JP7803771B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a connector.

Conventionally, connectors have been proposed that include a multi-pole male connector and multiple low-pole female connectors that mate with the male connector. One conventional connector allows a user to select a desired female connector that corresponds to the intended use of the connector from a group of female connectors, each with a different number of poles, and mate it with the male connector (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This conventional connector is configured with a removable partition plate that allows for flexible definition of a housing into which the desired female connector can be mated.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-147960

While the conventional connectors described above use partition plates to freely define the receiving compartment into which the desired female connector can be mated, this increases the number of parts and the labor required to install the partition plates. Furthermore, conventional connectors require the preparation of multiple female connectors, each with a different number of poles, so that the desired female connector can be selected from multiple female connectors, leading to a trend toward an increasing number of female connector types. As such, conventional connectors have room for improvement in terms of productivity.

In general, connectors (including conventional connectors) that have a multi-pole male connector and multiple low-pole female connectors are desired to be configured to prevent incorrect insertion of the female connector into the male connector.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a connector that prevents incorrect insertion of a mating connector into a mating connector and is highly productive.

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the connector of the present invention has the following features:

A connector comprising: a plurality of mating connectors to which a plurality of electric wire bundles are respectively connected; and a mated connector having a housing portion into which the plurality of mating connectors are inserted and housed,
The mating connector includes:
the sub-connectors are arranged adjacent to each other in a direction intersecting the mating direction with the mated connector, and the sub-connectors are connected to the electric wires of the electric wire bundle,
a plurality of projections are provided within the accommodating portion to define accommodating chambers in which the plurality of sub-connectors are accommodated, and a plurality of engaging portions capable of engaging with the plurality of mating connectors inserted and accommodated in the accommodating portion are provided in the same number as the plurality of mating connectors;
At least one of the plurality of sub-connectors has an outer surface shape different from the other sub-connectors,
At least one of the plurality of mating connectors has an outer surface shape different from the other mating connectors.
It is a connector.

The connector according to the present invention will be described below.
According to the connector of this configuration, a plurality of protrusions provided in the receiving connector's receiving portion define a receiving chamber in which a sub-connector constituting the mating connector is received. This allows the mating connector to be mated with the receiving connector without using any additional components. Furthermore, in the connector of this configuration, at least one of the sub-connectors has a different outer surface shape from the other sub-connectors, making it easy to manufacture at least one mating connector with a different outer surface shape from the other mating connectors. Thus, the connector of this configuration is more productive than conventional connectors. Furthermore, because at least one mating connector has a different outer surface shape from the other mating connectors, incorrect insertion of the mating connector into the receiving connector can be prevented.
In other words, the connector of this configuration prevents erroneous insertion of the mating connector into the mating connector and is excellent in productivity.

The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, details of the present invention will become clearer by reading the detailed description of the invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is an exploded top view of the main part of the connector shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of FIG. 2 (however, the wire bundle is not shown). FIG. 4 is a front view of the male connector shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view of the multiple female connectors shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the first sub-connector. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the second sub-connector. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the third sub-connector. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a combination of sub-connectors (a modified example of a female connector), and corresponds to FIG.

<Embodiment>
A connector 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in Figures 1 to 3 will be described below with reference to the drawings. The connector 1 is typically a connector mounted on a vehicle. Note that the "mating connector" of the present invention corresponds to the male connector 10, and the "mating connector" of the present invention corresponds to the female connector 20.

For ease of explanation, the following definitions are used to refer to "front," "rear," "left," "right," "top," and "bottom," as shown in Figures 1 to 9. The "front-to-back direction," "left-to-right direction," and "up-to-down direction" are perpendicular to one another. The front-to-back direction corresponds to the "mating direction" of the present invention. The left-to-right direction corresponds to the "crossing direction" of the present invention.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, connector 1 is configured with multiple (in this example, three) female connectors 20 (female connectors 20a to 20c) to which multiple (in this example, three) bundles of electric wires 30 (30a to 30c) are respectively connected, and a male connector 10 to which the multiple female connectors are mated. Below, the male connectors 10 and female connectors 20 that make up connector 1 will be described in order.

