaging protrusion 22 are arranged on the relatively lower side with a gap so as to contact the lower surfaces of the guide protrusions 31b and 31b, and one of them is the lock arm 31a. It is arranged between the two protrusions 22a and on the relatively upper side so that the protrusion 31a1 at the upper end of the can be engaged and engaged. Therefore, when the male connector housing 20 is inserted upward from the lower side of the frame-shaped bracket 30, the protrusion 22a between the lock arm 31a and the protrusion 22a is formed.
Bend over the projection 31a1 at the upper end,
1 and the remaining two protrusions 22
Since a and 22a abut the lower surfaces of the guide protrusions 31b and 31b, the male connector housing 20 is engaged and held inside the bracket 30 as a result. The positional relationship between the two in this state is shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the bracket 30 is formed in a frame shape, and the male connector housing 20 is provided inside thereof.
Is mounted, but it is sufficient if at least a pair of male-side connector housings 20 are mounted and held side by side,
The bracket 30 does not necessarily have to mount the male connector housing 20 inside. For example, the bracket is formed in a plate shape, and the male connector housing 20 is attached and held on the surface of the plate material. In this state, the female connector housing 10 is fitted and attached to the male connector housing 20. You may do so. Further, also in the method of fixing both, a configuration other than the engaging convex portion 22 and the lock portion 31 described above may be adopted.

A pair of shaft support pins 32, 32 facing each other are provided upright in the center of the inner wall surface of the bracket 30 in the longitudinal direction, and the arm portions 42, 42 at both ends of a lever 40 formed in a U-shape. The shaft hole 4 into which the shaft support pins 32, 32 are inserted at the front end so as to be rotatably engaged.
2a and 42a are formed. As a result, the base portion 43 connecting the two arm portions 42 of the lever 40 can be rotated in an arc from the upper end of the wall surface in one lateral direction of the bracket 30 to the upper end of the wall surface in the other lateral direction. There is. As described above, the bracket 30 is formed with two frame holes into which the male connector housing 20 can be mounted, and the levers 40 are mounted in the same direction in the respective frame holes.

On the other hand, a cam-shaped bulging portion 42b that bulges in the radial direction is provided at the tip of the arm portion 42, and the cam-shaped bulging portion 42b has a spiral shape around the shaft holes 42a, 42a. Cam grooves 41, 41 forming a part of the above are formed.
Since the cam grooves 41, 41 have a spiral shape, one end is close to the shaft holes 42a, 42a, and the other end is opened on the side surface of the arm 42, 42 to introduce the inlets 42c, 4a.
2c is formed. The introduction ports 42c, 42c are linearly aligned with the shaft support pins 32, 32 when the base 43 is at the upper end of the wall surface in the one lateral direction, and in this state, the female connector housing 10 is placed on the male connector housing 20. When facing each other, the cam pins 11 and 11 have the same introduction ports 42c and 42c.
As a result, it becomes possible to enter the cam grooves 41, 41.

In the present embodiment, the lever 40 is held inside the frame-shaped bracket 30, but it is sufficient that the lever 40 is held at least by the bracket 30, and it is not necessarily mounted inside. good. However, if it is held inside, it will be sandwiched between the bracket 30 and the male connector housing 20, so
There is no escape area even if you try to bend due to force when pulling in, there is no need to attach a dedicated guide cover as in the past.

On the inner side surface of the bracket 30, the shaft supporting pins 32, 32 are extended from the lower side to the inner side, and then bent upward to cover the coaxial supporting pins 32, 32 from the inner side. Thin flat plate-shaped guide covers 33, 33
Is formed, and when the lever 40 is engaged with the shaft support pins 32, 32, the lever 40 is supported from the inside and held so as not to fall off. Since the guide cover 33 does not need to hold down the lever 40 when it receives a force,
It can be formed thin and does not increase in size. Of course, it is not always necessary, but lever 4
It is effective in preventing the dropping of 0.

