Abstract:
In a connector with an integral cover in which a cover ( 13 ) is provided continuously with a housing body ( 12 ) via a returning hinge ( 17 ), in a region near a pivot point rotation via the returning hinge ( 17 ) a holding hinge ( 18 ) is provided, wherein the cover is temporarily held to the housing body ( 12 ) in the opened condition, and wherein forcible deformation is done to use the returning hinge ( 17 ) to allow movement of the cover ( 13 ) to a close position. Housing parts each housing the returning hinge ( 17 ) and holding hinge ( 18 ) when the cover ( 13 ) is closed are provided on the housing body ( 12 ).

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a connector with an integral cover, in which a housing body having a terminal accommodation chamber has a cover continuously and integrally provided thereto via a displaceable or flexible hinge and configured to close an opening formed in the housing body. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     FIG.  5 A and FIG. 5B show the configuration of a connector with an integral cover (rear holder) disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 8-185919. A housing  1 A of a connector  1  is formed, at each of the upper and lower sides, by an enclosure or housing body  2  and a cover  3 . Terminal accommodation chambers  4  are provided in the housing body  2 , in which metallic terminals  5  are accommodated. An opening  6  is provided in the rear half of a top wall of the housing body  2  to allow operational access to the metallic terminals  5  in the terminal accommodation chambers  4  to enable, for example, insulation displacement connection of insulated electric wires W to the terminals  5 . The opening  6  can be covered by the cover  3  that is provided continuously with the housing  2  via a flexible band-shaped hinge  7 . 
     In the above-noted configuration, to facilitate holding of the cover  3  to the housing body  2 , the flexible hinge  7  is formed thin and soft, so that its own force of repulsion does not hinder the task of holding the cover  3 . It however is impossible to maintain the cover  3  in an open position with good stability using just the soft flexible hinge  7 , and a temporary holding piece  8  is provided at a front end part of the housing body  2 , distanced from the flexible hinge  7 , to temporarily hold the cover  3  in the open position. 
     After connection of the electric wires W to the metallic terminals  5 , when covering the opening  6  with the cover  3 , as shown in FIG. 5B, the temporary holding piece  8  is cut away, to make the cover  3  free to move. In this condition, the flexible hinge  7  has a tendency to urge the cover  3  to swing toward a close position. 
     In the above-noted connector of the past, when cutting away the temporary holding piece  8 , an undue force might be imposed on the soft flexible hinge  7 , with the fear of deforming or damaging the flexible hinge  7 . Additionally, cut parts of the temporary holding piece  8  are left projecting outside the housing  1 A, constituting a hindrance when fitting the connector with a mating connector. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been made with such points in view. It therefore is an object of the present invention to provide a connector with an integral cover in which the cover can be held in an open position, without using a temporary holding piece. 
     An aspect of the present invention to achieve the object is a connector with an integral cover, comprising an enclosure enclosing a terminal accommodation chamber, the enclosure being formed with an opening for access to the terminal accommodation chamber, a cover to close the opening, and a flexible hinge joining the cover to the enclosure, the flexible hinge having a tendency to hold the cover in an open position relative to the opening. 
     According to this aspect, the flexible hinge holds the cover open to allow access to the terminal accommodation chamber. 
     Another aspect of the present invention to achieve the object is a connector with an integral cover, in which a housing body having a terminal accommodation chamber has a cover continuously and integrally provided thereto via a flexible hinge and configured to close an opening formed in the housing body, wherein a holding hinge is provided in a vicinity of a pivot point of rotation of the cover by the flexible hinge, for temporarily holding the cover in an open position thereof on the housing body and to be forcibly deformed to allow for the cover to be moved to a close position by means of the flexible hinge. 
