Title: Connector
Abstract: An attempt to fit an improper combination of housings (10, 30) together brings a projection (32R) of the wrong housing (30) into abutting engagement with an interference portion (15) in a fitting recess (12). Abutment surfaces (15a, 32Ra) are inclined in directions to move an inner peripheral surface of the fitting recess (12) towards an outer peripheral surface of the wrong housing (30). Therefore, the fitting recess (12) cannot deform and spread out, and the fitting of the wrong housing (30) cannot proceed by force.
Patent Number: 6,953,370 Issued on 10/11/2005 to Matsuoka, et al.
| Inventors:
|
Matsuoka; Hiroyuki (Yokkaichi, JP);
Okamoto; Michiaki (Yokkaichi, JP);
Nishida; Atsushi (Toyota, JP);
Nakanishi; Hiroyuki (Toyota, JP);
Minakata; Masato (Toyota, JP)
|
| Assignee:
|
Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd. (JP)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
873795 |
| Filed:
|
June 22, 2004 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Jun 23, 2003[JP] | 2003-178338 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
439/680; 439/489 |
| Intern'l Class: |
H01R 013/64 |
| Field of Search: |
439/680-681,488-489,79,752,595,352,544,157,557,549,372,374-378
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Paumen; Gary
Assistant Examiner: Leon; Edwin A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hespos; Gerald E., Casella; Anthony J.
Claims
1. A connector comprising a female housing having a fitting recess, and a male
housing for fitting into said fitting recess; wherein
a projection is formed on one of an outer periphery of said male housing and
an inner periphery of said fitting recess, and a groove is formed in the other;
and
when said female and male housings form a proper combination, or are properly
disposed relative to each other, said projection is fit into said groove, thereby
allowing said two housing to be fit together; and
when said female and male housings form an improper combination, or are improperly
disposed relative to each other, said projection interferes with the mating housing
to limit the fitting of said two housings; characterized in that:
an interference portion is formed at said housing having said groove, and when
said two housings form an improper combination, or are improperly disposed relative
to each other, said projection abuts against said interference portion; and an
abutment surface of said interference portion and an abutment surface of said projection
are oblique relative to a direction of fitting of said two housings, and are inclined
in such a direction that when a fitting force acts on said abutment surfaces, the
inner periphery of said fitting recess and the outer periphery of said male housing
are moved towards each other.
2. The connector of claim 1, characterized in that an escape recess for receiving
said projection is formed in the inner periphery of said fitting recess or the
outer periphery of said male housing, and said interference portion being formed
at an inner end of said escape recess, and when said male housing is fit a predetermined
amount into said fitting recess, said abutment surfaces abut against each other.
3. The connector of claim 1, characterized in that said abutment surface of said
projection is recessed rearwardly from a front face of said housing having said
projection, and when said male housing is fitted in a predetermined amount into
said fitting recess, said abutment surfaces abut against each other.
4. A connector system, comprising:
a first male housing having an outer periphery with a specified shape and at
least one guide at a specified position on the outer periphery;
a second male housing having an outer periphery with a shape substantially identical
to the specified shape of the outer periphery of the first housing and having at
least one guide on the outer periphery in a position different from the specified
position for the guide on the first male housing; and
a female housing having a fitting recess configured for at least partly receiving
either of the first and second male housings, the fitting recess including at least
one guide configured and disposed for slidably receiving the guide of the first
male housing so that the first male housing and the female housing can be fit completely
together, the fitting recess further having at least one guide with an interference
portion for engaging the guide of the second male housing and permitting only partial
fitting of the second male housing into the fitting recess and preventing complete
fitting of the second male housing into the fitting recess.
5. The connector system of claim 4, wherein the interference portion has an abutment
surface, and the guide of the second male housing has an abutment surface, the
abutment surfaces being aligned oblique to a direction of fitting of said two housings,
and being inclined in such a direction that when a fitting force acts on said abutment
surfaces, an inner periphery of said fitting recess and the outer periphery of
said second male housing are moved towards each other.
6. The connector of claim 4, wherein said abutment surface of said projection
is recessed rearwardly from a front face of said second male housing so that when
said male housing is fit a predetermined amount into said fitting recess, said
abutment surfaces abut against each other.