The female connector housing 10 includes a housing portion 12 composed of a sub-connector and a frame, and an electric wire cover that covers the rear surface side (upper side in FIG. 1) of the housing portion 12 and bundles the electric wires in a predetermined direction to lead them out. Thirteen
It is composed of The housing portion 12 is composed of a frame 12a formed in a thick plate shape and a wall-shaped hood 12b extending downward from the peripheral edge of the frame 12a. The outer peripheral surface of the frame 12a is flush with the hood 12b on the lower side, and has a small diameter portion 12a1 having a smaller diameter on the upper side by the thickness of the hood 12b.
On each surface of the housing portion 12 in the longitudinal direction, a wedge-shaped locking projection 12a is provided at two places on the small diameter portion 12a1.
2, 12a2 are formed, and grooves 12a3, 12a are formed at two places.
3 are formed.

On the other hand, the electric wire cover 13 has a housing portion 1.
It is formed in a substantially cap shape that covers the back surface of No. 2 and opens downward and to the right in FIG. The lower opening end is formed so as to cover the small diameter portion 12a1 of the housing portion 12 from the outside, and the locking protrusion 1 formed on the small diameter portion 12a1.
2a2, 12a2 corresponding to the locking projections 12a2, 1
Loop-shaped lock arms 13a, 1 capable of locking 2a2
3a. Since it has a loop shape, when the lock arm 13a is pushed down against the wedge-shaped locking projection 12a2 toward the inclined surface thereof, the locking arm 13a gets over the locking projection 12a2 and returns and locks. Also, as shown in FIG.
Along with the lock arm 13a, a projection 13b is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the open end of the electric wire cover 13 so that the electric wire cover 13 can slide into the groove 12a3 when the electric wire cover 13 is approached toward the housing portion 12. ing.

The above-mentioned locking projection 12a2 and groove 12a3,
The lock arm 13a and the protrusion 13b are formed side by side symmetrically in the small-diameter portion 12a1 of the housing portion 12, so that the wire cover 13 can be attached to either the left or right side. The wire cover 13 is
In FIG. 4, it is opened to the lower side and the right side, but since it can be mounted on the left and right, it can be mounted by opening the lower side and the left side. Regarding the lower opening, the electric wire led out from the sub connector attached to the housing portion 12 is the electric wire cover 1 concerned.
An opening that enters the inside of 3 and faces the right side or the left side is the pulling direction of the lead wire. That is, with respect to the female connector housing 10, the electric wire can be pulled out in either direction. Since the male connector housings 20, 20 forming a pair with the female connector housings 10, 10 have opposite directions,
The direction of pulling out the wire is also reversed.

In the present embodiment, the housing portion 12
The electric wire cover 13 that opens downward and to the right or left with respect to the back surface of the electric wire allows the electric wire to be drawn out to either side in the female connector housing 10, but the drawing direction of the electric wire is changed. If possible, any cover may be provided. Next, the operation of this embodiment having the above configuration will be described. A bracket 30 having levers 40, 40 mounted in the same direction is prepared at a combined position of both connector housings 10, 20, and the male connector housings 20, 20 are mounted on the bracket 30. As described above, the male connector housing 2
When 0 and 20 are inserted from one side of the bracket 30, the engaging convex portion 22 and the lock portion 31 irremovably combine them. At this time, the directions of the male connector housings 20, 20 are opposite to each other.

After this, the female connector housings 10, 1
When 0 is faced from the opposite side and inserted into the hood portions 21 and 21, the female connector housings 1
When the lever 40 is rotated, the cam pins 11, 11 on the outer side surface of the outer peripheral surface of the lever 40 are inserted into the inlets 42c, 42c formed in the arm portions 42, 42 of the lever 40. The same cam pin 11,
11 is pulled in toward the shaft holes 42a, 42a, and the female connector housing 10 itself becomes the male connector housing 20.
The two are united by being drawn into the hood portion 21 of.

