KR20020077077A - Movable connector assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To increase a moving amount of a movable connector assembly, to absorb three-dimensional dislocation between connectors, and to make it durable without applying dislocation load to a contact when inserting/removing the connector. CONSTITUTION: A movable connector assembly 1 has one connector 2 and the other connector 200. The connector 2 has an inner housing 100 holding a contact 114 and an outer housing 8 movably supporting this housing 100 through a coil spring 12 and a rod 10. The connector 200 has an inner housing 300 holding a contact 310 and an outer housing 202 supporting this inner housing 300 through a pin 228 and a coil spring 230. Both the connectors 2 and 200 have a guide means 216, the rod 10 is deviated like a pivot when fitted, both the inner housings 100 and 300 are aligned and fitted, and the contacts 114 and 310 are brought into contact.

Description

Movable connector assembly

The present invention relates to a movable connector assembly. This type of connector assembly generally has a flow mechanism (a protruding mechanism) for absorbing, or compensating for, the displacement of the connectors. For example, movable connectors disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 6-60953 (Patent No. 2552525), 6-231840 and 3-392268 are known. In these movable connectors, there is a connector having a female contact having two contact pieces, the other connector having a male contact inserted between the contact pieces, and one of the contacts may be subject to displacement of the connectors when fitting. The elastic part is formed so that. When the connectors are fitted together, the male contact is inserted into the female contact by a predetermined fitting length and electrically connected thereto.

This kind of connector is attached to a main body of an electric refrigerator having an electric display function, for example, a liquid crystal panel, for example, in a door and a door, respectively. In particular, in the case of a refrigerator of a type in which the door can be opened to either side in recent years, a three-dimensional positional displacement with respect to the refrigerator main body occurs when the door is opened and closed due to the unique configuration of the hinge portion of the door. In addition, there is a feature that the dislocation between the door and the main body is large due to the unique door hinge mechanism. In the case where the electrical display function is provided in the door in such a refrigerator, the connectors attached to the door and the main body of the refrigerator are required to have a large amount of displacement (amount of coating) and durability to withstand a large number of insertions and insertions.

In the above-described connector assembly of the prior art, since the male contact is inserted and connected only to a predetermined length in the female contact, when the connector is inserted or removed, a large amount of deviation between the connectors causes a large force to be applied to the contact which is the electrical contact of the contact. In other words, if the male contact located between two contact pieces of the female contact is pressed to press the contact piece, a large load is applied to both male and female contacts, which may cause plastic deformation of the contact. In addition, in the above-described prior art, since the positional displacement is caused by the elastic portion of the contact, there is a problem that the flow amount (the floating amount) is small. In addition, when the insertion and removal of these contacts are repeated many times, there is a possibility that the life of the contacts is shortened.

The present invention has been implemented in view of the above-described matters, which has a large flow rate and can absorb displacement of connectors in all directions, and provides a durable connector assembly that is not burdened with contact when the connector is inserted or removed. For the purpose of

1 is a perspective view of one side connector constituting the movable connector assembly of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 1, (A) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2A-2A of FIG. 1, and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2B-2B of FIG. 1, respectively.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the other connector constituting the movable connector assembly of the present invention.

4 is a cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 3, (A) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4A-4A of FIG. 3, and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4B-4B of FIG. 3, respectively.

Fig. 5 shows the assembling relationship between the connector on one side and the connector on the other side before starting the fitting, (A) is a front view, (B) is a sectional view of the positional relationship shown in Fig. 5 (A), and (C) is a view of Fig. 5 ( The side view of A) seen from arrow 5C.

FIG. 6 illustrates an assembly relationship between the connector on one side of the initial stage and the connector on the other side. As in FIG. 5, (A) is a front view as in FIG. 5A, (B) is a sectional view as in FIG. 5 (B), and FIG. (C) is a side view as shown in FIG.

Figure 7 shows the assembly relationship between the connector on one end and the connector on the other end, similar to Figure 5, (A) is a front view as shown in Figure 5 (A), (B) is a cross-sectional view as shown in Figure 5 (B). , (C) is a side view as shown in Fig. 5 (C).

