Connector

Abstract: To reduce a risk of misfunction or impairing of the connector by the entrance of the dusts and/or external matter thereinto. The entrance of external matters into a receptacle 13 is prevented because an opening 16 of the receptacle 13 is normally kept closed by a cover 21 biased by a spring member 28. The cover 21 is temporarily opened against the biasing force of the spring member 28 during the insertion and withdrawal of the female connector housing 30.

Description: The present invention relates to a connector provided with a cover for substantially covering an opening of a receptacle for a mating connector housing. Generally, a male connector housing is provided with a receptacle for accommodating a female connector housing and has a plurality of male terminal fittings assembled inside while the leading ends thereof are projecting into the receptacle. On the other hand, the female connector housing is formed in such a size as to be fittable into the receptacle and has a plurality of female terminal fittings corresponding to the male terminal fittings assembled inside. When the female connector housing is fitted into the receptacle of the male connector housing, the female and male terminal fittings are brought into contact with each other, thereby establishing an electrical connection. From EP-A-0 777 301 it is known to provide a connector having a double-lock cover, which is pivotally mounted on the connector housing and is to be closed when a mating connector is fitted in a connector receptacle provided in the connector housing. However, the above double-lock cover is biased by a biasing means in a direction to open the connector receptacle thus allowing the entrance of the dusts and/or external matter thereinto. DE 44 46 299 A1 discloses a connector for mounting to a housing wall, the connector having a receptacle for accommodating a mating connector and a lid hingedly mounted to a wall of the receptacle. In order to introduce a mating connector in the receptacle, a user needs at least one hand to open the lid and to hold it open while inserting the mating connector with the other hand. DE 89 13 061 U discloses a connector in which a lid is hingedly mounted to the connector in a similar way as in case of DE 44 46 299 A1. If this connector is not mounted to a support, a user will need one hand to hold the connector, and another one to open the lid. In order to be able to insert the mating connector at all, a locking mechanism is required that will lock the lid in its open position until the mating connector is inserted. An object of the present invention is to reduce a risk of misfunction or impairing of the connector by the entrance of the dusts and/or external matter thereinto, when the cover is in its rest position. However, it is a further object of the invention to provide a connector, which can be assembled in an easy and quick way. This object is solved according to the invention by a connector according to claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are subject of the dependent claims. According to the invention there is provided a connector, comprising: a connector comprising a connector housing provided with a receptacle for accommodating at least partially a mating connector housing, a cover, which is displaceable between positions to substantially open and substantially close an opening of the receptacle for allowing the at least partial insertion of the mating connector housing into the receptacle, and a spring member for biasing the cover in a closing direction, wherein the spring member is fixed to the connector housing by means of a spring bearing projection, and wherein the cover is pivotally hinged on the connector housing by means of a hinge means, comprising a support shaft provided on either one of the connector housing and the cover and bearing portion provided on the other of the connector housing and the cover, wherein the spring member acts at a side of the connector housing and the cover substantially opposite of the side, where the opening for the insertion of the mating connector is provided. Since the cover is normally held in the position to substantially close the opening of the receptacle by being biased by the spring member, the entrance of dusts and/or external matters into the receptacle can be prevented. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the connector further comprises an opening degree restricting means for restricting any further displacement of the cover in an opening direction after the cover is opened to a specified or predetermined or predeterminable opening degree. Accordingly, an opening degree of a cover is restricted in the case that a cover for opening and closing an opening of a receptacle for accommodating a mating connector housing is provided and is biased in a direction to close the opening. Thus there is avoided a misfunction or impairing of the biasing function of the spring, thereby improving the overall operability of the connector The mating connector housing may be at least partially inserted into and withdrawn from the receptacle by temporarily opening the cover against the biasing force of the spring member. At this time, any further displacement of the cover in the opening direction is prevented by the opening degree restricting means after the cover is opened to the specified degree. This preferably prevents the spring member from being excessively deformed due to an excessive opening of the cover. Further, since that the cover can be opened to a position where it is restricted by the opening degree restricting means, the interference of the mating connector housing and the cover during the insertion and withdrawal due to an insufficient opening of the cover can be prevented. According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the opening degree restricting means comprises at least one wall extending along the spring member. Since the opening degree restricting means comprises the at least one wall extending along the spring member, it can protect the spring member from the interference of external matters and act to guide the spring member during the mounting of the spring member. Further preferably, the opening degree restricting means comprises two walls extending substantially along a portion of the spring member being fixed to the connector housing and/or the cover. Most preferably, the opening degree restricting means is provided on the connector housing and substantially interacts with a contact portion of the cover, when the cover reaches the predetermined or predeterminable opening degree. According to a further preferred embodiment, the opening degree restricting means is provided such that when the cover reaches its predetermined or predeterminable opening degree, the spring member is elastically deformed to