This application is based on and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-190670, filed on Oct. 18, 2019, with the Japan Patent Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a connector.
A connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. H08-330021 includes a housing, a grommet to be mounted on the back surface of the housing and a grommet cover to be mounted on the housing to cover the grommet. A locking portion is provided on an outer side surface of the housing. The locking pin is provided with a groove. A locking hole is provided in a side wall of the grommet cover. A protrusion shaped to project on an inner peripheral edge part of the locking hole is provided on the side wall of the grommet cover. A thickness of the protrusion is equal to an opening width of the groove.
The grommet cover is slid and mounted on the housing. When the grommet cover reaches a proper mount position with respect to the housing, the protrusion is fit into the groove of the locking pin. In this way, opening deformation of the grommet cover is prevented. Note that a connector with a grommet and a grommet cover of this type is also disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2001-217033.
In the case of Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. H08-330021, the locking pin has to be forcibly inserted into a loose fitting hole continuous with the locking hole when the grommet cover is mounted. Thus, workability has been poor.
Accordingly, the present disclosure aims to provide a connector capable of preventing the deformation of a grommet cover while ensuring good assemblability.
The present disclosure is directed to a connector with a housing, a grommet arranged to cover an outer periphery of the housing, and a grommet cover arranged to cover an outer periphery of the grommet, wherein the grommet cover includes a tip portion on one end on an opening side, the housing includes a restricting portion, the restricting portion includes a recess, the tip portion of the grommet cover being arranged inside the recess, and the recess of the restricting portion includes a restricting body arranged to face an outer side of the tip portion of the grommet cover.
According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a connector capable of preventing the deformation of a grommet cover while ensuring good assemblability.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here.
First, embodiments of the present disclosure are listed and described.
(1) The connector of the present disclosure is provided with a housing, a grommet arranged to cover an outer periphery of the housing, and a grommet cover arranged to cover an outer periphery of the grommet, wherein the grommet cover includes a tip portion on one end on an opening side, the housing includes a restricting portion, the restricting portion includes a recess, the tip portion of the grommet cover being arranged inside the recess, and the recess of the restricting portion includes a restricting body arranged to face an outer side of the tip portion of the grommet cover. According to this configuration, the grommet cover can be easily assembled with the housing by inserting the tip portion of the grommet cover inside the recess. Further, outward deformation of the grommet cover can be reliably prevented by the contact of the tip portion of the grommet cover with the restricting body of the recess.
(2) Preferably, the grommet cover includes a body cover and a lid cover, and the body cover and the lid cover are coupled to each other with the grommet sandwiched therebetween. According to this configuration, the grommet cover can cover the outer periphery of the grommet over the entire periphery.
If an outward deformation force is applied to the grommet cover, the body cover and the lid cover may be divided by being released from a state coupled to each other. However, since the outward deformation of the grommet cover is prevented by the contact of the tip portion of the grommet cover with the restricting body of the recess in this configuration, a situation where the body cover and the lid cover are inadvertently divided can be avoided.
(3) The grommet cover may be formed into a tubular shape and may include a pair of facing short side portions and a pair of long side portions facing each other in a direction orthogonal to the both short side portions and longer than the short side portions, and parts of the tip portion of the grommet cover to be arranged inside the recess may be provided on the pair of long side portions. The both long side portions are longer than the both short side portions and are easily deflected and deformed. In that respect, according to this configuration, outward deflection and deformation of the both long side portions can be reliably prevented by the contact of tip portions of the both long side portions with the restricting body of the recess.
(4) The pair of long side portions may be provided with support shafts and a lever for promoting connection of the housing and a mating connector may be rotatably mounted on the support shafts, and parts of the tip portion of the grommet cover to be arranged inside the recess may be provided on opposite longitudinal sides of the pair of long side portions across the support shafts. Since a rotational force of the lever acts on the support shafts, the both long side portion are more easily deflected and deformed outward. In that respect, since the tip portions to be arranged inside the recess are provided on the opposite longitudinal sides of the both long side portions across the support shafts according to this configuration, the outward deflected and deformation of the both long side portions can be more reliably prevented.
