HK1060656B - Electrical connection system - Google Patents

Description

Electrical connection device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of electrical connection devices, and more particularly to an electrical connection device in which electrical contacts of a 1 st component are short-circuited when a 1 st component and a 2 nd component are not properly electrically connected to each other, and a 2 nd component is provided with a locking member for releasing the short-circuiting of the electrical contacts when the components are electrically connected to each other.

Technical Field

Conventionally, a connecting device is known which is constituted by 2 constituent elements (for example, a plug and a socket) each having a pair of electrical connection elements, and is constituted so that the electrical connection elements can be electrically connected to each other by connecting the plug and the socket. It is also known that a socket has a short-circuit element therein, and the short-circuit element electrically short-circuits the pair of connection elements in a state where the plug is not connected to the socket.

Further, there is known a structure in which a locking member is provided on the plug side, and when the plug and the socket are separated from each other, the locking member is locked at the 1 st locking position, and when the plug and the socket are completely coupled, the locking member is moved to the 2 nd locking position by pressing or the like, whereby the short-circuit of the short-circuit element is released and the plug is mechanically locked so that the plug cannot be pulled out from the socket. This structure is disclosed in, for example, U.S. patent No. 5,314,345 or japanese patent No. 2,647,335.

The above configuration is effective if used as a connection device for connecting a relay device to a control device for relaying a signal for operating an airbag system of a vehicle, for example.

The airbag system includes an airbag assembly mounted in a cab of a vehicle, an electric or electronic control device, and a relay device. A general method of mounting the airbag system is to mount the airbag assembly, the control device, and the relay device individually on the vehicle, and then electrically connect (a) the control device-relay device, and (B) the relay device-airbag assembly with the harness.

In the configuration of the control device-relay device connected to (a), the plug is attached to the other end of a pair of 2 wire harnesses one end of which is connected to the control device. And the wires of a pair of-2 wire bundles are connected to a pair of terminals (electrical connection elements) of the plug, respectively. On the other hand, the socket having a pair of terminals (electrical connection elements) is provided on the relay device side.

According to this configuration, the electrical connection state between the control device and the relay device can be realized by a simple operation of inserting the plug into the receptacle. On the other hand, in a state where the plug is not inserted into the socket, the pair of terminals on the plug side are electrically short-circuited by the short-circuit element. Therefore, when the airbag system is mounted on the vehicle, it is possible to prevent the airbag assembly from being operated and opened by the current flowing to the airbag assembly due to the leakage or the erroneous connection.

After the plug is inserted into the socket and coupled, the short circuit of the short-circuit element is released and the coupling state between the plug and the socket is mechanically locked by changing the engaging position of the engaging element. Thus, the electrical connection state between the control device and the relay device can be stably ensured.

Further, as the relay device, for example, a switch for switching between operation and non-operation of the airbag may be considered.

That is, according to some contents such as legal regulations, it is often necessary to have a configuration that can switch between the operation and non-operation of the airbag. In this case, if a switch as a relay device is provided in a connection circuit between the control device and the airbag assembly, the switch is switched to the OFF side, whereby the airbag operation signal from the control device is shut OFF to the airbag assembly, and the airbag is deactivated.

However, it is needless to say that a configuration having such a switching function directly on the control device may be considered, and in this case, the relay device as described above may not be necessary. However, the advantage of using the relay device as described above is that an existing control device not having such a switching function can be used as it is, and design changes of the control device can be omitted.

As described above, the short-circuit element is a mechanism for preventing the airbag assembly from unintentionally operating at a stage before the plug is inserted into the socket. Therefore, after the plug is inserted into the socket and coupled, the short circuit between the terminals of the short-circuit element must be released. That is, after the plug is inserted into the socket, the locking member must be moved to the 2 nd locking position.

However, since the locking member is often small and it is difficult to confirm whether or not the locking member is located at the 2 nd locking position, it is often forgotten to release the short circuit. If it is determined that the short circuit is not released in a sampling operation or the like after the subsequent assembly operation is performed when the short circuit is forgotten to be released, the assembled portion must be disassembled to connect the plug, and the plug must be assembled again after the locking member is moved to the 2 nd locking position, which is a great trouble.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connection device in which engagement and locking of a plug and a socket can be easily confirmed.

