Construction for connecting electric connection box for instrument panel harness

Abstract: A connector portion (6a) is formed on an upper surface of an electric connection box (6) to be mounted on a cowl panel (2) mounted on a body, and a connector (5), connected to an instrument panel harness (4) mounted on an instrument panel (3), is fittingly connected directly to the connector portion (6a). Connectors of other wire harnesses are fittingly connected to connector portions formed on surfaces of the electric connection box (6) other than the upper surface thereof. The connector (5) is mounted on the instrument panel through resilient support members (8). The electric connection box (6) is mounted on the cowl panel so as to move upward and downward relative to the cowl panel.

Description: This invention relates to an electric connector according to the preamble of claim 1 and also to a method for connecting a connector portion of an electric connection box mounted at a cowl panel of a vehicle with a mating connector for an instrument panel harness mounted on an instrument panel according to claim 5. As shown in Fig. 8 and 9 in a conventional construction, an instrument panel 3 is fixedly secured to an upper portion of a cowl panel 2 in a compartment of an automobile 1, and a connector 5 of an instrument panel harness 4, mounted on the instrument panel 3, is fitted in and connected to a connector portion of an electric connection box 6 fixed to a lower portion of the cowl panel 2. However, the above electric connection box 6 is fixedly secured to a deep portion of the cowl panel 2, and therefore it has been difficult to fittingly connect the connector 5 of the instrument panel harness 4 to the connector portion of the electric connection box 6 after the large size instrument panel 3 is fixed to the cowl panel. GB-A-2 118 786 discloses an electric plug and socket coupling having a fixed part mounted in a wall and a movable part being attachable and detachable to and from said fixed part by means of a lever. The lever is in engagement with the movable part and can be brought into pivotal engagement with pivots at the fixed part's side. The engagement between the lever and the pivots holds by means of gravity. DE-A-43 27 648 considered to represent the closest prior art discloses an electrical connector being comprised of two connector housings accommodating male and female terminals, respectively, said connector housings and thus terminals can be connected by leverage. The present invention has been made to overcome the above problem, and an object of the invention is to provide an apparatus and a method for connecting an electric connection box of an instrument panel harness in which a connector can be fittingly connected to an upper surface of the electric connection box, and to improve the efficiency of the connector fitting operation. Solution of this object is achieved by what is claimed in claim 1 (apparatus) and claim 5 (method), respectively. This invention can be more readily and fully understood from the following description of embodiments thereof, which is to be seen in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side-elevational view showing a basic form of a connection construction of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing an electric connection box and a frame in a first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 3(A) is a view showing the lower side of an instrument panel having a connector mounted thereon; Fig. 3(B) is a cross-sectional view of this connector as seen from a side thereof; Fig. 3(C) is a cross-sectional view of this connector as seen from a front side thereof; Figs. 4(A) and 4(B) are side-elevational views showing modified operating levers, respectively; Fig. 5(A) is a side-elevational view of a pin of a first example of a slide construction for the electric connection box; Fig. 5(B) is a front-elevational view showing a slot of this slide construction; Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a second example of a slide construction for the electric connection box; Figs. 7(A) to 7(D) are views explanatory of a process of connecting the electric connection box; Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing an instrument panel of an automobile; and Fig. 9 is a side-elevational view showing a conventional connection construction. Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a basic view showing a connection construction of the present invention. A connector portion 6a is formed on an upper surface of an electric connection box 6 to be attached to a cowl panel 2 of an automobile 1, and a connector 5, connected to an instrument panel harness 4 mounted on an instrument panel 3, is fittingly connected directly to the connector portion 6a formed on the upper surface of the electric connection box 6. For effecting this fitting connection, in one embodiment, the electric connection box 6 is moved upward as indicated by arrow U, and in another embodiment the connector 5 is moved downward as indicated by arrow D. Figs. 1 to 7 show the first embodiment in which the electric connection box 6 is moved upward to effect the fitting connection. Fig. 3(A) is a view showing the lower side of the instrument panel 3, and as shown in Figs. 3(A) to 3(C), an elongate groove 3b is formed in the lower surface of the instrument panel 3, and extends in a direction of