Each wire bundle 30 is made up of multiple wires 31. One end of each wire 31 is connected to a female terminal (not shown), and the other end is connected to, for example, an instrument panel or engine floor. However, the connection destination of the other end of each wire 31 differs for each wire bundle 30. In other words, each wire bundle 30 is made up of a group of wires 31 with the same connection destination. An electric wire bundle 30 refers to a physical bundle of multiple wires 31, or a group of wires 31 of the same color when the coating or other properties of each connection destination are color-coded.

First, we will explain the male connector 10. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the male connector 10 is composed of male terminals (not shown) and a housing 11 that holds the male terminals. The housing 11 has a generally rectangular cylindrical shape that is elongated in the left-right direction and has an opening on the front side, and the cylindrical hole of this housing 11 forms the accommodation section 12 into which multiple female connectors 20 are inserted and accommodated.

In the accommodating portion 12, multiple (seven in this example) protrusions 14 protrude downward from the upper wall of the housing 11, and are arranged side by side at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction. As a result, multiple (eight in this example) accommodating chambers 13 are defined within the accommodating portion 12 between the left wall and the protrusions 14, between adjacent protrusions 14, and between the protrusions 14 and the right wall, each of which accommodates a corresponding sub-connector 21-23. Each accommodating chamber 13 has two poles, so the male connector 10 has 16 poles.

In a specific one of the multiple storage chambers 13, one or two guide grooves 15 extending in the front-to-rear direction are provided in the lower wall of the housing 11. When there is one guide groove 15, it is provided in the left-to-right central region of the storage chamber 13, and when there are two guide grooves 15, they are provided at both left and right ends. In this example, the second, fourth, seventh, and eighth storage chambers 13 from the left have one guide groove 15, and the first and fifth storage chambers 13 from the left have two guide grooves 15.

In this way, the shape of the accommodating chamber 13 is determined by the guide groove 15. In other words, the guide groove 15, together with the guide rib 27, functions to guide the insertion of the female connector 20 (i.e., the sub-connectors 21-23) into the male connector 10 (i.e., the accommodating chamber 13), and also functions to prevent erroneous insertion of the female connector 20 into the male connector 10.

An elastically deformable flexible piece 16 is provided on the upper wall of the housing 11. The flexible piece 16 elastically deforms in the vertical direction when the female connector 20 is inserted into or removed from the male connector 10. A short, downwardly protruding latching portion 17 is provided on the lower end surface of the rear end of the flexible piece 16 so as to be positioned within the accommodating portion 12. The latching portion 17 latches onto the latching portions 28 of the sub-connectors 21 to 23 (described below), thereby preventing the female connector 20 from being detached from the male connector 10.

Next, we will explain the female connector 20. As shown in Figures 2-3 and 5, the female connector 20 is composed of female terminals (not shown) and sub-connectors 21-23 that hold the female terminals. Specifically, the female connector 20 is composed of multiple sub-connectors 21-23 that are arranged adjacent to each other in the left-right direction and to which the wires 31 of the wire bundle 30 are respectively connected.

In this example, sub-connectors 21 and 22 are adjacently arranged in female connector 20a from left to right, with wires 31 of wire bundle 30a connected to sub-connectors 21 and 22, respectively. Similarly, sub-connectors 23, 22, and 21 are adjacently arranged in female connector 20b from left to right, with wires 31 of wire bundle 30b connected to sub-connectors 23, 22, and 21, respectively. Similarly, sub-connectors 23, 22, and 22 are adjacently arranged in female connector 20c from left to right, with wires 31 of wire bundle 30c connected to sub-connectors 23, 22, and 22, respectively.

The sub-connectors 21 to 23 that make up the female connector 20 are described below. The only difference between the sub-connectors 21 to 23 is the configuration of the guide rib 27. In all other respects, they are configured identically.