Fig. 8 shows the assembly relationship between the connector on one side and the connector on the other side, where (A) is a front view as shown in Fig. 5A, and (B) is a sectional view as shown in Fig. 5B. , (C) is a side view as shown in Fig. 5 (C).

9 is a cross-sectional view along the Y direction of the movable connector assembly of the present invention in a fully engaged state.

10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the housing of the connector of one connector and the housing of the other connector, (A) shows both housings before fitting, and (B) the amount of full fitting Each housing is shown.

(Explanation of main reference numeral)

1 movable connector assembly 2 one-sided connector

8 Outer housing 10 rod

12 Spring member (compression coil spring) 100 inner housing

114 One-sided contact 122 Guide means (with guide cutout)

134 contact side 200-side connector

214,216 Guide means (guide protrusions) 310 Other contacts

320 Elastic section 330 abutment

The movable connector assembly of the present invention has one connector having an inner housing having at least one side contact and an outer housing supporting the inner housing to flow through the spring member, and the other side contacting the one side contact. And other connector mating with the one side connector, wherein the inner housing and the other side connector are provided with guide means for cooperating with each other upon fitting. At least one of the one side contact and the other side contact is provided. Has a resilient portion such that the contacts of the contacts are urged toward the other contact, and the two contacts are configured to be in contact with each other.

In addition, the spring member may be a plurality of compression coil springs each having one rod for fluidly connecting the inner housing and the outer housing.

Furthermore, one contact may have a pin shape, the other contact may have the elastic portion, and the contacts may contact each other in contact with each other at the distal end.

The pin shape refers to a thin and long shape, and includes a case where the cross-sectional shape is a circular quadrangle or other shape.

(Example)

Next, a preferred embodiment of the movable connector assembly (hereinafter simply referred to as an assembly) of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a perspective view of one connector constituting the movable connector assembly 1 of the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the connector 2 of FIG. 1, (A) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2A-2A of FIG. 1, and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2B-2B of FIG. 1, respectively. Hereinafter, the connector 2 mounted on the door side of the refrigerator will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In the description, the front side or the front side refers to the fitting portion that fits with the mating connector.

The connector 2 has a rectangular flange 4 at the periphery of the fitting portion side. An outer housing (hereinafter simply referred to as a housing) 8 made of rectangular resin and a metal rod 10 and a spring member, i.e., a compression coil spring (hereinafter simply referred to as a coil spring) 12, in the housing 8 are referred to. It has an inner housing (hereinafter referred to simply as a coil spring) 100 made of resin, through which flow is freely mounted. The recessed part 6 is formed in the housing 8, and is comprised so that the guide protrusion 214, 216 (FIG. 3) of the mating connector 200 mentioned later may be accommodated in this recessed part 6. As shown in FIG. Four mounting holes 16 are spaced apart from the bottom wall 14 of the housing 8 in order to mount the rod 10. The mounting hole 16 has a large inner surface side diameter of the housing 8 and shows a dish shape or a mortar shape having a small outer diameter.

The housing 100 has an external shape with dimensions accommodated in the recessed portion 6 of the housing 8, and has a locking hole 102 at a position corresponding to the mounting hole 16 of the housing 8. Nearly the center of the housing 100 is formed with a rectangular fitting recess 104 into which the fitting portion of the other connector 200 to be described later is inserted. In the fitting recess 104, a connecting portion 106 electrically connected to the other connector is disposed. In the connection portion 106, a plurality of contacts (one contact) 114 are disposed at a portion surrounded by two spaced apart end walls 108 and side walls 110 connecting the end walls 108 in one strand (one contact). 2 (A). The recessed part 116 is formed in the back side of the connection part 106, and the electric wire which is not shown in figure is connected to the contact 114. As shown in FIG.

At the four corners of the fitting recess 104, a passage 118 communicating with the locking hole 102 described above is formed. The rod 10 is inserted through this passage 118 and further inserted into the coil spring 12 interveningly mounted between the housing 8 and the housing 100 and into the mounting hole 16 of the housing 8. It is mounted. The rod 10 has a head portion 120 having a diameter larger than that of the shaft portion 18, and the head portion 120 is locked to the engagement hole 102. On the other hand, the front end 20 of the rod 10 protrudes from the mounting hole 16 of the bottom wall 14 of the housing 8, and has a spring washer (brand name "push nut") having a left portion at the front end 20. (22), etc., to prevent them from coming off.

