Abstract:
Provided is a connector ( 10 ) whereof a cover ( 60 ) is prevented from falling off a housing ( 20 ). The connector ( 10 ) is provided with: the housing ( 20 ), which is capable of fitting to a counterpart housing ( 90 ) and arranged in proximity or in contact with a peripheral member such as a solenoid ( 80 ) when fitting to the counterpart housing ( 90 ); and the cover ( 60 ), which is independent from the housing ( 20 ) and attached to the housing ( 20 ) so as to cover an electric wire ( 100 ) drawn out from a wire outdrawing surface of this housing ( 20 ). When the housing ( 20 ) fits to the counterpart housing ( 90 ), the cover ( 60 ) is faced by the peripheral member in a separating direction from the housing ( 20 ) so that the cover ( 60 ) is arranged to be interposed between the housing ( 20 ) and the peripheral member such as the solenoid ( 80 ).

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a connector structure. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    JP 2012-94289 A discloses a connector structure provided with a housing and a cover independent from the housing and housing an electric wire drawn out from an electric wire outdrawing surface in a bent state. The housing is provided with an engagement protrusion, and an engagement hole is provided on a side wall of the cover. The engagement protrusion is fitted into the engagement hole whereby the cover is retained in the housing. 
         [0005]    In the above case, when a strong external force is applied to the cover in a direction separating from the housing, the engagement protrusion may be detached from the engagement hole, and there is a risk that the cover falls off the housing. 
         [0006]    The present invention has been made based on such a circumstance, and aims to provide a connector that prevents the cover from falling off the housing. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    The present invention is a connector including: a housing configured capable of fitting to a counterpart housing provided to be fixed to a peripheral member and arranged in proximity or in contact with the peripheral member when fitting to the counterpart housing, the housing including a locking part capable of engaging with and retaining the counterpart housing in a fitted state; and a cover that is independent from the housing and attached to the housing so as to cover an electric wire drawn out from an electric wire outdrawing surface of the housing, wherein when the housing fits to the counterpart housing, the cover is faced by the peripheral member in a separating direction of the cover from the housing so that the cover is arranged to be interposed between the housing and the peripheral member. 
         [0008]    Since the cover is faced by the peripheral member in a separating direction of the cover from the housing so that the cover is interposed between the housing and the peripheral member, the cover is prevented from falling off the housing. 
         [0009]    The separating direction of the cover from the housing may be set to be a direction intersecting a fitting direction to the counterpart housing, and when the housing fits to the counterpart housing, the peripheral member may be arranged at a position where the peripheral member can avoid an interference with the housing that has progressed along the fitting direction when the housing fits to the counterpart housing. According to this, the housing is prevented from interfering with the peripheral member when the housing attached with the cover starts to fit to the counterpart housing, and the fitting work of the two housings can be performed smoothly. 
         [0010]    In the cover, a surface on an opposite side from a surface facing the electric wire may have an arc shape that is extending substantially along an outer peripheral surface of the peripheral member about an axis parallel to a fitting direction to the counterpart housing. Due to this, for example, the cover is prevented from interfering with the peripheral member when the peripheral member is angularly displaced about the axis parallel to the fitting direction. 
         [0011]    The peripheral member may be a cylindrical solenoid having its axis center directed in the fitting direction. Due to this, the operation of angular displacement about the axis parallel to the fitting direction can be ensured without the solenoid interfering with the cover. 
         [0012]    The counterpart housing may be set on the peripheral member. Accordingly, the peripheral member, the housing, and the counterpart housing are arranged within less space by being compactly organized. 