(5) The restricting portion may be shaped to project on an outer surface of the housing, and the grommet may include an insertion hole, the restricting portion being inserted into the insertion hole. A positional deviation of the grommet with respect to the housing can be prevented by the insertion of the restricting portion into the insertion hole of the grommet. The restricting portion can have both a function preventing the deformation of the grommet cover and a function of preventing a positional deviation of the grommet. Thus, the configuration of the housing can be simplified as compared to the case where the both functions are separately provided.
Specific examples of the connector of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these illustrations and is intended to be represented by claims and include all changes in the scope of claims and in the meaning and scope of equivalents.
A connector of this embodiment includes a housing 10, a grommet 40 and a grommet cover 60 as shown in
As shown in
The housing 10 is made of synthetic resin and, as shown in
The housing 10 includes a plurality of cavities 11. A terminal fitting 30 is inserted and accommodated into each cavity 11. As shown in
As shown in
The housing 10 includes a pair of second protrusions 14 at vertically spaced-apart positions on each of the both side surfaces. The tip surface of the second protrusion 13 in a projecting direction (lateral direction, in-out direction) is formed to be flat in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction. A flange part protruding forward and rearward is provided on the tip surface of the second protrusion 13 in the projecting direction as shown in
As shown in
The restricting portion 14 is formed into a cylindrical shape as a whole. As shown in
As shown in
The grommet 40 is made of rubber and includes, as shown in
Upper and lower walls of the grommet body 41 are held in close contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the housing 10. Left and right side walls (both side walls) of the grommet body 41 are held in close contact with the both side surfaces of the housing 10. As shown in
As shown in
The grommet body 41 includes a pair of insertion holes 45 at upper and lower positions across the upper and lower second locking holes 44 in each of the both side walls. The insertion hole 45 has a circular opening and has such an opening diameter that the restricting portion 14 can be fit thereinto as shown in
The grommet cover 60 is made of synthetic resin and, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The both side plate portions 63 and the both lock plate portions 66 constitute a pair of left and right long side portions L arranged to be long in the vertical direction. The upper plate portion 64 and the lower plate portion 67 constitute a pair of short side portions S arranged to be short in the lateral direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the long side portions L.
As shown in
As shown in
Further, as shown in
As shown in
The tip portions 74 are front edge parts (opening end part) of the side plate portion 63 and arranged along the vertical direction. The recess 73 includes a retraction recess 75 retracted further rearward than the upper and lower tip portions 74 between the tip portions 74. The both side plate portions 63 include thick portions 76 having a large thickness behind and adjacent to the upper tip portions 74 via steps. The both side plate portions 63 include locking projections 77 orthogonal to the tip portions 74 on lower end parts of the thick portions 76.
The both side plate portions 63 are provided with a pair of left and right support shafts 78 projecting behind the retraction recesses 75 in the vertically central parts. The support shafts 78 are formed into a cylindrical shape.
The lever 90 is made of synthetic resin, in the form of a gate-shaped plate and includes, as shown in
Deflectable and deformable resilient pieces 95 are provided on outer peripheral sides of the both arm portions 91. As shown in
When the lever 90 is at the initial position, unillustrated cam followers of the mating housing 100 are inserted in the entrances of the cam grooves 94. The locking of the resilient pieces 95 and the locking projections 77 is released by unillustrated releasing portions of the mating housing 100. In this way, the lever 90 becomes rotatable to the connection position. If the lever 90 is rotated toward the connection position, the cam followers slide on groove surfaces of the cam grooves 94 to exhibit a cam action and the mating housing 100 is pulled toward the housing 10 with a low connection force. When the lever 90 reaches the connection position, the both housings 10, 100 are held in a properly connected state.
In assembling, the grommet 40 is mounted on the housing 10 from behind. The opening end side (front end side) of the grommet body 41 is resiliently restored from an expanded state, whereby the both first protrusions 12 can be fit into the both first locking holes 43 (see
Subsequently, the grommet cover 60 is assembled with the housing 10 with the grommet 40 sandwiched therebetween.