As shown in Figure 6, the sub-connector 21 has a housing 24 that is a generally rectangular pillar-shaped housing that is long in the front-to-rear direction. Terminal accommodating chambers 25 that penetrate the housing 24 in the front-to-rear direction are arranged side by side at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction. In other words, the sub-connector 21 has two poles.

A pair of ribs 26 protruding upward is provided on the upper wall of the housing 24. The pair of ribs 26 is provided on both left and right ends of the upper wall of the housing 24, and extends across the entire front-to-rear direction of the housing 24. The rear ends of the pair of ribs 26 are connected by a locking portion 28 extending left and right (see Figures 3 and 5). The locking portion 28 is locked to the locked portion 17 of the male connector 10, and functions to prevent the female connector 20 from coming off the male connector 10.

A pair of guide ribs 27 protruding downward are provided on the lower wall of the housing 24. The guide ribs 27 are provided on both left and right ends of the lower wall of the housing 24 and extend across the entire front-to-rear area of the housing 24.

In the sub-connector 22, the guide rib 27 is provided in the left-right central region of the lower wall of the housing 24 (see Figure 7), while in the sub-connector 23, the guide rib 27 is not provided on the housing 24 (see Figure 8). In this way, the outer surface shapes of the sub-connectors 21 to 23 are determined by the guide ribs 27. In other words, the outer surface shapes of the sub-connectors 21 to 23 differ depending on the number and position of the guide ribs 27.

As a result, the sub-connectors 21-23 can only be accommodated in the accommodation chambers 13 of the corresponding shape. In other words, the guide rib 27, together with the guide groove 15, functions to guide the insertion of the female connector 20 (i.e., the sub-connector 21) into the male connector 10 (i.e., the accommodation chamber 13), and also functions to prevent erroneous insertion of the female connector 20 into the male connector 10.

However, because the sub-connector 23 does not have a guide rib 27, it can be accommodated in any of the accommodation chambers 13. However, from the standpoint of preventing erroneous insertion of the female connector 20 into the male connector 10, it is not preferable for it to be accommodated in an accommodation chamber 13 that has a guide groove 15.

In this way, the female connector 20 is constructed by appropriately selecting and combining corresponding sub-connectors from multiple types (three types in this example) of sub-connectors 21-23 with different outer surface shapes.

When selecting the sub-connectors 21-23 (i.e., when manufacturing the female connector 20), various conditions must be met for the sub-connectors 21-23. In this example, these conditions are the number of wires 31 (i.e., the number of poles) in the wire bundle 30 connected to the female connector 20 and the shape of the housing chamber 13 in the male connector 10.

The male connector 10 and female connector 20 that make up the connector 1 have been described above. To obtain a connector 1 consisting of a male connector 10 and a female connector 20, after manufacturing the female connector 20, it is necessary to insert and accommodate multiple female connectors 20 (i.e., each sub-connector 21-23) into the housing portion 12 (i.e., each housing chamber 13) of the male connector 10, thereby mating the female connector 20 to the male connector 10. Note that when the female connector 20 is mated to the male connector 10, the male terminal and female terminal are electrically connected. A method for manufacturing the connector 1 is described below.

First, multiple female connectors 20 are manufactured to correspond to the number of wire bundles 30 (the above-mentioned connection destinations). To manufacture each female connector 20, the required number of sub-connectors are selected from the multiple sub-connectors 21-23 to correspond to the number of wires 31 (i.e., the number of poles) in each wire bundle 30 and the shape of each housing chamber 13.

Next, the selected sub-connectors 21-23 are each fitted with a female terminal connected to an electric wire 31, and the selected sub-connectors 21-23 are arranged adjacent to each other in the left-right direction to correspond to the shape of each accommodating chamber 13. At this time, the sub-connectors 21-23 that make up each female connector 20 may simply be arranged adjacent to each other, or may be locked together using a desired locking means. This completes each female connector 20.