         [0013]    The housing may include a housing main body configured capable of housing a terminal metal connected to the electric wire and an eaves part that integrally protrudes out from the housing main body in the fitting direction of the counterpart housing, the cover may include a base part, and a cover locking part that protrudes out from the base part in a direction intersecting the fitting direction, when assembling the cover to the housing, the cover may be restrained from being detached in a direction intersecting the fitting direction by the cover locking part being engaged with a cover lock receiving part of the housing, a through part for passing the electric wire may be formed to be sectioned between the base part and the eaves part, and a surface of the base part on an opposite side from a surface facing the electric wire may be arranged to face the peripheral member. With such a configuration, if the cover locking part is in the half-engaged state with the cover lock receiving part at the start of the fitting of the housings, the base part can interfere with the peripheral member and stop the fitting operation of the housings, so that the half-engaged state of the cover can be detected. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a side view illustrating a state where a housing faces a counterpart housing with a cover interposed between the housing and a solenoid in an embodiment  1  of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view in which the cover is arranged so as to be interposed between the solenoid and the housing and connectors are aligned in plurality in a width direction as seen from a rear side. 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the connector. 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a front view m of the connector. 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a rear view of the connector. 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view illustrating the housing. 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view illustrating the cover. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 7 . A connector  10  of the embodiment includes a housing  20  that can fit to its counterpart housing  90 , and a cover  60  to be attached to the housing  20 , and the housing  20  and the cover  60  are arranged in proximity to a solenoid  80  as a peripheral member when fitting to the counterpart housing  90 . As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the solenoids  80  each form a cylindrical shape, and are arranged in plurality in a direction intersecting a front and rear direction while having their axes directed in the front and rear direction (fitting direction of the housings  20 ,  90 ) along a part that configures an automatic transmission not illustrated. 
         [0022]    The counterpart housing  90  is made of synthetic resin and set fixed to an outer peripheral surface of the respective solenoid  80  as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . Specifically, the counterpart housing  90  has a cylindrical hood part  91 , and a counterpart terminal metal not illustrated is protrudingly arranged within the hood part  91 . A lower surface of the hood part  91  is configured as a counterpart arc surface  92  that curves upward in its front view or rear view depicting an arc around an axis parallel to the fitting direction of the housings  20 ,  90 . The counterpart arc surface  92  is arranged along the outer peripheral surface of the solenoid  80  in the setting. 
         [0023]    The housing  20  is also made of synthetic resin, and as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 6 , and includes a block-shaped housing main body  21  that can house terminal metals  50 , and an eaves part  22  protruding from a rear end upper edge of the housing main body  21  toward a rear side (fitting direction of the counterpart housing  90 ) integrally in a state of being wider than the housing main body  21 . 
         [0024]    The housing main body  21  is configured capable of fitting into the hood part  91  of the counterpart housing  90 , and includes therein cavities  23  into which the terminal metals  50  can be inserted. The cavities  23  are arranged in plurality along a width direction. As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , a lance  24  is provided protruding from an inner wall of each cavity  23 . The terminal metal  50  is elastically engaged to the lance  24  in each cavity  23  in a state of being inserted in a normal posture, and is thereby retained in the cavity  23  in a slip-out prevented state. At this occasion, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , electric wires  100  connected to the terminal metals  50  extend out from a rear surface of the housing main body  21  and enter into a through part  25  to be described later, and further are guided to outside in the direction intersecting the fitting direction from the through part  25 . The electric wires  100  guided to the outside further pass through the through part  25  of the adjacent housing  20 , and are configured capable of entering into the through part  25  of yet another adjacent housing  20 , and as a whole configure a main line  100 A extending out in the width direction. The main line  100 A has a shape retaining property capable of maintaining a state of extending out substantially straight in the width direction by having the plural electric wires  100  bundled within the through parts  25 . 
         [0025]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a pair of cover lock receiving parts  26  engageable to cover locking parts  63  of the cover  60  to be described later are protrudingly provided at a rear end lower part on both side surfaces of the housing main body  21 . A locking part  27  capable of engaging with the counterpart housing  90  and retaining it in a fitted state is protrudingly provided on an upper surface of each housing main body  21 . 
         [0026]    The eaves part  22  has a substantially plate shape that is substantially along the front and rear direction. As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 6 , a pair of partition parts  28  are provided protruding downward at both end portions in the width direction on a front end side of the eaves part  22 , and a pair of arm parts  29  are provided protruding downward at both end portions in the width direction on a rear end side of the eaves part  22 . Both partition parts  28  have a rectangular plate shape, are arranged facing the rear side of the housing main body  21 , and include an opening dimension in which one electric wire  100  can be housed in the front and rear direction between the partition parts  28  and the rear surface of the housing main body  21  in a lateral side view. Further, both arm parts  29  are arranged facing each other to the rearward of the partition parts  28 , and have a shape engageable to a back-plate part  62  of the cover  60  to be described later. A pair of inner protrusion parts  31  are provided protruding inward facing each other at lower end portions of both arm parts  29 . 