     According to this aspect, as a holding hinge for temporarily holding the cover is provided in a vicinity of the pivot point on which the cover is rotatable by the flexible hinge, even without cutting away the holding hinge, it is possible by merely forcibly deforming the holding hinge, thereby allowing rotation of the flexible hinge, to move the cover to the close position while using the flexible hinge. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above-noted and other features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of embodiments to follow, taken in combination with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1A is a front elevation of a connector with an integral cover according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a side elevation of the connector shown in FIG. 1A; 
     FIG. 2A is an X—X cross-sectional view of the connector shown in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 2B is a Y—Y cross-sectional view of the connector shown in FIG. 1A; 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of the connector shown in FIG. 1A, with the cover in a closed condition; 
     FIG. 4 is a partial side cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG.  5 A and FIG. 5B are side cross-sectional views of a conventional connector with an integral cover, with FIG. 5A showing a condition in which the cover is open, and FIG. 5B showing a condition in which a temporary holding piece is cut away, enabling the cover to rotate. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, with references being made to relevant accompanying drawings. 
     FIGS. 1A,  1 B,  2 A,  2 B and  3  show a connector  11  integrally formed with a rear cover  13  according to an embodiment of the present invention. The connector  11  includes a connector housing  11 A and a plurality of metallic terminals (not shown) connected to insulated electric wires (not shown) and housed in the housing  11 A. The metallic terminals are fixed in their positions by engagement with top holes  12   a  formed in the housing  11 A as in FIG.  3 . As shown in FIG. 1A, the connector housing  11 A has in its front side  12   b  a plurality of terminal insertion holes  12   c  for insertion of mating terminals of a mating connector (not shown) to be connected to the metallic terminals. As shown in FIG. 1B, the connector housing  11 A is formed by a rectangular main housing H, and a flexible locking arm L rearwardly extending from a front end of a bottom  12   d  of the main housing H. The locking arm L is engageable with a hole in a hood portion (not shown) of the mating connector. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the main housing H comprises: a rectangular housing body  12  (or enclosure), which has a plurality of terminal accommodation chambers  14  (see FIGS. 2A and 2B) defined therein and a common rear opening  16  communicating with the accommodation chambers  14  and rearwardly and upwardly open; and a rear cover  13  configured to fit in the opening  16 . The housing body  12  is provided as a hollow body of synthetic resin, together with the rear cover,  13 . The rear opening  16  is formed in a rear half of an upper wall  12   e  of the housing body  12 , and the cover  13  is configured to cover over the opening  16 . As shown in FIG. 3, the cover  13  is connected to the housing body  12 , by a combination of a pair of returning flexible hinges (hereafter each respectively simply called “returning hinge”)  17  and a single holding flexible hinge (hereafter simply called “holding hinge”)  18 , which are arranged at a front edge part of the opening  16 , as illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.  1 A and FIG. 3, the holding hinge  18  is disposed at a central part in a transverse direction (i.e. the left-to-right direction in FIG. 1A) of the housing body  12 , with the returning hinges  17  disposed at the left and right. The housing body  12  and the cover  3 , as well as the hinges  17  and  18 , are integrally molded with a synthetic resin. 
     The opening  16  is provided, for example, to permit an access for automatic wire connection, such as insulation displacement connection of insulated electric wires (not shown) onto the metallic terminals (not shown) housed in the terminal accommodation chambers  14  of the housing body  12 . After completion of the wire connection, the cover  13  is rotated, with a necessary external force, from an open position (relative to the opening  16 ), where it extends along the front half of the upper wall  12   e  of the housing body  12  as illustrated in e.g. FIG. 1B, to a close position (relative to the opening  16 ), where it joins with the housing body  12 , that is, it just fits in the opening  16 , blocking an entire open area of the opening  16 , having a flush outside, as is apparent from FIG.  3 . In the locking condition, the cover  13  is locked to the housing body, by left and right sets of locking elements  21  and  22 , which are formed either as a locking projection ( 22 ) on a lateral inside of the opening  16  or as an engagement hole ( 21 ) in a lateral outside of the cover  13  as illustrated in FIG.  2 B. 
     As shown in FIG.  1 B and FIG. 2A, each returning hinge  17  is thin, soft, and band-shaped with even width and thickness, and can be freely bent forward in a round form about a virtual pivotal axis Pa, joining the front edge part of the opening  16  to a base end of the cover  13 . In any bent form, the returning hinge  17  has a commensurate returning tendency to urge the cover  13  to rotate toward the close position. As in FIG. 1B, the cover  13  in the open position is inverted toward the front about the virtual pivotal axis Pa of the returning hinges  17 , and is positioned back-to-back with respect to the upper wall  12   e  of the housing body  12  that remains at the front side of the opening  16 . 