The body cover 61 is put on the grommet 40 from above. Then, the upper first protrusion 12 is fit into the through hole 72 of the upper plate portion 64 (see
On the other hand, the lid cover 62 is put on the grommet 40 from below. Then, the lower first protrusion 12 is fit into the through hole 72 of the lower plate portion 67 (see
Subsequently, the lever 90 is assembled with the grommet cover 60. By fitting the both support shafts 78 into the bearing holes 93 of the both arm portions 91, the lever 90 is supported rotatably about the both support shafts 78. Front parts of the both arm portions 91 are arranged outside the retraction recesses 75 (see
When the lever 90 is rotated, an operation force of the lever 90 is applied to the grommet cover 60 via the support shafts 78. Thus, the front end parts (opening end parts) of the both side plate portions 63 may be deformed to expand outward.
However, in the case of this embodiment, the tip portions 74 are provided on both upper and lower sides (opposite longitudinal sides) across the support shafts 78 (see
Further, the tip portions 74 are inserted into the recesses 15 from behind in the process of assembling the body cover 61 with the housing 10. Thus, the interference of the grommet cover 60 with the restricting portions 14 in the assembling process can be avoided and good assemblability can be ensured.
Furthermore, a situation where the body cover 61 and the lid cover 62 are inadvertently divided can be avoided by preventing the deformation of the both side plate portions 63. In addition, a positional deviation of the grommet 40 with respect to the housing 10 can also be prevented by inserting the restricting portions 14 into the insertion holes 45.
The recess 15E of the second embodiment is open only in the rear surface of the restricting portion 14E and either one of the upper and lower surfaces of the restricting portion 14E. The recess 15E has a closed surface 21 on the other one of the upper and lower surfaces of the restricting portion 14E.
The recess 15E is formed into an L shape by cutting a quarter part (90° part) of the restricting portion 14E in a cross-section obtained by cutting the restricting portion 14E in a direction orthogonal to a projecting direction of the restricting portion 14E (cross-section shown in
For example, if, out of the upper and lower recesses 15E, the upper recesses 15E are open in the lower surfaces of the restricting portions 14E and the lower recesses 15E are open in the upper surfaces of the restricting portions 14E, upward positional deviations of the tip portions 74 are restricted by contact with the closed surfaces 21 of the upper recesses 15E and downward positional deviations of the tip portions 74 are restricted by contact with the closed surfaces 21 of the lower recesses 15E. In this way, the grommet cover 60 is held with vertical positional deviations thereof with respect to the housing 10 restricted. Note that other structures of the second embodiment are similar to those of the first embodiment and repeated description is omitted.
The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered to be illustrative rather than restrictive in all aspects.
Although the pair of upper and lower restricting portions are provided on each side surface of the housing in the case of the above embodiments, one, three or more restricting portions may be provided on each side surface of the housing while being vertically spaced apart as another embodiment.
Although the restricting portion is formed into a cylindrical shape as a whole in the case of the above embodiments, a restricting portion may be formed into a rectangular column shape as a whole as another embodiment.
Although the restricting bodies are in the form of ribs extending in the front-rear direction on the facing surface (inner surface) of the recess in the case of the above embodiments, restricting bodies may not have any special shape and may be configured by a facing surface (inner surface) of a recess as another embodiment.
Although the body cover and the lid cover are dividably provided in the case of the above embodiments, a body cover and a lid cover may be integrally provided via a hinge as another embodiment. Further, a grommet cover may be configured as a single member without distinguishing a body cover and a lid cover.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
JP2019-190670 | Oct 2019 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5971791 | Itoh | Oct 1999 | A |
7249958 | Ishikawa | Jul 2007 | B2 |
10355412 | Matsuura | Jul 2019 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
H08-330021 | Dec 1996 | JP |
2001-217033 | Aug 2001 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20210119368 A1 | Apr 2021 | US |