         [0027]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , each cover  60  is assembled from a lower side roughly facing the eaves part  22  relative to the corresponding housing  20  (direction intersecting the fitting direction). Specifically, as illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the cover  60  includes a curved plate-shaped base part  61  arranged facing the eaves part  22  when being assembled onto the housing  20 , the back-plate part  62  protruding upward from a center portion in the width direction at the rear end side of the base part  61 , and a pair of cover locking parts  63  protruding upward (direction intersecting the fitting direction, and on the eaves part  22  side upon the assembly) from both end portions in the width direction of the front end side of the base part  61 . Pawl-shaped engagement protrusions  64  are provided protruding inward facing each other at upper end portions of both cover locking parts  63 . Further, a pair of outer protrusion parts  65  is provided protruding in the width direction at an upper end of the back-plate part  62 . 
         [0028]    When the cover  60  is retained in the housing  20 , the through part  25  penetrating in the width direction is formed to be sectioned between the cover  60  and the housing  20 . The through part  25  comes to be in a state of being closed along its entire circumference in the lateral side view by the housing main body  21 , the eaves part  22 , the arm parts  29 , the back-plate part  62 , and the base part  61 , and as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . One of the openings on both ends in the width direction comes to be an inlet opening  32  that can introduce the main line  100 A of the electric wires  100  from the adjacent through part  25 , and the other opening comes to be an outlet opening  33  that can guide out the main line  100 A of the electric wires  100  from its own through part  25 . 
         [0029]    Further, the through part  25  comes to be in a state of being divided into two chambers on the front and rear by the partition parts  28 . Specifically, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , in the lateral side view, the through part  25  is configured of a first through part  25 A sectioned between the rear surface of the housing main body  21  and the partition parts  28  and having a small opening dimension, and a second through part  25 B sectioned between the partition parts  28  and the arm parts  29  and having a large opening dimension. The first through part  25 A has the electric wires  100  arranged tightly in one vertical line in the height direction (up and down direction), and in the second through part  25 B, the electric wires  100  are arranged dispersedly in the height direction and the front and rear direction. Especially, in the first through part  25 A, front and rear ends of the electric wires  100  are arranged so as to abut on the rear surface of the housing main body  21  and both partition parts  28 , and the electric wires  100  are retained in a state where their free movement in the front and rear direction is restricted. 
         [0030]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 5 , a lower surface of the base part  61  of the cover  60  is configured as a cover arc surface  66  that curves upward depicting an arc in its front view or rear view around an axis that is parallel to the fitting direction of the housings  20 ,  90 . Here, the through part  25  is formed so as to increase its internal volume in a flared shape toward both end sides in the width direction by the cover arc surface  66 . Due to this, when the housings  20 ,  90  are in the fitted state, the straightness of the main line  100 A is maintained satisfactorily since the electric wires  100  are allowed to escape in the expanded spaces of the through part  25  even when the solenoid  80  is angularly displaced about the axis parallel to the fitting direction of the housings  20 ,  90  and the connector  10  accordingly rotates in the angular displacement direction (X direction or Y direction in  FIG. 2 ). 
         [0031]    Next, workings of the connectors  10  of the embodiment will be described. 
         [0032]    When attaching a cover  60  to its corresponding housing  20 , the outer protrusion parts  65  of the cover  60  are hooked onto the inner protrusion parts  31  of the housing  20  (see  FIG. 5 ), and with the hooked positions as the substantial fulcrum points, the cover  60  is rotated upward and forward, and the engagement protrusions  64  of the cover locking parts  63  of the cover  60  are engaged onto the cover lock receiving parts  26  of the housing  20  from below. The engagement protrusions  64  of the cover locking parts  63  abuts on the upper surfaces of the cover lock receiving parts  26 , whereby the cover  60  is maintained in the state in which it is restrained from being detached from the housing  20  in the lower direction (direction intersecting the fitting direction). 
