Connector having slidable locking cover

Abstract

A connector includes a housing which is capable of holding one or more electric wires and a cover which is attached to an end part of the housing while sliding in a sliding direction and guides the electric wire extending from the end part of the housing in a predetermined direction.

Claims

1. A connector comprising: a housing which is capable of holding one or more electric wires; and a cover which is attached to an end part of the housing while sliding toward one side of a sliding direction and guides the one or more electric wires extending from the end part of the housing in a predetermined direction, wherein the housing includes: a first locked part positioned on an outer wall of the end part, and a second locked part positioned at a position in a predetermined direction side relative to the first locked part on the outer wall of the end part, wherein the cover includes: a pair of plate-shaped parts, a connection part connecting the pair of plate-shaped parts, and a closing plate part which closes an opposing side to the predetermined direction side of the cover and which is continuously positioned at the pair of plate-shaped parts and the connection part; an inlet part which is formed on first circumferential edge portions of the pair of plate-shaped parts and introduces the electric wire to a space between the pair of plate-shaped parts, the pair of plate-shaped parts facing each other across the space in a width direction; an outlet part which is formed on second circumferential edge portions of the pair of plate-shaped parts and derives the electric wire outside therefrom so as to guide the electric wire in the predetermined direction; a first locking part which is engaged with the first locked part of the housing to prevent sliding of the cover toward the other side of the sliding direction; and a second locking part which is engaged with the second locked part of the housing to prevent widening of a distance in the width direction between the pair of plate-shaped parts, wherein the first locked part of the housing is positioned on an outside in the width direction from a surface of the outer wall of the end part of the housing, wherein the second locked part of the housing is positioned closer to the outlet part than the first locked part of the housing, wherein the end part of the housing extends along a direction parallel to the sliding direction, wherein the cover is attached to the end part of the housing while a pair of inner wall surfaces of the pair of plate-shaped parts slide on a pair of the outer wall surfaces of the housing, wherein the cover includes an opening part extending from an edge of the pair of plate-shaped parts between the first locking part of the cover and the second locking part of the cover and according to the inlet part, wherein the second locking part of the cover and the opening part are separated in the sliding direction, wherein one of the first locking part of the cover and the second locking part of the cover is disposed adjacent to the opening part, wherein the other of the first locking part of the cover and the second locking part of the cover is spaced apart from the opening part in the sliding direction, and wherein the first locking part is disposed farther away, in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction, from a surface of the end part of the housing and from which the one or more wires protrude than the second locking part is to the surface of the end part of the housing in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a connector when viewed from a rear side.

(2) FIG. 2A is a perspective view illustrating a housing illustrated in FIG. 1 when viewed from the rear side. FIG. 2B is a perspective view illustrating the housing illustrated in FIG. 1 when viewed from a front side.

(3) FIG. 3A is a perspective view illustrating a cover illustrated in FIG. 1 when viewed from the rear side. FIG. 3B is a perspective view illustrating the cover illustrated in FIG. 1 when viewed from the front side. FIG. 3C is an enlarged view illustrating Z portion of FIG. 3B.

(4) FIG. 4A is a top view illustrating a state where the cover begins to be attached in the housing. FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 4A.

(5) FIG. 5A is a top view illustrating a state where the cover is completely attached in the housing. FIG. 5B is a sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 5A.

(6) FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. 5A.

(7) FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating an aspect where the cover is detached from the housing by using a cover detachment jig.

(8) FIG. 8A is a top view illustrating an aspect where the cover is detached from the housing by using the cover detachment jig. FIG. 8B is a sectional view taken along line D-D of FIG. 8A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(9) Hereinafter, a connector 1 according to an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(10) As illustrated in FIG. 1, the connector 1 includes a housing 10, and a cover 20 mounted in the housing 10. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, a front and rear direction, a width direction, a vertical direction, a front side, a rear side, an upper side, a lower side, a discharging side and a closing side are defined as illustrated in FIG. 1. The front and rear direction, the width direction, and the vertical direction are orthogonal to each other.

(11) The cover 20 is a member which covers and protects a wire bundle W which extends from the end part (specifically, a rear end surface) of the housing 10 to the rear side, and bends the wire bundle W to the discharging side to guide the wire bundle in a discharging direction. The end part of the housing 10 is an outer circumferential portion of the housing 10 which is adjacent to the side surface (rear end surface) of the housing 10 in which the wire bundle W is drawn. The cover 20 is mounted in the rear end part of the housing 10 by sliding (moving in parallel) on the rear end part of the housing 10 from the closing side to the discharging side. Hereinafter, the housing 10 and the cover 20 will be described in order with reference to FIGS. 2A to 3C.