7. The connector of claim 4, wherein the guides of the first and second male
housings are projections, and the guides of the female housing are grooves.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connector with an erroneous-fitting detection function.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical connector has a male housing that can be inserted into a fitting recess
in a female housing. Different kinds of male housings often have identical outer
shapes and different kinds of female housings often have fitting recesses with
substantially identically configured inner peripheries. However, the different
kinds of housings may differ from one another with respect to the number of poles,
and there is a fear that an improper combination of female and male housings will
be fit together.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. U.S. 2003/0017748 A1 discloses connectors
with projections formed on the outer periphery of each male housing so that the
positions of the projections are different for different kinds of male housings.
Grooves are formed in the inner periphery of the fitting recess of each female
housing at positions for receiving the projections of the corresponding male housing.
Thus, a proper combination of the female and male housings can be fit together
without hindrance. However, the projections interfere with an opening edge of the
fitting recess when the housings form an improper combination so that the fitting
operation is prevented.
Housings generally are made of a synthetic resin, and therefore the opening
edge of the fitting recess can be deform and spread outwardly. Such a deformation
can be caused by the ribs on the male housing when the wrong male housing is mistakenly
urged into the fitting recess of the female housing.
This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object
of the invention is to enable erroneous fitting to be detected positively.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a connector comprising a female housing that has a fitting
recess, and a male housing for fitting into the fitting recess. A projection is
formed on one of an outer periphery of the male housing and an inner periphery
of the fitting recess, and a groove is formed in the other. The projection can
fit in the groove when the female and male housings form a proper combination and
are properly disposed relative to each other, thereby allowing the housings to
fit together. However, the projection interferes with the mating housing to limit
the fitting of the two housings when the female and male housings form an improper
combination, or are improperly disposed relative to each other. An interference
portion is formed on the housing having the groove, and the projection abuts against
the interference portion when the two housings form an improper combination, or
are improperly disposed relative to each other. An abutment surface of the interference
portion and an abutment surface of the projection are oblique relative to a direction
of fitting of the housings, and are inclined in a direction so that the inner periphery
of the fitting recess and the outer periphery of the male housing are moved toward
each other when a fitting force acts on the abutment surfaces. Therefore, the fitting
recess cannot be deform and spread outwardly and the fitting cannot proceed.
The projection would engage the interference portion before the fitting is started
if the projection and the interference portion were formed respectively at the
front faces of the two housings. Therefore, there is a fear that the operator would
fail to become aware of an improper combination or an improper disposition. Rather,
the operator may mistakenly assume that the two housings are misaligned, and may
try to continue the fitting operation.
To avoid the above-described problem, an escape recess preferably is formed in
the inner periphery of the fitting recess or the outer periphery of the male housing
for receiving the projection, and the interference portion preferably is formed
at an inner end of the escape recess. Thus, the abutment surfaces abut against
each other when the male housing is fit a predetermined amount into the fitting
recess. Accordingly, the fitting operation is limited when the fitting proceeds
by the predetermined stroke, and the improper combination or the improper disposition
can be detected positively.
The above-described problem also may be avoided by recessing abutment surface
of the projection rearwardly from a front face of the housing that has the projection.
Thus, the abutment surfaces abut against each other when the male housing is fit
a predetermined amount into the fitting recess. Accordingly, the fitting operation
is limited when the fitting proceeds by the predetermined stroke, and the improper
combination or the improper disposition can be detected positively.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front-elevational view of a female housing of a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a rear view of a male housing.
FIG. 3 is a front-elevational view showing a condition in which the proper-combination
male housing is fitted in the female housing.
FIG. 4 is a front-elevational view showing a condition in which an improper-combination
male housing is fitted in the female housing.
FIG. 5 a rear view of the improper-combination male housing.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 6—6
of FIG. 1.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 7—7
of FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A connector comprises is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to
7, and includes a female
housing
10 and a male housing
20 that can be properly fitted together.
A wrong male housing
30 is located in the vicinity of the male housing
20.