Since the electric wires are drawn out in the same direction in each connector, the female connector housings 10, 10 are connected to the hood portions 21, 21 of the male connector housings 20, 20.
When inserting the male connector housings 20 and 20 into each other, the male connector housings 20 and 20 may be inserted into the hood portions 21 and 21 of the opposite male connector housings 20 and 20 adjacent to each other. Since it is attached, it cannot be attached, and misconnection can be prevented. After that, the bracket 30 is attached and fixed to the vehicle body.

The relationship between the directions of the bracket 30, the levers 40 and 40, the female connector housings 10 and 10 and the male connector housings 20 and 20 is schematically shown by arrows in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, when the direction of pulling out the electric wire as the connector is different, the mounting directions of the levers 40, 40 are also different. Therefore, the female connector housings 10, 10 and the male connector housings 20, 20 may be oriented on either side, and if they are erroneously connected, the levers 40, 40 may abut the electric wire and cannot rotate. , There is no mistake.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, the bracket 30
To the male connector housing 20 and lever 4
If the combination of the directions of 0 can be changed as appropriate, by changing the drawing direction of the electric wire, a maximum of four sets of connectors can be used without using the same female side connector housing 10 and male side connector housing 20 and erroneous connection. Can be connected. In this way, the two male connector housings 20, 20 having directionality are attached to the bracket 30 having two frame holes in different directions, and the two female connector housings 10, 10 are correspondingly mounted. With respect to the above, when the electric wires are drawn in different directions and the drawn electric wires are aligned in the same direction and inserted into the hood portions 21 and 21 of the male connector housings 20 and 20, the direction of the male connector housing 20 and the female connector housing 10 is changed. Even if the rib structure is the same, erroneous connection can be prevented by utilizing the property.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a lever-type connector to which a misconnection preventing structure for a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a female connector housing of the lever-type connector in an unmounted state.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in the unmounted state.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a female connector housing of the lever connector.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the directionality of the misconnection preventing structure of the present connector.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the directionality of a misconnection preventing structure for a connector according to a modification.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the directionality of a misconnection preventing structure for a connector according to a modification.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ... Female side connector housing 11 ... Cam pin 12 ... Housing part 13 ... Electric wire cover 20 ... Male side connector housing 21 ... Hood part 30 ... Bracket 32 ... Shaft support pin 40 ... Lever 41 ... Cam groove

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A bracket comprising a plurality of mounting positions arranged side by side, and a pair of a first connector housing and a second connector housing which can be fitted and connected to each other, and the first connector housing is located at the mounting position of the bracket. The second connector housing can be attached and the wire can be led out from any side in the side direction orthogonal to the installation direction, and the second connector housing is formed in a U-shape with arms extending from both ends of the base. Is mounted rotatably with respect to the bracket while straddling the mounting position of the bracket,
It is composed of a lever that engages with the second connector housing and draws and drives toward the first connector housing while wrapping around to the back side from the side opposite to the side where the electric wires are drawn out. When they are the same, the mounting directions of the first connector housing to the bracket are different from each other next to each other and the direction of drawing the electric wire from the second connector housing is also different so that adjacent connectors cannot be mounted at the wrong mounting positions. A structure that prevents misconnection of the connector, which is characterized by 2. A bracket having a plurality of mounting positions arranged side by side, and a pair of a first connector housing and a second connector housing which can be fitted and connected to each other, and the first connector housing is at the mounting position of the bracket. On the other hand, a connector that can be mounted in different directions, and in the second connector housing, an electric wire can be led out from an arbitrary side in the side direction orthogonal to the parallel installation direction, and arm parts are extended from both ends of the base part. The tip of the arm is rotatably attached to the bracket while being formed in a U-shape and straddling the attachment position in the bracket,
Engaging with the second connector housing and pulling toward the first connector housing while wrapping around the back side from the side opposite to the side where the electric wire is drawn out, and making it possible to change the mounting position of the bracket. And a combination of the direction of the mounting position of the first connector housing, the direction of the mounting position of the lever, and the direction of the wire withdrawing direction from the second connector housing.
A connector mis-connection prevention structure characterized in that side-by-side connectors are prevented from being installed at the wrong installation positions.