The present invention relates to a connector bracket for holding a connector and a wire harness.
Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional structure for locking a connector to a holder disposed within an electrical junction box. In Patent Document 1, the connector is attached to the holder by engaging rail projections provided on the connector with rail recesses provided on the holder.
Incidentally, a cable with a connector at one end portion thereof is subjected to a load that pulls it in all directions while it is being assembled to a vehicle body. For this reason, there is high demand for the development of a technology that enables secure attachment of a connector to a holder.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a connector bracket and a wire harness that make detachment of an attached connector less likely to occur.
A connector bracket according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a first holding portion to which a connector provided at one end portion of an electric wire is attached using a rail structure, the first holding portion holding the connector attached to the rail structure using the rail structure; and a second holding portion that holds the connector in cooperation with the first holding portion.
A wire harness according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes the connector bracket and the electric wire having at an end portion thereof the connector held by the connector bracket.
According to the present disclosure, an attached connector can be made less likely to detach from the connector bracket.
First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described.
[1] A connector bracket of the present disclosure includes a first holding portion to which a connector provided at one end portion of an electric wire is attached using a rail structure, the first holding portion holding the connector attached to the rail structure using the rail structure; and a second holding portion that holds the connector in cooperation with the first holding portion.
According to this configuration, to hold the connector using the connector bracket, the connector can be supported on the connector bracket by a plurality of holding portions, namely the first holding portion and the second holding portions. Therefore, the attached connector can be made less likely to detached from the connector bracket.
[2] With the electric wire being a first electric wire and the connector being a first connector, the connector bracket includes a bracket body that holds a second connector connected to a second electric wire different from the first electric wire. According to this configuration, the connector bracket can be configured to hold a plurality of connectors.
[3] The first holding portion holds the connector at a first held region of the connector. The second holding portion holds the connector at a second held region of the connector that is a portion different from the first held region. According to this configuration, to hold the connector with the connector bracket, the connector can be supported at a plurality of portions, further serving to make the connector less likely to detach from the connector bracket.
[4] The first held region is located on a first surface of the connector. The second held region is located on a second surface of the connector that is a surface opposite to the first surface. According to this configuration, to hold the connector with the connector bracket, the connector can be supported by a plurality of surfaces in a well-balanced manner. This further serves to make the connector less likely to detach from the connector bracket.
[5] The first holding portion and the second holding portion are disposed on one end and portion the another end portion, respectively, of the connector in a direction of insertion of the connector. According to this configuration, the connector bracket can support the connector at two ends in the direction of insertion of the connector. Therefore, the connector can be supported in a balanced manner, further serving to make the connector less likely to detach from the connector bracket.
[6] The second holding portion is a band portion that supports the connector by surrounding the connector with a band-shaped binding portion. According to this configuration, the connector can be supported by the band-shaped binding portion over a wide area, further serving to make the connector less likely to be detach from the bracket.
[7] The band portion supports the portion of the connector where a partner connector is connected. According to this configuration, the band portion can support the portion of the connector readily subjected to a load. This further serves to make the connector less likely to detach from the connector bracket.
[8] With the electric wire being a first electric wire and the connector being a first connector, the connector bracket includes a bracket body that holds a second connector connected to a second electric wire different from the first electric wire. The band portion is integrally formed with the bracket body. According to this configuration, the bracket body and the band portion can be manufactured as an integrated component.
[9] The band portion includes an engaging portion that keeps the binding portion in a closed state where the connector is held by the binding portion. According to this configuration, the engaging portion can securely maintain the closed state of the binding portion.
The band portion includes a tab portion serving as a portion by which the binding portion is gripped when the binding portion is opened and closed. As this configuration facilities the gripping of the band portion with fingers or the like, it can increase the ease with which the binding portion is brought into the closed state.
The band portion includes a regulating portion that regulates an operation to push the tab portion in a direction to release the closed state of the binding portion. This configuration can make it unlikely that the closed state of the binding portion will be inadvertently released.
With the electric wire being a first electric wire and the connector being a first connector, the connector bracket includes the bracket body that holds a second connector connected to a second electric wire different from the first electric wire. The connector bracket includes a locking portion that locks the connector attached to the first holding portion to the bracket body. According to this configuration, the connector can remain securely fixed to the first holding portion by the locking portion. This further serves to make the connector less likely to become detached.