(12) As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the housing 10 is made of resin, and includes a rectangular cylindrical main circumferential wall part 11 which is long in the width direction. A plurality of terminal receiving chambers 13 which receive a plurality of terminals (not illustrated) connected in the end parts of the electric wires of the wire bundle W are formed on a rear end side of an inner space 12 of the main circumferential wall part 11 along the front and rear direction. The front end side of the main circumferential wall part 11 is opened. Through the opening, a housing (not illustrated) of a counterpart connector is fitted and fixed in the inner space 12 of the main circumferential wall part 11. Accordingly, the wire bundle W is electrically connected with a wire bundle which is connected in a terminal received in the housing of the counterpart connector.

(13) In the rear end parts of the upper and lower surfaces of the main circumferential wall part 11, the surface directed to the upper side and the surface directed to the lower side (14) which extend in the width direction function as a pair of first guide surfaces 14 for guiding the cover 20 at the time of attaching the cover 20. Further, a pair of surfaces (15), which are formed by portions protruding from positions close to the rear end sides of the upper and lower surfaces of the main circumferential wall part 11 to the vertical outer sides, extend in the width direction and are directed to the rear side. The pair of surfaces function as a pair of second guide surfaces 15 for guiding the cover 20 at the time of attaching the cover 20.

(14) In the first guide surfaces 14 extending in the width direction, first projections 16 projecting to the vertical outer sides are formed in positions close to the closing side, and second projections 17 projecting to the vertical outer sides are formed in positions close to the discharging side. That is, the first projection 16 and the second projection 17 are formed in parallel with a gap in a width direction. As illustrated below, the first projection 16 and the second projection 17 function to prevent that the cover 20 is deviated to the rear side after attachment. Further, the first projection 16 also functions to prevent that the cover 20 escapes to the closing side after attachment.

(15) A rib 18 which projects to the rear side and extends in the width direction is formed in the discharging-side end part of the second guide surface 15 extending in the width direction. Further, a third projection 19 projecting to the closing side is formed in the rear end part of the side surface of the closing side of the main circumferential wall part 11. As illustrated below, a pair of ribs 18 function to prevent that the cover 20 is opened to the vertical outer sides after attachment, and the third projection 19 functions to prevent that the cover 20 is deviated to the rear side after attachment.

(16) As illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3C, the cover 20 is made of resin, and includes a pair of plate-shaped parts 21 which face each other with a gap in the vertical direction, a connection part 22 which connects the rear end sides of a pair of plate-shaped parts 21, and a closing plate part 23 which closes the closing side continuously with the closing sides of the pair of plate-shaped parts 21 and the connection part 22. A space 24 defined by the pair of plate-shaped parts 21, the connection part 22, and the closing plate part 23 is a space for receiving and guiding the wire bundle W (see FIG. 1).

(17) The opening between a pair of front end surfaces 25 which extend in the width direction of the pair of plate-shaped parts 21 functions as an inlet part 26 which introduces the wire bundle W to the space 24. The opening between a pair of discharging-side end surfaces 27 which extend in the front and rear direction of the pair of plate-shaped parts 21 functions as an outlet part 28 which guides and discharges the wire bundle W introduced from the inlet part 26 in the discharging direction.

(18) In the front end parts of the pair of plate-shaped parts 21, a pair of inner wall surfaces 29 and the pair of front end surfaces 25 which extend in the width direction are guided by the pair of first guide surfaces 14 and the pair of second guide surfaces 15 of the housing 10 at the time of attaching the cover 20, respectively.

(19) In the plate-shaped part 21, a slit 31 (through hole) which extends by a predetermined length from the front end surface 25 toward the rear side is formed near the center in the width direction. In the inner wall surface 29 which extends in the width direction of the plate-shaped part 21, ridges 32 which extend by a predetermined length in the width direction are respectively formed in a first position near the slit 31 on the closing side from the slit 31, a second position slightly separate from the slit 31 on the discharging side from the slit 31, and a third position slightly separate on the discharging side from the second position, so as to be in parallel with a gap in the width direction. Incidentally, the slit 31 is provided in a place between a fourth projection 33 and a protrusion part 35 (to be illustrated below).