The wrong housing
30 is identical in size and shape the outer periphery
to the male housing
20, but differs from the male housing
20 with
respect to the number of poles. The shapes of openings of cavities
11 in
the female housing
10, the shapes of openings of cavities
21 in the
male housing
20 and the shapes of openings of cavities
31 in the
wrong housing
30 are shown schematically in the figures.
The female housing
10 has a fitting recess
12 that is open to a
front face, which is the face appearing in FIG.
1. The fitting recess
12
has a generally rectangular shape with four rounded corners as viewed from the
front. Narrow elongate grooves
13L and
13R of a generally square
cross-section are formed respectively in left and right inner side surfaces of
the inner periphery of the fitting recess
12, and extend straight parallel
to a direction of fitting of the two housings
10 and
20. The left
and right grooves
13L and
13R extend from the front face at the open
end of the fitting recess
12 of the female housing
10 to a position
near to an inner end surface of the fitting recess
12.
An escape recess
14 is formed in the right inner side surface slightly
below the groove
13R. The escape recess
14 is parallel to the direction
of fitting of the two housings
10 and
20, and an inner end surface
of the escape recess
14 is disposed forwardly of the inner end of the groove
13R. Thus, the inner end surface of the escape recess
14 is disposed
closer to the front surface of the female housing
10 than the inner end
of the groove
13R is. Accordingly, the length of the escape recess
14
in the fitting direction is smaller than the length of the groove
13R. The
cross-sectional size and shape of the escape recess
14 is the same as the
cross-sectional size and shape of the groove
13R.
An interference portion
15 is defined at the inner end of the escape recess
14, and a projection
32R of the wrong housing
30 is brought
into abutting engagement with the interference portion
15 when the wrong
housing
30 is fit into the female housing
10. An abutment surface
15a is formed on the interference portion
15 and defines the
inner end surface of the escape recess
14. The abutment surface
15a
is oblique relative to the direction of fitting of the two housings
10
and
30, and is inclined in so that the inner peripheral surface of the fitting
recess
12 and the outer peripheral surface of the wrong housing
30
move toward each other when a fitting force acts on the abutment surface
15a.
The male housing
20 can be fit into the fitting recess
12, and
is prevented from moving (shaking) relative to the fitting recess
12 in
a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction both during the fitting process
and in a completely fitted condition. Projections
22L and
22R are
formed respectively on left and right side surfaces of the outer periphery of the
male housing
20 and correspond respectively to the left and right grooves
13L and
13R in the fitting recess
12. The projections
22L
and
22R are dimensioned and configured to slide smoothly in contact with
the inner surface of the corresponding groove
13L,
13R without shaking
relative thereto and without producing a large friction during the fitting of the
two housings
10 and
20.
Projections
32L and
32R are formed respectively on left
and right side surfaces of the outer periphery of the wrong housing
30.
The left projection
32L of the wrong housing
30 is identical in shape,
dimensions and position to the left projection
22L of the male housing
20.
However, the right projection
32R of the wrong housing
30 is below
the right projection
22R of the male housing
20 (i.e., at a position
deviated from the projection
22R in the direction of the periphery), and
is at a position corresponding to the escape recess
14 and the interference
portion
15 in the fitting recess
12. A distal end surface (lower
surface in FIG. 7) of the right projection
32R of the wrong housing
30
is recessed rearwardly (upwardly in FIG. 7) from a front face of the wrong housing
30 in the fitting direction. An abutment surface
32Ra is defined
at the distal end of the right projection
32R serves and is inclined in
the same direction and at the same angle as the abutment surface
15a
of the interference portion
15.
The male housing
20 can be fit into the female housing
10 to form
a proper combination. More particularly, the left and right projections
22L
and
22R of the male housing
20 fit respectively in the corresponding
left and right grooves
13L and
13R of the fitting recess
12
as shown in FIG. 3, so that the two housings
10 and
20 fit properly
together completely and without hindrance.
On the other hand, the wrong housing
30 has a different number of poles
than the male housing
20 and should not be fit into the female housing
10.
