Electrical connectors – With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in... – Coupling part with relatively pivotable concentric...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-01
2001-08-28
Abrams, Neil (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in...
Coupling part with relatively pivotable concentric...
C439S318000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06280221
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric connector housing, and more particularly, to the electric connector housing which can be assembled by rotating a rotatable ring, and a method for detecting an engagement thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is disclosed an electric connector housing as shown in
FIG. 22
as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-257581 of unexamined patent application, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,106.
An electric connector housing
90
of the type is composed of one connector housing
91
and the other connector housing
92
which is adapted to receive the one connector housing
91
into an engagement therewith.
The one connector housing
91
is composed of a housing body
93
, a rotatable member
94
which is rotatably fitted to an outer face of the housing body
93
, and an actuating boss (not shown) provided on an inner face of the rotatable member
94
. The other connector housing
92
is composed of a housing body
95
, a hood
96
which is bulgingly formed on an outer face of the housing body
95
, and a cam groove
97
formed at an outer face of the hood
96
. Numeral
98
designates a panel assembled to the other connector housing
92
.
Assembling of the electric connector housing
90
is conducted by inserting the actuating boss into the rotatable member
94
, rotating the rotatable member
94
, and inserting the one connector housing
91
into the hood
96
for the other connector housing
92
to bring both the connector housings
91
,
92
into an engagement.
However, because the rotatable member
94
easily rotates along the outer face of the housing body
93
of the one connector housing
91
, there has arisen such an inconvenience that the housing body
93
and the rotatable member
94
must be positioned with respect to the other connector housing
92
before starting the engagement.
Moreover, because a rotation angle (rotation amount) of the rotatable member
94
cannot be judged through visual inspection, there has been a fear that the rotatable member
94
may be overrotated after the engagement, or that the rotation of the rotatable member
94
may be suspended during the engagement.
Further, because a state of engagement between a pair of the connector housings
91
,
92
cannot be detected by the visual inspection, it has been feared that both the connector housings
91
,
92
are forcibly engaged with each other by mistake, even though they are in an incompletely engaged state. This would have damaged respective terminals inside (not shown).
In view of the above described problems, an object of the invention is to provide an electric connector housing in which positioning work of the one connector housing with respect to the other is reduced to the most, an erroneous excessive rotation of the rotatable member after the engagement is prevented, and the incompletely engaged state can be easily detected by visual inspection, and a method for detecting the engagement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to achieve the above described object, there is provided an electric connector comprising a pair of connector housings which are adapted to engage with each other by means of a rotation of a rotatable member fitted around an outer face of one of the connector housings, which comprises a receiving chamber formed on an outer face of the rotatable member radially extending therefrom, a member for detecting an engagement of the connector housings which is inserted into the receiving chamber movably back and forth, and adapted to engage with the rotatable member at its one end before a start of the engagement and after the engagement, thereby to stop the rotation of the rotatable member, the other of the connector housings including an annular wall which is bulgingly formed at an outer face thereof in a circumferential direction, and a sliding face formed on the annular wall so as to face with the rotatable member, the other end of the member for detecting the engagement being abutted against the sliding face at the start of the engagement and sliding along the sliding face during the engagement.
According to a second aspect of the invention, the member for detecting the engagement is adapted to be detached from the sliding face immediately after the engagement and to be elastically returnable to a state before the start of the engagement.
There is also provided, according to a third aspect of the invention, a method for detecting an engagement of the above described electric connector housing, wherein a pair of the connector housings can be engaged before a termination of the rotation of the rotatable member, and a state of the engagement of the connector housings is detected by whether or not the member for detecting the engagement has been returned to the state before the start of the engagement.
According to the invention, the chamber for receiving the detecting member is projectingly formed at the outer face of the rotatable member which is rotatably fitted to the outer face of one of the connector housings, and the member for detecting the engagement is inserted into the receiving chamber so as to move back and forth in a direction of inserting terminals. The other connector housing includes the annular wall which is bulgingly formed circumferentially at the outer face thereof, and the sliding face which is formed on the annular wall so as to face with the rotatable member. Before a pair of the connector housings start to engage, the rotatable member is restrained from rotating, because one end of the engagement detecting member is engaged with the rotatable member. At the start of the engagement, the other end of the engagement detecting member is abutted against the sliding face on the annular wall, and during the engagement, the other end of the engagement detecting member slides along the sliding face. Then, after the engagement is completed, the one end of the engagement detecting member restrains the rotation of the rotatable member.
According to the aforesaid second aspect of the invention, immediately after a pair of the connector housings have been engaged, the engagement detecting member is detached from the sliding face on the annular wall and elastically returned to the state before the start of the engagement. Thus, the state of the engagement detecting member will be the same before the start of the engagement and immediately after the engagement.
According to the aforesaid third aspect of the invention, a pair of the connector housings are able to be engaged before reaching the end of the rotation of the rotatable member, and so, the state of the engagement of a pair of the connector housings can be detected by whether the engagement detecting member has been returned to the original state or not. In other words, in case where the engagement detecting member has been returned to the original state after the termination of the rotation, this means that a pair of the connector housings have been engaged. On the other hand, in case where the engagement detecting member has not been returned to the original state, this means that a pair of the connector housings have not been engaged.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4497530 (1985-02-01), Shannon
patent: 5823807 (1998-10-01), Yamasaki
patent: 5980293 (1999-11-01), Nagano
patent: 6126480 (2000-10-01), Kawase et al.
Fukase Yoshihiro
Nagano Toru
Abrams Neil
Armstrong, Westerman. Hattori, McLeland & Naughton, LLP
Dinh Phuong K T
Yazaki -Corporation
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