Wire harness connector

Abstract: A connector having a plug housing assembly (10) supporting female contacts (11) thereon, and a cap housing assembly (20) supporting male contacts (21) thereon. The plug housing assembly has a bolt (12) rotatably passing therethrough and a locking plate for holding the male contacts. The cap housing assembly (20) has a cavity (22) receiving the plug housing assembly and a nut portion (23) provided on a bottom portion of the cavity. A nut receiving recess (14), which receives the nut portion in the cap housing assembly (20) when both the housing assemblies are fitted to each other, is provided in the plug housing assembly (10). A screw portion of the bolt is provided so as to be exposed within the nut receiving recess without protruding outward from the plug housing assembly. The locking plate (13) has an actuator (13A) which is depressibly protruding from a circumferential surface of the plug housing assembly.

Description: FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a connector, for example, which is used for a wire harness of an automotive vehicle, and particularly to a connector in which the operability for a harnessing is improved. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It has long been known to use connectors for wire harnesses of an automotive vehicle. Typically these connectors are of a type where a plug housing, supporting therein a female contact terminating the wire material and a cap housing, mounted on a printed circuit board and supporting a male contact, are fitted by fastening a bolt. However, in this kind of conventional connector, a screw portion of a screwing bolt protrudes out of an outer portion of a plug housing. The protruding bolt frequently gets caught in the wire material, thereby significantly reducing the efficiency of the harnessing operation. Further, in conventional products, there is provided means for locking the female contact terminating the wire material at two stages (an initial lock and a final lock). However, there is a disadvantage that when the bolt is fastened without operating this means, the bolt and the nut may serve the connector components as they are. Once the connector is fastened in this manner, the connection between the male and female contacts is poor. U.S. Patent No. 6,004,158 discloses an electrical connector which includes a receptacle connector housing and a mating plug connector housing. A movable alignment plate is located between the two connector housings and locking plates are insertable into each housing to provide for additional retention of terminals also held in terminal cavities by resilient latches. The connector also includes a cover that is attached to the receptacle connector housing by molded cantilever cover latches. Backup beams are movable into engagement with the cover latches for support. Each locking plate is insertable into a locking plate slot on the end of one of the housings and includes recesses into which the molded resilient terminal latches, which span the locking plate slot, are received when the locking plate is fully inserted. Locking tabs which engage the terminals beside the resilient latches provide additional retention of the terminals. An object of the present invention is to solve the disadvantage of the conventional water-proof contact mentioned above. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the object mentioned above, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a connector comprising: a plug housing assembly supporting therein a plurality of female contacts, and a cap housing assembly to be connected to said plug housing assembly, said cap housing assembly supporting therein a plurality of male contacts to be electrically connected to the female contacts of said plug housing assembly, respectively, wherein said plug housing assembly comprises a bolt pivotally inserted therethrough and a locking plate for locking the female contacts therein, and said cap housing assembly comprises a cavity for receiving said plug housing assembly and a nut portion for mating the bolt, said nut portion being formed on a bottom of the cavity, wherein said plug housing assembly further comprises a nut receiving recess, said recess receiving the nut portion when said both housing assemblies are connected to each other, and a screw section of said bolt extends to the nut receiving recess without protruding externally from said plug housing assembly, and wherein said locking plate comprises an actuator depressibly formed on and protruding from a circumferential surface of said plug housing assembly, for sliding the locking plate and preventing the plug housing assembly from being inserted into the cavity of the cap housing before the female contacts have been locked into the locking plate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS: Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a plug housing assembly 10 for a connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view of the plug housing assembly 10 in an assembled state as seen from a front face side. Figure 3 is a perspective view of the plug housing assembly 10 shown in Fig. 2 as seen from a back face side. Figure 4A is a perspective view which shows an embodiment of a female contact 11 mounted on the plug housing assembly 10. Figure 4B is an exploded perspective view of the contact 11 shown in Fig. 4A. Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of a cap housing assembly 20 of a connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 is a perspective view of the cap housing assembly 20 in an assembled state as seen from a front face side. Figure 7 is a perspective view of the cap housing assembly 20 shown in Figure 6 as seen from a back face side. Figure 8 is a cross sectional view which shows fitting the plug housing assembly 10 and the cap housing assembly 20 in accordance with the present invention by means of a screwing. Figure 9 is a cross sectional view which shows fitting the plug housing assembly 10 and the cap housing assembly 20 in accordance with the present invention by means of a screwing. Figure 10 is a cross sectional view which shows fitting the plug housing assembly 10 and the cap housing assembly 20 in accordance with the present invention by means of a screwing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT : A connector in accordance with the present invention includes a plug housing connector assembly 10 and a cap housing assembly 20 fitted thereto. The connector assemblies 10, 20 are fitted and held by engaging a screwing bolt 12, provided in the plug housing assembly 10, with a nut portion 23 provided in the cap housing 20. The plug housing assembly 10 supports a plurality of female contacts 11 thereon, and the cap housing assembly 20 supports a plurality of male contacts 21 which are electrically connected to the female contacts 11 respectively thereon. Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the plug housing assembly 10 of a connector (a water-proof type) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the plug housing assembly 10 in an assembled state as seen from a front face side. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the same as seen from a back face side. The plug housing assembly 10 shown in Fig. 1 includes a plug housing body 15, a locking plate 13, a contact holding member 16, a rubber bushing 17 and a back plate 18 which are subsequently received in a recess portion 15A provided in the plug housing body 15, preferably in this order. In the drawings, reference numeral 12 denotes a screwing bolt, reference numeral 12A denotes an O-ring which is fitted to the bolt 12, and reference numeral 12B denotes a stop ring which is fitted to a front end portion of the bolt 12. Further, reference numeral 15B denotes a cylindrical shaft supporting portion to which the bolt 12 is inserted and which protrudes from the bottom surface of the recess portion 15A of the plug housing body 15 through the locking plate 13, the contact holding member 16, the bushing 17 and the back plate 18. The bottom surface of the recess portion 15A in the plug housing body 15, the locking plate 13, the contact holding member 16, the bushing 17 and the back plate 18 are respectively provided with through holes for inserting and holding a plurality of contacts 11 (of a female type in the illustrated embodiment) so that positions of the through holes are aligned with each other between the elements. The contact holding member 16 is provided with, for example, a lance in the through hole, thereby being engaged with a constricted or narrow portion (refer to Fig. 4) of the contact 11 inserted into the through hole so as to achieve an initial lock (an intermediate locking state). The locking plate 13 is received within the recess portion 15A of the plug housing body 15 so that it can move in a direction crossing the inserting direction of the contact 11. In the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2, a part (an actuator) 13A of the locking plate 13 is depressibly protruded from a peripheral surface of the plug housing body 15. When further pressing the contact 11, which is initially locked by the contact holding member 16, a front end (in the illustrated embodiment, a ferrule (refer to Fig. 4) receiving a pin contact mounted on the cap housing) of the contact 11 passes through the locking plate 13 and is held within the through hole of the housing main body 15. At this time, the constricted portion of the contact 11 is positioned in the through hole (for example, an oval) of the locking plate 13. The constricted portion is engaged with the through hole of the locking plate 13 by downward pressing of the actuator 13A of the locking plate 13, thereby locking the contact 11 so as not to come out from the plug housing assembly 10. In Fig. 2, the plug housing assembly 10 is provided with the nut receiving portion 14 which receives the nut 23 provided in the cap housing assembly 20, in a front face side thereof. The screwing bolt 12 passing through the shaft supporting portion 15B is structured such that a screw portion thereof does not protrude outward from the plug housing body 15 and is exposed within the nut receiving portion 14. In this case, the stop ring 12B mentioned above is fitted to the bolt 12 within a recess portion 14A having a depth deeper than that of the bottom portion of the nut receiving portion 14. Fig. 4A shows an embodiment (receptacle contact) of the female contact 11 which is mounted on the plug housing assembly 10. A body portion 11A terminates a wire material and a ferrule 11B receives the pin contact mounted on the cap housing assembly 20. Fig. 4B is an exploded view thereof. A constricted or narrow portion which is engaged with the locking plate 13 mentioned above is formed in a body portion of the contact 11. Next, a description will be given of the cap housing assembly 20. Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the cap housing assembly 20 of a connector (of a water-proof type) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the plug housing assembly 10 in an assembled state as seen from a front face side, and Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the same as seen from a back face side. The cap housing assembly 20 shown in Fig. 5 includes a cap housing main body 24, a cavity 22 which receives the plug housing assembly and a nut portion 23 which protrudes from the bottom of the cavity 22. In the present embodiment, the nut portion 23 has a nut main body 23A which is meshed with the screwing bolt 12 and inserted therein, and is received in the nut receiving portion 14 of the plug housing 10 at a time of fitting both the housing assemblies 10, 20 to each other. The nut main body 23A is meshed with the screwing bolt 12. In the drawings, reference numeral 21 denotes an L-shaped male contact (a pin contact in the illustrated embodiment) which is mounted on the cap housing main body 24, in which one terminal is fixed, for example, to a printed circuit board (not shown) and another terminal is protruded within the cavity 22 through the cap housing main body 24 (refer to