the width of the vehicle, and the connector 5 of the instrument panel harness 4 is loosely fitted in the elongate groove 3b. The connector 5 is resiliently mounted in the elongate groove 3b through resilient support members 8 each comprising a rubber member, a spring or the like. As shown in Fig. 2, the connector portion 6a for fitting connection to the connector 5 on the instrument panel 3 is formed on the upper surface 6b of the electric connection box 6. Although not specifically shown, connector portions for fitting connection respectively to connectors of other wire harnesses are formed respectively on opposite side surfaces 6c and a rear surface 6e of the electric connection box 6. A frame 9 of a synthetic resin is fixedly secured to the cowl panel 2, and has a pair of bracket portions 9a integrally formed respectively at opposite side portions of a lower end portion thereof, the bracket portions 9a projecting toward the rear of a vehicle body. An operating lever 10 has a pair of fan-shaped cam portions 10a formed respectively at opposite side portions thereof, and rotation pins 10b, formed respectively on the cam portions 10a, are fitted respectively in pin holes 9b formed respectively through the bracket portions 9a. Thus, the operating lever 10 is supported on the frame 9 for being turned (pivotally moved) forwardly and rearwardly relative to the frame 9. The electric connection box 6 is fitted in a space between the frame 9 and the operating lever 10 in such a manner that cam pins 6d, formed respectively on the opposite side surfaces 6c of the electric connection box 6, rest respectively on upper edges (upper surfaces) of the fan-shaped cam portions 10a, thus supporting the electric connection box 6 by the operating lever 10. The operating lever 10, when in its rearwardly-turned position, supports the electric connection box 6 in a lowered position thereof, as shown in Fig. 7(A). When the operating lever 10 is turned forwardly, the fan-shaped cam portions 10a of the operating lever 10 move the electric connection box 6 upward (in the direction of arrow U) through the cam pins 6d, as shown in Fig. 7(B). Immediately before the operating lever 10 reaches its forwardly-turned position, the connector portion 6a of the upwardly-moving electric connection box 6 begins to fit in the connector 5 on the instrument panel 3, as shown in Fig. 7(C), and then in the forwardly-turned position of the operating lever 10, the connector portion 6a of the electric connection box 6 completely fits in the connector 5, as shown in Fig. 7(D). A recess 10c is formed in the upper end of each fan-shaped cam portion 10a, and when the operating lever 10 reaches its forwardly-turned position, each cam pin 6d on the electric connection box 6 slightly moves downward to be received in the associated recess 10c, so that the electric connection box 6 moves downward slightly apart from the instrument panel 3. With this arrangement, vibrations of the instrument panel 3 will not be transmitted to the electric connection box 6. A pair of lock pawls 9c is integrally formed respectively at the opposite side portions of the frame 9, and these lock pawls 9c engage the operating lever 10 to retain the same in its upwardly-turned position. In order to accurately move the electric connection box 6 upward and downward along the frame 9, a guide pin 11 is formed on a rear surface 9d of the frame 9, and a round hole 6g, as well as a slot 6h of a stepped construction extending downwardly from the round hole 6g, is formed in a front surface 6f of the electric connection box 6, as shown in Fig. 5. A head 11a of the guide pin 11 is fitted in the round hole 6g, and the head 11a and a shank 11b of the guide pin 11 are guided by the slot 6h. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 6, a rail 12 of a T-shaped cross-section is formed on the rear surface 9d of the frame 9, and extends in the upward-downward direction, and a rail groove 6i for receiving the rail 12 is formed in the front surface 6f of the electric connection box 6. As shown in Fig. 4(A), there may be used an arrangement in,which instead of the cam pins 6d, a pair of pinions 13 is rotatably mounted respectively on the opposite side surfaces 6c of the electric connection box 6, and instead of the cam surfaces formed respectively on the upper edges of the fan-shaped cam portions 10a of the operating lever 10, arcuate gear portions 10d for respectively meshing the pinions 13 are formed. In this case, the operating lever 10 is pivotally moved to rotate the pinions 13 through the arcuate gear portions 10d, thereby moving the electric connection box 6 upward. As shown in Fig. 4(B), there may be used another arrangement in which instead of the cam surfaces formed respectively on the upper edges of the fan-shaped cam portions 10a of the operating lever 10, cam grooves 10e for respectively receiving the cam pins 6d on the electric connection box 6 are formed respectively in the inner surfaces of the fan-shaped cam portions 10a. In this case, the operating lever 10 is pivotally moved forwardly to move the electric connection box 6 upward through the cam grooves 10e formed respectively in the fan-shaped cam portions 10a. In the construction of the first embodiment, the electric connection box 6 is fitted in the space between the frame 9 and the operating lever 10 held in its rearwardly-turned position (Fig. 7(A)), and