Attachment and connection structure of electrical equipment unit

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6190194
  • Patent Number
    6,190,194
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, May 19, 1998
    26 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, February 20, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Original Assignees
  • Examiners
    • Bradley; Paula
    • Davis; Katrina
    Agents
    • Armstrong, Westerman, Hattori, McLeland & Naughton
Abstract
An attachment and connection structure of an electrical equipment unit is provided. The electrical equipment unit is provided with a connector. When the electrical equipment unit is inserted into a unit receiving portion, the connector 21 can be connected to a mating connector of a unit receiving portion at the same time. A guide wall is formed unitarily on the connector, and a guide receiving portion for receiving the guide wall is provided to the unit receiving portion. The mating connector is disposed in the vicinity of the guide receiving portion. The guide wall also serves as part of the outer walls of the connector. The guide wall protrudes from the both sides and the front edge of the connector. After the guide wall is engaged with the guide receiving portion, engagement of both connectors starts.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to an attachment and connection structure for attaching an electrical equipment such as a meter unit to the instrument panel of a vehicle, and securely connecting the electrical equipment unit to a connector provided to the instrument panel.




2. Related Art





FIG. 5

shows an attachment and connection structure of an electrical equipment disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 7-124859 filed by the present applicant.




In this structure, an electronic unit


52


is attached unitarily on the rear surface of a meter unit


51


by connector connection. The meter unit


51


is attached to a finish panel


53


, thereby forming a cluster module


60


. The finish panel


53


, i.e., the cluster module


60


, is then mounted to an instrumental panel


54


, and a connector


55


of the electronic unit


52


is then engaged with a receiving connector


57


of a car wire harness


56


.




The finish panel


53


is provided with lights and a switch unit


58


such as a hazard and a door mirror control. The electronic unit


52


includes the power sources and functions to integrate or distribute input and output signals. The switch unit


58


is connected to the meter unit


51


by a connector


59


. The meter unit


51


is mounted to the finish panel provided with the switch unit, thereby forming the cluster module


60


.




The finish panel


53


has a guide protrusion


61


, and a receiving portion


63


for receiving the guide protrusion


61


is provided to the inner wall of a receiving chamber


62


on the side of the instrument panel


54


. The receiving connector


57


is attached to a back wall


64


of the receiving chamber


62


in vertically and transversely movable condition. As the guide protrusion


61


slides along the receiving portion


63


, the finish panel


53


is guided into the receiving chamber


62


and then connected to the electronic unit


52


, with the receiving connector


57


correcting the displacement with the mating connector


55


. An automatic temperature control unit


65


is included in a receiving chamber


66


, and connected to the receiving connector


67


of the car wire harness


56


.




With the above conventional structure, however, there has been a problem that when the finish panel


53


is attached to the instrument panel


54


, pressing load is exerted on the front surface of the finish panel


53


away from the receiving connector


57


. This causes a problem that the parts other than the connector attachment portions need to have rigidity, thereby making the construction more complicated and increasing the weight. Furthermore, if the distance from the connectors


55


and


57


to the guide protrusion


61


and the receiving portion


63


is long, the dimensional tolerance becomes greater, making it necessary to widen the movable range of the connector


57


. What is worse, since the connectors


55


and


57


become hidden when the finish panel


53


is attached to the instrument panel


54


, it is difficult to determine whether the connectors


55


and


57


are securely connected or not, thus reducing reliability in connection.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The principal object of the present invention is to provide an attachment and connection structure which securely connects an electrical equipment unit such as a meter unit, a switch unit, an electronic unit, or a temperature control unit, to an instrument panel or the like. With this attachment and connection structure, the construction of the connection portion can be made simpler and smaller. The movable range of the connector can also be restricted to a smaller range.