Still another object is to provide an electrical connection device which is simple in connection work and can reduce the time and process required for connection.

According to a 1 st aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrical connection device comprising: a 1 st constituent element supporting a pair of 1 st electrical connection elements; a 2 nd component element supporting a pair of 2 nd electrical connection elements respectively coupled to the 1 st electrical connection elements; a short-circuit element mounted on the 1 st component element for electrically short-circuiting the 1 st electrical connection elements; a locking element mounted on the 2 nd component element and movable between a 1 st position where the 1 st electrical connection element is short-circuited by the short-circuit element and a 2 nd position where the short-circuit element is retracted to a non-short-circuit position; and a rotating member rotatably provided on the 1 st component, for rotatably coupling the 2 nd component to the 1 st component and moving the locking member to the 2 nd position.

In this way, the 2 nd component can be coupled to the 1 st component and the locking member can be moved to the 2 nd position by the operation of rotating the rotating member. Further, since the coupling between the components and the movement of the locking member to the 2 nd position can be easily confirmed by confirming the position of the rotating member, it is possible to prevent an operation error in which the coupling of the two components is forgotten and the movement of the locking member to the 2 nd position is forgotten.

According to the 2 nd aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electrical connection device, wherein when the 2 nd component is not coupled to the 1 st component, the movement of the locking member to the 2 nd position is restricted.

Thus, the two components can be coupled to each other by applying a force to the locking member, and after the coupling, the locking member is moved to the 2 nd position by applying a force to the locking member. Therefore, the configuration in which the connection state is completed by one operation (operation of rotating the rotating member) as a whole can be easily realized.

According to the 3 rd aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electrical connection device, wherein a direction in which the 2 nd component is coupled to the 1 st component coincides with a direction in which the locking member moves from the 1 st position to the 2 nd position.

In this way, the engagement of the 2 nd component to the 1 st component and the movement of the locking member to the 2 nd position can be smoothly performed by the one operation of rotating the rotating member.

According to the 4 th aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electrical connection device, wherein the 2 nd component is continuously coupled to the 1 st component and the locking member is continuously moved from the 1 st position to the 2 nd position by the rotating member pressing the locking member.

In this way, since the 2 nd component can be continuously coupled to the 1 st component and the locking member can be continuously moved to the 2 nd position by the operation of rotating the rotating member, the time and trouble of the continuous operation can be reduced.

According to the 5 th aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electrical connection device, wherein the 2 nd component is released from the 1 st component by pressing the locking member toward the 2 nd position by the rotating member and from the locking member at the 1 st position.

Before the two components are combined, the force of the rotating member pressing the locking member may be used for the combination of the 2 nd component with the 1 st component. On the other hand, after the two constituent elements are joined, the force with which the rotating member presses the locking element can be used to move the locking element to the 2 nd position. As a result, the 2 nd component can be continuously and smoothly coupled to the 1 st component and the locking member can be moved to the 2 nd position, so that the time and trouble for continuous work can be reduced.

According to the 6 th aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electrical connecting device, wherein the rotating member has a rotating shaft at one end thereof, and by rotating the rotating member, an intermediate portion thereof presses the locking member.

In this way, the locking element can be strongly pressed by the principle of leverage using the pivot shaft as a fulcrum even if the force applied to the pivot member is small. Therefore, since a large force is not necessary at the time of the assembling work, the fatigue of the assembling worker can be reduced.

According to the 7 th aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electrical connecting device further comprising a fixing mechanism for fixing the rotating member to the 1 st component.

In this way, after the connection between the 1 st component and the 2 nd component is completed, the rotating member can be fixed so as not to rotate unnecessarily, and therefore, the subsequent work is not troublesome and the workability is good.

According to the 8 th aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electrical connection device, wherein when the rotating member is fixed to the 1 st component by the fixing mechanism, the movement of the locking member to the 1 st position and the disengagement of the 2 nd component from the 1 st component are restricted by the rotating member.

By fixing the rotating member in this way, the rotating member can be locked so that the electrical connection elements are not short-circuited again and the connection between the constituent elements is not released. Therefore, the 1 st and 2 nd constituent elements can be prevented from unintentionally falling off from each other.

According to the 9 th aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electrical connection device, wherein the rotating member is formed in a hood shape so as to cover the 2 nd component coupled to the 1 st component.