Fig. 6). Reference numeral 25 denotes an alignment plate which has a plurality of through holes provided in correspondence to the contacts mounted on the cap housing main body 24 and is placed within the cavity 22 so as to align the contact protruding within the cavity 22. Figs. 8 to 10 are cross sectional views which show the fitting of the plug housing assembly 10 and the cap housing assembly 20 in accordance with the present invention by means of a screwing. Fig. 8 shows a state in which both the housing assemblies 10, 20 are separated from each other. Fig. 9 shows a state in which the fitting between both the housing assemblies 10, 20 shown in Fig. 8 is completed. As illustrated, the screwing bolt 12 of the plug housing assembly 10 is meshed with the nut 23 of the cap housing 20 and both the housing assemblies 10, 20 are fitted. Fig. 10 shows the plug housing assembly 10 fitted to the cap housing assembly 20 without operating the lock plate 13 (performing the final lock) in the plug housing assembly 10. At this time, since the actuator 13A of the locking plate 13 protrudes (is not depressed) from the peripheral surface of the plug housing body 15, the fitting between the plug housing assembly 10 and the cavity 22 in the cap housing 20 is prevented. In this case, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 10, a step portion 22A is provided in an opening portion of the cavity 22 in the cap housing 20 so that the actuator 13A of the locking plate 13 protruding from the peripheral surface of the plug housing 10 is brought into contact therewith. The structure of the connector in accordance with the present invention is made as mentioned above, however, the following distinctive effects can be obtained by the structure. At first, since the nut receiving portion 14, which receives the nut portion 23 of the cap housing assembly 20 which is fitted to the cap housing assembly 20, is provided in the plug housing assembly 10 of the connector in accordance with the present invention, and the screw portion of the screwing bolt 12 is provided so as to be exposed within the nut receiving portion 14 without protruding outward from the plug housing assembly 10, the screwing bolt 12 does not get caught in the wire material of the harness and it is possible to significantly improve an efficiency of the harnessing operation. Further, since the actuator 13A of the locking plate 13 protrudes from the peripheral surface of the plug housing body 15 even when it is intended to fit the plug housing assembly 10 with the cap housing assembly 20 without finally locking the contact 11 in the plug housing assembly 10, it is impossible to insert the plug housing body 15 into the cavity 22 of the cap housing 20. The fitting between both the housing assemblies 10, 20 is prevented. Accordingly, in the connector in accordance with the present invention, it is possible to prevent the disadvantage that the male and female housing assemblies are screwed with the poor contact mounting. Various changes to the foregoing described and shown structures would now be evident to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the particularly disclosed scope of the invention is set forth in the following claims.

Claims: A connector comprising: a plug housing assembly (10) supporting therein a plurality of female contacts (11), and a cap housing assembly (20) to be connected to said plug housing assembly (10), said cap housing assembly (20) supporting therein a plurality of male contacts (21) to be electrically connected to the female contacts (11) of said plug housing assembly (10), respectively, wherein said plug housing assembly (10) comprises a bolt (12) pivotally inserted therethrough and a locking plate (13) for locking the female contacts (11) therein, and said cap housing assembly (20) comprises a cavity (22) for receiving said plug housing assembly (10) and a nut portion (23) for mating the bolt (13), said nut portion (23) being formed on a bottom of the cavity (22), wherein said plug housing assembly (10) further comprises a nut receiving recess (14), said recess (14) receiving the nut portion (23) when said both housing assemblies (10, 20) are connected to each other, and a screw section of said bolt (12) extends to the nut receiving recess (14) without protruding externally from said plug housing assembly (10), and wherein said locking plate (13) comprises an actuator (13A) depressibly formed on and protruding from a circumferential surface of said plug housing assembly (10), for sliding the locking plate (13) and preventing the plug housing assembly (10) from being inserted into the cavity (22) of the cap housing (20) before the female contacts (11) have been locked into the locking plate (13). A connector according to Claim 1, wherein said plug housing assembly (10) further comprises a plug housing body (15), the locking plate (13), a contact holding member (16), and a bushing (17) and a back plate (18), wherein said locking plate (13), the contact holding member (16), the bushing (17) and the back plate (18) are accommodated in order in a recess (15A) formed in the plug housing body (15), and wherein the plurality of female contacts (11) are mounted in said plug housing (10) via these members. A connector according to Claim 1, wherein said locking plate (13) includes slots for engaging the female contacts (11) inserted in said plug housing assembly (10) and said locking plate (13) is arranged slidably along a direction crossing an insertion direction of the female contacts (11). A connector according to Claim 2, wherein said plug housing body (10) includes an extending cylindrical shaft supporting portion (15B) for accommodating said bolt (12). A connector according to Claim 4, wherein said cylindrical shaft supporting portion (15B) extends through said locking plate (13).

Inventors: YAMAMOTO MASAHIRO, YAMAMOTO, MASAHIRO
Applicants: THOMAS & BETTS INT, THOMAS & BETTS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Application year: 2001
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01R13, H01R4