On the inner and outer surfaces of the bottom wall 14, a metal plate 9 through the rod 10 is disposed, and supports the coil spring 12 and the washer 22, respectively. Accordingly, the housing 100 is protected and maintained in a biased state in front of the housing 8 by the cooperative action of the rod 10 and the coil spring 12. Although the rod 10 is attached to the mounting hole 16, it is attached in the state which can move to all directions using the mounting hole 16 part as a support point of a pivot. When a force from the front is applied to the housing 100, the coil spring 12 is bent to move the housing 100 into the recess 6.

At both ends of the housing 100, guide cutouts (guide means) 122 cut outwards are formed. The guide cutout 122 is inclined surfaces 128 and 128 and are inclined as if they are bound from the front to the rear in the cross sections 124 and 126 of the housing 100 in the longitudinal direction of the housing 100. 128, the inclined surface 130 extends as if engaged from front to back. Furthermore, the guide notch 122 has a guide groove 132 extending inwardly (backward) in communication with the inclined surfaces 128 and 130 and open to the end face 124 or the end face 126. The function of this guide notch 122 is mentioned later.

And as shown in FIG. 2, the rectangular opening 5 is formed in the substantially center part of the housing | casing 8, and the electric wire connected to the contact 114 from this opening 5 is guide | induced. Moreover, the above-mentioned metal plate 9 which has the square hole 7 is arrange | positioned at the outer surface and the inner surface of the housing 8 so that the opening 5 may be enclosed. Holes (not shown) through which the rods 10 are inserted are formed in the metal plates 9 in correspondence with the rods 10, and the rods 10 are fixed to the housing 8 through the metal plates 9. . The metal plate 9 is for protecting the resinous housing 8 from torsion by the coil spring 12 and the C ring 22.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the other connector mounted on the main body side of the refrigerator will be described. 3 is a perspective view of the other connector 200, FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the connector of FIG. 3, FIG. 4 (A) is a sectional view according to 4A-4A of FIG. 3, and FIG. 4 (B) is a 4B-4B of FIG. The cross section along a line is shown.

The connector 200 has a resin outer housing (hereinafter simply referred to as a housing) 202 and a resin inner housing (hereinafter simply referred to as a housing) 302 which is protected and retained in the housing 202. . The housing 202 integrates a base portion 208 having a smaller appearance than the flange 4 of the housing 8 described above, and a pair of brackets 210 integrally formed at the rear portion of the base portion 208. Have The base portion 208 has a rectangular flange 204 that is the same as the flange 4 of the housing 8, and a fitting recess having a size that can accommodate the housing 100 described above inside the flange 204. Has 206.

Near the center of the fitting recess 206 is a rectangular opening 212 for receiving the housing 300. Further, at both ends of the fitting recess 206, guide protrusions (guide means) 214 and 216 are inserted into the aforementioned guide notches 122 on the extension in the longitudinal direction of the housing 300. The guide protrusions 214, 216 protrude forward integrally with the housing 202 over the fitting recess 206 at the flange 204. Each of the guide protrusions 214 and 216 has the same size and shape, and has a substantially flat plate shape along the longitudinal direction of the base portion 208. The tip ends of the guide protrusions 214 and 216 have a circular shape, and the long side direction of the base portion 208, that is, the X direction outer side in FIG. 3 is formed high, and is formed inclined to the rear side as it goes inward. And the dimension t of the thickness direction of these guide protrusions 214 and 216 is set to the dimension which can pass through the guide groove 132 of the housing 100 mentioned above.

Each bracket 210 is composed of a wall 220 which is spaced apart from each other and protrudes along the X direction, and a mounting wall 222 which extends at right angles from the tip of the wall 220. Reinforcing ribs 224 protrude from the wall 220. In the substantially center of the mounting wall 222 of the bracket 210, one mounting hole 226 for inserting the pin 228 for mounting the housing 300 is laid.