Thus, the 2 nd component connected to the 1 st component is covered with the cover, whereby the component can be protected from impact or the like. Therefore, the electrical connection between the 1 st component and the 2 nd component is excellent in stability and reliability.

Brief description of the drawings

Other and further features may be more fully shown in conjunction with the description of the following figures:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of an entire configuration of an electrical connection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view ii-ii of fig. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of iii-iii of FIG. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a shorting clip.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the internal aspect of the plug.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the plug in a state where the central plug portion is directed upward.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the locking piece attached to the plug.

Fig. 8 is a detailed perspective view of the structure of the locking piece.

FIG. 9 is a view of the line ix-ix of FIG. 1 taken in a cross-sectional direction

Fig. 10 is a side sectional view of a state where a part of the plug is inserted into the socket.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line xi-xi of FIG. 10.

Fig. 12 is a side sectional view of the case where the rotating cover is pressed into the socket.

FIG. 13 is a view of FIG. 12 taken along the xiii-xiii line.

Fig. 14 is a side sectional view of the cap further pressed into the retainer.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the xv-xv of FIG. 14.

Fig. 16 is a side sectional view of the cover in a closed and locked state.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view of xvii-xvii of FIG. 16.

Fig. 18 is a perspective view of a state where the cover is closed and locked.

Embodiments of the invention

Fig. 1 is a detailed view of the entire configuration of a connection device (electrical connection device) 1 used in an airbag system. The connecting device 1 is composed of a socket (1 st component) 11 and a plug (2 nd component) 12 engageable with the socket 11. Fig. 1 shows the receptacle 11 and the plug 12 before they are coupled.

The socket 11 is connected between a control device of an airbag system and an ignition device (sometimes called a squib) of an airbag assembly that must be electrically connected to the control device, and is provided as a part of a relay device. The ignition device is a flame device which burns when sufficient electric energy is obtained from a control system. The gas generating material is ignited by the combustion of the ignition device, and as a result, the airbag is deployed.

In the present embodiment, the relay device is designed as a switch for switching between the operation and the non-operation of the airbag. By turning OFF this switch, the airbag operation signal from the control device is cut OFF to the ignition device, and the airbag can be deactivated.

A short-circuit clip (short-circuit element) 24 is provided on the receptacle 11. The short-circuit clip 24 is configured to short-circuit the pair of 2 pins 13 provided in the receptacle 11 before the receptacle 11 and the plug 12 are mechanically coupled and electrically connected to each other. The detailed description thereof will be described later.

The plug 12 is electrically connected to the control device of the airbag by 2 wires 32. In this plug 12, the locking piece (locking member) 5 is held in a locked state at the 1 st locking position shown in fig. 1.

[ constitution of socket ]

As shown in fig. 1, the socket 11 includes a main body 10, and an opening 10a is formed in an upper surface of the main body 10. The main body 10 may be directly incorporated in a related structure such as a cover of the relay device. The opening 10a may be formed as a separate element from the main body 10 and may be added to the structure.

As shown in fig. 2, which is a sectional view of ii-ii in fig. 1, or fig. 3, which is a sectional view of iii-iii, the opening 10a of the main body 10 terminates with a bottom wall portion 17. A pair of conductive metal male pins (1 st electrical connection element) 13 (fig. 3) protrude upward from the bottom wall 17. The 2 pins 13 each have a conductor connecting portion 39 formed vertically from the root thereof, and a corresponding one of the pair of wires 38 is connected to the conductor connecting portion 39.

The wires 38 are designed as wires covered with an insulating material, while the ends of the wires are stripped off for electrical and mechanical mounting on the corresponding conductor connection 39. The wires may be installed using any conventional method (typically, crimping a portion of the conductor attachment portion 39 around the bare end of the wire).

The lead wire 38 is connected to a switch (not shown) for switching an airbag operation signal to be relayed or cut off, and the switch is connected to an airbag ignition device (not shown) by a well-known method. Therefore, if the switch is turned ON, electric energy is applied to the pin 13, and the ignition device is ignited to deploy the airbag.

As shown in fig. 1, the inner wall of the side portion of the opening 10a is designed in a circular arc shape. At the entrance portion of the opening portion 10a, a projection 14 elongated in the tangential direction is provided on the inner wall of the side wall of the opening portion 10 a. The upper surface side of the convex portion 14 is tapered to form an inclined surface 14 a.