(20) In the inner wall surface 29 of the plate-shaped part 21, the fourth projection 33 projecting inward in the vertical direction is formed in a position close to the slit 31 on the closing side from the slit 31, and a position close to the ridge 32 on the rear side from the ridge 32 of the first position (particularly, see FIG. 3C). The fourth projection 33 is adjacent to the slit 31. In the inner wall surface 29 of the plate-shaped part 21, a fifth projection 34 projecting inward in the vertical direction is formed to be in parallel with the ridge 32 of the first position in the width direction in a position close to the slit 31 on the discharging side from the slit 31 (particularly, see FIG. 3C). As illustrated below, the ridge 32 functions to prevent that the cover 20 is deviated to the rear side after attachment, the fourth projection 33 functions to prevent that the cover 20 escapes to the closing side after attachment, and the fifth projection 34 functions to facilitate an operation when the cover 20 is detached by using the jig 50 (see FIG. 7 and the like). Incidentally, the fifth projection 34 can also be referred to as a projection part which is provided in the inner wall surface 29 of the cover 20 to reduce a gap between the cover 20 and the outer wall surface of the housing 10.

(21) The protrusion parts 35 which project to the vertical outer sides and extend in the width direction are formed in the discharging-side end part of the outer wall surface which extends in the width direction in the front end part of the plate-shaped part 21. A groove 36 which is opened to the front side and the discharging side and extends in the width direction is formed inside the protrusion part 35. A window 37 (penetration hole) is formed in the closing plate part 23. As illustrated below, the pair of grooves 36 function to prevent that the cover 20 is opened in the vertical outer sides after attachment, and the window 37 functions to prevent that the cover 20 is deviated to the rear side after attachment. The protrusion part 35 is provided in a position close to the outlet part 28 from the fourth projection 33.

(22) In the outer wall surface extending in the width direction in the front end part of the plate-shaped part 21, an inclined surface 38 which is inclined such that the surface is positioned close to the vertical outer side while moving from the slit 31 to the discharging side is formed in a portion close to the slit 31 on the discharging side from the slit 31, so as to extend by a length shorter than the length of the slit 31 from the front end surface 25 toward the rear side. As a result, an end surface 39 directed to the front side is formed in the rear end position of the inclined surface 38. As illustrated below, the inclined surface 38 and the end surface 39 function to facilitate the operation when the cover 20 is detached by using the jig 50. The inclined surface 38 is positioned on the back side of the fifth projection 34 with respect to the plate-shaped part 21 (see FIG. 3C).

(23) In the outer wall surface of the plate-shaped part 21, the ribs 41 which project to the vertical outer side and extend in the front and rear direction are formed in a plural places (in this example, five places) different in the width direction, respectively. One (hereinafter, particularly referred to as a rib 41a) of the plurality of ribs 41 extends in the front and rear direction in a portion close to the inclined surface 38 on the discharging side from the inclined surface 38 in the width direction. The rib 41 functions to improve the rigidity of the plate-shaped part 21. Further, as illustrated below, the rib 41a also functions to facilitate the operation when the cover 20 is detached by using the jig 50.

(24) Next, the operation that attaches the cover 20 in the housing 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 6.

(25) First, as illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the cover 20 is arranged on the closing side with respect to the housing 10. Next, the pair of inner wall surfaces 29 and the pair of front end surfaces 25 of the cover 20 are slid on the pair of first guide surfaces 14 and the pair of second guide surfaces 15 of the housing 10, respectively, and the cover 20 is slid (moves in parallel) with respect to the housing 10 toward the discharging side. Accordingly, in a state where the ridge 32 of the cover 20 is positioned on the front side from the first projection 16 and the second projection 17 of the housing 10, and the fourth projection 33 of the cover 20 has the same position in the front and rear direction as that of the first projection 16 of the housing 10, the cover 20 is slid to be guided to the first guide surface 14 and the second guide surface 15.

(26) When the cover 20 is slid to reach the vicinity of an attachment completing position, the fourth projection 33 of the cover 20 abuts on the first projection 16 of the housing 10. In that state, when the cover 20 is slid further, the pair of plate-shaped parts 21 of the cover 20 are elastically deformed to the vertical outer sides, and the fourth projection 33 is ridden on the first projection 16. Thereafter, the pair of plate-shaped parts 21 is elastically recovered, and the fourth projection 33 is ridden over the first projection 16 (the fourth projection 33 is engaged with the first projection 16 on the discharging side of the first projection 16). As illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B, when the fourth projection 33 is ridden over the first projection 16, the cover 20 reaches the attachment completing position (attachment completing state). In that state, the fourth projection 33 is positioned on the outside from the outer wall surface of the housing 10. In other words, the fourth projection 33 is not covered with the housing 10.

(27) When the fourth projection 33 is ridden over the first projection 16, the pair of grooves 36 of the cover 20 are fitted in the pair of ribs 18 of the housing 10 (see FIG. 6), and the window 37 of the cover 20 is engaged with the third projection 19 of the housing 10.

(28) As a result, in the attachment completing state of the cover 20, the fourth projection 33 of the cover 20 and the first projection 16 of the housing 10 are engaged to prevent that the cover 20 escapes to the closing side. The pair of grooves 36 of the cover 20 are fitted in the pair of ribs 18 of the housing 10, so as to prevent that of the pair of plate-shaped parts 21 of the cover 20 are opened to the vertical outer sides. The ridge 32 of the first position of the cover 20 and the ridge 32 of the third position are engaged with the first projection 16 and the second projection 17 of the housing 10, respectively, so as to prevent that the cover 20 is deviated to the rear side. The window 37 of the cover 20 is engaged with the third projection 19 of the housing 10, so as to prevent that the cover 20 is deviated to the rear side.

(29) Hereinbefore, in the connector 1 according to the embodiment of the invention, the fourth projection 33 of the cover 20 and the first projection 16 of the housing 10 are engaged in a position on the closing side from a portion where the opening of the discharging-side portion of the pair of plate-shaped parts 21 which are easily opened to the vertical outer sides is prevented by fitting the pair of grooves 36 of the cover 20 in the pair of ribs 18 of the housing 10. As a result, the portions where the fourth projections 33 of the pair of plate-shaped parts 21 are positioned are hardly opened to the vertical outer sides, and thus the cover 20 hardly escapes to the closing side.

(30) The positions where the pair of grooves 36 of the cover 20 are fitted in the pair of ribs 18 of the housing 10 are separated in the width direction from the positions where the fourth projections 33 of the cover 20 are engaged in the first projections 16 of the housing 10, and thus it is possible to reduce a pressing force, which is required to ride the fourth projection 33 over the first projection 16 in a state where the pair of grooves 36 are fitted in the pair of ribs 18, of the cover 20 to the discharging side.

(31) The slits 31 are formed in the pair of plate-shaped parts 21 of the cover 20, and the fourth projection 33 is positioned on the closing side of the slit 31, and the groove 36 is positioned on the discharging side of the slit 31. Thus, when the fourth projection 33 is ridden over the first projection 16, the portion where the groove 36 of the pair of plate-shaped parts 21 is positioned is hardly opened to the vertical outer side. For this reason, the pair of grooves 36 are easily fitted in the pair of ribs 18.

(32) In each of the pair of plate-shaped parts 21 of the cover 20, the fourth projection 33 is formed in a position on the closing side from the slit 31. Thus, even if the external force unintentionally acts to the vertical outer sides on the portions on the discharging side from the slits 31 of the pair of plate-shaped parts 21, the fourth projections 33 are hardly opened to the vertical outer sides. For this reason, the cover 20 hardly escapes to the closing side.

(33) In the plate-shaped part 21 of the cover 20, the fourth projection 33 is formed in a position close to the slit 31. Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 8B, the cover 20 can be easily detached from the housing 10 by using the cover detachment jig 50. Hereinafter, the description will be given about such a point.

(34) As illustrated in FIG. 7, the jig 50 is made of resin, and includes an inclined surface 51 on one end side. As illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 8B, one end side of the jig 50 is inserted into the slit 31 of the cover 20. At that time, the jig 50 is arranged such that the inclined surface 51 of the jig 50 abuts on the inclined surface 38 of the cover 20, and the side surface of the jig 50 abuts on the end surface 39 of the cover 20. Accordingly, the insertion position and the insertion posture of the jig 50 are stabilized. Thus, it is possible to prevent the cover 20 is unintentionally damaged by the jig 50.

(35) As indicated by an arrow in FIG. 8B, the jig 50 is rotated in such a state where the jig 50 is inserted into the slit 31. Accordingly, the jig 50 is rotated with the inclined surface 51 (the edge of the slit 31) as a support point, and the fourth projection 33 is opened to the vertical outer side (a direction to be separated from the housing 10) by the pressure of the jig 50, thereby releasing the engagement between the fourth projection 33 and the first projection 16. As a result, the cover 20 can move on the housing 10 to the closing side, and the cover 20 can be detached from the housing 10.

(36) Herein, in the plate-shaped part 21 of the cover 20, the fifth projection 34 is formed on the back side of the inclined surface 38 (see FIG. 3C). In the attachment completing state of the cover 20, the fifth projection 34 abuts on the first guide surface 14 of the housing 10. For this reason, although a force acts on the inclined surfaces 38 to the vertical inner sides when the jig 50 rotates, it is prevented that the inclined surfaces 38 are pressed by the housing 10 to move to the vertical inner sides. For this reason, it is prevented that the inclined surfaces 38 move to the vertical inner sides so as to reduce the moving amount of the fourth projections 33 to the vertical outer sides with respect to the rotating angle of the jig 50. Thus, the cover is easily detached by the jig 50. Further, since the rib 41 is provided on the front side of the jig 50 in a rotating direction, it can be prevented that the jig 50 rotates excessively to apply an excessive external force to the fourth projection 33.

(37) Incidentally, the invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications may be adopted within a range of the invention. For example, the invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and a modification, a variation or the like is allowed. In addition, material, shape, size, number, location or the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and not limited as long as they can attain the present invention.

(38) For example, in the above-described embodiment, the cover 20 is mounted with respect to the housing 10 by sliding (moving in parallel) the cover 20 on the housing 10 to the discharging side. However, the cover 20 may be configured to be mounted in the housing 10 by sliding (moving in parallel) the cover 20 on the housing 10 toward the front side.

(39) Further, in the above-described embodiment, the fifth projection 34 (projection part) is configured as a place (thick place) in which the thickness of the plate-shaped part 21 is large compared to the place different from the place provided with the fifth projection 34. However, the fifth projection 34 (projection part) is not necessarily such a thick place. For example, the fifth projection 34 (projection part) may be configured to be a place (embossing place) in which part of the plate-shaped part 21 is curved and projects toward the housing 10 while the thickness of the plate-shaped part 21 is constant. In addition, the fifth projection 34 (projection part) may be configured to be a place in which a member different from the plate-shaped part 21 is stuck to the inner wall surface of the cover 20.

(40) Herein, the features of the embodiments of the connector according to the invention will be simply summarized as the following [1] to [4].

(41) (1) A connector (1) comprising:

(42) a housing (10) which is capable of holding one or more electric wires; and

(43) a cover (20) which is attached to an end part of the housing while sliding in a sliding direction and guides the electric wire extending from the end part of the housing in a predetermined direction,

(44) wherein the cover (20) includes:

(45) a pair of plate-shaped parts (21) and a connection part (22) connecting the pair of plate-shaped parts;

(46) an inlet part (26) which is formed on circumferential edge portions of the pair of plate-shaped parts and introduces the electric wire to an space between the pair of plate-shaped parts, and an outlet part (28) which is formed on circumferential edge portions of the pair of plate-shaped parts and derives the electric wire outside therefrom so as to guide the electric wire in the predetermined direction;

(47) a first locking part (33) which is engaged with the housing to regulate sliding of the cover in a direction opposite to the sliding direction; and

(48) a second locking part (35) which is engaged with the housing to regulate widening of a distance between the pair of plate-shaped parts,

(49) wherein the first locking part (33) is positioned on an outside from an outer wall surface of the housing, and

(50) wherein the second locking part (35) is positioned closer to the outlet part than the first locking part.

(51) (2) The connector according to (1),

(52) wherein the cover (20) includes an opening part (31) extending from an edge of the plate-shaped part between the first locking part (33) and the second locking part (35).

(53) (3) The connector according to (2),

(54) wherein the first locking part (33) is positioned adjacent to the opening part (31) in the plate-shaped part.

(55) (4) The connector according to (3),

(56) wherein the cover (20) includes a projection part (34) on an inner wall surface of the cover to reduce a gap between the cover and the outer wall surface of the housing, on an opposite side to the first locking part (33) across the opening part (31).

(57) (5) The connector according to according to (3),

(58) wherein the housing (10) includes a projection part (34) on the outer wall surface of the housing to reduce a gap between the cover and the outer wall surface of the housing, on a position corresponding to an opposite side to the first locking part (33) across the opening part (31).

(59) (6) The connector according to according to (2),

(60) wherein the opening part has a slit shape or an ellipse shape.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS AND SIGNS

(61) 1: Connector 10: Housing 20: Cover 21: Plate-shaped part 22: Connection part 24: Space 26: Inlet part 28: Outlet part 31: Slit (opening part) 33: Fourth projection (first locking part) 34: Fifth projection (projection part) 35: Protrusion part (second locking part)