A wire harness of the present disclosure includes the connector bracket and the electric wire having at an end portion thereof the connector held by the connector bracket. According to this configuration, the same advantageous effects as those of the foregoing connector bracket can be obtained.
Specific examples of a connector bracket and a wire harness of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these examples, and is indicated by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and range of equivalency to the claims. In each drawing, for convenience of description, portions of structures may be exaggerated or simplified. Also, the dimensional proportions of portions may differ from the actual dimensional proportions.
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The two first wires 5 are electrically connected to each other by mating a first connector 10 that is the connector 4 of one of the first wires 5 with a partner connector 11 that is the connector 4 of the other first wire 5. The two second wires 6 are electrically connected by mating a second connector 12 that is the connector 4 of one of the second wires 6 with a partner connector 13 that is the connector 4 of the other second wire 6. It should be noted that, in the example in
The connectors 4 are attached to a vehicle body 15 via a connector bracket 14 that holds the connectors 4. Only one or multiple connector brackets 14 may be provided in the vehicle 1. The connector bracket 14 is fixedly mounted to, for example, a side surface of a vehicle body wall portion 15a that constitutes the driver's seat. Any known fixing structure for mounting the connector bracket 14 to the vehicle body 15 can be employed as appropriate.
The connector bracket 14 includes a bracket body 16 that holds the second connector 12 connected to the second electric wires 6. The bracket body 16 is formed to have openings on opposing side surfaces thereof and fixedly houses the second connector 12 in the openings.
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The band portion 34 includes a tab portion 38 serving as a portion by which the binding portion 33 is gripped when the binding portion 33 is opened and closed. The tab portion 38 is, for example, a wide protruding piece provided at the leading end of the binding portion 33.
The band portion 34 includes a regulating portion 39 that regulates an operation to push the tab portion 38 in a direction in which the closed state of the engaging portion 35 (the direction indicated by the X1 arrow in
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The second holding portion 21 holds the first connector 10 at a second held region 44 of the first connector 10 that is a portion different from the first holding portion 20. The second held region 44 refers to the portion of the first connector 10 that is held by the second holding portion 21. The second held region 44 is located on a second surface 45 of the first connector 10 that is a surface on a side opposite to the first surface 43. For example, the second surface 45 is a bottom surface of the first connector 10.
The first holding portion 20 and the second holding portion 21 are disposed at one end portion 47 and another end portion 48, respectively, of the first connector 10 in the direction of insertion of the first connector 10 (the X-axis direction in
Next, operation of the connector bracket 14 of this embodiment will be described.
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As such, the first connector 10 is supported by two portions, i.e., the first holding portion 20 and the second holding portion 21, and thus, even if a load acting in the direction indicated by the arrow D is applied to the first connector 10, resistance against the load is increased. This can reduce the likelihood of the first connector 10 inadvertently detaching from the connector bracket 14. Furthermore, since the band portion 34 is disposed on the portion of the first connector 10 where it is mated with the partner connector 11, the connector bracket 14 can also securely hold the first connector 10.
The connector bracket 15 of the above-described embodiment can provide the following advantageous effects.
(1) The connector bracket 14 includes the first holding portion 20 and the second holding portion 21. The first holding portion 20 is a portion to which a connector 4 (for example, the first connector 10, also applicable hereinafter) provided at an end portion of an electric wire 3 (for example, the first electric wire 5, also applicable hereinafter) is attached using a rail structure, the first holding portion 20 holding the attached first connector 10 using the rail structure. The second holding portion 21 holds the first connector 10 in cooperation with the first holding portion 20.
According to this configuration, when the first connector 10 is held by the connector bracket 14, the first connector 10 can be supported by the connector bracket 14 at the first holding portion 20 and the second holding portion 21. Therefore, the attached first connector 10 can be made less likely to detach from the connector bracket 14.
(2) With the electric wire 3 being the first electric wire 5 and the connector 4 being the first connector 10, the connector bracket 14 includes the bracket body 16, which holds a second connector 12 connected to a second electric wire 6, which is different from the first electric wire 5. According to this configuration, the connector bracket 14 can be configured as a component capable of holding a plurality of connectors (the first connector 10 and the second connector 12).