As best shown in fig. 11 or 15, the inclined surface 14a functions to generate an inward deforming moment in the elastic leg 41 or the 1 st leg 51 by receiving the locking portion 42 or 55 of the plug 12. As shown in fig. 17, the protruding portion 14 has a function of holding the coupled state by coupling with the locking portion 42 of the locking piece 5 of the plug 12. Details of this are described later.

A shorting clip 24 is fixed to an inner wall of the opening 10 a. The shorting clip 24 is formed of an elastic conductive material such as spring steel. A part of the short-circuit clip 24 is biased in a direction to contact both the pins 13, and an electrical short-circuit is formed between both the pins 13.

As best shown in fig. 4, the shorting clip 24 includes a plate-shaped base portion 25, a pair of leg portions 26 bent and extended downward from an upper surface of the base portion 25, and a pair of connecting portions 27 bent at 90 degrees downward from the pair of leg portions 26. The legs 26 are bent in a stepwise manner in a direction away from the base 25, and are biased so that the tips of the contact portions 27 contact the side portions of the pins 13 to be electrically connected. As shown in fig. 3, the base portion 25 is inserted into the slit-shaped recess 28 of the opening 10a formed in the body 10 of the socket 11 so as not to be pulled out therefrom, and thereby the shorting clip 24 is held in the opening 10 a.

The shorting clip 24 is provided in the opening 10a in a compressed state, and as a result, the abutting portion 27 is constantly urged in a direction away from the base portion 25 (i.e., in a direction approaching the pin 13).

In fig. 3, the shorting clip 24 is shown in a shorted position. As shown in the figure, the 2 pins 13 are connected and electrically connected at their lower portions to the connecting portions 27 of the shorting clip 24, and extend upward along the inside of the opening 10 a.

As shown in fig. 1, the body 10 of the receptacle 11 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a rotation shaft 70 is formed to protrude from one end side in the longitudinal direction (the same side as the side where the opening 10a is formed) in both side directions. A cover 71 (rotating member) shaped like "コ" is rotatably attached to the rotating shaft 70. The cover 71 has a top portion 72 and a pair of side wall portions 73 formed vertically from the ends of the top portion 72. A shaft hole is formed at one end of the side wall portion 73 in the longitudinal direction, and the cover 71 is rotatably opened and closed around the shaft 70 by inserting the shaft 70 into the shaft hole. Fig. 1 and 3 show a state in which the cover 71 is opened.

The side wall portions 73 are each provided with a coupling and fixing hole 74, and the coupling and fixing hole 74 is sized and arranged so as to be coupled to a projection 75 (fixing means) formed to protrude from the outer wall of the side portion of the main body 10. Therefore, the coupling fixing hole 74 is coupled with the protrusion 75 in a state of closing the cover 71, so that the closed state of the cover 71 can be maintained.

[ constitution of plug ]

The plug 12 of the connection device 1 is best understood with reference to fig. 1 or 3. The plug 12 has a center plug portion (body portion) 31, and as shown in fig. 3, a pair of convex electrical terminals (2 nd electrical connection elements) 30 extending downward are supported inside the center plug portion 31. These electrical terminals 30 are configured and dimensioned to be electrically connected to the wires 32 and to receive the pins 13 of the socket 11 in received engagement therewith. As for the contact between the electric terminal 30 and the lead wire 32, a well-known method such as crimping can be used as in the case of connection between the pin 13 and the lead wire 38.

As shown in fig. 5, the lead wire 32 is passed through a ferrite sleeve 35 disposed in a hollow 34a of the box-shaped lower portion 34 of the plug 12. The ferrite sleeve 35 is designed as a substantially box-shaped homogeneous body, and two cylindrical through holes are formed in parallel. By inserting the lead wire 32 into the through hole, noise generated in the lead wire 32 can be eliminated. The lead wire 32 is extended outward from the end of the lower portion after passing through the opening of the rear wall of the hollow portion 34a, and is connected to the control device.

The central plug portion 31, as best shown in fig. 6, is designed in a substantially square cylindrical shape. The pair of arcuate elastic legs 41 are disposed on the sides of the center plug portion 31, and extend downward (downward in fig. 6 with the upper side of the drawing sheet) in parallel with the center plug portion 31. The elastic leg 41 is sized and arranged so as to be tightly fitted into the opening 10a of the body 10 of the socket 11.

