Modular connector fitting structure

Details Modular connector fitting structure Modular connector fitting structure

2000-12-22

2001-12-04

Luebke, Renee (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

With supporting means for coupling part

Supporting means comprising face plate or closure member for...

C439S557000, C439S801000, C439S034000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06325667

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a fitting structure for a modular connector for fitting the modular connector to a vehicle panel for the purpose of supplying electric power to vehicle interior articles such as sun visors, vehicle room lamps, and so on when they are mounted on a roof trim to be integral therewith.
The vehicle sun visor has originally been a sun shading plate which is mounted inside the vehicle in order to cut off sunlight. However, due to recent increase of women drivers, there have appeared some sun visors which are provided with mirrors and lamps on sun visor bodies.
In such a sun visor, an electric wire for power supply is connected to a modular connector which is provided on a shaft for supporting the sun visor for conduction of electricity from a battery source to the lamps.
FIGS. 8A
to
8
C are sectional views showing respective steps of fitting such connector to the vehicle panel covered with the roof trim.
A connector
30
consists of a bracket
32
provided with a wire insertion tube
35
, a lead-in electric wire
40
a
guided out from the wire insertion tube
35
, and a joint connector (female type)
41
a
attached to the electric wire
40
a.
On the other hand, a power supply electric wire
40
b
held between an inner panel
37
covered with a roof trim
36
and an outer panel
38
of the vehicle body is guided out through a fitting hole
37
a
formed in the inner panel
37
, and a joint connector (male type)
41
b
is attached to an end of the electric wire
40
b
(FIG.
8
A).
In the next step, the joint connector
41
a
and the joint connector
41
b
are mated, and the mated joint connectors
41
a
,
41
b
are inserted into a space between the inner panel
37
and the outer panel
38
. Then, the bracket
32
is fitted to the fitting hole
37
a
in the inner panel
37
(FIG.
8
B).
Thereafter, the bracket
32
is fixed to the inner panel
37
by means of screws or the like. The joint connectors
41
a
,
41
b
are positioned at an approximately middle part between the inner panel
37
and the outer panel
38
and brought into a mechanically and electrically stabilized state (FIG.
8
C).
However, in fitting the above described connector
30
to the inner panel
37
, the joint connector
41
b
on the vehicle side is once drawn out through the fitting hole
37
a
in the inner panel
37
to make a connection between the joint connectors
41
a
,
41
b
. For this reason, each of the electric wires
40
a
and
40
b
is provided with an excess length in addition to a determined length.
Accordingly, there has been a probability that the joint connectors
41
a
,
41
b
may be damaged by getting caught between the inner panel
37
and the outer panel
38
, or the electric wires
40
a
,
40
b
may be bitten between the inner panel
37
or the outer panel
38
and the joint connectors
41
a
,
41
b.
Further, considering that the joint connectors
41
a
,
41
b
are drawn out from the inner panel
37
, the joint connectors
41
a
,
41
b
are provided with sufficient excess length.
For this reason, the joint connectors
41
a
,
41
b
become unstable, and there is an anxiety that the joint connectors
41
a
,
41
b
abutted against the inner panel
37
or the outer panel
38
may issue a strange noise or get damaged.
Furthermore, in case where the joint connectors
41
a
,
41
b
and the bracket
32
are separate bodies as in the related structure, connection of the connectors
41
a
,
41
b
and mount of the bracket
32
are individually conducted, and the work for fitting them becomes complicated.
Therefore, in order to eliminate such drawbacks, provided that an integral article is constructed by assembling the connectors
41
a
,
41
b
and the bracket
32
in advance, the fitting work will be extremely simple.
However, in case where the connectors
41
a
,
41
b
and the bracket
32
are molded as separate components in advance and thereafter assembled, there will be a probability that a backlash may occur between the connectors
41
a
,
41
b
and the bracket
32
due to influence of their molding precision and a strange noise may occur while the vehicle is running.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention has been made in view of the above described circumstances, and it is an object of the invention to provide a fitting structure for a modular connector in which a catch of the joint connectors and a bite of the electric wires will be prevented, and at the same time, workability of fitting the modular connector can be enhanced and occurrence of the strange noise will be prevented.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle connector module comprising:
a bracket including a base plate and a tube portion protruded from the base plate;
a first electric wire inserted through the tube portion, extended along an outer peripheral face of the tube portion and fixed on the base plate of the bracket;
a plate-shaped connector provided with a bore to which the tube portion of the bracket is inserted to be engaged with the bracket, and provided with a slit so formed as to surround a part of an outer peripheral portion of the bore such that the outer peripheral portion is deformable in a radial direction of the bore when the bracket and the connector are engaged with each other; and
a second electric wire inserted through the bore of the connector and fixed on a face opposing to the base plate of the bracket.
In this configuration, since an inner face of the bore comes in elastic contact with the tube portion of the bracket, there will be created angle adjusting feeling on occasion of engagement and positioning, and at the same time, a backlash of the wire insertion tube in a radial direction will be eliminated, thereby preventing the strange noise due to the backlash.
Furthermore, since the electric wire drawn out from the tube portion is fixed on the bracket per se, there is no need of the excess length of the electric wire. Therefore, the catch of the joint connectors between the inner panel and the outer panel of the vehicle, and the bite of the electric wire attributed to the presence of the excess length of the electric wire will be prevented.
Preferably, a protrusion is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the bore of the connector such that the protrusion is abutted against the base plate of the bracket such that the outer peripheral portion of the bore surrounded by the slit in the connector is deformable in an axial direction of the tube portion of the bracket when the bracket and the connector are engaged with each other.
In this configuration, when the bracket is engaged with the connector, the circumferential area of the bore is deflected by an amount of height of the projection to create the elastic forces, whereby the bracket and the connector are tightly fitted in a reliable manner. Accordingly, a backlash in an engaging direction between the bracket and the connector (an axial direction of the tube portion) will be eliminated, and thus, the strange noise due to the backlash will be prevented.
Preferably, the slit is formed into an arc shape surrounding a part of the outer peripheral portion of the bore of the connector.
In this configuration, since the substantially uniform elastic forces are created on the inner wall of the bore around which the arcuate slits are formed, the tube portion is pressed with the substantially uniform elastic forces, whereby the backlash can be reliably eliminated.
Preferably, a rib member is formed on the outer peripheral face of the tube portion of the bracket, and a positioning recess and a locking recess are formed on an inner face of the bore of the connector. The rib member is first engaged with the positioning recess when the tube portion of the bracket is inserted into the though hole of the connector, and the tube portion is then rotated such that the positioning rib is fitted into the locking recess.
In this configuration when the bracket is engaged with the connector, the bracket can be relatively simply and accurately positioned on

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