the extent that it is still within a permissible elasticity range where the spring member can be normally elastically restored. Preferably, the spring member is integrally or unitarily provided on the connector housing and/or on the cover. Further preferably, the spring member is fixed or positioned on the connector housing by means of a spring bearing projection, which is preferably substantially semiconically shaped. These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connector according to a first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a section of connector housings in a detached state, FIG. 3 is a section of the connector housings at an intermediate stage of the connection, FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial section showing a state where the opening degree of a cover is restricted, FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial perspective view of the male connector housing with the cover and a spring member detached therefrom, and FIG. 6 is a rear view of the male connector housing with the cover and a spring member detached therefrom. Hereafter, a first embodiment of the invention is described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. A male connector housing 10 (connector housing) is such that a plurality of male terminal fittings 12 are accommodated in cavities 11 formed at a lower portion thereof. Tabs 12A at the leading ends of the male terminal fittings 12 project into a receptacle 13 which is so formed in the male connector housing 10 as to project substantially forward. Above the cavities 11 is formed a terminal accommodation space 14 substantially communicating with the receptacle 13. A short-circuiting terminal fitting 15 preferably having a substantially U-shaped cross section when viewed sideways (FIGS. 2 and 3) is accommodated in the space 14. A plurality of elastically deformable pieces or portions 15A at the leading end of the short-circuiting terminal fitting 15 are normally simultaneously in contact with the plurality of tabs 12A to short-circuit the male terminal fittings 12. An opening is formed at the front end of the receptacle 13 to define a receptacle opening 16, through which a female connector housing 30 (mating connector housing) is inserted into the receptacle 13. On the rear end surface of the male connector housing 10 or a surface substantially opposed to the receptacle opening 16, a lower plate 17F extending substantially backward from the bottom edge of the rear end surface and side plates 17S extending substantially backward from the side edges or left and right edges of the rear end surface are substantially continuously formed to define a substantially U-shaped frame. At a corner portion where the lower plate 17F and the rear end surface of the male connector housing are continuous at a right angle, a substantially semiconically shaped spring bearing projection 18 is formed which projects from a center position with respect to transverse direction obliquely upward to the back. Further, a pair of restricting walls 19 (opening degree restricting means) preferably having a substantially rectangular shape when viewed sideways are formed on the opposite sides of the spring bearing projection 18. Specifically, this pair of restricting walls 19 are located at the left and right sides of the spring bearing projection 18 so as to conceal the spring bearing projection 18 when viewed sideways and to restrict the pivoting movement of a cover 21 in an opening direction OD, as described more in detail hereinafter. A pair of support shafts 20 are formed in positions at the rear ends of the opposite side surfaces of the male connector housing 10, and a cover 21 is rotatably or pivotally supported on these support shaft 20. The cover 21 is comprised of a ceiling plate 22 which can substantially face the upper surface of the male connector housing 10, a covering plate 23 which extend at an angle different from 0° or 180°, preferably substantially downward from the front edge of the ceiling plate 22 for substantially opening and substantially closing the receptacle opening 16, and side walls 24 which extend downward from the opposite side edges of the ceiling plate 22. A pair of bearing portions 25 are provided at positions corresponding to the support shafts 20 and preferably extend downward from positions of the opposite side edges of the ceiling plate 22 in proximity to the rear edge of the ceiling plate 22, and bearing holes 25A formed in the bearing portions 25 are fittable around the support shafts 20. In other words, the cover 21 is pivotal about the support shafts 20 between a closing position (see FIG. 2) where the covering plate 23 substantially closes the receptacle opening 16 and an opening position where the covering plate 23 is retracted sideways, preferably substantially upward to substantially open the receptacle opening 16. An area of the rear end portion of the ceiling plate 22 behind the support shafts 20 acts as a finger contact portion or actuation portion 26. By pushing this finger contact portion 26 by finger or any other actuator, the cover 21 can be displaced from its closing position to its opening position. The finger contact portion 26 is formed with a spring bearing tubular portion 27 which projects downward so as to face the spring bearing projection 18. Between the tubular portion 27 and the projection 18 is mounted or fitted a spring member 28 preferably made of a compression coil spring. Specifically, a loose movement of the upper end of the spring member 28 to the front, back, left and right is substantially restricted by being fitted or inserted into the tubular portion 27, and a loose movement of the lower end thereof to the front, back, left and right is restricted by being fitted on the projection 18. The cover 21 is biased toward its closing position by the spring member 28. The bottom end of the spring bearing tubular portion 27 serves as a contact portion 27A which can be brought into contact with the restricting walls 19 obliquely from above. The contact of the contact portion 27A with the restricting walls 19 prevents the cover 21 from being displaced or pivoted further in the opening direction OD (FIG. 3). In a state where the opening degree of the cover 21 is restricted by the restricting walls 19, the bottom edge of the covering plate 23 is located slightly above the upper edge of the receptacle opening 16 so that the female connector housing 30 can be inserted into the receptacle 13. With the restricting walls 19 and the contact portion 27A substantially in contact with each other, the spring member 28 is elastically deformed to a maximum degree, which is still within a permissible elasticity range where the spring member 28 can be normally elastically restored. Next, the action of this embodiment is described. The cover 