(3) The first holding portion 20 holds the first connector 10 at the first held regions 42 of the first connector 10. The second holding portion 21 holds the first connector 10 at the second held region 44 of the first connector 10 that is a portion different from the first held portions 42. According to this configuration, when the first connector 10 is held by the connector bracket 14, the first connector 10 can be supported by a plurality of portions, further serving to make the first connector 10 less likely to detach from the connector bracket 14.
(4) The first held regions 42 are located on the first surface 43 of the first connector 10. The second held region 44 is located on the second surface 45 of the first connector 10, which is a surface on a side opposite to the first surface 43. According to this configuration, when the first connector 10 is held by the connector bracket 14, the first connector 10 can be supported by a plurality of surfaces in a balanced manner. This further serves to make the first connector 10 less likely to detach from the connector bracket 14.
(5) The first holding portion 20 and the second holding portion 21 are disposed at one end portion 47 and the other end portion 48, respectively, of the first connector 10 in the direction of insertion of the first connector 10 (the X-axis direction in
(6) The second holding portion 21 is the band portion 34 that supports the first connector 10 by surrounding it with the band-shaped binding portion 33. According to this configuration, the band-shaped binding portion 33 can support the first connector 10 over a wide area, further serving to make the first connector 10 less likely to detach from the connector bracket 14.
(7) The band portion 34 supports the portion of the first connector 10 where the partner connector 11 is connected. According to this configuration, the band portion 34 can support the portion of the first connector 10 that is likely to be subjected to a load. This further serves to make the first connector 10 less likely to detach from the connector bracket 14.
(8) The band portion 34 is integrally formed with the bracket body 16. According to this configuration, the bracket body 16 and the band portion 34 can be manufactured as an integrated component.
(9) The band portion 34 includes the engaging portion 35 for keeping the binding portion 33 in a closed state in which the first connector 10 is held by the binding portion 33. According to this configuration, the engaging portion 35 can securely maintain the closed state of the binding portion 33.
(10) The band portion 34 includes the tab portion 38 serving as the portion by which the binding portion 33 is gripped when the binding portion 33 is opened and closed. As this configuration facilitates the gripping of the band portion 34 with fingers or the like, it can increase the ease with which the binding portion 33 is brought into in the closed state.
(11) The band portion 34 includes the regulating portion 39 for regulating an operation to push the tab portion 38 in the direction with which the closed state of the binding portion 33 is released. This configuration can make it unlikely that the closed state of the binding portion 33 will be inadvertently released.
(12) A locking portion 25 is included that locks the first connector 10 attached to the first holding portion 20 to the bracket body 16. According to this configuration, the first connector 10 can be kept securely fixed to the first holding portion 20 by the locking portion 25. This further serves to make the first connector 10 less likely to become detached.
It should be noted that the present embodiment may be implemented with the following modifications. The present embodiment and the following modifications may be implemented in combination to the extent that they are technically compatible.
The present disclosure encompasses the implementation examples below. Some of the matters described in the implementation examples below may be omitted, and some of the matters described in the implementation examples may be selected or extracted and combined.
[Additional Remark 1] One example of the present disclosure is directed to a connector bracket for use with a signal cable connector that includes sliding rails, the connector bracket comprising:
[Additional Remark 2] In one example of the present disclosure, the bracket rail and the flexible fastening band may be provided on an outermost surface of the connector bracket so that the signal cable connector and the signal cables are visible from the outside of the connector bracket.
[Additional Remark 3] In one example of the present disclosure, the connector bracket may be configured to suspendingly hold the signal cable connector using the bracket rail and the flexible fastening band.
[Additional Remark 4] In one example of the present disclosure, the signal cable connector may be configured to be mechanically coupled to another signal cable connector, and the bracket rail and the flexible fastening band may be configured in such a manner as not to interfere with the mechanical coupling and decoupling of the signal cable connector and the other signal cable connector while the bracket rail and the flexible fastening band support the signal cable connector.
Although the present disclosure has been described based on embodiments, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments or structures. The present disclosure also encompasses various variants and variations within the scope of equivalency. In addition, various combinations and forms, and also other combinations and forms that include only one element or more or less elements, fall under the scope and concept of the present disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2021-037548 | Mar 2021 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2022/006313 | 2/17/2022 | WO |