when the operating lever 10 is pivotally moved forwardly (Fig. 7(B)), the fan-shaped cam portions 10a of the operating lever 10 move the electric connection box 6 upward through the cam pins 6d, so that the connector portion 6a on the upper surface 6b of the electric connection box 6 is fitted in the connector 5 on the instrument panel 3, and in the forwardly-turned position of the operating lever 10 (Fig. 7 (D)), the connector portion 6a of the electric connection box 6 completely fits in the connector 5. Thus, by pivotally moving the operating lever 10, the connector portion 6a of the electric connection box 6 can be fitted in the connector 5 on the instrument panel 3, and therefore the connector portion 6a can be formed on the upper surface 6b of the electric connection box 6, and the connector portion 6a (which has been formed on a surface other than the upper surface of the electric connection box in the conventional construction) for connection to the connector 5 of the instrument panel harness 4 can be formed on the upper surface 6b, and therefore the electric connection box 6 can be formed into a smaller size. Even if a gap T between the lower surface 3a of the instrument panel 3 and the upper surf ace 6b of the electric connection box 6 is small, the connector portion 6a of the electric connection box 6 can be fitted into the connector 5 on the instrument panel 3 merely by pivotally moving the operating lever 10, and therefore the efficiency of fitting the connector 5 is enhanced.

Claims: An electrical connector comprising an electric connection box (6) having a connector portion (6a) formed on a surface of the connection box (6) and with cam pins (6d) formed on opposite sides of said connection box (6), said electric connector being adapted to connect by means of a mating connector (5) provided on the instrument panel side, a wire harness of an instrument panel (3) of a vehicle body with a wire harness of the vehicle, characterized in that said connector portion (6a) is formed on an upper surface of said electric connection box (6) and faces towards said mating connector (5) on said instrument panel (3); and said electric connection box (6) is mounted on a cowl panel (2) so as to reciprocate relative to said instrument panel (3), said reciprocating movement being effected by an operating lever (10), wherein furthermore said electric connection box (6) is slidably supported on upper surfaces of cam portions (10a) formed on said operating lever (10) by means of said cam pins (6d) such that a pivotal movement of said operating lever (10) reciprocates said electric connection box (6) relative to said instrument panel (3). The connector according to claim 1, wherein said mating connector (5) of said instrument panel harness (4) is resiliently received in said electric connection box (6) by means of resilient support members (8). The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said cam pins (6d) are receivable in a recess (10c) formed in each cam portion (10a) of said operating lever (10) so as to receive one of said cam pins (6d) upon complete connection between said connector portion (6a) and said mating connector (5). The connector according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said cam pins (6d) of said electric connection box (6) are movable into a respective recess (10c) such that said electric connection box (6) moves downwardly slightly apart from said instrument panel (3) with engagement of said cam pins (6d) into said recesses (10c). A method for connecting a connector portion (6a) of an electric connection box (6) mounted at a cowl panel (2) of a vehicle with a mating connector (5) for an instrument panel harness (4) mounted on an instrument panel (3), comprising the steps of: forming said connector portion (6a) on an upper surface of said electric connection box (6) such that said connector portion (6a) faces toward said mating connector (5) on said instrument panel (3); slidably mounting said electric connection box (6) to said cowl panel (2); supporting said electric connection box (6) on upper surfaces of cam portions (10a) formed on an operating lever (10) by means of cam pins formed on said electric connection box (6), said operating lever (10) being pivotally movably mounted on said cowl panel (2) such that pivotal movement of said operating lever (10) reciprocates said electric connection box (6) relative to said instrument panel (3); and connecting said connector portion (6a) with said mating connector (5) on said instrument panel harness (4) by means of movement of said electric connection box (6) along said cowl panel (2) towards said instrument panel (3), wherein said movement is effected by moving said operating lever (10). The method according to claim 5, wherein said mating connector (5) of said instrument panel harness (4) is mounted on said instrument panel (3) through resilient support members (8).

Inventors: HATTORI YASUHIRO, HATTORI, YASUHIRO, Hattori, Yasuhiro, c/o Harness S. Tech. Res.,Ltd.
Applicants: HARNESS SYST TECH RES LTD, SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, HARNESS SYSTEM TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCH, LTD., SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD., SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, LTD.
Application year: 1996
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01R13, B60R16, H02G3