This specification relates to a connector.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-14364 discloses a connector with a connector housing and a wire cover surrounding wires pulled out rearwardly from the connector housing. The wire cover has a hollow cylindrical shape and is fit coaxially to the inner periphery of a rear end part of a first connector housing. Wires connected to rear end parts of female terminal fittings are drawn out from the rear end surface of a housing body are pulled out rearwardly through the wire cover.
However, reliable mounting of the wire cover on the connector housing cannot be confirmed. Further, the wire cover has a hollow cylindrical shape and may rattle in a rotating direction to generate abnormal noise due to vibration during the travel of a vehicle or the like.
A connector disclosed by this specification includes a retainer, and a cover to be attached to the retainer from behind. The retainer includes a circular base plate and a terminal holding portion penetrates through the base plate in a plate thickness direction. A cover attaching portion projects rearward from a peripheral edge of the base plate and a detecting projection projects rearward from a rear end edge of the cover attaching portion. The cover includes a fitting tube to be fit externally to the cover attaching portion and a locked portion configured to hold the fitting tube in a proper attaching posture by being locked to the cover attaching portion. The cover also has a detection hole that is open behind the fitting tube and that is configured so that the detecting projection is inserted therein to project outward when the fitting tube reaches the proper attaching posture.
According to this configuration, when the retainer is attached to the cover from behind, the detecting projection of the retainer is inserted into the detection hole of the cover and projects outward so that the proper attached posture of the cover on the retainer can be confirmed. Specifically, in a structure for externally fitting the cover to the retainer, a holding portion for holding the cover on the retainer is hidden inside the cover and cannot be confirmed from external appearance. However, according to the above-described configuration, reliable retention of the cover on the retainer can be confirmed from the external appearance even if the holding portion cannot be confirmed.
The detecting projection is locked to an inner wall of the detection hole in a rotating direction of the cover. Thus, the cover cannot rotate and rattle in the rotating direction to generate abnormal noise due to vibration during the travel of a vehicle or the like.
The fitting tube may be at a position radially outward of a cover body that is configured to cover the base plate portion from behind. According to this configuration, the cover body can be formed in accordance with the size of the base plate and need not be enlarged.
The detection hole may penetrate in a front-rear direction through a coupling wall that couples the fitting tube and the cover body. Accordingly, the detection hole utilizes the coupling wall.
The cover attaching portion may extend in a circumferential direction while having an arcuate shape when viewed from behind. A locking projection may project radially inward on an inner peripheral surface of the cover attaching portion, and the locked portion may be locked to the locking projection. According to this configuration, the locking projection is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the cover attaching portion. Thus, the locked portion locked to the locking projection can be protected from external impact and the separation of the locked portion from the locking projection can be avoided.
According to the connector disclosed by this specification, it can be confirmed from external appearance that the cover is held reliably on the retainer. Further, the cover cannot rotate and will not rattle in a rotating direction to generate abnormal noise due to vibration during the travel of a vehicle or the like.
An embodiment is described with reference to
The retainer 30 is made of synthetic resin and, as shown in
The terminal holding portion 32 has a hollow cylindrical shape and can contact a flange provided on the outer periphery of the terminal from behind. In this way, the terminal holding portions 32 hold the respective terminals in the housing. Further, the retainer mounting pieces 33 are resiliently deflectable. Thus, the retainer mounting pieces 33 ride on the projections as the retainer 30 is attached to the housing from behind and then resiliently return to lock projections on the housing when the retainer 30 reaches a proper attaching position.
As shown in
The cover 50 is made of synthetic resin and includes, as shown in
On the other hand, the outer locks 55 include inward projecting projections although not described in detail. These projections are locked to outer lock receiving portions 36 shown in
As shown in
In this embodiment, as shown in
Further, if a force is applied to the cover 50 in a rotating direction, the locking pieces 54A constituting the inner locks 54 of the retainer 30 contact the locking projections 35 and suppress rotation. However, the locking pieces 54A are cantilevered and deflect in the rotating direction of the cover 50. Thus, the locking pieces alone cannot completely stop rotation of the cover 50. Accordingly, inner walls of the detection holes 57 contact the detecting projections 37 and further suppress the rotation of the cover 50.