A locking portion 42 protruding radially outward is formed at a lower portion of the elastic leg portion 41. The latch 42 is sized and configured to pass over the protrusion 14 into the space below the plug 12 when the plug is properly engaged with the receptacle 11, as best shown in fig. 5.

As shown in fig. 1 or 6, the central plug portion 31 also has a rib 43. The ribs 43 are sized and configured to engage the plug 12 in the grooves 29 formed in the inner wall of the opening 10a (as shown in fig. 1) when the receptacle 11 and the plug 12 are connected in the proper orientation. With the convex strip 43 and the concave groove 29, the reverse connection is prevented, and the correct connection relationship between the 2 electric terminals 30 of the plug 12 and the 2 pins 13 of the socket 11 is ensured.

As shown in fig. 5, the upper portion 36 and the lower portion 34 are integrally formed in a shape in which one longitudinal end sides thereof are connected to each other. The connecting portion is designed to be deformable, and the upper portion (cover portion) 36 is configured to be foldable in the direction of the arrow in the figure. In addition, the aforementioned central plug portion 31 and elastic leg 41 are formed on the lower side portion 34.

A pair of sheet-like extensions 37 and a pair of locking portions 40, both of which are elastically deformable, are formed on the upper portion 36. On the other hand, on the lower side portion 34, a coupling groove 47 and a coupling fixing hole 44 are formed. With this configuration, the upper portion 36 is folded back with the lead wire 32 and the ferrite sleeve 35 sandwiched between the upper and lower portions 36, 34, the tab-like extensions 37 are coupled to the coupling grooves 47, and the upper portion 36 and the lower portion 34 are integrally coupled by coupling the locking portions 40 to the coupling fixing holes 44. In this way, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shaped enclosure is provided that covers the wires 32.

As best shown in fig. 7, a wide and shallow recess 45 is formed in the upper surface of the upper portion 36 of the plug 12 at a position corresponding to the location where the central plug portion 31 is formed. A pair of through openings 46 facing each other in a substantially L shape are formed on both lateral sides of the recess 45.

The locking piece (locking member) 5 described below is attached to the through opening 46. As shown in fig. 7 or 8, the locking member 5 includes a top portion (pressing portion) 50, a pair of 1 st leg portions 51 extending downward from both lateral sides of the top portion 50, regulating portions 52 located on both sides of the 1 st leg portions 51 so as to sandwich the same, and a pair of 2 nd leg portions 53 extending downward in a line from longitudinal ends of the pressing portion 50. The 1 st leg 51 and the regulating portion 52 are linearly arranged, and the 2 nd leg 53 is disposed perpendicularly to the 1 st leg 51 and the regulating portion 52, and the 2 nd legs 53 are disposed to face each other with a gap 58 therebetween.

These legs 51, 53 and the restricting portion 52 are sized and arranged to be inserted into the through opening 46 of the substantially "L" shape formed in the upper portion 36 of the plug 12.

The 1 st leg 51 is provided with a 1 st locking part 54 and a 2 nd locking part 55 in this order from the bottom. Both the engaging portions 54 and 55 are provided to protrude outward, but the 2 nd engaging portion 55 protrudes more than the 1 st engaging portion 54.

The details of the locking piece 5 will be described mainly with reference to fig. 8. The 1 st locking portion (small projection) 54 of the 1 st leg 51 has a stepped portion 54a formed at the tip thereof. As best shown in fig. 9, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ix-ix of fig. 1, the elastic leg 41 of the plug 12 is provided with a lateral opening 60, and a stepped portion 61 is formed at the lower end thereof.

In the state where the locking piece 5 is inserted and attached to the plug 12, it is locked at a position where the step portion 54a of the 1 st leg portion 51 protrudes and comes into contact with the step portion 61 of the elastic leg portion 41 (referred to as "1 st locking position"). At this time, the 2 nd locking part (large protrusion) 55 of the locking piece 5 is in a state of protruding outward from the opening 60 and being movable.

