JPS5936868Y2 - panel connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in a panel connector that can be attached to and removed from a panel of an automobile or the like and electrically connected to an electrical device such as a meter.

The inventors of this invention previously filed Utility Application No. 53-177255 (hereinafter referred to as "prior application").

), a panel connector is provided with a fitting protrusion protruding from the panel, and an insertion hole for the fitting protrusion is opened in the center of the housing, and a locking mechanism that engages with the fitting protrusion is provided in this insertion hole. Proposed.

Then, a wiring board with a through hole for the fitting protrusion is attached to the panel, and a plurality of connecting pins are protruded in a circle around the through hole. This is a way to make contact with the female terminal built into the terminal.

According to the above configuration, the panel connector (housing) is guided by the fitting protrusion and its insertion hole, so it can be inserted with its axes aligned at all times, and the connecting pin comes into contact with the housing and deforms. There is no risk of bending or twisting, and since the housing panel and the connector are locked by a locking mechanism, there is no risk of the connection becoming loose due to driving of the automobile, vibrations, etc., resulting in poor contact.

However, the through hole of the wiring board is usually made sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the fitting protrusion to facilitate attachment to the panel and molding of the wiring board itself.

Therefore, when attaching the wiring board to the panel, the fitting protrusion and the penetrating area, that is, the center of the fitting protrusion and the connecting pins arranged in a circle are likely to be misaligned.

As a result, when a panel connector is inserted, misalignment occurs between the terminal insertion opening and the connecting pin, which may cause problems such as deformation or twisting of the connecting pin.

The present invention was developed by focusing on the above-mentioned points, and even if some misalignment occurs between the fitting protrusion of the panel and the wiring board provided with the connecting pin, it absorbs this misalignment and provides stable The purpose of the present invention is to provide a panel connector that can make electrical connections.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a panel on which an automobile meter or the like is attached, and a cylindrical fitting protrusion 2 is provided protruding from the back surface.

The fitting protrusion 2 has a notch 3 formed along its axial direction on the minus side, and a retaining seat part 4 provided at the center of the interior thereof.

5 is a printed circuit board, and a fitting protrusion 2 is inserted through the through hole 6 of the printed circuit board.
It is fixed to the back surface of the panel 1 with screws or the like in a protruding state.

Further, a plurality of connection pins 7 are provided in the through holes 6 on the printed circuit board 5.
They are planted in a circle around the center and are connected to a circuit (not shown).

Reference numeral 8 denotes a connector, and an insertion opening 10 having a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the fitting protrusion 2 is opened in the center of the cylindrical housing 9 .

An L-shaped engagement lever 11 serving as a locking mechanism is fixed to the inner wall of the insertion opening 10.

The engagement lever 11 is parallel to the axis of the insertion hole 10, has a width equal to the width of the opening of the notch 3, and has a stepped portion 12 formed in the middle to engage with the engagement seat 4. be.

Further, the housing 9 is formed with terminal accommodating chambers 13 corresponding to the number of the connecting pins 7 in a circular manner around the insertion opening 10 for accommodating the female terminals T.

The above is the same configuration as the previous application, but in the present invention, a divided cavity 14 is provided around the insertion opening 10, a thin flexible wall 15 is formed through this cavity 14, and the flexible wall 15
A guide protrusion 16 is provided to protrude in the axial direction.

Next, the effect will be explained.

When there is no misalignment> In this case, to attach connector 8 to panel 1,! First, the tip of the fitting protrusion 2 is inserted into the insertion opening 10 of the connector 8 and aligned.

Next, the connector 8 is rotated to align the notch 3 with the engagement lever 11, and the connector 8 is inserted while being guided by the fitting protrusion 2.

The locking lever 11 is elastically bent, and as shown in FIG. 3, the step portion 12 engages with the engagement seat portion 4 and the two are locked.
At the same time, the connecting pin 7 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 13 in a state that it is aligned with the axis of the chamber 13, so that there is no risk of twisting or deformation.

In addition, the fitting protrusion 2 is sufficiently long so that the insertion opening 10 of the connector 8
Since the connector 8 reaches the inner part of the connector 8 and is fitted, the connector 8 is held in a stable state without swinging in either the left or right or the front or back.

Conversely, in order to remove the connector 8 from the panel, press the engagement lever 11 on the side opposite to the engagement seat 4 of the fitting protrusion 2 to disengage the engagement seat 4 and the stepped portion 12. This can be easily accomplished by pulling out the connector 6.

When there is misalignment〉 In this case, as shown in Fig. 6, the center of the fitting protrusion 2 is
1 and the center 02 of the connecting pins 7 arranged in a circle do not coincide with each other, and the fitting protrusion 2 is biased to one side (to the right in the figure).

Therefore, if the connector 8 is rotated to align the notch 3 and the retaining lever 11 as described above, the connector 8 will be guided to a certain extent by the fitting protrusion 2, but the connecting pin 7 will not fit into the housing 9. Either the connecting pin 7 will come into contact with the lower surface and be blocked from entering, or the connecting pin 7 will not be aligned with the female terminal T in the terminal receiving chamber 13, so that it will receive considerable resistance.

In such a case, as shown in FIG. 7, the connector 8 is pressed to the left through the guide protrusion, that is, in the opposite direction to the center line, and the flexible wall 15 of the insertion opening 10 is bent outward, causing the connecting pin 7 The relative position between the terminal accommodating chamber 13 and the terminal accommodating chamber 13, that is, the misalignment, is corrected, and the terminal can be attached and detached in the same manner as when there is no misalignment.

Although an example in which the fitting protrusions 2 of the panel 1 are integrally formed has been described above, they may be fixed as separate members with screws or the like.

Further, the guide protrusion 16 protruding from the flexible chamber 15 is connected to the fitting protrusion 2.
It may be placed on the side.

As explained above, the present invention has a flexible wall that absorbs misalignment with the fitting protrusion through a hollow part on the inner wall of the insertion opening of the connector into which the fitting protrusion protruding from the panel is inserted. Because of this structure, even if some misalignment occurs when the wiring board is attached to the panel, it can be absorbed and a stable electrical connection can be achieved without deforming or twisting the connecting pins.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the connector according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a cutaway perspective view of the main parts, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the assembled state without misalignment, Fig. 4 is a plan view of the back of the panel, and Fig. 5 is a front view of the fitting projection of the same as above. , FIG. 6 is a longitudinal section showing the state immediately before assembly when there is misalignment, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the assembled state. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Panel, 2... Fitting protrusion, 4... Engagement seat part, 8... Connector, 10... Insertion port, 11... Engagement lever 12... Step part, 14... hollow part, 15...
・Flexible wall.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] An insertion port into which a fitting protrusion protruding from the panel is inserted is opened in the center of the connector, and a flexible wall is provided on the inner wall of the insertion port via a hollow portion to absorb misalignment with the fitting protrusion. A panel connector characterized by: