JP2012094289A - Electric wire cover and connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrain a side wall from being elastically deformed easily.SOLUTION: In an electric wire cover 50, an electric wire W drawn from a connector housing 11 is bent and introduced in a direction different from its drawing direction. The electric wire cover comprises a back wall 51A and a top wall 51B covering the electric wire W, and a pair of side walls 53 integrated with the back wall 51A and the top wall 51B. Both of the side walls 53 are provided such that a tip can be elastically deformed with both edges positioned on right and left sides of the back wall 51A and the top wall 51B as base ends. Both of the side walls 53 are provided with a locking hole 55 which can be locked to a locking protrusion 17 provided on the connector housing 11, and a rib 54 is flush with an inner wall of the locking hole 55 positioned at a lower part.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric wire cover and a connector.

For example, the thing of patent document 1 is known as an electric wire cover which bends and arranges the electric wire pulled out from the connector housing. The electric wire cover is attached to the rear portion of the connector housing, and the electric wire drawn out from the rear end of the connector housing is bent and led out downward.
The electric wire cover includes a cover portion that covers the electric wire drawn out from the connector housing, and a pair of side walls provided integrally with the cover portion. The both side walls are provided with elastically deformable tips with the side edge of the cover portion as the base end. In addition, a rib that can be fitted in a receiving groove provided in the connector housing, and a locking hole that is disposed below the rib and on the tip side of the rib are provided on both side walls. The pair of ribs guides the wire cover to a normal position with respect to the connector housing when the wire cover is assembled to the connector housing, and abuts against the inner wall of the receiving groove when the wire cover is assembled to the connector housing. This restricts the electric wire cover from rattling. In addition, a pair of locking protrusions that can be locked in both locking holes on both side walls are provided on the surface of the connector housing that faces both side walls, and the locking protrusions lock in both the locking holes. Thus, the electric wire cover is regulated so as not to drop off from the connector housing.

JP-A-2005-347082

  However, the distal end portion of the side wall of the electric wire cover can be elastically deformed, and the engagement hole is provided to reduce the rigidity, so that it is more easily elastically deformed. For this reason, when the electric wire drawn out from the electric wire cover is strongly pulled in a state where the electric wire cover is assembled to the connector housing, the end of the side wall is easily elastically deformed, and the engagement between the engaging protrusion and the engaging hole is thus easily performed. There is a possibility that the stop state is released and the electric wire cover is unintentionally removed.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and it is possible to prevent the side wall from being easily elastically deformed by securing the rigidity of the tip of the side wall, thereby restricting the falling off of the wire cover. With the goal.

  As a means for achieving the above object, the present invention provides an electric wire cover in which an electric wire drawn out from a connector housing is bent and led out in a direction different from the drawing direction, and the covering portion covers the electric wire. And a pair of side walls that are provided integrally with the cover part and face each other, and the side wall is provided with a distal end elastically deformable with a side edge of the cover part as a base end. A locking hole provided on a surface of the connector housing that faces the side wall is fitted with a locking hole that can be locked, and the tip side of the side wall is formed thicker than the locking hole. It is characterized in that a reinforcing part for reinforcing the side wall is provided.

Further, the present invention is a connector in which an electric wire drawn out from a connector housing is bent and led out in a direction different from the drawing direction, and the electric wire cover and a terminal connected to the end of the electric wire A connector housing that accommodates a metal fitting, and the wire cover is held by the connector housing by locking the locking protrusion of the connector housing and the locking hole of the wire cover. It has the characteristics.
According to the electric wire cover having such a configuration, since the reinforcing portion is provided on the tip side of the locking hole in the side wall to increase the rigidity, the side wall is elastically deformed as the rigidity of the peripheral portion of the locking hole is reduced. It can suppress becoming easy to do. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the wire cover from being unintentionally detached from the connector housing by pulling the wire led out from the wire cover. Further, if the entire side wall is made thick, the side wall is less likely to be elastically deformed and the workability of assembling the electric wire cover to the connector housing may be deteriorated. However, according to the present invention, the reinforcing portion is provided on a part of the side wall. Therefore, as compared with the case where the entire side wall is made thick, the side wall is not easily elastically deformed, which is preferable.

The following configuration is desirable as an embodiment of the present invention.
The reinforcing portion may be a rib that is fitted into a receiving groove provided on a surface of the connector housing facing the side wall.
According to such a configuration, by fitting the rib into the receiving groove, the electric wire cover can be guided to a normal position with respect to the connector housing, and the rattling of the electric wire cover can be restricted. In addition, the reinforcing portion can be constituted by the rib. That is, by using the rib also as a reinforcing part, the side wall can be reinforced without separately providing a reinforcing part on the side wall.

It is good also as a structure where the outer wall which faced the said locking hole in the said rib, and the inner wall which comprises the said locking hole make the same surface and continue.
According to such a configuration, since the rib and the locking hole can be continuously arranged, it is possible to more suitably reinforce the side wall that is easily elastically deformed as the rigidity of the peripheral portion of the locking hole decreases. .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to secure the rigidity of the distal end portion of the side wall, suppress the side wall from being easily elastically deformed, and thereby restrict the dropping of the electric wire cover.

The perspective view of the electric wire cover concerning an embodiment Front view Bottom view The side view which shows the state before attaching the electric wire cover which concerns on embodiment to a connector housing Sectional drawing which looked at the state before attaching the electric wire cover concerning an embodiment to a connector housing from the side Sectional drawing which looked at the state before attaching the electric wire cover which concerns on embodiment to a connector housing from upper direction The side view which shows the state which assembled | attached the electric wire cover to the connector housing from the state of FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view of the state in which the wire cover is assembled to the connector housing from the state of FIG. 5 and the receiving groove and the rib are fitted from the side. Sectional drawing which looked at the state which assembled | attached the electric wire cover which concerns on embodiment to the connector housing from the side 6 is a cross-sectional view of the state in which the wire cover is assembled to the connector housing from the state of FIG.

<Embodiment>
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 9, the connector 10 of the present embodiment includes a connector housing 11 made of synthetic resin, a retainer 40 made of synthetic resin, a terminal fitting 70 connected to the end of the electric wire W, and an electric wire cover 50. It is prepared for. As shown in FIG. 7, the electric wire cover 50 guides the electric wire W drawn from the connector housing 11 by bending it in a direction different from the drawn direction. In the following description, the vertical direction is based on the vertical direction in FIG. 2, and the horizontal direction is based on the horizontal direction in FIG. Further, the front-rear direction is based on the left-right direction in FIG. 4, and the fitting surface side (left side in FIG. 1) of the connector housing 11 is the front side.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the connector housing 11 has a box shape as a whole, and the upper surface of the connector housing 11 has a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the left-right direction.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a cavity 15 that opens in the front-rear direction is provided inside the connector housing 11, and a plurality of cavities 15 are formed in the upper and lower stages in the width direction. Inside each cavity 15, a terminal fitting 70 is inserted from the rear and is secured by a flexible lance 12 provided in the cavity 15. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the electric wire W is drawn out from the rear surface of the connector housing 11 toward the rear. The front end opening of the cavity 15 is a terminal insertion hole 15A, and a mating terminal (not shown) is inserted to be connected to the terminal fitting 70 so as to be conductive.

  On the upper surface of the connector housing 11, a lock arm 13 that can be engaged with a mating connector (not shown) is provided. As shown in FIG. 9, this lock arm 13 is cantilevered from the position of the front end of the connector housing 11 to the rear, and is formed to be elastically deformable in the vertical direction. An operation portion 13A is formed at the rear end of the lock arm 13. When the operation portion 13A is pushed down, the lock arm 13 is elastically deformed downward, and the locked state between the counterpart connector and the lock arm 13 is released.

  Further, on the left and right sides of the lock arm 13 on the upper surface of the connector housing 11, as shown in FIG. 6, a pair of left and right protective walls 14 for protecting the lock arm 13 are erected on the upper surface of the connector housing 11. Yes. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the protective wall 14 is formed in a size that substantially covers the side of the lock arm 13, and the rear end surface 14 </ b> A of the protective wall 14 is slightly more than the rear end surface 11 </ b> A of the connector housing 11. Located in front.

A receiving groove 16 is formed on the left and right outer surfaces of the connector housing 11 at the center in the vertical direction of the connector housing 11. As shown in FIG. 5, the receiving groove 16 extends in the front-rear direction, and its rear end portion opens rearward on the rear end surface 11 </ b> A of the connector housing 11 and opens laterally on the outer surface of the connector housing 11. It is in the form.
Further, locking projections 17 project from the positions adjacent to the upper side of the receiving groove 16 on the left and right outer surfaces of the connector housing 11.
The locking projection 17 has an inclined surface 17A inclined in a direction away from the side surface of the connector housing 11 from the rear edge toward the front, and slightly forward in parallel with the side surface of the connector housing 11 from the front edge of the inclined surface 17A. After facing, it has a form that stands vertically from its front edge toward the side surface of the connector housing 11.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a retainer accommodating portion 18 capable of accommodating the retainer 40 is formed at the lower portion of the connector housing 11. The retainer accommodating portion 18 is formed in communication with all the cavities 15 of the connector housing 11. After the retainer 40 is assembled to the retainer receiving portion 18 in the temporary locking position, the terminal fitting 70 is inserted into the cavity 15 from the rear, and the terminal fitting 70 is locked in the cavity 15 by the flexible lance 12. By pushing the retainer 40 to the final locking position, the terminal fitting 70 is double-locked by the flexible lance 12 and the retainer 40, and the terminal fitting 70 is held in a state of being prevented from being removed from the cavity 15.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, the electric wire cover 50 includes a cover portion 51 that covers the upper and rear sides of the electric wire W drawn rearward from the rear end surface 11 </ b> A of the connector housing 11, and both left and right side edges of the cover portion 51. It is provided with a pair of side walls 53 which are provided integrally and cover both sides of the electric wire W.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the cover 51 includes an L-shaped cross-section cut in the front-rear direction, and includes a back wall 51 </ b> A that covers the rear and an upper wall 51 </ b> B that covers the top.

  The back wall 51A has a plate shape, and is formed in a substantially rectangular shape which is long in the left-right direction and whose upper corner is rounded, as shown in FIGS. When the electric wire cover 50 is assembled to the connector housing 11, the rear wall 51A bends the electric wire W drawn rearward from the rear end surface 11A of the connector housing 11 downward and leads the electric wire W downward. Plays.

  The upper surface wall 51B has a plate shape, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the upper surface has a substantially rectangular shape, and is formed to extend forward from the upper end of the rear wall 51A. A concave portion 52 that is slightly recessed toward the rear is formed in the central portion in the left-right direction at the front edge of the upper surface wall 51B. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the recess 52 abuts against the rear end surface 14 </ b> A of the protective wall 14 in the connector housing 11 when the wire cover 50 is assembled to the connector housing 11, so that the wire cover 50 is connected to the connector housing 11. 11 is positioned in the front-rear direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the side walls 53 are formed in a plate shape facing each other, and are formed so as to be integrated with the top wall 51B and the back wall 51A. As shown in FIG. 10, the rear portion of the connector housing 11 can be accommodated between the side walls 53, and in a state where the wire cover 50 is assembled to the connector housing 11, together with the top wall 51 </ b> B and the back wall 51 </ b> A, The rear portion of the connector housing 11 is configured to be covered.

  Further, the upper side wall 57 of the both side walls 53 is defined as the upper side wall 57 and the lower side wall 58 is defined as the lower side wall 58 at the position of the substantially central portion in the vertical direction. The length of the lower side wall 58 in the front-rear direction is set to about half of the length of the upper side wall 57 in the front-rear direction. Thereby, when the connector housing 11 to which the electric wire cover 50 is mounted is assembled to the connector mounting portion C, the lower side walls 58 of the side walls 53 do not interfere with the rear end portion C1 of the connector mounting portion C. .

  In addition, at the rear portion of the opposing surface of the both side walls 53 from the substantially central portion in the front-rear direction, a projecting portion 56 extending in the vertical direction from the upper surface wall 51B extends over the upper side wall 57 and the lower side wall 58 as shown in FIG. Is formed. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the abutting portion 56 is formed by making the side wall 53 thicker than other portions of the side wall 53 (portions other than the abutting portion 56). Yes. As shown in FIG. 8, the abutting portion 56 is formed so as to extend slightly below the substantially central portion of the side wall 53 in the vertical direction corresponding to the height dimension of the connector housing 11. When assembled to the housing 11, the front end face 56 </ b> A of the abutting portion 56 contacts the rear end face 11 </ b> A of the connector housing 11, thereby positioning the wire cover 50 in the front-rear direction with respect to the connector housing 11.

  Both upper side walls 57 are provided such that distal end portions (free end portions) farthest from both side edges of the upper surface wall 51B and the rear wall 51A are elastically deformed, with the left and right side edges of the upper surface wall 51B and the rear wall 51A as the base ends. It has been. Specifically, front end lower portions of both upper side walls 57 are provided so as to be elastically bent and deformed in a direction (left-right direction) approaching or leaving each other. In addition, a rectangular locking hole 55 is formed in a substantially central portion of both upper side walls 57 so as to penetrate in the left-right direction. The locking hole 55 is provided corresponding to the locking projection 17 of the connector housing 11, and when the wire cover 50 is assembled to the connector housing 11, the locking projection 17 is fitted into the locking hole 55. It is locked with.

  Further, the corner portion located inside the front end edges of both upper side walls 57 is processed into a tapered shape to form a receiving surface 57A. The receiving surface 57 </ b> A is set so as to contact the inclined surface 17 </ b> A of the locking projection 17 when the electric wire cover 50 is assembled to the connector housing 11. Thus, when the electric wire cover 50 is assembled to the connector housing 11 from the rear, the receiving surface 57A of the upper side wall 57 is in sliding contact with the inclined surface 17A of the locking projection 17 of the connector housing 11, and the upper side wall 57 is By riding on the locking projection 17, both upper side walls 57 are expanded in the opening direction (left-right direction). When the wire cover 50 reaches the proper assembly position with respect to the connector housing 11, the front end edges of the upper side walls 57 get over the locking projections 17, the upper side walls 57 are elastically restored, and the locking holes 55 are Both the locking projections 17 are fitted to each other. Accordingly, the electric wire cover 50 is held by the connector housing 11 by locking the inner walls of the both locking holes 55 and the both locking projections 17.

Now, ribs (corresponding to a “reinforcing portion” of the present invention) 54 are provided integrally with the upper side wall 57 on the inner surfaces of the lower edge portions of the upper side walls 57. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the rib 54 linearly extends forward from the front end surface of the abutting portion 56 to correspond to the receiving groove 16 of the connector housing 11, and the front end edge of the upper side wall 57. It is formed in an elongated shape slightly projecting from. The rib 54 is received from the rear in the receiving groove 16 of the connector housing 11 when the electric wire cover 50 is assembled to the rear side of the connector housing 11, and guides the electric wire cover 50 to a proper assembling position.
In addition, when the electric wire W led out from the electric wire cover 50 is pulled, the rib 54 is brought into contact with the inner wall located above and below the receiving groove 16 and the outer wall located above and below the rib 54 in a surface contact state. 8, the backlash of the electric wire cover 50 is restricted in the direction Y of the electric wire cover 50 (for example, the direction in which the electric wire cover 50 rotates around the engaging protrusion 17 fitted in the engaging hole 55). ing. The rib 54 is provided adjacent to the lower side of the locking hole 55. The inner wall located below the inner wall of the locking hole 55 and the upper surface wall of the rib 54 are flush with each other and are continuous. Further, the width dimension of the rib 54 in the left-right direction is set to approximately twice the plate pressure dimension of the upper side wall 57 as shown in FIGS. As a result, the rib 54 reinforces the lower front end of the upper side wall 57 (the tip portion of the upper side wall 57) and increases the rigidity of the lower front end of the upper side wall 57, thereby suppressing the upper side wall 57 from being easily elastically deformed. Yes. This effectively restricts the electric wire cover 50 from dropping from the connector housing 11 by unintentionally disengaging the engagement protrusion 17 and the engagement hole 55.

The present embodiment has the above-described configuration, and the function and effect will be described subsequently.
The electric wire W drawn backward from the rear end surface 11A of the connector housing 11 is bent downward, and the rib 54 of the electric wire cover 50 is fitted from the rear of the receiving groove 16 of the connector housing 11 so that the electric wire cover 50 is properly assembled. Assemble to position. At this time, both the upper side walls 57 are expanded and deformed in the left-right direction when both receiving surfaces 57A of both upper side walls 57 ride on both inclined surfaces 17A of both locking projections 17 of the connector housing 11.

  Further, when the electric wire cover 50 is assembled to the connector housing 11 in the forward direction, the electric wire cover 50 reaches the proper assembling position, the front end edges of the upper side walls 57 get over both the locking projections 17, and the upper side walls 57 are elastically restored. In addition, the electric wire cover 50 is held by the connector housing 11 by accommodating both the locking projections 17 in the both locking holes 55. As described above, the wire cover 50 is attached to the rear portion of the connector housing 11, bent downward from the rear end surface 11 </ b> A of the connector housing 11, and is different from the direction in which the wires W are pulled out. The electric wire W is led out in the direction.

Thereafter, the connector 10 to which the electric wire cover 50 is assembled is fitted to a mating connector (not shown), but the electric wire W led out from the electric wire cover 50 is pulled backward during transportation or after fitting with the mating connector. There is a case. At this time, in the electric wire cover 50 of this embodiment, since the lower end part of both the upper side walls 57 is reinforced by the rib 54, it can suppress that both the upper side walls 57 expand and deform | transform easily. Thereby, compared with the case where the lower end part of both upper side walls 57 is not reinforced, it can suppress that the electric wire cover 50 removes unintentionally.
Further, since the rib 54 is provided immediately below the locking hole 55 so that the upper surface wall of the rib 54 is flush with the inner wall located below the locking hole 55, the locking hole 55 is provided. In order to compensate for the decrease in rigidity due to the above, it is possible to more suitably reinforce the portion where the upper side wall 57 is most easily elastically deformed.

  In addition, the rib 54 of the present embodiment serves to guide the wire cover 50 to a normal assembly position when the wire cover 50 is assembled to the connector housing 11 and also prevents the wire cover 50 from rattling in the receiving groove 16. Further, the lower end portion of the upper side wall 57 can be reinforced. That is, it is not necessary to provide a reinforcing member for reinforcing the upper side wall 57 separately from the rib 54.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) In the embodiment described above, the reinforcing portion is configured such that the ribs 54 are provided on the inner surfaces (opposing surfaces) of the upper side walls 57. However, the present invention is not limited to such a mode. A thick reinforcing portion may be provided on the outer surface of the side wall 57.
(2) In the above embodiment, the wire cover 50 is guided and the rib 54 for preventing rattling is also used as the reinforcing portion, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, a thick reinforcing portion may be provided on the upper side wall 57 separately from the ribs 54.

(3) In the above embodiment, the rib 54 and the locking hole 55 are arranged adjacent to each other so that the upper surface wall of the rib 54 is flush with the inner wall located below the locking hole 55. Is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the rib 54 may be provided at a position away from the locking hole 55.
(4) In the above embodiment, the reinforcing portion is configured as the rib 54 extending from the front end surface of the abutting portion 56, but the present invention is not limited to such a mode, for example, the tip of the upper side wall 57. You may provide a rib only in a part (a part of lower part of the front end in the upper side wall 57).

10: Connector 16: Receiving groove 17: Locking protrusion 50: Electric wire cover 51: Cover part 53: Side wall 54: Rib (reinforcing part)
55: Locking hole W: Electric wire

Claims (4)

An electric wire cover in which the electric wire drawn out from the connector housing is bent and led out in a direction different from the drawing direction,
A covering for covering the electric wire;
A pair of side walls provided integrally with the cover and facing each other;
The side wall is provided such that a distal end thereof is elastically deformable with a side edge of the cover portion as a base end,
The side wall is provided with a locking hole that can be locked by fitting a locking projection provided on a surface of the connector housing facing the side wall,
An electric wire cover, wherein a reinforcing portion for reinforcing the side wall is provided by forming the tip side of the side wall thicker than the locking hole.   The electric wire cover according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing portion is a rib fitted into a receiving groove provided on a surface of the connector housing facing the side wall.   The electric wire cover according to claim 2, wherein an outer wall facing the locking hole in the rib and an inner wall constituting the locking hole are continuous with each other. It is a connector that bends an electric wire drawn from the connector housing and leads it in a direction different from the pulling direction,
The wire cover according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and the connector housing that houses a terminal fitting connected to a terminal of the wire,
The connector, wherein the wire cover is held by the connector housing by locking the locking protrusion in the connector housing and the locking hole of the wire cover.

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