To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an attachment and connection structure of an electrical equipment unit which is characterized as follows. The electrical equipment unit is provided with a connector, and attached to the unit receiving portion. At the same time, the connector is connected to a mating connector provided to the unit receiving portion. A guide wall is unitarily formed on the connector, and the unit receiving portion is provided with a guide receiving portion for receiving the guide wall. The mating connector is disposed in the vicinity of the guide receiving portion.




The guide wall may also serve as part of the outer wall of the connector. This guide wall protrudes from both sides and the front of the connector. After the guide wall is engaged with the guide receiving portion, the above connectors are engaged.




In accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, as the guide wall is formed unitarily on the connector of the electrical equipment unit, the distance between the guide portion and the connector is eliminated, so that the guide wall can be engaged with the guide receiving portion while the connectors are smoothly and securely engaged to each other, even if the mating connector is movably supported. Since no movable mechanism is required for the connectors, the construction can be simpler, and the connecting portion can be made lighter and smaller. Reliability in connection can also be increased. In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, as the guide wall also serves as part of the outer wall of the connector, the construction can be made even simpler, lighter, and smaller. In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, the guide wall is securely engaged with the guide receiving portion, and the connector is guided in the engagement direction. In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, the positions of the connectors are adjusted to each other by virtue of the engagement of the guide wall with the guide receiving portion, so that the connectors can surely be engaged to each other.











The above and other objects and features of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.




BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of one example of an electrical equipment unit in accordance with the present invention.





FIG. 2

is a vertical sectional view of a first embodiment of the attachment and connection structure of the electrical equipment unit.





FIG. 3

is a vertical sectional view illustrating how the guide wall is engaged with the guide receiving portion.





FIG. 4

is a vertical sectional view of a second embodiment of the attachment and connection structure of the electrical equipment unit in accordance with the present invention.





FIG. 5

is an exploded perspective view illustrating the prior art.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




The following is a detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings.





FIGS. 1

to


3


show one embodiment of an attachment and connection structure of an electrical equipment unit in accordance with the present invention.




The electrical equipment unit


1


shown in

FIG. 1

comprises a unit casing


2


made of a synthetic resin, a box-like connector housing


3


formed unitarily on the unit casing


2


, and a thick horizontal guide wall


4


formed unitarily on the connector housing


3


. The guide wall


4


also serves as the upper wall of the connector housing


3


.




A step portion


5


is provided to the unit casing


2


, and the connector housing


3


is formed on the step portion


5


. The lower wall


6


of the connector housing


3


also serves as the upper wall


6


of the unit casing


2


. The rear edge of the connector housing


3


also serves as the stand wall


7


of the unit casing


2


. A flange portion


8


is formed at the front edge of the unit casing


2


. At least a pair of flexible stop clamps


11


each having a stop protrusion


10


for an instrument panel


9


is provided to the rear surface of the flange portion


8


.




The guide wall


4


united with the connector housing


3


is thicker than the outer walls


6


and


12


of the connector housing


3


, and horizontally wider than the connector housing


3


. The guide wall


4


also protrudes from the engagement edge (opening)


13


of the connector housing


3


in the connector engagement direction (i.e., toward the instrument panel). The base portion of the guide wall


4


continues to the stand wall


7


. The flange portions


14


of the guide wall


4


extend horizontally, and the protruding portion


15


at the front edge has four tapered guide surfaces


16


which are the upper and bottom surfaces, and the two side surfaces of the protruding portion


15


.




A printed circuit board (PCB)


17


is provided inside the connector housing


3


having a plurality of terminals


19


which are formed in parallel with each other and face to the engagement opening


13


of the connector housing


3


. The printed circuit board


17


constitutes a card edge connector


20


, and the printed circuit board


17


and the connector housing (hood)


3


constitute a female connector


21


. The printed circuit board


17


is forced into the connector housing


3


or formed unitarily with the connector housing


3


.




As shown in

FIG. 2

, the printed circuit board


17


extends horizontally, penetrating a partition wall


22


inside the connector housing


3


. The printed circuit board


17


is connected to a vertical circuit board


23


disposed inside the unit casing


2


by a connecting means


24


such as a wire or a terminal. An electric unit (not shown) for controlling the functions of the unit


1


is mounted to the printed circuit board


17


. If an electric control circuit capable enough to satisfy the functions of the unit


1


cannot be formed on the printed circuit board


17


, the electric unit will be mounted to the circuit board


23


. Various kinds of switches


25


are disposed on the front side of the unit


1


, and they are connected to the circuit board


23


.




A connector engagement chamber


26


is situated below the guide wall


4


, and the terminal portion (card edge connector)


20


of the printed circuit board


17


is disposed inside the connector engagement chamber


26


. The printed circuit board


17


and the guide wall


4


face to each other and are arranged in parallel with each other. The base edge


16


a of the tapered guide surfaces


16


of the guide wall


4


is situated between the opening


13


of the connector housing


3


and the partition wall


22


.




A unit receiving portion


27


for receiving the electrical equipment unit


1


is provided to the instrument panel


9


. Above the unit receiving portion


27


, a guide receiving portion


28


for receiving the guide wall


4


is formed. As shown in

FIG. 3

, the guide receiving portion


28


has a pair of L-shaped rails


30


hanging down from the horizontal wall


29


of the instrument panel


9


. The flange portions


14


of the guide wall


4


of the unit


1


slide along the inner grooves


13


of the rails


30


.




In

FIG. 2

, the opening edge


33


of the instrument panel is situated at the front edge of the horizontal wall


29


of the unit receiving portion


27


via a step portion


32


. The stand wall


7


of the unit


1


is inserted into the step portion


32


, and the flange portion


8


of the unit


1


is brought into contact with the opening edge


33


.




A male connector


34


is disposed in the vicinity of the guide receiving portion


28


. The male connector


34


is secured to the upper portion of the back wall of the unit receiving unit


27


. The upper wall surface


37


of a male connector housing


36


is situated at the same height as the inner horizontal surfaces


30




a


of the rails


30


, and brought into contact with the lower surface


4




a


of the guide wall


4


. The male connector housing


36


is inserted into the connector engagement chamber


26


of the female connector housing


3


.




The front edge


38


of the male connector housing


34


is situated at the mid-point on the guide receiving portion


28


in the horizontal direction (in the longitudinal direction). Distance L


1


from the front edge


39


of the guide receiving portion


28


to the front edge


38


of the male connector housing


36


is longer than the distance from the front edge


18


of the guide wall


4


to the base edge


16


a of the tapered guide surfaces


16


, or at least than distance L


2


from the front edge


13


of the female connector housing


3


to the base edge


16




a


of the tapered guide surfaces


16


of the guide wall


4


. Because of this, after the guide wall


4


is engaged with the guide receiving portion


28


, the female connector


21


is engaged with the male connector


34


.




A female terminal


41


having an elastic contact member


40


for receiving the card edge connector


20


is disposed inside the male connector housing


36


. The female terminal


41


is connected to a wire harness (not shown) of the instrument panel


9


. The male connector housing


36


and the female terminal


41


constitute the male connector


34


.




As described above, the guide wall


4


is formed unitarily with the female connector


21


, and the male connector


34


is disposed right below the guide receiving portion


28


. As a result, the accuracy in assembling is increased, and disalignment of the connectors


21


and


34


caused by inserting the guide wall


4


into the guide receiving portion


28


can be minimized. Accordingly, the male connector


34


needs not to be movable as in the prior art. By allowing the female connector


21


and the male connector


34


small spaces in both vertical and horizontal directions, smooth and secure connector connection can be conducted.




By virtue of the above construction, reliability of the unit connecting portion is increased, and the connectors


21


and


34


can be simplified and made more compact. Thus, the number of components required can be reduced. Also, assembling the unit


1


can be simplified. In particular, compared with a guide pin (not shown) often used in positioning connectors in the prior art, the guide wall


4


of the present invention enables further simplification of connectors and reduction in the number of components.