Of course, clearances are set between the detecting projections 37 and the inner walls of the detection holes 57 in view of tolerances at the time of assembling. Thus, the rotation of the cover 50 is allowed by as much as these clearances. However, the detecting projections 37 are not deflected or deformed. Thus, the rotation of the cover 50 can be suppressed even though the locking pieces 54A are deflected and deformed. In this way, the generation of abnormal noise due to vibration during the travel of the vehicle or the like is prevented more easily prevented.
As described above, the detecting projections 37 of the retainer 30 are inserted into the detection holes 57 of the cover 50 and project outward when the cover 50 is attached to the retainer 30 from behind. Thus, a proper attachment posture of the cover 50 to the retainer 30 can be confirmed. Specifically, holding portions for holding the cover 50 on the retainer 30 are hidden inside the cover 50 and cannot be confirmed from external appearance. However, this embodiment, enables the external appearance to provide a visible confirmation that the cover 50 is held reliably on the retainer 30 even if the holding portions cannot be confirmed.
Further, the detecting projections 37 are locked to the inner walls of the detection holes 57 in the rotating direction of the cover 50. Thus, the rotation of the cover 50 can be prevented, and the cover 50 will rattle in the rotating direction to generate abnormal noise due to vibration during the travel of the vehicle or the like.
The fitting tube 52 may be provided at the position radially outward of the cover body 51 for covering the base plate 31 from behind. According to this configuration, the cover body 51 can be formed in accordance with the size of the base plate 31. Thus, the enlargement of the cover body 51 can be avoided.
The detection holes 57 may penetrate in the front-rear direction through the coupling wall 56 that couples the fitting tube 52 and the cover body 51. According to this configuration, the detection holes 57 efficiently utilize the coupling wall 56.
The cover attaching portions 34 may extend in the circumferential direction while having an arcuate shape when viewed from behind. Additionally, the locking projections 35 may project radially inward on the inner peripheral surfaces of the cover attaching portions 34, and the locked portions 54B may be locked to the locking projections 35. According to this configuration, the locking projections 35 are on the inner peripheral surfaces of the cover attaching portions 34. Thus, the locked portions 54B locked to the locking projections 35 can be protected from external impact and the separation of the locked portions 54B from the locking projections 35 can be avoided.
The invention is not limited to the above described and illustrated embodiment. For example, the following various modes also are included.
Although the plurality of detecting projections 37 are inserted into the detection holes 57 in the above embodiment, one detecting projection and one detection hole may be provided.
The fitting tube 52 is provided at the position radially outward of the cover body 51 in the above embodiment. However, a fitting tube may extend rearward from the opening edge part 51A of the cover body 51 and may have the same diameter as the opening edge part 51A.
Although the coupling wall 56 is provided with the detection holes 57 in the above embodiment, the cover body 51 may be provided with detection holes if no coupling wall is provided.
The coupling wall 56 is provided with the locked portions 54B in the above embodiment. However, the cover body 51 may be provided with locked portions if no coupling wall is provided.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2016-078698 | Apr 2016 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2017/012249 | 3/27/2017 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2017/179406 | 10/19/2017 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
20150147918 | Matsuda et al. | May 2015 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2003-45554 | Feb 2003 | JP |
2011-14364 | Jan 2011 | JP |
2011-222250 | Nov 2011 | JP |
2014-53091 | Mar 2014 | JP |
2015-103377 | Jun 2015 | JP |
2015-170588 | Sep 2015 | JP |
2016-006734 | Jan 2016 | JP |
Entry |
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International Search Report dated Jun. 27, 2017. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20190115680 A1 | Apr 2019 | US |