Next, the housing 300 is demonstrated. The housing 300 includes a main body 306 disposed between the walls 220, a rectangular skin portion 308 protruding from all of the main body 306, and a protruding portion in addition to the receiving portion 308. It has a fitting part 304. The fitting portion 304 is provided with a yaw portion 302, and a contact (the other side contact 310) is disposed at the center thereof. The to-be-received part 308 is mutually square with the opening 212, and is to fit loosely in the opening 212. As shown in FIG.

In the vicinity of the wall 220 of the main body 306, an opening 311 through which the pin 228 having the head portion 228a is inserted is laid. The pin 228 is inserted into the mounting hole 226 of the mounting wall 222, and is also inserted into the opening 311, and is fixed by mounting an E-ring (not shown) at the tip. In addition, the pin 228 penetrates the compression coil spring (hereinafter, simply referred to as “coil spring” 230) disposed between the mounting wall 222 and the main body 306 of the housing 300, and thus the housing 300. ) Is mounted on the front. However, when the housing 300 receives the force from the whole at the time of fitting the connectors, it is possible to bend the coil spring 230 to displace inward. At this time, the receiver 308 of the housing 300 is guided by the opening 212, and the main body 306 is guided by the wall 220 of the bracket 210.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 5-8, the behavior of each connector 2 and 200 at the time of connector fitting is demonstrated. Fig. 5 shows the assembling relationship between the connector on one side and the connector on the other side before the start of fitting. In A), it is a side view seen from arrow 5C, and FIG. 6 shows the assembling relationship of one connector and the other connector of a fitting initial stage, and like FIG. 5, (A) is a front view like FIG. 5 (A), ( B is a cross-sectional view as shown in Fig. 5 (B), (C) is a side view as shown in Fig. 5 (C), Figure 7 shows the assembling relationship of one connector and the other connector between the end of the fitting, as in Figure 5, (A) is a front view as shown in FIG. 5 (A), (B) is a sectional view as shown in FIG. 5 (B), (C) is a side view as shown in FIG. 5 (C), and FIG. 8 is a fully fitted one-side connector And the connector on the other side, as in FIG. 5, (A) is a front view as shown in FIG. 5 (A), (B) is a sectional view as shown in FIG. 5 (B), and (C) is shown in FIG. The same is the side view.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, before the start of fitting, the connector 2 is in a position slightly off the right side in FIG. 5A with respect to the connector 200. That is, in the longitudinal direction (X direction), it slightly deviates to the right side. Also in the shorter direction (Y direction), as shown in Fig. 5C, the connector 2 is in a position slightly deviated to the right direction with respect to the connector 200. The connector 2 and the connector 200 are kept in parallel. This is because the connector 2 appears as a connector mounted on the door side of the refrigerator, and there is an angle of rotation around a hinge not shown. In addition, the fact that the position does not shift greatly in the Y direction is also caused by the opening and closing movement in a three-dimensional special relationship until the door of the refrigerator is completely closed with respect to the refrigerator body. In this state, as shown in FIG. 5 (B), it can be seen that the connection portion 106 of the connector 2 and the fitting portion 304 of the connector 200 are shifted by substantial positions. At this time, the guide notch 122 of the connector 2 is located in the vicinity of the guide protrusion 214 of the connector 200. In addition, the guide protrusion 214 is guided by one side inclined surface 128 of the guide cutout 122.

Subsequently, when it is in the state of fitting initiation, as shown in FIG. 6, the connector 2 and the connector 200 are further approached, and the housing 100 of the connector 2 and the guide protrusions of the connector 200 are shown. 214 and 216 partially overlap. That is, the guide protrusion 214 enters the guide cutout 122, and the inclined surface 130 and the guide protrusion 214 contact each other (FIG. 6B). The base portion 208 of the connector 200. Since the housing 100 is fixed, the housing 100 moves in the left direction as shown in FIG. 6 (B) by the cooperative action of the inclined surface 130 and the guide protrusion 214. At this time, it is important that the rod 10 pivots to the left to absorb the positional displacement in the X direction of the connectors 2 and 200 in FIG. 6 (B). Since this positional shift is not only in the X direction but also in the Y direction in FIG. 6 (C), the guide protrusion 214 and the inclined surface 128 shown in FIG. 6C cooperate with each other to move the housing 100 to the left direction. The position shift is carried out, and the position shift is absorbed. Therefore, although not shown in FIG. 6, it can be understood that the rod 10 is also shifted in the Y direction.