21 is normally held in its closing position where the covering plate 23 substantially closes the receptacle opening 16 by being biased by the spring member 28 in a closing direction CD. Accordingly, dusts and external matters are unlikely to enter the receptacle before the female connector housing 30 is fitted thereinto. When the female connector housing 30 is to be inserted into the receptacle 13, the cover 21 is displaced from the closing position to the opening position against the biasing force of the spring member 28 by actuating, preferably pushing the finger contact portion 26 substantially from above. At this time, the finger contact portion 26 is strongly pressed until the contact portion 27A comes into contact with the restricting walls 19. Then, since the receptacle opening 16 is opened over its entire area, the female connector housing 30 is at least partially inserted or insertable into the receptacle 13 through the receptacle opening 16. The finger is disengaged from the finger contact portion 26 when the female connector housing 30 is completely accommodated. Consequently, the cover 21 is returned to the closing position (FIG. 2) by the biasing force of the spring member 28. As described above, in this embodiment, when the cover 21 is displaced to the specified opening position, any further displacement thereof in the opening direction is prevented by the restricting walls 19. In this state, the degree of deformation of the spring member 28 is below the elasticity limit. Accordingly, the deformation of the spring member 28 beyond the elasticity limit resulting from an excessive opening of the cover 21 can be securely prevented. Since the cover 21 be opened to a position where the contact portion 27A comes into contact with the restricting walls 19, the interference of the female connector housing 30 and the cover 21 during the insertion and withdrawal due to an insufficient opening of the cover 21 can be prevented. Further, since the restricting walls 19 extend substantially along the spring member 28, the spring member 28 can be protected from the interference from external matters. The restricting walls 19 also act to guide the spring member 28 when the spring member 28 is mounted on the spring bearing projection 18. The present invention is not limited to the described and illustrated embodiment, but the following embodiments are also embraced by the technical scope of the present invention as defined in the claims. Besides the following embodiments, a variety of other changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. (1) Although the restricting walls (opening degree restricting means) is formed on the male connector housing in the foregoing embodiment, it may be formed on the cover 21 according to the invention. (2) Although the opening degree restricting means is embodied by the walls projecting along the spring member 28 in the foregoing embodiment, it may be formed in a position distanced from the spring member and may not be limited to the walls, but take an other form such as a tubular shape according to the invention. (3) Although a compression coil spring is used as the spring member 28 in the foregoing embodiment, a torsion coil spring or a leaf spring may also be used as the spring member 28. (4) Although the spring member 28 is a part separate from the male connector housing 10 and the cover 21 in the foregoing embodiment, it may be integrally or unitarily formed with the connector housing or the cover. LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 10 Male Connector Housing (Connector Housing) 13 Receptacle 16 Receptacle Opening 19 Restricting Wall (Opening Degree Restricting Means) 21 Cover 28 Spring Member 30 Female Connector Housing (Mating Connector Housing)

Claims: A connector comprising a connector housing (10) provided with a receptacle (13) for accommodating at least partially a mating connector housing (30), a cover (21), which is displaceable between positions to substantially open and substantially close an opening (16) of the receptacle (13) for allowing the at least partial insertion of the mating connector housing (30) into the receptacle (13), and a spring member (28) for biasing the cover (21) in a closing direction (CD), wherein the spring member (28) is fixed to the connector housing (10) by means of a spring bearing projection (18), wherein the cover (21) is pivotally hinged on the connector housing (10) by means of a hinge means (25; 20), comprising a support shaft (20) provided on either one of the connector housing (10) and the cover (21) and bearing portion (25) provided on the other of the connector housing (10) and the cover (21), characterized in that the spring member (28) acts at a side of the connector housing (10) and the cover (21) substantially opposite of the side, where the opening (16) for the insertion of the mating connector (30) is provided. A connector according to claim 1, further comprising an opening degree restricting means (19) for restricting any further displacement of the cover (21) in an opening direction (OD) after the cover (21) is opened to a predetermined or predeterminable opening degree. A connector according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the opening degree restricting means (19) comprises at least one wall (19) extending along the spring member (28). A connector according to claim 3, wherein the opening degree restricting means (19) comprises two walls extending substantially along a portion of the spring member (28) being fixed to the connector housing (10) and/or the cover (21). A connector according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the opening degree restricting means (19) is provided on the connector housing (10) and substantially interacts with a contact portion (27A) of the cover (21), when the cover (21) reaches the predetermined or predeterminable opening degree. A connector according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the opening degree restricting means (19) is provided such that when the cover (21) reaches its predetermined or predeterminable opening degree, the spring member (28) is elastically deformed to the extent that it is still within a permissible elasticity range where the spring member (28) can be normally elastically restored. A connector according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the spring member (28) is integrally or unitarily provided on the connector housing (10) and/or on the cover (21). A connector according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the spring bearing projection (18) is substantially semi-conically shaped.

Inventors: KONOYA HISASHI, NAKAMURA HIDETO, KONOYA, HISASHI, NAKAMURA, HIDETO
Applicants: SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, LTD.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01R13