Due to the relationship in size, when the unit


1


is assembled and connected, the guide wall


4


of the unit


1


is adjusted to the guide receiving portion


28


of the instrument panel


9


. The unit


1


is then pushed into the guide receiving portion


28


. After the secure engagement of the guide wall


4


with the guide receiving portion


28


, the engagement of the connectors


21


and


34


is started. When the unit


1


is fully inserted into the unit receiving portion


27


, the engagement of the connectors


21


and


34


is also completed. Accordingly, assembling the unit


1


and connecting the connectors


21


and


34


can be conducted smoothly and securely.




Since there is no wire harness used in the unit


1


, dragging a wire harness can be avoided in connecting operations.




In the above embodiment, it should be noted that the guide wall


4


is not limited to the upper wall of the connector housing


3


, but one of the output walls of the connector housing (hood)


3


may serve as the guide wall


4


. Any of the side walls


12


and the lower wall


6


of the connector housing


3


may also serve as the guide wall


4


.





FIG. 4

shows another embodiment of a connector of an electrical equipment unit.




This connector


42


is provided with a pin terminal


43


instead of the card edge connector


20


. The pin terminal


43


is connected to a vertical circuit board


45


of a unit


44


by a solder. The pin terminal


43


is connected to an elastic contact member


40


(shown in

FIG. 2

) as in the first embodiment.




The electrical equipment unit


1


is mounted to a finish panel (see

FIG. 5

) and thereby constitutes a cluster module (now shown). When the cluster module is mounted to the instrument panel


9


, the guide wall


4


of the electrical equipment unit


1


is engaged with the guide receiving portion


28


so as to adjust the positions of both connectors. Thus, smooth and secure connector connection can be conducted, and the cluster module can be smoothly mounted to the instrument panel


9


by virtue of the guide wall


4


. The electrical equipment unit


1


may also be mounted and connected to the instrument panel


9


, and after that, the finish panel is mounted to the instrument panel


9


, thereby making sure of secure mounting and connection of the electrical equipment unit


1


.




Although the present invention has been fully described by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the scope of the present invention, they should be construed as being included therein.



Claims
  • 1. An attachment and connection structure of an electrical equipment unit, comprising:a connector attached to the electrical equipment unit: a mating connector having a unit receiving portion for the mating connector to be connected to the connector; a guide wall formed unitarily on the connector, the guide wall having flange portion protruding from both sides of the connector and protruding from a front edge of the connector; and a guide receiving portion for receiving the guide wall provided to the unit receiving portion, wherein the mating connector is disposed adjacent the guide receiving portion, and when the electrical equipment unit is attached to the unit receiving portion by insertion of the guide wall into the guide receiving portion, the connector is connected to the mating connector.
  • 2. The attachment and connection structure according to claim 1, whereintop and bottom surfaces and both side surfaces of a protruding portion at the edge of the guide wall are tapered.
  • 3. The attachment and connection structure according to claim 1, whereinthe guide receiving portion includes a horizontal wall and a pair of rails hanging down from the horizontal wall, each with an L-shaped rail and a reversed-L-shaped cross section.
  • 4. The attachment and connection structure according to claim 1, whereinthe connector includes the guide wall that serves as a part of the outer walls thereof, and a connector engagement chamber.
  • 5. The attachment and connection structure according to any of claims 1 or 4, whereinafter the guide wall is engaged with the guide receiving portion, engaging the connector with the mating connector is started.
  • 6. The attachment and connection structure according to claim 4, whereinthe edge portion of a circuit board of the electrical equipment unit is situated inside the connector engagement chamber.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
9-130900 May 1997 JP
US Referenced Citations (5)
Number Name Date Kind
3141721 Horn Jul 1964
4627759 Kato et al. Dec 1986
4913665 Sacksen Apr 1990
5885088 Brennan et al. Mar 1999
5975935 Yamaguchi et al. Nov 1999
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number Date Country
8-318761 Dec 1996 JP