Next, the female connector 20 is inserted into the housing 12 of the male connector 10 to a predetermined position. Specifically, the sub-connectors 21 to 23 are inserted into each housing chamber 13 to a predetermined position. When the sub-connectors 21 to 23 are inserted into the housing chamber 13 provided with the flexible piece 16, the locking portion 28 abuts the locked portion 17 of the flexible piece 16 during insertion, causing the flexible piece 16 to elastically deform upward. Then, when the sub-connectors 21 to 23 are inserted to a predetermined position, the flexible piece 16 restores its original shape, and the locking portion 28 locks into the locked portion 17. This prevents the female connector 20 from coming loose from the male connector 10.

When the sub-connectors 21-23 are inserted to a predetermined position in the accommodating chamber 13, the female connector 20 (i.e., each sub-connector 21-23) is accommodated in the accommodating section 12 (i.e., each accommodating chamber 13), and the female connector 20 is mated with the male connector 10. This completes the connector 1. The method for manufacturing the connector 1 has been described above.

If the total number of poles in the male connector 10 is greater than the total number of poles required (i.e., the total number of wires 31), so-called dummy sub-connectors 21-23 are inserted into the empty housing chambers 13.

<Actions and Effects>
According to the connector 1 of this embodiment, the plurality of protrusions 14 provided on the accommodating portion 12 of the male connector 10 define the accommodation chamber 13 in which the sub-connectors 21-23 constituting the female connector 20 are accommodated. This allows the accommodation chamber 13 to be defined without using any additional components, making it easy to mate the female connector 20 with the male connector 10. Furthermore, because at least one of the sub-connectors 21-23 has a different outer surface shape from the other sub-connectors, it is easy to manufacture at least one female connector with a different outer surface shape from the other female connectors. Thus, the connector 1 has superior productivity compared to conventional connectors. Furthermore, the different outer surface shapes of the female connectors 20 prevent erroneous insertion of the female connector 20 into the male connector 10. In other words, the connector 1 prevents erroneous insertion of the female connector 20 into the male connector 10 and is highly manufacturable.

Furthermore, according to the connector 1 of this embodiment, each female connector 20 has sub-connectors 21-23 that are identical to the other female connectors 20, but have different outer surface shapes (see Figure 5). In other words, the connector 1 allows for standardization of the sub-connectors 21-23.

Furthermore, with the connector 1 according to this embodiment, one female connector 20 can be easily configured to have a different outer surface shape from the other female connectors 20 by using the guide rib 27 provided on the sub-connector. Furthermore, the guide groove 15 and guide rib 27 can guide the insertion of the female connector 20 into the male connector 10.

Furthermore, with the connector 1 according to this embodiment, the left-right lengths of the multiple sub-connectors 21-23 are equal to each other, which allows for standardization of the sub-connectors 21-23.

Furthermore, with the connector 1 according to this embodiment, even if the number of wire bundles 30 or the shape of the accommodating section 12 (i.e., the accommodating chamber 13) is changed, the female connector 20 can be manufactured by appropriately selecting corresponding sub-connectors from among the sub-connectors 21 to 23 and combining them (see, for example, Figure 9).

<Other forms>
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified, improved, etc. Furthermore, the material, shape, size, number, location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiments are arbitrary and not limited as long as they can achieve the present invention.