         [0033]    Next, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the housing  20  is set to face the counterpart housing  90 , and in this state, the fitting of the housings  20 ,  90  is started. The housing  20  is caused to progress toward the fitting position with the counterpart housing  90 , while during this period, there is substantially no interfering object facing the housing  20  in the fitting direction, including the solenoid  80 . Due to this, the housing  20  can reach the fitting position with the counterpart housing  90  without any difficulty. Moreover, in the course of reaching the fitting position with the counterpart housing  90 , the cover arc surface  66  of the cover  60  is caused to be along the outer peripheral surface of the solenoid  80 , so that the housing  20  is smoothly guided to the fitting position with the counterpart housing  90 . 
         [0034]    When the housings  20 ,  90  are fitted, the housing  20  is inserted in the hood part  91 , and the terminal metals  50  are conductively connected to counterpart terminal metals. In this state, the back-plate part  62  of the cover  60  makes contact with the eaves part  22  from below, and the base part  61  makes contact with the partition parts  28  and the arm parts  29  from below, so that the cover  60  is restrained from being displaced upward relative to the housing  20 . Further, the engagement protrusions  64  of the cover locking parts  63  makes contact with the cover lock receiving parts  26  from above, whereby the cover  60  is restrained from being displaced downward relative to the housing  20 . 
         [0035]    Furthermore, the cover arc surface  66  of the base part  61  face the outer peripheral surface of the solenoid  80  so that the cover  60  is arranged to face the solenoid  80  in proximity thereto in a direction where the cover  60  is detached from the housing  20  (downward). In short, the cover  60 , in the state of being attached to the housing  20 , is arranged so as to be interposed between the eaves part  22  of the housing  20  and the solenoid  80  in the up and down direction. Due to this, even when a strong external force directed downward that causes the cover  60  to be detached from the housing  20  acts thereon, and the engagement of the cover locking parts  63  and the cover lock receiving parts  26  is exposed to the risk of being detached, the cover  60  can be prevented from being completely detached from the housing  20  due to the solenoid  80  being located in a direction along which the external force acts (lower side). 
         [0036]    As described above, according to the embodiment, since the cover  60  faces the solenoid  80  in the direction separating from the housing  20  so that the cover  60  is interposed between the solenoid  80  and the housing  20 , the retained state of the cover  60  relative to the housing  20  is maintained stably. 
         [0037]    Further, since the housing  20  is prevented from interfering with the solenoid  80  in the fitting direction when the housing  20  attached with the cover  60  starts to fit to the counterpart housing  90 , the fitting work of the housings  20 ,  90  can be performed smoothly. 
         [0038]    Further, since the cover arc surface  66  of the cover  60  has the form substantially along the outer peripheral surface of the solenoid  80 , the cover  60  and the housing  20  are prevented from interfering with the solenoid  80  when the solenoid  80  is angularly displaced about the axis parallel to the fitting direction. 
         [0039]    Further, in a case where the cover locking parts  63  are in a state of being half-engaged to their corresponding cover lock receiving parts  26  at the start of fitting the housings  20 ,  90 , for example, if one of the cover locking parts  63  is detached from its cover lock receiving part  26  and comes to be in a half-hooked state, and the cover  60  is in a state of protruding downward from the housing  20  than the normal attachment, the base part  61  of the cover  60  interferes with an end surface of the solenoid  80 , and the fitting operation of the housings  20 ,  90  can thereby be stopped. Due to this, the half-engaged state of the cover  60  can be detected. 
         [0040]    Hereinbelow, other embodiments of the present invention will briefly be described. 
         [0041]    The housing or the cover may be configured to make contact with the outer peripheral surface of the solenoid. 
         [0042]    The peripheral member is not limited to the solenoid, and for example, it may be an automobile part other than the solenoid that is arranged in proximity to the connector. The peripheral member is preferably a part that is directly or indirectly fixed to a vehicle body. 
         [0043]    The peripheral member may be arranged to face the rear side of the cover so that the peripheral member is configured to restrain the cover from being detached rearward separating away from the rear surface of the housing (electric wire outdrawing surface). 
       REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
       [0000]    
       
           10 : Connector 
           20 : Housing 
           22 : Eaves part 
           25 : Through Part 
           26 : Cover Lock Receiving Part 
           60 : Cover 
           61 : Base Part 
           63 : Cover Locking Part 
           66 : Cover Arc Surface 
           80 : Solenoid (Peripheral Member) 
           90 : Counterpart Housing 
           100 : Electric Wire