Next, a description will be given with reference to FIG. 7 in the state immediately before the end of the fitting where the fittings 2 and 200 are fitted. Also in this state, it can be seen from the appearance shown in Fig. 7A that the connector 2 and the connector 200 are shifted from each other in the manufacturing method position. In this fitting step, the inclined surface 130 of the housing 100 is shown. The relationship with the guide protrusion 214 advances further, and the tip portion 214a of the guide protrusion 214 enters the guide groove 132 of the housing 100. Accordingly, the housing 100 shifts in one direction in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and the other guide protrusion 216 also enters the guide cutout 122 and the guide groove 132, and the housing 100 is Guides 214 and 216 are guided at both ends. Accordingly, the connecting portion 106 of the connector 2 approaches to fit the fitting portion 304 of the connector 200. At this stage, the inclination of the rod 10 is also maximum. In this way, the larger movement of the housing 100 is possible by the pivoting of the rod 10. In the movable connector assembly of the present invention, a large amount of the deviation amount (flow amount) for absorbing positional displacement is about ± 5 mm in the X direction and about 2.8 mm in the Y direction. Furthermore, the deviation amount of ± 1.2 mm is also possible in the fitting direction.

8 shows a state where the connector 2 and the connector 200 are brought close to each other to be completely fitted. In this perfect fitting state, each of the housings 8 and 202 of the connectors 2 and 200 is formed by fitting the upper and lower protrusions 11 of the housing 8 and the fitting recesses 206 of the housing 202. The positional shift is in a state where the positional deviation is almost eliminated. In this way, the connector 2 attached to the door side is largely displaced with respect to the other connector 200 in the fitting process, and when the fitting is completed, the position shift is eliminated. In the fully fitted state, as shown in FIG. 8B, both guide protrusions 214 and 216 pass through the guide groove 132, and the housing 100 is fitted into the fitting recess 206 of the connector 200. It arrange | positions (FIG. 8 (B)), and the metal connector 114 and the contact 310 contact each other.

In the perfect fitting state, the description will be made with reference to FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view along the Y direction of the assembly 1 of the present invention in a fully fitted state. As shown in FIGS. 8B and 9, the fitting portion 304 of the connector 200 is accommodated in the fitting recess 104 of the connector 2, and holds the contacts 114 of the connector 2. The connecting portion 106 is housed in the fitting portion 304 of the connector 200. At this time, since the housing 100 and the housing 300 are biased by the coil springs 12 and 230, respectively, the coil springs 12 and 230 are bent, thereby maintaining the proper positional relationship in the abutted state.

Next, the contacts 114 and 310 will be described with reference to FIG. 10. 10 shows the behavior of each contact 114, 310 when the connectors 2, 200 fit together, and a schematic cross-sectional view of the housing 100 of the connector 2 and the housing 300 of the connector 200. 10 (A) shows both housings 100 and 300 before fitting, and FIG. 10 (B) shows both housings 100 and 300 fully fitted. In FIG. 10, however, the contact portion 138 of the contact 114 has a shape similar to that of FIG. 1 covered by the housing 100 except for the contact surface 134. In addition, in each contact 114 and 310, it does not cut and shows.

The contact 114 has a contact portion 138 formed at the tip of the pillar-shaped main body 136. The contact portion 138 is formed by bending, and has a flat contact surface 134 at its distal end that is substantially orthogonal to the insertion and insertion direction of the connectors 2 and 200.

The contact 310 of the housing 300 is composed of two metal plates. That is, it is comprised by the spring piece 312 bent and the flat support plate 314. The spring piece 312 has a substantially U-shaped front end 316, a similar U-shaped rear end 318, and an elastic portion 320 connecting therebetween. The tip 316 is provided with a contact surface 330 that contacts the contact surface 134 of the contact 114. A part of this contact surface 330 slightly protrudes from the front surface 322 of the receiving portion 308 of the housing 300.