     As shown in FIG.  1 B and FIG. 2A, each returning hinge  17  is thin, soft, and band-shaped with even width and thickness, and can be freely bent forward in a round form about a virtual pivotal axis Pa, joining the front edge part of the opening  16  to a base end of the cover  13 . In any bent form, the returning hinge  17  has a commensurate returning tendency to urge the cover  13  to rotate toward the close position. As shown in FIG. 1B, the cover  13  in the open position is inverted toward the front about the virtual pivotal axis Pa of the returning hinges  17 , and is positioned back-to-back with respect to the upper wall  12   e  of the housing body  12  that remains at the front side of the opening  16 . After the wire connection, the holding hinge  18  in the stepped form is forcibly flexed rearward, i.e. toward the close position, thereby allowing the cover  13  to rotate about the virtual pivotal axis Pa of the returning hinges  17 . As shown in FIG. 3, the returning hinges  17  and the holding hinge  18  extend substantially straight and in parallel to each other, when the cover  13  is set in the close position. 
     As shown in FIGS. 2A, the upper wall  12   e  of the housing body  12  has, at the rear end of the upside, relatively short recesses  17 S for receiving the returning hinges  17  to be flush at its upside with the upside of the upper wall  12   e , when the cover  13  is placed in the close position, as illustrated in FIG.  3 . Further, as shown in FIGS. 2B, the upper wall  12   e  has, at the rear end of the upside, a relatively long recess  18 S for receiving the holding hinge  18  to be flush at its upside with the upside of the upper wall  12   e , when the cover  13  is placed in the close position. 
     There will be described functions of the embodiment. 
     When assembling the cover-integrated connector  11 , the metallic terminals are set into the terminal accommodation chambers  14  of the housing body  12 , and the insulated electric wires are connected to each metallic terminal. Next, while forcibly deforming the holding hinge  18 , the returning hinges  7  are used to rotate the cover  13  to the close position at which it covers over the opening  16 . When this is done, the central folding part  18   a  of the holding hinge  18  passes by the virtual pivotal axis Pa of the returning hinges  17 , like a toggle, so that the cover  13  is allowed to rotate simply by forcible deformation, without cutting away the holding hinge  18 . 
     When the cover  13  is rotated to the close position, the locking elements  21  provided at rear ends of left and right sides of the cover  13  are engaged with the locking elements  22  provided at rear ends of left and right sides of the housing body  12 , thereby completing the task of assembling the cover  13 . By fixing the cover  13  to the housing body  12 , not only are the metallic terminals housed in the housing body  12  and protected from undue external forces, but also prevention is achieved of upward floating of the metallic terminals, as the cover  13  has protrusions (see FIGS. 2A and 2B) formed on its inner wall for pressing the electric wires and the metallic terminals. 
     As the cover  13  in the close position, the returning hinges  17  and the holding hinge  18  are received in the recesses  17 S and  18 S, the hinges  17  and  18  do not protrude outward from the connector housing  11 A, so that they do not interfere with connection to a mating connector, for example. 
     FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of an essential portion of a connector with an integral cover according another embodiment of the present invention. 
     This embodiment employs forwardly foldable returning hinges  27  different from the band-shaped bendable returning hinges  17 , having a holding hinge  18  disposed therebetween. Each foldable returning hinge  27  is formed as a sheet with an even width by making a thin, weakened part  27   a  midway therein, so that the returning hinge  27  can be freely folded at the weakened part  27   a . The configuration of the holding hinge  18  is the same as the previous embodiment. In this embodiment also, recesses  18 S and  27 S are provided to receive the holding hinge  18  and the returning hinges  27 , respectively,  8  when a cover  13  is in its close position. 
     As each returning hinge  27  can fold at the thin, weakened part  27   a , when compared with the previous embodiment which employs the bendable band-shaped returning hinges  17 , this embodiment allows for the returning hinges  27  to have a clear pivotal axis established in position with a reduced deviation, so that effect of the positional restriction can be made use of in return of the cover  13  to be free from positional deviations, while rotation of the cover  13  is subjected to less freedom than in the previous embodiment. 
     While the present invention has been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.