The locking groove 62 is cut out in the radial direction inside the lower end of the elastic leg 41. When the locking piece 5 moves downward from the 1 st locking position, the outward protruding portion of the 1 st locking portion 54 is locked to the locking groove 62. Although this position is referred to as "2 nd locking position", the locking degree of the 2 nd locking position is designed to be a degree that the locking piece 5 can be returned to the 1 st locking position by being pulled up from the plug 12, or is slightly weak.

As shown in fig. 8, the restricting portion 52 of the locking piece 5 is formed with a slit 56 that does not prevent the elastic deformation of the 1 st leg portion 51, and extends downward. As shown in fig. 9, the restricting portion 52 is formed to have a thickness that decreases downward. As best shown in the right part of fig. 9, the restriction portion 52 is located between an inner protrusion 63a formed on the inner surface of the thick-walled portion 63 of the elastic leg portion 41 of the plug 12 and the outer surface of the side portion of the central plug portion 31.

In a state where the locking piece 5 is located at the 1 st locking position shown in the drawing (i.e., in a state where the top portion 50 is lifted off the recess 45 of the plug 12), the restricting portion 52 is located at a position retreated upward from the inner protruding portion 63a of the thick portion 63 of the elastic leg portion 41, and therefore, deformation of the locking portion 42 of the elastic leg portion 41 in the inward direction is not restricted. On the other hand, in a state where the locking piece 5 is located at the 2 nd locking position (i.e., in a state where the top portion 50 is received in the recess 45), the restriction portion 52 is lowered to a position facing the inner protrusion 63a, so that elastic deformation of the elastic leg portion 41 in the inward direction is prevented.

As best shown in fig. 16, when the 2 nd leg 53 is pushed from the 1 st locking position to the 2 nd locking position, the locking piece 5 moves into the bent portion of the short-circuit clip 24, separates the contact portion 27 from the pin 13, and operates to release the electrical short circuit with respect to the pin 13. Further, the configuration is not limited to the configuration in which both of the pair of 2 nd leg portions 53 reach the bent portion of the short-circuit clip 24, and only either one of the pair may be configured such that the contact portion 27 is separated from the pin 13.

[ connecting action ]

The connection method of the above-described connection device (electrical connection device) 1 is described mainly with reference to the drawings from fig. 10 onward.

As shown in fig. 3, the short-circuit clip 24 disposed in the opening 10a of the receptacle 11 electrically short-circuits the pins 13 with each other in a state where the receptacle 11 and the plug 12 are not connected to each other. The cover 71 of the receptacle 11 is opened as shown in fig. 1 or 3. As shown in fig. 9, the locking member 5 attached to the plug 12 is locked in advance at the 1 st locking position (the position where the step portion 54a of the 1 st leg portion 51 protrudes to the step portion 61 of the elastic leg portion 41).

In a state where the plug 12 is separated from the receptacle 11 (the state shown in fig. 1, 3, and 9), even if the locking piece 5 is pressed down against the plug 12, the locking piece 5 is not pressed into the plug 12 by the interaction between the step portions 54a and 61. Therefore, the state in which the tip portion 50 of the retainer 5 is lifted from the recess 45 of the plug 12 can be visually confirmed as shown in fig. 1.

From this state, the side surfaces of the upper and lower portions 36, 34 of the plug 12 are held by fingers, and the central plug portion 31 and a part of the lower end of the elastic leg portion 41 are inserted into the opening 10a of the socket 11, as shown in fig. 10 and 11. At this time, as shown in fig. 11, the locking portion 42 of the elastic leg 41 stops in a state of being in contact with the inclined surface 14a at the entrance of the opening 10 a.

When cover 71 is rotated in the closing direction from this state, as shown in fig. 12, the lower surface (top surface) of top 72 of cover 71 presses down top 50 of retainer 5. The cover 71 is supported at one end in the longitudinal direction by the pivot shaft 70, and the locking piece 5 is pressed by the longitudinally intermediate portion of the top portion 72. Therefore, by biasing the closing cover 71 at the other end side in the longitudinal direction on the upper surface of the top portion 72, the locking piece 5 can be strongly pushed downward with a small force by utilizing the principle of leverage using the pivot shaft 70 as a fulcrum. As a result, the assembly work is easy to perform, and the fatigue of the operator can be reduced.