The other support plate 314 has a base 324, a tine extending to the rear from the base 324, and a support 328 extending forward. The support part 328 supports the free end when the free end of the tip 316 moves rearward, that is, inwardly of the housing 300 when the contacts are in contact with each other. The base 324 of the support plate 314 has a substantially U-shaped support piece 336 that holds the rear end 318 of the spring piece 312 described above.

Next, attachment of the contact 310 is demonstrated. The spring piece 312 is inserted upward into the contact insertion slot (hereinafter simply referred to as a slot 332) of the housing 300, and in Fig. 10, the U-shaped mounting rib 334 of the housing 300 is formed. The rear end 318 is attached to the housing 300.

Subsequently, the support plate 314 is similarly inserted into the slot 332, the support piece 336 is piped to the rear end 318 of the spring piece 312, and the mounting rib 334 is mounted on the spring piece 312. )). In this state, the elastic portion 320 may be bent in the left and right directions in the slot 332 in FIG. 10.

Next, a state where the connectors are fitted to each other will be described. When the housing 100 and the housing 300 are fitted to each other, as shown in FIG. 10 (B), the contact 114 and the contact 310 are electrically contacted with each of the contact surfaces 134 and 330. Connected. At this time, the elastic portion 320 of the contact 310 is elastically deformed so that the tip portion 316 is slightly pressed inward while the free end is supported by the support portion 328. As a result, reliable electrical contact is made between the contact surfaces 134 and 330.

When the connectors 2 and 200 are separated from each other, the reverse process of the above steps is performed.

The movable connector assembly of the present invention includes one connector having an inner housing having a contact and an outer housing holding the inner housing through a spring member, and the other connector having the other contact, wherein the inner housing and the other connector are fitted. And a guide means for cooperating with each other to position each other, having an elastic portion such that at least one of the one contact and the other contact is urged toward the other contact, and the contacts are in contact with each other. Therefore, the following effects are obtained.

That is, since the displacement of the rod and the coil spring is absorbed, or compensated for, the displacement is large, and the displacement of the connectors in all directions can be absorbed. In addition, since the contacts come into contact with each other in a contact state, there is no burden (bending stress) on the contact even if there is a positional shift in the direction intersecting with the insertion and exit direction, and there is no fear that the electrical connection of the contact is deformed. Therefore, the reliability of electrical contact can be maintained and a durable connector assembly can be obtained.

In addition, when the spring member is composed of a plurality of compression coil springs each having a rod that fluidly connects the inner housing and the outer housing, the movement amount is large in all directions in three dimensions by the elasticity of the rod and the coil spring. Type connector assemblies can be obtained. In addition, since the misalignment can be compensated for in any direction, it can be used for a wide range of applications.

Furthermore, in the case where one contact is in the shape of a pin, the other contact has the elastic portion, and the contacts are in contact with each other in contact with each other at the distal end, the contacts collide and contact each other, so that the contact does not apply a load and plastic deformation. There is no concern. Therefore, a durable connector assembly can be obtained.

As mentioned above, although the assembly of this invention was demonstrated in detail, it is not limited to embodiment of this invention, Various deformation | transformation and a change are possible. For example, although the active elastic part is not formed in the contact 114, you may form an elastic part in the contact 114. As shown in FIG. In addition, although the assembly of this invention was demonstrated as being attached to the door and the main body of a refrigerator as one Embodiment, it is not limited to the refrigerator and of course, since the flow amount is large, it can be used for a wide range of uses.

Claims (3)

One side connector having an inner housing having at least one side contact and an outer housing supporting the inner housing to flow through a spring member, and the other side contacting the one side contact, the other side fitting with the one side connector With a connector, Each of the inner housing and the other connector is provided with a guide means for cooperating positioning each other when fitting, And at least one of the one contact and the other contact has an elastic portion such that the contact is urged toward the other contact, and the two contacts are configured to be in contact with each other. The method of claim 1, And said spring member is a plurality of compression coil springs each having one rod for fluidly connecting said inner and outer housings. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And said one contact is in the shape of a pin, said other contact has said elastic portion, and each of said contacts has a contact surface at the front end to contact each other in contact with each other.