However, an attempt may be made by mistake to insert the wrong housing
30
into the female housing
10. In this situation, the left projection
32L
of the wrong housing
30 enters the left groove
13L of the fitting
recess
12 while the right projection
32R of the wrong housing
30
enters the escape recess
14 of the fitting recess
12. Thus, part
of the wrong housing
30 is fit into the fitting recess
12. However,
a small movement of the wrong housing
30 into the fitting recess
12
brings the abutment surface
32Ra at the distal end of the projection
32R
into abutting engagement with the abutment surface of the interference portion
15, as shown in FIG. 7, and brings the abutment surface
32PA into
abutting engagement with the abutment surface
15a. Thus, the wrong
housing
30 is prevented from being fit further, and the wrong housing
30
cannot be fit deep into the proper fitting position. Therefore, the attempt to
fit the wrong housing
30 into the female housing
10 is positively detected.
The abutment surfaces
32Ra of the projection
32R and the abutment
surface
15a of the interference portion
15 both are inclined
relative to the fitting direction. This inclination draws the right inner side
surface of the fitting recess
12 towards the right outer side surface of
the wrong housing
30 when the wrong housing
30 is urged forcibly
into the fitting recess
12. Therefore, the fitting recess
12 will
not be deformed away from the outer surface of the wrong housing
30, and
hence the abutment surfaces
15a and
32Ra will not be brought
out of engagement with each other. Accordingly, the abutting surfaces
15a
and
32Ra are positively kept in an engaged condition, so that the fitting
of the two housings
10 and
30 relative to each other prevented from
proceeding farther.
As described above, an attempt may be made to fit the housings
10 and
30
together to form an improper combination. However, such an attempt brings the projection
32R into abutting engagement with the interference portion
15, and
the inner peripheral surface of the fitting recess
12 is moved toward the
outer peripheral surface of the male housing
20 due the inclination of the
two abutment surfaces
15a and
32Ra. Therefore, the fitting
recess
12 cannot be deformed to spread outwardly and the fitting of the
wrong housing
30 cannot proceed.
The projection of the wrong housing and the interference portion of the fitting
recess could be formed respectively at the front faces of the wrong housing
30
and female housing
10. In this situation, the projection would be brought
into abutting engagement with the interference portion before the fitting is started.
Accordingly, the operator could fail to become aware of an improper combination
or an improper disposition, and could mistakenly assume that the two housings are
merely out of alignment with each other. Hence, the operator could try to continue
the fitting operation.
In this embodiment, however, the interference portion
15 is at the inner
end of the escape recess
14 in the inner periphery of the fitting recess
12, and the abutment surface
32Ra of the projection
32R is
recessed rearwardly from the front face of the wrong housing
30. Therefore
the fitting operation is limited after a predetermined stroke of the wrong housing
30, and the improper combination or the improper disposition can be positively detected.
The invention is not limited to the above embodiment described above with reference
to the drawings, and for example, the following embodiments fall within the technical
scope of the invention, and other modifications than the following can also be
made without departing from the subject matter of the invention.
In the above embodiment, the plurality of kinds of male housings and the plurality
of kinds of female housings are prepared, and when the female and male housings
form an improper combination, the projection is brought into abutting engagement
with the interference portion. However, the invention can be applied to the type
of connector in which one kind of male housing and one kind of female housing are
fit together, and when the male housing is turned or inverted about its axis (extending
in the fitting direction) to be improperly disposed relative to the female housing,
a projection can abut against an interference portion, thereby detecting such erroneous fitting.
In the above embodiment, although two kinds of male housings and two kinds of
female housings are prepared. However, the invention can be applied to more than
two kinds of male housings and more than two kinds of female housings are prepared.
In the above embodiment, the projections are on the male housing while the grooves
and the interference portion are on the female housing. However, the projections
may be on the inner periphery of the fitting recess of the female housing while
the grooves and the interference portion may be on the outer periphery of the male housing.
In the above embodiment, the interference portion is provided at only one region.
However, interference portions may be provided at a plurality of regions.
In the above embodiment, the interference portion is recessed, and the projection
is recessed rearwardly from the front face of the housing. However, one or both
of the interference portion and the projection may be flush with the front faces
of the housings.
*