Step 54a (fig. 9) of depressed locking piece 5 presses down step 61 of elastic leg 41. As a result, a downward force acts on the entire plug 12. As a result, the locking portion 42 of the elastic leg portion 41 slides with respect to the inclined surface 14a, and a moment M1 (fig. 11) directed inward acts on the elastic leg portion 41.

Since the locking piece 5 is located at the 1 st locking position as described above, the restriction portion 52 is not located at the inner protruding portion 63a of the elastic leg portion 41, and the deformation of the elastic leg portion 41 in the inner direction is not restricted. As a result, the elastic leg 41 on which the moment M1 acts is bent inward as shown in fig. 13, and the locking portion 42 moves downward beyond the protruding portion 14. As shown in fig. 14 and 15, the state after the movement of the locking portion 42 is electrically conducted between the pin 13 on the socket 11 side and the electric terminal 30 on the plug 12 side.

After the locking portion 42 has passed over the convex portion 14, the 2 nd locking portion 55 of the locking piece 5 is positioned on the inclined surface 14a at the entrance of the opening 10a as shown in fig. 15. When cover 71 is further rotated in this state as shown by the arrow in fig. 14 and tip portion 50 of locking piece 5 is further pushed down, 2 nd locking portion 55 slides on inclined surface 14a, and moment M2 (fig. 15) directed inward acts on 1 st leg portion 51 of locking piece 5. As a result, the 1 st leg 51 is bent inward, the 2 nd locking part 55 moves downward beyond the projection 14, and the locking piece 5 moves downward relative to the plug 12, and the top 50 thereof is received in the recess 45 on the upper surface of the plug 12.

In this way, the 2 nd locking portion 55 of the 1 st leg portion 51 of the locking piece 5 is positioned further below the projection portion 14, and the 1 st locking portion 54 of the 1 st leg portion 51 is shifted to the 2 nd locking position locked in the locking groove 62.

At the same time, the cover 71 is closed so as to cover the upper side of the plug 12, and a coupling fixing hole 74 formed in the side wall portion 73 of the cover 71 is coupled to a protrusion 75 protruding from the side surface of the main body 10. As shown in fig. 16 and 18, the cover 71 is fixed in the closed state, and thereafter the cover 71 is not unnecessarily rotated, and the subsequent operation is not troublesome.

When the locking piece 5 is at the 2 nd locking position, the 2 nd leg 53 also moves downward, and the lower end thereof presses the stepped portion of the short-circuit clip 24, and the contact portion 27 thereof is separated from the pin 13, so that the electrical short-circuit state between the pins 13 is released. With the above steps, the electrical connection of the pair of pins 13 to the electrical terminals 30 is completed.

In the 2 nd locking position, as shown in fig. 17, the restricting portion 52 of the locking piece 5 is lowered to a position facing the inner protrusion 63a provided on the inner surface of the thick portion 63 of the elastic leg portion 41, and the elastic leg portion 41 is prevented from being deformed in the inner direction. As a result, even if an upward force is applied to the plug 12, the locking portion 42 of the elastic leg 41 does not go over the projection 14, and the plug 12 does not come off the socket 11.

That is, as long as the locking piece 5 is not lifted upward to the 1 st locking position, the plug 12 does not come off the socket 11, which means that the mechanical locking in the state where the plug 12 is electrically connected to the socket 11 is achieved.

Although the connection operation is described in stages, the rotation of the cover 71 is continuously performed in accordance with fig. 10 → fig. 12 → fig. 14 → fig. 16, and the engagement of the plug 12 to the receptacle 11 and the movement of the locking piece 5 to the 2 nd locking position are continuously performed in a short time by one operation of the rotation of the cover 71.

This is done by means of the following design:

(A) the direction in which the plug 12 is coupled to the receptacle 11 and the direction in which the locking piece 5 moves from the 1 st locking position to the 2 nd locking position are both downward directions;

(B) cover 71 is configured to press locking piece 5 downward by rotating in the closing direction;

(C) when the locking piece 5 is at the 1 st locking position, the locking piece 5 is locked with the plug 12, and the force of pressing the locking piece 5 downwards by the cover 71 is used as the pressing force of the whole plug 12;

(D) after the plug 12 is coupled to the receptacle 11, the locking of the locking piece 5 to the plug 12 is released, and the force of pressing the locking piece 5 downward by the cover 71 is used as the force of moving the locking piece 5 to the 2 nd locking position.

Therefore, only one operation (one operation) of rotating the rotating member can be used to perform the operations of (i) coupling the plug 12 to the receptacle 11 and (ii) moving the locking piece 5 to the 2 nd locking position in a short time, thereby reducing the time and trouble required for assembly.

As shown in fig. 16, the cover 71, the plug 12, and the locking piece 5 are sized and shaped such that when the cover 71 is closed and fixed by the coupling of the coupling fixing hole 74 and the projection 75, the plug 12 is coupled to the receptacle 11 and the locking piece 5 is surely positioned at the 2 nd locking position.

Therefore, it is confirmed by visual observation whether or not the cover 71 is in the closed state that the coupling between the receptacle 11 and the plug 12 is correct and the locking piece 5 is in the 2 nd locking position. This makes it easier to determine whether or not the engagement piece 5 smaller than the eye is at the 2 nd engagement position, and can significantly reduce the error of forgetting the engagement of the engagement piece 5 during the air bag assembling operation.

When the cover 71 is in the closed state and is fixed by the engagement between the cover 71 and the projection 75, the plug 12 is separated from the receptacle 11 and the movement of the locking piece 5 upward relative to the plug 12 (movement to the 1 st locking position) is restricted by the top 72 of the cover 71. This means that the engagement between the receptacle 11 and the plug 12 is not released by the double locking by the locking piece 5 and the cover 71, and the plug 12 can be surely prevented from being unintentionally and naturally pulled out from the receptacle 11.

In the closed state, as shown in fig. 18, the upper surface and the side surfaces of the receptacle 12 connected to the receptacle 11 are covered with the cover 71 "コ" in a letter shape, so that the connection portion between the receptacle 11 and the plug 12 can be protected from impact or the like. Therefore, the stability of the electrical connection between the socket 11-the plug 12 can be ensured.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments set forth above, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the design, and it is therefore intended that the invention not be limited to the specific embodiments described above, but may be embodied with various modifications as described below within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (9)

1. An electrical connection device, comprising:

a 1 st constituent element supporting a pair of 1 st electrical connection elements;

a 2 nd component element supporting a pair of 2 nd electrical connection elements respectively coupled to the 1 st electrical connection elements;

a short-circuit element mounted on the 1 st component element for electrically short-circuiting the 1 st electrical connection elements with each other;

a locking member mounted on the 2 nd component element and movable between a 1 st position where the 1 st electrical connection element is short-circuited by the short-circuit element and a 2 nd position where the short-circuit element is retracted to a non-short-circuit position, the locking member being mechanically locked at the 2 nd position so that the 2 nd component element is not disengaged from the 1 st component element;

and a rotating member rotatably provided on the 1 st component, for rotatably coupling the 2 nd component to the 1 st component and moving the locking member to the 2 nd position.

2. The electrical connection apparatus of claim 1, wherein: when the 2 nd component is not coupled to the 1 st component, the movement of the locking member to the 2 nd position is restricted.

3. The electrical connection apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the direction in which the 2 nd component is engaged with respect to the 1 st component is made to coincide with the direction in which the locking member moves from the 1 st position to the 2 nd position.

4. The electrical connection apparatus of claim 3, wherein: the turning member presses the locking member, whereby the 2 nd component is continuously engaged with the 1 st component and the locking member is continuously moved from the 1 st position to the 2 nd position.

5. The electrical connection apparatus of claim 4, wherein: when the 2 nd component element is coupled to the 1 st component element by pressing the engaging element with the rotating member, the engaging element is released from the engagement at the 1 st position, and the engaging element is moved toward the 2 nd position.

6. The electrical connection apparatus of claim 4, wherein: the rotating member has a rotating shaft at one end thereof, and by rotating the rotating member, the middle portion thereof presses the locking member.

7. The electrical connection apparatus of claim 1, wherein: and a fixing mechanism for fixing the rotating member to the 1 st component.

8. The electrical connection apparatus of claim 7, wherein: when the rotating member is fixed to the 1 st component by the fixing means, the movement of the locking member to the 1 st position and the disengagement of the 2 nd component from the 1 st component are restricted by the rotating member.

9. The electrical connection apparatus of claim 6, wherein: the rotating member covers the 2 nd component element coupled to the 1 st component element in a hood-like manner.