Here, the features of the above-described embodiments of the connector according to the present invention will be briefly summarized and listed below in [1] to [4].
[1]
A connector (1) comprising a plurality of mating connectors (female connectors 20) to which a plurality of wire bundles (30) are respectively connected, and a mated connector (male connector 10) having a housing portion into which the plurality of mating connectors are inserted and housed,
The mating connector (female connector 20) is
the sub-connectors (21 to 23) are arranged adjacent to each other in a direction intersecting the mating direction with the mated connector, and the electric wires of the electric wire bundle are connected to the sub-connectors,
The housing portion (12) is provided therein with a plurality of protrusions (14) that define housing chambers (13) in which the plurality of sub-connectors are housed, respectively.
At least one of the plurality of sub-connectors (21 to 23) has an outer surface shape different from the other sub-connectors,
At least one of the plurality of mating connectors (female connectors 20a to 20c) has an outer surface shape different from that of the other mating connectors.
Connector (1).
[2]
In the connector (1) described in the above [1],
The one mating connector and the other mating connector are
The sub-connectors have the same outer surface shape.
Connector (1).
[3]
In the connector (1) described in [1] or [2] above,
A guide groove (15) extending in the fitting direction is provided in one of the sub-connector and the accommodating chamber (13) that constitute the one fitting connector,
The other of the sub-connectors (21, 22) constituting the one mating connector and the accommodating chamber is provided with a guide rib (27) to be inserted into the guide groove.
Connector (1).
[4]
In the connector (1) according to any one of the above [1] to [3],
The plurality of sub-connectors (21 to 23) have equal lengths in the crossing direction.
Connector (1).

According to the connector of [1] above, a plurality of protrusions provided in the receiving connector's receiving portion define a receiving chamber for receiving a sub-connector constituting the mating connector. This allows the mating connector to be mated with the receiving connector without using any additional components. Furthermore, in this connector, at least one of the sub-connectors has a different outer surface shape from the other sub-connectors, making it easy to manufacture at least one mating connector with a different outer surface shape from the other mating connectors. Thus, this connector has superior productivity compared to conventional connectors. Furthermore, the different outer surface shape of at least one mating connector from the other mating connectors prevents incorrect insertion of the mating connector into the receiving connector.
In other words, the connector of this configuration prevents erroneous insertion of the mating connector into the mating connector and is excellent in productivity.

According to the connector [2] above, each mating connector is composed of the same sub-connectors as the other mating connectors, but they have different outer surface shapes. In other words, this connector configuration allows for the standardization of sub-connectors.

According to the connector described in [3] above, one mating connector can be easily configured to have a different outer surface shape from the other mating connectors by using guide grooves or guide ribs provided on the sub-connector. Furthermore, the guide grooves and guide ribs can guide the insertion of the mating connector into the mating connector.

The connector described in [4] above allows for standardization of sub-connectors by making the lengths of multiple sub-connectors equal in the crossing direction (i.e., the adjacent direction).

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 connector 10 male connector 11 housing 12 accommodating portion 13 accommodating chamber 14 protrusion 15 guide groove 16 flexible piece 17 locked portion 20, 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e female connector 21, 22, 23 sub-connector 24 housing 25 terminal accommodating chamber 26 rib 27 guide rib 28 locking portion 30, 30a, 30b, 30c wire bundle 31 electric wire

Claims (4)

A connector comprising: a plurality of mating connectors to which a plurality of electric wire bundles are respectively connected; and a mated connector having a housing portion into which the plurality of mating connectors are inserted and housed,
The mating connector includes:
the sub-connectors are arranged adjacent to each other in a direction intersecting the mating direction with the mated connector, and the sub-connectors are connected to the electric wires of the electric wire bundle,
The inside of the accommodating portion is provided with a plurality of protrusions that define accommodating chambers in which the plurality of sub-connectors are respectively accommodated, and a plurality of engaging portions that can be engaged with the plurality of mating connectors inserted and accommodated in the accommodating portion are provided in the same number as the plurality of mating connectors,
At least one of the plurality of sub-connectors has an outer surface shape different from the other sub-connectors,
At least one of the plurality of mating connectors has an outer surface shape different from the other mating connectors.
connector. 2. The connector according to claim 1,
The one mating connector and the other mating connector are
The sub-connectors have the same outer surface shape.
connector. 2. The connector according to claim 1,
a guide groove extending in the mating direction is provided in one of the sub-connector and the accommodating chamber that constitute the one mating connector;
a guide rib to be inserted into the guide groove is provided on the other of the sub-connector and the accommodating chamber that constitute the one of the mating connectors;
connector. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The plurality of sub-connectors have equal lengths in the crossing direction.
connector.